The Ambrose Beacon

  Chapter 13

  Monday Afternoon, January 10th

  Jerry looked at the search results on his computer screen again and tried to decide what to look at next. It hadn’t been a difficult search, since there had been a reason that the name DeForester had sounded familiar. Nathan DeForester was a highly reclusive, billionaire industrialist that was originally from Ireland. His name was certainly well-known, but there were no pictures available of him anywhere. Jerry couldn’t confirm it, but he suspected that this was the man who he had met in the diner. He couldn’t find that DeForester necessarily had any connection to Denver, but he supposed that it was possible that he had been in the city on business. And yet something told Jerry that DeForester’s reason for being in the diner was Jerry, and it sent a chill down his spine for reasons that he couldn’t understand.

  He thought again of the girl Anna and felt the same pang of guilt. He had requested a copy of the case from the Jefferson County sheriff’s office, but they hadn’t had much information. She was one of dozens of missing people in the Denver metro area and she had only been missing for a week. Jerry had told them of his encounter with her the day before and this had only pushed her case further down on the priority list, since there had now been a recent sighting of her. He glanced through the pictures of people that had gone missing in the past month and the faces started to blur together.

  “We’d better get going, Sid,” Larry said as he grabbed his coat.

  Jerry looked up at Larry in confusion. “Get going where?” he asked.

  Larry shook his head at Jerry as he answered, “You really need to start updating your calendar, Sid. We need to be in Colorado Springs in an hour and a half for that meeting at the Air Force academy.”

  Jerry had completely forgotten about the meeting. Colorado Springs was about an hour from Denver and the meeting wasn’t expected to be a long one, but he hated the thought of being so far from his family for some reason. His logical side told him that it was an irrational fear and that it was due to the strange encounter with DeForester. He should have been able to let it go, but he couldn’t. But he also had a job to do.

  “Alright, let’s get going,” he said as he grabbed his coat and the car keys. As he walked toward the office door, he caught a glimpse of something on the computer. It was the face of the missing girl, Anna. The sight of her innocent smile only made the nagging feeling that something bad was about to happen worse.

  Harper heard the sound of a car pulling into the parking lot and looked over to see a large black SUV with darkly-tinted windows driving up to the front walkway. The parking lot was otherwise empty, with the exception of a few parked cars which he assumed belonged to some of the teachers. The SUV stopped at the front walkway and Harper could hear the motor shut off. However, no one got out of the car. Harper often had to wait up to fifteen minutes for one or more of the children when he picked them up, especially with Louis. He was held after school so often that Harper planned on him being five to ten minutes late each day.

  “That’s odd,” Ms. Waverly said. “I don’t remember ever seeing that car and I’m out here just about every day.” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at Harper as she added, “There must be a new student in one of the other grades.”

  Harper’s suspicion was aroused by Ms. Waverly’s comment, but Louis walked out of the front door to the school at that moment, followed by a man wearing glasses who looked to be in his early thirties. Harper guessed that this was Louis’ teacher, Mr. Holt. He waved at Harper as he and Louis walked up to where they were standing.

  “You must be Louis’ uncle, Mr….” Mr. Holt said as he held out his hand.

  Harper smiled and took the man’s hand, “Call me Harper, please. And you must be Mr. Holt. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He had a firm handshake and looked Harper right in the eye, which many humans found difficult to do. Harper felt a vague tingling pass through his hand for just a moment and then it passed. At first he wondered what could have caused such a thing, but then passed it off as static electricity caused by the cold, dry air.

  “It’s Jason, please. It’s nice to meet you too, Harper,” Jason Holt said. “I came outside because I wanted to tell you how well-behaved Louis was in school…”

  “Hey, look!” Louis suddenly interrupted. He pointed at Ms. Waverly’s bracelet, which was glowing brightly. “It’s glowing like your necklace, Mr. Holt.”

  Harper was about to scold Louis for interrupting his conversation with Mr. Holt, but then he caught a glimpse of the glowing medallion hanging from the teacher’s neck. The symbols were intricate, but clearly visible as the light shone through them. Harper recognized the symbols instantly and he knew what they meant. He tensed instantly and scanned the trees around the school for any sign of the demons. Nothing moved within the trees, but he knew that the demons had to be nearby.

  “I made the bracelet for Tina as a gift,” Mr. Holt said with obvious embarrassment. “But I’ve never seen either piece glow like this. It’s very strange.”

  Harper looked at Tina Waverly’s bracelet. It was silver, like Jason Holt’s medallion, but was worked with a series of semi-precious stones that sparkled as the metal glowed. He didn’t have to look at the bracelet more closely to know that the symbols there were similar to the ones that covered Jason’s necklace. Harper frantically searched the trees again, but nothing was there. Confused, he looked back at the school building and through the glass front doors, but nothing and no one was there either. And then he remembered the thing that had made him suspicious just a moment before.

  Harper turned and looked at the large, black SUV and at that moment all four doors opened, and he instantly sensed the presence of his ancient enemies roll at him from within it. “Tina, Jason, please take the children back inside the school. Do it now, please,” he told the two teachers as he stepped in front of the four men walking toward them.

  “Is everything alright?” Tina asked as she took Billie’s hand. She looked over at Jason in confusion, but he only shook his head slightly as he put his hand on Louis’ shoulder. “Should we call the police?” she asked with obvious concern.

  Harper nodded as he watched the four men approach. They all wore black suits and dark sunglasses. And though they did not look alike, they each had a face that Harper could not have picked out in a crowd if he tried. He realized that the children and the teachers had not moved.

  “Yes, call the police,” he said as he looked at Tina. He knew the demons would not want to face them in front of human witnesses, so the arrival of policemen seemed like a good idea. Tina looked at the men slowly walking up the sidewalk and then back at Harper, but didn’t move.

