The Codex of the Knights of Day - 5. Chapter 4: Tears

Chapter 4: Tears
I woke up on the sofa, with the view of Jensen and Casey burning something in my front yard. A wave of nausea hit me hard enough to push my back down. I smelled eggs and bacon cooking in the kitchen, and Sandra had to be cooking, no one else was here in the house, making all the fucking noise.

King stood next to her, waiting for something to fall to the floor while his dog food just sat in the bowl. I never met such a meticulous dog. “Good morning.” Casey said too loudly.

I waved back, narrowing my eyes at the bright flashlight. “What time is it?” I sound like a drunk.

“11:43 a.m. on December 24, 2012.” Fuck me, it was Christmas Eve. I forgot my presents in my dorm room too.

Sandra popped out of kitchen with a plate in her hands. “Here you go.”

I gave the plate to King, who went crazy. “I don’t eat eggs.” I went to fix myself the breakfast of champions, cereal. “So, what are you and why are those things after you?”

Casey mood changed instantly, “She’s my sister!”

“I know she’s your sister but she’s not human, at least not anymore.” The Fruit Loops were a bit stale, but the marshmallows were still good.

Sandra sat next to Casey, “I’m one of them.”

“You turn into a twisted burn victim with deformed shoulders?” Jensen was trying to be witty, not working so much.

She glared at him. “No, I’ve maintained my humanity so I won’t turn into one of those things, but the leader wants me because of my spell.”

I nodded, pouring myself a bowl of Cookie Crisp damn it was stale too. “The exploding power is valuable.” I wonder if this is going to become a regular.

“Have you always had this power?” Jensen took the words right out of my mouth.

Her eyes glazed over as she looked at her memory. “No, it happened the night before last.” She turned to Casey. “The monsters just came out of nowhere. First, just the black ones-.”

“Demons.” I supplied.

“First, the demons came, attacking everyone. After a while, the burned one, abominations moved through the city, and started using magic on everyone but the leader saw me and Mom using magic and he captured us.” She said, “He took us to the Arena, but Dad helped me get away.”

Maybe my mother was still alive. “Where are there others?”

She smiled. “Yes, most of the city is there.”

“No, no, I mean people like you.” If I’m right then it would all make since.”

No one was following my train of thought apparently. “Uh, yeah, but a few of them turned into abominations.”

My brain kicked into overdrive, putting all the pieces together: The places where the domes keep popping up, the people in the domes, and the recruiting. “Oh my God.” They all jumped, expecting an attack. “Calm down, I just understand everything now.”

Jensen frowned, still not understanding it. “What?”

“Think about it. The first dome appeared with Caleb, the second with me and the third with Sandra. In each, people are turned into demons and in this one a lot have been turned into abominations.” I wasn’t getting anything from them. Does no one play war games anymore? “The domes cover areas that have the biggest chance to overthrow them so before anyone learns their powers, they attack and bring them over to the dark side or kill them.” My face lost all color as my brain finished working the problem. “This is a war and they’re hitting our best chance of survival fast and hard.” I stood up and sighed. “We have to hurry and destroy this one before we lose too many people.”

Casey stood next to me. “Are you sure you can fight? You look the worst out of all of us.”

He was right I did look the worst. But I did just finished saving a few people, healing Aaron, messing up my synchronization rate by constantly summoning Hellion’s abilities, not eating much, and killing abomination all within a very short time period. At this moment, I as useful as a human, I should rephrase that. I’m on the same level as Casey.

I faked a smile because I sure in the hell didn’t feel walking upstairs to change clothes much less facing another and more prepared demon leader. “I have enough guns for this.” I need to have enough strength to summon the ring to cut the man’s head off. “We have an hour and half to get ready, don’t ask why I’ve given us that time, and just go with it. In this, I want you do whatever it is that you do to get yourself ready, dance, listen to music, sleep, pray, cry, jack off,” Casey blushed, “just make yourself calm. And just remember, save as many people as you can and don’t die.”

Everyone went on their separate way except me. I followed Jensen to my room; I hope he would talk to me. Jensen stopped and turned around. “Is there something you need?”

I felt so stupid for apologizing, I had every right to do what I did but why do I feel bad about it. I silenced the sigh that was about to come out of my mouth. “I’m sorry.” God, what type of apology was that. “What I did last night was uncalled for and-.”

