Rise of the Death Walkers (The Circle of Heritage Saga)

by Lawrence Nason Jr.

  Later I blamed my own arrogance for what happened next. Xilis dropped all attempts to shield himself from our onslaught and poured every ounce of mental energy at the focal point of the giant merge we had formed. I felt the raw power he was capable of and before I knew it he had forced me from the merge with his attack. I felt cut off from my family who were scrambling to figure out what had happened. I dropped to my knees and was immobilized.

  The blast Xilis tossed at me literally scrambled every thought I was capable of. I could not bring my shield around my mind to protect myself from the surge after surge of mental energy he tossed at me. Blood gushed from my eyes, mouth, and ears as a result of the attacks. Xilis then proceeded to blast me mentally until I could no longer hold consciousness. Before I blacked out I noticed my grandfather taking over the focal point of the main merge and felt a shield snap into place that protected me from the final blast Xilis cut loose with.

  When I saw my grandson pressed so brutally from the merge, I knew what I had to do. I seized control of the mega merge and ordered everyone to shift their focus on me. ‘Moevin, shield Jason or he is dead!” I gathered the merger around me and shot out a giant bolt of energy to attempt to immobilize Xilis/unknown. Without Jason as the focal point our merge was clumsy. We did however draw Xilis’s attention from the brutal attack on my grandson’s mind.

  I maintained the merge and continued where Jason had left off. I felt how Moevin had moved into the position to shield Jason but at what cost? She absorbed the first lash of energy from Xilis but just before we could draw his attention off Jason, the being lashed out again and literally burnt out every neuron in Moevin’s brain. I could sense her dying as Xilis turned his attack to my merge.

  We had to terminate this brutal life force. I gathered the merge and continued the process of burning out the mind of the opposing merge. We were about seventy percent complete when we felt his mind being seized from our control. Something had reached out and saved Xilis from annihilation.

  With the removal of resistance from Xilis the merge stabilized and I asked Katie to have a look at Moevin.

  ‘Grandfather,’ I could hear the tears in her mental tone, ‘She is gone. She gave her life to protect Jason.’

  The news of Moevin’s sacrifice deeply disturbed me. I kept on asking myself if I had pushed Jason’s too fast? If we had waited for a longer period of time would it have made a difference?

  ‘I’m sorry that we lost Moevin. Her sacrifice will never be forgotten. What about Jason? How is he?’

  There was hesitation in the thoughts I received from Katie. ‘I am not sure Grandfather. He is bleeding pretty badly. This might be beyond anything our own medical ability can handle.’

  ‘Bring him back to the compound as fast as possible. Amanda will have to take a look at him and we can bring in someone from the Barmin’s as soon as possible’ My thoughts were racing to figure out just who we could call in for this. Then I remembered that Haevan had just been sent over to the States to undertake Jenna’s training. We would have to bring him back and see what he could do to save Jason. ‘I will see you once you arrive at the compound. Do what you have to do keep Jason alive until you can get him here.’

  The merger broke and Katie and I were left alone in the room with Jason bleeding on my lap.

  “What can we do Katie? I don’t want to lose him too.” Was a repeat of Tom going to happen to me again?

  “Don’t worry Irma, Mimi is sending a helicopter to us right now, to pick us up.” Katie said putting down the phone. “We won’t lose him.” Her voice sounded determined but there was a touch of doubt hidden behind it.

  In the lucid moments I had during the time I was being transported from the compound in Italy to Frankfort, I learned that my family had taken over the attack on Xilis as Moevin struggled to protect me from the attacks I was bombarded with. The Xilis/Unknown entity fled Earth in a panic and his organization in Europe was completely broken. Thousands of Artillians who were merged with human minds fled the European theater in small ships the enemy had managed to construct during the time they were in power.

  The fight for the European theater was bloody and my brother Ricky, who had arrived from the States had been a driving force in preventing the enemy from winning.

  Ricky looked out over the battlegrounds and wondered if his brother truly was recovering the way his grandfather had told him earlier in the day.

  “Take first and second battalion to the left flank. I am going to check on the other battalions we sent to the right.” I shifted into the form of a hawk and took off from the hill where we had been standing.

  The freedom of flight was pure ecstasy to me. I shifted into a flying form as often as I could. I could see the men spread out below me. They were under constant barrage from light artillery that was spread out in front of them. I inspected the line of light artillery below me and figured there was something I could do about it.

  I switched direction letting the wind carry me high. The I dove for the start of the artillery line below. Just before I was about five feet above the ground I shifted into the form of a tusked African elephant and began mowing the line of light artillery down. The men in front of me screamed in terror at the sight of a thirteen ton elephant baring down on them. I pushed the light artillery out of the way and in many cases demolished them beyond the ability to be repaired in the field.

  Once I reached the end of the line I transformed into the form of a sparrow. I was small and hard to target. I stayed in that form until I was halfway back to friendly lines and then shifted into the form of an American Bald Eagle. The sight of their national emblem souring above them encouraged all of the American troops down below. I could see them take a fresh grip on their weapons and push ahead.

