Book 2, Chapter 1
The sun sank low, casting a web of broken shadows through the treetops that danced across the little house. It was older, showing significant wear as well as a severe lack of maintenance. The lawn was overgrown and filled with weeds. There were a few cars parked in the drive that seemed as if they hadn’t run in years. The paint peeled from the outside, flaking off with every gust of wind and tonight the wind seemed to blow harder than usual causing the house to shake and creak loudly.
Inside a room on the second floor, Rebekah and Jaime sat, backs braced against the door. Rebekah, her auburn hair stained with sweat and blood, wept openly. With one hand Jaime stifled the girl’s cries and with the other he clutched an old pair of scissors. He was bruised and covered in small cuts, but despite the pain and fear running through him, he couldn’t let them get caught.
The footsteps started again. They echoed through the empty hallway outside the room, the floorboards of the old house creaking with each step. Rebekah tensed and clutched the young man beside her. “Where did you go?” the voice echoed, hollow and ethereal. Jaime shut his eyes. This wasn’t happening. It was just a nightmare. He’d open his eyes and Rebekah would be on the couch next to him. They’d be with Tom and Kelly and Bridgette and Justin and everyone, just watching movies, being regular kids.
“They’re waiting for you guys,” the voice continued. “We just need you.”
Rebekah’s terror began to slip, the teenage girl giving a small, quiet whine of fear as tears continued streaming down her cheeks. Jaime clamped his hand harder over her mouth, but it only served to worsen matters. She choked and coughed, the consequences of which were not lost on the girl. She clutched her hair and bit her lip to silence herself, blood now dripping down her chin.
“We’ll be together, guys. And he’ll be so happy to welcome us, all of us.” The voice and footsteps halted outside the door. The teens held their breath. Jaime’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking and Rebekah’s heart threatened to beat out of her chest. The footsteps moved on. The voice faded. “Why are you hiding from us?”
Jaime dared to open his eyes. Rebekah’s face was a terrible mesh of blood, tears, and dirt. He looked across the room at the window. If they could reach it, maybe they could escape. Could they survive the drop? Would he find them if they did? Would he need to break the glass? Before Jaime could come to a solid answer, Rebekah buried her face into his chest.
“I don’t want to die,” she sobbed quietly.
“It’s going to be fine,” Jaime whispered. “We’ll get to the window, get to the road, then-”
Rebekah shrieked as the door above the pair splintered open and a hand jabbed through. It was dirty and covered in blood, both dried and fresh with new gouges from the wooden door. Rebekah scurried across the floor as Jaime fought back, stabbing the scissors at his attacker. The twin blades sank through the palm of his aggressor, but did nothing. The impaled hand clutched his arm and dragged it back through the hole, slamming Jaime’s face into the splintered wood, over and over.
Rebekah pried at the jammed window, turning to see Jaime’s limp body hit the floor. A moment later she could hear the thud of the metal scissors dropping and the bloody hand reaching back through. As he unlocked the door, she pounded on the window. The thick glass held against her terrified attacks. She turned. The door opened. Julius stood there, his eyes black with tendril-like webbing that marked his face like tears of pitch. There, hanging from his neck and glowing with a soft, eerie light, was the pendant.
With a scream Rebekah hurled herself at the window, the glass pane finally giving way. Shards tore along her arms and legs as she tumbled through, uncertain of where she’d land. But she never did. She hung, suspended in air as the bloody hand gripped her ankle, dragging her back inside.
“It’s okay, Rebekah,” he said quietly. “We’re all going to go. Together.”
#
When she opened her eyes, Rebekah was in the parlor. The room seemed to drift and spin until she realized that it was her, suspended from the rafters, that was drifting. Beside her, all hung from the rafters as well, were the rest of her friends. Rational thought was gone now. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t hide. She could only weep.
Julius appeared before her, lifting her chin as if to inspect his prize. In his other hand he clutched a long kitchen knife. He turned her, letting her see the room around her.
“Look! It’s almost ready, Rebekah. It took so long, but now we’re almost ready.”
Beneath her and each of her friends were bowls, some metal, some plastic, apparently whatever Julius could find. The walls were lined with strange symbols in what she could only guess were his blood. Candles were lit and seemed to glow with a strange, blue aura. He gently grazed the edge of the blade against Rebekah’s cheek.
