Crimson Judgment

by Robert Lyons

  The cruiser’s engine roared as Officer Beeghly pressed the accelerator to the floor. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his freshly shaved face. He was the first in a line of seven cruisers speeding toward the hot zone. Officer Beeghly’s grip on the steering wheel was white-knuckle tight. Any moment could be his last.

  A strange blue light began to glow, starting from the ground, in the middle of the intersection. The light’s intensity quickly escalated, forcing Officer Beeghly to squint his eyes.

  “What the hell is that?!” he bellowed.

  Then he saw movement, from the southeast corner of the intersection.

  There were three silhouettes.

  One humanoid had a bulky frame. The other two were of a smaller build. All sported long hair.

  “I have sights on the Chroma!” Officer Beeghly grabbed the comm piece of his radio, making the call. “In addition, there’s also an abnormal light coming from the middle of the intersection!”

  “Ten-four! We’re observing an abnormal reading on the sensors! The energy signature is off the charts! Do not approach! I repeat! Do not approach!” one of the technicians that operated the sensors called out to Officer Beeghly via the radio.

  There were special sensors strategically placed throughout the country, forming a complex web that covered the nation. It was HAWK-developed technology, capable of providing an early-warning system of Chroma presence. Officer Beeghly wasn’t familiar with the exact science behind the sensors. If one of the instruments was picking up readings of the energy waves that Chroma emitted from their bodies, Beeghly was instructed told that law enforcement was in for a hell of a ride.

  Officer Beeghly slammed on the brakes, stopping about fifty yards away from the intersection. The cyan light grew steadily brighter with every passing second, making it nearly impossible to look at directly without risking damage to his retina.

  The radio began to crackle with interference.

  What the hell is going on?

  A screech assaulted the radio waves.

  Standing in the middle of the light was a fourth humanoid that arose from the ground. He rushed the bigger Chroma, simultaneously chasing the two smaller ones away. The bulky Chroma, who was at least three times the size of the other figure, was wiggling helplessly in mid-air. The figure had caught the Chroma by the throat and inexplicably hoisted the massive body off the ground. The act appeared to be done with little effort, despite the difference in physical size.

  Officer Beeghly’s confused expression dropped as he stared with astonishment.

  The light surrounding the two figures focused into a concentrated beam, directed up into the night sky. The figure holding up the Chroma could have passed for a human, except for the gaping hole in his chest where the cyan light was pouring out and redirecting itself up to the heavens.

  “I have visual on the target and the source of the power surge!” Beeghly fumbled with his radio before calling it in. All he got was static at first, a barrage of interference preventing communications from getting back to headquarters.

  “Is that thing jamming the radio?” Beeghly yelled as he looked at the cruiser to his left. Pointing to his own radio, Beeghly mimed if he was the only one having comm issues. His suspicions were confirmed when he found out that everyone was having the same problem.

  “Guardian … of the Omnigate…” The static on the radio began to organize; words were formed out of the snow.

  The hole in the figure’s chest sealed up, lines of blue light running throughout his body, creating an intricate, glowing tattoo design. His entire eye sockets radiated the same colored light.

  A slight pause later, the figure stabbed his free hand right through the chest of the Chroma. The monster writhed for a couple of seconds before giving up the ghost. The lifeless body hung from the figure’s hand.

  “Did he just—?!” Beeghly’s voice trailed off.

  The method to killing a Chroma required high-velocity ammunition to be discharged in a key location. This individual, on the other hand, just killed the Chroma three times his own size by simply piercing his hand through the Chroma’s chest.

  The dead body of the Chroma began to tremble violently. It was as though the corpse was being electrocuted, limbs whipping back and forth as the main torso contorted violently. Cyan light began to leak out through the newly forming gashes in the flesh of the big Chroma.

  Another mechanical screech was thrown into the night air as the body of the Chroma exploded into a black sludge, leaving the figure standing in the middle of the carnage, arm still extended upward where he had originally held the Chroma up in the air. He exhaled, steam rolling off his arm.

