A Spark of Something Greater.
Patience and Time.
Delicate golden rays are cast upon the city's dilapidated super structures as the sun begins to peek over the horizon. Massive shadows cover much of the swamp-like surface of what used to be the bustling streets of a roaring metropolis, in an age long since past.
In a half flooded alleyway, squeezed between two crumbling towers, a relatively intact trash bin rattles slightly before a small mechanical figure emerges from the refuse. Slowly floating out of the bin, with its glowing eye facing slightly downward in a fashion that gives off the impression of disappointment, it pauses for a moment before steady propelling itself through the alley and into a window of one of the many buildings somehow still standing in this enormous swamp.
The little light moves carefully around each of the dark rooms of the abandoned office in search of something obviously important to it. The machine shines its light through the black corridors searching floor by floor, occasionally stopping to observe the heavily decayed remains of the building's former inhabitants.
Rays of sunlight begin to shine through the windows of even the highest floors of the skyscraper, allowing the floating surveyor to rest its lamp and comb the building under natural light.
Near a large gap in the outer wall of the office building, the machine stops in its tracks and lets out a stifled yet audible gasp as it spots yet another long deceased corpse, reduced to little more than bones and tattered clothing.
The bones appear no different than the others scattered about the building, but something about them stopped the machine's search.
"Could it really be…" the machine utters in a soft almost motherly voice of near disbelief. "But how will we…" she contemplates before quickly moving to the breach.
Looking down below, the machine can see what appears to be the final resting place of a large helicopter marked with the words 'disaster response.' Most of the blades have been snapped in two or are completely missing and the body of the aircraft is in a state beyond repair, whether from a crash or due to its exposure to the elements over the many years it has sat dormant in the swamp of Old Chicago.
Her surrounding shell spins around in excitement as she moves back to the old bones.
This shell opens up into individual segments orbiting the metal orb that houses her bright eye as a powerful glow of blue swirling energy blooms from within it.
As she stares intently at the skeleton, the same brilliant energy begins to envelop each bone in a blue aura. Miraculously, in almost an instant, the flesh returns to the long forgotten bones and is filled with life. The, until very recently, dead man jolts up to his knees and gasps in his first breath as he is bathed in sunlight.
Heaven Can Wait.
"I-I almost can't believe it! It's you! I finally found you!" says the overjoyed light as her shell returns to its center.
The reborn man moves his hand to shield his eyes from the sun as the miraculous energy of his resurrection turns to mist and dissipates around him.
Moving into the man's view, the architect of his revival exuberantly says, "So I… I guess an introduction is in order!"
The man moves his hand from his face and replies with a simple question, "W-what?"
As she moves in closer, the small glowing machine explains, "I understand this is all very confusing, so for now I'm going to need you to take what I say on faith. Also we really shouldn't linger here too long, so I'll try to be quick."
With some effort the man gets on his feet and looks around at the disheveled room around him. Desks are tipped over and the skeletal remains of others long dead occupy much of the space.
Taken aback by the sight, the man takes a step back and trips on to the ground again with a significant thud. This impact causes light tremors through the room, notable by the sound of creaking throughout much of the space.
"Careful," the little machine says softly. "This place isn't exactly stable." Floating down to once again try to converse with her new acquaintance, the small spark speaks in a comforting manner. "I'm sure this is all very strange, so just try to relax as best you can, and listen to what I have to say."
The man, still quite lost in his current predicament, adjusts his attention to the small floating robot to see if she can help him make sense of what's going on.
"Like I said, we really shouldn't linger here, so I'll try to keep this brief. Basically you… you died. And I've been looking for you for a looong time."
The man's eyes widen slightly as his confusion grows.
"It was my job to find you and bring you back from death so you can wield The Light against the enemies of humanity!"
More confused than before he listened to this explanation, the man tries getting up again.
"Ok maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself. What I mean to say is we are a team now. You see, I'm a Ghost, actually now I'm your Ghost. My job is to help you however I can."
"You're a ghost?" asks the man, trying desperately to make any of this make sense.
"Yes I'm a Ghost! Oh not the 'haunting kind' I guess I'm the 'helping kind!'" the Ghost clarifies.
"So you're a friendly ghost, huh?" the man says almost sarcastically.
"I'm YOUR friendly Ghost. The easiest way I can explain it is that I'm a spark of something MUCH greater sent to help you become much greater. It's all really… great!"
"So you're here to help me?" the man asks in a half sure fashion then pauses for a moment. "I don't even know who 'me' is. I can't seem to remember anything."
"That's normal," the Ghost says reassuringly. "Risen like you don't hold on to their memories… I don't know why it is, but if we get out of this city all right, I'm sure we can make many new ones."
The Risen checks his person for any indication of who he once was. Quickly he finds what remains of a wallet in one of his pockets and picks through its contents. A few loose coins and some all but disintegrated papers make up all of the content aside from a strange black card that has stayed mostly intact over the numerous years in the pocket of a dead man.
White markings decorate the face of the card, most notably a circled white hand that appears under a tall arch.
The Ghost moves in to observe the card. "I don't recognize the markings, but I'm not exactly an expert on pre-collapse symbols." Light emits from the machine's eye and scans over the card. "It seems to be an access card of some kind. Definitely worth holding on to," she says, doing what she can to help the man's brief investigation.
The Risen slips the card into his pocket as his Ghost chimes in once again.
"I'm not trying to sound like a broken record, but we really should not stick around here. We are not exactly alone in the city and this place is far from safe."
