Chosen (part 2)

Ben bumped into the wall as the beast cornered him, ready for the kill. Ben gripped the sword hilt tightly and hefted it in his hand. The monster pulled its blade, the claws of its hand stuck out, unable to curl around the hilt, but it managed.

“Now I’m going to cleave you to pieces, so we might as well stop talking.”

Sweat trickled down Ben’s forehead as panic welled up in his chest. Perhaps this truly was the end.

It swung. Ben barely thought; he wanted the blade to block, and it did. There was a loud crash. Ben began to move the blade to shove the creature back, and it happened as if something else was in control of his body; he blocked every thrust and swing to the astonishment of his enemy.

“No,” It whispered, “no, not yet. How could it have happened already!?”

Ben struggled to fight from a corner but succeeded. He pushed back against one block and began driving the beast away. In an instant, the blade was in motion, striking out and forcing the monster back. With several thrusts, Ben moved the creature effortlessly through the cavern. He cut and sliced, severing a claw from the non-sword hand as it reached for him.

Ben delivered a powerful combination of moves that he couldn’t have begun to analyze, and he disarmed his opponent. Ben huffed breathlessly; the sword suddenly grew very heavy, and he seemed clumsy with it now that the danger was gone. Yet some of the strength remained. Ben shoved his much taller enemy up against the wall, “Tell me!” he breathed, “tell me who you are, why you want me, and tell me why you killed my family, and I might end your life quicker!”

The thing chuckled, “Oh, the little child of the king has got some power now.”

Ben forced the blade into its neck, “Tell me what I want to know, or I can make it a lot worse than this!”

The creature continued to chuckle, “Empty threats the child of the king gives, like them all, he is proud of what little power he has gleaned from that sword, so proud he thinks he can kill me, an immortal.”

“Enough with the word games!”

The creature cackled, “The child of the king thinks it can give me orders! Oh, this is too great.”

He launched Ben backward onto the stone plinth in the center of the room. The sword dropped from Ben’s hand as he rubbed his head. The creature leaped backward, rather spryly, to the high-powered flashlight in the center of the room and tapped his claws against the glass.

Ben grabbed at the sword hilt as the shadowy being grinned disjointedly at him. “We were born in the light, yes, but they threw us into that darkened pit, and in that pit, we learned to love the dark and began to become one with the shadows, but you children of the king: weak, pale, things, must have the light. So let’s see how you fare without any!”

The monster struck the flashlight, shattering it into pieces and plunging the room into darkness. Ben caught hold of the sword but didn’t know where to hit with it. The thing wrapped around him like a snake, coiling its greater mass across him and digging its claws into his shoulders. “You are mine now, a soul for me to devour.”

Ben struggled to stay upright as burning pain shot through his shoulders every time the creature adjusted its grip. The sword was useless; whatever instinct he had controlled was gone. He gasped for air and finally collapsed to his knees, the sword falling from his grip.

“You have no power that can stand against mine,” the creature said smoothly, enjoying every word, “we have existed long before man, and we will do so after.”

Ben fell to his hands and knees. His small flashlight fell out, spinning across the floor and flicking on as it went, sending out a minuscule beam. It was all Ben needed; he threw back his body, crashing to the floor on his back on top of the monster. The beast let out a huff of air in pain, loosening its hold. Ben got back to his knees quickly, striking out three times with his elbows, left, right, and left.

It released him, spinning back across the floor, its talons screeching in protest at its quick stop. Ben grabbed the small flashlight on the ground, seeing the hilt of the sword, but no sooner had he moved towards it. When the monster leaped on him again, Ben swung with his foot, striking the face, and then followed it up with two jabs, then wrapped his hands around the hilt.

A coursing jolt of strength shot through him, and he raised the weapon and sliced straight into his opponent, right through one hand. It toppled to its knees. Ben plowed into it again, and it crumpled to the floor. Ben couldn’t bring himself to strike the prone figure, though he could sense the evil wafting off of it in waves as much as the stench.

