Murky water splashed upward as Sam’s boot crashed down into a puddle. She held the folder open, risking small glances upward to avoid trash and clutter in the alley behind the Shadowight Club.
There was information laid out like an application for a loan. It listed materials to construct whatever Hans was thinking to build, most likely more metal soldiers, but it lacked one crucial bit of information, the location of Hans Kammler’s headquarters.
Sam slapped the folder shut and decided she would let Lord Blud and his ginger-haired lackey take care of the new information. For now she wanted to find the Raven and get her bag back. She could use a change of clothes, and more importantly, to have her axe back in her possession. The thought of the Raven taking such a powerful trinket for his own use was quite terrifying. If it enhanced his power, he could turn the whole world into an undead wasteland. A shiver shot down Sam’s spine, raising bumps all across her skin.
She changed her thoughts before they could take a darker turn. There was the strange couple inside the night club. She doubted it would be the last time she saw them, especially where Bartlett was involved. There was no doubt that they were the people on the cave drawing she saw in Haiti. There was the missing green creature, or spirit, or whatever these things were. Once she had ahold of her phone, she would ring Mr. Scott and see what he could dig up on these two.
Eddie also passed through her mind. She would make sure he was okay the next chance she got.
His disappearance had worried her. He was the only good friend that stuck with her through the years.
Sam rounded the corner to the street, lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice the half-man, half-robot standing in front of her. His skull gleaned in the faint light of streetlamps. He was flanked by two large men in black cloaks, obscuring their bodies from the world.
She stood stunned, gazing on the metal man with confusion.
His arm shot up and pointed at Sam. It was made of the same metallic substance as his skull, long metal fingers curled back into his palm. “We can’t have any witnesses. Hans would kill me if his plan was found out.” He stepped behind his peons, “Kill her quickly.” His eyes darted about the abandoned street. It was empty, but he didn’t want to chance being found out.
The large cloaked men raised their left arms and aimed them right at Sam. Their cloaks fell backwards from the movement, revealing the plain metal visage beneath. Their red eyes targeted Sam. Red bands around their arms sported the black swastika and Sam knew instantly what she was fighting.
Sam quickly took a step backwards, looking for cover, a weapon, anything to fight with, but she was out of luck. The corner of the alley would be too far away for her to jump behind, and the rest of the street was void of debris.
The arms of the robots charged with green energy while they whined a high-pitched ring. The energy weapons let loose at Sam. She dove instinctively, hoping she could at least dodge the projectiles.
Sam landed in the murk of ground water, scraping her arms and ripping part of her dress. She took a deep breath. She was still alive, but the smell of cooking meat filled her nostrils. She quickly darted behind the corner, risking a peek at what had happened.
A large pile of black birds lay sprawled out on the ground, singed and sizzling from the impact of the energy weapon.
“Catch!” A voice sounded from the rooftops.
Sam looked upwards at an axe falling at her, the talisman flapped about from the wind. Sam’s hand wrapped around the wooden handle and she twirled it about, “This is more like it.”
“Ready when you are!” The familiar voice shot from the rooftops. Black birds swirled all around the air. They soon dive-bombed the robot soldiers. Talons scratched at their glassy eyes while beaks pecked the metal exterior until the wires beneath surfaced enough to be susceptible to attack.
Sam rounded the corner, her axe raised high.
The robots’ arms flailed about, crushing any birds that found their way into the metallic vices. Deep metallic voices came from the robots, “Scanning blocked. Target overload.” Their energy weapons started firing randomly, scorching the street and buildings as the energy beams flew wildly.
Sam brought the axe down on the closest robot’s arm, unknowing if her trusty axe would cut through the metal. She felt her body course with joy as the axe severed the weapon and eliminated the threat of getting hewn down by a stray shot. She twisted slightly, using her momentum to bring her axe up across the robots torso chassis. Sparks blasted from the attack as Sam’s axe left a gaping hole in the thick-armored stomach of the robot soldier.
The Raven leapt from the rooftop of the Shadowight club and landed on the second robot, his weight brought the soulless metal construct down to the street below. His fleshy hands beat down on the robot’s head mercilessly, smash after smash, his hands started to break apart from the beating he dealt to the metallic foe. His fingers bent backwards, flesh peeled from bone, yet the Necromancer felt no pain.
The robot’s eye sensors shattered apart and its metal face mask started to dent inwards from the blunt strikes. It tried to force the man off of its chest, but the black birds were hell bent on destroying their prey.
Sam let out a howl of joy as her last hack took the head of the robot clean off its shoulders, but the robot failed to quit moving, its remaining arm sprouted a short blade and began to hack apart the birds assaulting it. “Melee initiated.” Its deep echoing voice sprang forth from its chest.
Sam ducked a wild swing and slashed her axe down at the robot’s leg, toppling the bulky construct to the ground. The ground vibrated as the metal crashed down on the street. Sam took her advantageous moment to chop at the robot’s torso once more. She brought her axe up high and repeatedly hacked downward. Sparks showered upwards with each hit, but Sam remained strong in her onslaught.
