Guardians of the Dark

Theon pulled the knife from his hand. He didn’t yank on it, but glided it out, inch by inch, allowing blood to gush over his skin and dribble on the floor. The knife clattered as it fell, and Kasen promptly kicked it away. Samael debated on whether or not he should approach. The bloody knife reached his feet, and he bent to pick it up.

“You bastard!” Theon repeated, trying to ball his bloody hand. “I’ll kill you for this! I’ll snap your spine in half!”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” Samael replied before he could stop himself. “Kasen, come on!” He aimed and tossed the knife at the blonde woman – Gatherer X, most likely – behind him, causing her to her dodge.

Kasen used this distraction to help his friend in another Raider’s grip. “Malcolm,” he said, “are you okay?”

The guy – Malcolm – nodded, then kicked the Raider between the legs. He wrenched free and ran straight for the room behind Samael, Yung, and Carrie. He didn’t even wait for Kasen, who briefly stopped to glance back at two other Corrupted in insolation suits. He mainly focussed on the girl, a sweet-looking thing with long, blonde hair and plump lips. She growled at him, at which he spun around and ran.

“Come on!” Samael hustled them.

As soon as Kasen passed by him, he beckoned Carrie and Yung into the room, upon which he tried eagerly to close the door. Kasen swiped his wrist across the panel, but it buzzed red, and a computerized voice said, “Access denied. Emergency failsafe activated. Doors are to remain open at all times for evacuation.”

Samael and Kasen both cursed.

“This isn’t going to work,” said Samael. “We have to get to the control room, they mustn’t pull that switch!”

“This way,” offered Kasen.

The five of them piled into the corridor, then immediately turned right into another room, this one with a large control board and a window with a view of the beam. Kasen swiped his wrist across the panel by the door, and it closed. Finally. Samael fried the panel in an attempt to keep the others from gaining entry.

“So, you decided to come back after all?” asked Kasen, leaning against the door as if that might reinforce it more.

Samael spoke while he paced about the room, checking for any additional entrances. “Of course I came back. You don’t have to like me, Kasen, but I’m still your brother.” He looked up at Kasen and tried to smile, but the corners of his mouth barely twitched before something – or someone – hit him from behind.

He stumbled forward, right into Carrie. Yung shielded him by pointing his staff at the attacker, all his teeth showing, and a type of growl rumbling in his throat. Malcolm, Kasen’s friend, held the office chair from the control board. He put it down, wiped across his upper lip, then picked it up again, prepared to deal another blow.

“Malcolm, stop it!” shouted Kasen.

“That’s Samael of the Dark, Traynor!” declared Malcolm as though no one knew. “He’s a part of this, I know it. All three of them are.” He raised the chair again, looking from Carrie, to Yung, to Samael himself.

“Cool your jets, Guardian. Samael here just saved your damn life in case you didn’t notice,” Yung hissed at him.

“And, no offence, but a chair won’t really do much for you,” added Carrie.

Malcolm scoffed. “That’s not what it looks like from my end.”

“Why you –”

Samael gestured for Yung to stand down. He rubbed behind his head. “You’ve got quite the swing there …”

Malcolm snorted from his throat, his nostrils flaring. “I saw you on the news, you know, driving that weapon of yours through General Bentley Traynor’s chest.” His eyes flicked to the staff in Samael’s hand, the blades still deployed. “You’re a murderer, a monster, and I wouldn’t trust you as far as I can throw this chair.”

Just then, something banged against the window by the control board, and Malcolm jerked to such an extent, he hurled the chair all the way across the room. It bounced off the farthest wall, shattering to pieces.

“Woah, that’s pretty far,” Yung praised him.

Another bang against the glass.

“Get back!” ordered Samael, although he himself approached the window. He stood face to face with Theon, the three Raiders, and the two corrupted Guardians, all hammering collection tanks against the glass. After four or five blows, the glass cracked, then splintered. They cleared it and clambered through. The woman, Gatherer X, followed behind them, not a hair out of place – despite everything that had happened.

“I thought I told you we’ve got this, Sammy boy?” said-half-asked Theon.

