Authors: Philip Mcclennan
Chad didn’t respond. In fact, he didn’t even acknowledge his presence.
“Hey Chad,” said Jade. Again, he didn’t reply.
Sensing something wasn’t quite right, James looked at Sophie. The Irish girl held her arms out in an, ‘I don’t know’ like gesture. James approached his friend with caution.
“Chad?” James held out his arm and touched him on the shoulder. “Chad?”
His friend quickly turned around to look at him. “Yeah?” he answered, now seeming completely fine. “You ok man?”
“I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?” Chad seemed a little bemused by the whole thing. He didn’t understand why everyone was staring at him oddly.
“You seemed a little fuzzy there for a moment,” said James.
“A little? You were stood in a daze since Lucius left!” Sophie interjected.
“That’s right, Lucius was here,” James said looking at Chad.
“Yes he was, and I understood what he was saying!” said Chad. The group gathered around the agent awaiting his explanation. “He’s planning something big. Something on a worldwide scale.”
“I didn’t hear him say anything about that,” said Sophie, sounding unconvinced.
“Shush Sophie, let Chad speak. Go on…” said James, who was eager to hear what his friend had learned. Unlike Sophie, James knew that he; Chad and Lucius were involved in something bigger, far grander than a simple mission.
“He spoke in riddles, for the most part, but he talked about bringing chaos. He wants to spread panic,” said Chad.
“Spread panic, why?” asked Cody.
Chad shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
I need to speak with Chad alone,
thought James. “Right, everyone, I want you to search the area nearby for any sign of the target. Me and Chad will stay here and try to figure out these drawings.”
“Right, come on guys,” said the Irish girl, taking it upon herself to be the group’s sub-leader.
“Don’t venture too far. If you see him, call out. Don’t engage him without us,” warned James. Sophie and the others left the room to scout around, leaving James and Chad alone.
“So, what really happened?” asked James.
“What do you mean?”
“The whole going into a trance?”
Chad laughed it off. “I was fine man, I was just trying to make sense of all of this,” he answered, pointing up at the drawings on the wall.
James took a look at the imagery himself. “What does that look like to you?” said Chad, referring to the two large circular drawings.
“It looks like a drawing of two planets maybe?” said James.
“Read what it says underneath them.”
James began to read the strange writing beneath the two images. “The Underworld, realm of eternal darkness,” James read. “Can you read this too?”
“Yeah, I gathered you could as well,” said Chad.
James continued to read. “Alexandria, the realm of everlasting light. Alexandria…”
“You don’t seem surprised,” Chad said.
“I’ve heard of it before,” replied James.
“Where?”
James hesitated for a moment, remembering Professor Milton’s words about keeping Chad in the dark about the possibility of a connection between him, Chad and Lucius. Given the circumstances, and the discovery that only he and Chad could read the ancient writing on the walls, he realised that Chad was beginning to figure this out on his own. So James told him everything. He told him about Professor Milton’s theory. He told him about the strange dreams he had been having. He mentioned the fact that he’d been seeing visions of a young girl from a strange place.
Chad couldn’t believe it. He thought it was only him who had been having strange visions. He thought he was going crazy. But now he realised he wasn’t.
James has been having them too
. However, Chad’s dreams had not been as pleasant as James’. “I’ve been having visions too…” said Chad, not sounding as upbeat as James about the whole thing.
James waited for a moment for Chad to explain the dreams further. “Well then?” he said, finally losing patience.
“They’re not the same tales of paradise that you’ve been having,” warned Chad.
Like Chad, James had thought that he was alone in having strange dreams whilst he slept. He was very anxious to hear more. “What are they about? Did you see a strange place or a girl?”
“Not exactly…” said Chad. He puffed his cheeks. “They were of pain, anger and death. I see a dark place and these eyes. Those eyes…”
If James hadn’t experienced premonitions himself, he may have thought Chad to be crazy, but as it was, he believed him. James thought for a moment and then looked up at the images of the two worlds that were drawn upon the walls of the room. “Hey Chad, you don’t think…”
Sophie, Cody and the twins walked back into the room. “There’s no sign of him,” said the Irish girl, interrupting James and Chad’s conversation. The two of them thought it wise to put their discussion on hold for a moment and continue it when they were alone.
