New Zion

Able quickly surrounded Aria, engulfing her in deep violet mist. Light flashed through as the mist pulsated and swirled. She heard Able cry out, and then a deeper, more sinister voice yell incoherently as it faded away. Able stayed in the shape of a cocoon, protecting her.

“What happened?” she asked.

“That would be the other entity. Cole calls him Cain,” Able replied. “He just tried to kill you,”

“Kill me? But I already saved Cole. Isn’t he too late…” she felt Able slowly shifting, his body dissipating. “What’s wrong, are you ok?” she asked.

“I’ll be fine. He’s trying to kill you because you still have more to do,” he said. The mist recollected in front of her, taking on the shape of an old man, long hair flowing down his back and a wispy beard hugging his face. “Now, I am sending you to another point in Cole’s life,”

“Why? I already saved him,” she said. Able smiled, slightly.

“Did you think that boy only needed saving once?” he asked. Aria blinked. “Now, let me show you where you’re going next,” he said. Aria nodded. Another portal opened up, this time into the field behind the Avalon residence. Aria looked back at Able.

“What am I doing here?” she asked.

“You’ll know when you see him. Do what comes naturally to you here,” he said, gesturing with one withered hand. Aria floated through the portal, landing on the other side. She heard splashing and stalked over to the sound. Pink sunlight filtered through the morning mist as it slowly cleared. She got to the sound, and looked out to the lake in front of her; it was backed up against the mountain, the wall of the residence running around it to the base of the mountain.

Cole sat on a dock, his feet in the water as the waves rolled past him. Aria approached him and tapped his shoulder. He looked up at her, blinking.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” he said. Aria smiled.

“But you have. And you can’t pursue me just yet. It’ll be a few years,” she replied. Cole looked back down at the water and nodded.

“Ok,” they sat in silence, the water lapping against the side of the dock. “I’m sad,” he finally said. Aria looked down at him.

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“I don’t have any friends,” he said. Aria tilted her head.

“No friends? Why not?” she asked.

“Because Ryan’s my dad. Nobody wants to be friends with a Mafia Don’s son, unless if they are asked to by the Mafia Don. They are too afraid of me,” he said.

“What about the members of the Mafia here?” she asked. Cole shrugged.

“Right now, they just see me as Ryan’s son, and they’re all older than me. If I’m with them, they just feel like they’re babysitting a kid, and they don’t want to do that when they could be doing more important things,” he said. The mist had cleared, and the morning sun rose completely above the mountain.

“Well, why don’t you try asking the kids at school to be your friends?” she asked.

“They all run away from me before I can, usually apologising for something or another,” he said. Aria smiled.

“Well, I know something that you don’t,” she said. Cole looked up at her.

“What is it?” he asked. She shook her head.

“You gotta trade. Tell me something that I don’t know, and I’ll tell you what you don’t know,” she said. Cole thought a moment.

“The reason that waves are created here is because there’s an underwater tunnel at the end of the lake that leads to the sea, kicking up currents that make these waves, and gets fish into this lake,” he said. Aria smiled.

“I didn’t know that. That’s pretty cool,” she said. Cole nodded.

“Now you tell me what I don’t know,” he said, staring intently into her eyes.

“You don’t need to have many friends. You only need family, and the friends that you have must be good ones,” she said. Cole shook his head.

“I already know that!” he said, splashing the water. Aria shook her head.

“I’m not done. I know, for a fact, that you will have some good friends in the future, who will care about you and will like you for who you are,” she said. Cole didn’t look up at her.

“I don’t want to keep trying anymore,” he said.

“All good things come to those who take it,” she said. Cole looked up at her.

“Isn’t it supposed to be to those who wait?” he asked. Aria shook her head.

“If you wait too long, you’ll miss it. If you don’t wait at all, you’ll lose it. So take it when you can. Go ahead and keep asking, keep trying to make friends. Don’t ever give up,” she said. “Even if you think that they’re only being friends with you out of fear, help them see who you really are, so that they can be friends with you out of love, instead,”

“Cole!” Aria looked behind her to see Ryan walking towards them, three kids in tow. Aria looked down at Cole.

