The Chosen - 19. Objects at Rest

[Chapter 19]

The Sleeper of Nightmares raised his mighty arm and everything turned orange. Wait, orange? I stared down at the ground that rapidly grew smaller. I looked up at Solaris who narrowly evaded the bubble past the giant, up and out of the citadel’s destroyed ceiling. Omega hauled me to my feet and we watched the Sleeper slam his gigantic arm down upon the black pyramid. It exploded in a destructive blast that threw a cloud of thick gray dust into the air.

“Oh, no,” I stared desperately at the dissipating mushroom cloud. “The dagger!”

Omega brought his arm up, dagger in hand. “I took it just as Solaris grabbed me.”

“We need to haul ass away from here and regroup,” Solaris pushed his bubble past the sound barrier and with a powerful clap of displaced air we went supersonic.

DO NOT IMAGINE TO RUN FROM ME.

The voice wasn’t loud or booming. Those words weren’t accurate enough to describe the sheer volume of sound that rent the air. It came from everywhere at once. The Sleeper bored those dread eyes on us and Killian let out an ear, piercing scream. The bubble popped and air crushed into our bodies as we fell.

My cloak and Omega’s cape yanked itself around our heads and torsos like tangled parachutes. Thick clouds whisked passed us and we fell in a mess of limbs toward the rapidly approaching ground. Green and mossy forests dotted and stretched over the landscape. Mountains were sparse and the view held rolling hills and distant lakes. An ocean was visible far to the east covered partially with a rolling fog. I took all this in as I orientated myself, calmed down and willed my power to slow us down. Our bodies grew lighter as magic countered the effects of gravity.

I felt an abrupt tug and was swept into Adam’s arms. He grabbed Solaris with a free hand and flew us toward the ground, barely managing to land on our asses without injury.

Solaris snatched off his visor and his pupils were blown wide with shock. “Holy shit.”

Omega was breathing like he just ran a marathon. “That was close."

I jumped to my feet. “It’s not over yet. The Sleeper will be here any moment.”

“Good." Solaris crossed his arms and there was something bloodthirsty about the tilt of his mouth. “I got a beam I want to shove right down his throat.”

I didn’t like the way his eyes darkened from their normal green to an almost black. He was feeling the hunger for vengeance. We all were. I just hope he didn’t do anything reckless that defeated the purpose of Ryan sacrificing his life. I opened my mouth to warn him of just that when the ground rumbled.

“Here he comes,” Omega muttered looking to the horizon.

Kicking the mountains aside, the mighty Sleeper of Nightmares in his gigantic otherness strode toward us. In his wake, flowers bloomed to life and immediately died, pillars of raging fire erupted from the earth and instantly froze in solid ice. The wind howled its joy for the summoning of its master.

Omega squinted at the entity through the roaring wind. “He’s a demon god of chaos!”

I planted my heels, bracing myself as the severe gale threatened to knock me back into the forest behind us. The demon god's shadow washed over us and in it, I saw things that only existed in my most carnal nightmares. Pale forms, gruesome and deformed, writhed against each other in sickening sexual acts of depravity. There were other creatures and things there that cared not for the desires of the flesh except to feast upon others trapped in the private hell.

The Sleeper took another step and the ground exploded, breaking me out of the trance of his living shadow. Dammit. I had to get it together. One mistake could cost my life. I summoned magic to me and could see Omega, readying his sword, and Solaris, raising his arms. I concentrated and willed the power to pool together in my hands. They glowed with an intense, white light and I turned my head to avoid being blinded.

YOUR DROPLETS OF POWER SHALL NEVER UNDO THE ORIGIN OF ALL NIGHTMARES.

The Sleeper was upon us.

“On my mark!” I bellowed over the noise. A crystal blue sphere of energy coalesced in my palms. "Fire!"

The bolts of destructive firepower went high and slammed solidly into the demon god's midsection. He paused, if only for a moment, and then continued toward us. This wasn't going to work. It was dispersing the attacks somehow, maybe shunting the energy potential into another dimension. Theories quickly ran through my mind and I cut my attack short, turning to the others.