"Not alone?" the man asks with some concern.
"I mentioned the 'enemies of humanity,' well this bog of a city is a hotbed for them, so it's important for us to get going while the sun is still up, if we want to leave undetected. They prefer the dark."
Somewhat startled by this revelation, the man's eyes dart around the corpse-ridden room for a safe way out.
"Don't worry! I actually have something of a plan!" the Ghost moves to the breach in the wall near where the man's bones had laid dormant for so long.
Following his Ghost over to the large hole in the wall, the man feels the ground shift ever so slightly below his feet.
"See that down there?" the Ghost says looking toward the rundown air vehicle below.
"You want us to get away in that wreck?" the man says, unsure of the Ghost's vision.
"Not THAT wreck in particular," the Ghost returns with some snark. "But I think I know where we can find one in better shape."
"Alright, so how do we get down from this building so we can put your brilliant escape plan in action?" the man asks while still looking at the light dance on the water of the vast swaps in the city's streets.
"Well, the stairs should be mostly intact and as long as we're careful we should be-"
As he listens to his Ghost, the man takes a step back, failing to notice the unstable ground slowly shifting before suddenly collapsing underneath his feet.
His body tumbles down the side of the building as his hands claw desperately at his quickly changing surroundings, madly panicking in his attempt to grab hold of something that could break his fall.
With great force, his body collides with a large section of the building's steel structure, jutting out downward from some other structural collapse that must have happened some time ago.
The feeling of his ribs cracking from the impact would be very alarming to the man if it wasn't for the fact that he was now rapidly plummeting toward the wreckage of the helicopter below.
One of the still intact blades snaps under the weight of the falling man as he smashes head first into it and the chassis of the vehicle below it.
Rolling off the top of the evacuation helicopter and into the water below, the man feels his breathing stop and life quickly leaves his body.
I Am Alive.
All sensations fade away, replaced by a strangely comforting darkness.
His nose almost peaks out of the murky waters where his body lays lifeless. Were the dead man's eyes still functioning, he would see a light come down to meet him just above his watery grave. He would see this light shine with the brilliance of a cosmic cloud, uncountable bits of stardust moving about like a fluid. Were he still able to feel sensations, he would notice the stardust encapsulating his rapidly cooling anatomy. He would feel his once shattered bones mend and his battered body return to pristine condition.
Though he didn't feel any of this because his eyes had stopped observing his surroundings and his body had no feeling left.
The man was most definitely dead.
Thoughts return to his mind as the man senses himself being ripped from the dark abyss. His eyes lids slowly part and sunlight pours into his vision from above the water's surface.
He can feel the water around him and the cold mud he rests in barely holding him down with subtle suction.
Springing up from the mire to breathe, the man swiftly turns to his Ghost in disbelief.
"I-I died!" the soaked man cries as he lifts himself from his brief resting place.
"That's two times now," the Ghost says in an almost cheery tone while the last of the light disperses from the space, like fog on a cool morning.
"You brought me back again?" the man asks as he wrings the filthy water from his clothes.
"I'm here to help you, remember?" says the Ghost as she watches water drip from her partner's drenched outfit.
"I do remember. Why do I remember this if I can't even recall my own name?" Clearly befuddled, the man rests against the side of the vehicle.
"Try to think of it like this. You were reborn when I met you. Your past self died and when I found the body you were reforged in The Light as a new man. What matters now isn't who you were, it's what you can be!" the spark says in a voice that could evoke inspiration in even the most crestfallen. "Something about you means you were chosen to wield The Light."
"The Light?" he inquires with genuine curiosity.
"It's a power that lives all around us. It's what made me and it's what allowed me to bring you back… both times." The Ghost has finally gained the full attention of her new companion. "I'm not the best at explanations, but The Speaker would be more than happy to tell you everything when we get home."
There is a moment of silence before the man simply asks, "So what's the plan?"
The Ghost floats about joyously for a few seconds before divulging. "I'm sure you have been well acquainted with this thing now," she says playfully while gesturing toward the helicopter that had recently played a role in the man's death. "Well I know of an old military base where more should be! In much better condition of course. We will have to cut through an… old tunnel to have any hope of making it there before dark…"
The man continues to try and get dry as he listens to his little friend.
"Oh yeah, let me help with that," the Ghost shines her light on the man's ruined clothes, and inch by inch they are dematerialized and replaced by new attire.
The man is astonished as his distressed garments are substituted for much better gear, including tall waterproof boots, thick but flexible gloves, and a long durable coat. This new equipment may not be much, but it is definitely more suitable for trudging through the flooded streets.
"So you can bring back the dead and conjure fashionable survival gear, huh?" the man asks with a smirk.
"Well technically I didn't 'conjure' anything. I reorganized the available materials in the area into a more appropriate outfit," the Ghost explains.
"Thank you," the man says sincerely. "Now let's get moving."
One Small Step.
An eerie green glow illuminates a small space visible through the window of a collapsed building. The glow twitches slightly before darting out of view. Filled with dread after witnessing this strange sight, the man turns to his Ghost.
Looking up toward the sun, now high in the sky, the Ghost says, "They won't bother us if we keep our distance. There is still plenty of daylight left." Looking back at her visibly nervous partner, she continues, "We are almost at that checkpoint I mentioned. I'm sure we can find something there you can defend yourself with… Just in case."
Shifting his attention forward, the man changes the subject, "I just hope we can find something to eat. We've been walking for hours and I'm really starting to get hungry." The man stops for a moment to stretch.