  The static on the radio subsided, calls coming through as the snow disappeared from the radio’s receiver.

  “Beeghly! Are you alive?” It was the police chief’s voice and he began to sound winded. “Dammit! Someone answer!”

  “Beeghly here!” He panted as he kept his eyes on the recovering figure. “A new element showed up and was throwing interference! Whatever that thing is—it killed the Chroma in one hit!”

  A small pause later, the chief replied. “What kind of an element?”

  “I don’t know.” Beeghly shook his head. “I don’t know whose side it’s on, but it just killed a Chroma!”

  The figure’s head leaned backward, letting out the same mechanical scream that the Chroma gave out right before it was blown into pieces. The lamenting shriek sent a chill up Beeghly’s spine.

  The light that was shooting up from the ground around the figure began to contort, taking shape. The blue beam twisted into many directions, forming the rudimentary structure of a giant lizard. A second mechanical screech spiked in volume.

  Officer Beeghly couldn’t move.

  His body wasn’t reacting to any of his commands to retreat. He wasn’t prepared to witness such a terrifyingly awesome event. There was a humanoid capable of killing the Chroma with a single blow and now—a light show spectacular.

  There was a sinking feeling creeping up the officer’s neck. Little pinpricks began to irritate Beeghly’s exposed skin. A foreboding sentiment infected him.

  “Beeghly! Get everyone out of there! The energy signature has fried the sensors!” the chief screamed over the radio.

  The structure finalized its form, the giant lizard-like animal sprouting wings that stretched form one corner of the intersection to the other. Scales ran down the massive, cyan, translucent body. Half a dozen horns protruded from the head, the snout elongating and filling with massive teeth. The giant beast that would have been more fitting in a fairy tale, now stood more than twenty feet tall, belting out a roar that was vibrating every structure within in a mile radius.

  Is that a d-dragon?!

  Beeghly immediately grabbed for his gear shifter, putting the cruiser into reverse.

  “Move out!”

  At the sound of the tires screeching, the translucent beast turned its head to look at the source of the irritating noise. Both eye sockets were glowing light blue. It was lacking pupils to suggest what direction it was focusing on, but Beeghly felt its menacing gaze burn holes into him.

  The creature let out one final roar, shattering the windshields and windows of the cars nearby. After the deafening bellow had passed, the creature’s skin shifted from the cyan to a bright-neon green. The hue takeover originated from the eye sockets, rapidly spreading until the entire structure had taken up the new exterior accent.

  The adjacent green light circumnavigating the beast’s massive body diverted as it rushed to the inside of the chest. The surrounding area was momentarily overtaken with the darkness of night, as the expounded light was concentrated inside of the beast.

  Every warning instinct within Beeghly was going off.

  Oh shit…

  The beast released the amassed energy, casting a blinding light in every direction. That was the brightest object Beeghly had ever seen in his life, right before his world dissolved to black.

 
He could still hear everything around him, but he was in utter darkness as cruisers slammed into each other. Beeghly realized that the lights had not gone out.

  He was struck blind.

  2.

  Near the Intel Gathering Facility’s Entrance.

  The purple-eyed Chroma was inches away from the lightning-fast blade. Witnessing the gory mess that became of her comrade, Lume jumped away from the path of the wakizashi. However, retreating meant that she gave up keeping McBride as a hostage. Not only was the redheaded giant a bargaining chip, he was also a shield of sorts. Now that the two remaining Chroma were exposed, the helicopters in the distance could spin up their rotatory guns. Lume let out a monstrous snarl as she landed back on earth, safely out of range of the short sword.

  “What is that?” Lume eyed the enchanted steel fitted securely in Zoe’s hands. As Lume glanced at the gored pieces of her comrade strewn all over the muddy ground, she involuntarily wiped the edge of her brow. She felt sick to her stomach as her body shook with inexplicable fear. All of these sensations were brought about from the manifestation of that blade.

  Speed quadrupled, Zoe received the much-needed advantage to slay a purple-eyed Chroma in one hit. However, with such a drastic elevation in physical prowess, there was a price to pay. The weapon, made by the forgers of the Heavy Ordnance, was taking a severe toll on Zoe’s body.

