CHAPTER
SEVEN:
The LI Electrical Depot
The lanky man
seated on the small chair in the cramped office yawned loudly, his arms
reaching for another doughnut beside him as he watched the Playboy bunnies
dance on the tiny television set. Chewing absentmindedly, the sounds of the
machines surrounding him were completely ignored as
“What
the fuck?”
Scrambling
off the chair, bunnies forgotten, he blinked and stared at the machines in
confusion. They seemed to have gone crazy as lights flashed, needles waved
around in their meters crazily and even some of the control switches seemed to
have a mind of their own.
“Holy
Mother of God, what the hell is going on here?”
He
ran quickly to the phone and tried to call up the main tower.
“Gah…phone
lines are dead!! Shit!!”
Unable
to do anything in the office, he grabbed his jacket and decided to run up to
the towers himself. It was times like these that he wished he wasn’t on the
The
man tried to rise to his feet again. There was no way he could get out of the
office, not unless he wanted to be fried to death. He staggered towards the
small window and tried to see through the pitch darkness. He wondered if anyone
was still at the tower. He got his answer soon enough as another lightning
flash hit an electrical pole. He could only watch in horror as the now blazing
steel fell forward and straight into the tall building, sending its flames
right through it. He tried to close his ears at the screams of horror that
filled the night sky, not realizing that he was now sobbing quietly.
Another
sound of an electrical pole breaking, caused him to raise up his eyes in
fright. His eyes widened as he waited for the inevitable. The pole was heading
straight for him.
Opening
his mouth in a soundless scream of terror, he got ready to meet his Maker…
The Center For Weather Control
“Goddamn
it! What do you mean, you had nothing to do with it?! You are in charge of the
climate control stations, aren’t you?!”
“Yes,
Mr. Deken, sir. But as you can see, all the controls seem to have gone crazy.
We don’t really know what to do!”
“Shit!
Give me damage report, now!”
“Sir,
The Electrical Depot is burning as we speak. Several houses in the western side
of the city have experienced the same fires from lightning. All power and water
supplies have been shut down throughout the entire city.”
“Good
Lord…the phone lines…”
“Negative,
sir. All communication systems are down as well. We have no means of speaking
to any colonies neither are we able to receive messages.”
“Are
you saying that we are trapped in our own colony?!”
“That
is correct, Mr. Deken.”
“Sir!
We have gotten a strange report from a local who managed to make it here, sir.”
“What
strange report?!”
“Sir,
he says that…the roads leading up to St. Gabriel’s Church and Orphanage have
been blocked completely. He says that trees have fallen across the path making
it impossible to cross and that there seems to be…a circle of fire above the
buildings, sir.”
“What?!
A circle of fire?! What is this? The Twilight Zone?! Could someone please tell
me what the fuck is going on here?!”
“It
seems like most of the power surges are taking place over there, sir. It almost
feels like…whatever it is…it’s sucking up the entire energy source from the
colony…”
Deken
stood silent for several minutes, his face furrowed in thought. Circles of
fire…above the church…it could only mean one thing.
“I
want you to go out and tell everyone not to move from their houses. Let them
seek some form of shelter in the underground bunkers! You! Contact the police
or whoever is in charge of clearing out roads! Tell them to send in their
troops or whoever towards the damned church! We need to get those kids out of
there! You got me?!”
“Sir!”
The
chairman was left alone to his thoughts again. This time, his trembling hands
gave away the fear and coldness that filled his heart.
Oh,
dear God…what evil has been hatched this time?
The Grand Hotel
L2
The head of the Winner
Empire was literally knocked off his bed by the loud rumble of thunder.
Staggering weakly to his feet, he reached for the bedside lamp and tried to
switch it on. For several seconds, he continued to flip it on and off, until it
sunk into his brain that the lights were out. Grumbling beneath his breath, he
stumbled to his feet and reached for his sleeping robe. The sooner he found out
what the hell was going on, the better.
“Master
Winner! Please wake up, Master Winner!”
“For
Allah’s sake, I am awake!” He cursed out loud as his foot connected solidly
with some furniture in the room. Limping towards the door…if he could find it,
that is, he ended up cursing and grumbling for a good five minutes, before he
finally found the right one to open up.
A
bright beam from a flashlight was shone directly into his face and with an
angry yell, he knocked it away. “Idiots! Get that thing away from my face!”
“We
are terribly sorry, Master.”
Adjusting
his blinded vision, he stared at the panicked faces of his employees with
growing worry. “What is it?” he asked with a feeling of dread filling him.
“What are you all doing here? Why aren’t you at my son’s quarters?!”
Rashid
stepped forward and bowed slightly. “Master that is what we are here to talk to
you about. We have been unable to open up Master’s Quatre’s room.”
