CHAPTER THIRTEEN

DREAM OF MIRRORS

They've been walking through the same endless fields for some time now with nothing part the dark clouds and the crimson flashes keeping them company. It's hard to see the sky beyond them; if there is a sky, to begin with. Even the black tree that welcomed them into this place has long since been lost from view. But they carry on. Carry on with nothing more than a gut feeling and a sliver of hope burning like a match inside a dark tunnel. They follow its light against the overwhelming dark.

Rayne takes a step forth, one of many. He stops.

Something is near. A small blurry reflection.

He approaches it to take a better look.

"What's wrong?" Big George asks.

"Do you see this?" Rayne says as he points at the anomaly in the air, "It's like a really murky mirror," he adds.

Big George takes a better look; the anomaly reflects back his image.

For an unknown reason, he tries to "clean" the anomaly as one would clean dirt. The anomaly flashes and in a chain reaction reveals thousands of "mirrors" all across them.

Some miniature, others enormous, and everything in between.

"I've always wanted to go to a house of mirrors," Davenport adds, trying to fix his hair using the anomalies reflection.

An image of a fleshy hemisphere-like creature with a giant spine on its outside flashes.

It pounds like a heart. Similar to the pile of flesh inside the glass pod but much larger.

"Fuck!" Davenport blurts out as he jumps back.

The Fang Two unit members raise their weapons in alarm.

They wait.

Yui approaches one of the infinite anomalies; she touches it.

The countless mirrors change their images like channels on a TV screen.

Each one showcases a different vision. Some show familiar images of mountains, deserts, rivers, oceans, forests, and so on while others reveal unknown and strange lands like a cluster of intertwined crystals, rainbows in the sky dripping colors, great white stalks of grass-like organisms passing bubbles of sound back and forth like tennis players and so on the carnival of weird goes.

And between it all the same fleshy hemisphere-like creatures with the giant spine live.

Then, a light appears in the sky.

And with it- pain. They can see their pain, feel it, taste it, and even smell it. It wraps them up in its embrace like a lover.

"I'm not sure I like this feeling," Davenport adds, unable to hide his discomfort.

"Are they dying?" Olivia asks, observing the images before them.

They look at the echoes of memories. It's impossible to tell what is transpiring from the images but not to feel it.

Olivia groans loudly as she grabs her chest.

"They're dying," she says.

Amid the clash of the godly, the mountains shatter, oceans dry, green fields turn to deserts, and the deserts turn to ash and wisp away. So it goes in war. Death and destruction. It finally there is naught.

Then, a new light appears. Same but different.

White and red intertwine.

"Did they die?" Big George asks, unsure.

"No, they're "inside" each other," Yui says, uncertain as she points at the swirling colors.

"I think they've joined together, man," Davenport adds.

The light flashes again.

It shakes as red and white exchange like a police siren.

The light cries out a voiceless cry into oblivion.

Their war is not over.

The mirrors fade.

What did we just experience, Rayne wonders?

He and the others wobble back to their feet as the pain fades trying to regain composure.

"Kinda reminds me when I took acid in college," Davenport adds.

"You didn't go to college, Davenport," Big George corrects him.

Davenport thinks for a moment, scratching his head.

"Oh yeah. I ment to say high school," he adds.

"You are not supposed to be here," a voice appears out of nowhere.

It changes pitch after every word oscillating from deep bass to a high soprano, and all in between.

The Fang Two unit, Olivia and Yui look around trying to find the source.

There amid the endless field, a strange dark child-like creature slowly floats toward them. Its appearance is almost identical to the Child that appeared to them. Along its body are various cuts and bruises "bleeding" light. There is something about its eyes. Heavy and exhausted eyes like a worker returning after a long night shift.

"Are you the one that fought against the others?" Rayne asks, unsure how to formulate his questions or even what the question is.

"You're not..." the Dark Child coughs, "...supposed to be here," it repeats, frowning at them.

"Look, if we could just talk," Rayne says as he raises his hands indicating no hostility.

Davenport and Big George hesitate but follow their Captain's lead.

The Dark Child glares at them as light seeps out its wounds.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

It tries to keep steady but shifts a bit left and right.

"The beings we saw in the visions, that was you, right?" Rayne asks.

"Not me and yes me. My people," the Dark Child answers, half-curious, half-alert, "

"Okay, okay. And the thing that came, the light from the sky. That is your enemy? It attacked you?" Rayne asks, making a step forth to the Dark Child.

"They came... wanted to absorb us but we strong we resist. We are kings of all lesser species we don't bow, we rule," the Dark Child says.

"The "light", your enemy has us trapped here. It wants us to kill you." Olivia says as the Dark Child's glare grows larger, "But, but I think we can work together. We can make a deal? The enemy of my enemy is my friend," she states trying to reason with the supernatural.

The Dark child stops for a moment as it thinks.

"Yes. You will help us," the Dark Child says.

Rayne sighs as Davenport, Big George, Yui and Olivia look at each other in relief.

"Light infused you with its power. Used it to fight us. We will devour you and use its power to win," the Dark Child concludes.

The expressions of relief quickly turn to worry.

"What do you mean devour us?" Rayne asks, hoping there is some sort of a misunderstanding.

"We will devour your essence," the Dark Child says.

"What happens to us when you do that?" Rayne asks, hoping to not hear what he expects to hear.

"You DIE!" the Dark Child says.

