QUEST FOR
THE LUNATI TREASURE
Episode #7
"Sin
City 1"
At this point in time, a great battle raged in a secluded area of Corpus Christi, Texas. The wooded area was not traveled much by man, but on this day there were footprints left on the ground in almost every direction, thanks to the fast movements of the figures fighting there.
As the aged owl known as Waza fluttered around the head of the white creature, he managed to avoid the soldier's attacks, which was a good thing, considering the creature was carrying a very sharp sickle. As Waza increased his flying movements around its head, he caused the stone creature to become dizzy and crash violently into a tree, which caused the Karth to shatter into several small rocks.
Waza chuckled. His enjoyment was only momentary, however, as he barely missed being struck by another charging Karth. He flew higher into one of the trees to avoid the onslaught. From there, he spotted his Dark Shadow comrades continuing the battle below.
Miko held tight to her kon. The long, thick wooden staff was rounded to fit perfectly in her hands. She spun around quickly nailing two of the Karths in their heads, causing them to fly out of her range. As she ducked another, she used the kon to pop the Karth in the shins, forcing him to the ground.
She curled into a ball rolling between two more of the creatures, as they stabbed down at her with their sickles. As she bounced to her feet, she spun around, kicking one of them across the head, while snapping her kon with one hand, hitting the other across the back. She giggled happily, as she saw she was no longer surrounded.
"Yuki, look!" she shouted proudly to her teammate, pointing to her fallen opponents.
"Kinda busy right now," Evan Yukito shouted beneath his helmet.
The Blue Ranger found himself backed up against a tree, with only his hand blaster's blade mode to protect him from the barrage of strikes coming his way thanks to Yellow hunter, Addie Malcolm.
She brought her weapon down towards his head, but Evan blocked her attempted strike, causing their blades to spark upon hitting one another.
"Give it up," Addie yelled at him, as she applied more pressure to her cornered prey.
Evan gathered every ounce of strength he could muster and pushed her away from him. He leaned forward attempting to stab at her as if his blade was a fencing foil, but Addie deflected it, sending his hand blaster flying several feet out away.
"Give up yet?" she wondered, with a slight chuckle.
"Nope!" Evan yelled. "Hover Strike!"
As the blue and white circular weapon materialized on his right glove. Addie let out a fierce battle cry and charged towards him with her blade drawn in front of her, but she wasn't fast enough. Evan extended his arm, pointing the Hover Strike directly at her.
Before Addie could get close enough to attack, Evan activated his weapon, sending a burst of wind-powered energy at the Yellow hunter, causing her suit to light up in damage. The force of the wind knocked her body backward, flipping her over and to the ground. She looked up at the Blue Ranger, who appeared to be proud of himself, just as his female companion arrived next to him, literally patting him on the back.
Addie grunted in anger, as she jumped to her feet.
"Two can play that game!" she yelled, as she held her hands out at her sides. "Thunder Claws!"
Before the two yellow bucket scoopers could fully materialize on her arms, she was already on a dead run towards the two members of Dark Shadow. She slammed the two weapons together.
The Blue Ranger, however, was ready. He held his Hover Strike out in front of him once more, activating the device. Addie attempted to use the Thunder Claws to shield herself, but the force of wind from Evan's weapon was too much, as she could not prevent herself from being pushed backwards. She dropped to one knee and slammed her Thunder Claws on the ground, causing a quake to erupt. She focused her power and dropped the claws again, causing that part of the ground to split apart in a straight line, headed straight towards her foes.
Thinking quickly, Evan grabbed Miko around the waist with his left arm and pointed his weapon towards the ground, which was beginning to open in front of them. Evan activated his Hover Strike, sending them both into the air, using its wind power. They hovered over Addie, causing her to chase after them.
Several yards away, Addie's brother was in the middle of a tense battle with the hulking Dark Shadow ninja Taiyami. Bishop fired his hand blaster at Taiyami as he stormed towards him, with his two swords aiming directly for Bishop's chest. Taiyami increased his speed exponentially, making Bishop unable to find his target. Taiyami became one with the wind and whizzed straight past the Black hunter, slashing him.