“You should be happy. We’ll be the first to see his new kingdom, Rebekah. I know you and Jaime are… well… I suppose that doesn’t matter. All of us, you, me, even Jaime, we’ll be together. And we’ll be the first to witness his new paradise.”
“Why are you doing this?” Rebekah wept.
“For us! For all of us. Our master, he loves us. He knows the pain we’re suffering on this mortal plane,” came the cold, hollow voice of Julius, “and he can end our suffering.”
“Please…” she wept, “let me go…”
“Don’t worry, Rebekah.” He pressed his cheek against hers. “It’ll be over soon.”
He pulled the knife away and stepped back, appraising the girl one last time. He placed his hand softly and solemnly on the medallion. Then a loud crack echoed in the air and Julius stiffened, dropping the knife before collapsing to the floor.
“Sorry! Sorry! Meant to be here earlier but the damned GPS…” Rebekah looked up to see a man in a cassock standing several feet away, a taser in his hands. “Everything’s going to be fine. Jonathan!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” the young paladin cried, racing to his mentor’s side. He raised his cellphone, tapping the screen several times.
“Well?”
“Uh… y-yeah! That’s it! I mean, it’s blue…”
“Good, where’s the gel?”
“The what?” Jonathan asked.
“The blue gel!”
“In the car!”
“Why is it in the car? I need it here!”
“You said to bring it in when you told me to!”
“Well I’m telling you to! Get the gel!”
Jonathan nodded and rushed back out the front door, leaving Reagan with the hanging teens. Several had now come to and were watching with confusion and fear. “Everything’s fine, kids,” he said, raising his hands.
Julius sat up with a loud growl. “Heathens! I will purge this land-”
Reagan clicked the trigger on his taser and the young man tensed up once more before collapsing. “Yeah, just… just relax for now, okay?” He looked at the horrified faces of the teens around him. “He’s going to be fine. Promise. Just taking a little nap.”
Reagan knelt beside Julius, whose breathing was now ragged and shallow. His hand hovered over the medallion for a moment before he thought better of it, looking around for anything he might use as a tool. He grabbed the fallen kitchen knife and poked at the pendant, trying to lift it up. “Maybe if… if I can get it over the nose… Jonathan!”
“Right here!” The rookie scrambled into the room pulling a large, plastic picnic cooler behind him.
“Good, get it open!”
As Jonathan opened the cooler revealing a large amount of blue gel within, Julius stirred once more. With another click, Reagan squeezed the trigger on his taser, causing the young man to convulse once more before falling limp.
“Is that going to hurt him?” Jonathan asked.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, kid. He’s a young buck like you. You guys bounce back from this stuff real easy,” Reagan replied, hooking the medallion once more and managing to snake it over the young man’s nose. “Got it!”
Jonathan slid out of the way as Reagan dropped the object into the gel. Steam rose from the cooler and the entire container began to shake. “Close it! Close it! Close it!”
Jonathan slammed the lid shut. Despite having his entire weight on it, the cooler shook and vibrated.
“It’s burning off the dark energy,” Reagan explained as he monitored Julius. “Just gotta stay on it until it’s all done.”
Jonathan nodded, holding onto the cooler like a man on a mechanical bull. Reagan dusted himself off and turned to the various teenagers suspended from the ceiling, smiling. “Okay, so… um. No need to worry. I’ve got a cleanup team who’ll be here in … oh…” Reagan checked his phone. “Ten minutes. Twenty tops. I’m sure you’ve got lots of questions and you’re probably really worried about your friend-”
Julius gripped Reagan’s ankle at that moment, forcing the paladin to shake him off and pull the trigger once more.
“He’ll… uh… he’ll be fine.” He turned to his apprentice. “How’s the medallion coming?”
“Good… I think?” Jonathan managed between bucks. At that moment the spill spout on the side of the cooler popped open, blue gel pouring onto the floor. Reagan scrambled to his partner’s side, desperately trying to plug it back up. Between the two paladins, they managed to keep the cooler down and, in just a few minutes, it came to a rest. Reagan took a long sigh before checking on Julius one last time. His face was clear from the dark tendrils and his eyes were once again human. He plucked the taser barbs from the young man’s chest and, with Jonathan’s help, lifted the cooler.