“We need to re-”

I didn’t see the enormous foot until it was kicking me in the left side of my entire body. I hurtled into the air blinded by a mind numbing pain. I hit the ground, tumbling over repeatedly until I fell into a ditch. The whole right of my midsection felt on fire. The sharp pain digging under my skin was probably from broken ribs. Misery was my whole world. My vision went hazy and a throbbing headache jackhammered in my skull.

I wasn’t getting up anytime soon.

There was a burst of orange light nearby and I felt more than saw arms grab me. I struggled to keep track of things but was too weak and exhausted. All I knew was the hellish pain. My eyes closed and I was greeted by darkness.

***

The bright light of the fall sun burned my eyes.

“How do you do it?”

Ryan didn't stop adjusting the sleeves of the pressed oxford shirt he was wearing. He was serious about his cuffs. “Do what, Chad?”

“Balance life and you know.” I lowered my voice. “...the other stuff.”

Ryan leaned back against the picnic table we lounged on. It was almost six in the evening and it was the perfect time for families to be out. They cloistered around the park, strolling, laughing and each caught in their own world. I envied them and their naivety. They didn’t know the things that lurked in the dark. They didn’t know one wrong decision might cost a life. I wished I could go back to that world. Back to that time when things made sense.

“You’re talking about being Chosen,” he stated more than asked. He shrugged and glanced up at the bright sun.

I followed his stare and shielded my eyes from the sunlight. I adjusted my sunglasses and wondered what it was that Ryan found so interesting about the sun. He watched that big ball of light for over a minute, silently, as if the sun above had all the answers.

“I do it the best way I can,” Ryan finally replied.

I shook my head and tried to ignore the swelling bitterness. I never asked to be a soldier. I never asked to be the reincarnation of some ancient warrior. Why did I have to be controlled by a past life from thousands of years ago? Why couldn’t things just go back to normal? The way it used to be.

I stared at a trail marching ants. “What if we just quit together? You know, stop being Chosen.”

“If we stopped being Chosen then the Earth will fall into ruin.” Ryan's voice was understanding but there was firmness there too. “The time to quit passed after Atlantis fell.”

I shook my head. “Why should we fight for a world that barely knows we exist?”

Ryan shrugged again. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“The right thing to do might end up costing us our lives,” I snapped.

He didn’t even flinch at my tone. Ryan continued gazing at the sun. Then he turned to me and gifted me with the most serene expression I had ever seen. It was perfectly calm and a tiny smile played at the corner of his lips. It stopped my breath cold. He was so beautiful inside and out.

“I would rather die fighting for something I believed in than grow old and knowing I could've made a difference.”

His words battered into the bitterness that squeezed my heart and shattered it into nothingness. I gazed at him and then turned my stare to a young couple playing with their daughter in the grass. Her light, infectious laughter hit me like a ton of bricks. It was an instant wake up call. I loved this planet. These people deserved to live knowing that light always vanquished darkness. My feelings seemed so trivial compared to the greater good.

I looked at the sky and the light glared as the sun began lowering in the distance. The sky was awash with colors of orange, purple, blue, and red. It was breathtaking. Men, women, and children alike stopped to take in the sunset. Something fluttery and light made my stomach feel funny. It was a humbling sight and I smiled. This was what we fought for.

Ryan was smiling at me knowingly. “You’re not alone, Chad. We’re in this together. Life and death, this is all our destiny.”

I nodded and smiled back. I mentally felt the weight on my shoulders redistribute itself. My destiny was a heavy burden, but it was an important duty that we both shared. Ryan slung his arm around my shoulder.

“Now, let’s go find that math book of yours.” He leaned into me hard on purpose. I pushed him away with a laugh. “I saw your last test grade. You must have studied the wrong material.”

I groaned. “Ryan! It’s Saturday!”

Ryan adjusted his glasses and I noticed the twinkling in his eyes. Someone was auditioning for a Netflix comedy special. I jumped on him like a ninja. Super strength or not I would wrestle him to the ground for this.

***

The warm touch of probing fingers woke me out of the dream. I opened my eyes groggily and thanked whatever gods watching over us that I wasn’t in pain. I was lying on my back in a dimly lit cave that smelled of mud and something foreign. Omega sat behind me with his legs crossed. My head lay on his calves and it was a comforting spot that felt safe and soothing.

