“Oh...my...” he gasped. “How?”
“No time to explain, T. Distract the General’s men so I can get to Sophia,” I ordered. He paused for a second, not believing my new authority. He looked up at the eyes of my magical beast and smiled.
“Let’s do this, Luc.” He ran behind me, directly for the first guard.
General Love started to rumble, his alien torso shaking and gurgling. With his claws he ripped away every last inch of skin and clothing covering his body. Boiling black tar replaced what was once a man. The outline of his old human form faded into something unrecognizable as the blackness stretched outward, doubling in size. Long, cryptic wings jutted from his back. They reached for the ceiling, slicing through the air like whips. All his men hunched over in shrieks, tearing at their faces and bodies. Flying bits of flesh and clothing littered the gym floor. The soldiers true design emerged with loud and horrifying thunder. Winged black and dark blue beasts, stomped in place. Rubbery long tongues dangled and twisted from oversized mouths lined with bleeding teeth.
“Feeding time!” General Love hissed. His army prepared themselves for the final battle.
My hands readied themselves at my sides and I lowered my head, filling with courage. My magical dragon coiled around me like a smoky spring shield and positioned itself over my head in the striking pose of a giant cobra. Its eyes cried purple lightning that crawled along my shoulders and arms. My hands covered themselves in bright light, ready for our fight.
“A dragon?” General Love grinned, “Not bad, Mr. Ryan, but I’ve seen better...tougher.”
“I doubt it,” I bit back. My shadowed serpent shrieked a final warning. The sound filled me with a rush of adrenaline. “I call it, Ripley.”
“Cute,” he growled behind wicked teeth.
I grinned through my living shield, “This. Is. War.”
LEVEL 24: Closer To The Edge
My heart pounded like a drum. My breath seemed to shoot from every pore I had. Sweat trailed down the lines of my temples and neck with the spine tingling touch of ice.
“Game on,” I winked at General Love, neglecting his gang of demon soldiers. This would be OUR fight.
General Love shifted his stance, readying for my attack. He waved one of his meaty claws above his head and all the sticky strands of webbing that held my friends captive began to disintegrate into ash. They all fell to the floor screaming in terror. I lunged forward with nothing but my glowing hands and a wish.
“Ripley, save them!” My latest wish demanded. My battle dragon instantly split into six smoky doppelgängers. One stayed by my side as the others slithered beneath each one of my falling friends, forming a large, cushioning spring. One by one they all slipped into the soft smoke, safely. I didn’t have time to enjoy the small victory though, as the General’s soldiers moved closer toward Sophia again.
Their nightmarish faces clicked and snapped at her. Fangs and claws sliced the air around her, forcing new tears from her eyes. Her body began to quiver, uncontrollably. She winced, holding the magical screen directly in front of her as if it would stop them. It was now or never.
“No!” I wailed, charging forward. The monsters spun around Sophia like a wicked cyclone of death, ignoring me entirely. Big mistake.
The final piece of my gauntlet she held before her exploded with golden light that took the form of a shield. It covered most of her body, blinding her attackers for a moment. I jumped forward with the flailing demons in my sights. My arms in front of me and fists locked tightly in place. From within my hands grew a pair of silver metal blades, long and lethal. I could barely control my excitement as I flew through the air like an action figure.
“Duck!” I warned Sophia. My new swords filled her eyes with wonder just before she fell to her knees and disappeared behind her protective shield. My blades sunk into the wet necks of the first two soldiers, sending their heads spinning to the floor. Gray smoke spilled from their wounds and they melted to the floor in a disgusting heap of slime and ash. Two other demons reached for me with their razored hands, just missing me as I bent backwards. I jammed a blade into each of their sides, causing one to leap into the air and slam into the roof with a thick crash. The other demon twisted away from me, spinning out of control towards the gymnasium doors. Waiting for it with his giant hammer was Taylor. He flipped his long bangs from his face and swung as hard as he could. The demon exploded into a fiery ball of ash and black sludge that stained Taylor’s clothes and muscles. He howled loudly and tapped his hammer on the floor.
