A short, dark piece. Enjoy…
Of Shadow Born
The guards shared a match and lit their respective cigarettes in the cold night air. They didn't speak. It wasn't that kind of a relationship, but one of a passing second spent in each others company as they traveled their short paths over and over in the night.
Behind them, shadows seemed agitated. They twitched. There was a slight emptiness within the darkness that only direct light could illuminate. The void, unmoving, still… within the black nothing surrounding it, simply existed.
Waiting…
Five minutes and counting…
The guards shared a look, an eye twitch and a raised eyebrow. They turned slowly scanning the immediate area until both sets of eyes rested on the shadows along the wall. Those four eyes saw nothing and with a nod both men checked their weapons and moved on. One laughed nervously as if feeling something wasn't quite as it should be.
The shadows again twitched. The void moved and the darkness showed a waxing visage within its center. One deep brown eye possessed of secrets and experience well beyond its youth set perfectly above the slight upward curl of full lips emerged in a single fluid movement. Barely audible was the whisper of a giggle as the obviously female features retreated into shadow becoming void within darkness again.
Without thought…
Only reaction…
The guards turned on their course disappearing from view of the shadow dweller. She moved then, a whisper of the wind blowing against the cold cement wall of the encampment being penetrated. The figure, blurred to normal vision, moved smooth and delicate to another shadow. Again the void waited without thought or sound within nervous darkness unused to such intrusion.
Timing was the key to the maneuver. Timing was the essence of the exercise this night. The edge of the building awaited and beyond that edge was the main encampment where even more precise and calculated risk would be required. The shadows seemed to breathe in time with the slight figure hidden within their depth as the second set of guards stacked against the first two approached their waypoint from the corner.
Four minutes now…
A smile visible to no one curled the pouting lips as guards approached and rounded the corner on either edge of the building. He waved his hand signaling to his counterpart on the other side. What a great idea the cigarette had been, he thought, a good distraction on a quiet night when nothing would occur. As he dug into his uniform for the remnants of his overpriced pack something seized the moment to phase from the shadow behind him and disappear in a blurry haze to the depths of the compound. The guard, oblivious to such things as the kittenish creature that had so recently been mere inches from him, reached for his armband marked with a bold symbol of hate and terror to dig out a lighter he kept tucked there.
Crossing in darkness between floodlights scouring the grounds, the kitten stifled a giggle as she ducked into shadow just seconds before the next patrol stepped into view. Her smooth olive skin under black leather slipped calmly into the shadow becoming one with the void. She waited holding no thought in her mind, watching as suspicion peaked and passed on the face of the new guard protecting the new building.
She searched for the next pocket of nothing she would become. The wordless passing of fellow soldiers in the night occurred just feet away from her position. A nod and a grunt and the guards continued along not really caring about the bleak wall with one heavy shadow behind them. Another stifled snicker and the kitten moved swiftly across a small exposed patch to slide silently between two small buildings.
Pressing knees and hands to either wall, she ascended to the rooftops where no guard walked. Any step upon the roof would be heard within but this was not a tactical maneuver. This was merely a moment of reconnaissance to better gauge the distance to target and locate the diversion planned this evening. Locking knees in place, the kitten stole a glance at the guard tower holding two occupants. They were focused on the far side of the camp. She reckoned twenty seconds at least and pushed to the top corner of the brick and stucco military office.
Nineteen…
Eighteen…
Seventeen…
A quick glance to where she had so recently been passed her vision as she scanned the interior of the compound for the main office of the Colonel she sought. She spotted eighteen more patrols of four men per building and triple standing guards on each of the four barracks.
Nine…
Eight…
Seven…
She checked each sector as the guards trapped in their raised perch swept the grounds and rooftops with bright halogen powered floodlights. With only a second to spare, she again dropped below the edge of the building and locked her legs to either side of the bleak, dark space between the buildings. Waiting…
Guards passed below in succession. Both men shined lights down along the dark black expanse between the infirmary and the computer center but did not look up to the night sky. The kitten rolled her eyes at the lack of wisdom these soldiers possessed, understanding a little better how they had fallen in with such a despot as the one she had come to eliminate. Moving on to more important things, complacent and comfortable with their stolen American weapons, the guards passed once again beyond her vision.
She glanced into the computer lab's second level and noticed a panic stricken tech furiously punching keys, trying to regain rapidly disappearing files. She smiled knowing her man was running his own little game this evening playing war in his way. The first part of the diversion had begun. In seconds the last part would begin and her back-up would disappear into the night without a trace, leaving the kitten to her curious little adventure.