“He’s vanished again, no footprints, nothing,” said Cody. The look of defeat was plainly in his face. “He’s got to be around here somewhere,” James said.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. The surrounding area began to turn red as the eruption of loud rumbling engulfed the room.
“Lucius!” Shouted Chad.
The white haired man appeared on a small ledge high above them. “It is not me,” he said coldly.
A large creature smashed emphatically through the wall with the images on it. Bricks and stone crashed down on top of Chad like a blizzard as James jumped back narrowly avoiding the rubble.
The strange beast like creature now stood before James. It was the hell demon Ifrit, from the realm of Underworld, placed here by Trenkenth long ago in order to stop any unwanted trespassers entering the pyramid. The demon stood over twelve feet in height. It weighed over six hundred pounds and had a muscular build to match. It wore padded clothing around its lower reign, the type most likely skinned from an animal. The beast had chains around its hands and body, and a large skull attached to its chest, which the chains flowed directly through. The demon’s skin was red and upon its back were two large dark wings. Some of the chains around it were broken. It appeared that the creature had been freed very recently from wherever it had been imprisoned.
“I thank you both for releasing my friend,” said Lucius from the safety of the ledge high above them. The white haired man walked away into the shadows beyond the ledge, leaving James and the others to face the demon alone. Some glimpses of fire formed from within the creature’s mouth as it breathed. It was not in the best of moods after being locked up inside the temple for what was most likely decades.
The creature advanced slowly towards James. “Get out of here! Now!” shouted James to the other agents. The others looked terrified and were already in retreat.
“What about you?” said Cody, who was reluctant to leave.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Get after Lucius. You can’t let him get away!”
Cody did not move.
“That is an order!”
Cody reluctantly did what James asked and set off out of the room.
James raised his hands, preparing for battle. The look on his face, however, was not that of a man filled with confidence. A long burning red blade appeared in the creature’s hand and it swung it towards the agent. James sensed that the repercussions of the fire blade connecting with him would likely be catastrophic. He barely managed to avoid the blade as it skimmed past his face. James felt the intense heat of the blade as it narrowly missed him. He now had another problem however. James suddenly felt unnaturally fatigued. It was as if the energy was being sapped from his body.
Ifrit swung the blade towards him once more. James dodged it and threw a punch upwards towards the face of the much bigger foe. The creature was rocked a little by the punch however it came back with one of its own. James blocked the strike and held the creature’s arm. Its strength was incredible and the agent fought with both of his arms against the strength of the demons single arm. Ifrit raised its arm, lifting James off the ground and unleashed a head-butt towards him. The impact sent James crashing through the already partially broken wall from which the creature had originally appeared from. James crashed down into the ground as stones and rocks from the wall fell all around him. He slowly picked himself to his feet and looked around. The area was damp, and darker than the room he had just been in. Broken chains were scattered throughout. It seemed that the creature had been locked in the confines of this area during its years of imprisonment.
James thought the room resembled more like the insides of a cavern rather than a pyramid. The walls were wet and the rock formations were somewhat different from what he had seen up until this point. James had little time to dwell on his thoughts however as the creature entered the area with a huge roar. Realising he was truly overmatched, James looked around for something that might aid him. He picked up a large boulder that was close to him and hurled it towards the creature. The demon didn’t even attempt to move out of the rocks path as it hit him square on. The boulder smashed to pieces upon impact, however, the beast was unfazed, instead continuing its advance towards the agent.
The demon’s blade started to glow bright red. A slow buzzing sound began to come from it, which gradually became louder as the glow became brighter. James began to observe the blade.
This can’t be good,
he thought, looking at the glow. Moments later a large concentrated flame of fire shot out from the blade. The fire crashed into James’ chest, sending him flying back over fifteen feet. James cried out in pain. Despite his unnaturally resilient physic, he had never shown any special invulnerability to fire. The fire pierced his skin and blood began to trickle down his chest beneath his clothing.
