Chapter 11: Fidelis
TWO HOURS AND TEN MINUTES LATER:
Barry got out of the theater and pulled out his phone, smiling at the texts from Lisa. 'Maybe I shouldn't have chugged the soda then ate the popcorn.' Barry thought as he read them.
L: I'M SO ALONE
L: BORED
L: IMMA EAT YOUR SECTION OF THE CAKE
L: OKAY, I WAS JUST KIDDING.
L: BARRY
L: BARRY
Barry smirked to himself at Lisa's use of texting to annoy people. He wondered for a moment, too, if Len ever dealt with this. He started walking home, the long way through a small stretch of the park that connected to a section of the forest the government had created to add some love to Central City, when his attention was drawn to a tent out in the forest. He paused, looking at the sign next to him: DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH, DANGER! Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the tent, seeing the lanterns out front made like old style mining ones. The tent was huge, maybe like a storage tent for a college or something even, when he saw people walking towards him. Or rather, they were walking to get into the tent. He read a sign on the outside: BELIEVER'S SHOWCASE: EXPERIENCE THINGS THAT YOU ONLY THOUGHT DIDN'T EXIST. Barry smiled at that notion. A crowd was flowing smoothly into the tent, sizably large enough like a small concert crowd. Barry joined in the stream and walked inside, his hood pulled up so no one could recognise him if they were there. Large benches were aligned in front of a stage where a microphone and several cages with black curtains sat, somewhat like a concert. Barry took a seat on the end of a bench, making sure he had an exit if he needed to leave. More people swarmed in for the next five minutes, until the place was full capacity. A man walked up onstage as others lit hanging lamps along the room, brightening the place up a bit. Barry took a moment to examine one of the people, seeing his strange uniform. He wore a kind of black hood marked with a strange symbol, his arms covered by thick fabric that also covered the rest of him. Silvery buttons lined his chest along the hem of his shirt, his boots also having the same adornment. His face was hidden in the shadows, but Barry could see a large axe on his back marked with the same symbol from his uniform. The man caught Barry staring, Barry quickly turning away to avoid looking at him. He instead looked around the rest of the room, seeing eight of the similar characters standing along the benches, each marked with a different symbol. Barry turned his attention back to the man onstage, who picked up the microphone. He was also dressed in the same way, but sporting blue clothing. "You do not know us. We do not know you. But, know that we protect you. You, the people of Central City. Those of you who are not from here, may or may not experience the same thing as those of us here." the man said, looking around the room, as if expecting some kind of reaction. "Creatures….no, monsters are among us. We see them slinking along the alleys, taking victims that were our friends, our family, our neighbors, or just people we knew. They don't care who they hurt or kill. Humanity is nothing but food and sport for them. That is why we are here. We, the Venandi, hunt them. We choose to put our lives on the line for you, the humans of Central City." he said. A couple of people looked back and forth at each other, seeming confused. "Some of you look for proof in our work, my words even. So, we saved a couple of these creatures for your examination." the man said, stepping back. He walked up to the first of four cages on the stage, yanking the curtain off. A young woman was inside, her upper body perfectly normal but her lower body that of a snake, tail and all. Her scales were golden and sparkly, shining lightly in the lantern light. Her eyes were yellow and slitted, a snake tongue darting out of her mouth every few seconds. "This is a Lamia, or snake woman. They prey on children, either in your care or outside your field of vision." he said, allowing a few people to take pictures. He walked to the second cage, yanking the curtain off. It was a man, with extremely long arms that seemed to keep him from moving much. "This is a form of a Giant in his natural look. They prey on pets, farm animals and anything animalistic they can get their hands on." the man said, continuing to the third cage. He pulled off the curtain quickly, revealing another woman. Her head was on fire, flames spreading through her hair and eyes. "This is a fire elemental. They are highly destructive if aggravated and will turn your city into a war zone if not controlled." the man said, turning to the fourth cage. He threw the curtain backwards, revealing another woman. She had large wings atop her back, the feathers shaking slightly as she was revealed. "This is a Harpy. They prey on anyone who seems to have done enough wrong to convince them to kill." he said, moving back to the front of the stage. "Look as long as you like, these are the true beasts of our world. We cannot escape them, but we can hunt them. We can hunt them until there are none left to cause us harm." he said. Barry froze at those last sentences. 'We can hunt them until there are none left to cause us harm. That's what you did to my species. Now, I'm the only one left.' he thought, clasping his hands together. "We'll do another reveal in a few minutes, along with a crowd look." the man said. People flooded to the stage, taking pictures and video. To be honest, the creatures looked terrified, cramped and hurt. Like they hadn't been able to leave the cages in weeks or years. Barry didn't leave his seat, looking down at his lap instead. 