With one last whack, Sam stood upright, straightening out her back. She glanced at the Raven who had just ripped apart the other robot soldier with his bare hands. He stood from the mangled mess he left behind and flicked his arm outward. The bones corrected with several snaps. He patted the skin down on his bones and flexed his hand as new.
Raven looked at Sam and nodded, “I say, we still have one left. You want him? Or shall I take care of this?” His head shot over to the half-robot figure standing nearby, his glossy head still shining in the faint light. Green sparks of energy began to emerge from the Raven’s hand.
The cyborg stood for a second, his eyes still gazing on the mess of robotic soldiers. He looked back up at the woman and the strange man before him. The black birds that had been fried and cut apart started to stand once again and take flight, circling around the cyborg like carrion vultures.
Gunter had not seen anything like this before. What was before him? Magic? Just days before he had learned of time travel and cyborg enhancement, something he thought was only meant to be in science fiction novels.
The man with the top hat had stepped forward, the light hitting him in the face just right. It was something from a nightmare, but it was real, and it was right in front of him. His face was disfigured and mutilated, his skin unnaturally pale.
Gunter turned and ran as fast as he could, his legs smacking the pavement beneath him as he ran for his life.
“Don’t let him escape!” Sam ripped the bottom half of her dress to make enough room to run. “He knows where Kammler is!” She took off after the cyborg. The Raven was hot on her heals.
The night sky was full of stars, only the light of the streetlamps illuminated the scene.
The Raven kept up with Sam with ease, his lungs didn’t need air, “Is this Kammler guy the man you are after?”
Sam remained sprinting while she nodded and shouted, “Yeah!”
Gunter was fast though, even with his new body parts. He darted over to the bridge next the old abandoned church. He took one look back at his pursuers and remembered the gun he had in the small of his back. He made it halfway across the bridge, turned, and pulled the gun on his attackers. “Get back!”
Sam and the Raven stopped just at the edge of the bridge. Sam brandished her axe, “Just tell us where Kammler is and you can go free.”
Gunter pointed his weapon at the Raven, “I won’t betray the only chance I have at righting the past.” He fired a round at their feet. “I mean it!”
“Go ahead and shoot.” The Raven took a step forward, “You might be able to kill me, but then again, you might not.” He smiled at the cyborg, his teeth showcased by the chunk of flesh missing from his face.
Gunter pointed the gun at Sam, “I may not be able to kill you, but I can kill her. Back off or I will!”
The Raven took a step back and raised his hands, “At your request.”
Gunter started to back up slowly, his eyes scrutinizing every move his foes made, down to the last muscle twitch. He risked a glance backward and smiled. The church was right behind him and on the other side was his car. He was almost across the bridge. It would give him enough of a head start to escape the monster and this woman.
The ground started to rumble beneath everyone’s feet. Gunter looked around, “What are you doing?”
Sam was just as confused as the cyborg. She looked at the Raven, who just shrugged without a care. Sam looked back at the bridge when she heard a tremendous earth-shaking roar. “Get off the bridge!” She shouted, knowing what would come next.
Gunter turned to run but he didn’t make it far. An oversized fist, mossy green in color, sprouted from underneath the bridge. Its three fingers and a massive thumb wrapped around the cyborg before he could dodge out of the way. Muscles on the massive arm tensed and the cyborg started to scream out in pain.
Another massive arm sprouted out from beneath the bridge and grabbed onto the side, hoisting up the gigantic body of the monster attached to the mysterious arms. A misshapen head with oversized eyes poked over the side of the bridge. Patches of fur clung to the otherwise hairless body, where tough rocky skin dominated its other features. The beast roared again, jagged yellow teeth sprouted from its mouth shooting in every direction, but the eyes beat the nose to the punch. The beast’s breath was rank with rotten meat and stale garbage.
“What in the bloody hell is that.” The Raven looked on the beast with disgust. He glanced at Sam.
Her face was stone hard, “It’s a troll.” Her knuckles tightened on her axe, this skin on her hands turned white.
“You ever fight one before? Looks like a hell of a fight.” The Raven rolled his shoulders in anticipation.
“I fought one before. It didn’t end well for him.” She stressed the last word of her sentence as corner of her mouth rose in a grin. “They are dumb as a shoe, but one wrong move and you’ll end up troll shit. Keep moving so he can’t get ahold of you.”
The screams from Gunter died out as the beast hefted itself up onto the bridge, the stone beneath the beast crackled under the weight. One of the cyborg’s arms split from its body and fell down in front of the Raven.
He knelt down and picked up the fleshy body part, “I see.” He held the arm outright like a sword, “Shall we take it down before it notices us?” The Raven charged down the troll with his makeshift weapon held high. “Hyeahhhh!” He screamed his battle cry and brought down the arm on the troll’s leg. A soft splat was produced from the attack.
The troll looked down from the body it was about to masticate carelessly. It gazed down on the small human that had hit it with the fallen arm of his newfound meal.
The Raven looked up at the troll and smiled, “Have at ye, beast.”
The troll dropped the human squash and swung his hand down at the Raven.