As if on cue from some higher authority, an explosion followed by a second and then third ripped through the peaceful night as guards from all sectors began yelling and shouting. She poked her head up to verify the tower denizens were seeking movement in the darkness where the diversionary tactic would draw the less wise soldiers leaving the older, more experienced warriors to their paranoia.
"WHAT IS IT!?!"
"NORTH WALL!"
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
"MOVE IN. TEAMS TWO AND FOUR TO FLANK! GO! GO!"
"WHY AREN'T THE ALARMS SOUNDING?!"
Soldiers shouted as guards and half dressed troops poured from their positions and beds to rally the cause and fight the oppressor which had surely come to squelch their uprising. Shouts of hate and misplaced vengeance rang out in the night as they headed toward the north wall to defend against the intruders that didn't exist. Three more timed explosions roared, lighting the night sky this time from the south.
"SOUTH WALL IS BREECHED!" Someone shouted. Troops split off from the northern assault to defend against the southern invaders. Within minutes, more timed explosions and heavy weapons fire sounded from the north and south leaving the grounds within practically deserted.
Inside the computer lab, an argument had broken out. Three techs were frantically, desperately trying to stop a download from taking place. They would not succeed. The kitten giggled then and dropped twenty feet landing softly in shadow below. She moved quickly and quietly toward her target knowing she would encounter the best mercenaries the terrorist leader could afford.
It was these harder mercenary types and trained officers she wanted isolated anyway. The assassin had forgotten more of combat than the younger soldiers would ever know. The older ones, although trained and very accomplished in guerilla tactics were worthy of her skills. Each one of the seven her surveillance team had revealed to her would be in the way of the primary.
They did not know she was coming.
Not one of them would expect her.
None would know or even understand the creature of shadow which ended their evil this night.
She moved at blurry, blinding speed to the central building. Arguments and shouting could be heard from within. A quick scout of the immediate are revealed two of her secondary targets discussing options in front of the side entrance. She moved along the shadowed expanse behind them. Again she found herself in a surreal position standing just a few feet away from the two arguing mercenaries. It would be quick.
She smiled.
She giggled.
Both men stopped and looked in the direction of the strange noise and there, nothing but shadow remained. When they turned back to face each other with a shared shrug, one fell dead from an unseen force and the other, suddenly gripped and pulled to an awkward angle fell limp and broken. The last sound they heard, a little snicker mocking them as they fell away from the light.
The feline creature, a shadow only, moved in absolute control into the main office. A blurry vision, ghostly and alien to the tech's eyes moved on targets three and four of seven leaving two broken bodies on the floor. The room fell silent and quiet. The tech was afraid even to breathe, praying desperately to a god that would no longer care.
"Boo." The kitten whispered sharply from behind the young, but educated tech. He tried to turn. He was shaking. He was instantly unconscious but alive. An innocent in a bad place at the worst possible time, he had become a victim of circumstance falling to the evil promise of power that would never have been his. The feline being turned and opened the door, moving to the short corridor that would lead to the primary and remaining secondary targets.
A door opened revealing a stunned officer of some repute. He tried frantically to focus on the blurred and inhumanly fast aspect phasing past him. An attempted shout was silenced as his neck was snapped while being thrust back into the room he had just exited. His body dropped, already forgotten to the floor. The door closed as the kitten moved to the air duct to find an alternate route toward the main office.
Passing a room, she heard a soft argument, irrelevant to her but heated in its simplicity. Fear being the driving factor behind this disagreement. She checked her watch and noted the time. Zero was approaching fast and she needed to be in position for the final phase of the master plan. She would be there waiting when the final moment presented itself.
Quietly, she worked her fingers into the slats of the vent panel positioning her small frame, preparing to pounce. A quick push and she dropped into the room. Throwing the flat, square vent panel, she dropped behind the sixth secondary target and quickly snapped his neck. The big frame dropped with a dull thud to the floor revealing a headless corpse that had been the seventh target. The fat head rolled lazily to a stop against the wall beneath the vent panel. It had lodged there with a sharp ripping thud. Blood still dripped from its slats.
A disgusted frown appeared for only a second at the spurting fluid as the assassin jumped back into the vents to await her final signal and end the reign of terror the evil Colonel had begun so long ago.
