Shadow Walkers (23 page)

\“Of course I can!” Allison shouts. “Hector is my friend. He looks out for his teammates and he’s a great guy. And the Void are evil incarnate. They desire nothing but pain and suffering, and target regular humans- people who can’t even protect themselves. Walkers and Inverts used to fight because we had different ideals, but things are different now. But the Void have
never
changed, they only want to kill. Walkers and Inverts kill the Void to protect the people that can’t protect themselves. We don’t just discriminate against the Void because they’re different than us.”

“So would you say that the Void are an unnecessary evil?”

Allison nods her head. “Yes. To me, the Void are like a disease. They don’t do anything but harm. The only reason that Damon and Malia are friendly is because they’re part human. Damon himself has said that his human blood is the only reason he doesn’t crave destruction like the other Void. Even the elites, who possess the ability to think for themselves and communicate with us, choose to follow the path of destruction.”

“We understand. The logic you’re using is hard to argue with. To you, the Void indeed show no other traits besides their desire to destroy. We only ask you this because some people don’t believe in ganging up on groups, regardless of the cause. To many people, even unnecessary evils such as the Void shouldn’t be eradicated. They believe that there is always a non-violent way to go about things. But the opposite of that logic can also be true- sometimes, things just truly are not acceptable to exist among us. Racism, sexism, homophobia- would the world not be a better place if these things stopped existing?” She pauses to take a deep breath.

“But that’s enough talking. It’s evident that you have a point of view that you feel confident in. Just remember, Allison, that it’s up to you to decide what the proper way of going about things is. Good and evil are simply concepts developed by man. And you too can decide what the ‘right’ thing to do is in your own path of life. And above all else, remember that there is always a reason for everything. May we meet again, Allison.”

“Wait!” Allison yells. She steps forward, now eager to continue her conversation with this stranger. “I have a few questions, like… what is this castle? What’s with that symbol on the wall, and more importantly, what do you know about my mother? You obviously know something since you stole her appearance. And… am I really the strongest Walker?”

The woman looks at Allison and smiles. “This castle is the point between your world and the human world, and also, a place for us to study you Walkers. As for that symbol you saw, we can’t disclose what it represents. After all, we’re leaving that up to all of you to figure out. And as for your mother…” The woman closes her eyes for a second. When they open, Allison can finally see some hint of emotion. “Your mother is dead, Allison. Your father has lied to you for these past eight years.”

In that instant Allison’s chest felt as if her heart was frozen solid. She looks down at her feet and shakes her head. “I knew it.”

The woman chuckles playfully. “Your family name is something that you take great pride in, and you aspire to impress your father, despite how he treats you. Neither of those things are necessarily bad, but you should know the truth behind your father before you continue to hold any admiration towards him. And like we said,
you
are the strongest Shadow Walker. You may still be growing right now, but your powers will soon exceed that of any of the Walkers who have come before you- including your father. Nicholas and Hector may have outshone you during this mission, but all three of you will have equally important roles in the missions to come.” The woman’s body suddenly begins to turn to smoke. Her lower half quickly fades away from sight.

“That is as far as this conversation will go. Touch the crystal on the altar and you will be taken to where you need to be. However, your teammates will not be able to join you until you finish your mission. Farewell, Ms. Marxon.”

The woman disappears completely by the end of her sentence. Her presence now felt like a dream. The crystal ball on the altar suddenly glows with a faint purple light. Allison was still unsure of what the woman wanted from her, or if she could really trust the stranger, but as it stood she had no other choices to make. With no doors or windows in the room, Allison does the only thing that could possibly help her escape.

She puts her hand on the crystal ball.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Allison

The mysterious woman definitely didn’t lie to Allison. Upon touching the crystal ball she was suddenly teleported to yet another room inside of the castle. She now stood in a large corridor that was lit up by the blue flames of the torches hanging on the walls. She walks forward without hesitation, towards the only other person in the room- Gerald.

The Walker-turned-Void had his hand placed on something that Allison couldn’t see. Though she knew well enough that it had to be the last gate that was guarding the Pit. She clenches her fist and exhales. She wasn’t prepared to go into this battle alone, but she had no other choice. The outcome of this fight would be the deciding factor of whether the Walkers would live, or be exterminated. And with Isaac and Hector pulled into a trap, it was all on Allison to stop Gerald. She had the confidence, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think it would be easy. Even though she had faced elite Void in battle, she couldn’t have fought any of them and lived without the assistance of her teammates.

This was where she would prove whether or not she was truly worthy of the Marxon name.

Allison summons a crossbow. If she could take Gerald down before he noticed her, then she would save herself a world of trouble. She takes aim at his head and pulls the trigger. The arrow flies across the room, but the captain sidesteps the arrow without even looking. He turns around and looks at Allison from across the room.