He ran out of the cave, guided by the small pin flashlight, and he worked his way back into the large chamber and the river. When he was halfway across the bridge, he heard it creeping up behind him stealthily. In a panic, he leaped the last distance and kicked the log off into the river. The shadowy creature stood on the other side, teeth bared in a grimace of anger. It stepped back, and then, in a flash, it turned and launched itself across the gap. Ben leaped backward and came to a stop when he saw it falling short. The entity grappled at the edge, stopping its fall and digging the remaining claws of its remaining hand into solid stone. Growling the while, it proceeded to lift itself up slowly. Ben, in a panic, drew his blade and lifted it high above his head. The eyeless face looked at him in such rage that he closed his eyes as he struck down with the blade straight through its head.

He opened his eyes to see its frozen face in a snarl. He watched in fascinated horror as it decomposed before his eyes into nothing but bones, very human-looking bones, and fell back into the water in moments. Ben gasped out as the stench in the air disappeared, and he sheathed his sword before walking out of the cave system.

He came up short at the exit, a faint hint of vile smell reaching him. The voices drifted like shifting whispers, yet he could, like earlier, understand them inexplicably. He found that seemingly all of his new abilities were tied to the sword he held.

“It cannot be so!” One voice hissed, “We killed her! It is over! She dared challenge us: she took up the sword, and we flattened her! He cannot be like her!”

“Vaynes himself agreed,” a much deeper voice said, “that there was nothing special about the boy. We do not need to fear any threat from him!”

Ben came up short at the sound of the doctor’s name. Vaynes was in league with them? He should have known. He crept closer to the exit, the smell intensifying until he forgot what it was like to breathe fresh air.

“Vaynes is worthless,” said a third voice, “he couldn’t even get the amulet right for the first three tries! I say the boy is just as dangerous. That is why we are out here in the first place: we find him, we kill him, end of…”

Ben’s rain boot scuffed the edge of the cave. Silence reigned for a moment, then the first voice, “Is that you, Hixiazier?”

Ben stepped out, brandishing his sword, to face eleven dark creatures in a semicircle around the entrance, one holding me in his sharp claws and putting a knife to my neck. Ben started in surprise, “Titus? What are you doing here?”

He then noticed I had a filthy cloth in my mouth and didn’t bother trying anymore to get an answer out of me. Instead, he looked towards my captor, “What do you all want with me? What did I ever do to you?”

“Oh, much has been done to us, little child of the king, and you will suffer for it as will all the children.”

“Release Titus to me!”

“You’ll find I am in the position of power here! Give me the sword, and Titus will go free, but you we will kill.”

Ben thought for a moment, then, looking at me, he nodded and turned in a circle. Pointing at each being, he said, “I give you one chance to release him and leave never to return, or I will slay you all where you stand.”

The chief, or whatever he was, who held me against him, making me want to gag at his smell, snorted. Then that snort became two, then a chuckle, and he was laughing, and the others joined in. Ben stood in the center of their circle, annoyed, as the monsters around him cackled in amusement.

Ben felt in his pocket and pulled out the knife he had found earlier. While the sword seemed to give him the abilities. He wondered if his skills translated over to other objects. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he hefted the knife, removing its sheath. Then, amidst continuing cackles, he threw it, hilt over the blade, spinning in a perfect line that struck straight through the chief beast’s skull. He tipped back his body, decomposing into bones, without him even realizing it.

In moments, the others were on him, trying to attack him simultaneously as roars of their displeasure pervaded the air. Ben struck out desperately, backing up and reaching out a few blows with his legs to help clear them away. He felled one and leaped back over its carcass to reach a corner from which to defend himself. Finding this refuge, he fought back with such ferocity that they were driven away and had to regroup.

