N o t D e a d Y e t
Disclaimer: I do not own the following characters you will find in the story, The Firstborn, Hanne Lichthammer, Maltheus, Cassus Vicus, Arnold Leach, creatures or the Jericho team. If I did, it would be glorious as they are awesome. I do however own James.
WARNING: This story contains gore... lots of gore.
Part 1: The Worst Beginning.
It's a strange feeling being protected by a kind of supernatural force from birth. People who annoy or hurt you get a kick from good old karma… or at least you think it's karma. I, Peter Gray, part of the special force team remember a certain someone who had this supernatural protection. This is his story… from my point of view.
Adam Gore was born on the third of March 1990. It was a good day for his parents who were clueless to what was going to happen. Psychics in my force detected a source of power from the hospital that day. I had just joined the force almost a week earlier and was called out to my first job. It was to inspect the family and their new baby.
I arrived at the hospital with my visor over my eyes and walked up to the reception. As I began to talk I noticed a flicker on the screen. I looked round the corridor to see what it was. There was a sense of death with this figure. I walked down the corridor ignoring the receptionist who repeatedly told me to stop. After a short walk I had approached the figure and was facing it full on. With the visor it was a blur of colours to indicate evil. I switched the visor only to reveal a most horrid sight.
There hanging from the roof with a noose was a short and extremely fat man suspended from the floor by around three feet. I took a step back as I examined the body. Through training I had seen some awful sights but nothing like this. The man was covered in large gashes that leaked blood which dripped on the floor. His head was drooped. I kneeled slightly to catch a glimpse of his face. His eyes had been gouged out and his bottom jaw removed. I took a picture for later identification.
As I turned to look away I bumped into a nurse. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was miles away," I said.
"That's ok," she replied and picked up her clipboard.
As she walked away I lightly grabbed her arm. "Can I ask you a question?"
She gave him a confused look. "Of course…"
"Did something happen here involving a hanging?"
Her eyes suddenly glared and she dropped her clip board. She took a look around and then a deep breath. "There was a suicide last year. We don't know if he was insane or trying to get help. Either way, he cut out his eyes and hung himself. No one actually knows how he lost his jaw. People talk about a large figure with a blade for a hand and wearing medieval armour. They said that it appeared, checked him over and then cracked his jaw straight off."
I took this information down. As I made the full stop, the lights flickered. We both looked around. I shook my head and thanked the nurse for her time.
I approached the room where the family was situated and stood at the door. The couple stared down at the baby with loving eyes. I knocked the already open door and walked forward. "Mr and Mrs Gore?" I asked.
They nodded and I walked to the end of the hospital bed. "My name is Peter and I'm here to look after your child. I have been sent by SF to watch over your family throughout your child's life. I believe I was requested?"
"That's correct. Are you prepared?" asked the father.
I nodded and took out my notepad again. I quickly flipped the page so they couldn't see the story on the hung man. As I took down the details on the birth, Adam watched me with curious eyes. It was as if he knew who I was; he could see right through me.
As I finished writing down the details the mother in the next bed fell silent. I stared over; she lay with her head facing Adam, glaring and bloodshot. Her skin turned pale-blue as if all her blood had gone straight to her eyes. I walked over to the bed and waved my hand in front of her face. There was no reaction. I called for a nurse. I was pushed out of the way as she ran into the room.
The nurse grabbed the woman's head and turned it so it was facing the roof. The woman's expression changed from dead to angry within the space of a second. She grabbed the nurse's arm and lunged forward to take a bite. Her teeth ripped straight into the flesh and she pulled away. The nurse screamed and fell holding her arm as the blood spurted from the ripped veins and arteries onto the floor. The woman stood and reached out towards Adam. "Give me your child," she said.
Her voice was distorted and almost deep. She lunged at him, hissing. I grabbed her before she could clutch him and threw her back. She slammed against the wall. As she stared into my eyes I could see she was going to attack. She opened her mouth wide and roared; I had to cover my ears as it was almost defining. The roar turned into a scream and as she raised her head her body was ripped apart as though she had a bomb in her body. Body parts flew over the room and blood painted the walls.
"Holy sh…" the father began.
"I wouldn't use blasphemy at this moment," I interrupted. "I'd give it around five minutes."
Data Entry 1: Blasphemy after the Supernatural
A rule in training for the Special Forces is: If you encounter a supernatural feat, never use blasphemy in any form. It's a strange rule but I learn to live by it. The reason… well, let's just say that one of my colleagues had a terrible run in with death after screaming holy hell during the ghost of mad mansion. A second ghost appeared and decapitated the poor soul. Thus I live without cursing.