“You’re awake.” Omega eyes filled with relief. There was faint traces of anxiousness in his tone. “You had a concussion, broken ribs, and I don't even know what else. Luckily nothing fatal. The damage adsorption wards in your suit bled away much of the force. I healed the concussion the best I could and steered your body into healing your injuries. It's a patch and not permanent. You'll have to do the rest.”

Solaris appeared, a sphere of light hovering above his hand. It was the sole source of illumination in the dark cave. He looked at me and nodded once. He didn’t smile but the hardness and worry on his face lessened seeing me awake.

“Good,” he said quietly. “I was hoping you'd wake up soon. We’ve already been here too long. We have to decide something soon before that fucking thing finds us.”

Omega helped me up and I squeezed his shoulder in thanks. “You’re right. We can’t hide out here.”

“Do we fallback?” Omega asked.

I paused momentarily and then shook my head. “No. I’m through running. This is where we make our final stand. Ryan gave his life here and I'm not leaving until I take them down.”

“Damn right.” Solaris nodded in complete agreement. He turned and glared at the cave’s entrance. His shoulders were tense and he looked moments away from coming undone.

I considered his mood and remembered the scene from earlier. I thought back to the goodbye he shared with Ryan. I know they weren’t dating or secretly in a relationship. I thought back to all the time they spent together and wondered if maybe feelings had developed? Neither one had said anything. Maybe they hadn’t even acknowledged the feelings themselves? Death was a funny thing. It had the power to make you realize what you had only after you lost it. I closed my eyes and pushed back the tears and sorrow. Later, I would mourn. I had a mission to finish. I started to ask Solaris if he was alright.

Solaris shot me a hard look. He must have seen something on my face. “Don’t, Chad. Just stop.”

I closed my mouth then shared a look with Adam. He subtlety shook his head and I sighed. Fine. If no one wanted to talk about it I wasn’t going to force the issue. I watched the cave's entrance. A frown tugged at my lips as my body froze in place. Please let me be imagining that.

“You hear that?” I asked quietly.

They both stilled and listened. “Hear what?” Solaris asked.

I swallowed. “It’s too quiet.”

“He’s here.” Omega voice was filled with a sinking dread.

A thunderous noise split the air. The Sleeper of Nightmares had found us. I jumped at the sound of falling trees crashing to the forest floor and the booming din of multiple avalanches. It sounded like the worlds biggest natural disaster outside. Rocks tumbled from cave’s ceiling shaking lose dirt that sent us into a coughing fit.

“We have to get out of here!” I yelled over the noise. “We’ll be caved in!”

We ran out of the cave and were greeted with to the sight of a demolished forest. It was like stepping into the middle of a natural disaster. The Sleeper rose taller than any mountain or building back on Earth. The very air seemed to bend around him as if reality itself couldn’t contain all that he was. It reached its heavy arms toward us.

"Elios, keeper of dreams," I called on the power of a lower deity. Gold light gathered in my raised palms, which were pointing toward the sky as if in benediction. "Help me defeat this enemy. Twilight Ray!"

Pale white light sliced through the air and struck the arm nearing us. The Sleeper continued moving as if it didn’t feel a thing. The power wasn’t strong enough I realized. It was a foolish effort. Elios was a lower deity of the Dreamlands. His strength was no match against a demon god who ruled Hell before Lucifer even fell. We circled around the Sleeper throwing devastating attacks of pure death that only fizzled against his impenetrable skin.

If this was to turn into a battle of attrition then he had us beat. Our strength would falter long before his. We had to get close enough to use the dagger, but the Sleeper kept us firmly back. Did he know the weapon was his doom? His deep and timeless voice rumbled from his great chest, angered and repulsed by our very existence.

YOU THINK TO STAND AGAINST THE FATHER OF ALL NIGHTMARES.

The Sleeper blew his breath and a thick burst of air exploded from his mouth in a tremendous force. The blast of air abruptly spiraled in on itself and a deadly tornado formed in the blink of an eye, growling and howling as it touched down on the ground. Whole trees and gigantic boulders were quickly sucked up in its grip as if they were paper weights.

“Fuck this,” Solaris growled. “I’ve had enough!”

His arm shot out and at his fingertips, countless pinpoints of light gathered. The light was loosed with a yell of fury. I was struck speechless as the bolt hit the tornado and it exploded into a dissipating cloud of dust, breaking apart into nothing. I stared at Solaris who was shaking with a barely restrained rage. His bowed head lifted to glare at the Sleeper of Nightmares, tear tracks on his cheeks vaporizing in tiny clouds of steam. His green eyes were shining too brightly to be considered normal. Around his body, an orange light flared and he shot into the air like a rocket.