“Like I said, everything’s going to be fine. We just gotta get this medallion out of here.”
The teens watched in silence as the pair moved back out the door. At the car, Jonathan heaved the cooler into the back of the Focus before collapsing against the side. “That… was intense.”
“Yeah, but you did good!” Reagan assured him.
“What was all that? What did we just do?”
“Interrupt a horror movie, I’d guess. How you feeling?”
Jonathan’s heart was racing. His chest was tight and heaving with adrenaline. Somehow, the young man managed a smile. “Good… I guess.”
“That’s great! See? You’re definitely paladin material.”
“You… you think so?”
“Absolutely!” Reagan said, moving to the driver’s side. The pair sank into their respective seats and relaxed for a moment.
“Is that what every day is going to be like?”
“Well, not every day, but… sometimes. Exciting, right?”
“Yeah… and we saved those guys!”
“Right? See? I think your old mentor would be proud.”
Jonathan’s heart sank at the mention of Alistair, but only for a moment. True, he wasn’t closer to finding him, but helping those who needed it, that was Alistair. The longer he thought on it, the better he felt. Yes. Alistair would be proud. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, perhaps it was the effects of the coin wearing off, but somewhere inside, Jonathan felt good.
“C’mon. Let’s get out of here before the cleaners show up,” Reagan said, firing up the Focus. “I hate filling out paperwork.”
With a nod, Jonathan pulled his seat belt across his lap and the pair headed back down the lonely road to home.
Book 2, Chapter 1
The sun sank low, casting a web of broken shadows through the treetops that danced across the little house. It was older, showing significant wear as well as a severe lack of maintenance. The lawn was overgrown and filled with weeds. There were a few cars parked in the drive that seemed as if they hadn’t run in years. The paint peeled from the outside, flaking off with every gust of wind and tonight the wind seemed to blow harder than usual causing the house to shake and creak loudly.
Inside a room on the second floor, Rebekah and Jaime sat, backs braced against the door. Rebekah, her auburn hair stained with sweat and blood, wept openly. With one hand Jaime stifled the girl’s cries and with the other he clutched an old pair of scissors. He was bruised and covered in small cuts, but despite the pain and fear running through him, he couldn’t let them get caught.
The footsteps started again. They echoed through the empty hallway outside the room, the floorboards of the old house creaking with each step. Rebekah tensed and clutched the young man beside her. “Where did you go?” the voice echoed, hollow and ethereal. Jaime shut his eyes. This wasn’t happening. It was just a nightmare. He’d open his eyes and Rebekah would be on the couch next to him. They’d be with Tom and Kelly and Bridgette and Justin and everyone, just watching movies, being regular kids.
“They’re waiting for you guys,” the voice continued. “We just need you.”
Rebekah’s terror began to slip, the teenage girl giving a small, quiet whine of fear as tears continued streaming down her cheeks. Jaime clamped his hand harder over her mouth, but it only served to worsen matters. She choked and coughed, the consequences of which were not lost on the girl. She clutched her hair and bit her lip to silence herself, blood now dripping down her chin.
“We’ll be together, guys. And he’ll be so happy to welcome us, all of us.” The voice and footsteps halted outside the door. The teens held their breath. Jaime’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking and Rebekah’s heart threatened to beat out of her chest. The footsteps moved on. The voice faded. “Why are you hiding from us?”
Jaime dared to open his eyes. Rebekah’s face was a terrible mesh of blood, tears, and dirt. He looked across the room at the window. If they could reach it, maybe they could escape. Could they survive the drop? Would he find them if they did? Would he need to break the glass? Before Jaime could come to a solid answer, Rebekah buried her face into his chest.
“I don’t want to die,” she sobbed quietly.
“It’s going to be fine,” Jaime whispered. “We’ll get to the window, get to the road, then-”
Rebekah shrieked as the door above the pair splintered open and a hand jabbed through. It was dirty and covered in blood, both dried and fresh with new gouges from the wooden door. Rebekah scurried across the floor as Jaime fought back, stabbing the scissors at his attacker. The twin blades sank through the palm of his aggressor, but did nothing. The impaled hand clutched his arm and dragged it back through the hole, slamming Jaime’s face into the splintered wood, over and over.