  Zoe was fully aware of the potentially fatal consequences that came from awakening the sword. Nevertheless, the pain didn’t deter her from this hazardous undertaking. The people she considered family were in imminent danger. Losing Drew was already too much. She couldn’t bear another loss that day.

  Though every muscle fiber in her body was threatening to tear from the exertion, Zoe steeled herself to persevere. With both John Kubovics and Jim McBride out of commission, the HAWK team was severely lacking in Heavy Ordnance users. These were the cards that Zoe was dealt. She couldn’t afford to falter.

  “This is your solution to the Wielders abandoning you?” Lume cringed. “You use weapons to force your bodies to compete with ours?”

  Zoe managed to repress the agony infecting every cell of her body long enough to allow her aggravation to manifest.

  “Bringing up the Wielders, you shit stain?” Zoe flexed her jaw muscles, spreading her legs a little wider to maintain balance. She raised the short sword over her head, readying for a strike.

  The Chroma felt the shift in the air, but there was no time to react.

  Zoe tensed up, releasing all of the stored-up energy that had built up during the standoff. Arsenault concentrated, directing the expendable power to her legs. She launched her body forward, closing the gap and bringing the sword down.

  Lume’s current position was intended to serve as a defensive posture, one that would give her capacity to counter an overhead attack. Reading into Zoe’s body language as the human warrior set up for the assault was all Lume could do.

  The Hellcat rolled her grip on the sword at the last second. Zoe changed her attack style, starting from an overhead strike and transitioning to an uppercut within a blink of an eye.

  The blade sliced through the air with a high-pitched whine, carving through Lume’s arm without any resistance, as it continued toward the chest. Black blood erupted from the gaping lesion.

  Huh?

  Lume’s purple eye widened as the blade passed through the bones without so much as slowing down. However, due to the short sword’s limited range, it could only graze the surface of the skin covering the core of her body.

  Lume tried to leap back in retreat, but it was already too late. Zoe readied another attack, impaling the purple eye through the sternum and spine.

  A mouthful of black blood spewed from Lume’s mouth as she fell backward to the earth. When her body landed in the mud, the dark liquid continued to gush out from where her arm had been severed her. Zoe stood over the struggling humanoid, keeping the sword wedged in the monster’s body.

  “W-what’s going on?!” The overpowered purple eye craned her neck down, looking at the gory stump where her arm used to be located. As a purple eye, Lume’s healing factor was considered to be nearly instantaneous. Yet, there was no indication that her body was recovering. “I-I’m not healing?”

  The sword had rammed through the sternum, but Zoe missed the heart by less than an inch. It had not only pierced through her completely, but the blade also stabbed into the ground, pinning Lume on her back and limiting her movement to the point that she was practically immobilized.

  “Oh?” Zoe’s voice was hoarse, but it could have been considered a somewhat playful tone. She stared at the Chroma’s wound with curiosity. “What kind of weapon did the forgers give us?”

  Zoe’s first unofficial field test was yielding shell-shocking results.

  Lume slowly rolled her head over to see that Cora had already succumbed to Steeljaws’ Heavy Ordnance. After the Hellcat unleashed her weapon, the other HAWK fighter overwhelmed the distracted Chroma pinning him. The heavy-duty, air-compressing weapon had struck the weaker areas of the purple eye’s body. The final strike Steeljaws landed was a high-speed jab, shoving the Heavy Ordnance up under Cora’s ribs. The concussive blast liquefied the Chroma’s internal organs, including the heart.

  Cora’s mangled body was strewn out in the grass and mud. Steeljaws stood by, drenched in the body fluids of his enemy. At the sight of her fallen comrade, Lume rolled back to look at Zoe, letting out a small chuckle.