“Why… do you… stop me?” Gerald barely finishes the sentence. His words were slurred and nearly incomprehensible. Allison takes a look at his deformed face and cringes. The former captain used to be so handsome. She honestly felt sorry for the man. After all, it wasn’t his choice to become one of the Void. Though in the end it didn’t matter who he
used
to be. The man standing in front of her now was a Void trying to destroy the people that she loved, and for that man she offered no sympathy.

“I’m protecting my home.” Allison answers as she summons another arrow. She exerts more energy as she pulls the trigger, which causes the arrow to fly twice as fast. Gerald throws his arms up in front of his face, barely managing to block in time. The arrow pierces his right arm and he screams. In a fit of rage, he turns around and begins punching the invisible gate.

“Stop that!” Allison yells. She switches her crossbow out for a spear and runs towards the former Walker without remorse. She tries to jab at him, but he easily dodges all of her strikes. She speeds up her attacks to no avail. Gerald was able to anticipate the path of her strikes with ease, making him almost impossible to hit.

She lifts her spear into the air and swings down as if it were a hammer. Gerald reaches out to try and grab the shaft, and Allison seizes the opportunity. Mid swing, just as his hand was about to grab the shaft, Allison gets rid of her spear in favor of a sword. With no time to react to the sudden change, Gerald’s hand meets with the edge of the blade.

And then four fingers fall to the floor.

He screams and backs away, but Allison wasn’t going to let him retreat. She moves forward and takes another swing, this time chopping off his forearm. Gerald cries out in pain. And then for some reason, the man begins laughing. The laugh was so out of place- so dark- that it made Allison shiver.

“What’s so funny about losing an arm?” She asks.

“Lose?” Gerald asks with a wicked smile on his face. “How will you deal... with six?”

Allison doesn’t have time to react before she gets picked off of the ground and thrown towards a wall. She instinctively drops her blade and braces for impact. She hits the wall with a thud and a sharp pain races through her chest. There was no denying it- a rib was just broken. She falls to the ground and cries out in pain, but doesn’t let anything slow her down. She quickly gets to her feet and turns to face her enemy, only to find that her situation has become far worse.

There were now five Geralds standing in front of Allison. She watches as the arm on the ground begins to bubble with purple goo and quickly grow, until it too takes the shape of a sixth Gerald. The original’s arm- what was left of it at least- begins to ooze purple goo as well. In a matter of seconds the goo spreads out and takes on a defined shape. And just like that, Gerald’s arm was completely regenerated.

“Do you… like my Stitch?” The six Geralds simultaneously ask before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

Allison wanted to scream. Gerald possessed instant regeneration and the ability to create clones from severed limbs- his powers were a perfect counter to her own. She was practically dealing with a super powered hydra that could survive any of her attacks. If Nick was here instead of her, he could just freeze Gerald solid. She was sure that even Hector could have found a way to beat the Void.

But Allison knew that she had no hope of defeating the monster. As she was now- even at the very end of her mission- she couldn’t do anything to help her teammates.

One of the Gerald clones suddenly runs towards Allison. She evades his tackle, only for a second clone to pick her off of the ground mid side-step. He tightens his grip around her body and her chest suddenly felt like it was on fire. She feels a third hand grab her by her ankle. She tries to kick herself free, but it’s to no avail. Out of desperation she even tries to shadow jump without a shadow, but with the pain spreading in her chest and her mind racing in twenty different directions, she couldn’t possibly focus well enough to gather the needed energy.

The Gerald clone firmly grips her left foot and twists it with no remorse. Allison bites her tongue, completely refusing to scream from the pain of her now broken ankle. And then she gets thrown to the ground, her head hitting the bricks hard enough to warrant someone passing out. If only Allison were that lucky, then she could ignore the excruciating pain all over her body.

The Geralds stand around her and, in unison, begin kicking Allison’s body from head to toe. At one point one of their feet crashes into her face, shattering her nose and sending a thick stream of blood onto the floor. She finds it extremely hard to breath after one of them stomps on her chest. For the first time in a long time, Allison no longer cared about pride or winning. She stops trying to hold back the pain and lets her tears fall to the floor. It was the first time she had cried since her mother went missing eight years ago.

She finds herself staring at the blue flame of the torches. Studying the dancing flames only further reminds Allison of of her mother. She somehow manages to smile. She found it funny that the last memory that was playing through her head before her death was also the last conversation she had with her mother before she disappeared.

* * *

Allison had been lying in her bed, reading a book from the human world about mythical creatures. The story she was reading at the time was about a fiery bird who, after a long battle against a dragon, was reborn from it’s own ashes. And then her mother walked into the room. She was wearing a blue gown that looked good against her smooth dark skin. Her hair was put up in a bun, and her face had no signs of makeup on it. Though the lack of makeup didn’t make her mother look any less beautiful.

“Allison, can I get a hug before your father and I go out?”

She looked at her mother and smiled. For a few moments she could only think of how beautiful her mother looked. Then she looked back down at the book. The illustration of the bird was beautiful, just like her mother.