Jensen being the bigger person said, “No, you had every right. I should have-.”

He’s doing that on purpose, I’m telling you. He’s making me seem like the bad person. We all know I’m the bad person. “Don’t apologize when you did nothing wrong. Caleb was the type of person that comes around only so often that I can’t try to stake claims in your memories of him. Whatever happened between-.”

He did the strangest thing next; he pressed his fingers against my lips and hugged me. “You can cry if you want.” My numbing mask suddenly broke and my body went limb and tears ran free from my eyes. My body was betraying it. I wanted it to stop.

We both cried for the majority of the time. Well, I was me really cry and him wiping my tears away. It felt good to cry, to let everything out. The surprising thing was that I didn’t get a headache. I wanted to mad at him for making me cry but I couldn’t be, it was just awkward. We both got dressed; he put his body armor back on and gave me an extra bulletproof vest. I know we weren’t going up against guys with bullets but it still might save me from claws.

Jensen and I was the first downstairs. Sandra was still blow-drying her hair and Casey was, you know, ‘indisposed’ at the moment. I was joking but he wasn’t. “Are you really wearing that?” Jensen was about to laugh.

I looked at my clothes, t-shirt, jeans and the vest. “What’s wrong with it?”

He pointed to my t-shirt. “The bright blue 80’s techno shirt with highlighted skull headphones on it.”

“It seems fine to me.” I was my favorite shirt. I admit a lot people gave me looks when I wore it and when I bought it but it was cool shirt.

Sandra snickered walking down the stairs in skinny jeans, brown leather boots, I couldn’t see what see was wearing under the leather jacket but overall she looked good. “You’re really wearing that?”

“There is nothing wrong with my shirt.” They kept laughing. “Fine, what should I wear?”

Jensen pulled by my shirt back upstairs. “You want to wear a neutral color. We don’t need you to stick out more than you already do.” I took offense to that. “I meant the mark on your forehead.” He started rummaging through my closest as I looked at my pictures.

Most were from my life in Louisiana, my dad’s family, my mother’s father family, then just my mother, great grandmother, and nana, and lastly, Caleb and his friends. Over time they became our friends, the pictures showed how we began to get closer. Finally, the last picture I have with my Caleb before he became Marine Caleb. It was one that my mother took, ruining the last night he was here.

He was shirtless, climbing on top of me. The curve of his back made the muscles stand out and how his ass looked perfect in those jeans. I was under him, propped up on my elbows with this look of fear in my eyes, fear of him leaving me. He promised me his heart. He promised his heart would be beating when he came back.

The next picture was he in his Dress Blues, a royal blue jacket with gold cap buttons with an ivory white belt that usually went around the stomach and blue pants with a red blood stripe that went along the stitching on the pants and glossy black shoes. His pretty sandy blond hair was cut short with only a little of the top called a High & Tight.

“Aiden, are you okay?” Jensen had to see the photos the whole time he was there. God, I’ve been a dick this whole time.

I sniffed, pushing the pressure in my eyes away. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He handed me a black short sleeve button down. I had two like it, one black and the other one was cowboy-ish. Stop talking about me; I think it looked okay when I was 14.

Jensen checked out my body as I changed. Not in a sexual way but how all guys look at another, just to see. “That’s better.”

I rolled my shoulder, trying to make it fit better. “This is a year old; it’s a bit tight around the chest.”

Jensen smiled. “Good, now you look like a hero.”

Casey was the last downstairs after he made a trip the bathroom to wash his hands after I asked what the smell was. It’s something you never forget, ever.

I scrolled through my IPod and picked the Bitter playlist by Flyleaf. I was nervous as hell. The Verision Arena was like most arenas, built in a circle. There was multiple entrances, exits, stairways, hiding places, ambush spots and the four of us were going in there alone. I tried to summon Hellion but all I got was a black clad foot. The leader had to know we were coming; we’re the only people not in the Arena.

Jensen tapped me on the shoulder, motioning to turn down the music. “Sandra wants us to pray.”

My first reaction was to laugh, I mean, I do pray just never in front of people. “Okay.” It was all I could say. Casey looked just as uncomfortable about the whole idea as everyone else did.