  “Get them inside!” Harper told the teachers forcefully. “Now!” he yelled when they still hadn’t moved.

  The commanding tone of his voice finally spurred them into action. Tina and Jason pulled the two children with them and ran back toward the front door of the school. Billie looked back as they ran and saw her uncle turn to face the four men alone. They all smiled wicked smiles as they closed the distance between them and him. She saw her uncle crouch down like people in the movies did when they were ready to fight. Billie saw him start to glow as the sky darkened overhead suddenly. He looked so alone standing there and Billie was suddenly very afraid for her uncle.

  “Uncle Harper!” she screamed as she tore her hand from Tina’s grasp and ran toward her uncle. Louis turned at the sound of his sister screaming and ran after her, trying to reach for her hand. Tina and Jason ran after the children, shouting their names and trying to reach for both of them.

  Harper turned around at the sound of Billie screaming his name and his heart was filled with dismay when he saw both children running toward him. He couldn’t protect them and fight off the approaching demons in human form at the same time. He silently prayed that the teachers would reach them, but Billie and Louis were fast and Harper didn’t think th
e teachers would be able to catch them in time. He heard the men behind him break into a run and he knew that they would be on him in a second. He had to hold them off long enough for Tina and Jason to catch the children and get them inside.

  Billie had nearly reached her uncle when the men in black reached him. She screamed as the man in the lead’s face shifted into something out of her worst nightmares. It looked like a combination between a dog and a man, with a snout filled with long, white teeth. And it was about to reach Uncle Harper as his back was turned to it. Just as the creature reached for Harper, he dropped into a crouch and spun as his leg swept the creatures legs. He quickly reversed his spin and his right fist snapped out and at the falling creature’s chest as it fell. There was a bright flash of light and the creature screamed out in pain before it hit the ground with a loud cracking noise.

  Billie and Louis both stopped in shock at seeing their uncle’s reaction. He had moved so quickly that his arm and leg had actually blurred. And they couldn’t believe the way he had moved. It was like he had been fighting like that his entire life. Billie felt herself being lifted up and she looked back in shock to see Ms. Waverly’s huge eyes staring back at her. She looked over and saw Mr. Holt carrying Louis as the two teachers ran back toward the front door of the school. When they stopped near the door, Billie looked over Ms. Waverly’s shoulder and saw two of the other men charge Uncle Harper at once. The sound of Mr. Holt frantically trying to open the door made her turn back around as the door refused to open.

  “It’s locked!” he screamed. “It must have locked behind me!” He was still carrying Louis in his arms and his eyes were nearly as large as Ms. Waverly’s. Mr. Holt’s necklace and Ms. Waverly’s bracelet were now growing so brightly that they were almost painful to look at.

  Louis looked over Mr. Holt’s shoulder and saw the two men close with Uncle Harper. But again, he was ready. He jumped to an amazing height and over the heads of the creatures. He somersaulted and twisted in the air and landed behind them. They weren’t able to move quickly enough and Uncle Harper grabbed one of the men from behind, lifted him over his head, and then turned and threw the man nearly thirty feet. The man landed on the windshield of the black SUV and was still.

  The other man grabbed Harper’s shoulder and Louis screamed. Harper spun and grabbed the man’s wrist as he twisted. As he completed the spin, his other hand snapped out against the man’s elbow. Louis heard a loud cracking noise as the man screamed in pain and fury. He was so mesmerized by his uncle’s movements that he hadn’t noticed the fourth man running past the fighting and up to where he stood with his sister and their two teachers.

  “Behind you!” he screamed at Mr. Holt as the man slowed to a walk.

  Mr. Holt turned and saw the man approaching and Louis could feel him start to shake in what he knew was fear. He put Louis down and pushed him behind him and then reached out to push Ms. Waverly, who still held Billie, behind him as well. The man in black smiled and pulled off his sunglasses and Louis flinched as a pair of yellow eyes looked at them.

  “Stand aside, humans” the man said in a gravelly voice. “Give up the children and you will not be harmed.”

  Louis felt Mr. Holt’s body trembling as he faced the man, but he refused to move. He was impressed by the bravery of his teacher, but he didn’t want him to be hurt either. Ms. Waverly placed her hand on his shoulder and his trembling subsided and Louis saw him stand a little straighter. The man’s smile faded and his eyes narrowed in response.

  “If you interfere, we will kill you,” he said to them. “And then we will take the children when you are dead.” He took a step forward and though he made no other movement toward them, he seemed to grow more menacing.

  “We’ve called the police,” Mr. Holt told the man with the barest hint of a quaver in his voice. “They’ll be here any minute.”

  “You’d better leave now, while you have the chance,” Ms. Waverly added.

  Louis looked back and saw her meet the man’s stare and she looked completely unafraid. Billie looked over at Louis and her eyes were huge. He smiled slightly at her, hoping to reassure her in some small way, though he was terrified.

  The man chuckled as he answered, “Death it is.” He stepped toward them and seemed to twist and grow as his face shifted into the same demonic guise that the other man in black had taken.

  The amulet around Mr. Holt’s neck flared suddenly and Louis saw Ms. Waverly’s bracelet flare a split-second later. Twin beams of light flew from both pieces of jewelry and merged before striking the creature in the chest. The shaft of light lifted it off of its feet and threw it back nearly a dozen feet. When the creature hit the ground, the light engulfed it completely. It then poured from its eyes and mouth and intensified to the point that Louis had to look away. Just before he had turned his head, Louis saw the outline of the demon before it disappeared in the light. When the light finally faded, there was no sign of the creature other than a patch of melted snow where it had landed and some greasy black soot.