Bishop's entire suit exploded in a barrage of sparks and smoke, as he fell to his knees. He tried to stand up, as he heard Taiyami's laugh.
"You are strong," he said.
Bishop ignored the creature's taunts as he got to his feet. Taiyami sprinted up towards him again and was face to face with Bishop's helmet within seconds.
"But you are also a fool for getting back up," Taiyami said, as he brought his blades up for another attack.
Using only his hand blaster, which he switched to blade mode, Bishop blocked both of the blades as they came down towards him. He fell to his knees, but he knew he could withstand the creature's attack. He screamed beneath his suit, using every once of strength.
"I never claimed to be smart," Bishop grunted, as he forced Taiyami to allow him to get back to his feet.
The ninja warrior was caught off-guard by the brute strength of his adversary. Bishop kicked Taiyami squarely in the chest, sending the creature sliding a few paces back.
"Turbine Crusher!" Bishop yelled, causing his weapon to materialize in front of him.
He swung the silver and black mallet-shaped weapon in his hands, as Taiyami stood his ground, chuckling once again.
"I'll show you true power!" Taiyami yelled, as his faceplate separated, revealing the silver grill that was his face and the golden eyes that glowed even more. "Paper crane attack!"
As he brought his hand up to his face, signaling the move, the multi-colored cranes appeared out of thin air, swarming around him, until he brought his finger down on Bishop, as if it were a gauntlet. The cranes rushed towards the Black hunter, who skillfully spun his Turbine Crusher repeatedly in a circle, preventing each one of the tiny creatures from hitting him. As the final crane approached, he swiftly spun around, sending it back towards Taiyami, who burst into sparks as he was hit with his own summoned attack.
Almost a mile away from this fierce battle, a pair of eyes watched from atop a small hill, which had grown up in the wooded area. From that secluded spot, Jessica Lorrie watched. With one eye glancing through her handheld scope shot, she could see every piece of the action happening. She couldn't hear much of it though, mostly because her ears were bombarded with the sound of crunching chips. She looked over her shoulder and saw her partner, Chris Hartford sitting on the ground with his back to the fight scene, filling his mouth with the potato chips.
"Comfy?" she asked.
"Ehh, the ground's a little hard, but no complaints," Chris said, nonchalantly.
"It's getting pretty dicey over there. I'm surprised you haven't jumped into the fray."
"Why?" Chris said, giving her a confused look. "If I'm not mistaken it was my dad, your boss, who said that we shouldn't get involved in things like this. After all, you said you weren't picking up a Lunati signature around here."
"But both groups are out here for something," Jessica said. "There was a small DNA signal, but not big enough to be one of the relics...except maybe the pendant. You think that's why they're all here?"
"Smaller signals are easier to pick up on the trackers and that's all they've got to work with, so maybe you right," Chris said, as he leaned back and slurped on a fast food cup.
Jessica frowned at him.
"You're a real piece of work, you know that?"
"Why thank you," Chris said, with a smirk. "I'm just following orders."
Jessica shook her head, giving up on him. As she glanced back through the scope shot, however, she saw something definitely worth her interest.
"Tarok's on the move," she said, troubled. "He doesn't look content to watch the action anymore. It almost looks like he's sneaking away from them all."
Jessica pulled out her tracker and got confirmation of the suspicion she had.
"He's going after that signal," she said, as she looked back down at Chris. "We have to follow him, see what he's after."
Chris gave her an annoyed look.
"Ready?" she asked, as she stood up.
Chris stood up next to her, still holding his drink and chips.
"Can I at least finish my soda first?" he asked.
Jessica quickly swatted the cup out of his hand, causing it to hit the ground and spill out onto the ground.
"Finished?" she asked sarcastically, as she headed off after Tarok.
"Oh, that was so not cool," Chris said, as he walked off behind her.
Tarok crept through the wooded area as quietly as he could. Having left his Karths and his hunters behind to deal with Dark Shadow, he knew he was on his own, which didn't bother him. He was too close to finding what he had come to Texas for. As he stepped into a small clearing in the woods, he saw a stone slab sticking out of the ground.
Around that piece of ground there was nothing but patchy grass. Several trees formed a circle around the spot. As Tarok got closer he could see the small stone monument. There was no marking on it.