We joined hands outside the building, bowing our heads deeply. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Moreover, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever,” And then Sandra went on with scenarios she hoped God would protect us from, very long and complicated scenarios. The “amen” came like ten minutes later though I had to admit I felt a little more secure.

I turned my headphones back on, cocked my gun and sighed. Jensen summoned Sparky and cocked his gun; Casey put on his night vision and cocked his gun and Sandra casted her combustion spell. Her power stayed active until she ended it. I turned to everyone and smiled, “Just don’t die.”

As soon as we entered the Arena, the demons howled a furious storm with yellow eyes lighting the darkness and all hell broke loose. They came out in droves, jumping faster than my eyes could see. Sandra stood in front and waved her hands in a general gesture and the air exploded in fantastic colors, killing most of them. Strain was clear on her face as we shot the living ones.

She walked behind us again, panting. “Don’t except that again, at least for a while.”

We began to move through as band of bullets, explosions, and lights. In this fight, Sandra was our most valuable weapon and the demons knew that. They swarmed around Sparky, being bashed in the face trying to get to Sandra. Casey and I stayed in the back alongside them, firing in anything that got too close. The kickback from the semi-automatic in hands forced me to kneel to use it or I would’ve tripped, I didn’t like guns, I wanted Hellion and his blades.

As time went on, we moved slower and the pressure of demons grew worse when we made it to the gates. I kept running out of bullets, having to resort to Karate that was rusty and badly executed. Casey saw me but he couldn’t do anything unless he wanted to be eaten or turned.

I steeled myself, swinging the empty gun to my back and tried to replicate Hellion’s movements. I became nothing but blurs of kicks and punches. Somehow, the telekinesis that was Hellion’s imperfect form came out in my attacks. Jensen was doing the best of the group, dodging and shooting all at once. It was quite beautiful really. He spun to the right and kicked outward, breaking the demon’s neck then he spun back in place to stab another in the heart with his boot knife. Sandra’s status fluctuated between tired and energetic. The black snow flew into her every time she used her spell; it was what made Sparky and Hell appear.

The more I fought, the more I started to remember training, the more I felt alive, sailing through the air in a fury of high kicks and aerial roundhouses called a Swallow Strom and that was the last of my knowledge and majority of my reserve strength, adrenaline can’t stay on forever. “Jensen, I need your knife!”

He threw one at me, point-heading straight for my chest before a demon caught it in its eye. “Thanks.” I said but I doubt he could hear me over the roars of the demon swarm.

After all of our grenades and shotguns were used, Casey ran out of bullets. The shock on his faces told me one thing, death. A demon rushed up, knocking his empty gun out of his hands. I threw the knife at it but I have no experience doing it so it hit a different demon entirely. My heart fell into my stomach when it raised its claws ready to make a downwards arch that would slice him open.

“Exist! Fire blast!” A woman cried out and a flowing stream of fire hit the demon in the back burning him to black ash. She ran to Casey with tears of a mother, cradling him in her chest. “Thank God, you’re alive.”

Five more people came out murmuring their own spells into existence and the demons caught fire, different types of fire but fire nonetheless. They halted, growling with claws stretched, wanting to kill us so bad but something was calling them back. They had to obey and so they did running back to their master.

I dropped down, panting like the rest of us. “Sandra, I love you.” I whispered to her. She smiled, remembering this was one of the scenarios she went over. I let out a loud belly laughed and soon the other followed except the adults who thought we were on some type of drug.

Casey’s mom walked over to me, pulling my head up. “Who are you?”

I saluted her, still panting. “I am Aiden Florence, a Knight. The military guy over there is my Squire, your daughter’s my sorceress, and your son’s my bodyguard. And we’re save everyone but you ruined that.” I think my brain stopped working, I could tell because Casey stared at me with his mouth open.

“You must be Alice’s son.” She replied with a light tone.

I stood up immediately. “Where is she?”

We followed Casey’s mother and the other witches to the small ballroom that was on the southwest side of the Arena. Only about a hundred people were there, wounded and bleeding. The last time I was here about 50 people were here for a Christmas ball thing and now it was extremely tight. I saw her strawberry blonde hair in a tight curly ponytail. Blood was on her body but none of it was hers, she placed her hands on small boy whose arm had been all but ripped off and the same orange light that I had flowed out of her and into his arm but the same wound didn’t inflict her.