“Woops.” The Raven spoke one word before the troll backhanded the Necromancer across the bridge and against the wall of a nearby building. A loud crunch followed as the Raven crumpled down in a heap of flesh.
Sam shook her head. She looked at the heap as it started to stir, “A lot of help you were.”
The troll roared again and stomped towards Sam. It was denied its meal, and now it was angry. Saliva dripped downwards in great gobs of sticky clear liquid. The beast raised its arm upwards, intending to smash the woman before it.
Sam readied herself, shifting her weight from leg to leg. Her eyes darted from the monster’s car-sized fist to the gap between its legs. A plan formulated in her head in the split second it took the beast to bring down its hammer like fist.
Sam launched off, sprinting down past the hand as it crashed down on the stone bridge. The tremendous force vibrated up Sam’s legs, almost sending her down to the ground. She caught herself from tripping, taking advantage of her movement to swing her unnaturally sharp axe at the beast’s thick, tree trunk of a leg.
Her eyes scanned past the three large toes at the base of the leg. Thick fungus spores sprouted from the yellow, untrimmed nails. Sam’s face crunched with disgust.
The troll yowled in pain. It stumbled forward and turned to face Sam. The hero sidestepped a massive leg plowing through the air. She could easily get trampled here. She had to play it safe.
Thick green blood oozed from the wound, sizzling as it hit the stone beneath. The troll stared Sam in the eyes. It stood up straight and puffed out its chest. With a quick roar, it broke into a charge on all fours, propelling its mass of muscle forward on its burly arms.
There was nowhere for Sam to run to now. She spun around quickly, sliding her hands down to the bottom of her axe. She let the axe loose through the air.
The troll cocked its head and snarled as it closed in on Sam.
The axe hit home, lodging itself into the meat of the monster’s forearm. The beast crumpled as its weight shifted to the wounded arm. It smashed into the ground headfirst, sliding across the stone bridge, grunting as the flesh on its face scraped against the cold, hard ground.
Sam wasted no time as she ran up to the troll and jumped over one of its arms. She grabbed the axe and yanked it from the beast’s flesh.
The beast roared again. Sam could feel the hot rancid breath washing over her. She could see the glossy black pupils of the troll as it began to stir from its tumble. Thick red lines races through the whites of its eyes. The beast threw a half-hearted attack at Sam, whipping its wrist around to knock the girl back.
Sam held her axe up, hoping to block the attack before it could do any damage directly to her. Her arms gave way under the tremendous force, but her axe held strong. The punch launched Sam upwards several feet, causing her to fall on her back.
Sam coughed out hard as the wind was knocked from her lungs. She took quick breaths in succession to get as much air as possible.
The troll hoisted itself back up onto its two legs. Its prey was now immobilized on the ground. The fight put up by the woman would make her taste all the better. The troll began to reach outwards for the woman, blood trickling from the laceration on its arm.
The sound of boots cracking against stone came from behind the troll. The flapping of birds wings filled the air. The Raven held his hands upwards, gazing upon his beautiful pets. He popped his neck back into place, straightening out his crooked, broken spine. The birds still circled about the battle scene, their eyes gazed down on high like godly observers.
The Raven sucked air through his nostrils and bent forward, his hands raised outwards towards the troll, exhaling as he did so, “Dive!”
The flock of birds raced downwards, pummeling their selves against the troll’s backside. They dropped to the stone bridge as their necks snapped and their bodies were crushed by the force of their relentless dives. Droves of birds continued to smash into the troll, only for their fallen brothers to wake from their death once again to take flight and crash back into the troll, and endless cycle of life and death.
Sam finally was able to take a breath. She stumbled to her feet, using her axe for support. The troll was losing balance fast and began to fall forward, its weight already outstretched by its reach for its next meal.
Her footing finally stable enough, Sam dashed forward and slashed her axe against the troll’s other leg. She gazed upwards as the troll roared out in pain again, this time it didn’t have the time to react.
The force of the endless assault of birds had pushed the massive creature over and the troll began its decent into the wall of the old church.
Sam gazed upwards in awe as the creature fell over her head. The moment felt like it moved a frame a second, each instant lasted forever.
The beast crashed into the side of the old stone church. Glass shattered and dusty debris scattered outward as the troll smashed through the ancient holy ground. Dust picked up and expanded like the cloud of an atom bomb. Detritus covered the ground around Sam and the Raven as they moved closer to inspect if the creature was still alive.
The air became still and the dust began to settle. Silence blanketed the scene with unnatural effectiveness. The troll hadn’t stirred since its impact with the unused chapel of faith. The dust finally fell flat and the inside of the church was visible to the outside world.
Sam pulled her axe back up to an attack position, her muscles tensing. The Raven smiled even wider as he hopped up onto the jagged stone surface that had formerly been a wall, “This night keeps getting better and better, no?” He glanced back at Sam.
She shook her head, “I’d hate to know your perfect night. I bet there’s a lot of murder.”
Before them in the church, stood a dozen of individuals dressed in crimson red robes, cowls pulled over their faces as they all looked over at the intruders. Several bodies had been crushed under the troll and stone that had collapsed from the fight outside. Other robed figures were helping their comrades up from the ground.