After getting cleaned up and calling in some SF forensic scientists, I took a walk around the hospital to see if I could spot any other abnormalities in patients or even just spiritual presences. All I found was a couple of people throwing up blood and some guardians. Guardians are simply ghosts blessed upon children to be protected. Unfortunately for Adam, all he could get was me. I am not a big believer in God but from what I see now and then, there is definitely something, or someone, controlling the coming and going of Karma.
The next day, Adam was allowed to go home with his parents. They lived in a nice village called Wilkieston where there was a group of rowed houses off the main road. A main road ran through the middle but it was far enough away not to disturb the goings on in the house. Beside the house where they were living was a smaller attachment that had been empty for around five years. I decided to live there for the time being. It was a long and hard time to get the house clear of spirits, mice and even spiders. Eventually it was redecorated and a door was placed so there was a passage from house to house.
The first five years were quiet and hassle free. Adam was growing up well and had begun Primary School in the nearby town of East Calder. To be safe, I was always present in the area where Adam was and had good communication with everyone who was with him for extended periods of time. All was good, until one day.
It was March the second. Adam was well settled into school and had plenty of friends. The day passed without a stir, then came lunch. All the children were out playing in the playground. I sat at a near by skate park looking into my visor, checking on cases and reading past information. I found the information on the man in the hospital. His name was Graham Roberts. He was in hospital for his obesity and schizophrenia. He had been hearing voices telling him to open the 'Breach' and to give himself up to the great lord.
As the picture came up of him in his normal state there was a flash of a strange figure and the picture changed in to his hung state. I turned off the visor and took it off to check it for dents or any damage.
As I looked down at the playground I noticed a dark aura around the football field. I stood and started towards it, each step closer made it seem as though the dark aura of the playground grew darker. I put on the visor to see what kind of aura I was dealing with before getting to close to be affected. It was hate.
Data Entry 2: Hate
Hate is something that should not be messed with. It has an awful effect on the environment around the source if it is able to spread. Hate is like a virus that when it is airborne. It spreads from person to person slowly creating havoc.
I stood at a fence and watched the game of football being played. Adam was a goalkeeper and moved from side to side a lot even if the ball was on the other half of the pitch. "How's the game going?" I asked.
"See that boy down there with the yellow t-shirt?"
I nodded. "He's cheating and making me angry."
"Just don't lose your head," I told him.
He nodded and continued watching the ball with concentration. I walked around the fence to a gate and began talking to the supervisor. She told me that the boy had been aggravating Adam throughout the whole game. This was a bad sign.
As I turned to look across the playing fields there was a flash in the corner of my eye. I looked around to see Adam and the boy lying on the grass and all the other children holding there ears. Behind them all I noticed a large bulge of darkness with beams of lightning flashing from all directions. Suddenly a dark figure came out of the dark cloud and levitated into the air over the whole playground. "My children," said a deep voice, as if it had missed them.
The area changed into complete darkness, only the figure giving off light. I jumped the fence and grabbed Adam. While running back towards the fence behind I took a picture of the glowing character for a quick analysis. Nothing was retrieved. I jumped back over the fence still holding onto Adam. Dropping him lightly onto the grass I pulled out the parts and assembled my gun. The figure floating in the sky raised its arms and was shrouded in dark shapes.
It went dark… All there was was a low humming sound and a light breeze. Then came an explosion that rattled the ground and lit up the whole area with a blinding white light. The large dark shapes that had covered the figure were thrown to the ground. I regained my balance and opened my eyes again. It was still dark, but this time there was a sense of death in the air. Standing on the roof of the school building and still glowing was the tall figure. He was dressed in white robes with a crucifix. His head was bowed and his arms were stiff as though he was in a trance. Suddenly on the playground there was a buzzing of flies. As I stared at them they lifted the dead body of the supervisor and stripped the bone clean then demolished the bone before disappearing into thin air. Still staring I noticed green lights coming from random areas of the playground. These lights lifted into the air and began to take human like forms. It was the children!
I staggered back in horror as their flesh was returned… or at least half of it. The children had no legs or arms. They were dressed in what looked like medieval chain-mail and cloths with the crucifix also. They screamed like they were in immense pain as what seemed like tentacles appeared from their shoulders. "Come to me Adam," said the voice from the roof.