“Yea, well, I decided I didn’t like your methods.” Samael wielded his staff. He recalled every moment he ever spent hating Theon. Hating his size, his arrogance, his strength. Hating the way he always won at everything …

“Fellas, relax,” Gatherer X chimed in, “you’ll both get your chances at each other.”

“Who’s this?” asked Yung and Carrie together.

Samael snarled, “Who are you?”

Gatherer X merely grinned and pushed up her glasses. Her blonde hair was put up in such a tight ponytail, one could see the veins throbbing down her temples. She opened her mouth to speak, but Kasen chimed in.

“That’s Felicity. She’s supposed to be the Commander of the Guardians.” He approached, not all the way to Samael’s side, but in line with Malcolm. This baffled Samael, as they didn’t seem like friends a moment ago.

“I swear, Kasen, it’s nothing personal.” Felicity unbuttoned her pantsuit, revealing a tank top underneath. She tossed her blazer aside, slipped off her heels, and rolled her wrists and neck, ready to fight.

“Just say when,” said Theon next to her, licking his lips. Blood still dribbled from his hand, but he didn’t seem to care.

“When.” The word rolled off Felicity’s lips. She and Theon charged together, followed by the three Raiders and the two corrupted Gatherers. The back of her trousers ripped from her strides, but she pushed on.

“Kasen and I’ll take Theon,” said Samael. “Carrie, Yung, take Felicity and the Raiders. Malcolm, see to your friends.”

“Why should I listen to you?” snapped Malcolm.

“Fine, do you want to take Theon?”

“My friends it is, then.” Malcolm grunted. “To be honest, I never liked you, Eliza! That goes for you too, Buff!” He collided with his friends.

Carrie and Yung wasted no time in getting into it either. They intercepted Felicity and jumped the Raiders, ready to show them what Trackers were capable of. Felicity made to get past them, but Carrie jumped on her back.

“Kasen!” shouted Samael. He rounded his brother, who stared at the fight between Malcolm, Eliza, and Buff. He shook him by the shoulders, but not even that seemed to work. “Snap out of it! They’re gone now!”

Samael pushed Kasen out of Theon’s way. Theon wrapped his hands around Samael’s neck, who dropped his staff. The blood from Theon’s hands seeped down his chest into his clothes, warm and sticky. His legs gave in, and he lowered onto the ground. Theon looked at him the entire time, gritting his teeth.

“When will you learn, Sammy boy,” growled Theon, “that you’ll never beat me.”

A pause in which he squeezed harder.

“Do you know why that is, eh?”

“Because I don’t” – Samael coughed – “have the killer instinct, is that right?” He struggled to speak with Theon’s hands around his neck – his vocal chords – and his entire bodyweight on top of him. He wrapped his legs around Theon’s waist, and squeezed with everything he had. He watched as Theon’s face turned crimson.

“You’ll never be more than a castaway …” he wheezed.

Samael tightened his neck muscles. He reached to his side, grabbed his staff, used all the strength in his legs to flip Theon around, and stabbed his other hand. Theon roared, releasing Samael’s neck. He tossed Samael off him, bloodied hands and all, right into Kasen, who managed to steady him. He shook himself out.

“Let’s do this,” said Kasen, suddenly awake now.

Samael straightened. He nodded, and the two of them charged at Theon together. Kasen side-kicked the beast in the stomach, while Samael slashed at him. The electric part of his staff just missed Theon’s waist, but he still stumbled back. Kasen swept his feet out from under him, taking a foot to the stomach in the process.

He doubled over, groaning.

“I won’t hesitate this time!” shouted Samael. He jumped on top of Theon as he fell to the ground, one foot atop each of his hands. He looked at Theon’s face, at his mouth. He was smiling, grinning with amusement.

“Go ahead,” he said, “kill me already.”

Samael raised his staff, but froze in place.

“That’s right, you can’t.” Theon tried to move his hand, but Samael stepped on it, bones crunching under his soles. The beast kept on smiling, though, despite the visible pain. “You know, I heard you two in the hospital. I heard how you killed his best friend, and how he wants to kill you. Is this really all family you’ve got?”

