In the afternoon heat, Klaus sat on the back porch of his small and cozy home. With a book in his left hand, he reached for the iced coffee resting on a small patio table.
After taking a short sip of his drink, he placed it back down and returned his focus to his book.
It was a story he had read many times before. One that he’s heard since his childhood. One that had stuck with him to this day.
It was about a young boy who wandered in an empty universe. He had all the food and water he needed, as well as knowledge that went beyond the stars. Yet the one crucial thing he lacked was human emotion. Alone in the world, experiencing wonders and sights with nobody to share it with. However, one fateful day, the universe spoke to him.
“Why do you feel so lonely?”
The boy would turn his face away.
“Of all the knowledge that I have, all the things I’ve seen, I still do not know why it is that I feel so alone,”
The universe replied in her melodic voice.
“That knowledge is the key to your heartache. If you cannot find humans, create them,”
Using the wisdom of the universe, the boy did it.
He had created man. Filled with all the different memories, experiences and desires he had. Each a little different.
But, some of those desires were evil. And the powers of evil manifested in the humans were born with those desires. Thus, evil became a part of the world, plunging it into darkness. As their powers grew, their bodies became twisted into something that was no longer man.
But then, a bright blinding light illuminated half of the world. The power of justice and all that is right fought back against the evil. Although their battle ended in a draw, as a result, they created an eternal balance of light and dark.
The light must protect the weak from the darkness of evil. And evil must cleanse the weak to allow for the rise of the strong.
If only it actually happened that way…
Klaus closed the book and tossed it onto the patio table.
With the cover of “How to Tell Your Kid’s About Beasts” spread out on the table and Klaus leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, the soundscape of summer filled the air.
*****
Brrrr-iiiii-ng Brrrr-iiiii-ng!!!
Klaus jolted awake at the sound.
He briefly took a moment to rub his eyes and check the time on his watch.
3:55 already!?
Klaus heaved out a groan as he got up from the patio chair.
He walked slowly through the sliding glass door, back into the house.
Grabbing the pack of cigarettes from the counter, he flared his zippo open and lit a cigarette, taking a puff before answering the phone.
Exhaling the smoke, he answered;
“Hello, Klaus here,”
The voice on the other end, seemed in a panic.
“Klaus, it’s Ellie, there is a code 4 situation, headed in your direction!”
Hearing this, Klaus clenched his teeth, breaking the filter of the cigarette.
As the cigarette hit the floor, beads of sweat formed along Klaus’ forehead.
He took a second to recompose himself before answering.
“What’s the situation?” Klaus asked with a calm voice.
“We didn’t catch the shift in time. It managed to get away before we could take it down. It’s already pushed pass the boundary line of the subject! You know who it’s going for, so get your ass over there now!”
Klaus dropped the phone and ran into the basement of the house.
Behind an obscure secret door, was a room filled with books, notes, weapons, and a variety of strange liquids. It was dimly lit and emitted a dark red hue.
Klaus approached a vault that sat alongside the wall with multiple weapons hanging on display stands.
He opened the vault and grabbed a small sheathed sword and buckled it to his waist. He quickly closed the vault and went to the table to grab a bottle of pills.
He popped it open and out came a small red pill.
Klaus took one and threw it into his mouth as he placed the rest of the pills back down on the table.
He swallowed the pill as he momentarily stretched his arms.
After a few moments, he slowly opened his eyes.
Almost as if his eyes were dissolving, his dark brown eyes turned ruby red.
He shook his head as though he was reorienting himself before walking back up to the first floor.
Upon leaving through the front door, Klaus stood still and jumped.
In the blink of an eye, leaving only shadow of himself behind, Klaus was soaring through the air. Jumping from build to building at speeds faster than the naked eye could see.
As Klaus neared the front gate of the school, he could hear the crowds of screaming and the rumbling footsteps of people running away.
Klaus bit his lip as he leapt off the closest chimney onto another roof.
Shit! Why did this have to happen now!
Klaus unsheathed his blade as he neared the school.
He gripped the handle of the small silver blade with his sweaty hands.
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Klaus reached into his pockets out and pulled out a small transmitter and placed it into his ear.