“Mama,” I could only whisper but she heard my words and turned around. Butterflies were ready to burst from my heart as she ran to me. Her small dainty arms went around my back, trying to crush me into her. I forgot how to hug for a moment then my hands went around her. God, she felt so warm, so healthy, so alive. I felt so small in her arms that I actually fell to my knees, listening to her heartbeat, strong and irregular.

She fell with me patting my head, “I know, baby. It’s okay.”

“Aiden?” Nana called out. She too had blood on her but she was sewing up wounds, she had no healing ability. She joined the hug too. Orange motes fell from the skylight. Our own orange light radiated from them into me lulling away my tiredness away and my injuries. The light didn’t stop though, it kept glowing until we let go and then it faded.

Mama tried to wipe my face for me, having to stand on her tippy toes and e bend down because she was only 5’6”, an inch taller than my nana, before I moved. “So, you left my dog alone to die.”

Mama automatically smiled. “Excuse me, but your dog left yesterday to find you. King is a magic dog, you know.” She looked behind me, and asked, “Are you and your friends okay?”

“They’re about to collapse from exhaustion.” I informed her. Sandra was holding her head, trying to banish a evil migraine. Casey couldn’t stand without help and Jensen looked like he was about drop dead. “Would you heal them?” She nodded and started healing Sandra.

The people started rioting, “Hey, we were here first.” Or they said, “Get in line!”

I ripped of my vest and walked over to them. “Okay, I can’t heal the tired, only the wounded.”

Nana smiled and walked off to go back to surgery. The majority of my family was medical. My mother was a physical therapist before she became a jewelry designer, my nana was the Chief Nursing Officer at St. Vincent’s and a surgery nurse, my dad, worthless to me, was a good nurse, my dad’s mother a delivery nurse, and it goes on to aunts and uncles and more people who didn’t like us.

When my mother was finished with my friends, she healed my fatigue and started healing others again. It was strange working next to her. I had no need of a break because her powers extended over me, stopping the retaliation of mine. About an hour later, everyone was fixed, leaving my family, Casey’s family and Jensen alone to talk.

Mama shook her hair out. “The headband was starting to give me a headache. I’m so glad you’re all right, but how did you make it? We heard about the dome over your school when the man here captured us.”

I put my head in my hands. “Well, you know how much I watch zombie movies. I just followed them and I had help from Casey and Jensen and Sandra.”

Mama looked at Jensen’s outfit and I saw her thinking. “Where’s Caleb?”

I stopped myself from burying my face into my hands. “Caleb is dead.” I swore I heard their hearts breaking, I told you he was very close to my family. “He died when the first attack happened at the airport. He died,” Jensen looked away ashamed that he was saved. He was suffering just as much as I was. “Saving as many people as he could that’s why I’m alive. Caleb gave Spartacus-.”

“Who’s Spartacus?” Mama asked.

“Uh, it’s a long story. In short, originally, he was the necklace I made for Caleb and when he was attacked the necklace allowed him to summon this Spartan guy with a shield and a short sword. When Caleb died, he gave him to Jensen, who came to school to save me, and I gained Hellion, my Sword, but he’s not a sword, he’s a…person, I think. Or me in some weird way.” No one understood what I was saying except the people who already knew Hellion and Sparky. “I’ll just show you. Hellion.”

It took a little more concentration but a swirl of black snow condensed into the ninja clad Hellion. He shook my mother hand and stood next to her. “This is Hellion, he’s my Sword I use against the demons and Spartacus is my Shield but he’s being used by Jensen.” Spartacus returned to his master’s side.

Nana walked over to Hellion, scanning him. “Is he real?”

“He’s real enough if he isn’t. He can do everything a human can and more. He just doesn’t speak English, but so far I can kinda read his mind because he’s a part of mine.” That didn’t satisfy her curiosity and she did what I was hoping she wouldn’t do. She pulled off his ski mask, his beautiful face showing what my imagination thought a hero was.

She gasped and backed away. “He looks exactly like Caleb.”