"This place has been abandoned for centuries, so I wouldn't get my hopes up about finding anything close to edible," says the Ghost as she motions the Risen to continue.
"Tell me again why you can build a full outfit out of scraps and magic dust, but it's somehow impossible to make me a warm bowl of noodles?" he says in a near sarcastic tone as he finishes stretching.
"Reorganizing the matter of one set of clothes into another is a lot simpler than restructuring proteins in mud and swamp water into a form that won't leave you with a heck of a stomach ache…or dead," the Ghost says before stopping to look at the man. "Although I can ease the hunger pain if it is really bothering you."
The man waves her off and says, "Nah, I'll be fine I'm just-."
As he is replying, the man takes a step forward and into a small pothole hidden under the scum ridden water. Without time to react the man crashes forward with all the weight of his body, splashing into the foul muck below.
"I don't think you'll find anything to eat down there!" jokes the Ghost as she holds in a laugh.
Standing up from his somewhat embarrassing dive the man replies sarcastically, "What, you didn't see that wild turkey sandwich wiggling through the water?" He looks up at his Ghost with a smirk. "I almost had it too. Real shame it got away."
"In all seriousness, you do need to be more careful," the Ghost says with concern in her voice. "There are very few safe places left anywhere, and that means one little mistake could have terrible consequences."
The man's smile fades as he moves his gaze from his little friend and swipes the mud from his coat.
"I'll always be there to help, even if that means resurrecting you again, but… sometimes that's easier said than done," the Ghost explains in a somber tone.
The man brushes off most of the filth from his coat and gets ready to continue onward.
"Sorry if I'm being a downer!" the Ghost says with a hint of nervousness. "What I mean to say is, I'm going to stay VERY busy if you continue being such a klutz!"
The man chuckles. "Thank you, Ghost." He pauses for a moment with a slightly puzzled look on his face. "Hey, is there something else I can call you? Something more personal than 'Ghost.'"
She stops and hovers down to meet the man's view. "I don't really have a name per say… Most of the others I've met just call me 'Ghost.' Although, sometimes these children I knew back home would call me 'Spark' when we played together!"
"So 'Spark,' huh?" asks the man while his smile returns.
"It's only something the little ones would call me, but I kind of like it," says the Ghost as she unconsciously rocks side to side.
"I like it too," the man adds, with warmth in his voice.
"So what about you?" the newly dubbed 'Spark' asks after a small lull in the conversation.
A little surprised, the man questions, "You expect me to come up with my own name?"
"If you haven't thought of anything yet, you can give it time. I'm sure something will come to you… Although, I do have suggestions!" says the clearly excited machine.
"What'd you call me after I fell just a bit ago?" the man asks his eager companion. "After I recovered from my totally intentional dip in the muck."
"…A 'klutz?'" the now puzzled Spark asks after a moment of thought.
"That sounds fine to me," says the man before continuing forward to their destination.
"'Klutz!?' You want to be called 'Klutz!?'" Spark says, stunned for a second before quickly following the man.
"It's as good a name as any," Klutz says with a grin on his face.
Looking at the man with intent, Spark replies, "Is it though?! Like I said, I have had a lot of time to think of names for you! All much better than… 'Klutz.'"
The man continues walking, seemingly happy with his new name. Or maybe just content with his new friend's distress over the matter.
Haunted Earth.
Large quadrupedal machines stand dormant around the checkpoint's boundary. Oppressively long shadows cast off of the towering constructs as the sun begins to leave its place high in the sky.
"This is it," Spark announces, as she leads her partner between the legs of one of the mechanical giants.
The pair enter one of the military checkpoint's mostly still intact buildings.
"Find anything useful yet?" Klutz asks across the room to his helpful partner as he idly fondles the strange black card in his pocket.
"I think so!" Spark replies excitedly.
Klutz joins her to see she has discovered a locked gun case that has somehow survived untouched over the dozens of years in this neglected place. The Ghost emits a beam of energy at the lock, and after a moment, it pops open. Klutz opens the case to reveal a single revolver style handgun from a time long past. He removes the weapon from its housing, along with eight bullets.
"I can synthesize more ammo for you if I have access to the right materials… Hopefully I won't need to," Spark says softly.
Klutz inspects the firearm in a manner that demonstrates extensive experience, before loading it with his limited ammunition. "I agree. I don't look forward to meeting those creepy things. I've seen them watching from the buildings for hours," he says before holstering his weapon.
"Sooner or later, we will have to meet them," Spark utters with concern. "I know you have the power to fight them, even if you don't feel it yet."
Klutz looks to his Ghost with serious curiosity and says, "You mentioned something about that before. Said I could 'wield The Light.'"
The Ghost is still as she looks at her friend and answers, "Yes, the same way I can use The Light as a tool to heal your wounds and bring you back from death. You can use it as a weapon."
"How?" asks the man plainly.
Spark pauses for a brief moment and says, "I don't know for sure, but when the time comes, I imagine it will come to you as naturally as swinging your fist."
Rays of light peek between buildings as the sun hangs low enough to hide behind them. Klutz does what he can to avoid deeper sections of the swamp as the pair venture further through the city. His boots keep out most of the water, but as evident by the uncomfortable squishing of his soaked socks, they are only so effective.
"We aren't far now!" the little light says somewhat anxiously.
"You said we have to cut through a tunnel, right?" asks the man as he does what he can to ignore his less than ideal sock situation.
"Yeah about that… I didn't want to worry you before, but this tunnel I mentioned is something of an 'addition' to this city."
Klutz looks at her confused.