  I landed and transformed back to my own form standing right next to General Nathan Blackthorn. “Nicely done Ricky.” he said to me.

  “That was a nice piece of work you pulled earlier today too Nathan.” I said, “I am glad Jason decided it would be better to have you on our side. The initial plan had been to kill the entity outright.”

  Nathan looked down and replied, “I know and I am aware of the sacrifice your brother made to save me. I do know that I have a reason, more than other men, to rid this planet of the aliens once and for all. I am grateful beyond words for what your brother did for me.” He drew a deep breath, looked at the advancing line ahead and continued, “Any good news concerning Jason’s condition?”

  I shook my head. “Everything is touch and go right now. Mimi has all she can do to stem the bleeding and Haevan needs a couple more hours before he arrives. The best anyone can do is keep him on life support until the real help arrives.”

  He placed his hand on my shoulder and said, “Jason and your entire family are in my prayers. If there is an all powerful one out there,” He waved toward the heavens, “Then he will hear my prayers and spare Jason. Heaven knows we need him if we are going to win this fight.”

  I had to know. “What was it like? You know, being controlled by a Death Walker?”

  Nathan shook his body as if warding off something terrible. “I felt helpless in my own mind. It felt as if I were being crowded into one small corner of my existence. I could still see what was going on around me, but beyond that I could do nothing to stop what was happening to me. My own body would not listen to what my mind was screaming for it to do. I knew If I could just manage to wrest control for just a moment I could end it all and kill the being inside me. If not kill the being at least prevent him from using my body to commit the evil things I saw being committed.”

  I turned my attention back to the battle going on in front of us. Most of the beings had fled from the bodies they had been feeding on. What we saw in front of us was a last ditch effort on the part of the aliens who remained behind, to wrest control from the rightful owners of the local government. All across Europe similar fights were going on. One by one humankind was winning and coming to the table of diplomatic discussion.


  This table was being chaired currently by my grandfather. Through our frequent communication with our minds he was able to keep me informed. One after another the leaders of the European lands were realizing they could not face the danger alone. The actual suggestion to combine Europe under on centralized government came from the members of the European Union itself.

  When the conference, which was taking place in Berlin, started getting members of various Asian countries my grandfather realized just how scared the people were getting.

  My grandfather began the process of consolidating all of the Governments in Europe to one form of government with the main seat in Germany. We had learned as a world full of individual governments we were wide open to an attack from any enemy. The new nation was named the Pan-European Alliance. Many people began to shorten the name to Paneuro and soon that became the widely known name for the new country.

  Chapter 27 - Return from the Abyss

  I lay in a condition that drifted between consciousness and unconscious for several weeks after the conclusion of the operation. The attack from Xilis had been deep and devastating. It took time for my mind to recover from the attacks. They hardly left my side during the time I lay there. I was fed through tubes and they performed exercises to insure that my muscles did not collapse from lack of use.

  The experience must have been frustrating for Katie because she usually showed up in the times I was not conscious.

  On the day I began to emerge from the depths of confusion, I heard Katie’s voice first. “Oh my loving husband Jason. You need to get out of the hospital. Your daughter Mia needs you and you have a young lady you need to get married to.

  Mentally I was scrambled and her words came to me slowly and distorted. I felt pressure on my hand which she was holding and tried to find the right mental command to squeeze my own hand and return the pressure. I was terrified when I could not find it. I felt as if I was swimming in frozen molasses and all mental facilities were sluggish. I lay there attempting to concentrate on regaining the link between my brain and my body.

  I was there and not there at the same time. My mind seemed to be disconnected from my body. I heard Mimi talking to my family trying to explain what was likely to happen. “The final attack from the Xilis/unknown merge seem to have disconnected Jason’s mental facilities completely and no attempt I have made to communicate with him has succeeded.”

  “What are the chances he will recover from this? “I heard Irma asking.

  Only silence was the reply she received. Then I heard Katie say. “Jason will recover Irma, You have to believe that. I know of nobody who has a stronger in the will to survive than Jason. He will come back to us it’s just a question of when.”

  Mimi began. “Katie I don’t think....”

  “NO, “ Katie shot back forcefully, “Jason will come back to us. Of that, I’m sure.”

  I tried to find the mental commands to speak but there were lost in the scrambled quagmire that was my brain. I wandered through my mind looking for the way out of it and listened to everything that happened in the outside world. I began organizing and collecting the components of my brain and placing them in the correct order. After what seemed to be an eternity I finally managed to find the proper commands in my brain to move one finger. Irma was there that night. When I moved my finger she screamed to the others to come. “Move it again baby” she said after a while and I did as she requested.

  The next thing that happened could only be described as total chaos in the room. There were so many of the family in the room I was hard to sort out what was going on. I felt Mimi, and Katie attempting to communicate with me in mind - speak but I could not reply because I had not found the way to do that yet. I wandered some more and over the next few weeks I recovered much of the control over my upper body.

