Freaking hollows.
I ran to the door and it was locked from the outside.
Of course it was, I was a prisoner.
It was like being back in Inferno all over again, back to being tortured. I’m going to die, I thought. Why would Lola do this to me?
Those things surrounded me while my back was up against the door. I was gasping for air and those things gazed at me while smelling living flesh right in front of them. Their long tongues dropped, trying to taste the air or taste fear, which I was releasing in barrels. I tried to stay calm and not provoke them. I thought that if I stayed calm, they would think of me as a Satunian or something.
They looked hungry too. Hungry killing creatures, ready to jump on me any time, regardless of how calm I was.
I heard the doorknob turning. Someone unlocked the door and slightly opened it. It was enough to peek inside and I saw someone.
Larry?
I jumped out the door, and got out so fast, I don’t think it was even physically possible. I grabbed Larry by the arm, and I ran so fast that while I was running, I saw Jimmy and Matheus waving at me but I didn’t know how to stop myself to warn them.
“Erick? Where are you going?” Larry shouted as he ran next to me.
“I don’t know, just run,” I warned, while looking back at the guys who were still standing there puzzled.
“AAHH!” I heard them all scream after they saw those hideous things too. They also ran behind us.
We ran for about a minute then looked back again, and didn’t see them behind us anymore.
THANK GOD.
“I think we lost them,” I said, stopping to catch my breath.
“Are you sure?” Larry asked, horrified. We stood there quietly, trying to listen carefully for danger, but there was none.
“To think that we came here to save you,” Jimmy said, still breathing fast.
“I think you just saved us,” Larry concluded chuckling.
We started walking again and found it really strange that there were no Satunians around. Where did everyone go?
Luis, Bruce and Patrick bumped into us.
“Erick!” Patrick said happy to see me.
I didn’t see Pops and the girls though. “Where’s the rest of the group?” I asked.
“They’re waiting outside,” Jimmy said.
We ran out of the building, but there was no sign of them.
“They said they’d wait out here,” Bruce explained. “They probably went inside looking for you.”
I didn’t like that answer.
“Listen, just get out of here, guys. Satu is planning to use you to destroy The Order.”
No one believed me. Matheus wasn’t even aware of such intel either.
“How do you know that?” he asked.
“Lola told me.”
“Who’s Lola?”
“Lola is the demon that kidnapped me,” I said.
“And why would you believe her?”
“Satu knows about their powers, Matheus. He knows they’re archangels, and he’s planning to use that power against me and the whole world.”
“Good heavens! Why would he want to do something like that? For what reasons?” Matheus said baffled.
“He wants to become a devil.”
“You trust that demon?” Matheus asked, concerned.
“So far Lola’s been very helpful to me. She has a plan that can be beneficial to all of us and I trust her on this. Something tells me I should. This is our only chance. She has control over her demons and if I could gain her trust, she can keep her demons from hurting innocent people. Besides, she doesn’t really want Satu to succeed.”
“What makes you so sure?” Luis asked.
“Because if he becomes a devil, that would only mean she’s bound to him for all eternity. Trust me, she doesn’t like the idea.”
“Well that part is believable,” Matheus confirmed.
“If he captures you all, it’s game over,” I said.
“We came here to get you out, Erick. We can’t go back without you now!” Larry exclaimed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll have Matheus with me.”
At first they were about to argue, especially Jimmy and Larry, but they knew there were greater risks if they got captured.
I didn’t realize how much these guys cared so much for me. So much they would risk it all just to save me, which was making things a little more complicated. Besides trying to save the world, I also had to keep in mind that these guys were counting on me.
As I stood there in silence, lost in my own thoughts, I saw that Matheus got a bit edgy all of a sudden.
“Something is wrong, Ethasus,” Matheus said in a very low voice.
“What is it?”
“Something is not right. I can feel them. Their powers are back,” he said with his ears straight in alert.
“I don’t understand.” I turned to them to see what Matheus was talking about.
The guys were just standing there, idle. It was like they were possessed or something.
“Someone has awakened their powers.”
“I thought they had their powers to begin with?” I said confused.
“No. Their powers were taken away by The Creator, but this is definitely bad timing.”
I was about to walk up to them. “Don’t! Stay away from them,” he warned.
“What’s wrong with them?”
“They’re under Satu’s control now,” came a voice from behind us. It was Lola. She had Kate, Sarah and my grandfather tied up and gagged.
“What is this?” I yelled.
She didn’t respond.
“I thought we had a deal!” I was angry now.
A bunch of Satunians and cyclops appeared out of nowhere and surrounded us. I guess this was the ambush she warned me about. I should’ve seen it coming.
Dang it.
“Excellent work, Lola!” came a familiar voice from behind the crowd of Satunians and demons. They all parted, making way for Satu. He walked to the front of the circle, with The Book of Mythos in his hands. He laughed at us, especially at me.