  Harper came running up to them, his eyes wide with worry. “Are you all okay?” he asked as he reached for Billie.

  Louis looked behind his uncle and saw that where the two man-creatures had been there were now two patches of greasy soot, instead.

  “We’re all fine, Harper,” Tina said as she put her arm around Jason’s waist. He looked over at her in surprise, but put his arm around her in return. Tina reached out with her other arm and pulled Louis close to her. More than anything, they all needed the comfort of human contact at that moment, and it was the only thing that could dispel some of the coldness that had worked its way into their bodies, a coldness that had little to do with the winter air outside.

  “Are you okay, Uncle Harper?” Billie asked as she pulled away from his hug and put both of her hands on his face.

  Harper nodded and then kissed his niece’s cheek before answering, “Yes, honey. I’m fine.” He couldn’t believe how lucky he had been. He had never expected such an attack in broad daylight and his lack of preparedness had nearly cost the lives of the people now standing around him.

  Jason Holt pushed his glasses back up on his nose, but continued to cling to Tina, who clung to him and Louis equally. “Harper, what the hell just happened?” he asked while frowning.

  Harper hugged Billie to him again and stepped closer to the group. He looked down at Louis, who looked up at him with unblinking eyes. “Are you okay?”

  Louis nodded and then broke away from Tina and hugged his uncle. Harper looked over at Jason, who stared back at him. He was expecting an answer and Harper couldn’t dispute the fact that he deserved one. But he suddenly remembered that there had been a fourth assailant and knew that he had heard Billie screaming. “What happened to the fourth man?” he asked the two teachers. “Did he escape?”

  Jason and Tina looked at each other before Jason explained that the man had attacked them and what had happened when he had. Harper looked at Jason for a moment before nodding. He couldn’t believe how lucky he had been that Jason had happened to be outside when the attack had happened. He wasn’t quite sure how Jason had did what he did, but he had a few theories.

  “You haven’t answered my question, Harper,” Jason said. He still sounded like he was in shock, but had managed to sound insistent at the same time. “What were those things?”

  Harper was about to answer, but suddenly thought of what the demons’ attack on them could mean. “The other children are in danger!” he said while looking at the two teachers, as if that explained everything. He shook his head when Jason opened his mouth to say something else. “There’s no time to explain. I’ve got to get to the other children now. And it’s too dangerous to leave you here alone. Please come with me. I might need your help.”

  Jason looked at Harper like this was the last thing he wanted to do, but Tina looked up at him. “Please, Jason,” she told him. “If we can help,
we’ve got to go with him.”

  Jason looked down at Tina for a moment before smiling nervously and nodding. He looked over at Harper, “Yes, of course we’ll come.”

  The five of them hurried toward the van and as they passed the black SUV, Louis heard Uncle Harper swear in a language that he didn’t recognize. He looked over to see what his uncle was staring at as the group stopped. It took Louis a second to realize what it was that had caught his attention, but then he saw it - the man that Uncle Harper had thrown on the windshield was gone.

  “Did anyone see where he went?” Tina asked as she searched the parking lot for any sign of the missing man.

  “There’s no time,” Harper said as he hurried over to the van and quickly put Billie in her car seat as the rest of the group piled in. He had to be careful on the icy roads, but he pulled out of the parking lot and on to the road leading away from the school as quickly as he could. He wanted to get to all three of the other children at the same time, but he couldn’t. He had to choose which school to head to first, as they were equidistant from the elementary school. As he made the turn onto the main road, he headed in the direction of the junior high. Cole and Dinah were likely to be the more important targets for the demons, but at least they were together, unlike their younger brother. Vaughan was alone.

  Vaughan watched as Emmitt closed the distance between them. Sarah put her hand on his shoulder. “Come on, Vaughan. Let’s go inside and see one of the teachers.” She moved to stand next to him as she added, “He’s not worth it.”

  “I’m tired of hearing your voice, Sarah,” Emmitt said with a snarl as he walked up to where they stood. “And if I hear it again, I’m going to punch you in your fat mouth.” He looked at her the entire time, obviously daring her to say something in return.

  “Don’t talk to her like that!” Leroy yelled as he stepped in front of Emmitt. But Emmitt could not be dissuaded. To the complete shock of Vaughan and Sarah, Emmitt threw a right-handed punch at Leroy’s face that sent him sprawling into the snow along the side of the path.

  Emmitt’s gaze locked with Vaughan’s as he took two deliberate steps forward. Vaughan could see the rage in his eyes and knew that there was no way that the fight between them could be avoided. And he didn’t care. Vaughan was tired of being picked on and he was tired of running from fights. It was his turn to fight back.

  Vaughan assumed the starting position that he had learned in his one day of karate lessons. Emmitt laughed as he saw Vaughan’s reaction and raised his fists like a boxer in response. “You’re dead, dancer,” Emmitt said with a sneer.

  Suddenly, Emmitt seemed to see something over Vaughan’s shoulder and he frowned in confusion. At first, Vaughan thought it was a ploy that would be used to blindside him, but when he dropped his fists, Vaughan quickly looked over his shoulder at the parking lot. A black sedan, similar to the ones that his father and his partner Larry drove was parked near the start of the walkway leading to the front door of the school. The two front doors were open and two men in black suits and wearing dark sunglasses were walking quickly toward where Vaughan stood facing Emmitt. At first, Vaughan thought that they were some kind of undercover policemen, since the car they had gotten out of and the suits they wore were nearly identical to the ones that his father used. But something about them made him suspect that they were something else, something more sinister instead. He couldn’t understand why he felt it, but he was afraid of these men, and he knew that they intended to do him harm. He saw the rear two doors of the car open, and turned to look at Sarah. She turned her head to look at him and he could see that she was feeling the same sense of dread that he was.