“Shut up …” grumbled Samael.

“Seriously, Sammy boy,” Theon went on, “are you so alone that you’re prepared to help the person who swore to kill you? The person you supposedly call your brother? The person whose father you put in a coma?”

“I said –”

But Theon interjected, “Kasen doesn’t care about you. Look at him. He’s not even helping you right now.”

Samael followed Theon’s eyes to Kasen a couple feet away, just staring at them with a blank sort of look in his eyes. His gaze was fixed on the sharp end of Samael’s staff, it within touching distance of Theon’s face.

“Show him the real power of the Dark,” suggested Theon. “Show him what a monster you really are, Samael.”

Samael could feel it rising. “Look away, Kasen.”

But Kasen didn’t.

“I said, look away, damnit!” Samael snapped. He gripped his staff, yanked it up again, then stabbed down without hesitation or constraint, right in the centre of Theon’s forehead. The sound was a crunch, followed by a squish. Samael froze as he stood. He shut his eyes and searched for air, but his lungs didn’t want to work.

A single tear skidded down his cheek.

Silence.

“I told you to look away,” he said after a moment, opening his eyes again. “Y – You shouldn’t have seen that.” He removed the staff from Theon’s head, stepped over him, and turned to face a visibly horrified Kasen.

“Kasen, say something,” Samael demanded when all Kasen did was stare.

Kasen parted his lips, but before he could speak, one of the Raiders bulldozed him from the side, pushing him up against the wall. He held a knife to Kasen’s neck, ready to slice across, when his body went limp, and he collapsed. Malcolm stood behind him, having stabbed him in the back with one of the chair parts.

“Malcolm,” breathed Kasen, for the first time speaking clearly again, “w – what happened to Eliza and Buff?”

Malcolm motioned to the corner of the control room, where Eliza and Buff were tied up with a lasso, struggling to get loose. “Those two were no match for me. And you should be grateful I decided to save your sorry ass.”

Samael approached them. “Kasen –”

“I’m fine, Samael.” Kasen picked up the Raider’s knife. “I’ve seen a lot worse than what you just did.”

Samael shook his head, although he didn’t fully believe Kasen. He turned to Carrie and Yung, who were finishing up the last two Raiders. They high fived each other, kissed, then showed a thumbs up to Samael.

“Who are those weirdos?” asked Malcolm, half-disgusted.

“Those weirdos are my friends,” Samael replied as threateningly as possible to warn Malcolm against saying anything he might regret. “They’re Carrie and Yung, the two best Trackers I’ve ever worked with.”

“Trackers?” Malcolm wanted to know, but before Samael could explain, Kasen stepped in between them.

“Look!” he shouted, pointing at the control board.

A beaten-looking Felicity hopped over to the switch, then placed her palm over the scanner. The panel whirred, flashed green, and the switch made a start-up noise. She reached to pull it down, but Samael removed the lasso from his belt and whipped it at her. It curled around her waist, and he pulled her back, toward him.

They collided, but it wasn’t just any collision.

Something wasn’t quite right.

Samael coughed up blood. A sharp burning sensation travelled from the outside of his stomach, all the way to the inside. He looked down, gawking at the knife in his gut. Felicity let go of it and let her hand hang by her side. He gazed up at her, smiling at him, her glasses resting on the tip of her nose, and her teeth stained red.

“Samael … what’s wrong?” asked Kasen when Samael didn’t move. He clapped his hand to his mouth when he saw the blood – the dark-red patch expanding around his stomach. “Samael, you’re bleeding!”

Samael raised his hand at him. “Stay back, Kasen.” He gurgled through his words. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

But it was. It was so bad, Samael’s head began to spin, and the bile from earlier threatened to spew from his mouth. He gnawed on his teeth, pulled out the knife, and lowered the tied-up Felicity to the ground. He crouched over her, fighting hard to keep a straight face. He couldn’t lose consciousness, not before this was finished.

“Why are you doing this, Samael?” she asked, relatively calm.

