Anointed

by Sara B Gauldin

  Terra wiped her face with her sheet and then sat up. Brendan was snoring quietly on the fold-out couch across the room.

  “Elise?” Terra whispered.

  “I’m here,” Elise stood up from the tiny table and chairs set in the corner.

  “First thing in the morning, we’re leaving town.” Terra held out the letter to Elise.

  She carefully manifested her hands and took the letter. As she read her forehead creased. “I’m a little lost. You said something about Troy gathering the souls that had not converted to the Scourge. But why would he feel betrayed?”

  “Troy wanted to build an army to help me fight back. But I wanted him and the others to join together to stay safe. The Scourge came after everybody I was close to. I didn’t want them to get hurt more because of me. Those poor people already lost their bodies. I couldn’t ask them for anything more.”

  “An army? That is interesting.” Elise handed Terra the letter.

  “We have to go to that game,” Terra said. “If Azalea has anything planned that could hurt those people, we need to stop it.”

  “Isn’t the game near your hometown?” Elise asked.

  “It is. That's probably why they are counting on taking out so many scourges. Everywhere I visit triggers a huge increase in Scourge. I think it is Orthos’ way of reminding me that he can track me by counting the ones I destroy.”

  “If you grew up there, then I bet there is a bumper crop of new Scourge things.”

  “Troy was doing pretty well at pushing them out of the area. But with all the tourists coming to town for the big game, there’s no way they can stay ahead of the Scourge following them.”

  Elise glanced and Brendan’s sleeping form. “If they're drawing in that many scourges we will have our hands full.”

  “I think you’re right. Is there any way to track down the others in time? We will need all the help we can get.”

  “Maybe, but we will need a little outside help!” Elise said.

  “Who?”

  “If anyone knows where they are it is Halle. She has a talent for checking in on people. Perhaps she is more of a guide than we realized.”

  “Yes, I know she watched over Liam,” Terra said. “I could see the Tweens through her eyes sometimes when I dreamed. But lately, I haven’t been able to.”

  “That is strange,” Elise said. “I would like to know what is going on there.”

  “So would I,” Terra said. “If we can’t look in on Halle, we have to assume that she can see us.”

  “She did find you before you reached Liam, and we came to Earth.”

  “Then we have to hope she is looking now!” Terra went into the bathroom and rummaged through her cosmetics bag. She returned a moment later with a can of ladies shaving cream.

  “What in the world are you going to do with that?” Elise asked.

  “I’m going to write her a message that is big enough to be obvious.”

  “What will you write it on?” Elise asked.

  “The floor I guess,” Terra said. “I may not be getting my security deposit back for this room.” She kneeled on the floor and wrote 'Emergency, we need the others to come here' in large letters. The words took up most of the floor. As she finished her message in pale pinkish foam, the bottle sputtered, announcing its empty status.

  “I hope she sees that!” Elise hovered above the message to avoid smearing it.

  “Me too!” Terra said. “I’m going to try to get a little more sleep before daylight.”

  “That’s a good idea. You need to keep your strength up.”

  Terra tip-toed across the empty spaces in the letters on the floor and settled ungracefully on the bed. She lay down and closed her eyes. The memory of Liam and Carol crumpled against the boxes on a dirty tile floor filled her memory. Korin had put her in a situation where she had to act to wipe out the Scourge and to keep Troy’s followers from getting hurt. Liam needed her, but so did everyone else.

  I have to go to Korin. Maybe if I make a big enough disturbance, the Originator will slip up and give me a clue to where to find Liam!

  Chapter 40

  Halle rinsed her paintbrush in a cup of water on the table next to her seat. The blue pigment dropped through the clear water in a calming streak. It did not match Halle's mood, but she was determined to paint the calm she could not otherwise muster. Her painting was displayed on an oversized easel. She pushed her chair back and examined her work. She had perfectly captured a sunrise over the ocean that would happen very soon. After examining each hue and subtle influence of light and shadow as they interspersed on the canvas, she nodded her satisfaction with the piece and set the painting aside to dry.

  Finally, I can allow myself a quick peek into the mortal world.

  Halle took out the makeshift portal she had created to watch over Liam as he grew up in hopes of finding Terra. She still couldn’t believe that the Council of the One had allowed her to keep her contraband item without hesitation.

  Perhaps it is because they know taking it away would ask too much from me. I already lost Terra, my best friend to the mortal world and now Christopher has gone there as well.

  Halle's hand trembled slightly as she took the portal from the cabinet where she kept it. She carefully uncovered the small wooden frame holding what had once been her deepest secret. The portal was makeshift and crude. She had made it using the same art techniques she used to produce scenes of natural beauty and move them into the mortal world. She touched the canvas carefully. On command, an image began to form. Halle had the portal focused on Christopher. After he had arrived in the mortal world, she had watched him being attacked by Scourge creatures. The experience was horrendous, but assuring herself of his victories was all that allowed Halle to hold it together.

  After a moment, an image of Christopher appeared. He was sitting at a shabby table that appeared to be at a fast-food restaurant. Also at the table sat his fellow guides: Amity, Constance, and George. Halle was relieved to see that, for the moment, things seemed peaceful.