  “Who are those guys?” Emmitt asked.

  Vaughan looked over at Emmitt and could see that he felt something too. He was trying to sound nonchalant, but Vaughan could tell from his widened eyes that he was afraid. Leroy stood up in the snow and Vaughan could see a bright line of blood running from his mouth where Emmitt had punched him. But he didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he watched the two men now less than ten yards away. He looked at Vaughan, who shook his head at Leroy’s unspoken question. Leroy moved toward Vaughan and Sarah as Emmitt backed away a few steps and stared between them and the men in confusion and increasing fear.

  “Vaughan, do you know them?” Sarah asked quietly. She moved closer to him as Leroy walked up on her other side.

  “No, I don’t,” Vaughan answered. “But I’ve got a bad feeling about them.”

  “Me too,” Leroy added. He looked over at Vaughan again. “Let’s go back inside the school and see if we can find a teacher or someone.”

  Vaughan and Sarah both nodded at Leroy’s suggestion and began to back away from the men and toward the front door of the school. The men seemed to guess what they were doing and started to jog toward them. Vaughan heard Emmitt yell and when he looked behind him, he could see the bully sprinting toward the school building. Vaughan heard Sarah scream suddenly and he turned around to see four gray shapes streak toward the men. They ran low to the ground and so quickly that they were almost a blur. But Vaughan recognized them instantly as wolves.

  “Come on!” Leroy yelled as he grabbed Sarah and Vaughan and pulled them toward the building. Vaughan needed no encouragement. The three of them ran toward the school and reached the front door just after it closed behind Emmitt, who turned around once the door was closed. They saw him do something to the door and as they reached the door and Leroy tried to open it, they realized that he had locked it behind him.

  “What are you doing?” Leroy yelled through the glass. “Open the door!”

  “No way,” Emmitt said while shaking his head frantically. “Those wolves will get inside!” His eyes were huge and Vaughan saw that he was actually crying. Vaughan turned around and saw that the wolves had tackled the two men and had them on the ground, where they were mauling them like he had seen police dogs do on TV. He could hear the men screaming in pain and the snarling of the wolves, and he didn’t know which was worse. The sight was terrifying, but for reasons that he still couldn’t explain, he was more afraid of the men than the wolves. And a part of him was relieved that the wolves had taken the men down.

  “Let’s try the gym door,” Sarah yelled suddenly as she pulled Vaughan and Leroy around the front of the building and along its right side.

  They followed her as the sounds of the men being attacked continued. Vaughan noticed for the first time that the sky had darkened to the point that the automatic lights surrounding the building had turned on. The air grew colder and Vaughan saw Leroy and Sarah shivering almost uncontrollably as they reached the door to the gym. He didn’t know what they would do if it was locked. There were no other doors on the same side of the building. But their luck had changed for the better and the door opened when Leroy pulled on it. The three of them ran inside and Sarah pulled the door shut behind her. She frantically searched along the door for several seconds before she turned to face the two boys.

  “There’s no lock!” Sarah cried. She was still shivering and now Vaughan could see that she was crying too. He looked over at Leroy and saw that he was shivering as he looked around the gym, his eyes scanning for something. Vaughan quickly realized what he was looking for and started to do the same thing. They needed to find a place to hide. They were safe from the wolves with the doors closed, but each of them had felt the menace coming from the men and unlocked doors would be no obstacle to them. Leroy ran across to the doors leading from the gym to the main building of the school and pressed on them, but the doors didn’t budge. He looked over at the other end of the gym and his eyes widened.

  “The coaches’ office!” Leroy said suddenly and grabbed both Vaughan and Sarah by the arm. “Come on! We can hide in there and I know there’s a phone!”

  The three of them ran across the gym floor, past the bleachers and to the other side of the building, where a small door led off of the main floo
r. Thankfully, the door was unlocked and opened when Leroy pulled on it. The room beyond the door was nearly pitch black, with the exception of the glow from two computer screens that sat on two desks that were pushed up against each other. Vaughan ran over to one of the desks and picked up the phone that was sitting on it. He listened for a dial tone, but all he could hear was a soft static noise. He pressed the hook several times to try to get a dial tone, but each time he could only hear the soft static and some other faint sound in the background that sounded like nails tapping softly on glass.

  “The phone’s dead,” Vaughan said as he placed it back in the cradle. Sarah and Leroy looked over at him, but said nothing. Leroy reached behind the other desk in the room and picked up a baseball bat that was leaning against it. It wasn’t much, but it could help them defend themselves if the men found their way into the gym.

  As if thinking of them had summoned them, they all heard the door that they had entered the gym through slam shut. All three of them stared wide-eyed through the office windows at the entrance to the gym and what they saw there sent a chill down their spines.

  The two men that they had seen outside walked into the gym, one of them limping slightly and both of them with pieces of their clothing torn to shreds. The children ducked down and moved to the window, where they could get a clear view of what the men were doing. They watched as the men searched the entry hall of the gym and then moved over to the bathrooms. They split up, with one searching the boys’ bathroom and the other the girls’ bathroom. The children could hear the slamming of stall doors as they searched inside and what sounded like frustrated growls.

  “What are we going to do?” Sarah whispered. She was no longer shivering, thanks to the warmth of the air within the gym.

  Vaughan was sweltering in the heat, and the thick jacket that he wore didn’t help. But he knew that there was a good chance that they would have to run back outside at some point, and he didn’t want to be without a jacket. He looked at the time on his watch and wondered where Uncle Harper was. He was already running five minutes later than he usually did, which was unusual. Vaughan was torn between wanting his uncle to be there to help them and not wanting him to show up while the men were still there. He didn’t want his uncle to get hurt or even killed if he stumbled across either the wolves or the evil-looking men.