Several yards away, Jessica & Chris, both now morphed, also snuck closer.
Tarok extended his gloved palm towards the stone slab and sent a blast of blue lightning energy towards it, causing the ground to quake, as the slab tilted backwards. It created a hole in the ground, as it completely fell over. Tarok walked quickly over to the spot and knelt down, reaching his ungloved hand deep into the uprooted soil until he caught hold of something hard beneath the surface. Tarok smiled widely, as he began to pull at the object beneath the ground.
The Red & Pink Rangers shared a curious glance, as Tarok pulled a smaller stone slab from beneath the surface. As they watched him knock the dirt and grass off the piece of stone, Jessica noticed something and began moving closer until she felt Chris grab her arm.
"What are you doing? He's gonna see you," Chris whispered.
"There something written on that stone tablet he pulled from the ground. I want to get a scan of it," Jessica whispered back as she pulled her tracker and snuck close enough to activate it.
Jessica began studying the words that transferred to her tracker, but the language looked almost like gibberish to her.
A few feet away from her, Chris attempted to join her in her new hiding spot, but when he stepped on a branch, its snap drew Tarok's attention. The ancient Lunati man levitated to his feet, holding tight to the stone tablet with his left hand and extending his palm towards the duo.
"Hartford!" he gasped, as he sent an energy blast from his palm towards the trees, which exploded around them.
Once they had gotten to their feet and pulled their hand blasters, the smoke cleared and Tarok was gone. Jessica reattached her weapon to her belt and stared at Chris.
"Good job," she said, sarcastically, before retreating.
In contrast to the scene happening in Texas, the streets of downtown Silver City in California were much more sedate. In fact there wasn't much happening in this neck of the woods, given that it was approaching early afternoon and all businesses were still in full swing.
An approaching engine, however, began to pierce the quiet of the streets. A speeding motorcycle approached the downtown area, seemingly going faster as it swept past several large skyscrapers, heading towards its destination. The motorcycle's rider was unidentifiable under its black helmet and visor, which matched the rider's waist-length leather jacket and black jeans.
As the figure turned a corner, barely missing a red light the motorcycle sped into the parking lot of a very busy building. The vehicle slowed, making its way through the columns of identical cars, looking for a particular spot. As it reached the end of the first aisle of parked vehicles, the rider saw that the spot at the end was vacant...as always. The rider smiled beneath the helmet and pulled in, turning off the motorcycle's engine.
With his leather gloves and helmet still on his head, he traversed the parking lot, heading towards the entrance to the building. As he passed two uniformed men, they both nodded, acknowledging him. He greeted them with the flick of two fingers from his right hand, continuing on his way without missing a beat. He jogged up the stairs and entered the Silver City Police Department.
As he passed the front desk he removed his leather gloves, followed by his helmet, which drew a smile from the receptionist. The man made his way to a rear staircase and walked up a few flights. As he walked out onto the third floor he passed a familiar sign on the wall that caused him to breathe a sigh of relief.
DEPARTMENT OF DETECTIVES
With his helmet underneath his arm and his gloves tucked into his jacket pocket, he reached for the handle to the glass doors leading into his home away from home. It had been too long, he thought to himself as he nodded to each of his co-workers as he passed them.
Up ahead he saw a very familiar face talking to a fellow detective. He walked up and patted the man on the shoulder, alerting him to his presence. As the man looked over at the newcomer, a smile crossed his face.
"Reporting for duty, Sarge," the new arrival spoke with a slight smile.
"Garza," the Sergeant responded, as he held out a hand to shake. "I had no idea you were gonna be back today."
Garza shrugged his shoulders, as the Sergeant looked back at the detective he had been chatting with.
"Monroe, good job. If you get anything else out of him, let me know," he said to the seated officer, who nodded in response.
The Sergeant, who looked to be barely ten years older than Garza, gestured for him to follow as he walked towards his office, stopping for a moment at his secretary's desk.
"Janice, you didn't tell me Garza was coming in today," he said to the older woman, who smiled back.
"I thought you might like the surprise," she said, sarcastically, as she looked to Garza. "I had no idea. Welcome back, Detective Garza."
