Chapter 6 - Encounter

At the other end of town, a blonde-haired boy and three others stood gathered around a small lake. The moonlight reflected off the surface, the water sparkling in the otherwise dark atmosphere. The boy tossed a rock at the lake, where it skipped twice then sunk to the bottom.

“So Clay,” one of the other boys asked, “that Nikita girl’s pretty cute, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Clay answered. “But that cousin of hers scares the hell out of me.”

“Oh that red-haired kid?” a curly-haired girl chimed in, “I know, he’s so…creepy.”

“This girl,” came a cold, raspy voice from underneath a nearby tree. In the pale glow of the moon the figure was indistinguishable; only his outline was visible. “Nikita, did you say? Does she have a brother, both with dark hair?”

The fourth of their group, a tall, well-built boy, stood up and stepped forward. “And who the hell are you?” he asked.

The figure stepped forward, the moonlight washing over his face. His eyes glowed a bright red; he wore a long, black jacket that nearly touched the ground. “My name is immaterial,” he said with a flicker of a smile. He turned back to Clay, approaching him. “Now, to answer my question, does she have a brother?”

Clay’s eyes began to glaze over. When he spoke there was no inflection in his voice. “Yes.”

“And where would I find them?” the man asked in a near whisper.

“The building at the end of Thirteenth Street,” Clay replied.

“Thank you” the man hissed, grinning.

“Of course,” Clay answered blankly.

“Hey wait a minute,” the taller boy interrupted, “What are you doing, Clay?”

“It’s fine, James,” Clay said.

There was a sudden splashing sound from the lake. Everyone but Clay and the man turned to look. From the middle of the calm surface emitted a ripple, followed by another, and then another, each larger than the last. A rock was propelled from the depths of the lake, landing near James’ feet. The girl walked over and picked it up; she then looked back at the water.

“What –” she began. A massive wave rose from the middle of the lake. In a single motion, it formed into a tentacle-like tube and wrapped around her, James, and the other boy, lifting them up. The ground beneath them opened up as it were a whirlpool. All three had a look of terror on their face, two petrified to speak. The watery arm slammed them into the hole, which instantly closed. All that could be heard was a discomforting crunching sound.

The man laughed coldly and raised his hand. Each of his fingertips grew longer and sharper. Overhead, a cloud drifted in front of the moon. The already faint light grew darker. Clay’s eyes shot back to life; he spun around hysterically.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked, his voice shaking.

“They call me Blackheart,” he said with a grin. Without warning, he plunged his hand into Clay’s chest. Rather than leaving a wound, his hand seemed to dissolve into the boy’s body. When his hand emerged, it was clutching a glowing bluish-green orb. The instant the orb was completely removed, Clay’s body fell to the ground. Once more, the ground mysteriously opened up and swallowed it. Blackheart closed his fist; the bluish-green light from the orb could be seen coursing through his arm, and finally disappearing into his chest. He let out a cleansing breath.

“Gressil!” Blackheart shouted into the night.

All of a sudden, a pillar rose from the earth, taking on a human form. His skin was dark and dry; he had a certain solid appearance to him.

“Wallow!”

A girl emerged from the lake; the water seemed to become something that was solid but not ice: a substitute skin, bluish in color. Somehow, it looked as though she would be soft to touch.

“Abigor!” Blackheart finished.

A swirling vortex of fog appeared in the air and slowly fell to the ground. When the fog dissipated a ghostly-white skinned man stood in its place. Black tattoos covered his body; his face was bare and expressionless, except a single scar between his eyes.

“Let’s go say hello,” Blackheart said with a look of excitement in his eyes.

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“Damn it!” Astar shouted, slamming his fist into the wall. “All this time I thought he was training, but he’s just been waiting! Waiting for this damn eclipse!”

“Well, wait a minute,” Kaesi said, trying to calm him down, “We’re stronger than we used to be, too.”

“It doesn’t matter how strong we are!” Astar spat. “As soon as that eclipse comes, we’ve lost!”

“Calm down, Astar,” Kaesi continued, “We don’t even know when this eclipse is coming.”

They all turned to Noah, looking hopeful.

“What?” he asked, “I’m supposed to know?” There was a brief pause. Noah rolled his eyes and sighed, pulling out his phone. “Let’s see…” he drifted off, pressing a few buttons. He stopped suddenly, not wanting to look back up.

“Oh, wait, let me guess,” Alagor said exasperatedly. “It’s tonight.”

“Fortunately, no,” Noah answered. “It isn’t until November 29th.” He looked back down at his phone. “November 6th.” An ominous gust of wind chilled the air. “That means we’ve got just over three weeks to find Blackheart. We have to stop him.” He paused as another gust of wind rushed past him. His eyes narrowed in thought as he looked up. “We’re…underground.” The air in the room suddenly grew thick. It was as if a tornado was enveloping each of they’re bodies. The room around them seemed to blur into nothingness. Noah felt himself losing sensation; it was as if the outside world had detached itself from him. The next thing he knew, Noah was laying spread-eagle on the ground outside the chapel. A tall, dark figure with bright red eyes stood before him, the moonlight illuminating his face.

“Well now,” Blackheart laughed evilly. “We can’t have that, can we?”

He held out his fist. When he opened it, a piece of paper with a red border and strange symbols fell from it. The paper stopped in midair and began to glow. Alagor’s eyes widened.

“Not a –” he stopped short. Noah knew why; once again he could feel himself losing sensation. But this time was different, this time was more gentle. He felt his eyelids growing heavier, but he wasn’t tired. Everything around him began to fade away. The air grew darker, until he was surrounded by nothingness. His eyes closed, and when they opened again, he was in the schoolyard, neither friend nor foe in sight.

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