At the front of the chapel stood a tall figure, an ancient tome in one hand, and a curved dagger in the other. Small red horns jutted from the darkness of his cowl. Before him was an altar with a young lady tied up with rope and dressed in a simple white dress. Her long black hair draped off of the side as her head turned to see the newcomers who had shown up uninvited.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been uninvited to a creepy robe fest.” Sam uttered just loud enough for the Raven to hear.
He chuckled slightly to ease the tension in the air.
The robed figures all looked back and forth from the troll slayers and the horned figure at the altar. The horned figure snapped shut the tome and pointed to Sam and the Raven. His cowl fell backwards, revealing the demonesque cult leader before them. His once human skin had begun to undertake a transformation of red scales, while elongated, sharpened teeth filled out its mouth. Two red horns jutted from the front of his skull, while many others sprouted out of its head with no real organization.
“Our Dark Lord must rise!” He looked about his robed followers, “Kill these non-believers, and give their blood to our lord.”
“Not another cult.” Sam sighed as she stepped upwards onto the half-destroyed stone wall.
One of the cultists pulled an automatic weapon from their robe and aimed it at Sam. Without hesitation, the cultist fired the entire clip, muzzle flashing, bullet casings crashing to the ground.
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Sam flinched back when the all too familiar smell of decay entered her nostrils. She never felt so glad to smell that horrid stench in her life.
The Raven had stepped between the cultist and herself, the hail of bullets spraying into his body, cutting apart the long dead flesh with no real results.
Once the gun ran dry, the Raven knelt down and recovered from the attack. He stood slowly as the cultist looked on him with eyes of renewed reality, this was no ordinary man, and their concept of him was drastically altered.
“My turn.” He pushed Sam back slightly and raised his hand. Green sparks of energy bounced around his right hand, accompanied by the instantly materialized, purple mist. He slammed his fist into the ground, his hand cutting through the stone church floor with ease.
Split seconds later, the ground shook and dirty bone arms, devoid of flesh, sprouted from the church floor and began to grab the cultists’ legs, rooting them to their current place. The Raven smirked, but the air began to vibrate from the thick rumble of the troll’s lungs.
The Raven was knocked over by the stirring of the massive creature that had been assumed dead.
Sam grabbed the Raven before he hit the ground and she twisted to the corner of the church, slamming him against the wall.
“Thanks.” He said with a smile, his black teeth washing her over with a colorful breath.
Sam held her breath as much as she could, “No problem.” She turned to the beast who had pushed itself up on its knees, instantly reaching out to the closest cultist, squeezing the robed woman with its unrestrained strength before ending the high-pitched screams by popping her into the gapping maw on its face. The sound of flesh and bone grinding against teeth filled the air.
Several of the cultists produced swords, curved like the sacrificial knife the demon-man held in his hand. They hacked off the bone white arms holding them to the ground and charged the troll with zealous fervor unmatched since the crusades.
One of the sword wielders charged down Sam, his attacks more precise than foes she had faced before.
She parried one attack with her axe. She had no guard to protect her hands from blade strikes, so she would need to plan her strikes with more tact.
“Someone help!” The tied up woman yelled from the altar. She squirmed about trying to make as much distance from the brutish troll as she could.
Sam jabbed the cultist in the nose with the tip of her axe. The man stumbled backwards and Sam turned to the Raven, “I’ll save the girl if you keep them off my back.” She risked a glance at the young woman who needed her help. She instantly thought of Starr.
The Raven nodded and strode over to the dazed cultist. He grabbed the man by the throat. The man’s left eye was blood red throughout the entire eyeball, red scaly skin spread out from the cursed eyeball, slowly taking over his face. The Raven began to suck the man dry, his own skin repairing itself as the man dried out to a withered husk.
Sam sprinted through the chapel, hopping a stray pew as another cultist charged her. A massive green arm swung over her head, smashing into a pillar nearby. Stone blasted out as Sam dodged a swing by the cultist, this one was more novice than the first she fought, and with a strike across the chest, Sam put the man down. Blood sprayed outward and Sam instinctively looked away.
A group of armed cultists rushed the troll head on, stabbing and prodding it with their weapons. The cultist with the submachine gun had reloaded and sprayed down the troll, adding to the previous injuries the beast had sustained.
Sam ran again, this time she immediately dropped to the ground, using her momentum to slide across the stone floors. The second strike from the troll swung over her. She pushed her axe upwards, the blade cut into the troll’s forearm, and spraying the acidic blood onto another red robed patron of the cult.
He screamed in agony as his robe melted away and the blood reached his skin, burning away at him uncontrollably. The troll’s attack soon connected with him, launching the man up into the rafters with ease. Wood broke and splintered as he crashed upwards and out of the roof.
Sam rolled at the end of her slide and stood as quickly as she could. The altar was just a short distance away.
The horned cult leader stepped in front of her, the knife clutched in his hand with the intent to kill. “You will not stop the Dark Lord from rising. He will walk these lands and bring his kingdom of blood, death, and enslavement down onto all the mortals of this realm!” He ran at Sam, his eyes burning with bloodlust.