The Fang Two unit members raise their weapons; Yui draws both knives.

Caught inside an inescapable abyss the five braves stare at the creature with clear eyes. There is no fear, no despair, or anything except wrath. These "things" came to our world! They've killed so many without remorse or pity in their petty little squabble. A comparison comes to their minds.

It's like walking on a line of ants without even noticing them. Not even acknowledging them.

"I'm afraid that doesn't work for us," Rayne says, showing contempt.

The others behind him take a step forth; they don't say anything but their expressions do. The very same expression. Defiance and enmity.

"You refuse?" the Dark Child blurts out in disbelief.

How could such insignificant beings refuse their betters, their kings? Ridiculous!

The creature laughs out loud.

Then, the laughter stops.

It turns to them.

Rayne, Big George, and Davenport fire. Two 9mm bullets explode mid-air prior to impact but the .357 magnum is a bit harder to stop. It pierces through the creature's invisible barrier and hits it in the stomach. Before the Fang Two can fire off another shot an invisible force knocks them to the ground. The creature floats toward Davenport; standing above him it raises its hand. Davenport twists and bends in an almost soundless agony. Soundless if not for the cracking of the bones. Big George, lying on the ground, empties his revolver by firing the last remaining 4 bullets.

The creature is ready this time; the bullets do not reach it.

It turns its gaze toward the downed human; George's nose breaks as an invisible force hits him.

He wails in pain.

Olivia runs to him.

Two knives fly toward the Dark Child as they stop mid-air. Yui yells, straining herself.

The knives vibrate back and forth.

Davenport, barely holding on to his pistol, tries to aim it at the Dark Child.

He doesn't have enough strength to lift it with one hand; he uses both. The left supports the right as he slowly lifts the pistol.

One of the knives shatters; Yui screams as if a part of herself broke.

A bullet explodes near the creature. Rayne runs at it as he fires.

Another three fail but the fourth pierces the creature's defenses, grazing its arm. Then, Rayne fires his last shoot, his bullet gets redirected but Davenport's doesn't.

"Fuck you, man," Davenport says, bleeding from every pour in his body.

He quickly squeezes the A-1 pistol 8 times until emptying all his bullets into the creature.

The Dark Child screams, body riddled with holes.

"Get 'em, Yui," Davenport says as he falls unconscious.

Yui screams as the knife flies to the creature but stops an inch away from its eye.

The Dark Child raises its arm toward the knife as it twists into itself, imploding to dust.

"YUI!" Olivia yells as she, Rayne, and Big George throw their knives in the air. Yui uses them to attack the Dark Child but the creature stops them like before. One of the knives breaks.

"Shit!" Rayne says, trying to figure out what to do, "You're okay?" he blurts out, noticing the wounds on Big George are gone.

"The Doctor healed me." Big George turns toward Olivia but she isn't there, "Doc?" he blurts out.

Rayne and Big George look around; they see her near Davenport.

Her hands are glowing.

Another one of the knives breaks. A laceration appears on Yui's skin as if an invisible scalpel cut her.

"What's happening?" Davenport blurts out as he regains composure.

"It's okay," Olivia reassures him as her light mends his wounds.

The last of the knives breaks.

Yui, covered in blood, raises her hands trying to keep the monster at bay.

"I can't," Yui barely says, barely holding on.

"It's okay," Olivia says as she puts her hands on Yui's shoulders.

Her light glows brightly.

"You lesser's DARE?" the Dark Child growls.

The cuts that appeared on Yui now appear on Olivia.

But despite their teamwork, they are pushed back, one step at a time. With each cut healed another two appear. The fight against the clock ticks away.

Big George looks at the empty revolver on the ground.

Can I get other things, he wonders?

He focuses on trying to remember the feeling he had before he "pulled back" the revolver.

"Why can't you just obey?" the Dark Child asks, curious about this pointless defiance.

Olivia falls to her knees but still keeps a hand on Yui; Yui soon follows.

The creature looms over them.

Ready to end them.

"Hey, your majesty," Big George yells.

The Dark Child turns to him.

Big George holds the A-100 Typhon while Rayne has an A-10 Tempest, both fully loaded.

They fire!

The Dark Child raises its hands trying to stop the bullets. Most it does. Most but not all. The creature releases a shriek of agony as the onslaught breaks its skin, bleeding it dry.

"Hey, Yui," Davenport barely manages to stand as he gives Akira's wakizashi to her.

Yui nods. She focuses on the blade.

And with all her might propels it through the air; through the Dark Child's stomach. The creature falls to the ground covered in illuminating blood, barely moving.

"We've done it?" Davenport asks.

"We've done it!" Big George yells.

Yui smiles. The others smile.

The fight is over.

Then, the smiles vanish.

"DOCTOR!" Rayne yells as he runs to Olivia.

She lies there covered in bruises and cuts, covered in blood.

"Was I brave?" Olivia asks, holding Rayne's hand.

"You never were not brave," Rayne answers with a gentle smile.

Olivia smiles back.

“Take this... it contains... all the data.” she takes out the black box and gives it to Rayne, “I wish I could...” she takes one final breath.

“Rest now, Olivia. You've earned it,” Rayne says as he turns to the almost dead creature.

His blood-red stare is vengeance.

He readies his rifle and goes to it.

The creature struggles to breathe as it futilely tries to cover the overwhelming wounds on its body.

I guess we are all the same in death, Rayne concludes.

He raises his rifle and...