Even with his strength and sword, they had the advantage, and he quickly began to tire, unable to strike out and just barely blocking each blow they attempted to give. Ben grunted in pain as a blade cut into his thigh and tipped him backward. Because of the confined space, only two could get at him at once, and they took the opportunity with shouts of wild anger. A foot (mine) crashed into one creature’s face and tipped him into the other. I pulled Ben up, and he stabbed through one back out of the small alcove where he had fallen. I glanced at him, “Your stances are terrible.”

He grinned, “Too true.”

They dove back in, but Ben fought with renewed energy and cut them to pieces. I did what I could martial arts-wise and succeeded in flattening two before they could cut me to shreds. Ben plowed into the one in front of him and then followed up with his blade. Six skeletons lay on the ground.

I looked towards him, “How are you doing that?”

He shrugged a bit while blocking an enemy’s blow, “I guess it is like riding a bike, you never forget.”

“You never learned,” I said.

He thought for a moment. “Oh, I forgot.”

The fighting broke apart briefly us on one side and them on the other. Five wary monsters watched us from across the clearing. Then, with a roar that shook the trees, the other entered.

He was nearly seven feet tall, his face a grotesque mirror of his smaller brethren around him. He swung a morning star mace around his head, its individual chains rubbing against each other in a soft but scraping metallic cacophony. Ben and I both backed up quickly in surprise. The being glanced up and then looked at the other monsters near him, “Brothers!” He bellowed, “The time draws near! The shaft to the underworld will soon close! Take our fallen brothers and the boy’s father down to the underworld, and I will soon join you using the amulet…”

Ben stared at the large amulet around its neck that looked like a normal medallion around the monster’s neck. His blood chilled as it looked at him and finished, saying, “…when he is dead!”

The other creatures rushed to grab the bones scattered on the floor, each taking one skeleton, so only one was left somewhere behind Ben. The massive beast leered over Ben, swinging the mace, “I am going to smash you like I did your family, then who will deliver you from my hand?”

Ben backed away and brandished his weapon. I yanked on his sweater, “Let’s go!”

“No!” Ben said, “Did you hear what he just said? I am going to kill this monster! I can do it!”

I searched along the ground, coming up with one of the swords that the creatures had carried. I hefted it, surprised at its weight, and looked at Ben, “Then I’m not leaving you again.”

They circled, the two of them, while I tried to figure out how to lift my heavy weapon. The monster struck out first. It lashed its chain forward, nearly smashing into Ben, who dodged out of the way just in time. Ben ran forward and flipped into a perfect front kick, unfortunately failing to compensate for the weight of his sword and crashing short of his mark. The beast laughed and swung the chain around his head, then brought it down straight on top of Ben. Ben tried to roll out of the way and just barely cleared a spike intended for his head, but he lost his grip on his sword.

Panicked, I looked for something to do. I dropped the useless sword and picked up a hefty rock. I hurled it, a little short but close, so I grabbed a new one and ran closer.

Ben searched for his blade but didn’t see it. The monster noticed Ben’s predicament and laughed a horrid cackle that seemed somehow to increase its size. Ben leaped up and dodged the swinging ball nearly the size of his head, still searching for his weapon and finally seeing it in a clump of bushes nearby. He headed in that direction, but the rotten thing blocked his path. “Where are you going, boy?”

Ben launched into a handspring, kicking its chin, and flipped away quickly. The only problem was that now he was further away from his goal. The monster rubbed its chin, “Oh, you are going to pay for that…”

I hurled my second rock, cracking into the back of its skull. It didn’t seem to notice, so I threw another, and finally, it turned to look at me. With a growl, it swung the mace at me. I dropped low and felt the breeze as it blew over my head, and then, scrambling backward, I threw another rock. Now it was really mad, mad as a bull, and just like a bull, it charged. I yelped in fear and ran back as it rammed into a tree behind me, and then the mace came and smashed right behind my ankles. Tripping me forward onto my face. Ben was near the sword when the entity chasing me noticed him. With another roar, it turned and chased him; there was no way he was going to make it in time. I grabbed the sword I had attempted to wield earlier and hurled it like some kind of frisbee or boomerang towards Ben. It clattered short but close enough that Ben was able to roll and catch it up in his hand, striking out moments later to cut into his opponent.