Sam readied her defensive stance. She looked upwards as a flock of black birds swooped down at the cult leader. He started to swing his knife about as the birds pecked and scratched at his head. Sam ran forward and planted her axe into his stomach with all the force she could.
The zealot was knocked backwards to the ground with a hard thump. The birds flew away as Sam stepped up to the fazed demon thing.
“You won’t stop the rising of the Lord!” He yelled as a cultist flew past Sam’s head and smashed into a nearby wall.
“He’s going to have to wait a little longer.” Sam swung her axe down right between the horns on the man’s head.
He screamed with his mouth opening inhumanly wide. His stomach opened up beneath his robe, long jagged teeth stretched outwards as a low toned scream accompanied the zealot.
Sam was startled by the otherworldly possession of this man, but her attack stayed true, ending the inhuman life with ease.
She quickly jogged up the few steps to the bound woman. Sam could see her clearer now. A stripe of blue was tattooed across her eyes, with similar blue sigils tattooed across the visible parts of her body. Sam dismissed the thoughts racing through her mind and cut the ropes with the enchanted axe.
“Thanks!” The girl rubbed her wrists and slid off the altar. “But you might want to do something about that.” She pointed her blue painted hand at the ground where Sam had killed the cult leader.
The mash that remained of the cult leader’s horned head was chanting, while his hand held up the tome he had before. His stomach flapped, repeating the same words with a mash of flesh and demonic vocals.
“This keeps getting better and better.” Sam pushed the girl behind her, “Stay back alright?”
The girl pushed her black hair behind her ears, “Will do, lady.” She turned and ran behind a large chair behind the altar.
Sam blew a stray hair from her face with a wisp of breath. She held her axe up and strode towards the pulp of demon flesh on the ground. She looked over the remaining cultists still fighting off the troll, with the Raven fighting right alongside them. It seemed the more formidable foe took precedence over fighting with each other.
The troll swung a straight jab at the Raven. He held his cane up and stabbed it into the troll’s wrist, directing the blow slightly to the left with a perfectly timed parry. The Raven stepped inwards and struck the troll with his fist of green energy.
The troll huffed as its skin around the Raven’s fist turned pale. The troll reared back and kicked at a cultist charging it with a sword.
The pulp of demon flesh started to laugh as Sam came near it. The one eye left intact, barley holding into the socket turned to face Sam. The only visible chunk of lip sneered at Sam. The belly of the demon spawn spoke again, “The Dark Lord Rises, you are too late, mortal.”
Sam stepped backwards as a red, eight pointed star burned into the stone around the pulpy body. The inside of the star turned bright red as fire spewed from an alternate dimension of horrors. The pulp of flesh was burnt up immediately and a large, black-taloned hand rose from the portal.
Sam shielded her eyes from the monstrosity. Her eyes burned with pain when she peeked at the thing that had been summoned. Demons were not her specialty. She had not faced against one in the longest time, and when she had, it was with Bartlett at her back, not to mention it was a far less superior being than this one.
The red scaly arm rose from the pit, materializing from its own plain of existence. Its head was a thick stump with mangled horns twisting around in a tangled mass. Tentacles protruded from the mass of horns, fixed with the contorted mockery of humans’ faces. Their eyes contained small slugs with mouths of razor sharp teeth snapping at the air. Their mouths spewed out cries of pain and despair, calling out for their misery to end, but no such thing would be allowed by the demon.
The cultists stopped their assault on the troll once the bright ember glow of the demon hit their skin. They all ran to the demon with arms embracing. They threw their weapons to the ground and launched themselves at the demon. Their clothes were eviscerated by the flame instantly. Their flesh charred and their heads were decapitated by more tentacles that shot from underneath the mass of horns. Soon all the faces of the men and women that had occupied the chapel were engrossed in the monstrosity before Sam.
Strange whispers emanated from the creature, like an aura that surrounded all those who looked upon it. Sam’s talisman vibrated with power, shielding her like it did before from other forces of the unknown. The girl back behind the altar was chanting, her blue sigils on her skin glowing with the brightness of the sun. Raven stood and looked upon the demon with awe. His world was not intertwined with the beasts of alternate plains of space and time. His undead mind was not affected by the calls of the beast.
The ground rumbled as the last inhabitant of the room stirred. The troll’s primal instincts kicked in. The beast of nature was unaltered by the demon’s presence and it charged the otherworldly being.
The demon stopped materializing at its waist. Endless human arms jutted from its torso, flailing about for eternity. It turned to the oncoming movement of the troll. The demon held out one of its massive arms, the black talons grew and twisted together, forming a spike of black nail.
The troll threw a punch at the demon, the green flesh sizzled as its fist connected with the red flesh of the demon.
The demon absorbed the blow, rocking backwards and then swinging the talon spike right into the troll’s chest. The troll reared backwards and stood for a second, staring off into the distance. The demon then yanked the spike from the troll, the black talons receded and the red hand was once again whole.