Moving only a few feet before she could look down on the primary, she waited patiently for the end to begin. An electronic noise sounded as the generator cut out. Power dropped across the camp leaving only the sound of sporadic gunfire. Light was no longer welcome within the confines of the makeshift stronghold so easily breeched by one small warrior of pure intent.
The colonel grabbed his phone and slammed it down when he realized it held no signal. He punched his intercom but no sound announced out front. He called out but none would hear him. He was utterly alone, left to listen to occasional bursts of weapons fire and a rare grenade thrown at targets that did not exist.
She smiled. It had been as easy as she thought it would be, as she had agreed with her man that it could be. She checked her watch and marked the last few seconds to the final act of a perfect play.
Three…
Two…
One…
It began on cue. There was a slight pop as the TV came to life controlled from some unseen source of immense power. A modern Magick exploited by a post modern Master of such arts. The set came to life building in volume until every speaker in the camp carried the droning static. All activity ceased throughout the small compound as soldiers and low level officers were stunned by the loud noise.
"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom satellite hack of The Eyes Only Informant Net. This hack cannot be traced. It will not be stopped and it is the only free voice left in a broken world."
The scrolling words framing the grey background above and below ran across the screen. "STREAMING FREEDOM STREAMING FREEDOM STREAMING FREEDOM..." The eyes of a man of deep knowledge and wisdom phased with the eyes of a woman equally wise and powerful. The slow, deliberate morph between man and woman matched the chorused voice pattern in opposition. The male voice prevalent over female, layered in waves upon the ever changing eyes of the woman and the man. Two souls of power joined, striking fear in all who opposed and hope in all who believed.
"Tonight an evil within the world will fall." The chorus of male and female spoke. "Tonight that evil will fall away from the light into darkness. Tonight that evil will end."
No longer a kitten playing a game, she of shadow born dropped silently into the darkness and moved quickly to a position behind the Colonel mesmerized by the screen glowing in front of him. The words of the satellite broadcast playing out to the world, screaming of an end to the evil he had become.
"Colonel Michelle Trelaine, trained by the French Foreign Legion and surrounded by his staff of officers comprised of American Mercenaries, Russian Secret Service and Egyptian Terrorists will fall." The chorus explained.
The Colonel dropped into his chair with a heavy thump. His body going limp as Eyes Only's new avatar related his tale.
"The Colonel sought to harm innocent lives in the name of freedom but his goals were far more devious and sinister. Only his personal staff understood what his fifth column troops were truly doing. The drugs and guns being sold on the black market and the world wide slavery ring only funded his true plans of dominating the broken union once called The United States."
"How…" The defeated Colonel muttered. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end when Eyes Only continued.
"You must be asking yourself how by now. You must be wondering how Eyes Only knows of your covert operation. You must be running over every meeting and plan you and your men have ever discussed or held in secret places. It is simple. Eyes Only sees everything." The screen showed a flash panel with frozen stills and silent movies of the Colonel and members of his staff making deals in various locales around the world. "TONIGHT IT ENDS!" The chorus of man and woman roared. The flash panel disappeared to reveal cat's eyes fading back to the morphing eyes of a man and his woman. A Dark Angel and her Guardian.
The Colonel breathed a last sigh as he felt the firm grip on his neck. He heard a last laugh that was not his. It was short and quick and mocking in its tone of contempt and disgust over the suffering he had caused. Then the Colonel knew only darkness. There was no light for him to follow, only an abyss, falling forever.
"The Colonel and his men have been removed. The US Military and Homeland Security are moving on his camp. His troops will be taken into custody and debriefed. Some will be expelled to their own countries. Some will be arrested. Some will fight and die rather than be taken. All will pay for their crimes. This has been a Streaming Freedom Satellite Hack of the Eyes Only Informant Net. Peace. Out." The screen faded to black and fell silent.
The kitten was already gone, returned to the shadows she came from.
Some time later, a man and a woman stood in each others arms. They looked out over their city. Their home. The road was still long before them. Their beginnings were far behind though and the path they had both willingly chosen was stretched further into a past they alone had conquered. One day they would accomplish the goal they both sought and strived for. That elusive freedom all in a broken world dreamed of and cried out to the gods that they might have. One day the man and woman would go to that cabin in the woods by a deep blue lake and raise a family in a world at peace with what it had become. It was the reward they wanted for themselves.
Normal lives in an ordinary world…
Somewhere… somewhere not here, a darker aspect of ultimate power sat pleased with the angel of His creation born, and her guardian made of the same shadow and power. Together they would save His most prized creation and keep the hope all of His people had lost, alive.