“Solaris!” I screamed.

He didn’t raise his hands or shout any words. From his glowing body light blasted forward in a flood of orange and yellow energy. It beat into the Sleeper of Nightmares in a bastion of unstoppable force. Solaris tapped deep into his power and made me remember why he was called the champion of light. And surprise. It was working. The Sleeper actually staggered off balance howling in outrage. Omega loudly cheered him on and I couldn’t resist the blossoming hope. I gathered my own power to aid him.

The Sleeper of Nightmares moved quickly for a being of his size. His arm whipped through the air and caught Solaris in his hand as if he were a fly.

“Killian!” Omega started running forward.

My heart lurched violently. Killian screamed in pain and the Sleeper laughed as he squeezed his grip. Sharp slivers of red and black light began to slide up from a cone around my feet until solidifying in my cupped palms. The black magic crawled along my spine and I welcomed it.

"Darkness against the moonlight-”

Omega gasped. “Stop, Chad!” He hesitated then, touching fingers to his temple with a frown. “I can hear Killian telepathically - he has a plan.”

I let the magic fizzle out of my hands. “And what plan is that!”

Omega’s eyes widened and then darted up. I followed his stare and saw the Sleeper halt his rumbling, maddening laugh. Killian, trapped in the giant hand, stopped screaming and was glowing brighter than before.

“SUN...” A shaft of pure, dazzling light divided the heavens and enveloped Killian in its folds. “SET...”

The light gave off a great visible pulse wave. Night suddenly turned to day as the sky lit up like the dawn. Killian was brighter than ever. I couldn’t even see him anymore through the globe of concentrated light. He had turned into a living sun.

“EXTINGUISH!”

The light exploded in a wave of superheated plasma. It was like watching a star supernova. I suppose that’s what it was. A ring of destructive orange energy circled out in an expanding ring of death. The Sleeper of Nightmares bore the full front of the stellar blast and fell over with an angry outcry of hurt. Omega enveloped me in his arms and threw up a telekinetic shield. He gritted his teeth and rode out the shockwave of savage solar winds. Only when the last of the winds died did Omega lower his shield. I looked over his shoulder.

Solaris lay on the ground, dead. I didn’t recognize him. His uniform was burnt and torn. His skin was sunburned a deep red, and his hair was gone in patches, completely burned off. I tore my eyes from his body. A broken sob tore through my chest. We might have fought, but it was fun. Killian was my friend. One of my oldest and truest friends. This was too much. Both Ryan and Killian were dead. What kind of leader was I? I had led them to their deaths.

“Chad, look at me,” Omega urged softly. I looked up, thick tears splashing down my chin. I kept shaking my head and couldn't stop. My body felt like it was on autopilot. “This isn't your fault. We’re Chosen. This is our destiny. I want you to be strong for me, darling. I’m going to go see Killian’s plan through. I love you.”

Adam kissed me. It was desperate and with a needy urgency like he was trying to tell me something. It left me breathless and off balance. Adam let go and I looked into his eyes. He winked and grinned.

“I’ll be back,” he promised.

Wait. What? “Adam! What the hell are you about to do!”

He only smiled and then he hovered into the air. I caught a glint of silver at his side and realized that he had the Giant’s Dagger. Adam flew toward the Lord of Nightmares who was slowly getting to his feet, still recovering from the point blank detonation of Killian’s kamikaze attack. Adam soared toward the Sleeper’s disorientated form and I held my breath as he lashed out with the dagger. In one stroke, Adam stabbed the blade into the demon god's heart to the hilt.

A burst of joy filled my chest. I pumped my fist. “Yeah!”

I barely managed to levitate off the ground when the Sleeper collapsed to his knees; the force of his fall splitting the earth with ruptures that ran deep underground. The Sleeper grabbed at his chest and the knife refused to budge. Adam landed next to me looking triumphant. I caught a flash of movement and was quickly pushed away. The Sleeper’s massive arm swung bringing down his fist. Adam threw up a shield and I reacted instinctively throwing forth my power to reinforce his shield. The barrier resisted... for only a moment.