“Who’s next?” he called out. The demon attached to the rafters bellowed in agony over Taylor’s head. It began to writhe and scream in an earsplitting screech. All the windows in the gym shattered, raining glass over all of us. It suddenly slammed its deformed face into the steel beams of the school, shaking the building in a dull quake. It did it again and then again. Each time the crushing blow became louder. Finally, its head exploded like a bomb, vaporizing most of the ceiling in the process. Taylor jumped on top of Morgan to protect her from the explosion. She held onto him with all her strength, breathing in his heroic scent.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha... Boom,” General Love teased calmly, still watching from the corner of the room. His demeanor was confusing and distracting. I would regret losing my focus. Two of his demons slammed into me, pinning me to the floor by my arms and sending my swords skidding along the ground, away from me. They were too strong, I couldn’t move. They pushed their weight down onto me harder, leaning in with their jaws wide open. Their breath gagged me with the putrid stench. Their teeth grew longer, stretching for my cheeks and nose.
“No, not yet!” General Love called out. “Don’t eat him, yet. I have a surprise for him.”
“Uh, oh...” I gulped. The sound of destruction rumbled in the distance, outside the walls of the school. It was unbelievably loud and getting closer. The whole building shook as if a giant was approaching. Its footsteps warning us with building tremors. Thud! Thud! Thud!
“All you will know, Mr. Ryan, is oblivion,” General Love promised. The two demons that held me to the floor, leaned back just enough for me to see what was coming. From the opening in the roof came an eclipse that covered us all in shadow. Causing this blackout was an enormous ball of debris made of...well...everything. Trees, dirt, asphalt, cars, glass, even a giant crane and a school bus. It all hovered in place, spinning slowly as more things smashed into its core. Police cars, bicycles, about a hundred birds, a cow, and even the local television station’s News Chopper 4. With a gasp, I wondered where that helicopter had been all this time. Pieces of the steel rafters stuck out from the giant boulder like spikes ready to impale everything in its path.
With the tiniest nod of his head, the General sent the spiraling ball of everything downward. It fell directly toward me and the two demons. They quickly fled in opposite directions as I blinked upward at my appending doom. With only a second left before impact I felt my body slide across the floor, quickly. Someone had me by my shoulders and pulled me out of the way of the giant ball of death. The force of the impact exploded just behind me and my secret savior, sending us flying across the room and colliding with the wall of folded up bleachers. The world fell black for a moment as I tried to sit up.
“Lucas!” Olivia cried out, shaking me by the shoulders. Through the slit of my blurry eyes her face came into view. She was crying and unharmed. She saved me. From over her shoulder was my wish dragon. It had protected her. It had protected all of my friends from the devastation. Roland and Morgan leaned closer, scared to speak. Dax watched me worried, but I think it was intended for Olivia. Felicity peeked from around his shoulder, studying my every move. Taylor stood tall with a weary Sophia in his arms. He must have scooped her up just before the explosion.
Olivia’s hands found the back of my head before sliding down to my neck, “Are you okay?”
“I think so...” I said with blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. “Is Sophia all right?”
&nbs
p; Sophia nodded yes, but didn’t want Taylor to put her down. Standing up slowly, I surveyed the room. It was covered in mounds of burning trash, broken glass and twisted steel. General Love’s shadow was still in the far corner of the room, watching us with gleaming eyes of contempt. His love for this chaos, and passion for my death, sliced into my chest like a knife. I hated him.
“It’s not over, Luc,” Olivia whispered. She helped steady my stance as I wiped the blood from my lips.
“This is MY fight...MY burden,” I growled, looking at my tattooed wrist. “MY war!” My silver bladed weapons flew across the gym and embedded into my blazing hands again. Their sharp tips rested along the floor, waiting for my next move. Olivia pressed her lips to my ear with her voice quivering.
“You can do this. You can stop him.” She smiled up at me, “I believe in you.”