James attempted to crawl away as the creature stalked him. He knew he was no match for it and had to regroup. Before he knew it, Ifrit stood over him. James turned himself over onto his back and looked up at the ominous sight of the hell demon. It raised its blade high up over its head. James covered his face with his arms as he prepared for the blade to plough through his body.
Ifrit hurled its blade towards the fallen agent, but a golden axe blocked its path. “I don’t think so!” Chad crashed the axe into the creatures face. For the first time, Ifrit was taken from his feet. The beast crashed down into some fallen rock that was scattered along the ground. The demon clearly didn’t enjoy the axe striking it, roaring in disapproval. Chad raced towards the beast, unleashing fierce blows with the axe. Whilst on the offensive, Chad had to employ all of his speed and skill to duck and weave in and out of the creature’s attacks. Ifrit did manage to land some blows but Chad took them well. The power within the golden axe made him a match for the creature.
They battled back and fourth for several minutes. Chad gaining the upper hand one moment and then Ifrit the other. The contest was on a knife-edge until the demon finally landed a blow with its blade. The impact was like nothing Chad had ever felt before. He was paralyzed with pain and fell to his knees, dropping the axe by his side. The demon hoisted Chad up with his left hand and raised him high in the air. He then unleashed a fierce blow with its weapon into Chad’s head that send him hurling across the room.
Whilst all this was going on James had turned on the ground to observe the carnage. He was lying in a puddle that had originated from the dripping of water from the ceiling of the damp cavern. He was beaten and bloody from the mauling he had received from the demon only a few moments earlier. Then, like before, James’ hand began to give off a blue glow. It was the same glow that had occurred when James and the others had been trapped underwater.
The glow came from James’ right hand, which was fully beneath the water of the puddle he lay in. James looked over at the now increasingly one-sided battle between Ifrit and Chad. The demon picked up Chad from the ground and held him high up before throwing him down to the ground with tremendous force. The impact cracked the stone floor beneath the pair. The punishment was not over for Chad however as the creature picked him up again quickly and threw him violently against the wall.
James struggled to his feet and thought about trying to aid his friend. He then noticed the dripping of water from the roof of the cavern and had a better idea. He raised his right hand and began to concentrate, much like he had when he manipulated the water earlier. The sound of rumbling began to form above their heads. The demon even brought a halt to its vicious assault on Chad to take notice. The rumbling was increasing in volume by the second. James concentrated harder, willing the water to come.
The roof of the cavern gave way and a fountain of water came gushing through it. The water crashed onto the three of them and Ifrit roared with disapproval as a small tidal wave descended upon him. Within a few moments, the water had filled the room. Beneath the water was murky and visibility was difficult at best due to the dust from the rocks that floated about. James stood at the foot of the room still, with his right hand held out. The hand glowed a bright blue as he easily manipulated the water.
Without warning, Ifrit appeared through the mist within the water and struck James hard with its weapon. James completely lost focus and the blue glow from his hand faded away. The water began to sink slowly through the ground in the cavern. As it sank beneath the level of the creature’s head it flipped the weapon it was wielding around. A buzzing sound began to come from it and the weapon began to glow red once more. James could feel the object rising in temperature and heat waves were now visible around the weapon’s blade.
Something not so pleasant was about to come from it and James was helpless. Suddenly, Ifrit’s head was cut clean from its body. The headless body fell to the ground, revealing Chad standing behind it with the golden axe in his hands. Chad held out his hand and pulled James to his feet.
“You don’t look too bad for a guy who was having the shit beat out of him,” said James.
Truth be told, Chad didn’t look like a man who had just been in the fight of his life. In fact, he had only minor cuts and grazes on his face. “It’s because of this!” Chad said, holding out the axe. “Its power is unbelievable. It almost doubles my strength, and also heals pretty quickly…see?” said Chad, who pointed to the fact that his cuts were healing themselves at a very fast rate. “You look in pretty bad shape man, here take a hold of this for a few minutes and you’ll be fine.” Chad handed the axe to James. The latter held the axe for a few moments, waiting for the alleged power that Chad had claimed the axe possessed to flow through his veins.