Hellion sighed, feeling the same way I did. He looked directly at Jensen who had gone completely pale, like in arctic water pale. “Sorry, Jensen.” I said, meekly.

He shook for a second before walking off. Dammit, I should have told him. I knew who Hellion was from his eye color from the first time I saw him. I never wanted to take the mask off because it would be too painful but my emotions were either too tired to rise up or crying with Jensen did more than I thought.

Mama patted the table next to her. “You can stand over here…Hellion.” Her face was puzzled. “Why is your name Hellion?” He motioned at me.

That traitor. “Hey, you speak that wonky language, it’s not my fault.” I’m going to find a way to hurt him. He raised an eyebrow. It was odd to have Hellion without his mask. He did feel like Caleb but he didn’t at the same time, but it was all the same to Jensen. “Excuse me for a second, and don’t put any ideas in his head.” I said to my mother. She may sound innocent and kind but she’s an imp.

I walked after Jensen to find him outside, holding him up against the wall. He didn’t hear my approach so when I touched him, he flung me off and raised his gun. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you.” He was silent, his eyes angry. He kept pacing, punching the brick wall but something tells me he wouldn’t feel until later. “I know I should have told you but it was too much for right now.” He stopped to speak but he refrained and continued to pace. “He’s not really Caleb, just his face.” Then stupid me added, “And his body, but that’s it. Hellion isn’t Caleb, nowhere near.”

He shoved his finger in my face. “That’s not the fucking point! He shouldn’t! Why would you do this? What type of sick person does that?”

I’m not sick, I admit I’m a bit strange but everyone is. “You think I wanted him to look like Caleb? No, I was just thinking of him when it happened but you can’t tell me you didn’t consider the thought when you saw his eyes.”

He grinded his teeth, his powerful chest going up and down rapidly. “Change him.”

I reached out my hand. “You’re bleeding.” He didn’t budge. “The bone is showing.” He took a look and sure enough his knuckles were showing but he still didn’t give me his hand so I took it myself, watching the wound transfer and disappear, and the pain biting hard into my right hand, the good one, but I didn’t complain. “I don’t think I can change him now, besides who is he going to look like? Superman?”

He just shook his head. He wanted to hit me, I can tell. “You just should’ve done it.”

“You want me to try for Kellan Lutz? Kellan Lutz is hot. Or you want Taylor Lautner; the one when plays Azoth in Shadow’s Edge?” My jokes weren’t making any head way so I grabbed him, pulling him to me. “Tell me how I can help without altering Hellion.”

He fought me to let go but it was halfhearted. “I just want it to stop hurting.” And he broke down like I did except I didn’t get slob on his neck, but I’ll let it go for now.

I patted him on the back. “It doesn’t stop; you just get use to it. I know it feels like a hole that won’t ever be filled but something will come along that will get close.”

“Like?”

I pulled back to look into his pretty eyes. “People like Casey, Sandra, Mom, Nana, and others who are there for you. Like how you’re here for me.” I brushed his long curly hair out of the way. “People like me.”

He blew out a broken sob and calmed himself. “We should go back inside.”

“Are you sure? Alright.”

Everyone looked at us oddly. I forgot that we were holding hands, I let go almost immediately but I made it look like I just wanted to talk to my mother. Jensen went in a separate direction, not looking back. “Do you know where he is?” Jensen asked Veronica, Casey’s mother. I wonder where the dad is.

She handed us a pamphlet with the Arena’s layout on it. “He held us in a cages for the Lady Gaga and the Hannah Miley girl concert.” Sandra squealed at the thought Lady Gaga was here until her mother added that she was going to be here after Christmas but probably not because of the domes. “The majority of the city and sorcerers are there. The abominations are using some type of dream magic to force people to become them.”

“Excuse me, sir.” A lady in a ripped business suit with a bloody arm called me. I had her sit down and show me the wound. It was a shallow wound, probably a glancing hit from a demon.

I saw her wave or something but I ignored it and healed her. “You’re all better now.”

“Thank you-(gasp) your arm!” She said a bit overdramatically. The orange rays covered the wound and replaced it with healthy pink skin and leaving the soreness in its place. “Oh, so you’re like the healer over there.”

I glanced at my mom; she was still talking to Hellion. “Yes, my powers are similar to hers.” I answered her.