"The Hive, it's what we call those things that live in the dark spaces of this place, they constructed this tunnel some time ago," Spark sheepishly confesses.
"So we are going to have to fight through them?" Klutz asks with a slight tremble in his speech.
Spark tries to reassure him, "I don't think so. I've been around here before, and I've never seen any of them come through this tunnel. I think most of them are living far deeper down and this tunnel has been essentially abandoned." She can see on his face that her reassurance wasn't totally effective. "Believe me, this is the safest way to where we are going, and if we do run into any trouble, I'm sure you can handle it."
With a little more confidence in his movement, Klutz readies himself and says, "Let's put that to the test."
The duo approach the gaping maw of the visibly unsettling tunnel. Dark grey, almost organic looking material, makes up the structure of The Hive's hideous construction.
Klutz looks into the darkness beyond the opening, half expecting to see the horrific green glow of the eyes that he has seen watching him from the dark corners of the city throughout the day.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," says Spark, trying to bolster the confidence of her partner.
She shines her light as bright as she can, but visibility is still quite low in the oppressive darkness of the tomb they are about to venture into. Klutz readies his weapon and steps through the knee high water and down into the darkness.
The walls of this frightening chasm are built in chaotically arranged layers of dark chitinous matter that give off a strange and suffocating feeling of dread.
Spark gets the man's attention "I have to be honest with you," she says in a quiet sheepish voice. "The Darkness here makes it very difficult for me to help you."
The man looks at her with a worried expression.
"What I mean is, something about this place weakens my connection to The Light… So if something horrible happens to you, it will take me a long time to bring you back on my own. Truth be told, I'm not sure I'll be able to bring you back at all."
Without saying anything Klutz walks carefully through the water, making sure not to misplace a step. As he inches through the wide passage, the light of his Ghost illuminates large metal chains that dangle from the ceiling. Many of these chains are ended by huge sharp hooks. Klutz tries his best not to think about their disturbing purpose.
Now fairly deep into the dark abyss, Klutz spots a dim red glow emitting from a collapsed section in the wall.
"I don't think that's Hive," Spark says quietly.
"Maybe it's a shortcut out of here?" Klutz replies with genuine optimism.
"I doubt it, but it's worth investigating," says the normally quite hopeful Ghost.
The pair move close to the space that the light is coming from. Spark floats up into the hole to make sure it's safe before signaling Klutz to climb up to join her. Inside they find themselves in what appears to be an old access corridor for the city's subway system. Following the dim glow to its source, the pair find that it is coming out of some kind of small device fixed to the dead end wall of the corridor.
"What is it?" Klutz asks as Spark moves her light around to look for some clue.
As she scans her lamp over the area. She stops on a strange logo illustrated near the top of the wall. The logo depicts a tall white arch with three arrows pointing away toward three smaller symbols, a butterfly, a hook, and a hand.
Klutz looks for a moment before it dawns on him. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the black card he found on his person when he was first revived.
"Spark, can you give me some light, please?" The Ghost shines light, allowing the man to see the white symbols that adorn his card.
Comparing the symbols on his card to the image on the wall shows them to be a perfect match, aside from a little wear on the card from the decades it spent in the wallet of a dead man.
After thinking for a moment, Klutz holds the card to the small glowing device. The black card is lit by the dim red glow briefly, before the glow suddenly turns bright green. The wall in front of them begins to rise, revealing it to in fact be some sort of hidden door. Quickly opening the entrance to a seemingly untouched room, hidden for centuries. Lights flip on, showering the room in sterile brightness. After a brief look around, the duo step inside.
Lost and Found.
The secret door slides closed behind them as the two look around with curiosity. Various pieces of lab equipment are stationed all around the large room.
"This must be some kind of pre-collapse research lab!" Spark says with excitement in her voice as she swiftly floats around the brightly lit environment
"But why was it hidden so well?" Klutz explores another part of the lab and finds fabrication equipment and a variety of firearm components adorning the many shelves of the lab's white walls. "I don't think this place was just for research," he says as he examines the gunsmith's work.
A number of the work stations in the lab appear to be in the middle of multiple projects, almost as if the people that worked here had every intention of returning to their craft on a later day that never came.
"So it's a secret lab for weapons development?" Spark ponders as she rejoins her friend. "Let's see if they left anything good behind!" she says flying ahead.
Spark scans a large metal container, housed safely in the back of the lab. "It looks like whoever worked here put something inside for transportation," the curious machine says as her scanning light sweeps over the container.
"Then it's probably in working condition, right?" Klutz asks while he examines the container himself.
"Hopefully. Anything that's kept in a place this secret has got to be pretty impressive!" she says as she narrows her scan for a way to open the box.
Klutz notices a device on the box, not dissimilar from the one on the door they entered through. Holding the black card in front of the device causes the box to pop open with a quiet squeaking hiss. Inside is what appears to be a rifle with a dark chassis and purple accents. Klutz lifts the rifle out of its case to get a better look at it.
Some Kind of thick copper wires are tightly packed together, elegantly connecting the weapons firing components to the barrel in a beautiful and seamless fashion. Klutz flips a small switch on the back of the gun and violet energy begins racing through the cold metal of the weapon. The energy rapidly pulses from some sort of replaceable battery behind the trigger system, and travels through the weapon into the barrel.
"I've never seen a gun like that before," Spark says as she focuses her scanner on the weapon. "It seems to contain high amounts of Void energy. VERY high amounts of Void energy."
Klutz readies the weapon in a tactical stance and examines the sights.
