Chapter 5

Our search begins

The trip took us several hours longer than expected because of having to dodge demon patrols and groups of the changed creatures wondering our world now. We arrived at the outskirts of the city just before nightfall. The city was burning with a red glow and there was a large magickal pressure that surrounded the area. We hid the truck in the woods and got ready to head into the city. We ate a quick meal of instant mac and cheese and some water we had scavenged on the way. We finished as the sun completely hid itself and the night began.

Knowing that the book was somewhere in the city we quickly made our way to the closest group of buildings to set up camp and hunker down for the night. I unfurled the map and to my surprise it had changed. It was now a close up of the city with the same glowing green dot positioned somewhere on the opposite end of the city.

"What should we do?" I asked my brothers.

"I guess we try to make our way to that spot tomorrow." Shyft answered. Baker went about setting up protective barriers and came back a few hours later. Shyft had set his stuff out and was working on one of his sling hammers engraving it and charging it with his energy. I chose a position near a window on the second floor and set my rifle and bow against the wall. I pushed a few tables together and made my sleeping platform that could double as a shooting platform. I sent out one pulse of my sensory magic and what I got back made me cringe. There was a large group of soldier demons and several other entities that I couldn’t identify in the nearby vicinity. I walked downstairs and let my brothers know what I sensed. We took a minute to let it sink in then had one of our telepathic conversations.

I thought

my brothers thought back

Shyft added enthusiastically. He was always ready for a fight.

Baker added. I put my hands up as to say fair enough to both wanting to test our new upgrades.

So instead of sleeping like normal we used a technique that Roland had taught us called Druid's Sleep where your body sleeps but your magical mind stays awake to any incoming danger. It was a very useful tool but only helped some in the long run. It wasn’t a permanent fix. I went back upstairs and set myself up for the "sleep" and the night passed uneventfully. I awoke the next morning, both of my brothers were still "sleeping" but roused soon after I started moving around. I set out the map on the table in the kitchen and we gathered to look at what we had ahead of us.

"Looks like we have several miles of city to travel through." I said and then I drew a large circle on the map "This is the portal from the demon world. It seems that it will have changed the landscape. The water will be acidic and the air is sulphurous, at least that is what Roland's books say would happen" I added. I then drew a line on the street in the middle of the city. "This is where I felt the demonic presences and there are a lot of them." I said. We we decided to attack the demons instead of letting them be. It would be bad to get caught with the book and have the demons get it if we fell in battle. We unloaded any nonneeded gear and got ready for the impending fight. My brothers and I walked out of our hiding place and worked our way closer to the invading army. Shyft was in the lead, followed by Baker, and I brought up the rear. I sent out small bursts of energy just to know when we were close and I tapped my brother's shoulder and he in turn tapped Shyft's shoulder to stop him. I pointed up and thought to my brothers

they nodded.

Baker sends us through the link.

Shyft and I both nod and reply The two of them turn to continue up the street to a cross road and then waited. I unlocked a door on the building we were near with a lock pick I had found some years earlier. I entered the building being careful to check every room before going up to the next story. Before long I was at the roof access door. I touched both walls and left 2 large very powerful glyphs as traps and exited to the roof. Once I shut the door I placed another glyph and charged it with my energy the door encased in a thick sheet of ice making it very hard for someone of lower power to get through. I walked over to the edge of the roof and looked over very quickly. Sure enough there was a large contingent of soldier demons and several abominations roaming the street below. There was also a much larger entity that I couldn’t identify but its aura was immense compared to the soldiers. The large form was over 8 feet tall, has a broad, bare chest, and two large ram’s horns curling up from its temples. Its reddish copper skin was taunt from the immense amount of muscle underneath. The entity's eyes glowed red with a fire from another world. I sent my brothers a view of the street through our link.

They both responded with I laid my ammo and rifle on the ledge. I pulled my bow out and strung it. I could see my brothers doing similar readying actions. Once they were finished I drew my bow and aimed over the edge of the roof and fired 2 arrows at the same time embedding them into either side of the street about twenty feet behind the rearmost demon squad. The energy that I had laced into the arrows sprang forth creating a large thick wall of dark green and black ice, blocking off the entire street at the opposite end from where my brothers are entering. As soon as my energy let loose the soldier demons started looking around wildly, but the other entities in the street immediately looked straight in my direction. The larger entity smiled and a deep voice entered my mind. "Pitiful human, you dare attack me? I will tear the skin from your body and devour your soul." The voice was dripping with malice and a lust for vengeance. The immense pressure from the voice made me cringe and grab my head. After a few moments of pushing energy into my mind I felt the pain start to subside. I followed the psychic link back to the entity and pushed a large spike of energy into the entity. It fell back out of sight behind a broken-down garbage truck with a deep rumbling growl. Seeing their leader fall sent the soldiers and the abominations into a frenzy. The abominations started sending physical and magical attacks in my direction. I take cover behind the ledge of the roof and cover my back in defensive energy. I can feel my brothers moving and fighting. Baker sent me a quick mental ping to ask if I was ok. I answered with an image of a thumb up. I got back the feeling of amusement. A loud crashing sound echoed up from the street. I take a chance and look over the edge of the roof and see Shyft brawling with one of the abominations. Its tentacle like limbs whipping back and forth trying to make contact but to no avail. Its bifurcated jaws, in the middle of its torso, were open and oozing a brownish yellow slime. Its multiple eyes, for all intents and purposes, look like it is getting aggravated that a mere human is so hard to kill. Shyft is bouncing all over the place, off the buildings and damaged cars. His form blurring as he moves making it look as if he was in multiple places at the same time. The abomination starts to flail about wildly and contacts Shyft sending him flying back down the street, but he rights himself and lands in a three-point landing putting a slight crack in the pavement. Baker runs up and puts a hand on Shyft's shoulder and put his hand out in front of them creating a large shield blocking the incoming fire to move Shyft to cover. While they are regrouping, I decide it’s my turn to make some moves. I pull up my newly empowered rifle and chamber a round. I place the cross hairs on one of the soldier demons and pulled the trigger. A green streak of energy erupts from the end of the barrel and slams into the demon blowing a melon sized hole right through its back. The body falls limp to the ground, lifeless. I send my brothers a mental communique.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I also added a quick memory of the effect of the weapon. They both peered around their cover and smiled, bringing their own empowered weapons to bare. They both come out of cover firing. Baker sending large silver slugs of metal energy out of the end of his shotgun. Shyft raining blue streaks of fire energy from both of his sub machine guns. Baker's shot decapitates one of the soldiers and took the shoulder off another. Shyft's hail of magical gun fire perforated a small group reducing them to lifeless husks riddled with holes.