An evil glint filled her eyes. “Good, Phil over here.” An overweight man in cargo pants and some tan vest came over with a camera on his shoulder. That bitch was a reporter! “Hi, this is Heather Justice for KTHV news. I am here with one of the refugees-.”

“I’m not a refugee.”

She smiled back into the camera but her eyes said I just fucked up her opening line. “Then tell us who you are.”

I’ve been on TV before but hasn’t everyone like when they were four when the school did some play or carol, or something to that effect. My point to all of this is, I’m camera shy but since no one is going to see this. Who’s at the news station? Better yet, who’s at home watching this? “Me and my friends are here to kill the demon leader and destroy this dome.”

She laughed at my expense. “You heard it folks, everyone trying to save us from-.”

I interrupted her again. “No, I’m serious. You see that man over there in black. Yeah, he’s a weapon I that control. You see the Spartan. He’s controlled by the army guy over there. In addition, the girl standing next to them is a witch and her brother is good with guns. We’ve already killed a demon leader and we’re better suited than anyone here.”

“Aiden!” Casey waved me over.

I smiled back at her. “Looks like we have to go save you now.”

“Who was that?” Sandra asked.

I rolled my eyes, “An annoying reporter.” She went to run over there but Casey and I grabbed her at the same time. “We don’t have time for this.” Sandra shook us off with a sour look in her eyes.

Heather and her cameraman came behind us. “Are you really going to fight?”

Jensen came in smiling like he won the lotto, using his good looks to convince her. “It’s our job, sweetheart.”

Hellion pulled his mask back on, standing next to me. Heather stared at him in lust; the tightness of the black jumpsuit thing he wore showed his muscles proudly. “Are you fighting?”

Hellion looked nervous as hell as she almost touched him before I pushed him away. “Yes, Hellion is fighting. All of us are.” My voice snapped her out of lust wave.

She cleared her throat. “We’re coming with you.”

In unison, from my mom to Veronica to everyone else. “The hell you are!”

I stopped in front of her. “Look, what we’re about to do is going to take all of our concentration and if you’re there then we have another person,” the camera guy cleared his throat, “I mean two people that might fuck us up. We can’t afford a ‘might’ so stay put and be happy you don’t have to do this.”

We went back to the car to ammo up with King was just waiting at the door. After another reunion, we set out to do what we came to do. The sick feeling bubbled in my gut as if I was food poisoned. We found the leader exactly where Veronica said he would be; on the stage, with a few dozen sets of prisoners and abominations.

He wore the same emo trench coat thing and combat boots. As Veronica said, the abominations stood on both sides of a person, using the strange dream magic. The man in-between them cried out and his arm popped out of place. The leader bent down to whisper something in the dreaming man’s ear and the man screamed bloody murder. I wonder what were they showing him. A breath later, the man threw off the invisible bonds that held him, cradling his head and his body burst into a twisted Resident Evil burn victim and he-it went on to break others.

Casey, Jensen, and I shot the abominations about to start another dream torture. The leader jumped away from the body, clawing at the air. He spun around, the coat flapping in the air like a bad movie. He murmured something under his and yelled, “Exist!” A chain of lightning came from the circle, and Veronica waved her hands and the lightning smashed against a transparent shield.

The leader was surrounded by a ring of abominations, throwing up the same shield as Veronica with another ring of demons. More demons appeared from the ceiling, catwalks, and the exits, surrounding us in a tight circle of shiny talons and shark teeth.

Hellion smiled widely, blades gleaming like sunrays. He broke the circle first, ripping through demons like a hot knife through butter. He truly liked to fight; he was almost dancing to some phantom music as he sliced off limbs and necks of demons as they leaped forward to their death. He slowed down from a moment, looking across the room, clutching his chest. I was so engrossed in what he was doing that I didn’t see the volt of lightning glancing off Veronica’s shield into me. The searing pain came later, throwing me into a row of chairs. The orange light enveloped me, pushing the severity of the pain away but left the sore companion.

I waved Hellion off. “Go, I’m fine. I’ll pay more attention.” He nodded and blurred back in the fight.

Jensen and Sparky were working together like Siamese twins. Sparky stunned the demons with the edge of the shield, killing some and Jensen followed up with the gun. One demon twisted out of the way fast enough to bare his teeth at Jensen before the huge hunting knife went into his eye with such force the handle broke off. It slumped to the floor, screaming and jerking at its eyes.