  “Forgers … Is that what you said?” Lume was beyond saving. She knew that death was right around the corner. There was no need to be afraid; she let the hysteria of failing her golden-eyed superior take over. “Since the Wielders abandoned you all, there was no choice but to adapt! I just can’t believe that you were able to communicate with those forgers in the first place…”

  “I’m glad that we got to them first.” Zoe’s malevolent grin showcased her feelings of hatred and the necessity for fulfilling her vendetta. This was one of the monsters directly responsible for the death of her beloved. The mental image of Drew’s dead body getting compacted momentarily flashed through her mind as she gripped the sword’s handle a little tighter. “We needed all of the weapons we could get! Now we have to ability to kill shit like you—!”

  BEEP! BEEP!

  Zoe was interrupted as a series of chirping sounds came out of her headset’s speaker. The pattern of notes directed that the highest emergency level was acknowledged from the HAWK Headquarters.

  “What the hell just happened?!” Zoe roared.

  “C’mon, Zoe! Finish that fucker off!” Steeljaws yelled, helping Jim out of the mud and onto his feet. “Word just got passed down from Commander Jones! Something big went down in the southern Nevada region! An energy spike fried every sensor in that area!”

  “What the fuck can pump out that much power?”

  “We have to return to base now! The entire HAWK is scrambling to intercept the entity that made the power surge!”

  • • •

  Roughly five hundred yards away from the helicopters was the silhouette of a humanoid balancing on the pointy, stubby top branch of a pine tree. A slight breeze swayed the canopy. The figure was lazily counterbalancing to avoid falling off the rather small perch. The humanoid’s keen interest was piqued as he stared at the clearing where the battle between humans and beasts convened.

  The figure poising on the tree began to grind his sharp teeth with frustration.

  “Lume … why aren’t you regenerating? What the hell is happening?” the Chroma’s native language was uttered.

  Not only had the humans successfully evacuated a witness from the previous assault on the facility, the infamous Hellcat unsheathed a weapon that caused a palpable disturbance in the air. This same armament also made it impossible for Lume to restore her damaged body.

  Kayto shuddered uncomfortably, but he made no movement that would suggest he was going to swoop in and save his subordinate.

  BRINNNG!

&nb
sp; The phone in his pocket began to chirp loudly, notifying the golden eye that another party was trying to reach him. Extracting the electronic device out of the pocket of pants he stole from his last victim, Kayto pushed the button on the touch screen.

  “Kayto,” a low voice called over from the other end.

  The golden-eyed Chroma stood at attention, awkwardly stiff as a chill ran down his spine. He forgot to check the phone number sequence scrolling across the screen. The voice on the other end of the call belonged to his superior—the only Chroma in existence with two matching golden eyes.

  “Noxeus!” Kayto cleared his throat, continuing in the Chroma’s language. “I have updates. The Bifol you gifted to us were able to kill two high-powered weapon users from the Ninth Force! As for the HAWK that are still alive—they have unveiled an unspeakable armament!”

  “Forget it, Kayto.” Noxeus shrugged off the news. Apparently cutting down the only humans able to engage the purple-eyed Chroma was a small matter to the headmaster. “Rori has reappeared. She has awakened and fused to her new host. This complicates the plans.”

  “Rori?” Kayto quickly realized that the name his superior was insinuating belonged to one of the most dangerous beings that stood against the Chroma horde. She was a Krotoni, a creature that inhabited a human body and manifested abilities in the chosen host. Although aptitudes were diverse, all Krotoni granted their human vessels ample potential to contest a gold-class Chroma.

  “Rori … Guardian of the Omnigate … She’s been missing for twenty human years and now she decides to show up? I thought she betrayed her kind when she disappeared!”

  “I care not how you do it, just complete your mission and then capture that Krotoni and her host before anyone else does. We cannot allow the other Wielder—Jason—to potentially recruit more allies. Although Rori is assumed to have gone rogue, Jason is in a position where he might disregard her treachery.”

  Most notably, Noxeus was a rather quiet leader, but that wasn’t the case a decade ago. Before that, Noxeus was just like every tribe leader, his pride encompassed around the single golden eye in his skull. He was also notorious for running his mouth without ceasing and getting wrapped up in his own image.