"I'm not sure exactly what this thing is capable of, but It has got to be useful right?" Spark continues
Klutz rests the weapon in his arms and says, "Let's find out," with a smirk on his face.
Entering through an airlock like door in the lab, the pair discover a very well insulated firing range. Klutz gets into position and aims the mysterious firearm down range. After a quick calibration of the sight Klutz fixes his view on the target and takes a shallow breath. His dominant hand firmly grasps the grip and his finger rests on the trigger. With his off hand steadying the weapon, he gives the trigger one enthusiastic squeeze. Immediately after the trigger is pulled, two shots are fired from the barrel in quick succession as purple light blankets the surroundings. The first of these two rounds meets its target in a manner that would be expected from an energy weapon of this sort. However, the second round glows bright with incredible purple light and seems to warp the space around it. Almost like a mirage, bending the light as it flies through the air, before smashing into the target at the end of the range.
Spark zooms toward the target and joyfully exclames, "Oh wow! That was incredible! I almost can't believe it, but according to my readings, one of the shots actually affected the local fabric of space-time! Like some kind of ultra miniaturized singularity!"
Examining the weapon yet again, Klutz replies, "So the gun shoots blackholes?"
"From what I can tell, yes!" Spark answers as she flies back to get a better look at the marvelous gun herself.
"Definitely an upgrade," Klutz declares as he pats the revolver in his holster.
"It's a shame there isn't another way out of this place," Spark says as they return to the entrance of the secret facility. "I'm not looking forward to getting back to that tunnel…" she says before slightly shuddering.
"That makes two of us," Klutz replies while watching the door automatically open itself.
Upon leaving the lab, the door closes behind them. The green light of the device that allowed their entry covers Klutz's back before it returns to a dim red glow. Klutz takes one more step forward before the rid glow narrows into a bright beam that focuses on the strange rifle slung over his back. Perplexed by what is happening Klutz turns to face the device when suddenly he hears a sound that makes his stomach drop. The light begins flashing violently and an ear piercingly loud alarm sounds off continuously.
Klutz covers his ears instinctively before his Ghost gets his attention.
"We need to move, NOW!" she yells as he notices the frightening glow of Hive eyes at the end of the hallway. The glow starts to move toward him and he hears multiple inhuman shrieks cutting through the unstopping alarm.
Without time to react, Klutz sees a bolt of dark purple energy spring forward from the monstrous figure approaching him. The bolt grazes his leg with a loud hiss, leaving a painful burn.
Klutz lets out a quick pained grunt before readying his new rifle for its first field test. With the sights fixed in the middle of the beast's three glowing eyes, he fires the weapon. The shots whizz through the corridor, bending the alarms flashing red light around, before hitting their target with dramatic effect. The creature's head explodes spectacularly before its body is consumed by the purple energy of the weapon and rapidly disintegrates.
With great effort, Spark shines her light on the man's wound and it quickly heals in a matter of moments. The pair quickly move through the passage to find the crevice they entered through. Klutz looks down through the breach to the flooded tunnel below. Even in the near complete darkness he can see a number of figures moving through the water. The thought of jumping back down into the danger below sends a chill down the man's spine as he hesitates for a moment.
"Don't stop!" Spark insists as she illuminates a clear area in the water for him to land.
Still hesitant he takes a quick look back and is startled by an almost skeletal creature as it attacks him from behind. The creature viciously claws at the man forcing them both to fall through the breach and into the water below.
One of the beast's strong bone-like arms holds him under the water as the other fervently swipes at his face and body. Realizing that his Ghost can't do anything to help, Klutz fights back with strong blows to the creature's tough abdomen. The punches are seemingly ineffective as the monster continues to pummel the man. Klutz can feel himself losing as he runs out of air under his foes strong grasp. Desperately fighting for his life, Klutz feels a strange power surge through his body and instinctively he focuses it all into one mighty strike on the creature. Clearly no normal strike, the man's hand is enveloped in a bright glow that meets the beast with supernatural strength. The body of the creature is knocked away some distance before colliding with a support beam and falling to pieces.
Klutz stands up to regain his breath as he looks at his hand in astonishment.
Spark interrupts him, "Looks like you found your Light! No time to celebrate now, though, more enemies on the way." The Ghost moves her light to show many of the ghastly creatures approaching from in front and behind.
Klutz reacts quickly, using his rifle to blast the nearest enemy with deadly precision. The unfortunate creature's body is torn apart by the weapons force, causing bright projectiles to fly off in multiple directions and collide with other approaching enemies with enough power to kill them instantly. Klutz takes a brief moment to admire his weapon before rushing onward through the space he made in the enemy's numbers.
It Stared Back.
Blood curdling shrieks ring out as the man trudges as quickly as possible through the almost knee deep water of the nightmarish tunnel. Trailing not far behind, the mob of monsters navigate the space with little problem, easily gaining on the man while he makes his desperate escape. To keep the horde off him, Klutz swiftly turns around to face the rapidly encroaching beasts and enters a stable firing stance in one smooth motion. Nearly in sync with her lethal companion, Spark turns her light to give Klutz as much visibility as possible. Klutz lets off a few bursts of fire at his pursuers, his aim is impressive under the adverse conditions. Most of the shots find their intended targets, the creatures recoil as many of them explode into dazzling violet power that totally annihilates others around them. Taking advantage of the chaos of his destructive volley, Klutz quickly turns back in the direction of an eventual exit and races forward.