The shield shattered.

That terrible fist came down smashing Adam into the ground, hard. The ground buckled and then cratered around the fist. All life left the being and the Sleeper of Nightmares fell back dead. I couldn’t even scream. I felt my mind wander as desperate denial replaced every bit of sanity I had. Disbelief clawed my mind at what I just witnessed. I came to the crater and saw Adam’s broken body. It was like a puzzle that my mind refused to put together. I saw it but it didn’t make sense.

Something clicked and it came together.

I screamed.

I screamed and screamed. I fell into the crater at a clumsy run and fell at his side. Adam’s eyes were closed. He looked like he was sleeping.

“Oh baby, wake up,” I pleaded. “Please, Adam. Wake UP!”

Tears ran down my face and my vision went hazy. I needed to wipe my eyes but I didn’t care. What mattered now? My hands were red with his blood. The back of his head had been broken open and I knew that he had died instantly from this wound more than the others that inflicted his body. It hurt to look at him, but it hurt more not to.

I wept over the other half of my soul. “You promised.”

My entire body felt tight like my skin was stretched too thin. It got harder to breathe around the knots in my chest. I threw my head back and yelled my sorrow and fury to the heavens. I knew what the tightness in my chest was. It was the feeling of my heart breaking.

Something slithered against my senses. At the back of my mind, I felt an awful fear hover over the horizon. Something was coming. Something evil and terrifyingly ancient. The last Lord in Shadow was awakening. They called him He Who Dwells Above In Mist, the Floating Horror, the Destroyer of Atlantis, and also Nubas in the First Language. The light of the moon dimmed and vanished behind the thick, dark clouds that rolled in from the north. He was coming.

I gently laid Adam's body on the ground. It was time I walked down my own destined road. I pressed a soft kiss on his brow and stood tall. My back straightened and I held my head high. I was ready.

The clouds writhed and shifted. A haunting melody stirred on the wind that invoked feelings of despair and hopelessness. Terrible red eyes appeared on the grotesque head that formed from the black clouds above. They focused on me and that ancient mind crashed against mine.

Thoughts ripped into me like razor sharp blades, cutting and tearing, and left me feeling numb, hurt, and empty. I fell to my knees against my will. I was small beside that ageless mind. So small and so very young. How could I have even thought of going against something so great, so appalling and beautiful in his glory? I tasted bitterness in my mind and knew I wasn’t worthy to even be in the presence of something so great.

Fight it, said a voice softly in my head, coming from my deepest memories and half fogged thoughts. It was Adam, I recognized with certainty. Fight, urged the phantom voice again.

I listened to that voice and hit my hand against the ground. Still, that mind invaded me, filling me up, and tasting my memories, both good and bad. I was a thrall that needed to service my master. I slammed my fists harder against the stones in the ground. They bled and I slammed them harder until the pain gave me focus. I willed all my thoughts on the pain and drove the hypnotic and wondrous voice from my psyche. I screamed out and ejected the invader.

“My mind is my own, fucker!” I howled to the sky.

The presence left me completely and I crashed onto the ground falling on my hands. I felt cold, alone, but whole. I was me and only me. Breathing ragged, I picked myself up and swallowed the blood coating my lip. I must have bitten down on it at some point. I didn’t even remember doing it. I wiped my mouth and met those angry red eyes that stared at me from on high. How could I kill this monster before it tore me to shreds?

A sigh moved through my head and it touched against my thoughts. A whisper of sound echoed in my mind. You cannot.

This wasn’t Adam’s phantom voice. This was different. It inspired all the opposite emotions Adam’s voice had conjured. I shivered as cold waves drowned my insides in a floor of emptiness. It didn’t take but a moment for me to realize that it was an answer to my question. How do I stop this monster before it tore me to shreds? You cannot, the whisper had said. No. Nubas had said.

“We’ll see about that,” I said aloud.

I jerked my arms up and threw my power outwards. Magic exploded out and stabbed the air with furious speed. It hit Nubas and ripped into that cloudless form with no mercy. I shouted and poured more raging energy into the torrent of multicolored light shooting into the sky. My vision dimmed and I burned even the energy that kept my body functioning into the outpour of lethal power. Exhaustion pulled at my strength. There was no way I could keep this up for long.