“What’s the ETA on your arrival?”
There was a brief moment of radio static before the same female voice from before chimed in.
“We’re sending two more hunters, an evac team as well as a damage control specialist. They were deployed right after calling you! It’s a ten-minute ETA before their arrival. Stall the beast Klaus!”
Klaus grunted as his knees bent on the landing.
Feeling his leg about to give out, he dove into a roll before the weight of the impact broke his bones.
He looked up from his kneeled position.
The school was directly in front of him.
There was nothing but chaos erupting before him. People were struggling to climb over each other to get past the front gate. Klaus scanned the ground as well as the building.
His eyes passed the second floor window, only for it to shoot back to see two figures in the hallway.
Jean!
Klaus could see that Jean was backing up slowly and was holding something in his hand.
Despite the urgency of the situation, Klaus found himself anticipating Jean’s next course of action.
As Klaus watched intently, Jean finally stopped before taking an outstretched step forward and flinging the rock at the beast.
For a moment, Klaus assumed nothing had happened.
But, before he was able to get up completely, the glass lining the hallway shattered as blast of wind came crashing out from within the building.
Klaus’s body immediately froze as he investigated the hallway to see it splattered with dark red gore. His eyes immediately shifted back towards Jean who was standing still.
“JEAN! RUN!” Klaus screamed.
But it was a meaningless effort. He was still too far from him.
Finally, realizing that he had been neglecting his task, he gripped the sword tightly once more and leapt towards the windows with lightning speed.
As his body flung into the building, he grazed his left hand across the base of the blade, causing large drops of blood to coat the edge of the blade.
Suddenly, the blade jutted forward becoming long enough to potentially slice the whole building in half. With Klaus’s body being flung forward, he slashed at the beast’s arm.
The severed arm flung itself in the opposite direction of the slash with a heavy force.
Catching himself in the upper corner of the hallway, he sprang up his legs and hurled himself into the creature, spinning momentarily in the process to reposition, and swung the blade into the flesh of the creature, splitting its body in two.
Klaus looked back to see a barely conscious Jean murmur his name before passing out on the floor.
Klaus gave Jean a wry smile before darting his attention back to the beast before him.
The beast’s body, which had been split in two caught itself with tendril like strands of dark ooze. Melding together once more, the beast’s hulking figure loomed over Klaus. By now, his blade had sunk back into its initial size.
Immediately, Klaus reacted dashing forward towards the beast once more with his blade at the ready. Planning to pierce the beast, he pressed forward with the sword close to his side.
The beast used it’s one remaining arm to hurl out a heavy punch. Seeing this, Klaus pushed his body forward more and dove underneath the swing while still maintaining his momentum. However, his evasion was short lived, as the beast managed to recover quickly and kicked one of its leg’s out, connecting directly with Klaus' chest.
The weight of the kick coupled with Klaus’ speed made the impact that much harder as his momentum was shifted backwards. His body jerked in the opposite direction, catapulting him across the hallway into the same wall Jean had crashed into.
Klaus coughed up blood before wiping it off with the sleeve of his white shirt. His slicked back gray hair was no longer sitting in its pristine condition. His hair was disheveled with strands hanging over his eyes.
The transmitter in his ear let out another moment of static before, Ellie’s voice could be heard again.
“How’re you holding up old man?”
Using his knees as a support, he pulled himself back up as the beast stretched its arms and wings.
“To be honest, I’m clearly not as young as I used to be. So, how about you hurry up with that support,” Klaus replied with a strained yet sarcastic tone.
“Well lucky you because they’re on site!”
Instantaneously, three silhouettes blocked the sun as three chain blades came flying towards the beast.
The rattling coils of metal wrapped itself around the body of the beast. The three figures yanked on the chain in unison, managing to pull themselves into the hallway while tightening the chains. As the chain’s scratched against the skin of the beast, the jet-black hairs began to grow lighter in color.
The three figures then took a short leap back before tugging the chain once more. The beast screamed with rage as it became immobilized.