"Thanks," Garza said as he followed the Sergeant into his office, passing through the glass door that had the officer's name, James Durst, posted on it.
"Have a seat," Sgt. Durst spoke, as he stepped behind his desk and sat down himself.
Garza sat down, taking a deep breath.
"So, did you get everything sorted out?" Durst asked.
"As much as I could," Garza said, as his tone turned to one of serious contemplation.
"It had to be difficult...burying your grandmother," Durst said, solemnly.
"It was tough, but we got through it," Garza said.
"I'm surprised you came back so quickly," Durst said.
"You know me," Garza said, with a smirk, "Can't keep me away from the streets for long."
"You sure you're ready to get back out there," Durst said. "You've got the time off. If the lieutenant knew you were back so soon he'd probably force you to take it."
"I heard he was out of town himself," Garza replied.
"You've been in touch more than I thought," Durst said, with a smile.
"Gotta keep my head in the game or I'll go insane. You know that. So, how's it been since I left?"
"Well it's only been a week, but it hasn't been too quiet either," Durst said with a wink, as he pulled a file folder from his desk and dropped it on top near Garza, who picked up. "I know you like the...strange cases. You might want to take a look at that."
Garza nodded along, as he thumbed through the file superficially.
"But don't be in too big of a rush," Durst said. "Take some time to really get your head together."
"Yes, sir," Garza said, with a smile, as he headed for the door.
"Hey Garza," Durst called out, getting his attention. "Welcome home."
"Thanks, Sarge," Garza said, as he strolled out of the sergeant's office, headed straight for his desk.
As he sat down, he noticed how barren the desk was. Garza sat his helmet right on top of the desk. He was used to piles of work being there waiting for him every morning. The past week had been a turning point in his life, he thought, not realizing how much he would feel the impact of one loss. He took a deep breath and glanced at the lone picture on his desk.
He smiled as he saw the face of a young woman, happily smiling in her graduation cap and gown. Their Mexican roots were so apparent in her, he thought. As his thoughts veered to family and his grandmother, he never heard the approaching footsteps that walked up next to him and leaned onto his desk.
"Hey, you're back!" the young woman said, with a smile, as Garza looked over to her.
"Hey, Becca. What are you doing in my neck of the woods?"
"Just finished a big case. Sex scandal. Our departments overlapped for a bit and I got to hang out. I was just dropping off my final report," she explained.
"I'm sure the Sarge was happy to have you, and your quick wit, close by," Garza said, sarcastically.
Becca smirked, at him, as she gently popped him on the shoulder.
"Believe it or not, he was great. I think he's warming up to me," Becca said. "Could have something to do with his divorce."
Garza looked surprised.
"Jimmy and Megan are splitting up for real?"
"Looks like it," Becca said. "Monroe was telling me it's gonna be finalized in a couple weeks."
"Wow. Surprised he didn't mention it when I was in with him. I guess nothing lasts forever," Garza said, as his mind began to wander and his eyes fell once again on the framed photo on his desk.
"You got that right," Becca said, somberly, as she saw his eyes veer to the photograph. "How's Sienna handling things?"
"She's great, as always," Garza said. "Sometimes it shocks me how well-adjusted she is, given everything that's happened."
Becca rubbed his shoulder with a comforting hand.
"I'm so sorry about your grandmother," Becca said, seriously.
"It's okay," Garza said, with a sigh. "She had a long life and raising me couldn't have been the easiest job in the world, but she did it. After my mom was committed, she was all I had...and Sienna of course but she was so young back then."
Becca nodded along, not wanting to pry. In fact, she was surprised he had divulged that much information, given his usual quiet demeanor.
"Well, we're glad to have you home," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, I should probably get to work looking at this file Sarge gave me," Garza said, curiously as he began to read through it. "What's up with this mall incident?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Becca said, as she stood up. "It's all there in the file I'm sure. You wouldn't believe some of the crazy stuff that's sprouted up around here since you left for Texas."
As the redhead began walking away, she turned back and called out to her friend.
"Coffee later?"
"Coffee?" Garza said, as he glanced at his watch. "It's almost four."
"What can I say? We computer geeks need our caffeine," Becca responded, giving him a tempting stare.