Rebekah pried at the jammed window, turning to see Jaime’s limp body hit the floor. A moment later she could hear the thud of the metal scissors dropping and the bloody hand reaching back through. As he unlocked the door, she pounded on the window. The thick glass held against her terrified attacks. She turned. The door opened. Julius stood there, his eyes black with tendril-like webbing that marked his face like tears of pitch. There, hanging from his neck and glowing with a soft, eerie light, was the pendant.
With a scream Rebekah hurled herself at the window, the glass pane finally giving way. Shards tore along her arms and legs as she tumbled through, uncertain of where she’d land. But she never did. She hung, suspended in air as the bloody hand gripped her ankle, dragging her back inside.
“It’s okay, Rebekah,” he said quietly. “We’re all going to go. Together.”
#
When she opened her eyes, Rebekah was in the parlor. The room seemed to drift and spin until she realized that it was her, suspended from the rafters, that was drifting. Beside her, all hung from the rafters as well, were the rest of her friends. Rational thought was gone now. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t hide. She could only weep.
Julius appeared before her, lifting her chin as if to inspect his prize. In his other hand he clutched a long kitchen knife. He turned her, letting her see the room around her.
“Look! It’s almost ready, Rebekah. It took so long, but now we’re almost ready.”
Beneath her and each of her friends were bowls, some metal, some plastic, apparently whatever Julius could find. The walls were lined with strange symbols in what she could only guess were his blood. Candles were lit and seemed to glow with a strange, blue aura. He gently grazed the edge of the blade against Rebekah’s cheek.
“You should be happy. We’ll be the first to see his new kingdom, Rebekah. I know you and Jaime are… well… I suppose that doesn’t matter. All of us, you, me, even Jaime, we’ll be together. And we’ll be the first to witness his new paradise.”
“Why are you doing this?” Rebekah wept.
“For us! For all of us. Our master, he loves us. He knows the pain we’re suffering on this mortal plane,” came the cold, hollow voice of Julius, “and he can end our suffering.”
“Please…” she wept, “let me go…”
“Don’t worry, Rebekah.” He pressed his cheek against hers. “It’ll be over soon.”
He pulled the knife away and stepped back, appraising the girl one last time. He placed his hand softly and solemnly on the medallion. Then a loud crack echoed in the air and Julius stiffened, dropping the knife before collapsing to the floor.
“Sorry! Sorry! Meant to be here earlier but the damned GPS…” Rebekah looked up to see a man in a cassock standing several feet away, a taser in his hands. “Everything’s going to be fine. Jonathan!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” the young paladin cried, racing to his mentor’s side. He raised his cellphone, tapping the screen several times.
“Well?”
“Uh… y-yeah! That’s it! I mean, it’s blue…”
“Good, where’s the gel?”
“The what?” Jonathan asked.
“The blue gel!”
“In the car!”
“Why is it in the car? I need it here!”
“You said to bring it in when you told me to!”
“Well I’m telling you to! Get the gel!”
Jonathan nodded and rushed back out the front door, leaving Reagan with the hanging teens. Several had now come to and were watching with confusion and fear. “Everything’s fine, kids,” he said, raising his hands.
Julius sat up with a loud growl. “Heathens! I will purge this land-”
Reagan clicked the trigger on his taser and the young man tensed up once more before collapsing. “Yeah, just… just relax for now, okay?” He looked at the horrified faces of the teens around him. “He’s going to be fine. Promise. Just taking a little nap.”
Reagan knelt beside Julius, whose breathing was now ragged and shallow. His hand hovered over the medallion for a moment before he thought better of it, looking around for anything he might use as a tool. He grabbed the fallen kitchen knife and poked at the pendant, trying to lift it up. “Maybe if… if I can get it over the nose… Jonathan!”
“Right here!” The rookie scrambled into the room pulling a large, plastic picnic cooler behind him.
“Good, get it open!”
As Jonathan opened the cooler revealing a large amount of blue gel within, Julius stirred once more. With another click, Reagan squeezed the trigger on his taser, causing the young man to convulse once more before falling limp.
“Is that going to hurt him?” Jonathan asked.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, kid. He’s a young buck like you. You guys bounce back from this stuff real easy,” Reagan replied, hooking the medallion once more and managing to snake it over the young man’s nose. “Got it!”
Jonathan slid out of the way as Reagan dropped the object into the gel. Steam rose from the cooler and the entire container began to shake. “Close it! Close it! Close it!”