It sounded human in its last seconds, fighting to stay alive. It wasn’t its fault that it was a monster. We still didn’t know what made people change into this, what made them throw off their human shell and hunt their fellow man. None of this was his fault but the leader, the one originally poisoned by this blight and its eclipse had betrayed us, and he was trying to get away.

I started running, shooting, dodging, and fighting as fast as I could. He was moving fast but the ring of abominations that surrounded him for protection couldn’t move and sling a spell at the same time unlike Sandra covered by Casey and their mother. Hellion and I stood of both ends of the stage, fighting through the fighting river of monsters. Lightning came from the ring. I dropped letting the demons behind me to get struck. Jensen shot the abomination closest to my side, making a weak point in the shield.

“Hellion, dismissed!” He burst into black snow before another stroke of lightning could hit him. I needed this to be quick and easy. I latched onto the image of me wielding the rotating sword, forcing it to materialize. I started running again, abandoning all thoughts of turning back as the black snow clung to my legs, making me faster. An abomination whipped his scarred hand through the air, throwing nothing but a wave of force at me. I braced myself, stabbing the sword in the ground, launched myself over the wave, and called the blade back to me. It was amazing to fly through the air and ignored the laws of nature only for a moment.

I cut through two abominations with a vertical slash and flipped my wrist, making the blade spin back to its normal position where the point was scratching against my shoulder blade. I stumbled into a spin, going right for the leader’s neck.

Suddenly, I heard his voice enter my mind, “You think I’m as stupid as James?” I slammed into him as if he was a brick wall, lifting me off the ground. I saw the symbol on his forehead, three ovals fanned out like peacock feathers with characters of a different language filling them.

Everyone stopped fighting, including the demons. I kept hitting his arm but my strength was nothing compared to his and kicking was effective as kicking a brick wall. He was handsome enough; the demon in him gave him a deep tan and yellow eyes.

He tensed his muscle, cutting off my airflow. “That was quite a display of power, Knight.” He looked to every one of my people, trying to find something. “You’re becoming more adept to your abilities.” He finally relaxed his hand and I took the biggest gasp of my life. He sniffed the air around me and gave a dementedly happy look. “You’re him, aren’t you? Verik will be very happy about this.” A sharp pain stabbed my mind, probably the consequence of using Hellion’s abilities. “We have what we need, kill his friends and begin the conversation.”

The abominations circled me, murmuring in the same language Hellion spoke. Color faded from my world, giving the fights a more picturesque quality. Then my hearing went next as Jensen yelled something and Sparky held his shield against the flood of demons. Sandra casted the same spell again and my vision went white again.

I was at St. Tribou, watching the fire spread from the ROTC room to the rest of the building. James stood next to a pile of bodies that was the size of a small pyramid, ripping the heart out of his screaming victims. He tossed another dead body into the pile while he feasted on the heart. He finished quickly, pulling Jensen to his knees. I ran at him, sword in hand, cutting off his hand then his head. I went to check on Jensen, but I found myself standing where I was before, watching Casey struggle for his life. I killed James again, almost saving Casey, but I was too slow. It started again with Sandra, then my mother, and Nana.

I ran repeatedly again and again, trying to save someone. It kept going and going and going until I stopped. It was useless, every step I took I was getting slower and slower until the time it took me to move an inch five people were already dead. I couldn’t take anymore; I huddled down, trying to think of anything that would block out the screams and images. Anything.

“Aiden, help me.” His voice was afraid, so afraid. It was a younger version of Caleb. The last time I saw that look in his eyes, was when we went white water rafting and he fell out of the canoe. He couldn’t swim well. “Please, Aiden, help me!” I covered my ears, tried to drown it out. “Aiden, I thought you loved me!”

“I can’t believe you’ll just let him die.” Casey’s body moved from the pile, standing up with a yawning hole in his chest still dripping blood.

My mother started crying, pointing her bloody fingers at me. “You…you ruined my life. You and your father.” She pulled a dagger from her back. “You’re nothing.”