'Why am I here? How did I get myself into this mess?' he questioned himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The man from the stage was standing next to him, looking down at him strangely. "Everything alright?" he asked. "Um, yeah. It's just that I-I….um….I'm a little scared to go up there." Barry said, managing a weak smile. "Ah, fear is a normal reaction when someone sees creatures such as these. Beasts of the underworld, harbingers of death and destruction, sinners and such as they are called. They have no place in our world." the man said. "Why do so many of them exist, then?" Barry asked. "Because humanity is not a perfect species. There has to be some creation that god has made that will rival it, and this is what he sent us. It is god's will that humanity thrives on this planet, so we must make his commands true. We must protect our own, as they will." the man said. "It's strange that they have the ability to live with us, though. Maybe we could coexist, like two species sharing a planet between so many more." Barry wondered aloud. The man quickly turned and grasped his shoulders, looking into his eyes. "They will not halt when they attack you. They will not stop just because you cry out for help or request them to. They will kill you, and everyone else on this planet, unless they are hunted down and wiped out. Do you understand, child?" the man asked, Barry nodding frantically. "Alright. It's time for the final reveal, then the crowd look." the man said, standing up and walking back up towards the stage. The other hunters chased everyone back to their seats, allowing the leader to speak again on an empty stage. "There is one species that has been known to be more frantic in killing humans than most. They get an urge to kill, because they must feed upon our blood, and they cannot stop. They cannot stop themselves from killing, they cannot stop themselves from draining every helpless victim that crosses their path. They are….vampires." the man said, a curtain in the back of the stage being thrown aside as a vampire was dragged in. He was locked tightly in chains, his mouth revealing long fangs and fully glowing red eyes. Two of the hunters dropped him to the floor, pinning him down by stepping on his chains. He snarled and snapped crazily, his eyes darting back and forth across the room dozens of times over. "This is a vampire. One that has taken too much, and given himself what we call 'bloodlust'. Bloodlust is a dangerous disease among vampires that forces them to constantly kill and feed in order to maintain the high energy inside their bodies that they gain from drinking human blood. Bloodlust does not kill a vampire quickly, however, it forces them into a feeding frenzy that drives them to the brink of insanity." the man said, pulling a metal stake from his clothing. The vampire was lying on his back, his chest exposed as the man bent down and hovered the stake over his unbeating heart. "Just one shot, just one stab directly to their hearts….can kill them." he said, stabbing the vampire in the heart. The vampire gave a painful screech before he lie still, his body limp and unmoving. The crowd gasped at the ruthlessness of the hunter before them, before cheering a little at the dead creature that once hunted them. "Many things can protect you. Weapons of any kind: guns, knives, powders, stakes….information can be found globally about any of these creatures. There are cards outside that you can take when you leave in case you cannot deal with the issue yourself." the man said, the people cheering at him as two of his hunters dragged the body out. A little while later, Barry smelt smoke and burning flesh, assuming they were burning the vampire's body to make sure he stayed dead. "And now, we'll have the crowd look. For those of you that have never been here before and experienced this, we are simply going to flash a series of lights over the crowd that may or may not have a reaction to someone you're sitting next to. If you have a reaction and are not aware of your condition, see our Cleanser immediately. He will work on treating your condition. For those of you who are aware, you will become targets. And, if you run, you will find your exit blocked by guards on all sides." the man said. Some people in the crowd looked around, seeing the numerous guards stationed around the room. "Alright, we'll begin now. The first will be an element-based light, then hearing lights and physical form lights. Please remain seated." the man said, nodding to someone in the back of the room. A red grid moved across the crowd several times, blinking over the people. Barry watched as a man burst into flames, screaming in panic while the hunters put his flames out. "Stand off to the side, please." the leader requested. The flaming man moved out of the crowd, standing off to the side and out of the way. Barry's head whipped around at the sound of a woman screaming in his row, roots growing out of her hands and hair. She moved aside after calming down, rubbing her arms to try and snap off the roots. The red light faded and switched to blue, blinking across the crowd. A woman got up and started running out of the room, before she was abruptly shot in the back by an arrow. She fell to the ground, dead. Two other women started covering their ears, curling up in pain. They turned off the light and the women moved aside, standing beside the elemental based creatures. The blue light scanned a little more, falling over Barry for a few seconds. He felt a little buzzing in his ear and batted at it, thinking it to be a bug. The light swiftly converted to green, scanning across the crowd. A man's head started sprouting wolf ears, Barry smirking as he stood and moved aside. The physical grid moved across Barry, the newborn feeling nothing happen to him and nobody turning to stare or scream at him. He let out a breath, watching as the lights turned off and returned the room to normal. "You five should see our Cleanser. His number is on the back of the cards outside. Alright, folks. You are free to return home and whatnot." the leader said, the hunters shooing people out. Barry walked outside and checked his phone, reading through the frantic messages from Lisa:
L: BARRY! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HOME TWO HOURS AGO! WHERE R U?
L: BARRY, THIS ISN'T FUNNY
L: BARR! QUIT IT, NOW!
L: DON'T MAKE ME CALL LENNY.
L: YOUR ASS IS IN TROUBLE WHEN YOU GET HOME.
L: LEN'S HOME
L: MICK'S HOME
L: YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, MISTER!
L: BARRY! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T RESPOND I AM GOING TO MAKE LENNY GET OFF HIS ASS AND HUNT YOURS DOWN!
L: BARR, WHERE R U, SWEETHEART?
Barry groaned. He checked his watch and read the time. 'Six?! I am so late!' he thought, starting to lightly jog towards the path. He held his phone while he ran, trying to text before his foot caught on something. He was yanked into the air, slamming his head into the side of a tree. His body went limp, his phone dropping from his fingers and into the bushes below. Because he was out cold, he didn't hear the little ding from Lisa texting him again:
L: BARRY? ARE YOU OKAY? IS SOMETHING WRONG? CAN YOU TALK TO ME? PLEASE?