The troll then toppled over, crashing to the ground like a wrecking ball. The church shook with violent vibrations. Some of the roof crashed down onto the battlefield. Tangled vines drooped downwards all around Sam.
She brushed them off and held her eyes on the demon with all her might. She mustered all the courage she had just to keep her stare true. She held her axe upright, tensing her legs for her next move. She had no clue how to kill a demon of this magnitude. There were no priests or psychics at her disposal. She couldn’t let it run rampant throughout the city. Countless lives would be lost, not to mention the amount of blood running in the streets would summon even more beasts from the far dimensions.
Sam cocked her head to the side and blew the hair from her face. She would just have to kill it herself.
The demon made the first move. Its oversized hand reached out for Sam, the long black claws looking for sweet crimson liqueur of life.
Sam readied up for a counterattack. The monster had left itself wide open with its slow moving attack.
Just then, a long tentacle sprouted from the backside of the demon. A familiar face was plastered to the tentacle with black staples, holding the skin in place. The face moved closer to Sam, “Sam, you let me die, Sam.”
She froze in horror. It was the face of a friend who died saving the world with her. Agent Joseph Flaurence was before her. His face contorted with pain and agony. “You put me here.” His mouth opened up as a snake-like creature slithered from the opening. The snake’s mouth was a sharp open maw of teeth grinding in circles.
The hand of the demon was getting closer to Sam, but she was too petrified by what she had just seen. He was blaming her for his death. He was suffering in this hell and she could do nothing about it.
The demon’s hand was about to wrap around Sam when a heavenly voice broke the spell around her.
“It’s an illusion! It’s not real, don’t listen to it!” The angelic voice called to her.
Sam looked back to the altar. A bright blue figure was standing before her. The sigils on the girl she had saved were burning brighter than ever, but the girl’s body was invisible to Sam.
Sam turned back to the tentacle face. Joseph Flaurence was no longer there, but it was another face all together. The demon used illusions to alter the space outside Sam’s talisman’s reach. This was a far greater foe than the ones she had faced before.
The hand was within touching distance of Sam now. There was no time to escape its grasp.
“Amhlaich!” The girl with the blue sigils shouted, her hands rose at the vines that dropped from the ceiling. The greenery sprung to life and wrapped around the demon’s arm. The vines pulled backwards, giving Sam time to escape.
Sam jumped out of reach of the demon. The vines finally burned away from the demon’s fiery aura, and the demon’s hand crashed into the ground where Sam had stood.
All of the tentacle faces turned in the direction of the blue-sigil girl. The demon turned to face her, his waist still stuck in the portal. “Blood, blood, blood.” The resonant whispers shot around the crumbling chapel on endless repeat.
Loud thumps sounded out behind the demon. Sam looked up to see the troll once again standing, more accurately, sprinting at the demon. Something was off about it this time around. Sam could tell it was different. Its movements were sluggish while its eyes were glazed over with a grey smoke.
Sam peered past the demon and saw the Raven standing at the opposite end of the chapel. His eyes were closed and his hands mimicked what the troll was acting out, he was the puppet master with the greatest puppet of all.
The troll struck the demon again before it could retaliate with another spike attack. The demon turned and grabbed the troll’s other arm before it could strike again. The two behemoths were now in a deadlock wrestle match. The troll’s flesh sizzled and the tentacle faces were snapping at the troll, biting it with their razor sharp teeth, removing small chunks of flesh at a time.
The girl by the altar shouted out again and more vines snapped at the demon, slightly helping the overwhelmed troll.
Even though the troll was dead, Sam could tell if nothing else was done here, the troll would surely fall. She took a deep breath and relaxed her over-beating heart. There was an answer somewhere. She just had to find it. She opened her eyes and gazed at the base of the demon. The eight pointed star was still etched into the stone with fire.
The thought raced to Sam’s mind. Destroy the portal, destroy the demon. If she could cancel its portal before it fully materialized, it would disappear back to the void it came from. It was almost too simple, but Sam had to try.
She raced over to the portal, dodging one of the snapping heads. Another came at her and she swung with her axe. The enchanted weapon cut through the demon’s tentacle, severing the appendage from its body.
The head screamed and withered about on the ground, only to dematerialize before her eyes.
The demon now took notice of the woman trying to banish it back to its realm. The massive body pushed the troll with all its might, gaining a few seconds of time to stop the woman before it was too late.
Sam didn’t hesitate, she couldn’t. She rose her axe up and slammed it down on the stone.
“No, no, no.” The demon’s voice resonated once again as the stone cracked and shattered into pieces. The flames outlining the portal disappeared and the demon began to sink back into its realm.
The demon’s hands frantically shot around, grabbing whatever it could to keep from being pulled back to its home. It latched onto the zombie troll’s arm and held on to keep its place in this world.
The troll reared back with all its might. The tug of war soon took its toll as the invisible force was dragging the demon away. The flesh at the troll’s shoulder joint began to tear away, the acidic blood oozed slowly from the wound. The demon yanked in one more futile effort and the arm ripped away, spraying the blood across the chapel.
Sam dove behind the remains of a wooden pew as the blood splattered around, eating away at the environment with a sharp sizzle.