“What
the hell is that supposed to mean?!”
Ahmed
interrupted quickly. “We tried to kick it down, sir. We even tried to break
down the lock…”
Another
piped up. “But it was like an iron shield had been put in its place, sir. We
don’t know what to do.”
The
older man was already beginning to make his way towards his son’s room,
practically running now as the other men followed him. “Is he still asleep?”
The
men exchanged quick looks, before Rashid answered. “We do not know, sir. We
shouted his name several times and he did not wake up or answer us.”
“My
son is not that heavy a sleeper.”
“That’s
what has us worried, sir.”
“Damn
it!! What is going on?! What is with the change in weather?!”
They
had now reached the young heir’s rooms and true enough the door looked like it
had been unharmed, even as evidence of the tools and equipment that had used to
try and open it, lay about the floor. With a determined look on his face,
Winner stepped to the door and tried to bang upon it. And to the total and
complete shock of his spectators, the billionaire was thrown across the hallway
by some invisible force.
“Master
Winner!”
“Are
you alright, sir?!”
“Damn
them…” the man growled, as he staggered to his feet. “Damn them all! YOU WILL
NOT TAKE MY SON!! YOU HEAR ME?! I WON’T LET YOU TAKE MY SON!!”
“Master
Winner!! Do not go back!!”
Ignoring
the pleas from his servants, he lunged towards the door again. This time,
everyone was left gaping in shock as the older man seemed to melt right into
the solid oak, vanishing before their eyes. A thick silence, filled with dread,
fell upon the stunned men.
“Allah…Master
Winner…” Ahmed said shakily.
“Is
dead,” Rashid completed in a flat tone. “And so will we be, if we don’t get out
of here now.”
“I
tried to make you stay away, but you never did listen, did you, father?”
Winner
opened up his eyes weakly to stare into blazing aqua depths. “Qu…Quatre…my…my
son…”
He
tried to get to his feet, or at least his knees, but found himself yelping in
pain as something twisted painfully into his chest. Placing trembling hands
over it, he stared fearfully ahead of him and noticed for the first time the
person before him.
The
boy standing before him looked like his son - was still dressed in the silk
blue pajamas he always had and he was in his bedroom, but the normal gentle
features on the blond’s face were gone. Instead, that empty almost lifeless
look was now etched upon the cherubic features. Quatre stood upon his bed, the
room which was supposed to be as dark as the others was radiating a strange
blue aura from somewhere in the ceiling. The aura seemed to grow and was soon
encompassing the small figure, protecting him like a shield.
In
a voice that was as dead as ever, the boy spat out, “I warned you to stay out.”
The
older man shook his head. “I won’t let them take you away, Quatre. You are my
son! You come back to me!”
“Never.”
“Quatre!!”
A
sinister smile came upon his face as he raised up an arm to point it straight
towards his father’s face. “Do you feel that sharp ache in your chest, father?”
His grin widened as he clenched his hand into a tight fist. “That’s
me…squeezing the life out of you.”
Winner
gasped and fell to his knees, the pain becoming unbearable as it felt like a
thousand needles and a fierce fire was burning in his being. “Grrgh…stop…stop
this…stop doing this, Quatre.”
“Hmph!
And who’s going to stop me? You? Or those stupid oafs outside?! Speaking of
which…”
Quatre
pressed two fingers from his free hand to his forehead and narrowed his eyes at
the door. Immediately, a flash of blue fire was sent out of his head,
seemingly, and right through it. The screams of pain and terror from the
burning men outside sent a dull rage through the man still in the room. Glaring
hatefully at the being on the bed, knowing that his son was no longer in
existence, he staggered to his feet and lurched towards him.
Quatre
was clearly taken by surprise at the attack as they both collapsed to the floor
in a heap. Father held onto the frail neck with his hands, ready to choke the
life out of the thing that was no longer his.
“I
will kill you!” he bellowed angrily. “I will kill you for taking my son!!”
The
blond gurgled and choked, his eyes watering at the strength of the chokehold.
“Papa…please….”
“No!!
I am not falling for that! I will finish you off here, once and for all! Die!!”
And with one final squeeze the frail body stopped struggling, and the older man
was faced with only aqua depths that seemed to question his actions. Releasing
the hold on his son’s neck, the tears began to fall out of his eyes, harsh sobs
wracking his body as he realized what he had done.
“Allah…forgive
me…I didn’t know what to do…”
He
cradled the limp body to himself and placed him gently on the bed. “Forgive me,
Quatre. I hope you rest in peace.”
“I
hope he does too,” came the laughing voice behind him.
The
man spun around sharply as he saw the blue aura in the shape of a boy dissolve
away to show the figure behind it. “No…no! It can’t be! I killed you!”