  “They’re going to find us if we just stay here,” Vaughan answered Sarah’s question in a whisper. “We’ve got to get back outside and to the main road. Maybe we can flag someone down.” The main road near the school was a fairly busy one and he knew that just about anyone would stop if three frightened and frantic teenagers were trying to get their attention.

  “That’s a great idea, Vaughan,” Leroy said with just a touch of sarcasm. “But you’ve forgotten one important thing. Those guys are out there and blocking the door outside. How do we get past them? And then how do we get past those wolves outside?”

  “Why don’t we just run for it?” Sarah asked quietly as she looked between Leroy and Vaughan. “You saw them. One of them is limping!”

  Vaughan shook his head, “All three of us won’t be able to get past them if we run for it.” He knew that their main concern was the men. Something about the way the wolves had run past them and straight for the men made him think that the men were their target. It was almost as if the wolves had been defending them against the men. “And I don’t think we have to worry about the wolves attacking us. They completely ignored us and went straight for those guys.”

  “Maybe,” Leroy said with a disbelieving tone in his voice. “But you’re right about those men. We can’t all get past them.” He looked over at Vaughan and their eyes met. “Get her out of here. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Before either Vaughan or Sarah could say anything, Leroy ran out of the office, holding the bat in one hand. “Hey, losers!” he shouted as he slowed to a jog in the middle of the gym floor.

  Vaughan was speechless as he watched Leroy do something so brave and so stupid at the same time. He was going to get himself killed and Vaughan couldn’t allow that to happen. He looked over at Sarah. “He can’t stall them on his own, but one of us has to get help,” he whispered urgently to her. “When we leave the office, you run for it and we’ll try to follow you. If we can’t, you’ve got to bring someone, anyone.”

  “No, Vaughan,” Sarah whispered. “We’ve both got to run for it. We’ll come back for Leroy, I swear.” Tears were running down her cheek and her eyes were huge. Vaughan had never seen his best friend look so afraid.

  “I’m not leaving him, Sarah,” Vaughan said quietly. Leroy could have run with Emmitt, but he didn’t. And when he had run onto the gym floor, Vaughan was sure he knew the danger that he was placing himself in. But he did it anyway. They both looked out the office window and saw the two men smiling wickedly as they walked toward Leroy, who stood facing them with the bat held in front of him. He looked unafraid, but Vaughan’s vision was keen and he could see the bat shaking in Leroy’s hands. Vaughan wanted to go to him, to let him know that he wasn’t alone.

  “Let’s go,” he exhaled and looked at Sarah. After a brief hesitation, her expression hardened and she nodded. They both stood up and walked out the door and toward Leroy.

  The two men, who had until that moment had a laser focus on Leroy, turned their heads as one to look at Vaughan. He walked over to the side of the gym floor, near where the U.S. and Colorado flags hung from their poles. The men turned to watch him and Leroy now stood behind them. Vaughan returned the stares of the two men and said to Sarah without looking at her, “Go, Sarah.” He saw her move slowly toward the door with his peripheral vision. After a few steps, she moved more quickly. One of the men looked over at her briefly, but seemed disinterested and focused his attention back on Vaughan.

  “Now the odds are even,” Vaughan said as he assumed a fighting stance. He saw both of the men cock their heads to the side at the same time, as if they were dogs reacting to a strange sound. They were no longer smiling, and Vaughan got the sense that he had been their target the entire time, and that Sarah and Leroy were just in the way. He had no idea why the men would be looking for him, but there was something about both of them that struck Vaughan as inhuman and he had an irrational thought that it had something to do with his power to seemingly make time slow down when he fought. Something told him that the two were related, though he didn’t know how. He noticed the black fluid that had formed a small pool near one of the men’s feet and remembered that it was the man who had been limping. He guessed that the fluid was some kind of blood, which confirmed Vaughan’s suspicion that these men were something other than what they appeared.

  As if at some unspoken signal between them, they both started to slowly walk toward Vaughan. He saw movement behind them and looked to see Leroy run up behind one of the men, jump up in the air and slam the bat down on the back of his head. It was a blow that should have killed the man instantly, as the man’s head snapped forward. The bat shattered on impact, but the man remained standing. Vaughan looked behind the man to see Leroy staring in shock at the wooden stump that was left in his hands. The other man looked briefly at his comrade, and then continued to move toward Vaughan. The man who had been struck looked back at Leroy, who stared up at him with huge eyes. Casually, as if Leroy was no more than a fly to be shooed away, the man backhanded him in the face and sent him flying through the air and twenty feet away. He landed with a loud thump and then was still.

  “No!” Vaughan screamed. He heard Sarah sob and looked over to see her waiting near the door. “Sarah, go now!” he yelled at her. She looked at him with her hands over her mouth and was frozen for a second before she nodded frantically and turned around and ran out of the gym. He heard the door slam shut behind her and turned to see the man that was moving toward him. But the other man was moving toward Leroy’s unconscious form and Vaughan had a feeling that Leroy would be d
ead if the man reached him.

  He looked around him for something to use to stop the man from reaching Leroy and his eyes landed on the flagpoles to his right. The Colorado state flag was topped with a spear-like point. It was an older flagpole and unlike the newer, plastic-topped versions, this point was metal. He reached over and pulled the flag from its base and pulled at the actual flag, hoping that it would tear loose. His body must have been filled with adrenaline, because the flag tore away easily and he let it drop to the ground.