The crowd turned to their creator. Adam was sat next to my legs glaring at his schoolmates. The figure turned to face us and yelled out in anger. I suddenly recognised who this was.
Data Entry 3: Bishop Maltheus St. Claire.
I found an article on this man in the store room once. It was said that he was insane. He convinced the pope to send an army of children to fight at Al-Khali as he believed that with their innocence, God would not let them die. Oh how he was wrong. Every child was slaughtered; but because of this tragedy, Maltheus earned a right as a supreme being. By this point I had the file taken from me and was excused whenever I mentioned the incident or Al-Khali.
Maltheus moved toward us. I loaded my weapon and opened fire; to no avail. He was being protected by a kind of force field that was blocking my bullets. He stopped half way and raised his arms. "Seize the boy!" he ordered.
The children began screaming again as they began to move towards us with their tentacles flailing in all directions. I opened fire. I was ordered to protect this child no matter what. As each child was splayed across the playground, the crowd was getting smaller and Maltheus seemed to get angrier and brighter. He raised his arms once again and had a direct affect on the children. They stopped their screams and froze, suspended in the air. "I will get him myself," he said.
He put his hands out in front of him and clenched his fists hard. The dark shapes returned and sealed Maltheus in complete dark. I grabbed Adam and began running across the field, unaware of where I was going. There was another burst of light and an angry yell from Maltheus. It was as though he had a megaphone and stood right next to me.
I suddenly bumped into a wall. I turned on the light at the end of my gun and pointed it at the wall. It was a painting. I recognised that it was the Infirmary. I ran around the corner searching for the door. I ran towards it but was stopped by a child that appeared from the ground. It thrust forward and rapped its tentacles around Adam's neck. I aimed my gun at its head. It turned to look straight down into my eyes and squealed. I pulled the trigger, making blood splatter on the glass door. The tentacles loosened their grip and Adam took a deep breath. The flies came and took the child's body.
I burst through the door with Adam. The room was normal. The sun was shining through the windows and there were normal people sitting waiting to be taken for a check up. "What's going on here?" I said under my breath.
I walked up to the counter followed closely by Adam, who too was confused by the normality. Over the counter, sitting on a computer chair was a plump woman in a nurse's outfit. She looked up and gasped at my blood drenched clothes. "Oh my God! What happened to you?!" she yelled.
Everyone turned to stare at us. I shook my head. "Does no one know what is going on out there?!" I yelled in disbelief.
The expression on the faces changed as if to say we were crazy. Adam was taken off me by two nurses and taken into a room to be analysed. I sighed. I walked over to the waiting room and slumped onto one of the chairs. A child was sat next to me and stared at the blood. "Are you a bad man?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I help people who are in trouble, like the police do," I answered.
"So why are you covered in sticky blood?"
"Some bad people tried to hurt me and the boy I was with. I tried to stop them."
The girl's mother came through and gave me a wet cloth. "Thank you," I said.
She sat next to her daughter and fell silent. The girl tugged on her jacket and said, "He's not a bad man mummy, he's a good man, he was helping that boy."
I smiled at her attempt to prove me innocent but was given an "Okay dear". The girl snuffed and turned to face me again. "I believe you."
I smiled. Just as I was about to speak the door of the infirmary opened. A tall man with a large white coat walked in and stood at the counter. The girl began telling me a story of her father when he was in the Police Force fighting "bad men" and being injured. As I listened to the story the tall man walked past me and started towards the door where Adam was inside. I looked up and stood.
"Excuse me sir, if you are not a doctor could you move away from the door please?" I said.
The man turned slowly and faced me. He held out his arms. "Will you try and stop me?" said the man with a deep voice.
It was Maltheus! A crucifix slowly faded in on his coat and a large grin started on his face. He began to laugh as he pulled his arms together slowly dulling the light in the building. I couldn't understand how he could do this. He was in a place of innocent people; then suddenly I remembered the nurse. She used blasphemy at the site of our blood drenched clothes. This entitled Maltheus to use unholy powers before the innocent.
I reached for my gun and turned on the light as the light was stolen. Maltheus had entered the room and disappeared from my sight. "Damn it!"
I heard a crash as though a wall had fallen. I swung round and aimed the light at one of the walls. It had in fact fallen. In the hole I saw a figure standing still. Its hands were pointed and rigid, its head seemed to be covered. As the dust cleared I saw clearly what had happened. All the people had turned into creatures. The creature stared at me through the wall with one eye. The head was in fact covered with what looked like a sand bag. Its body was scratched and covered in dry and fresh blood. It wore a rag around its waist and had large blades for hands.