Come on, I commanded my body. It was of no use. I fell to my knees and the flood of enormous power receded and then dissolved.

Nubas floated above, whole and unharmed as if I had thrown candy canes. Red eyes stared me down, unholy light shining in that eldritch gaze. I had to get to the Giant’s Dagger. It was the only shot. I crawled toward the Sleeper’s body. It seemed so very far away. But I had to make it.

You are done, Nubas said again in my mind.

Unearthly, green light spiraled down from the Mist Dweller. I couldn’t move in time. That green, ruinous blast smacked me to the ground. Pain, raw pain, hit me full on. Heat poured over me like I was thrown in the middle of a volcano. I screamed feeling the heat rippling up my skin. I could feel it inside me, eating me alive. My flesh burned and cooked under the smoldering, powerful blast.

I was going to die.

There was no way I could get the dagger and finish Nubas off. I was on my last dregs and struggled to keep away the dark fog of death. If I was going to die I wanted this bastard to hurt like none other. There was one spell that was powerful enough. I grabbed at the object resting on the clasp of my cloak. The five-point star pendant fit easily into my palm.

I pushed magic into the pendant and it resisted my attempts. The seal that Prince Emrys had cast to lock away the spell held up even after all this time. I battered at the metaphysical lock with my power. I would not be stopped. The deaths of Killian, Ryan, and Adam flashed in my mind. I had to do this. I growled and pushed with all my will. The seal bent and folded, then broke under my efforts.

Knowledge opened in my mind.

“I call upon the power of magic,” I whispered, pitching power into my words so it went beyond the veil, extending beyond this world and into eternity. A blue sphere of light enveloped my body. I could almost taste the curiosity Nubas projected. That's right, you bastard. Take a pause and notice this mortal.

The Giga Annihilation Program was the most unpredictable and dangerous primordial spell in the volumes of known magic. It involved taking one's spirit out of their body and joining it with the Heart of the Universe. The source of magic. The spark that created the big bang. The results vary to different degrees depending on the commands used.

“GIGA...”

When one's soul was one with Creation itself, the caster could do things that normal magic would not allow. You could fight a war in a blink of an eye, change the substance of the world and energy, and transport as easily as imagining a new location to be in.

“ANNIHILATION...”

The Hell Ground Zero attack was basically a watered-down version of the "Program", which reversed itself to only harm what the caster wanted. The Justice Apocalypse comes close but substitutes Chosen power for Creation magic. While you could reshape things on a local scale, The Giga Annihilation Program allowed a user to warp things on a multi-spatial level beyond that of fourth dimensional space-time.

“PROGRAM!”

Everything slowed down and I continued with the final command.

“OVERDRIVE INITIATE!”

My world went blue. I didn’t call up power. The power came to me and I became it. I felt alive. All my hurts vanished as power rushed through me, filling me, and healing me. I became more than human. More than Chosen. I became a living god trapped in human form. I floated off the ground and hovered in the air. I knew my eyes were glowing blue, electric and bright, just as I knew that Nubas had met his match.

That twisting, green light cleaved through the air. I didn’t bother my waving my arms. I was beyond that. A translucent blue shield sprung up and the light splattered against the wall. I smiled coldly. My turn.

I lashed out with all that I am. Disastrous blue energy lit the sky. The air hummed and the sky rippled as my power came from a source that existed past the perceived edges of time, space, and reality. The light pierced Nubas. He Who Dwells Above In Mist finally met his match and his scream of pain made the stars dim. I ripped into him and the light strengthened, not into a beam, it was too wide for a beam, it was simply an ocean of energy. The blue light cut into the ancient, billowing entity and it finally knew pain. It screamed and the stars in the sky died and began to simultaneously fall. The night sky became a pallet of thousands of shooting stars.

“Die!” I screamed in a primal roar.

Morgan, Mom, Ryan, Killian, Nathaniel, Adam, everyone I called a friend, teachers, random folks on the street, and people all over the globe appeared in my mind's eye. This was for them. All of them. I completely submerged myself in the power and swept aside the ruinous, green blast that Nubas lashed out with. The blue energy swallowed up his power, fed on it, and became stronger. The light ate through him and completely enveloped the floating being. It destroyed him from the biggest piece to the tiniest atom. There was nothing left of the third and last Lord in Shadow.