“It’s time for me to go now, ok? Don’t ever give up, ok?” she said. Cole nodded, and Aria was swallowed by the Rift. Able stood waiting for her.

“So, did you save him?” he asked. Aria didn’t meet his eyes.

“I hope so,”

Cole slouched, breathing heavily within the circle of Namhaids Mafia. The darkness was slowly giving way to the morning sun, the sky changing hues. Another piece of lead buried itself into Cole’s chest, causing him to stagger with the crack from the shot.

How many bullets does this bastard have? Cole thought.

More than would be ideal, Alfred said. Murphy dropped the pistol and pulled out a sword.

Is he out? Cole asked.

We can only hope, Dojo said. Cole set his blade, and waited for the bullet to be pushed out of his body. He started to slowly move forwards, setting his teeth, he prepared to lunge when Murphy leapt forwards, skewering Cole in the stomach. Blood burst forth from Cole’s mouth as he involuntarily coughed. Murphy jumped back as Cole swung his weapon down, his blood flowing back into his body. Murphy cocked his head.

“I wonder what would happen if I cut out your heart, or relieved you of your head?” he mused aloud. Cole set his stance, his back to the main building.

“Go ahead and try it,” he growled. Murphy smiled and lunged forwards, aiming for Cole’s chest. The blade narrowly missed his heart as he twisted his body, the blade going through his ribcage. Cole twisted again, wrenching the blade from Murphy’s hands, and sprinted towards the gate. He swung his blade, cutting through the Mafia in his way and cut into the hinges of the doors.

Namhaid yelled something, but Cole was too focused. A spear stabbed into Cole’s back. He turned around and ran the man through, simultaneously pulling out Murphy’s blade. He sprinted back to the Mafia, and they retreated back a ways. Cole smiled and faced the gate, still holding the spear. He ran forward and stuck one end of the spear into the ground, vaulting up to the top hinge of one of the doors. He slashed at it, and kicked off of the frame of the gate to the other side, slashing the top hinge of that door as well. The doors creaked, and began to fall back into the estate. Cole leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the doors as they fell. He then faced Murphy again, clutching at his chest. Murphy shook his head.

“That won’t accomplish anything, Swordsman. I’m still alive,” he said. Cole staggered forwards, grinding his teeth against the pain. Murphy shook his head and walked to meet him, holding out one hand. A mafia member tossed him a sword. Cole swung his blade, the plasma having died out. Murphy blocked it with one hand, the blade rebounding to the side. Cole tried again, yielding the same result.

“C’mon, lad. Where’s the fire you had only moments ago?” Murphy taunted. Cole finally looked up at Murphy, and Murphy’s eyes widened. Cole’s left arm twitched, something shiny in his hand. Murphy got ready to block, but Cole swung with his right arm, stabbing Murphy in the chest. Murphy dropped to the ground, screaming in pain.

“You said that all of your senses were heightened, right?” Cole yelled in his ear. Murphy dropped to the ground as Cole ripped off the sunglasses and earplugs. Murphy covered his eyes with his hand, but couldn’t cover his ears as they started to bleed. Cole reached down and shoved his hand into Murphy’s chest where he’d been stabbed and touched Murphy’s heart.

“You wanted to know what would happen if I lost my heart?” he asked. Murphy shook. Cole slowly nodded. “Probably not this,” he said as he ripped out Murphy’s heart. Cole cut himself on one of Murphy’s ribs as he pulled out the heart, Murphy’s blood mixing with his own. He held up the heart, and a thunderous cry built and grew throughout the city. People began pouring into the estate, slaughtering the Mafia members around Cole as he dropped to his knees. The heart slowly began melting, and absorbed into his skin. Suddenly the noise became unbearable, the light was too much, the smell and feeling of the area assaulted him, and he could taste the death around him.