"Eh, not today," Garza said, finally. "I don't think I'm gonna stay long."
"Tomorrow then," Becca said, pointing a finger at him that warned him not to refuse.
Garza nodded as he saw her sneak past Sgt. Durst's office, headed back towards the cybercrimes division. Garza leaned back in his chair. He glanced back at Sienna's photo before taking a closer look at the contents of the crime folder in his hand.
The cold temperature inside of his cavernous home never bothered Tarok. Even now as he sauntered through the cave passages, holding tight to the stone tablet in his arms, he never paid attention to the decreased temperature. As he entered his large personal chamber he glanced at the six Karths he had left behind to guard the Lunati crown, which was sitting on his altar, in the exact same position he had left it. He nodded as he walked over, causing the white soldiers to move away from the altar.
Tarok placed the stone table on the altar next to the crown and smiled, deviously. Moments later he was joined by his two warriors. Bishop & Addie Malcolm strolled in, both looking a bit tired. Tarok glanced over his shoulder at the entrance to his chamber.
"I trust that Dark Shadow did not follow you," Tarok said, in his raspy voice.
"Please," Bishop said, a bit annoyed at the accusation that he could be followed. "Dark Shadow was not a problem."
"Yeah," Addie chimed in at his side. "Once they lost the signal, they took off."
"After we forced them to retreat," Bishop said, forcefully correcting his sister.
"Right," Addie said, slightly rolling her eyes as she walked closer to the altar and Tarok. "We lost all the Karths we took with us, though."
"Karths are inconsequential," Tarok said. "The important thing is that I have the tablet."
"What exactly is that anyway?" Addie asked, curiously.
"It is the home of a very ancient power," Tarok said. "You might call it...a prison."
"A prison for what?" Bishop, asked as he walked a bit closer as well.
Tarok chuckled a bit, as he turned to face his hunters.
"What lay in that stone is the source of my kingdom's destruction," Tarok revealed.
Bishop & Addie shared a surprised glance between them.
"I don't understand," Addie spoke.
"The Lunati Empire was a thriving civilization. But one day, the empire was shattered by a blood-thirsty pack of wild demons," Tarok explained. "These creatures ripped through the kingdom, destroying everything. My loyal guard shuffled me away from the massacre, giving their lives in the process. Those demons, known as the Ja'Vey, later found themselves hunted with their spirits violently captured and held within that stone."
As Tarok raised his finger and pointed at the stone tablet, Bishop and Addie both felt a lot more uneasy about being in that chamber.
"I don't get it," Bishop spoke first. "You said the tablet was going to help us find the rest of the treasure."
"It will," Tarok said, sternly. "My guards placed me inside the tomb before I had the chance to retrieve my treasure. The Lunati pieces were scattered along with the bodies of my brethren. The Ja'Vey may be the only souls who know how to rediscover them. They have extreme power."
"Wait," Addie said, sporting a look of disbelief. "Are you saying you intend to release those creatures from their prison?"
"Yes," Tarok answered.
"They don't sound too friendly to me," Bishop said, picking up on his sister's apprehension, which matched his own. "And judging by your story I don't think they're too fond of you. Do you really want to resurrect your greatest enemy?"
"Finding the treasure is my priority," Tarok said, as he turned to the altar, staring at the crown. "It is the only way to regain my ultimate power and once again rebuild my kingdom. Your attempts at finding the treasure have proven ineffective and time-consuming. It is clear to me now that more assistance is needed."
"There has to be another way," Bishop said, more forcefully than before.
"What would you suggest?" Tarok asked, turning to look at the Black hunter. "We wait for Hartford and his children to find the next piece and hope that you two can secure it...like you did the chalice?"
Bishop's anger began to mount as he heard the disdain in Tarok's voice. The ancient creature had mastered sarcasm, Bishop thought to himself, as their eyes met. Tarok turned his head back to the tablet and raised his hands, causing several small electrical currents to extend from his palms.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Addie mumbled to her brother, who pulled her back away from Tarok and the altar, as he began to chant, with his eyes focused completely on the tablet.