I was power. I could do anything.

I was a god.

The power of Creation flowed through my veins and anything was possible. I was a being of life and death, energy and matter, magic and harmony. I was a force of the cycles of the universe. I pictured my friends in my mind. I emptied power into their dead bodies and it found the tiniest sparks of life within them. From there it flared and a chain reaction occurred, and it produced other sparks that thrived off each other, renewing and healing their lifeless bodies. I felt, more than saw, each come back to life with a great, gasping breath, whole and new.

However much power I commanded, I was still mortal. The power opened its mouth and swallowed me whole. I was drowning now. Drowning in the power. There was so much of it. Instead of controlling it. It now controlled me. I was pushed out of my body and something forced itself inside, banishing my mind to the far corners of an empty void.

I was bodiless, trapped in an ocean of endless blue light. It was everywhere and it choked me. This was why the Giga Annihilation Program was locked away. Calling on the power of Creation was unnatural. Things, beings, unimaginable in their power lived there, chained to laws of non interference. I interrupted that balance and now my body, wherever it was, was free to use however they saw fit.

I was trapped.

This place. How long have I been here? I don’t know.

I wonder if anyone knows. Time isn’t relevant here.

Time is nothing.

An hour could have passed since I've been here or even lifetimes could have gone by. I don’t know. It doesn’t even matter to me. Nothing matters.

Not anymore.

I felt broken. My mind torn and shattered all across the timeless void.

Was I insane? Could this place drive me to insanity.

I don’t know. It felt like it.

This was my prison.___ Punishment.

I tampered with powers no mortal should.

I was doomed here.

This was my oblivion.

Without warning, luminous red light shone through the never-ending blue.

The light was like a small star, red and warm, shining brilliantly in its splendor. That light shined brighter and the blue light hesitated. A presence, carrying love, such undying love, wrapped my mind up in its warmth. I felt safe. Loved. Wanted. Needed. The red light carried me, taking me away from the prison of ageless space.

I blinked. Actually blinked. Hazel eyes, overflowing with tears, were the first thing I saw. I tried to cry, not believing Adam was alive, but I was hit with a wave of exhaustion and a burning pain that dragged me into darkness.

***

I spent a week in the hospital. In a coma. Turned out I had exhausted my body to the point where it just completely shut down everything except brain functions. The guys, alive and annoyingly ecstatic, had spun this great tale of us hiking in the mountains, and I had taken a bad fall. Me? Falling? Sounded plausible and highly believable I grudgingly admitted. The doctors, even my mom, ate that story up.

I ended up with cuts, scratches, tons of bruises and second degree burns. How I got the burns the doctors wondered. But I wasn’t telling. They wouldn’t scar. Advanced, mystical healing at its best.

My brush with godhood had been more severe than I remembered. I had brought the guys back to life. Turned out their souls hadn’t quite moved on yet, so that played a defining factor. I couldn’t put into words the happiness that rushed through me seeing their smiling faces. That was a plus. The bad was I had been possessed by a Divine Ancient. A First God that was curious as to what awoke him from slumber. He had possessed my body and systematically began to destroy all of the Ever After. Why? I don’t know. I wasn’t a First God.

That red light had been Adam throwing forth his mind to meet mine. Even in my prison caged in the eternal abyss, he had found and brought me back to my body. For soulmates, our minds knew no such boundaries that would block telepathic attempts at communication.

I knew no matter how normal and happy the guys acted, they all remembered their deaths. Vividly. I know I did. Each one of them. The nightmares are a bitch. For the first time in my life, I’m having insomnia. When I close my eyes to sleep I see blood and screams echo in my head.

Killian, Adam, Ryan, and I sat on a hill overlooking the city of Centennial. We were parked on the same bench we sat on the last time we came here. We didn’t bother driving since bus routes let out right near the park. I passed along the newspaper in my hand to Ryan. They were silent, each processing the bombshell I just dropped.

Ryan was the first to speak. He was scanning the article with a careful eye. “Are you sure she doesn’t know you’re Chosen?”

I nodded and let out a weary sigh. “Yeah. She told Morgan and me all about it over breakfast this morning. She’s been working on this for months, checking all her sources, and double checking. She's had interviews from a half dozen people who sighted us or who we’ve helped in the past.”