  “I think we've cleared out this town,” George said.

  “Did you find the charge you were hoping to reach?” Constance asked Christopher.

  “I did, but I was too late,” Christopher said. “There was nothing left of the person they once were. Lifetimes of careful improvements and personality were wiped out and replaced with the blackest grime of evil you can imagine.”

  “So you ended him yourself?” Amity said.

  Christopher looked down at a napkin he had begun to fidget with on the table. “What choice did I have?”

  “None and you shouldn’t dwell on it,” George said. “We knew when we came here that we may not be able to save our charges. At least we know what happened to them now. That's something. It's better than thinking they’re disappearing into nothing. At least we're here trying to do something about it!”

  “We are. But are we really making much of a difference? Sure we cleaned out this town. The people here are safe for the moment. But as soon as we go to the next spot the Scourge will try to start to spread here as well.” He shuddered. “It's getting worse.”

  “That’s because it is,” Constance said. “It's like cancer. One or two cells make a few more. Then they, in turn, produce a few more while the first few are still busy propagating themselves. Pretty soon the third wave is ready to ensnare others while the first two sets are still adding others as well.”

  “We came here thinking we could make a difference but are we, really?” Amity asked.

  "I'm not sure. Maybe if we could stop them at the source, then we could have a chance to save the other charges," Christopher said.

  Halle sighed, at least Christopher was safe for now, but how much loss and destruction could he take?

  ~~~~~~~~~

  Halle looked in on Terra in hopes of seeing some improvement in her friend. The last few times Halle had been able to view her she had been in bad shape. The mortal world was taking its toll on Terra between expl
osions, surgery, and neglect she heaped on the physical body in the name of battling forward.

  The portal blurred and rippled as Halle turned it to see her old friend. There was no denying that while still young and pretty, Terra now looked more gaunt and tired. Black circles appeared around her eyes as she slept. Halle gasped as she noticed another change. As Terra’s hair cascaded over her pillow, a long gash along her scalp was revealed.

  "Now, what have you gotten yourself into!" Halle panned around the room. She noticed Brendan sleeping in Liam’s mortal body not far away on the couch. Elise curled up in a chair reading a magazine. As Halle repositioned the portal to check in on Terra one last time she spotted something strange. There was a trail of foamy letters scrawled across the carpet. She moved the portal to try to get a better vantage point on the words.

  Emergency, we need the others to come here!

  Terra is sending me a message! Elise and Brendan knew I was using the portal to check in on Liam and Terra. They saw my portal when we visited the Council. Do they want me to send Christopher and the others to them? Or do they mean to ask the Council to send the other guides to Earth? What if they think the Council still has the portal? This message may be for them and not for me!

  Halle stood up; covering the portal with the fabric she used to protect it. She rushed out of her tiny home, and toward the council chambers at a speed that would be a blur to human eyes. Something told her that she could not afford to waste any time.

  ~~~~~~~~

  “Show me what you saw?” the Councilwoman Weslyn's voice reverberated off the crystal walls of the empty council chambers. The council was not in session. The elders of the council took shifts manning the pinnacle of the Tweens one at a time so that the others could pursue other interests.

  Halle held out the make-shift portal. Weslyn read the request for help written in shaving foam with a grave expression. “What can I do?” Halle asked.

  “You already did the right thing. We have no way to ask for clarification. “We have to assume that Terra means that she needs the other earthbound guides.”

  “And if she means more help than them?” Halle asked.

  “Then we will watch carefully, and decide if more reinforcements are needed,” Weslyn said.

  “How can we tell them where she is?” Halle asked.

  “You can locate Terra’s group and the other guides with your little creation?” The councilwoman gestured towards the image of Terra sleeping.

  “I can,” Halle admitted.

  “Then it’s possible that we have some options.” Weslyn smiled, and for a moment Halle thought she saw a mischievous glimmer in her eyes.

  Chapter 41

  The humming sound was somewhere between a groan of pain and the cry of a child. Carol had been keeping to herself for hours. As much as Liam hated the darkness of the hood and the silence of the storage room, the unnatural sound was not an improvement.

  “Carol? Mom?”

  The humming continued.

  “I know you can hear me because I can hear you just fine. Are you alright?”

  Carol’s humming paused for a moment and then continued as before.

  “Please mom, you and I are in this together. I know this whole situation is messed up. I need you with me, so we can figure this out. There has to be a way to get help.”

  The humming stopped abruptly. Silence followed.

  “Please, I need your help, mom. I… I’m scared. Some kids go to their mom when they have a nightmare, but I’m stuck in one, and I need you to help me!”

  “You… need me?” Carol asked. Her voice sounded hoarse.

  “Of course, I do. My entire human lifetime I wondered what it would be like to have my mother with me, to be able to know you and do all the things sons do with their mothers.”

  “I was there!” Carol hissed. “I was not the one who left you alone.”

  “I know that you watched over me. It wasn’t fair. You lost your body, and things were never the way they were meant to be.”