I loaded the gun and aimed again. It threw back its head and let out a loud shriek. As it dived forward I pulled the trigger, causing its head to explode in all directions. Blood and brain fragments flew around as the body fell to its knees and then flopped onto the floor. Through the wall, all the other creatures stood staring down at their fallen comrade. There heads slowly lifted to face me. Some of the heads were uncovered; their faces were expressionless with bulbous eyes and drooling mouths.
They began to shriek simultaneously and began running towards me. I opened fire while slowly walking towards the room where Adam was taken. I opened the door and slammed it shut grabbing a chair and placing it against locking out the hellish creatures. I turned to see that the room had been destroyed and was now open to the field. I walked onto the grass looking around. There was some visibility as there was a brownish glow in the clouds above. "Adam!" I called.
There was an odd silence in the area. "Where is everyone?" I asked myself.
I began walking forward and caught a white figure out the side of my eye. It was Maltheus. He held Adam by one of his arms and gave an evil laugh. "If you want him Peter, come and get him!"
"How the hell do you know my name!" I yelled in anger.
He gave another laugh and disappeared into the local church. I ran towards it, adrenalin buzzing in my veins driving me forward. I shoved the large doors open and walked slowly inside, gun at the ready. As I panned about, rows of candles burst into flames, giving the hall an orange glow. It was dull and slightly chilling. My visor was detecting evil everywhere. I began to shudder in fear.
I got half way down the hall when a large curtain with a crucifix printed on it moved along to the side of the hall. Behind it stood Maltheus with his back facing me. As he turned, he took a step to the side revealing Adam tied to a crucifix. He was out cold.
"I'm here Maltheus, hand him over," I said with a shaky voice.
"Your not scared are you Peter? A brave man like you has surely seen worse things than this?"
"No I haven't actually. Killing hundreds of children wasn't in the training. It's just borderline sick!"
"So the soldier came unprepared for battle," he made a tutting noise which echoed around the church hall. "Shame, I was hoping for a decent fight."
He grinned and turned to Adam. "It's worth a try," I said.
"Ha! That's just borderline suicide; a small man like you against a God like me! You see, once I spill this child's blood, I will gain access to the breach, offering my soul to The Firstborn and gaining infinite power."
"What the hell are you on about?!"
"They didn't train you to that either? I am well and truly shocked. You have no chance at all!" he began laughing and pulled out a blade.
As he faced Adam once again, I ran forward and opened fire. He was still protected by some form of force field. I pulled out my own blade, darted forward and lunged it into his crotch. He yelled out with agony. I didn't know what to do, I blanked out. He grabbed me by the neck and lifted me off the ground. "You will pay for that!" he exclaimed through his teeth.
He lifted me higher and through me down the hall. I stood slowly and steadied myself. I lifted my gun as he lifted his arms, expecting the worst. At that moment, green ghosts began appearing from the floor. The children had returned. They turned solid and began darting forward at their master's command. I began shooting once again, trying to hold them off. After about a minute they disappeared and Maltheus levitated above the ground and stared down directly at me. The dark shapes returned and sealed him. This time I reacted straight away. I dived underneath the nearest pew and held my hands over my head. There was a crash and the pew crumbled into hundreds of splints. I looked up. Maltheus looked weak. I opened fire again.
The bullets worked! Piercing his skin over and over spilling blood onto the ground below. My gun jammed suddenly. Maltheus let out a painful scream as the children returned. However this time they began attacking Maltheus; tentacles slashing at his flesh and pulling him apart. "No my children! Cease! Cease!" he yelled.
I watched the carnage, cringing as one of his legs was torn off. His body fell to the floor. I stood directly in front of him. He arched his back to look up at me. "Have peace brother… help me," he said weakly.
"Help this," I said and lodged a bullet into his head.
I ran up to Adam and untied him from the crucifix. He slowly came back down to earth and lay on the floor staring at the ceiling. I called up headquarters on my visor.
"I need immediate reinforcement in East Calder ASAP," I said now calm.
"Sure thing sir," said the voice.
I kneeled to speak to Adam. His head was bruised. "Adam? There is a pharmacy not far away, can you wait for five minutes?" I said while handing him a pistol.
I knew he knew how to use it. He nodded. I stood and walked down the hall to the door. It burst open…