Ryan’s eyes scanned the front page of the paper. “She has an interview from the guy we saved from that banshee months ago, and even some from the kids we helped at The Door.”

Killian choked. “As in the vampire attack that I almost died in?”

I nodded. “The very same. Now I know why she’s been at work so much these past few months. She thinks this will get her that promotion she’s been jonesing for. Hell, she even thinks she’ll get a Pulitzer for this.”

“Centennial’s Heroic Quartet,” Adam read over Killian’s shoulder. “That’s so Disney. Couldn’t we be the Death Squad Four?”

We all gave him a look. He pouted and I kissed him on the cheek, right over his dimple. “Sure we can, baby. I’ll help you make shirts.”

Adam made a fist and pumped it down, hissing, “Yessss!” He kissed me back, just a quick brush of lips. “That’s why I love you. You know how to appreciate me.”

I blinked. “You know that’s the first time you’ve said I love you? It was pretty roundabout but you said it.”

“Really?” He was frowning so cutely that I couldn't resist smiling. It was adorable. “...Well, I do.” He paused suddenly looking tense and terribly unsure like he was nervous if he said too much. “You might not be ready to say-”

I pulled him into a long, deep kiss that left him speechless. A part of me wanted to stay here forever and kiss Adam all over his face, along his cheekbone and whisper in his ear everything I've felt all this time. Only the thought of later made me hold back. We had time now. All the time in the world. I pulled back and laughed at his gobsmacked expression, running my hand through his wavy, dark hair. I reached down to Adam's knuckles, the smooth places between his fingers, tracing the skin there.

“I love you, too,” My tone left no room to question the sincerity or seriousness.

Adam smiled like Christmas morning and it made me feel like I could fly. “No take backs, princeling.”

Killian’s gagging sounds tore me away from our great Hallmark moment. I sent him a reeling glare and he only smiled charmingly. I increased the heat and dammit it only made him laugh. I must be losing my touch.

“You guys are so cute I just want to shoot myself.” Killian mimed a gun pointing at his temple with a finger.

Ryan jabbed him with an elbow laughing too, but thankfully, not as goofily as Killian. “You guys are perfect for each other.”

“Speaking of...” I said innocently. “You two have something you want to get off your chests. Any feelings or confessions of holidays spent asking Santa Claus for a heart? Sorry, Killian. Your secrets out. I found your Christmas letter.”

Killian rolled his eyes. “Eat rocks, bitch.”

I noticed that he and Ryan were sitting awfully close. Their shoulders touched and occasionally their brushing hands lingered a beat too long. I caught Ryan’s eye and was blushing heavily. He shot me a look that said tell you later and I nodded, satisfied. Killian didn’t catch our unspoken communication and glared when I smiled knowingly. Take that. Not laughing anymore, huh, chuckles? I felt good to be back on the home court.

I cleared my throat and they looked at me expectantly. “We saved the world.”

Adam chuckled. “It's surreal doesn’t it?”

Killian nodded. “I feel like there should be a parade or something. But they’ll never know how close to Hell they came.”

“We carry the knowledge for them.” Ryan looked out at the city. “They should never have to know.”

I jumped to my feet. “We won. So it’s pose time!”

I glared at them and they jumped to their feet and we all hummed, “Ta-Da!”

I don’t know who tripped first. Someone stomped on my foot and I smacked Ryan in the face, by accident, with my arm. We went crashing into the ground in a mess of tangled limbs. We cackled, laughing loudly and freely, for the first time since that day. That terrible and final battle. I leaned on Adam’s chest laughing just as loud. And I knew everything was going to be okay.

Time goes on as it always does, and the world continued to spin. We saved it and everyone occupying it. It felt good sometimes to look around and realize we did it and survived. We were still here. That’s what surviving was all about.

I knew that this battle was finished. But our fight was far from over. Wherever there was good there was evil. Where darkness roamed we would be there to fight it with light.

We wouldn’t let evil take this world without a fight. I had some problems at first adjusting but I knew who and what I was now. I'm Chad Summers. Codename: Warlock, leader of the Chosen, Champion of Magic, and Prince of Atlantis. I’m the boogeyman to the boogeyman. I’m the thing that monsters fear staring back at them from the place they dare not look. I’m not afraid of things that go bump in the night. I kill them.

[The End]