My hands ignited in a storm of electricity, renewing a wave of hope inside of me. Closing my eyes, I called to the eternal voice in my head.
End this! I wish for you to end this. End them all.
~ As you wish. ~
From behind me the arches of my dream dragon’s wings cut into the air, reaching for the gray skies above us. The wings pulled its massive steel and vapor body upward, covering us in its shifting shadow. Long arms and legs wrapped in burning scales and flexing muscles, scratched to be free. They smashed into the wall and floor, signaling my friends to find a safer place to hide. Colorful, electric fire danced and popped from its skin like static. Thunder filled its chest, rumbling everywhere. The sound carried up its long neck, begging to free itself. My dragons fierce stare turned from golden yellow to blood red. Chunks of fire dripped from its eyes as it searched the room. With a loud snap, its wings fluttered above me, with the crisp bite of a giant pair of scissors. Its three tails rolled like waves, clicking their blades together like a butcher sharpening his knives. Sparks tickled the floor below them.
My imagination had outdone itself this time. General Love nodded our way and I motioned to him with one of my blades.
“Bring it!” I taunted with a couple quick flicks of my powerful sword. He never moved. He just watched me harder. My newly designed dragon stomped the floor with the weight of a dinosaur. Fire shot from its mouth and nose, covering the room in green and purple flames. The heat was intense and brought a childlike grin to my face.
“This is so cool,” I said, with the innocents of a preschooler.
Ripley, the impossible dream dragon lunged forward in a flash of blurring light that I could barely see. It surfed the fires in front of it, stalking its prey. Suddenly, it slammed into the first of General Love’s vicious soldiers, tearing him into shreds. Pieces of black tar splattered across the bleachers and its dying screams swirled everywhere. Another minion quickly fell to my dragon’s bite, and then another and another. And just when I thought my dream beast would end another of the General’s Hive, it stopped with one of the demons in its blistering hot mouth. Instead of grinding the pathetic hellion into shreds, Ripley set the demon down on the messy floor. The demon trembled in place with only superficial scratches to its body. My dragon roared with an earsplitting scream only inches from the demons face. The sound waves rippled across its unearthly skin, slowly peeling it back, revealing the soldier who had taken care of me when I was unconscious. The soldier who had asked for Taylor’s trust and warned him of the Hive.
“No way,” I swallowed. Ripley nodded to the soldier and he slowly walked away, stopping only long enough to give me a weary look that said, thank you. He then exited the battlefield and disappeared out the gymnasium doors.
Turning my attention back to my demon liberating dream dragon, “You freed him from the Hive, from the General’s enslavement,” I said, shocked. Ripley puffed a giant stream of mist from its unseen nostrils and then shot forward, attacking the last of General Love’s minions.
“I guess that’s a yes...”
As the carnage came to an end, I strutted to the middle of the room, climbing over all the mess of the war zone. My swords cocked and ready to strike, ignited in white and blue fire. General Love silently watched as I positioned myself with overconfidence. He seemed to be waiting for something. He was calm and motionless, not at all worried his Hive was no more. It began to really frighten me. I clutched my swords tighter and stepped forward. Ripley slithered back to me, still chewing a chunk of the last soldier demon in its jaws. Silver smoke escaped from the slits in its armor and it lowered its long neck down to me.
“I believe,” I said, full of nervous pride. Its eyes pulled closed just before I reached out and touched its head. Its vibrant flames fell away to nothing, leaving only the cooling metal of its scales.
~ I believe in you, Lucas. ~
Its body locked up like a statue, covering itself in a faint, black ash. The powdery blackness started at the tips of its tails before swiftly covering its torso and appendages. I stepped back, confused by what I was seeing. The ashy smoke became crusty flakes that fell away, leaving only the slightest outline of my beautiful wish dragon. My hands reached out in vain, trying to stop it from happening.
“No! What’s happening?” I begged. Its long neck faded to ash and then its spiky head became transparent, leaving only its glowing eyes. They pulled tightly together in thin, bright slits. My heart doubled its pace in my chest.