I couldn’t help but think about how different times were now from when we were growing up. We now were magical fighters using magical weapons fighting demons, trying to save humanity. Crazy how things have progressed. I fire off several more shots dropping more of the dwindling numbers of the soldier demons. I turned my sights to one of the abominations that was still standing and as I pulled the trigger it seemed to shimmer and it appeared several yards away close to the bottom of the building I was on.

I sent the thought to my brothers.

Baker answered.

Shyft said as he got winged by a soldier's melee weapon. We were making headway but the enemy was taking its toll on us. I had gotten several lacerations and a few bruises from hits that I had taken. Baker is the least scathed because of his energy but of the three of us he has the smallest energy pool to draw from so I could tell he was getting tired and quickly.

I thought to my brothers.

they both answer back. I started picking off the last remaining soldiers then I realize that I am out of ammo. I laid my rifle to the side and pulled up my bow. I started pumping my remaining energy into my weapon. A thin layer of frost formed on the limbs, thin trails of vapor start rising off the bow. I fired several arrows in quick succession and pierced the hide of the abomination with tentacles, freezing several parts of its body and completely ruining two of its many eyes. Shyft used that advantage to attack it with his flaming hands having also seemingly run out of ammo. His hands wreathed in flames carved gouges through the creature’s body. Several of its limbs fell, severed, to the ground.

Baker advances on the teleporter gathering a ball of energy between his hands. Just as the creature starts to shimmer, he slams the ball of energy into the ground. Several long strands of shimmering metallic cables burst from the ground wrapping around the creature’s legs locking it in place. I quickly aimed a shot for its head. It started to shimmer and looks as though it was going to teleport again, but luckily whatever Baker had done held it and my shot hit it right between the eyes. I closed my eyes and released the energy in the arrow a green glow pulsed from behind the creature’s eyes and several spikes of green ice penetrated through the back of the creature’s head. The teleporter stumbles forward a few steps, like it was drunk, then fell to the ground unmoving. Looking across the carnage we had created there was only one threat left.

The large looming figure had since stood up, having brushed off the mental attack I had unleased on it. It stood near my wall just watching the battle, studying the three of us. It stood defiantly as we obliterated its forces still showing no fear, more showing anger that humans were fighting back. I gather my gear, climb onto the edge of the roof and jump off. Using a large bubble of water energy to cushion my landing.

My feet hit the ground and I immediately nock an arrow and draw it back at the ready. My brothers walk up with me, Baker brandishing his shield and spear both gleaming with his energy and Shyft swinging two of his sling hammers that are blazing with his fire. The creature leaned forward as if to examine us.

The deep voice echoed into our heads again.

"Who the fuck is Kokoda?" Shyft yelled at the creature.

A sound that I can only describe as a distant earthquake, rattles from the creature's chest. Its eyes narrowed and the voice once again entered our minds. He turned to my wall and waved his clawed hand, my ice wall evaporated as if hit by immense heat. He dragged one claw down in the middle of the air and a portal tore open in the middle of the street. He stepped in and looked back.

"We will meet again, next time I will kill you all." He said for the first time not into our minds. His voice was just as full of malice and a lust for violence as it was in my head. He turns fully entering the portal and disappears. The tear mends itself and we are left alone on the street. The immense pressure from Kokoda's energy was gone and the area felt empty now. I look over at my brothers and smile.

We had survived our first real attack directed at the demons. I cup my hand over my largest laceration and focus some of my healing water energy onto the wound. Slowly water forms over the wound and the blood merges with the water. When I let the water energy go, the water falls away and the wound has closed. I walk over to my brothers and do the same thing for any of their major wounds.

Healed of our major wounds and starting to calm down I pull out the map and lay it on the hood of one of the burned-out cars left on the road. The map shows that we are just a few streets away from where the dot is showing.

I look up at my brothers and say, "I guess we push on?" They both nod and we start walking up the street still on the alert. We continue for several blocks in silence tired and hurting. My mind wonders slightly causing me to not sense the incoming threat until it was right on us. The ground starts to rumble and break about fifteen feet in front of us.

I yell to my brothers "WATCH OUT, INCOMING!" A large rhino sized creature bursts through the street, it's large wedge shaped head pushing the pavement aside like dead leaves. It pulls its large armored body from the hole. Six tree trunk sized legs steady the creature.

I warned my brothers through the link. It lowers its head toward us and stomps its front two legs in defiance. It then starts charging straight for us. Before it gets to us two large explosions tear apart its side. The creature is blown off if its feet and it slides to a stop right in front of us. It moves its legs slightly then its head explodes. A second or so after the head explodes I hear a gun shot from far up the street.

I thought to my brothers with the feeling of confusion. We stand there completely dumbfounded by the current situation for several minutes.