The demon shrunk into the ground and disappeared, the troll’s arm still in its grasp. The cracking of ozone filled the air as the portal finally shut and vanished forever.
Sam peeked over the pew and stared at the ground where the portal had been. She waited a good while before moving closer to finish her conclusion.
She looked over at the Raven who was pointing out of the church. The troll nodded and slowly skulked off into the nearby forest.
“Where’s it going?” She watched the beast enter the forest. The trees around it shook from side to side as it passed.
“I sent him into the forest to decay in piece.” The Raven brushed off his hat and set it on his head. “I figured he helped us enough that we owe him somewhat.”
Sam nodded. The troll had helped save her life, even if it was under the control of the Raven. “I hope nothing else happens to him.” Sam felt sympathy for the troll, it was only an animal after all.
The Raven bent down to the spot where the flames had etched the ground. “Some kind of demon, do you know what it was?” He looked over his shoulder at Sam.
She shrugged, “There are an endless supply of demons. They always try to invade our world for whatever reason. They always fail.” She gave a half-hearted smile. “We showed this one what were capable of. Next time he might want to bring more tenticles.” She bent down and picked up the ancient tome. She turned it around a few times before tucking it under her arm.
The Raven chuckled at her comment. The cultists had disappeared and without the troll, the church just looked like it had collapsed under its own weight.
Sam looked around on the ground. She just remembered about the folder that contained information on Hans Kammler, and it was gone. She must have dropped in during the fight with the robots and the cyborg. “But I came here to get the whereabouts of Hans Kammler. I still don’t know where he is, and if I have to go back to that hotel to do research with Lord Blud, I will throw myself off the top of the hotel.”
A black bird fluttered down onto the edge of a wooden pew. In its beak was the folder Sam needed. She snatched it from the bird with joy. “Thanks.” She gave the Raven a smile.
He bowed dramatically, “Always one step ahead.” When he came up from the bow he held up a finger, “And I know how we can get that information on Hans, my dear Sam, but now you owe me twice.”
“Twice?” Sam questioned him sarcastically.
“Once for saving you with the troll. Twice for raising our cyborg friend with the metal dome...” The Raven tapped his own head, “From the dead and making him tell us where his base is.”
Sam perked up instantly, “So, how about we get to it.”
“Your enthusiasm is enlightening.” The Raven led the way, tapping his cane on the ground as he did so.
“Hey!” The shout from behind them pulled their attention back to the destroyed chapel. “What about me?” The black-haired girl with the blue tattoos ran up to them, her white dress flapping in the breeze. “You can’t just leave me here.” She looked back and forth between Sam and the Raven.
They stood for a split second and turned back out of the chapel without saying a word.
“Rude!” The girl chased after them as they strode over to the bridge. “Can I at least know your names?”
Sam nodded to the Raven as he began to work his magic on the cyborg. She turned to the girl, “My name’s Sam. I like to chop things with my axe.” She slapped the wooden handle of her axe down in her palm. “That over there is the Raven. He is a necromancer from several hundred years ago.”
The Raven smiled with his black teeth forefront, “Pleasure.”
“We are part of, or at least I am, the Institute. If you have heard of it, if not, well then it doesn’t really matter because the gist of it is that we get into situations like that,” Sam pointed at the church, “On a daily basis. For fun.”
The girl gulped hard and looked away slightly.
“So if you can’t handle that, then there is no reason for us to know each other.” Sam hit her with the blunt end of her vicious tongue.
The girl stood tall with a renewed courage, “My name’s Keitha Aine. I am a druid of old.” She let her pride push her words.
“So you can move plants? Seems kind of dumb.” Sam turned back to the Raven.
Keitha looked dumbfounded, “Not just that, my blood could bring demons into our world. That’s why they kidnapped me and hog tied me on that table!”
Sam shrugged, “I’ve seen better.”
“I can also change forms.” Keitha stood back and uttered some ancient words. Her body smoothly transformed, her sigils burning bright, into a black and blue house cat, her clothes slumped in a pile around her. “See.” The small cat looked up at Sam, “See? I can do more than just a cat.”
Sam was about to put down the girl even more when the Raven interrupted her.
“He’s ready.” The Raven stood back as the fleshy parts of the cyborg began to stir. The eyes of the cyborg opened and gazed at the onlookers. “Go ahead and ask him.” The Raven waved Sam on.
“Where’s your base?” Sam crossed her arms waiting for a response.
The corpse began to mumble, but none of the words were coherent.
Sam looked back at the Raven, “What’s wrong?”
The Raven tapped his finger on his teeth, “His brain might have been damaged by the troll, or the mechanical parts installed in him have messed with the organic matter.” The Raven bent down and dipped his finger into some of the blood that had leaked out of the cyborg’s body. “Give me the folder.”
Sam handed the Raven the folder and he shut his eyes and began to scribble a location on the outside of the folder. He opened his eyes and looked on what he just wrote. “I was able to access what was left of his memories and this is the place.” He flicked the folder.
“Alright, that wasn’t so hard.” Sam took the folder, “What about him? And the robots?”