Someone kicked my legs from under me, stepping on my neck. “You think because I don’t live near you there aren’t any consequences for what you did?” He gave me a sharp kick to the ribs. “Huh, bitch?!” He kicked me in the mouth next, putting his foot on my chest. “Fucking faggot, you became just like your mother, like you wanted to! When are you going to start wearing dresses?” My father sneered.

“You ruined my life and you praise them when they give you something! You treat my mama and I like shit!” She didn’t even care to look at what he was doing to me. “I give you more fucking leeway than most teenagers and this how you treat me!” She plunged the blade in my stomach, twisting and jabbing over and over.

More dead people started to move and curse me and hit and stab with daggers of my sins. I pleaded with them to stop but they didn’t want to. One of them ripped my shirt off, slicing a long line into my back. Then they all started, carving different names and words into my skin, not healing. I batted them away with Hellion’s sword, trying to limp away as my lifeblood spilled into the pavement. They came at me again and I cut them but they just kept coming with their damn words and knifes. My father came from behind him, whispering he wished I were never born while he cut my throat. My mother cursed me for looking at her with my Florentine eyes, stabbing me in one.

The river of people parted, young Caleb walking towards me with a curved knife and a hole in his chest like the others. “He took my heart, Aiden.” He thumbed the gaping hole where blood still poured. “But it’s okay because you promised me yours.” He cut into me lightly and stuck his hand in my chest. I wanted to scream but my throat was cut. He wrapped his hand around my heart, tugging at it. “You promised your heart!” He screamed, pulling harder. His face was flushed with rage, trying his damnest to take my heart.

“It doesn’t have to be like this.” James whispered. He ghosted around the people, kneeling next to me. Caleb started cutting the arteries away, slowly carving into my body to cut the artery from the source. “I can make them go away. Make them stop.”

“Whore!”

“You ruined me!”

“You don’t deserve anything.”

I felt the wetness on my face hat I had mistaken for tears but the smell was undeniable, why were they doing this to me? “I promise I can make this go away. Just let me in.” He whispered again.

Caleb traced the vein again, cutting from my heart as the people held me down, cursing and biting. “Just tell me to make them go away and I will.” I started wondering what that croaking noise was until I remembered that I was still trying to scream. “Hellion can’t help you here, but I can. Please, I don’t want you to suffer, brother.”

“Aiden!”

James started pushing people away. “Please, I can stop them, just let me in. Let me stop the pain.”

“Aiden, can you hear me?!”

Another heartstring was cut. “Come with us brother, we’ll find Father and make him pay for letting them do this to you.” I just wanted it to stop. “No, it can’t stop, Aiden. They won’t ever stop. They love to see other suffer.”

“Aiden, please, wake up.”

The world starting spinning again, Caleb popping another artery. “Aiden, you need to get up. You have to finish him.”

Jensen had a gun this time.. “Just leave me alone!” I scrambled away, swinging the sword wildly.

“Aiden, it’s okay. We’re trying to help you.” Jensen took a step closer.

“Stay away from me!” I stood up, slowly watching each one of them. “Why? Why did you do that to me?”

Jensen held his hands up in surrender. “We’re just trying to help you, buddy.”

“Don’t call me your fucking buddy! You-you cut me!”

“No, no one has cut you.”

I pointed to the word he written into my shoulder. “Then what is this? You carved this into me.” The word whore still bled, all of them did. “You cut me, here,” the chest, “here,” neck, “and here and here and you wrote in me and you stabbed me and you pissed on me!”

He still acted bewildered. “Aiden, I promise I never hurt you.”

“Lies! Lies! You stabbed me!” I didn’t see an exit anywhere.. They had trapped me perfectly in here. “Just let me go, please.” I pleaded, wanting nothing but to get away.

Nicolas stood behind me with his friends. “Yes, just leave Aiden alone.” My brothers stood around us, claws ready to protect me.

Jensen charged with his demons. “Get your filthy fucking hands off him!”

I cocked my arm back and surged forward, the hand guard cracking him across the face. “Just leave us alone, human.”

A choking sound came from behind me. I twirled around to see Nicolas holding his neck as blood flowed freely. “No, no, please, don’t leave-.” I felt a sudden detachment from him. The words carved into me disappeared and the torment faded from my vision, leaving my mind clear. “What the fuck happened?”