  Irma was in the room when I managed to regain control of my speech. I could talk manually but still could not mind-speak. “Water please.” I requested in a harsh whisper. My throat was as dry as the Sahara desert.

  Irma looked up from the book she was reading.”Did you just say something Jason?” She leaned closer to me.

  “Water please.” I repeated this time slightly louder than before.

  “Oh Jason!” She exclaimed. “Of course you can have water. She reached over and pressed the call button for the nurses. Then she walked over to the sink and got me a glass of water.

  The nurse rushed into the room and said. “Yes Irma, is there something you need?”

  “Yes, call General White and tell him that Jason is speaking. I am sure he will alert the rest of the family. And bring a lot of ice water Jason will need it to soothe his raw throat.”

  “Ok, I will be right back,” the nurse replied.

  Irma returned to my side with the glass and held it for me as I drank it. I drank the whole glass and then a second one she got for me before I attempted to speak again. “I hear you need a groom for an upcoming wedding. Is the position still open for me?”

  She squealed in delight as I said that and said. “It’s always been yours love. It’s so good to hear your voice again.”

  I smiled at her and reached for the glass to drink again. My fingers were not strong enough to hold the glass and it slipped from my fingers shattering on the floor as it hit. “Oops. I guess I have a lot of work to do.”

  Irma laughed and said as she started to clean up the mess I had made. “That’s ok, Jason. You have been away for a long time. It’s natural for your body to be so weak. I am just so happy you are back with us.”

  “How long was I out of it?” I asked.

  “About four weeks.” a new voice I did not recognized said. “Allow me to introduce myself. Doctor Albert Smith. I am the physician in charge of your recovery team.”

  “Recovery team? Who needs... Is someone sick?” I was having trouble maintaining focus on what was being said.

  I noticed Mimi and Katie exchanging glance. But then I forgot who they were.

  “Who are all these people? Why am I here?” I started getting aggravated.

  Suddenly everything was clear again.

  “I have a team of doctors taking care of me?” I asked confused.

  “Well General White insisted that his grandson have the best care. We have doctors of various specialties working here from several different nationalities.” Dr. Smith replied. He glanced at Mimi and shook his head.

  “Seems like I am a bit out of touch.” I replied.

  “Well Pasche if you insist on sleeping for weeks that tends to happen. Next time ask for a vacation before you wander off in your mind.” Grandpa Sam entered the room with a big grin on his face. “Welcome back Jason we were worried you might not be able to find the way back to us.”

  I struggled to place the face of the new person who entered the room. I felt like I should know this man. I started to remember some things.

  “Did the mission fail?” I asked with some apprehension.

  “No lad. We managed to clear the vermin out of the European theater. Which is now under a centralized government known as the Pan European Alliance or Paneuro, which in itself is confusing since we have all of the Asian nations under the same umbrella. People finally realized just how foolish it is to be separate. We still have the North American, South American Continent and Africa to clean up but the buggers are all gone from here.”

  “I thought we had failed because of me.” I said mournfully.

  Grandpa Sam reached out and lightly cuffed me on the shoulder. “Jason enough of that. If anyone else had been the focal point of the merge we would have lost them to the attack that Xilis leashed on you. You managed to hold his attention long enough for us to extract the information that we needed before he was transported out of our reach. We did manage to begin the process of mind burning him so I believe it will be a long time before we hear from him again. But we have a greater worry now. The enemy leader of the North American Coalition is a merged being known as Klnet.. This Klnet is supposed to be worse t
han Xilis was. We are getting reports or atrocities being committed on the population there that make even my stomach turn.”

  “I have to get out of this bed so we can continue. We can’t let them get too entrenched in the region.” I tried to swing my feet out of bed only to get caught in the covers. “Can someone help me get this blasted blanket off my legs?”

  “Whoa son slow down there you have a lot of recovering to do before you get sent anywhere. We have to solidify our control on this area first before we can move out to any other region. As of now you are on paid medical leave until the doctors clear you for duties.” Grandpa Sam cleared his throat and started again. “Son, you are not going to like this next piece of news. We lost Moevin in the operation.”

  “What!” I exclaimed. “How did this happen?” The tears began rolling down my cheeks, streaming from my eyes. Moevin was someone special to me and I could not believe she was gone.

  “When Xilis focused his attack on you and Moevin saw you mentally collapse, she took her group in and shielded you from the worst of the attacks for a while. She saved your life by sacrificing hers. Once she was in shielding you she broke the merge from her group and took the brunt of the initial attack. When she fell, he returned his attention to you and by then we had extracted the information from him and began to mind burn him he was snatched from us. I can only assume the enemy has some form of long range transportation available and they risked us discovering this information by trying to save Xilis. I don’t think Xilis is of much used to them right now because we mind burned seventy percent of his mind before they got him away from us.”