I felt so used and betrayed. I can’t explain this embarrassing feeling. It was the kind where you have no choice but to admit that you’re a failure, and there is not a thing you can do about it. These guys were counting on me and I let them down. It was all my fault. I was definitely not worthy of my calling. I just couldn’t do one thing right.
Satu was going to use my archangels and he had them under his control now.
What was I supposed to do? I really wished my grandfather was able to help me. I needed his guidance, but he was a bit tied up at the moment.
“How does it feel to lose?” Satu asked, walking towards me with his hands crossed behind his back, and a smirk on his face. I really wanted to cut his face off. “Your arrogance deceived you this time, Ethasus. You underestimated my intelligence once more and now, you have failed.”
I didn’t say a word. I was really down and upset at myself. It’s like my soul didn’t have energy to keep going. If I were home, I would suffer from depression and sleep my life away under my pillow.
“What’s the matter? Can’t bear your future?” he snickered.
“Why try to conquer the world and later destroy it? What is your purpose?” I asked. “Why kill so many for immortality when you already have it? What is it that you want?”
I really needed to know. I needed to know if there was something provoking him and causing him to do such atrocities. Maybe I could convince him not to do this. Perhaps change his mind.
I was willing to try. I would do anything to save humanity. There is no way this guy just woke up one day and decided to kill everyone and everything.
“You think this is about immortality? This is about power. This is
about overthrowing whoever is in charge. Destroying The Order is the first step to success. Without you getting in my way, Hell and Heaven will collapse, and sooner or later, there will be no higher power. I will be the only God in town. I’ll create my own worlds, my own hells, and my own kingdoms. It will eventually be all about me.” He had a foul grin.
This guy was seriously insane. It wasn’t about being a devil anymore. He wanted to be
THE DEVIL.
“Do you realize that if the order is destroyed, you can rest assured that more of these archangels will come looking for you, and they’re going to kill you,” I warned, trying to put some sense into him.
“They’ll make sure that never happens.” He pointed at my friends.
“You’re pathetic. No Book of Mythos is going to stop the wrath of the gods. You are making a huge mistake, and dude, you are going to be so screwed.” I shook my head in dismay.
He despised me more than ever.
His glares were piercing through my skull. I had to look away a few times. He was sure an intimidating guy. He got closer to me and I looked at Matheus, thinking he was going to kill me now.
“You know, I really wanted to be nice, and put you out of your misery, but now, it is way more satisfying to kill you last. This way, you’ll be forced to watch how I terminate this world you so passionately love. You have underestimated me for the last time, Ethasus. Now I’m going to show you what I am capable of because I’m not someone you want to screw with. Here is a little demonstration of what you’ll be witnessing in just a few hours. I think this should be fun to watch.”
He turned to the guys who were still standing there stalling. It’s like they weren’t even there or even conscious. He gave a command with his hand, and Larry woke up from idleness. He walked right past me and didn’t even acknowledge me. He walked towards my grandfather who was tied up next to Kate and Sarah.
“Larry?” I called “Larry, what are you doing?”
It was unexpected, I didn’t even see it coming. I couldn’t stop him, even if I wanted to. Larry punched my grandfather so hard in the chest that he flew up in the air and hit the wall. Seconds later he dropped to the floor.
“Pops?” I screamed. I ran to him and picked him up in my arms. He didn’t respond. I searched for a pulse but there was none. The force on his chest stopped his heart right away.
My grandfather was dead.
I was so shockingly disturbed, I couldn’t breathe. Even Matheus stood still.
Everything felt so different. I couldn’t move and my body couldn’t register. The only thing I could do was cry. I couldn’t help it. It was a horrible feeling. A feeling of sorrow and guilt. I was supposed to be strong, but this wasn’t fair. The pain in my chest was unbearable. Why him?
As I was sobbing, Larry headed for Kate next. He picked her up by her shirt. He was going to kill her too.
“Wait, Larry!” I ran to him, trying to stop him. “Don’t do this.”
He turned, and hit me square on the jaw. He almost knocked me out. I hit the floor disoriented.
He turned back to Kate, grabbed her by the throat and started choking her to death with one hand.
“Larry stop, please, don’t do this!”
I felt two hands grab me from behind. It was Satu.
“How does it feel?” he whispered in my ear. “You did this, Ethasus. You killed them.”
“No!” I screamed.
“Yes!” he teased, laughing
“Let go of me!”
I didn’t even have the energy to fight it anymore.
“Larry,” I pleaded while tears came out. I was crying again. There was nothing I could do to stop this madness. I watched hopelessly as my whole life changed drastically right before my eyes.
Kate was almost passing out. Matheus finally reacted and went after Larry while turning into a Phoenix again. He flew by Larry and with his wing, flung him up in the air. He landed on top of a few cyclops. Matheus instantly flew back to Kate and Sarah and carried my grandfather with his beak. He then grabbed both Kate and Sarah with his feet.
