“Welcome to the war!” A fiery red haired man, maybe teenager, slapped Reed hard on his shoulder stumbling Reed forward.
Reed, gaining his balance back with the road beneath him, looked around for the stranger. There was no one to be seen; only a deep mist within a surrounding of buildings that looked familiar. Noises, roars and panicked screams, filled the night air all around Reed, and he could not tell if they were getting closer or farther away. ‘Maybe they were just simply everywhere?’ Reed thought with a deep un-happiness.
“Better get your shield up newbie.” The red haired man bounced out of the mist for a second, a bright light around him. He was gone. The mist seemed to be thicker than possible.
Something was coming, fast and bright with orange and yellow light. Reed could see it in the mist. It was . . . Reed through his hands out in front of him. The flame was on top of him without warning. “N-O-O-O!,” Reed screamed, but he knew he was a dead freshman.
Eyes closed. Reed held his hands out to foolishly try and block a ball of flame that could blanket him; he waited with an expected burning pain to come. ‘Why am I alive?’ Reed opened his eyes, and leaped backwards away from the massive flame. Still the flame seemed to float in the air, blocked by something that almost resembled a clear sheet of blue and white water.
“You learn quick kid.” The red haired man popped back out of the fog, annoyingly smiling. “Now keep your faith and heart on that shield, and you won’t die on your first night.”
“Shield!,” Reed wanted to punch the red haired boy who seemed to be having way too much fun. “Are you kidding me!?”
Something dark, its skin charred black and standing on four legs with a massive head of blackened teeth came out of the mist after the red haired man. Reed lost all thought with the sight of something out of a good horror movie he’d want to be watching safely through his computer screen. Reed’s shield failed, his heart raced up in beats of terror, and he was clipped by the flame’s whipping sides. Reed was spun from the fire tendrils until he hit up against something hard that bounced Reed backwards to his former spot of road.
Reed’s arm and ribs burned and singed with a pain that wouldn’t let up. “MOVE,” the red haired man yelled. Reed didn’t look for a why, he leaped forward in hopes that spot was safer than the one he was in. Reed felt the ground shake, he heard the pavement crack behind him, before he turned his head to see a beast like human standing ten feet tall and five grandpas wide. The beast wore burnt leather pants with nothing but rippling grey muscles left to be seen. His long handled hammer was bigger than most kitchen stoves and currently implanted half a foot into the concrete road.
Beside Reed the red haired man appeared with a shield of white and blue . . . light. The man’s shield swung behind him just in time to block the four legged creature’s massive jaws. The giant muscle man-thing took a big step backwards from Reed’s strange companion. Reed couldn’t imagine why the giant would be backing up, until he saw his companion summon something from his heart to his hands in a flash of light. Reed couldn’t ketch up with everything that was happening. Did he really just see what looked like a lightning bolt zip from the man’s heart to his hands? Did that light just form a three foot sword of white light edged on both sides by a thin, dangerously looking, blue blade?
“You take the puppy.” The red haired man charged the giant, barely dodging a deadly hammer swing.
“What!?,” Reed fell backwards from the “puppy’s” gator size mouth of curved teeth. The thing wasn’t halting its attack, there was no one coming to save Reed, the beast was out to kill. “Sh-sh-SHIELD.” Reed blurted out with his hands up. The beast’s face smacked hard against Reed’s shield. The beast seemed stunned for a second, only a second.
“You must have faith!” The red haired man’s voice came again. Reed wasn’t sure how his companion could waste time with instructions. The guy currently had a giant trying to kill him.
Reed jumped up on his feet just in time to block another open jaw attack. The shield, somehow painful to the beast, made it put a couple paws in reverse. “You don’t like my shield eh.” ‘Try this!,’ Reed pulled his hands inwards towards himself and the shield followed. “KETCH!” Reed launched his hands outwards and his shield crashed with bone crumbling sounds against the beast’s snout.
Reed watched with great pleasure what he’d accomplished. The shield had not only knocked the beast back. The beast was laid out across the pavement with a broken face and ash scattered amongst the road around it. “OH YEAH.”