~ I will never forget. ~
“I don’t understand...Ripley, what’s happening? Where are you going?” I was close to crying. From the back of the room, General Love let a creepy smile slice across his face.
~ My time is up. Our time is up. We must become one again. ~
“No more time? What are you talking about?” I stepped closer to the floating eyes. “There’s so much more I wanted to ask you about. So much more to understand.”
~ My energy is gone now. Your desires have been fulfilled. We must become one. ~
“What? My desires have not been fulfilled! The General is still alive...this isn’t finished yet. I need you still! Please come back. I wish you back. I wish for you to end this! I wish it now!”
~ I believe in you, Lucas. ~
The fading eyes blinked twice leaving nothing but their memory. I jumped forward, grasping for them through the air and my blades disappeared into nothing. Instantly, I searched the magical scars on my wrist and the symbols rearranged themselves in a permanent etching of jagged lines. Each one pulsated with a purple flare before settling into its final resting place. Feeling the wind flee from my lungs, I fell to my knees and began counting each of the new scars. As I counted, the memory of each wish I had used flashed inside my head. Thirteen flashes. Thirteen wishes.
“What just happened?” I asked, catching my breath. Where did my mystical genie go? I could no longer feel its presence at all.
At the other side of the demolished gymnasium, Sophia screamed out and fell to the floor, holding her hands out in front of her as if she were in agony. Purple light split open her dirty skin, scratching the same markings onto her hands, only smaller. Six inside her left palm and seven more inside her right hand. Thirteen in total.
“Ouch!” she cried out, her scared eyes finding mine. Taylor tried to hold onto her tighter, trying to comfort as best as he could in the moment. The magical screen of my old gauntlet levitated itself between her two hands. It melted into tiny pools of liquid glass that attached to her inner wrists before swimming along her skin, positioning themselves around her body like jewelry. One around her neck like a thin choker made of shining metal. A silver band around each wrist and a smooth metallic ring for each of her fingers. The rings that locked onto her thumbs were thicker than the other ones and had strange writing along their inner walls.
“Thirteen,” she said, blinking in amazement. Her new jewelry reflected like mirrors attracting not only the attention of the General and myself, but the unwanted eyes of a curious admirer. Felicity stared at the mystical bands as if they were calling to her. She seemed to forget all about the current situation we were in and
stepped closer to Sophia, wearing a frown.
“Why her?” Felicity asked no one, completely jealous.
LEVEL 25: Hurricane
I was lost. I was horrified. Reeling from the pure shock of losing the power of my wish dragon, I traced the scarred markings on my inner arm. Before I could settle my thoughts I found myself in the shadow of General Love. His manic new form was towering over me with twisting trails of smoke curling from underneath his war ravaged feet. He now stood ten-feet tall, at least. There was no more flesh on his face or body. Only decaying black tar that bubbled and fizzed in a menacing and devilish shape. His shoulders were wide and muscular, as was his thorny chest and arms. Two massive horns ripped from the front of his black forehead. They curved slightly outward as if reaching for me and their sharp tips dripped acid-like foam.
“Used up all your wishes, huh?” General Love spit above me. My hands began to shake uncontrollably. That made him even more excited. Stealing a quick glance at my still glowing scars, I dared to find the General’s stare again.
“I guess,” I said, quietly. A rumbling filled his chest as he bent down toward me, his grimacing face only inches from mine. He grabbed my arm with the scars.
“Thirteen markings on your arm, Mr. Ryan. The eternal Thirteen Breaths.”
“Breaths?” I mumbled, confused.
“I believe you call them wishes,” he corrected. “A true master of the Jynshee Orb can make his wishes last for centuries...a small millennium. But not you, Mr. Ryan, you squandered yours like the wasteful species you are!”
His words rattled me, robbing me of the last little bit of hope I was clinging to. I only had thirteen? Why hadn’t it told me? Why would it let me waste so many of them without warning me? I had so many unanswered questions, so many fears.