Turn it off, Cole! Elder yelled. Cole shook, and went back to normal.

What was that? He asked.

I’d assume that you took his ability, Alfred replied.

How? He asked.

Well, your blood mixed, and he was dead, so my guess would be that since your body pulls Rift particles back together, you pulled all of his Rift particles to yourself. Either way, we won, Elder said.

Cole stood at the top of the Namhaid estate, looking out upon the city, the sun high above it as smoke rose from the streets. He could hear the sound of celebrations throughout the city. Cole let out a long breath, closing his eyes and turning on his new ability. He could hear the conversations of those within the building, and smell the food that was being made. The air tasted of death, and he turned off the ability when he heard footsteps nearby. He opened his eyes to look behind him.

“Where’s Callum?” Peter asked. Cole shook his head.

“He was killed by the Third Eye,” he said.

“And Aria?” Peter asked. Cole pulled his knee up to his chin.

“She’s gone too,” he said. Peter took in a deep breath, and let it out.

“Well, how’s about we go get a drink?” he asked. Cole nodded and stood up, following Peter and Simon down the stairs. They made their way to the Kitchen and snatched a few cans of beer and walked to the front yard. Peter held up his beer, alongside Simon.

“Here’s to all the fallen,” he said, taking a swig.

“Here’s to Callum and Aria,” Simon said.

“Here’s to those who made all of this possible,” Cole looked behind him to see Scout, his arm around a female wolf Terra’s shoulders as she guided him towards them.

“Scout, you’re still alive?” Cole exclaimed. Scout blinked, and then nodded.

“I can’t hear you very well. They took my ears, you see…” he muttered. Cole nodded, slowing his speech.

“It’s good to see you’re alive. We still have your ears and tail in a box of ice in the trailer. We can take you back with us and see if my mother can’t…” Scout waved his hand.

“Don’t worry about me, Swordsman. This girl here, on the other hand, does have to go back with you,” he said. Cole studied the girl.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am Aasim’s daughter,” she replied. Cole nodded.

“Got it. We’ll be relieved in a couple of hours when my father’s people arrive to take over,” he said. Brawler had walked up to them.

“So we’re trading one Mafia for another?” he asked. Cole shrugged.

“We’ll only hold a managerial position until you guys can figure out how you want to govern. After that, we’ll take on a position of support, and will set up a proper mining company, so that people can be paid properly for work in the mines,” He said.

“Who do you think is gonna work in the mines?” Brawler asked.

“Anybody that wants to. The slave miners may want to as they have the bodies for it. Of course, this time around, they’ll actually be fed and taken care of properly, and we will ensure that we are open to any inspections that you guys will want to do to ensure their treatment. Or, we’ll just bring in our own workers. But I figure it’d be better for your people if we let them work it. We’ll also assist financially in the rebuilding of any damage to the city, and we’ll have our own doctors come in and help treat the wounded. How does that sound, Scout, Brawler?” Cole looked at each one in turn. Scout nodded.

“That all seems reasonable. You said something about reconnecting my ears and tail?” he asked. Cole shrugged.

“I don’t know if they’ll work, but I’m sure that the doctors will do everything they can. Like I said, we’ve got them on ice. If necessary, they may give you mechanical ones to make up for it,” Cole said. Scout nodded again.

“Good, good. By the way, Swordsman. We said we would trade names,” Scout said. Cole nodded. “My name is Henry Buford. Brawler here is Samuel Kingsman,”

“My name is Cole Avalon. It’s been a pleasure working with you, Henry. My family will be here shortly to take over for me, and then I’m heading home,” Cole said. Scout’s eyes widened.

“You are the son of Ryan Avalon?” he asked. Cole nodded.

“Yup. Anyways, I’ve gotta pack up and get ready to go. Stay safe, and don’t let this fall apart while I’m gone,” Cole said.

“Will do, Mr. Avalon,”

©2017