  “She left you to suffer. She let you suffer for her and left you.” Carol’s voice rose and fell as she spoke making it difficult to tell if her words were meant as a question or an accusation.

  “You mean Terra? I don’t think that was why she left. She thought the Scourge would leave me alone if she stayed away.”

  “How can you hold back the ocean with a sandbar? It wears away.”

  “What do you mean?” Liam asked.

  “We're part of it all. You need to understand.”

  “I don’t. We have to keep trying to get free and get Terra here. Somehow we have to end this.”

  “End; there is no end, only pain. We can only become part of the pain.” Carol began to rock back and forth.

  “Don’t say that! There is so much more to life than pain.”

  “My life was taken. My death was taken. Now we've both been taken! I will end this.”

  Liam tried to reach for his mother with hands still bound together. “I know things have been bad, but you see it now. This has to end. We have to get out of here. We have to try!”

  “It ends with Terra!” Carol shrieked.

  “Shhh, the guards will come back. We have to find a way to let Terra know where we are. I know she can help us.”

  “But who will help her?” Carol asked.

  “Well, we will!” Liam said.

  Carol started to laugh a wheezy chuckle that grew to a sickly cackle. “Help her; I’ll help her one last time,”

  Liam cringed as a strange shiver ran through him. He had a sinking feeling that something was wrong with Carol, but how could he help her if they were both imprisoned?

  An electric popping interrupted Liam’s thought.

  Orthos placed a clawed hand on Liam’s shoulder. “I'm so glad you are willing to hear reason, Carol.”

  She snarled in response.

  “Get away from me,” Liam demanded. The scent of decay filled the room.

  “Liam, my guest, why must you be so rude?” Orthos taunted.

  “Let us go,” Liam said. “You have no reason to keep us here!”

  “I have every reason. Terra needs to know what it feels like to lose, and not to get what she really wants.”

  “Yes!” hissed Carol. Her rocking began again, jostling Liam as she moved.

  “She will find you, keeping us here guarantees she will hunt you down!” Liam said.

  “Oh, that would be a fun visit. But I doubt she will make it by tonight. I sent her an invitation to the championship game that I bet she can’t refuse!” Orthos slowly circled the pair who were seated back to back on the cement floor.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Liam. He struggled against the strange binding cords that held his hands and feet.

  “I sent a nice little army to officiate the big game. With that kind of crowd, it should make for a very interesting turnout.” Orthos chuckled to himself as he bent down and hooked his claw-like finger through the cords holding the bag over Liam’s face.

  Liam flinched and tried to move away from Ortho’s touch. “Get your hands off me!” he threatened.

  “Don’t be so hasty, a little light may improve your mood!” Orthos untied the knot holding the bag and pulled it back like a traditional hood in one fluid motion.

  Liam found himself almost nose to nose with Orthos. His gray skin and blackened eyes stood out in stark contrast to Liam’s youthful features. “Why do you…”

  Before he could complete his question, Orthos yanked the bag back over his face. “That should work perfectly! A little distraction right before the big game and Terra still has everything riding on her!”

  “What are you talking about?” shouted Liam.

  “The hood blocks Terra from feeling your thoughts and feelings. Bartus told me today that the fabric was infused with a little extra something that keeps your guide from tracking you.”

  “It won’t matter. Terra won’t let you take over all those people. She'll stop you.”r />
  “Fool, you think a human girl can take on an army of the Scourge. They will kill her, and we will both be free of her!”

  “I don’t believe you!” Liam shouted.

  “You don’t have to,” Orthos said as he slammed the door behind him.

  Chapter 42

  “We have the stadium surrounded,” Scott said. Troy’s second in command sounded overly eager to engage with the Scourge.

  “That’s good. I wish there was a way we could carry a radio. It's going to be hard to coordinate everyone.” Troy put his hand to his brow, shielding his eyes from the sun as he tried to catch a glimpse of more of his small army.

  Scott grinned. “That’s true, We will have to depend on messengers, just like they did during the Civil War, and the Revolutionary War.”

  “That will invite more risk for anyone who is sent out alone,” said Troy. “I don’t like it. If everyone follows orders and just keeps the Scourge in the stadium, then we will all stay safer.

  “It feels like we should be in there. Azalea is old, and Korin can only help her so much.”

  “The formula doesn’t care if you are corrupted or not. I won’t send everybody I'm trying to protect to their destruction to help Azalea. She's choosing to do this. It's her formula and her plan. We're going to do our part. The Scourge should go in with no help; it is going to be a human buffet in there with all the fans packing the stadium. Once the formula is spraying down on them, they're going to want to leave in a hurry. We have to keep them in.” He ran his fingers through his hair as he spoke, looking up at the massive stadium from the alleyway where his group of twenty followers was concealed.

  “They'll all get what they deserve,” Scott said.

  “We're going to be outnumbered; I hope Azalea has it together. We can fend off a Scourge, but it's not like we can take them to jail or do any permanent damage.

  “Is she here yet?” Scott asked. He looked toward the front entrance.