The Raven gave one last bow, “I can dispose of them, but I must hurry before anyone were to happen upon us on this fine night.”
“How will I find you?” Sam always was approached by the Necromancer at random times, but she had no clue how to find him if she needed him. She stopped for a second. First she didn’t want anything to do with the undead man, but now she needed him. He was a powerful ally to have, and his company wasn’t on the bad end either.
“So now you want me to be around, eh?” The Raven chuckled, “I will find you when you need me. You don’t want me around more than you have to. I tend to make situations more…complicated, especially around the small minded.”
Sam nodded and the Raven began to drag off the corpse of flesh and metal. She looked down at the cat-druid-human licking herself. Sam scoffed and walked off back to her hotel.
Keitha looked around, “What did I do?”
Sam was strutting up to the hotel entrance with her duffle bag in hand. A small black and blue cat was trotting along behind her. Sam looked back to the cat before she entered the hotel. “Don’t you have a family or home to get back to?”
The cat shook her head, “No. My family is all dead, and I kinda just travel around the world. All I have are the clothes on my back.” The cat looked around, “About that…”
“You’re naked, aren’t you?” Sam let out a sigh as the cat bobbed her head up and down. “Well, I think I have a spare set of clothes, but that doesn’t mean you are staying. If you prove yourself an asset to us, then we can keep you around. Got it?”
Keitha’s voice sounded gleeful, “Yes! Of course.”
“Sam!” A voice came from behind Sam. Her hand shot to her bag as she turned around to see who had called her name out. It was an eventful enough night as is, but Sam relaxed when she saw who had said her name.
It was the lady vamp who she had come to know well over the past year. Andrelle poked her head out of a nearby alley. There was blood smeared across her mouth and nose like a scavenger making piecemeal out of a carcass. Andrelle waved to Sam with her broken hand, her fingers jutting in different directions. “I could use some help. If you don’t mind?” Andrelle stepped out into the light. Her clothes were ragged and torn.
Sam rushed forward to help her, “What happened to you? I thought you were still in Italy.” Sam pulled a jacket from her duffle bag and handed it to Andrelle.
“I was until my safe house got hit by Ra. They killed everyone.” Andrelle stared off into the distance and fell quiet.
“Ra? The vampire lord guy. But what about Red? He isn’t…” Sam stopped as she thought about the loss of a friend. Red couldn’t die. Not the goofball that she was pranking just a year ago. He was supposed to be a powerful psychic.
“No, Red isn’t dead. He was taken.” Andrelle looked Sam in the eyes, “We came here for your help after we were hit, but this lady just came out of nowhere. She must have been the most powerful psychic I’ve seen. She took control of Red and left me for dead. She took him Sam. I need your help.” Andrelle’s eyes were glazed over with water.
It was the first time Sam saw Andrelle cry. It was serious indeed. “Come on. I got Brockly upstairs, along with Tentin and some other guys that can help. We’ll find him Andrelle, don’t worry.”
Andrelle nodded and hugged Sam tenderly. “Did I see you talking to a cat?”
Sam pulled Andrelle into the hotel, the blue and black cat followed. “There’s time for that later.”
The screen went black after a rather pale man dressed in outdated outerwear had thrown the cyborg into a hole in the ground. Hans Kammler leaned back in his chair and scratched his neatly shaven chin. This girl he saw take on the monster he thought was only a child’s tale, this woman with the axe, was after him, and from what he saw of the pale man, they had somehow resurrected Gunter and pulled the information of Hans’ hideout from his head.
He straightened his back and reassessed his plans. This girl had come out victorious over the monster. She was formidable, this much was clear, and for whatever reason she had, she was coming for him. This would throw a kink in his plans for world domination. His plans could burn up in the fire of despair like they did all those years ago. He would need to set up a defensive line and hold his factory from being shut down by this woman and her comrades.
He had fifty or so robot soldiers at his command, as well as the hundred or so still faithful neo-Nazis now turned cyborg. From the video footage he had streamed from their fight with the girl and the pale man, his soldiers could hold their own against such powerful adversaries. This was a good sign.
Hans snapped his metal fingers and the bearded skinhead stepped forward.
His beard remained on his face, but the rest was all metallic now. The brain remained as well, but with a slight inhibitor in place to control the man if he tried going AWOL.
“I need you to start fortifications against an assault by a small team of commandos. I want all our troops on high alert. That is all Wolfric.”
The bearded cyborg nodded, his red eyes scanning Hans with ease. “Of course sir!” He stepped out of the room and began barking orders to the other cyborgs
Hans banged his hand on the desk and stood upright. This was not how his world order was supposed to start out. Someone must have tipped them off to his plans. It must have been Johan and his whore Galiana. He would repay them the kindness once he dealt with this new threat.
He ran his metal hand through his hair and composed himself. Maria Orsic would need to know of this hiccup in their plans, that is if she wasn’t too busy with her new play thing. Hans Kammler smiled and left this office. At least two psychics were better than one, and this girl with the axe wouldn’t be much of a threat to someone like Maria. Hans laughed out over the rustle of his troops preparing for war.