More Hive monsters occasionally pop out ahead of the man as he pushes forward, but they are quickly taken care of with skillful use of the extraordinary rifle.
"It can't be far now!" Spark shouts as she notices Klutz begin to tire.
"Really? This was… just getting fun!" Klutz returns sarcastically between labored breaths. Klutz notices a faint sliver of light ahead that he knows could only mean an exit is near. With determination, he speeds up his pace.
From the darkness ahead, a loud and horrific roar echoes through the tunnel.
"What the hell is that?!" Klutz asks while refusing to slow down.
"Something we REALLY don't want to mess with right now!" Spark warns.
"Not sure we have a choice," Klutz says bluntly as he tightens his grip on his weapon.
A little farther into the tunnel, Klutz notices a branch in the path. It is hard to see from his position, but it appears to be a steep decline further into the tunnel system.
"Just keep moving forward. I think the exit is just up ahead," Spark says, clearly trying to move the man's attention as he looks into the branch while they pass by.
Inside the declining passage, Klutz sees something he wishes he hadn't. Dozens of green glowing eyes stare back at him from the darkness below. The eyes bob side to side as the figures they belong to make their way up the tunnel.
Klutz gasps slightly and turns his head around to see the horde of creatures still chasing from behind. He looks back into the passage just in time to witness a huge volley of dark energy begin to fire from the weapons of the green eyed figures.
Klutz rushes out of the way as the blasts pour through the opening. Following their shots, the green eyed creatures start to enter the main tunnel with surprising quickness. Klutz stumbles backwards for a moment before recovering and making a break for the light.
Only about a dozen feet forward from the branch, Sparks light meets something truly dreadful.
A dead end.
Natural light pours in from the clearly visible opening to the tunnel. Unfortunately this opening sits at the top of an almost vertical, mossy incline that is nearly three times the man's height. With seemingly no way up, Klutz stops dead in his tracks at the sight and his heart sinks.
An enraged roar radiates from behind and shakes the walls of the tunnel as it freezes the blood in his veins. Klutz gathers his resolve and spins around quickly with his rifle in hand.
In the middle of the horde, a towering beast lets out another roar before its grotesquely massive head begins to glow and project rapid wisps of energy flying in the man's direction as it stomps forward. The green eyed creatures start to fire their weapons as well and the smaller skeletal monsters race forward to attack.
Klutz dives behind one of the tunnels' support struts and narrowly avoids getting shot while picking off the quickly approaching creatures with gunfire from his invaluable weapon.
"Klutz! There's no time, look up!" Spark says, floating above the danger.
Klutz turns to see his Ghost hovering above at the tunnel's exit.
"You need to jump!" the Ghost screens in a panicked voice.
"Jump!? How am I supposed to-" Klutz's questioning is interrupted by an attack from one of the many monsters swarming his position.
The creature grabs and claws at the man for a moment but he eventually wrestles it off and delivers a strong blow to the creature with the weight of his rifle, knocking it to the ground. Klutz attempts to shoot the downed creature to finish it off, but before he can pull the trigger, another beast tackles him with reckless abandon, sending the rifle flying from his grasp.
The creature shrieks and claws at the man as he tries to get from the wet floor to his feet, while avoiding as much damage as possible. Klutz finds an opportunity and rolls out of the creature's way while grabbing the revolver from his holster. The creature shrugs off four bullets before a fatal filth shot to the head forces the creature's body to the ground.
Finally able to stand up, Klutz turns to find the enormous beast standing far too close for comfort. Klutz feels the vibrations of the beast's roar down to his bones. The beast swings its massive arm, connecting with the man's body and sending him backwards until he collides with the steep incline under the tunnel's taunting exit. Still reeling from the pain of the impact, Klutz desperately fires the last few shots from his revolver at the beast's huge head. Unfazed by direct gunfire, the beast stops for a moment and roars loudly with its arms raised.
Klutz thinks for a moment that the beast is gloating about its victory, but he quickly drops this thought when he notices that nothing about this beast exhibits pride. Only all consuming rage.
"The Light, Klutz!" Spark's words pour down from the light of the exit. "Use The Light to get up here, please!"
With his doom only moments away, Klutz shuts his eyes and focuses on the power he felt before. He searches inside himself and to his surprise, he doesn't find comforting darkness.
He finds The Light.
Without much thought, Klutz crouches into a low squat before propelling himself from the floor of what was soon to be his tomb. Opening his eyes, Klutz is astonished to find himself levitating upward and shrouded in a veil of pure Light. Effortlessly, Klutz maneuvers his way up to the exit before somewhat clumsily dropping his battered body on its threshold to meet his Ghost.
"What… what just happened?" Klutz asks about his seemingly miraculous escape.
"Just like before… you found your Light," Spark proudly says in a soft voice.
Klutz is happy to be outside and finally out of the water as he looks around to see they are now almost out of the city. The pair share a moment of silent relief in the low hanging sun's light before the beast's roar interrupts.
The Ghost flies into the tunnel and learns that, unfortunately, the monsters are proficient climbers. The rabid creatures claw into the mosey surface and climb steadily. Even the enormous beast makes its way up, smashing footholds for itself in the sheer slope.
"We have to keep going!" Spark warns as she darts back out of the tunnel.
Klutz struggles through the pain to get to his feet.
After following his Ghost for a few feet, he stops. From the sounds of their shrieks, he can tell the monsters are nearly out of their nightmarish tunnel. "We aren't getting out of here unless I stop them," Klutz says in a pained voice.
Spark stops and turns to her partner with subtle concerned movements.