Reed looked around for the red haired man. Reed wanted to show off his kill, to let the stranger congratulate Reed on this achievement. The stranger was missing along with the giant. “Of course,” Reed sighed. “I actually kick some butt, and the guy is off to play in the mist again.”
Growls rumbled the misty air around Reed from every side. Reed pulled his shield in close to him, but he knew it wasn’t going to protect him from every angle. Black charred wolf heads stepped out of the mist to surround Reed ten to one. “Not good,” Reed swallowed the words in hopes of pushing down the need to vomit up pure fear and a ham sandwich with extra tomatoes.
“Draw your sword fool.” An elegant voice came down beside Reed with a face half covered in dark purple hair that bounced down by her waist. She landed with a thrust of air that through the mist backwards to fully reveal the ten beast. “Focus,” her lips, a lighter shade of purple, spoke to Reed. Wings, beautiful wings of white and blue light were flowing out of her back. She had them up and at an angle. The way she had them made Reed figured they were weapons themselves.
“Focus, newbie,” the angel girl frowned at Reed.
Reed yanked his thoughts and eyes back to the beast around them. “Sword,” Reed held out his hand to get a sword, but nothing came. The beasts attacked at once. Reed flung his shield at the closest one. Reed’s shield slapped the beast off of its feet. There was no time to check for a kill, Reed had nine other beasts moving in on him and the winged girl.
The girl’s wings were swift spears of light in the dark. Reed fell out of the way of one beast’s lunge. And he saw the girl’s wings stab deep into two beasts, her attack killed them instantly. Before Reed could get to his feet, he was saved from becoming dinner by a wing that cut an inch over his head to slice off the open jawed beast that would have claimed Reed for dinner.
“Summon your sword already.” The winged girl growled. She wrapped them both up inside of her wings in a gust of wind. The beast outside slammed against her wings ferociously. Reed could feel his heart beating out of control.
“What sword?” Reed couldn’t stop shaking. His body didn’t feel like it belonged to him. His hands were shaking so badly he couldn’t begin to hide the fact from the awesome wing girl saving his butt.
The girl’s hands, at ease and smooth, grabbed Reed’s shaking hands. Her touch was gentle and yet Reed was sure she had the power to snap his bones in half. “Are you a son of God or not?”
“Am I saved?” The girl’s bored expression was enough to answer Reed. “Yes, but I don’t remember being told I’d have to fight ‘puppies’ the size of my mom’s car, or dodge hammer’s that could make me into a fine jam!”
Pain jerked at the winged girl’s otherwise calm gaze. “You are a son of God, you have Holy within you, use Him.” Her eyes squeezed closed and a whisper of ache pushed out from between her purple lips. “Holy is your guardian, LET HIM OUT.”
A force threw Reed off of the pavement. He was several feet above the girl. He should have been panicking, not knowing how to fly, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Her wings busted outwards against the remaining seven beasts with explosive force. The beasts were hurled outwards from her in every direction. Reed hit the ground with a thud.
Reed, pain becoming something of a constant fact in his strange new place, dragged himself up on his feet. The beast were coming back at a hungry run. Reed knew he would need more than a shield. ‘Holy is in me.’ Reed held out his hand, and his shield formed. ‘Faith,’ the shield held strong in front of Reed. The beast were close; they would be on top of him and the girl in seconds.
‘Sword, sword, . . . sword,’ the beast leaped for the kill. “WORD OF GOD,” Reed’s shield connected with one beast, as his heart warmed, something amazing leaped through Reed’s body to his right hand, and a sword of light caught a second beast through its neck.
Beast after beast attacked no matter how quick the one before it fell to ash. Reed sliced through the air hard as he could, his shield flipping from behind him, beside him, in front of him, and to his back again trying to keep teeth out of his skin. Reed hit the pavement hard, his head wacked the road. His shield, though he couldn’t remember moving it, blanketed him just in time to ketch the last wolf.
The beast pulled its jaws far apart for a massive bite; while, it stood down on top of Reed and his shield. Reed saw the beast intentions. With his sword Reed barely caught the beast under its neck. His blade sliced the wolf’s head clean of its body. The body fell sideways off of Reed, the wolf’s head fell forward over Reed’s face.