  The man was nearly upon Leroy and Vaughan knew that he had just the one chance to save him. He switched his grip on the pole and hefted it like a spear. A tingling sensation filled his body as he decided what he was going to do. He felt the tingling instill a sense of calm and strength within him. He willed the strength into the pole as he looked at the back of the man and picked a spot between his shoulder blades to aim at. And then he said a silent prayer for it to fly true and hurled it with all his might. The spear flew through the air so quickly that Vaughan heard a humming sound before it landed exactly where he had aimed. It flew halfway through the man’s body and lifted him off of his feet. He flew several feet before landing on his side, the spear still lodged in his chest.

  The other man stared at his comrade in shock and then anger. Vaughan couldn’t believe what he had just done. Even though he was pretty sure now that the men weren’t human, he knew that he had just taken a life. The very presence of the men had caused a slowly-building rage in him that he couldn’t understand, but he never imagined that it could bring him to the point that he would kill one of them. Vaughan didn’t try to fool himself into thinking that his intent hadn’t been to hurt or kill the man to save Leroy, but the reality of it was still a shock.

  He saw Leroy raise his head and he exhaled with relief to see that his classmate was still alive. But his attention was pulled from Leroy when he realized that the other man was now no more than ten feet from him. Vaughan assumed his fighting stance, thinking that the man would close with him slowly. But the man’s face twisted suddenly into a mask of rage and he charged at Vaughan with his arms out as if he meant to tackle him. Vaughan was taken by surprise, but he recovered quickly enough to jump and spin at the last second before the man would have hit him. As the man passed and he was completing his spin, time seemed to slow down again. He kicked his leg out and struck the man in the small of the back. As time sped up again, Vaughan saw the man fly face-first into the wall with a loud bang and then fall to the floor.

  Vaughan stared at the man in shock, marveling at the sense of strength and calm that seemed to be flowing through his body. He couldn’t believe that he had been able to land the spinning kick on the running man. He had seen the move done by one of the older kids in his karate class and he had done it based on that memory. Vaughan knew that it was a move that took most people years to master. And he had done it on his first try.

  He assumed his fighting stance again as the man slowly got to his feet and shook his head. A small trickle of the black blood ran down the side of the man’s face, but he ignored it as he stared at Vaughan. But then his face began to change, and as Vaughan watched in confusion and then horror, the man’s body began to grow. His face started to lengthen and his teeth grew within his mouth. Hair started to sprout on his face and two shapes began to grow along the top of his head that looked like the ears of a dog or wolf. His body continued to grow until there was a loud tearing sound as his clothes ripped from his body and fell to the ground next to the wasted remains of his shoes. What was left was something out of a nightmare. The thickly muscled, dog-like creature that stood where the man had stood just a moment before looked like the paintings that Vaughan had seen of demons. It was easily eight feet tall and stood on its hind legs as drool dripped from its sharp, white teeth. It held its hands out to either side of its body and each one ended in sharp, black claws.

  The creature stood only a few feet from Vaughan and an inner voice screamed for him to run. But the rage that he had felt building within him at the sight of the men had grown to an inferno at the sight of the creature. Though he didn’t know why, he hated this creature and everything it represented. He could not run from this creature.

  “Vaughan, get out of here!” he heard Leroy shout behind him.

  Vaughan had momentarily forgotten that another human being was in the gym with him. This only strengthened his resolve not to run. He would face this creature and defeat it.

  The creature lunged forward suddenly, jabbing its right arm forward. Vaughan’s first instinct was to duck, but as he watched the creature’s advance, time slowed down again. He could tell from the creature’s body posture that the jab was only a feint. And he knew that if he ducked, the creature’s left arm would catch him. Instead, he jumped up as high as he could, over the incoming claw and level with the creature’s head. He kicked out with his right foot and felt a shock pass up his leg as his kick connected with the creature’s face. Its head snapped back and it stumbled back several feet as time sped up again.

  The creature’s eyes narrowed dangerously at Vaughan as it shook its head. He knew that it wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. The creature lunged forward again, but this time it kept its arms near its body. Vaughan knew that he couldn’t allow the creature to use its size as an advantage, which meant that he had to be careful not to allow it to get too close. As the creature’s movements slowed again, Vaughan dove between its legs and rolled into a somersault. The creature turned as he came to his feet again, but before it could face Vaughan head-on, he launched a series of punches and kicks at it in rapid succession. The creature was pushed back several feet by the sheer ferocity of Vaughan’s attack, but it managed to lash out with one of its claws. He was barely able to dodge the claws in time and he realized that the creature was moving faster than it had before. Even his ability to seemingly slow down time was starting to work to a lesser degree with the creature, much as it had with his sensei, Mr. Tanaka. Vaughan heard a tearing sound as the creature’s claw passed through the spot that he had been standing just a split-second before. He looked down in shock to see his jacket and shirt beneath it torn to shreds. The claws had missed his abdomen by no more than an inch.

  He jogged back a few feet to give himself some space and watched the creature to see what damage his assault had caused. What he saw filled him with dread. In spite of the numerous blows that he had landed on the creature, the only sign of injury on it was that one of its eyes was swollen shut. Otherwise, the creature looked like it could fight on for hours. And Vaughan knew that he could not. He wasn’t tired, but he had barely dodged the creature’s last attack and he knew that if even one of its blows landed, he would be finished. The thick muscles covering its body were evidence of its strength and speed. He needed a weapon to even the odds.

  Vaughan quickly scanned the gym for something that he could use, and his eyes landed on the other flag that stood next to the one that he had used as a spear. It was now behind the creature, but if he could get to it, he believed that he stood a chance of defeating it. He ran at the creature and at the last minute feinted to the creature’s right side. As it lunged in that direction in response, Vaughan leapt into the air and used the creature’s head as leverage to somersault over its head and land behind it, a few feet from the U.S. flag. He reached out and pulled it from its base and swung it behind him, where he could feel the attack coming at his back.