“Momma, does the Phoenix hurt itself with its own fire?”

Her mother slowly walked over and sat down on Allison’s bed. “No, I don’t think so. I like to imagine that the Phoenix doesn’t feel any pain at all. They’re such tough birds, I don’t think they have the mind to care about something as insignificant as pain.”

Allison nodded, amazed by her mother's answer. “Kind of like our family.”

Her mother looked taken aback for a moment, but she quickly formed a smile. “What do you mean?”

Allison smiled back. “Well, us Marxon’s are strong! No matter what happens we push ahead, just like the phoenix!” Her mother laughed and patted Allison's leg. Allison laughed too, as she loved hearing her mother sound happy. “I just wish the phoenix was real, because then we could have a family mascot! That would be awesome!”

Her mother put a hand on her shoulder. “Who knows Allison, maybe they are real. The regular humans can’t see us Shadow Walkers, so is it too far fetched to think that we can’t see the phoenix? This world of ours is filled with crazy possibilities. You should never give up hope because of other people's lack of faith!”

Allison jumped forward and wrapped her arms around her mother for their very last hug. “You’re as beautiful as a phoenix, momma.”

Her mother had pulled away from her and wiped a tear away. “You are too, sweetie. Now don’t stay up all night reading, or your father might blow a fuse when he get’s back tonight.”

Her mother then stood up and walked to the door, stopping there for only a second. Before disappearing for the rest of her daughter's life, Allison’s mother cried out. Her voice was a mix between joy and sadness, something that Allison didn’t understand at the time. “I love you, Allison. Goodbye.”

And then the last thing Allison saw of her mother was her blue dress billowing behind her as she left the room.

* * *

The blue flames on the wall were the last thing Allison would ever see. As she lies helpless on the ground, she wonders if the flames were there to mock her, like a cosmic joke that had worked its way full circle. But none of it truly mattered. Her vision was fading, and she could no longer hear the Gerald clones shouting insults at her. The pain was quickly fading away, and Allison knew what it all meant. With the last of her strength, and her last tear rolling down her cheek, she speaks her final words.

“I’m sorry guys. Looks like I wasn’t strong enough.”

And as if her body was politely waiting for her to finish speaking, her heart stops beating only seconds after her apology. Her body goes completely limp. The Gerald clones kick her corpse a few more times before they realize that she was no longer trying to protect herself. They walk away in unison, headed back towards the invisible gate.

With her body lying still on the ground, Allison knew that she was technically dead. At the very least, her body had shut down. But for some strange reason, she was looking down at her beaten up body. She knew that she shouldn’t have been able to think- to see even. But there she was looking at her corpse. There was something that was keeping her soul tied to this world, leaving her aware of her surroundings.

That was when a voice suddenly spoke to Allison.

“
The fire, use it.
” An unfamiliar voice says to her. She looks over to the blue flames on the wall, and the fire from each of the torches suddenly starts flying towards her body. Her lifeless corpse was now serving as a bonfire for the Gerald clones to stare at in wonder. All of the torches in the room now had their fire clinging to Allison, setting her entire body aflame.

That was when Allison opened her eyes. Her heart was beating once again, and the bones that had been broken before were now perfectly fine. She stands up and outstretches her arm. She stares in awe at the hand that rests underneath the blue flames. She didn’t feel any pain at all.

“What is this? You were dead!” One of the Geralds shouts.

“This is impossible!” Another clone chimes in.

“What are you?” The original Gerald asks, the fear evident in his voice.

Allison smiles as she wills the flames to move away from her body. “I’m a phoenix.”

The Gerald’s look at each other with wide eyes. “Break down the door!” One of them yells. Allison focuses on the flames surrounding her and beckons them to listen to her command, much like she does when choosing which weapon she wanted to summon.The fire listens to her orders and shoots forward in the form of six fireballs.

The Gerald clones are each set on fire the instant the blue fireballs connect with them. Their subsequent screams let Allison know that- unlike for her- the flames must have been very hot to touch. The six of them fall to the ground and begin rolling around in a pointless attempt to put out the fire.

“Stop! Put it out, please!” The original Gerald screams. Immediately after his outcry two of the clones suddenly combust into clouds of purple dust. Shortly after two more clones follow suit. The second to last Gerald stands up and charges at Allison. She summons her spear once again, this time imbuing it with the power of her flames. Then she throws it directly at the last clone's head.

More purple dust fills the air.

The final Gerald desperately cries out to convey one last message. “The Queen… will kill you all!” Allison sighs and throws another spear towards the original Gerald’s heart. It pierces, and he turns to dust.

“I’ve heard that one before.” Allison says flatly. The room was finally quiet. She grins as she wills the fire to return to the torches on the wall. And then she’s left with nothing to do but to marvel at her own accomplishment. She had somehow managed to die and then come back to life. With an ability like that, she finally felt as if she was capable of honoring her family name.