Jonathan slammed the lid shut. Despite having his entire weight on it, the cooler shook and vibrated.
“It’s burning off the dark energy,” Reagan explained as he monitored Julius. “Just gotta stay on it until it’s all done.”
Jonathan nodded, holding onto the cooler like a man on a mechanical bull. Reagan dusted himself off and turned to the various teenagers suspended from the ceiling, smiling. “Okay, so… um. No need to worry. I’ve got a cleanup team who’ll be here in … oh…” Reagan checked his phone. “Ten minutes. Twenty tops. I’m sure you’ve got lots of questions and you’re probably really worried about your friend-”
Julius gripped Reagan’s ankle at that moment, forcing the paladin to shake him off and pull the trigger once more.
“He’ll… uh… he’ll be fine.” He turned to his apprentice. “How’s the medallion coming?”
“Good… I think?” Jonathan managed between bucks. At that moment the spill spout on the side of the cooler popped open, blue gel pouring onto the floor. Reagan scrambled to his partner’s side, desperately trying to plug it back up. Between the two paladins, they managed to keep the cooler down and, in just a few minutes, it came to a rest. Reagan took a long sigh before checking on Julius one last time. His face was clear from the dark tendrils and his eyes were once again human. He plucked the taser barbs from the young man’s chest and, with Jonathan’s help, lifted the cooler.
“Like I said, everything’s going to be fine. We just gotta get this medallion out of here.”
The teens watched in silence as the pair moved back out the door. At the car, Jonathan heaved the cooler into the back of the Focus before collapsing against the side. “That… was intense.”
“Yeah, but you did good!” Reagan assured him.
“What was all that? What did we just do?”
“Interrupt a horror movie, I’d guess. How you feeling?”
Jonathan’s heart was racing. His chest was tight and heaving with adrenaline. Somehow, the young man managed a smile. “Good… I guess.”
“That’s great! See? You’re definitely paladin material.”
“You… you think so?”
“Absolutely!” Reagan said, moving to the driver’s side. The pair sank into their respective seats and relaxed for a moment.
“Is that what every day is going to be like?”
“Well, not every day, but… sometimes. Exciting, right?”
“Yeah… and we saved those guys!”
“Right? See? I think your old mentor would be proud.”
Jonathan’s heart sank at the mention of Alistair, but only for a moment. True, he wasn’t closer to finding him, but helping those who needed it, that was Alistair. The longer he thought on it, the better he felt. Yes. Alistair would be proud. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, perhaps it was the effects of the coin wearing off, but somewhere inside, Jonathan felt good.
“C’mon. Let’s get out of here before the cleaners show up,” Reagan said, firing up the Focus. “I hate filling out paperwork.”
With a nod, Jonathan pulled his seat belt across his lap and the pair headed back down the lonely road to home.
Book 2, Chapter 1
The sun sank low, casting a web of broken shadows through the treetops that danced across the little house. It was older, showing significant wear as well as a severe lack of maintenance. The lawn was overgrown and filled with weeds. There were a few cars parked in the drive that seemed as if they hadn’t run in years. The paint peeled from the outside, flaking off with every gust of wind and tonight the wind seemed to blow harder than usual causing the house to shake and creak loudly.
Inside a room on the second floor, Rebekah and Jaime sat, backs braced against the door. Rebekah, her auburn hair stained with sweat and blood, wept openly. With one hand Jaime stifled the girl’s cries and with the other he clutched an old pair of scissors. He was bruised and covered in small cuts, but despite the pain and fear running through him, he couldn’t let them get caught.
The footsteps started again. They echoed through the empty hallway outside the room, the floorboards of the old house creaking with each step. Rebekah tensed and clutched the young man beside her. “Where did you go?” the voice echoed, hollow and ethereal. Jaime shut his eyes. This wasn’t happening. It was just a nightmare. He’d open his eyes and Rebekah would be on the couch next to him. They’d be with Tom and Kelly and Bridgette and Justin and everyone, just watching movies, being regular kids.
“They’re waiting for you guys,” the voice continued. “We just need you.”
Rebekah’s terror began to slip, the teenage girl giving a small, quiet whine of fear as tears continued streaming down her cheeks. Jaime clamped his hand harder over her mouth, but it only served to worsen matters. She choked and coughed, the consequences of which were not lost on the girl. She clutched her hair and bit her lip to silence herself, blood now dripping down her chin.