Quatre’s
face tightened into one of intense disapproval. “So, you would kill your own
flesh and blood, ne? Well, that is just too bad for you, dearest father. You
see, I am much stronger now. I can do things that you couldn’t even conceive.
What you just witnessed was my power of illusion. Pretty nice trick, if I do
say so myself. And now to end your miserable existence. My master has some
instructions that I have to carry out.”
“The
devil…you have become the devil!”
Aqua
depths narrowed as a smirk lit up the young face. “Yes, father. For once you
have actually gotten something right about me. I am the devil itself. Aaahh!!”
This
time, the older man had no time to brace himself at the onslaught from the
trail of fire that pierced right through him. Gasping weakly for one final
breath, Winner died with the weak words on his lips.
“Quatre…my...son…”
The
boy dropped his hands to his sides and sighed wearily, before walking out to
the patio. Ignoring the sharp gusts of winds and lightening flashes, he climbed
unto the iron railings and stood upon them. Closing his eyes, he listened to
his master’s voice. And with a slight frown on his face, he nodded once in
understanding.
“Yes.
I do understand. I will not let anything happen to you.”
And
not bothering to open up his eyes, he leapt from the building and into the
turbulent skies.
St. Gabriel’s Orphanage
The building seemed to have
a life of its own now. The intense smell of fire and smoke was beginning to
fill the small room and the three adults could only continue with what they had
set out to do. In a rather sonorous voice, Father O’Brien kissed the medallion
around his neck and began the rites again. With his hand placed on the bible he
had open, he raised his other hand high above the seemingly ‘sleeping’ boy and
continued.
“Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde, in nomine Dei.” [I exorcise thee, unclean spirit in the name of God.]
A low rumble that seemed to come from the bowels of the earth was
suddenly heard and the adults spared another fearful glance at each other.
Shaking his head, O’ Brien continued,
“Patris omnipotentis, et in
noimine Jesu” [ The Father Almighty and in the name of Jesus Christ.]
This time a wail was heard from…somewhere and they could only
watch in horror as a huge chunk of the ceiling came crashing down in the room.
On autopilot, Sister Helen lurched herself onto Duo’s body and shielded it with
hers, uncaring of the pain that wracked through her as some of the wooden
pieces fell upon her back. With tears in her eyes, she brushed away the damp
locks from his forehead, mumbling softly.
“I promised to protect you, Duo. I won’t let anything happen to
you…”
“Get away from him, Helen!” O’ Brien bellowed out angrily as he
rose to his feet, having fallen earlier due to the accident. “How dare you try
to protect him?!”
Helen’s normally cherubic persona flared into fury. “You leave him
alone! Haven’t you both done enough all ready?! You are going to kill him!”
O’Brien growled. “You have become one of his pawns now, haven’t
you? I see he has gotten you into his clutches! Shame! And I thought you were
much stronger than this. Maxwell, let us finish this thing! Make her leave or I
will do so myself!”
He was never answered.
“Maxwell?” O’Brien spun around and finally noticed that the other
priest was now buried beneath a pile of rubble. His head was now bent at a
painful angle, those kind eyes forever opened in silent plea, as the shiny
medallion of St. Benedict lay crushed on the floor. Stuffing a hand into his
mouth to stop his whimper, O’ Brien spun around again and was met with the
mocking and almost cold look on the young woman’s face.
“You…” He tried to say, but was quickly interrupted by the cold
laughter.
“He got what he deserved, didn’t he?”
“Sister Helen! Why do you do this?!”
“I do this because I love the boy underneath the evil, Father. I
know even you can never understand that.”
The room was beginning to get hot, the smell of fire becoming
stronger. Both adults lifted their heads as they heard something else crash
upon them. The church was burning down and they were effectively trapped now.
The priest glared angrily at the woman and the still ‘sleeping’
boy and with brute determination, he reached for the holy water and bible. He
pushed Helen to the side and opened up the small vial, and with an almost
maniacal gleam in his eyes, he poured the entire thing on Duo, the prayers beginning
to pour out of his lips faster and faster.
“In odorem suavitatis. Tu autem effugare, diabole; appropinquabit
enim judicium Dei!” [ For a savor of sweetness. And to
you, O Devil, be gone! For the judgment of God is at hand!]
Duo finally awakened with a gut-wrenching scream that sent the
others covering their ears at the unearthly sound. They could only watch in
silent terror at the wild thrashing that Duo had begun to do. His screams
becoming ones of pain and anguish, Helen watched with growing understanding.
Duo was fighting with the demon.
She closed her eyes and muttered softly to herself. “Please…Please
be strong, my precious one. Please fight him with everything you have got.”