"This 'Light' has gotten us this far and while I don't really know what I'm doing, I've got to try," he says, now standing toward the tomb's maw.
Closing his eyes again, the man looks inside for The Light once again. Expecting to dig deep, Klutz is again surprised as he feels the power inside him already bursting through to the surface. Klutz channels the power through his arms as they begin to glow with bright purple colored energy. With his palms now facing each other, the Risen starts to conjure a breathtaking ball of energy that doubles in size every few moments. Klutz opens his eyes and sees the beast's huge head just now cresting at the opening, along with a number of small creatures about to come pouring out.
The orb of energy is now so large Klutz has trouble keeping hold.
Purple energy totally encompasses the man's body as he leaps high into the air and hurls the immense orb directly at the opening. On impact, the orb explodes with incredible force, obliterating all of the monsters unfortunate enough to be within its radius. Everything from the huge beast down to the smallest creature is almost instantly vaporized by the bomb's explosive power. The tunnel's opening and much of its roof collapses entirely, crushing the horde of monsters below. Klutz comes careening down to the floor with a thud.
"You hear that?" Klutz asks his Ghost while his beaten body lays on the floor. "No more shrieks… or roars… I-I think I did it."
Spark floats in close enough to feel the man's breath on her shell. "Yes, you did," she says quietly, "You are even greater than I imagined." Were she capable of crying, you would swear she was holding back tears.
Klutz carefully rests his hand on top of her shell and says, "Thank you Spark... For giving me a chance."
After the words leave his mouth, Spark feels no more breath. She rests under the man's hand for a moment before slowly moving out of his limp grasp and letting his hand drop to his chest. She floats above the man's still warm body and stares. Trapped in thought while his shadow stretches under the amber light of the setting sun.
Unspoken Promise.
Anxiety washes over the little light and she is consumed by uncertainty. She knows what her duty is, but regardless, she is unsure if she should once again revive her partner.
While she is completely capable of resurrecting him now that she is out of the influence of The Hive's Darkness, she feels conflicted. Finding her partner and exploring dangerous places together has been her dream for as long as she could remember. She spent years searching for him and the joy she felt when she revived him for the first time was indescribable. However, now she feels the down side of this relationship.
She knows in all likelihood, if she does her duty and brings her partner back from death to face humanity's enemies, like in the legends the Speaker tells, they will eventually face challenges just as difficult as they have today. She knows that she will watch her partner die again and again until one day she may be unable to bring him back. She knows that if something happens to her, her partner will lose his connection to The Light and eventually die with no way to come back. She wonders if it may be better to let the man's final death be a heroic one and avoid the inevitable suffering that is the destiny of all Lightbearers. Spark thinks for some time as she watches his shadow stretch longer.
Glowing mist dissipates around his body as Klutz springs up to a seated position and takes a deep breath. He breathes for a moment before fixing his attention on his mechanical companion. Moving his hand from his chest, he reaches out to his Ghost with his palm facing up.
Spark rests herself in the Lightbearer's hand and speaks so softly it is almost a whisper, "I'm glad I found you."
Armored vehicles and defensive fortifications lay rusted and undisturbed around the ancient military base. Most of the area outside of the walls is filled with tattered tents, occupied only by the bones of the desperate souls of the old world.
Designated landing zones dot the camp, likely to make mass evacuation as efficient as possible. Thousands of people arrived here with the hope of a better tomorrow.
A better tomorrow that never came.
Silhouetted by the almost entirely set sun, is a relatively intact helicopter.
"You think this thing can fly?" Klutz asks doubtfully as he leans against the side of the large evacuation vehicle.
Spark finishes her scan of the abandoned machine and replies, "Structurally the vehicle is in surprisingly good shape, all things considered." She flies up to the vehicle's rotor. "Only one of the blades has any significant damage and I'm sure we could get that fixed up in no time." Spark quickly returns to the pilots cabin and scans the controls once again. "The real problem is the internal components. Pre-Collapse engineering is really amazing, but this kind of vehicle just wasn't designed to survive after this much time exposed to the elements." Spark leaves the vehicle and rejoins the man outside.
"I guess those engineers didn't plan for a few centuries of delay on regular maintenance," Klutz jokes, trying to make light of the situation.
"It's going to take me quite some time to fix what I can and replace what I can't. And that's assuming we can even find the right materials…" Spark says disappointedly.
"Time for plan B?" Klutz asks as he stands away from the helicopter's chassis.
"To be honest, I don't really have a plan B… I was betting a lot on good fortune here," she says looking disheartened.
"Come on, Spark. We haven't even looked inside the base yet," the man says with vocal optimism. "Maybe we can find another heli inside that's more… usable."
Spark looks toward the base. "I doubt it. All evacuation vehicles were likely in use during the Collapse." She looks to the Lightbearer and sees his glow of optimism. "Although it can't hurt to look, I guess!" the little machine says with a change of attitude. "At the very least, maybe we can find some useful salvage."
The inside of the massive hanger is unusually bare. Possibly already picked through by scavengers. Lockers stand open and empty with only a few personal effects left to show they ever contained anything at all.
"Yeah… I'm thinking this one's a bust too," Klutz says loudly across the hanger to his Ghost as he looks through an empty room lit only by low power emergency lighting. "There's still one more hanger. Maybe we'll have better luck there?"
Spark finishes her scan of the hanger's maintenance equipment but finds little of value.
The pair meet at the hanger's door and exit onto the moonlit tarmac. As they approach the final hanger, Klutz turns to his despondent partner and says, "Have some faith, Spark. We made it this far so I'm sure we'll figure something out."