“We’ll be together, guys. And he’ll be so happy to welcome us, all of us.” The voice and footsteps halted outside the door. The teens held their breath. Jaime’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking and Rebekah’s heart threatened to beat out of her chest. The footsteps moved on. The voice faded. “Why are you hiding from us?”
Jaime dared to open his eyes. Rebekah’s face was a terrible mesh of blood, tears, and dirt. He looked across the room at the window. If they could reach it, maybe they could escape. Could they survive the drop? Would he find them if they did? Would he need to break the glass? Before Jaime could come to a solid answer, Rebekah buried her face into his chest.
“I don’t want to die,” she sobbed quietly.
“It’s going to be fine,” Jaime whispered. “We’ll get to the window, get to the road, then-”
Rebekah shrieked as the door above the pair splintered open and a hand jabbed through. It was dirty and covered in blood, both dried and fresh with new gouges from the wooden door. Rebekah scurried across the floor as Jaime fought back, stabbing the scissors at his attacker. The twin blades sank through the palm of his aggressor, but did nothing. The impaled hand clutched his arm and dragged it back through the hole, slamming Jaime’s face into the splintered wood, over and over.
Rebekah pried at the jammed window, turning to see Jaime’s limp body hit the floor. A moment later she could hear the thud of the metal scissors dropping and the bloody hand reaching back through. As he unlocked the door, she pounded on the window. The thick glass held against her terrified attacks. She turned. The door opened. Julius stood there, his eyes black with tendril-like webbing that marked his face like tears of pitch. There, hanging from his neck and glowing with a soft, eerie light, was the pendant.
With a scream Rebekah hurled herself at the window, the glass pane finally giving way. Shards tore along her arms and legs as she tumbled through, uncertain of where she’d land. But she never did. She hung, suspended in air as the bloody hand gripped her ankle, dragging her back inside.
“It’s okay, Rebekah,” he said quietly. “We’re all going to go. Together.”
#
When she opened her eyes, Rebekah was in the parlor. The room seemed to drift and spin until she realized that it was her, suspended from the rafters, that was drifting. Beside her, all hung from the rafters as well, were the rest of her friends. Rational thought was gone now. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t hide. She could only weep.
Julius appeared before her, lifting her chin as if to inspect his prize. In his other hand he clutched a long kitchen knife. He turned her, letting her see the room around her.
“Look! It’s almost ready, Rebekah. It took so long, but now we’re almost ready.”
Beneath her and each of her friends were bowls, some metal, some plastic, apparently whatever Julius could find. The walls were lined with strange symbols in what she could only guess were his blood. Candles were lit and seemed to glow with a strange, blue aura. He gently grazed the edge of the blade against Rebekah’s cheek.
“You should be happy. We’ll be the first to see his new kingdom, Rebekah. I know you and Jaime are… well… I suppose that doesn’t matter. All of us, you, me, even Jaime, we’ll be together. And we’ll be the first to witness his new paradise.”
“Why are you doing this?” Rebekah wept.
“For us! For all of us. Our master, he loves us. He knows the pain we’re suffering on this mortal plane,” came the cold, hollow voice of Julius, “and he can end our suffering.”
“Please…” she wept, “let me go…”
“Don’t worry, Rebekah.” He pressed his cheek against hers. “It’ll be over soon.”
He pulled the knife away and stepped back, appraising the girl one last time. He placed his hand softly and solemnly on the medallion. Then a loud crack echoed in the air and Julius stiffened, dropping the knife before collapsing to the floor.
“Sorry! Sorry! Meant to be here earlier but the damned GPS…” Rebekah looked up to see a man in a cassock standing several feet away, a taser in his hands. “Everything’s going to be fine. Jonathan!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” the young paladin cried, racing to his mentor’s side. He raised his cellphone, tapping the screen several times.
“Well?”
“Uh… y-yeah! That’s it! I mean, it’s blue…”
“Good, where’s the gel?”
“The what?” Jonathan asked.
“The blue gel!”
“In the car!”
“Why is it in the car? I need it here!”
“You said to bring it in when you told me to!”
“Well I’m telling you to! Get the gel!”