The three figures all twisted the handle of the chain causing hundreds of small thorn like blades to line the chain-links that bound the beast. The serrated edges of the small blades dug into the creature’s skin, shredding it apart. The figures then took one step back before yanking on the chain once more.
The chain’s burrowed further into the beasts flesh and as the final tug was given, the beast was no longer black but was blanketed in white fur as it found its own flesh being torn from the inside out. The beast finally let out a meek wail before the chains finally converged in the center and dismembered the entirety of the beast.
What was left in the place of the beast was a pulsing bead surrounded by pure white hairs. One of the figures, who had pitch-black hair adjusted his glasses before approaching the bead. He tucked the sides of his khaki colored trench coat behind his arms and sides to prevent it from becoming dirtied.
He reached out and grabbed the bead and placed it in a small metal container.
The other two figures retracted the chain’s back into the circular handle as they approached Klaus.
The two helped Klaus readjust himself.
Klaus dusted off his pants and attempted to slick back his hair as he spoke.
“Thanks for the assist. Those pills don’t work as well as they used to,”
The figure on the right, lowered his white face-mask to reveal a young and clear-skinned man. The hood of his white sweater hung over the collar of his dark blue trench coat. His dark denim jeans clung to his legs as he tapped the tip of one of his white sneakers against the floor.
“Well, glad that the pill worked long enough for you to hold the beast off.”
His voice was sharp and had a surprising clarity to it.
As he was talking to Klaus, the other figure dropped the hood on their oversized coat to reveal a girl who looked to be no older than sixteen. Her muted blonde pigtails were held together by two small crimson ties. She adjusted her large round glasses while taking off her black overcoat.
Underneath the overcoat, her oversized black hoodie hung over her shorts. Upon first glance, people would assume that her sweater was a dress.
“Are you okay Klaus?”
Her smooth yet monotone voice carried its way towards Klaus.
Klaus popped his shoulder as he responded;
“As good as I can be considering the situation,”
The tall figure that had been standing in the pool of the beasts remains, finally approached Klaus. His deep and authoritative voice interrupted the conversation.
“Eve, Kade, go assist the evac team and make sure the injured get treated.”
The two nodded their heads in unison and made their way towards the ground floor, where the commotion had begun to die down significantly.
The tall figure took off his glasses and began to clean the lens with a small cloth he had pulled from his jacket pocket.
His formal attire screamed position of power. Wearing black suit pants with his tucked in white shirt and black necktie, he looked as if he was going to a funeral. His authoritative aura was only strengthened by his strong facial features and serious demeanor. After putting his glasses back on, he pushed his hand forward to shake Klaus’s hand.
Klaus accepted the handshake.
“It’s nice to finally meet you sir. I heard a lot about you during my training,”
“They’re nothing but exaggerated stories. Eventually you’ll find yourself in a similar situation… err-“
“It’s Richter sir, Sannith Richter. I’m the new head of damage control. Apologies for not mentioning that.”
Klaus waved his hand, brushing off the formalities.
“Don’t worry about it. Full name is Klaus DeLaro, but feel free to just call me Klaus,”
“Yes sir,” replied Richter.
The two eventually shifted focus to Jean who was still lying face down on the floor.
“We should probably get him to the evac point now,” Klaus said as he walked towards Jean.
“Is that the boy sir?”
Klaus let out a sigh before leaning down to pick Jean up.
“Yeah, it’s him,”
“It might be out of line for me to say this, but I think this was inevitable. I understand that you had wished to keep him out of the loop because of his circumstances. However, I can’t help but feel as though you’ve allocated a lot of resources into protecting something that is bound to be let loose,”
Klaus dusted the debris off Jean’s tattered clothing as he held him in his two arms.
Klaus gave Richter a wry smile.
“Not everyone is going to put the same value on something. Sometimes, you have to experience losing something in order to truly discover what’s worth protecting,”
Saying no more, Klaus walked past Richter leaving him to stand in the middle of the hallway alone.
Richter pulled back his sleeve to check the time before also deciding to make his way down to the ground floor.
*****
Klaus looked at Jean’s face as he carried him down the stairs.
I’m sorry Mira…
We did the best we could…
In silence, Klaus continued to move forward.