“Seriously,” Reed sighed. He could feel the tongue and teeth of the beast over his own cheeks and nose.
“Ha, ha, ha, that’s one way to get close to your kills” The winged girl’s laugh was not refreshing to Reed. He pushed the beast’s head off of his own, and stood up with what dignity he may have had left. “I think you have some wolf slobber on your chin.” She laughed again, a big smile on her sharp featured face only made her seem more beautiful.
Reed wiped his chin with his sleeve. “What is all this for?” In a short time Reed had been attacked by a wolf, burnt by fire, almost squashed, and saved by some crazy guy and an angelic like girl with beautiful dark skin. He’d had enough. “Why am I here?”
“Sure you want the answer to that?” Her smile fell away to the calm cheeked girl from before. “This is your training day, but I can take you to the purpose if you like.”
Reed rolled his eyes at the idea of some purpose he was meant for. “Look, I’m Reed Leonine, and you are?”
“kaitlyn Willows, and if you roll your eyes at me again I’ll slap you,” Kaitlyn slightly smiled after such strong words. Reed wasn’t sure if she was serious, but he thought maybe he should call her bluff another night.
“Ok.” Reed held his shield outwards around him with his left hand, and his sword rested weightless within his right hand. “Show me why I’m here.”
“Don’t throw up on the wings.” Kaitlyn swooped up Reed like he was a child in her arms. With one thrust of her wings both of them were off the ground with skin waving speed.
“This is a little degrading.” When kaitlyn didn’t respond, Reed looked down to see what was going on. The thick mist was covering everything for several miles. Flickering lights of white and blue could be seen in the dark mist, but there wasn’t enough to see who was fighting what. Building, the tall ones, stood up over the mist, but the building were dark and empty. There were no street lights, no cars, no neon lights, just a dark mist and the light of those fighting in the dark.
Kaitlyn’s straight flight dove hard downwards towards a house that was surrounded by people working with Holy to fight a barrage of beasts, many Reed had never seen before. “This is your purpose.” Kaitlyn dropped down with a crash through the roof.
When she unwrapped her wings from around Reed, he found himself in a young woman’s bedroom. She was sitting on her bed with a gun in her hands. She was crying, her hands shaking, and something, something thick like a shadow was sitting beside her.
The shadow’s head, what Reed assumed was the head, turned towards Reed. “This is your new recruit, hmm.” The shadow turned back to the woman and whispered something into her ear, and she began to cry harder.
“What,” Reed was deeply scared for someone else for the first time in the night. “Stop him!” Reed screamed at Kaitlyn
The shadow laughed loudly. His voice was rich with honey for the ear drum. His voice was smooth and made the air around Reed feel lovely. “She can’t fight me young one.” The Shadow stood up off of the bed. “Can you Kaitlyn.” A flick of the shadow’s wrist, and Kaitlyn screamed so loud Reed felt the hair on his arms stand up tight. She looked like she’d taken a cannon ball to the chest, and then she was launched through the bed room wall into the next room.
“Kaitlyn!,” Reed whipped out his shield and sword, and charged the shadow. The shadow didn’t move. Reed brought his sword down as hard as he could bring his muscles to stretch. The blade struck true. Reed watched his blade slice down the shadows head, through his body, and cut deep into the foundation of the house.
“Now you die.” Reed pulled his sword out of the house floor, and took one step back. The shadow was still there, still intact. “You were suppose to die.”
The shadow flicked his wrist at Reed, and Reed braced himself for the worse. When nothing happened; Reed looked around to see if the shadow had missed. There didn’t seem to be any new damage.
“What, is your hand out of ammo?” Reed looked back where kaitlyn had been blasted backwards. She was slowly getting up on her feet. She no longer looked calm. Blood dribbled down her nose, her body was darkened with bruises from her face to her arms and legs. “Get out of here Kaitlyn.”