Amethyst depths widened and another howl was emitted as a welt
suddenly appeared on his bare arms. The fire continued to rage, if anything
getting stronger and hotter in its intensity. Duo cried out again. The welts
were beginning to show all over his body now. It was as if someone or something
was giving him a good beating. Helen, having seen enough, screamed out in
agony.
“PLEASE LET HIM GO!!! TAKE MY BODY INSTEAD, PLEASE!!”
O’Brien could only blink at the woman. “Have you lost your mind,
Helen? He will destroy you…what in the name of Christ…”
A dark shadow seemed to float out of the young boy and within
seconds it dove straight into the crying woman’s body. Duo now lay limp on the
altar table, his eyes closed in exhaustion, as O’Brien stared at Helen a bit
fearfully. The woman staggered a bit, her habit now off her head as her blonde
locks floated around her face like a curtain. She held a hand to her stomach
and tried to take deep breaths, but that task seemed a bit too painful for her
to carry out. Spitting out a wad of blood, she raised dull blue eyes to the
stunned priest, before whispering out softly.
“It…It…is killing me…”
She stumbled towards Duo and stared at him with a gamut of
emotions on her visage. With hands that trembled now, she brushed his face
lightly with her fingertips and leaned forward to place a kiss on his cold
lips. “Goodbye, my Duo. I hope we meet in the after life…”
Her words were never finished, for the demon sent her spinning
around sharply. In mere seconds, Helen was practically flung by some unseen
force into the raging fires that now surrounded the room…or at least what was
left of the room. She never screamed or cried out for help as she accepted her
fate. As for O’Brien, he wasted no time. He reached for the limp body and tried
to lift him off from the altar, but was frozen into silence at the cold look
that came unto the boy’s face.
“Taking me somewhere, Father?”
The man staggered back in disbelief. “No…you entered her body! You
should have been killed by now…auggh!”
Young but strong hands had now wrapped themselves around his neck
and he could only struggle weakly as he felt the life being choked out of him.
“Such pathetic excuses for humans. Wasting my time by performing such useless
rites. See you in the after life, Father O’ Brien!”
And with one, almost careless toss, he flung the priest into the
dancing flames, a grin of satisfaction etched upon his face now as he listened
to the final cry from him.
Eyeing the welts on his
skin, he frowned in disapproval before sucking in a deep breath and making them
all disappear one after the other. Satisfied at the way he looked now, he ran
his fingers through his hair and jumped off the altar and humming softly to
himself, the young demon walked out of the burning building and into the cold
night.
The Khushrenada Estates
Northern Hemisphere
Earth
Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang watched the writhing boy on the large
bed with concern. Their new comrade had been in and out of consciousness since
he was brought back here. He had muttered some incoherent words at some point
and had even gone as far as screaming out the name ‘Duo’ before passing out
again.
“Do you think he can see
what’s going on?” Wufei asked quietly.
Trowa
nodded and placed another wet towel upon the feverish skin. “He is much
stronger than us. Lord Khushrenada says that he has the ability to see the
demon more clearly than we do.”
The
two boys sat still for several moments. They knew that something was happening
on L2 for several messengers had been sent earlier in the day. Lord Treize and
Zechs had been worried and had told both of them to stay with Heero while they
dealt with the matter.
“I
don’t think they are winning,” Trowa commented dryly, as he stared at his
hands.
Wufei
nodded. He had felt the losing battle as well. “He is growing stronger.”
“A
barrier shield…so strong…it can’t be broken…”
“Is
he using the human?”
Trowa
felt a dull ache of sorrow slice through his heart at the thought of the
blond-haired boy he had tried to kill. “The human…is no longer…”
Wufei
gasped softly. “He is using the human as the shield. Isn’t he?”
“Yes.
With a human with such a pure heart, to taint and make it evil…the amount of
power those two possess, there is no telling what would happen.”
Another
low moan from their delirious patient caused them to pause for a moment. They
had to strain their ears to catch the words that Heero now tried to say. And
all that came out was the softly whispered words.
“Too…late…”
In front of St. Gabriel’s Orphanage and Church
L2
The
still figure stood alone at the side of the road, staring at the billowing
flames with mute fascination. The night sky was filled with smoke and the smell
of burning flesh, the cries of those trapped in the building forever lost
within the raging blaze. The wind whipped through chestnut colored locks as he
stood in bare feet upon the cold cobbled stones.
He
did not turn around as the second presence stood beside him. In companionable
silence, the two watched the mayhem, as firemen and police cars began to make
their way towards the destroyed buildings.
Finally,
the other spoke. “Is it time, master?”
The
longhaired boy nodded gravely. “Yes…our time has finally come…”
The
blond glanced at his partner with faint confusion, before his eyes widened in
understanding.
A
single tear had made its way down the demon’s face, for inside, the boy known
as Duo….
Wept.