A roar of pain and frustration (pretty much like the rest of his roars) bellowed into the air. The beast swung its mace around, colliding painfully with Ben’s arm. Ben fell to his knees and yelled in pain. His arm sat at a weird angle, as if it were out of joint. I searched for some kind of weapon and threw rock after rock at the monster, who now didn’t seem to mind.

Ben gasped for breath. His arm didn’t appear to be bleeding, but that was a small consolation.

“You can’t defeat me,” It laughed, “don’t you get it? No child of the king can stop me!”

Ben looked up at the monster and then down at the sword next to him, the sword he had used so effortlessly without thinking about it. Then he mumbled something, like the words came to him from another world.

“What?” it asked as I drew near another heavy blade in my hand.

“My power, I have none,” Ben said.

The beast bellowed with laughter, a nasty, very smelly laugh, “You have none exactly. Now, I shall rend you to pieces.”

“I have no power. No. My power is not my own.”

The beast stopped mid-swing. “What did you say?”

Ben finally spoke up, and I was able to hear him as I dragged the sword forward, point on the ground, “My power is not my own!”

The beast backed up a little warily, “You have no power against me.”

“I have no power over you, but my power comes not from myself!” Ben shouted, “You ask who can defeat you? One who is greater than you, and greater than I!” Ben grabbed the sword at his feet. A soft radiance enveloped him, and it was as if his arm had never been injured.

The monster, now looking decidedly frightened, backed up. Ben stepped forward and grabbed his sword from the bushes, holding the other high, he brandished them. Then he attacked. He spun like lightning in a centrifuge. Around and around with both blades flashing, a hum emanated from around him, and the light grew brighter. He brought both blades in front of him and sliced into his opponent, blow after blow, driving it back until it fell to its knees.

It cried out in pain, “You… cannot… stop me! No!”

Ben cast aside the now broken secondary sword and gripped his blade with two hands, “I cannot, but I’m pretty sure we’ve already been over this.”

Then, with a yell, he ran straight at the monster, sword extended like some kind of medieval lance and struck the creature’s heart, plowing into him and through him. It fell back to the ground and disintegrated into nothing more than a pile of bones.

Ben fell to his knees, the light around him dissipated, and his shoulder slumped at a weird angle again, apparently injured once more. He groaned in pain. I ran up to him, “You did it!”

Ben looked up at me, “It wasn’t me.”

I looked around, “Okay… I guess…” I didn’t understand what he was talking about, but I let it go.

He shook his head, “After all that, I still lost.”

I looked at him in surprise, “What? You won!”

“I survived Titus; that is it, and thanks to me, they have my father and nearly killed you. And I was a fool. I was so sure I was right that I couldn’t humble myself to talk to my father until he admitted he was wrong. And my stubborn pride and certainty of being right nearly destroyed our friendship. Standing here seeing that I was right all along, well, that doesn’t make me feel any better, so what I gave up so much to prove I was correct, and now I don’t care.”

“Well, maybe you are right,” I said, “maybe being right wasn’t what you thought it would be, maybe you’ve reached this peak only to realize it wasn’t that tall, but that doesn’t mean you lost, I don’t see the connection.”

“There is a blatant connection: they won. I just barely am alive,” Ben looked at his arm as he said this.

“It is only the end if you let it be the end!”

Ben looked at the medallion on the ground, “The medallion, it could take me to the underworld?”

I kicked it, “I don’t know.”

Ben straightened up. “Can you help me get these weapons to the cave?”

I nodded, “Why?”

“Because I’m going to hide out there, and when the time is right, I will go to the underworld to challenge those creatures and find my family.”