Kailtyn’s wings expanded, prepared to launch herself out of the fight. “Talk to her Reed.” Kailtyn’s wings slammed the house floor, and she was gone up through the roof into the night sky.
Reed turned to look at the woman. She seemed so desperate for something, anything. He’d seen this look before. “Put the gun down.”
“This shouldn’t be to hard.” The shadow sat back down beside her. “You want to be free from the hate that surrounds you every day, end it quickly.”
Reed walked over to the woman, bent down to her level, and put his hand on top of hers that was holding the gun. “Don’t give up; please, remember a laugh, a warm hug, a friend’s warm thank you.”
The woman’s eyes tilted towards the gun, her hand slowly lifting it.
“You will be free from everything with no pain or regret.” The shadow held out his hand over the room, and a thick blanket of darkness began to fill the room.
Reed put his shield over the lady’s head, but he wasn’t sure if it would be any help. “Don’t do this, don’t fail to experience the joy out there.” Reed’s throat tightened as he watched her put the gun to her temple.
“No more pain, only beautiful sleep with the true winner being you.” The shadow began to whistle a slow melody that screamed of a liars peace.
Reed hated the tune. “Please, stop!” Reed tried to grab the gun, but his hand swam through the gun, and the lady didn’t seem to notice anything around her. “ . . . Love, LOVE, remember what it is to be loved to give love.”
Reed sighed as he watched her pause. He was sure he’d hit something important to her. “Love is still here. People are still here that can give you love. God loves you.”
“Yes,” The shadow almost laughed as he agreed with Reed. “Remember the husband that cheated on you, the son that blames you. Remember the boyfriend after boyfriend who claimed love, only to use you for a trophy with bragging rights. Remember this worlds idea of love.”
“Love,” Reed got the word out of his mouth. The woman hit the barrel of the gun against her head and screamed. “ST-O-O-OP,” Reed lunged forward to stop her. An echo that followed was unmistakable. With a ringing in his ears, Reed spun around from his pointless lung. She was on the floor with blood flowing.
Reed dropped to his knees beside her still body. “I . . . I failed you.” Reed slammed his fist hard on the floor. “You will pay for this!” He jumped up off the floor with his shield and sword at the ready, but the darkness was gone, the shadow was gone. The damage to the room was gone, everything was changing including the mist. Reed looked down with hopes of an empty floor. The dead body was still there.
Reed dropped down on the floor beside her with a clunk. He felt horrible. His heart seemed to slow, his lungs were tight, and he was sure there were tears forming in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Reed bowed his head and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry Lord; I failed you.”
“You didn’t fail anyone.” The voice was unmistakable. Reed looked up to see the red haired guy from the mist and beside him was a beaten and bruised Kaitlyn.
Reed got to his feet. He wasn’t in that dead woman’s room any longer. He was in his room. “Is this a test?”
“No.” Kailtyn slowly shook her head. “We lost her, but you aren’t the one that failed.”
“She needed help, and I wasn’t able to help her.” Reed rolled his eyes at Kaitlyn. His left cheek felt the sting before his eyes had register the girl’s hand coming across his face. “What the . . . Sorry.”
“The decision is theirs; we can only fight off the darkness and give what love and guidance we can.” Kaitlyn sighed, and stepped a few feet back from Reed. “You will fail sometimes and you will succeed sometimes, but that final decision is never yours.”
“We’ll try again soon.” The red haired guy had a big smile on his face. “Perhaps I won’t have to save your butt some much next time.” He put his hand out to Reed. Reed shook the man’s hand. “I’m Jake Landers by the way.”
Reed released Jake’s hand. “Take me to another house, now.” Reed was looking directly at Kaityn. “Take me, now, please.”
Jake side stepped in between Kaitlyn and Reed. “Woe Reed, we need time to rest.” Jake waved his hand in a carefree manner. “We’re not the only ones out there after all.”
Reed looked down at his chest towards his own heart. ‘Holy, Jesus, guide me.’ Reed looked directly into Kaitlyn’s saddened eyes. “Take me to another shadow; I’ll handle the rest.”