Klutz pushes the massive hanger doors apart, enough for him to fit through easily.
Spark sweeps her light across the empty hanger floor and lets out a small sigh.
Klutz fumbles through the dark control room, looking to find the switch for the emergency lightning. "Hey, could you lend me your light a second?" he asks calmly.
Spark leisurely floats over to help her companion and confesses, "Today has not gone how I imagined at all."
Klutz reads through the panel of switches and replies, "Yeah, not exactly how I thought things would go either. Falling out of that building this morning gave me the impression that my day would be a lot shorter." He says and gives his Ghost a smile.
"A lot less work too." Spark giggles for a second before clarifying, "Please don't get me wrong! You've done most of the heavy lifting here. I just wish ANYTHING went as I expected."
Klutz flips the switch and the lights lining the hanger's ceiling snap on. The duo return to the hanger's main space and find something definitely unexpected. Hanging from a maintenance rail high above the ground is an untouched single occupant vehicle with a dark grey exterior decorated with red symbols. Spark looks in astonishment before zooming up to inspect closer.
"It's a jumpship!" She scans across the space vessel and exclaims, "A WORKING jumpship!"
"Seems like the unexpected can be a good thing sometimes!" Klutz yells up from the ground.
"The NLS drive has been removed for repairs, but from what I can tell, everything else is in working order!" Spark races down to the control room to lower the jumpship from the rail and open the hanger wide.
Klutz fruitlessly looks for a way to enter the cockpit before the Ghost quickly returns and scans the ship again.
"Even the transmat is operational!" the little light says before dematerializing into glowing dust.
Klutz is shaken with confusion before the ship suddenly powers up.
Spark's voice emanates from inside, "Oh, almost forgot the pilot! Get ready for transmat!"
Before he even has time to ask, Klutz disappears in an instant and rematerializes inside the ship's pilot seat just as fast.
"I've already set the nav-data for home. It's not as great as a Golden Age metropolis yet, but it's really starting to look like a real city, now with the walls the Titans built!"
Klutz has learned by now that he won't understand a lot of what Spark says, so he focuses on studying the jumpship's complex controls.
"They look a lot more intimidating than they really are." Spark assures the first time pilot. "Just grab the yoke and I'll initiate take off. It's more intuitive than you'd think."
Klutz grips the yoke and the starship leaves the ground. "Alright. Away we go," the man says, pushing forward on the controls.
Bright blue light blasts from behind the vehicle as it rockets out of the hanger doors. Klutz pulls back on the yoke to direct the ship steeply upward and narrowly misses a building ahead. Quickly getting a feel for the controls, Klutz flies up and above the clouds.
Home Again.
"Setting auto-pilot for programmed nav-data now," Spark says while turning to face the man at the controls. "Not that there's anything wrong with your driving!" she nervously clarifies.
"No offense taken," the man says with a chuckle.
Below the clouds, Klutz observes the dark, sunken city. A swampy graveyard full of nothing but danger and deadmen.
It was to be his final resting place.
"Hey, Spark." the man says, breaking a peaceful silence as they fly through the sky, far away from the hellish ruins of Old Chicago.
"Yes?" she replies, eager to answer any question.
"Back at the hanger, before we found this thing," he says, motioning his hand around the jumpship's cockpit. "You said 'nothing had gone as you expected' and I've been meaning to ask, am I what you expected?"
Spark looks a little surprised and the sections of her shell spin curiously.
"You said you looked for me for years, so I'm sure you had to have expectations," he says while removing his boots and soggy socks.
Spark transmats the footwear to the ship's storage and hovers down directly into the man's view to answer. "I won't lie, I had pretty high expectations. I've heard many stories about the heroic accomplishments of other Lightbearers so many times. I've dreamt of finding my own Lightbearer for as long as I can remember… I dreamt of finding you."
The words warm the man's heart and he can't help but let out a small sincere smile.
"Of course you aren't exactly what I pictured. I thought you would be a little more coordinated," she jokes and they both let out a chuckle. "Falling down the side of a building to your second death was definitely a strange first impression."
"A painful one too," the man chimes in while rubbing the back of his head.
"I don't doubt it," Spark says lightheartedly. "It took some time for you to find The Light as well."
"I'm sure my late blooming had you worried for a while there," the man says as he rests back in his seat.
"Not at all," the Ghost corrects gently. "You may not be exactly what I expected, but like you said 'the unexpected can be a good thing.'"
Klutz smiles again as his eyes get heavy.
"I was right about one thing," Spark says as she rests herself on the man's shoulder. "When the time came, you became something much greater than just a Lightbearer."
The man slowly closes his tired eyes and asks, "Yeah? What's that?"
Spark looks out the window as The Last City appears on the horizon.
"You became a Guardian."
Authors note:
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. This is my first crack at fiction writing so I'd really appreciate any feedback! Give me your worst or just pat me on the back. I want to improve in future stories!
Update:
I have received a number of kind words from people about this story and I'm very happy to say I've started work on another adventure involving these characters! If you enjoyed this story you can look forward to a new chapter for Klutz and Spark as soon as I finish writing. Thanks for reading.
Update 2:
I'm happy to say I've completed and posted a follow up to this story titled, 'A Spark Is Enough.'
This sequel up is quite a bit longer, but I also see it as a huge jump in quality! If you liked this story, please consider reading the next chapter in the adventures of Klutz and Spark!
Thank you again for reading this and I hope you enjoy the next story!