  As he turned, the weight of the flag pulled at the pole and slowed its speed. He saw the creature swing with its left arm, its claws out and ready to tear at his flesh. Vaughan leaned back and raised the arc of his swing slightly and the creature’s claws caught in the flag as it passed, tearing it from the pole. The strength of the creature was even more evident as the pole was nearly torn from Vaughan’s grasp, but he somehow managed to hold on to it. He moved a few steps to his right and even with the creature’s side. He saw the cre
ature rip the flag from its claw and throw it to the ground from the corner of his eye. He felt the tingling sensation that had continued to grow during his fight with the creature pass into the pole until it felt like it was a part of him.

  Before it could recover, he crouched and swung the pole at the back of the creature’s legs. Vaughan felt a shock pass through the pole and thought that it would snap in half. But it didn’t and the creature was lifted off of its feet and fell on its back. He stopped the swing of the pole and shifted his grip on the pole as he raised it over his head, with the eagle at its top pointing at the creature lying on the ground. He stabbed down with all of his might, aiming for the center of the creature’s chest.

  At the last second, the creature rolled away and the head of the flagpole slammed into the ground, shattering the metallic eagle and sending a painful shiver up the pole that now came to a point at the tip. Vaughan cried out in shock as the impact passed through his body. He saw the creature get to its feet and face him. He threw a series of feints and jabs with the pole, but it dodged every one.

  Vaughan saw movement behind the creature and could see Leroy creeping up behind it, the shattered remains of the bat in his hand like a knife. Vaughan knew that the creature would kill Leroy, but if he warned him not to interfere, the creature could turn its attention from him and attack Leroy. He had to finish the fight.

  The moment of Vaughan’s distraction was all that the creature needed. It grabbed the pole with its left hand and chopped down at the center of the pole with its right hand. Vaughan heard a loud cracking noise as the pole snapped in half. A searing white light poured from the broken pieces of the flagpole and the creature cried out in agony. Vaughan was momentarily blinded by the white light, but he swung the remaining length of pole at where he remembered the creature’s head to be. As he swung, he willed all of the tingling strength flowing through him into the pole, hoping that it would strengthen his blow. He felt another shock of impact as the pole connected with something and he heard another howl of pain from the creature as a second flare of white light erupted.

  He had managed to close his eyes before the second flash of light and when he opened them, his vision had cleared. He stopped the momentum of the swing and pulled the pole along his side and stabbed it forward and up at the creature’s chest, pushing with all of his might. He felt the resistance of the pole stabbing into the creature’s body, but saw the pole nearly disappear as it skewered the creature. At the same time, a searing pain erupted along his side and he cried out in agony.

  He stumbled back from the creature and threw his arm across his face as white light erupted from the center of the creature, where the spear was now lodged. It looked at him with eyes widened in shock as it howled a hideous scream that sounded like a hundred voices screaming at once. The light grew until it engulfed the creature completely and then disappeared.

  When he had blinked away the spots in his eyes, he stared at the place where the creature had stood. All that remained was a greasy pile of black soot and the pole, while still broken in half, was otherwise unharmed. A vile smell reached Vaughan’s nostrils and he recognized it from chemistry class as the smell of sulfur.

  “Whoa!” Leroy breathed. He looked over at Vaughan with huge eyes, but didn’t say a word.

  Vaughan moved toward Leroy, but felt a wave of pain erupt on his side. He looked down and saw blood pouring freely from the hole in his jacket along his ribcage. He couldn’t believe so much blood was coming from him. He looked over at Leroy in shock before falling to his knees. Leroy dropped the stub of the bat and ran over to Vaughan and ripped his jacket off. He gently pressed it against the wound on Vaughan’s side, causing Vaughan to wince at the fresh pain and pressure.

  “Sorry,” Leroy apologized as he looked into Vaughan’s eyes. “We’ve got to put pressure on it.”

  Vaughan nodded slightly as he felt a wave of nausea hit him. He reached over and put his hand on Leroy’s shoulder to keep from passing out.

  “We’ve got to get to a phone that works. You need a hospital, man,” Leroy said with obvious concern. He gently helped Vaughan to his feet while he continued to press on Vaughan’s injury.

  Vaughan looked down and was relieved to see that Leroy’s jacket seemed to have slowed the blood flow. But he knew from his dizziness that he must have lost a lot of blood.

  A sudden scream reached their ears from the direction of the doors to the outside and Vaughan recognized the sobs that followed. The doors opened and another man dressed in black and wearing sunglasses walked into the gym. He was pulling Sarah by the hair behind him. She held onto the man’s wrist to lessen the pull on her hair, but Vaughan could see that she was in pain. She looked over at him and sobbed again.

  “I’m sorry,” she said loudly. “There were two more outside. Cody tried to stop them, but…”

  The man threw her roughly to the ground and she crawled away from him and toward the boys. He looked at Vaughan and then at the jacket that was pressed up against his side. He removed his sunglasses and his eyes narrowed.

  “Are you injured?” he asked as he looked Vaughan in the eye.

  Before Vaughan could answer, Leroy yelled at the man, “Look, loser. We already dropped your two friends, so don’t mess with us!”

  Vaughan couldn’t believe how brave he was. His voice hadn’t even shaken when he had yelled. Vaughan wasn’t sure that he could’ve done the same. This man had a more imposing air than the other two and Vaughan wondered if he was their leader. He thought suddenly of what Sarah had said and wondered what Cody had to do with anything, but his ability to think clearly was fading.

  The man smiled slightly at Leroy in obvious dismissal and then looked at Vaughan. “We’re not here for them, child. Come with us and I will spare the lives of your friends.” His voice had a soothing quality to it, and Vaughan felt his mind being put at ease. But something deep inside him screamed out in warning not to trust the voice. He grabbed onto that warning and used it to pull himself from the fog that had started to cloud his mind.