“Why? What do you mean, why?” Samael struggled to hear himself above the buzzing in his head, and the grinding, clattering, of his teeth. Chills spread across his arms, even though he wasn’t cold at all. In fact, he was hot. No. He was both. He tried not to think of the loss of blood. Of all the organs she might’ve damaged.

“You’re a Corrupted. You’ve got the ultimate mindset, the ultimate drive for power beyond everything you know.”

Samael held the knife to her throat. “T – The ultimate mindset? You and I seem to have entirely different views on life as a Corrupted. I always thought I hated the Light, but that was only because I despised the Dark.”

Felicity raised a brow.

“I was angry for being robbed of a proper life. I hated the Light, not for what it is, but for what it denied me.”

Felicity frowned, but suddenly chuckled. “Is that really what you tell yourself? Well, you’re wrong. The Dark saved you. The Emperor saved you.” She gazed at the beam through the window. “Just like he’ll save me.”

“The Dark didn’t save me, it wrecked me. I’m the cause of Kasen’s darkness. If I’d been a better brother, if I hadn’t been corrupted by the Dark” – Kasen tried to approach, shaking his head and mumbling for Samael to stop, to let go and seek medical help – “he might’ve been selected as a Gatherer instead.”

“Samael –”

Samael forestalled him, “It’s true, Kasen. And if I didn’t kill your friend, you wouldn’t have grown to hate me.”

“Samael, stop.”

“No matter what I do, I keep hurting you.”

“Shut up, Samael! I don’t hate you!”

Samael blinked, letting his tears fall freely. Kasen’s eyes watered as well, but he proved too much of a man to let them flow. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, sniffed, and cast a look at Malcolm, who just stared at them.

“Please, stop lying to yourself, Kasen.” Samael returned his gaze to Felicity, still with the knife to her throat. “You’ll never forgive me for what I did. It’ll always be there. I saw it on your face when I killed Theon.”

Kasen parted his lips, but didn’t say anything.

“Just do it, Samael,” Felicity taunted, the same as Theon, “kill me already.”

Samael thought about it. He pressed down on the knife, nicking a part of her skin, but then relaxed again. Not only was his head foggy, but his eyes watery and his hand unsteady. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t give in to the Dark any longer. He had to save whatever he had left for Emperor Sumuri, the man who robbed him of a life.

“I’m not going to kill you.” Samael got up off Felicity. He tossed the knife aside and took a wobbly step back.

“No,” muttered Kasen, “why are you standing up? Why are you just letting her go after what she did?”

“Kasen –”

This time, Kasen interrupted him, “She tossed Eliza and Buff into the beam! She killed Mary Bates and murdered Matt!” His eyes spanned wide and his cheeks paled. He clenched his fists so hard, a series of veins throbbed in his forearms. He lowered his head, his eyes dark under his fringe. “Felicity must die for that …”

Upon these words, Kasen grabbed the knife off the floor and charged at her, who lay helpless and tied up on her back.

“Kasen, no!” Samael warned him.

“Oh, boy, it’s happening again,” droned Malcolm.

Samael leapt in front of Felicity at the last moment. He had barely enough strength left to stay on his feet, never mind ward off an out-of-control Kasen. When he met his brother’s eyes – his cold, emotionless eyes – he gasped, almost stumbling back. A great darkness lurked inside them, even more than Samael could’ve caused.

“Get out of my way!” Kasen shouted.

“No.” Samael grabbed both of his wrists. “Don’t give into the Dark, brother … this is not the way to live!”

But Kasen didn’t listen. He let out a monstrous howl, which prompted Samael to do something. He let out a howl of his own, and channelled all his energy into pushing Kasen back. He put too much into it, though, and Kasen practically hurled through the air. He fell against the control board, and Samael on his knees.

When he raised his head, he had to blink a couple of times to see. His eyes drooped and his pupils trembled, but he just about made out Kasen’s horrified face as he turned to the control board, and the switch under him.

“What have we done,” he breathed,

“Switch deactivated,” said a computerised voice, “preparing to release the Dark in ten … nine … eight … seven … six …”

END OF BOOK 1