“Hurry Matheus! Get out of here!” I yelled. He flew off with them, getting them away from danger. A few cyclops went after them.
“They won’t escape me. They are going to die no matter what you do,” he mocked while letting go of my arms.
I turned and swung at him but he dodged all of my punches.
I wasn’t even swinging that hard to be honest. All I wanted was to keep him away from me.
“Get it through that little head of yours. You will not win this battle, boy.”
I wasn’t even listening anymore. He had done enough. My head was somewhere else and my emotions were out of control.
One moment, I was scared and sad, and another I was completely filled with rage. I was going to find a way to make him pay for this. This was far from over.
“Take him away,” Satu ordered.
Two Satunians walked towards me. They were going to grab my arms but I found an opening and ran inside the museum.
“Get him!” I heard Satu yell.
I made a few turns, remembering the room Lola had showed me before, and I ran inside The Gates of Hell.
I was back in Inferno.
The Army
“I can’t believe all of these people are Erick’s Army,” Craig exclaimed, looking at such multitude.
They were all in Madison Square Garden. They’d been preparing for this very day. Some of these people were born and raised on the island, the rest were regular New Yorkers and people from other parts of the world who decided to join after this whole thing went down. Injured men, women, and children were being attended on one side of the massive building, while most of them were heavily armed. They had an entire arsenal, which was being provided by hundreds of military personnel. Martial Law took over the city, and outside of the coliseum were about 20 war tanks. This army could wipe out the Satunians in minutes, but then again, they didn’t know what they were up against. They had to be extra cautious, since Satu would do anything to win.
There were people of authority at the center of the arena: Homeland Security, colonels, generals and other decision-making individuals from the State of New York. A few of them were talking directly to the President of The United States from a satellite phone.
Big monitors all over the coliseum were broadcasting the news. People from all over the world were talking about the destruction of New York. Some displayed demons attacking innocent people on live TV, and the destruction of the Chrysler building and bridges.
“Come on, we need to find my mother,” Clara said, trying to walk through the immense crowd. They followed her down to the center of the arena.
Once Clara and the rest finally made it to the center of the arena, they saw a lady wearing a red top and blue jeans. She seemed focused and determined but also stressed.
“Mom? Clara called. The lady turned, and soon as she saw her daughter, she smiled with joy and instantly hugged both Jack and Clara. She was very happy to see them, but her smile quickly disappeared when she realized that Erick wasn’t with them.
“Where’s Erick?”
“We were separated,” Clara answered, saddened.
“He was your responsibility.” Her voice changed.
“It wasn’t her fault,” Jack explained. “I’m the only one to blame. I hired unreliable people into my research and now all of this happened because I wasn’t careful enough.” He gave Nathan and Rebecca a mean glare.
“Yes, I know. You should’ve stopped searching for Satu a long time ago when we told you to,” she strictly scolded.
“Look, Christine. No one mentioned to me that my own son was The Chosen One. If I would’ve known this, I wouldn’t have put my son’s life at risk. His identity shouldn’t have been hidden from me, and as his father, I demand an explanation.”
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Christine stood quiet and didn’t respond. He was right though. If he had only known about Erick, none of this would’ve happened.
“I’m sorry, Jack. Harris and I made the decision after he was born, but as you can see, it was a terrible mistake.”
“Erick managed to find Dad in Paradise,” Clara informed her, trying to ease the situation.
“Harris?!” she said, surprised. "Have you heard from him?"
“Yes! Erick’s been with him and The Others this whole time,” Craig added.
“So he finally found The Others!” She smiled again.
Christine walked up to one of the news reporters that was at the arena, interviewing eyewitnesses. She asked them to broadcast a message live. When her face was brought up on the big screens, everyone in the coliseum went silent. She took a few minutes to start her speech. There was anticipation from both parties. Even Clara and Jack wanted to know what Christine was about to say. They knew this speech was going to be seen all around the world. All nations were going to have to fight together for the sake of planet Earth.
“Difficult times await,” she started. “I can only say that we must stay strong. We must come together as one. We mustn’t let the Satunians take away our freedom. Many of you might think this is all a dream. Unfortunately, it’s not. This is all real, and it’s happening to us right now. We are at war, against people who believe that coexisting with demons is the right way to live. You can see for yourself what they’ve done to our city in just hours. Imagine what these creatures will do to our planet within days. Our people will be enslaved, and many souls will be sacrificed. We cannot allow this, for our children’s sake. We Detarrunians have been trying to stop them for centuries, but each time, their numbers have grown. They’ve killed many of our people on Detarru Island and now, they are ready to do more damage in your cities. It’s not about the island anymore; it’s about taking over the entire world. If we don’t stop them now, this will turn into an apocalyptical event, which will change our lives forever. If the Satunians win, there is going to be a war between gods and devils.” She stopped for a second. Everyone was paying attention to her now.
“Christine? What happens when gods and devils fight each other?” one of the reporters asked in the back.
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