  Again, Vaughan wasn’t able to respond before Leroy did. “We’re not going anywhere, asshole!” he yelled at the stranger.

  Vaughan looked over at Leroy in surprise, but he just looked back at Vaughan and shrugged slightly. Vaughan couldn’t help but smile.

  “Silence, human!” the man yelled at Leroy. Vaughan felt Leroy flinch at the power in the man’s voice. The man looked back at Vaughan and the soothing quality returned to his voice as he said, “I can heal your wound, child.” He reached out his hand to Vaughan with his palm up. “Come with me and you will be safe, and your friends will go free. You have my word.”

  “Don’t trust him, Vaughan,” Leroy whispered.

  Vaughan stared at the man and then looked over at Sarah, who shook her head silently. She had climbed to her feet and looked like she was ready to run if she had to. She still looked afraid, but he knew that she would no sooner abandon him than Leroy would. He looked over briefly at Leroy, who continued to help him stand, and of how he had misjudged him nearly as badly as he had his father. The boy who had bullied him for so many years now stood beside him against a danger that could mean death for both of them. Vaughan couldn’t let either of them die for him and thought about going with the man, if only to save Sarah and Leroy. But the inner voice that had screamed a warning not to trust the man was screaming again. It told him that even if he cooperated and went with him, the man wouldn’t leave two witnesses to everything that had happened alive. That left him only one choice – one that could cost him his life. But it was one that could save the lives of two others.

  “Hand me that flagpole, Leroy,” Vaughan said quietly as he continued to stare at the man. He braced himself as Leroy moved away and grabbed the flagpole. He handed it to Vaughan and held the remainder of the bat in his hand like a large knife. Vaughan looked over at him and told him, “When I rush him, you run for it and
take Sarah. Head for the road while I hold him off.”

  Leroy chuckled and shook his head, “No way, man. We’re in this together.”

  Vaughan looked over at Sarah, but her face was resolute as she shook her head and then ran over to stand on his other side. He didn’t have the strength to argue with either of them and truthfully, he didn’t want to be left alone.

  The man looked at each of them and then shook his head, “Brave, but foolish. I will take you child, when this is through. And your friends will die.”

  The door to the outside was suddenly blown off its hinges and flew into the entryway of the gym. Before it had completely settled on the ground, the children saw a glowing white streak fly across the floor of the gym and at the man. It had moved too quickly to identify, but when it jumped on the man’s back, Vaughan stared in shock as he realized that it was his family’s dog.

  Cody’s paws were wrapped around the man’s neck and his jaws were snapping near the man’s head, though they kept missing their target as the man nimbly moved his head out of the way each time. Vaughan couldn’t believe Cody’s ferocity as he attacked the man. He had always been a calm dog, if not exactly friendly. But now he was trying to rip the man to shreds. Vaughan saw the man’s shape begin to grow and knew that he was about to change into one of the creatures. He worried that Cody wouldn’t stand a chance against a creature that would soon be several times his size.

  But before the man could change completely, Cody’s jaws found their mark. His bite closed on the back of the man’s neck and Cody began to glow with a white-hot light. The man screamed in agony as the light engulfed them both. And then the light poured from the man’s mouth and then his eyes. Vaughan, Sarah and Leroy all looked away as the brightness of the light became overpowering.

  When the light finally faded, they looked over and saw a new pile of greasy black soot, with Cody standing slightly to the side. He was panting heavily and the strange black blood that had been in each of the men covered his muzzle. The rest of his coat was covered with bright spots of red and Vaughan worried that he had been hurt. But he didn’t look to be injured, and as Vaughan watched him, he licked the black substance from his muzzle and then sneezed loudly. He looked over at Sarah and whined.

  “I’m okay, Cody,” she told him with a tight smile, as if guessing the reason for his concern.

  He seemed to understand her, and turned his attention to Vaughan, who walked over to meet him. Vaughan kneeled down to stroke the fur behind the dog’s ears and said softly, “Thank you.” But as he reached out with his other hand, a wave of pain erupted along his side. He collapsed to the ground and rolled over onto his back, his breath coming in painful gasps. Cody pushed his head under Vaughan’s left arm and buried his muzzle near the gash along his ribs. Vaughan felt a warm wetness pass along it and realized that Cody was licking him. Where his tongue passed, the pain lessened immediately. Within a few moments, the pain was gone completely. Cody stepped back and looked at Vaughan with his head cocked to the side.

  Vaughan sat up and felt no pain beside a slight stiffness of the muscles near the wound. He looked down at the torn remains of his jacket and at the skin beneath it. The only sign that the wound had been there was a slight redness of the skin. Otherwise, it was completely healed. Vaughan couldn’t believe what had just happened and when he looked over at Sarah and then Leroy, their looks of disbelief matched his own. He looked over at Cody again, who continued to look back at him.

  Vaughan laughed and then reached out and pulled the dog to him. “Thank you, Cody,” he said as he hugged him close. He had never noticed before how unusual the dog smelled. It reminded Vaughan of the smell of trees and ferns and the forest floor littered with leaves. He pulled back slightly and Cody licked his face.

  The three children laughed at his display of affection, but then movement caught their eyes as the shadow of a man appeared in the doorway leading outside. All three of the children tensed and Sarah whispered, “I forgot. There was a fourth man.”

  Cody’s ears stiffened and he turned his head in the direction of the newcomer, but he didn’t growl or bark, which Vaughan thought was strange. But then the man moved into the entryway and Cody’s reaction made sense. It was his Uncle Harper. And Vaughan had never been happier to see anyone in his entire life.