Jonathan nodded and rushed back out the front door, leaving Reagan with the hanging teens. Several had now come to and were watching with confusion and fear. “Everything’s fine, kids,” he said, raising his hands.
Julius sat up with a loud growl. “Heathens! I will purge this land-”
Reagan clicked the trigger on his taser and the young man tensed up once more before collapsing. “Yeah, just… just relax for now, okay?” He looked at the horrified faces of the teens around him. “He’s going to be fine. Promise. Just taking a little nap.”
Reagan knelt beside Julius, whose breathing was now ragged and shallow. His hand hovered over the medallion for a moment before he thought better of it, looking around for anything he might use as a tool. He grabbed the fallen kitchen knife and poked at the pendant, trying to lift it up. “Maybe if… if I can get it over the nose… Jonathan!”
“Right here!” The rookie scrambled into the room pulling a large, plastic picnic cooler behind him.
“Good, get it open!”
As Jonathan opened the cooler revealing a large amount of blue gel within, Julius stirred once more. With another click, Reagan squeezed the trigger on his taser, causing the young man to convulse once more before falling limp.
“Is that going to hurt him?” Jonathan asked.
“I wouldn’t worry about that, kid. He’s a young buck like you. You guys bounce back from this stuff real easy,” Reagan replied, hooking the medallion once more and managing to snake it over the young man’s nose. “Got it!”
Jonathan slid out of the way as Reagan dropped the object into the gel. Steam rose from the cooler and the entire container began to shake. “Close it! Close it! Close it!”
Jonathan slammed the lid shut. Despite having his entire weight on it, the cooler shook and vibrated.
“It’s burning off the dark energy,” Reagan explained as he monitored Julius. “Just gotta stay on it until it’s all done.”
Jonathan nodded, holding onto the cooler like a man on a mechanical bull. Reagan dusted himself off and turned to the various teenagers suspended from the ceiling, smiling. “Okay, so… um. No need to worry. I’ve got a cleanup team who’ll be here in … oh…” Reagan checked his phone. “Ten minutes. Twenty tops. I’m sure you’ve got lots of questions and you’re probably really worried about your friend-”
Julius gripped Reagan’s ankle at that moment, forcing the paladin to shake him off and pull the trigger once more.
“He’ll… uh… he’ll be fine.” He turned to his apprentice. “How’s the medallion coming?”
“Good… I think?” Jonathan managed between bucks. At that moment the spill spout on the side of the cooler popped open, blue gel pouring onto the floor. Reagan scrambled to his partner’s side, desperately trying to plug it back up. Between the two paladins, they managed to keep the cooler down and, in just a few minutes, it came to a rest. Reagan took a long sigh before checking on Julius one last time. His face was clear from the dark tendrils and his eyes were once again human. He plucked the taser barbs from the young man’s chest and, with Jonathan’s help, lifted the cooler.
“Like I said, everything’s going to be fine. We just gotta get this medallion out of here.”
The teens watched in silence as the pair moved back out the door. At the car, Jonathan heaved the cooler into the back of the Focus before collapsing against the side. “That… was intense.”
“Yeah, but you did good!” Reagan assured him.
“What was all that? What did we just do?”
“Interrupt a horror movie, I’d guess. How you feeling?”
Jonathan’s heart was racing. His chest was tight and heaving with adrenaline. Somehow, the young man managed a smile. “Good… I guess.”
“That’s great! See? You’re definitely paladin material.”
“You… you think so?”
“Absolutely!” Reagan said, moving to the driver’s side. The pair sank into their respective seats and relaxed for a moment.
“Is that what every day is going to be like?”
“Well, not every day, but… sometimes. Exciting, right?”
“Yeah… and we saved those guys!”
“Right? See? I think your old mentor would be proud.”
Jonathan’s heart sank at the mention of Alistair, but only for a moment. True, he wasn’t closer to finding him, but helping those who needed it, that was Alistair. The longer he thought on it, the better he felt. Yes. Alistair would be proud. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, perhaps it was the effects of the coin wearing off, but somewhere inside, Jonathan felt good.
“C’mon. Let’s get out of here before the cleaners show up,” Reagan said, firing up the Focus. “I hate filling out paperwork.”
With a nod, Jonathan pulled his seat belt across his lap and the pair headed back down the lonely road to home.