Kaitlyn’s chest bloomed with light that warped behind her into a massive pair of wings that covered Reed’s bedroom walls. “You can die fighting in the spiritual world just as easy as you can in the physical.” Kaitlyn’s purple lips curved upwards. “Still want to go?”
Reed walked over to kaitlyn. “Let’s do this.” Kaitlyn’s wings launched her and Reed from his house to the high skies. Kailtyn seemed to know exactly where she needed to go. Reed couldn’t see anything but semi lit cities below him.
“There.” Kaitlyn pointed to a spot in the distance below, and began her dive towards the house. Reed, again, hit the floor of a bed room, and found himself in a room with a shadow whispering honey lined evil into someone’s ear.
“Kaitlyn, get out of here.” Reed walked over to what looked like a boy who seemed no older than himself. Kaitlyn’s departure was hard to miss, as her wings through burst of wind and cracked like thunder as she ascended.
“So you’ve come to try again so soon?” The shadow didn’t look away from the young man who held a palm full of pills in one hand with a liquor bottle in the other.
“I didn’t come to try anything.” Reed cupped his hands in front of his heart. ‘You are Holy, you are the guardian sent to us by Jesus himself.’ Reed felt emotion and energy begin to churn within his chest within his heart.
The shadow must have sensed something dangerous coming. The dark creature began to fill the room with a thick black shadow that covered everything including Reed. Nothing could be seen but the darkness.
Reed ignored the bites of doubt coming at him from the darkness covering his skin. Only one thing mattered to Reed; that boy’s soul. ‘Holy, I need your help.’ Reed opened his hands a little. ‘Holy, I need your strength and love.’ Reed’s insides began to stir, his muscles shook, his heart felt overwhelmed with a passion that could light a world. ‘Holy, I call on you in great need’ Tears began to flow from Reed’s eyes and run swiftly down his shaking cheeks. Reed felt the feeling he’d felt the night he’d been saved. He felt surrounded in a Love he’d never be able to describe fully.
“You are too weak!” The shade roared within the dark. “You are nothing but a boy too weak to protect his mother from his drunken father.” The shade was getting closer. “You failed to protect your friend from those bullies. You failed to protect your mother, your sister, and even that woman now dead thanks to YOU.”
Reed took in each of the shade’s words. He heard them, and felt his greatest fear. He felt the fear of failure pushing against Holy. He felt himself losing again tonight.
“You see young Reed, you are your very fear.” The shades breath was in Reed’s face. He could feel the hot steam across his forehead. “You are a failure; you will become your father. You are not loved.”
Reed let his hands fall to his side. His knees felt weak; he felt weak. Reed dropped to the floor on his knees. “I’m sorry boy; I’m sorry.” Tears continued to roll down Reed’s cheeks and splash on the wooden flooring. “I’m sorry you got stuck with me for a defender.”
The shade’s cold hand rested on Reed’s head. “Failures can’t help but be what they are Reed.”
Reed’s heart pulsed a ripple that jerked Reed up off of the floor and back onto his feet. ‘GET UP.’ The voice was rich with authority that breathed out unwavering force and prowess. ‘You are my son, you are my prince, you are my brother, you are my friend, you are MINE.’ Holy’s voice roared inside of Reed, but at the same time, Reed felt himself be wrapped up in a full body hug that sang of immortal love. ‘You are my purpose.’ Holy filled Reed leaving nothing untouched by an intense love and passion. ‘You are my son, and I am proud of you! You are loved; YOU ARE LOVED BY ME.’
Reed opened his eyes. Light, Holy’s light, pure and living, poured out of Reed’s eyes. Reed could see through the shade’s darkness. He could see the boy shaking and scared as he decided life or death. Reed put his hands back up by his chest, both hands wide open to receive Holy. The shade screamed with a terror that betrayed his otherwise sweet voice.
Reed smiled. “I am loved, and I can show you by whom.” Reed looked the shade in its dark face. “Holy.” The name rolled gently and confidently out of Reed’s mouth. Light busted into the darkness shattering it until the room was filled with only Holy’s presence. The shade had been destroyed.
Reed looked over at the boy. “You are loved; God loves you.”