Addie & Bishop listened closely to his murmured chanting. Each foreign word seemed to echo in the great chamber, as more energy sprouted forth from Tarok's palms, covering him and the tablet in front of him. Rays of electricity seemed to shoot out from his pupils, landing on the tablet and causing the entire cave structure around them to shake violently.
Bishop grabbed a hold of his sister's arm, pulling her to the chamber's entrance, where they braced themselves against the stone arch. The Karths milling about the chamber all began to stumble and fall as well. One of the creatures tripped right into Tarok's back, but the ancient Lunati was unmoving, in his trance state and the force of the electrical currents around his body caused the Karth to explode, turning instantly to dust.
Upon seeing this, Bishop wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulder, further bracing her, as he feared the walls might come down on them all. But just as fast as the tremors started, they came to a stop. As Tarok spoke his final phrase, three streams of gray energy came bursting out of the tablet. The three streams swirled around one another, flying throughout the large chamber, until they crashed into the ground, leaving behind three large, hulking figures.
Addie & Bishop's jaws dropped, as they took in the three creatures whose backs were turned to them. Tarok turned towards the three Ja'Vey warriors and let out a low chuckle, under his breath. He slowly walked over to the group, placing himself between Bishop & Addie and the three creatures, which were still turned away from him.
"Fierce Ja'Vey!" Tarok spoke loudly. "I have called you forth, freed you from your imprisonment. Face your master!"
Slowly the three creatures turned. As Addie gasped, she felt even more uncomfortable. Each was more hideous than the last. The glowing green eyes of the first being were the first thing Addie noticed. Its skin looked to be tough as stone, purple and emerald in color. All three stood still as statues that she wondered if they were indeed alive. The first creature answered her question, though as it opened its mouth slightly, bearing it's fang-like teeth, which were no doubt razor sharp. That creature had silvery green horns that seemed to extend from its armpits up over its shoulders.
She didn't truly want to look at the next, the creature standing in the middle of the trio, but she couldn't take her eyes away. Something about him screamed leader to her. Maybe it was the crimson jewel embedded in his forehead that matched his blood-red eyes. Maybe it was the shape of its head, which seemed to almost resemble a crown, made of horns, which were sticking out of the creature's long head. Unlike his first companion, this creature's body was black, except for a patch of green that seemed to cover its heart and stomach. The creature's body seemed covered in sturdy shells, especially at the shoulder. The Ja'Vey leader had spiked horns piercing almost every part of his body.
The last of the trio had the most fearsome fangs of the bunch. It resembled a mutated tiger, with its orange and black skin. Its glowing yellow eyes drew more attention to the silver whiskers that seemed to shoot out from the creature's chin and cradle its cheeks. Even the black talons that emitted from the Ja'Vey's shoulders seemed sharp as knives. The creature's chest seemed to sport a completely different head. Addie wondered if it was real, or just some type of ritualistic design. For all she knew, this creature could have killed it and taken to wearing its skin as its own. As her eyes continued downward, she saw that each of his hands sported three long silver claws, which she guessed could slice her entire body into three pieces with one strike.
The silence continued in the cave as the creatures looked around and then at one another. Then, in a move that caught the three non-Ja'Vey beings off-guard, the three creatures all stared towards the sky, howling louder than any of them had ever heard. Bishop and Addie both covered their ears at the sound, which seemed to crack some parts of the stone wall of the cavern.
"We have been awakened," the creature in the middle spoke, as he looked to his comrades.
"Finally we are free!" the creature at his left spoke, his voice dark and low.
"It is I who have freed you," Tarok spoke. "You will now serve me."
The creature standing to the leader's right, let out a large chuckle. He lunged towards Tarok, but was stopped by the creature in the middle.
"You are Lunati?" the middle creature asked, as he sniffed a worried Tarok.
"Yes," Tarok spoke.
"I remember. You escaped our wrath," the creature responded. "Why would you summon us?"
"You know the whereabouts of the royal Lunati treasure," Tarok said, as he pointed to the crown on his altar, drawing the three creatures' attentions there. "I must recover it all. Now, that I have freed you, I expect your cooperation in finding it."
Bishop & Addie watched the trio of demons walk slowly over to the altar. They all took turns sniffing at the crown.
"Yes, Barbus," the green and purple creature spoke to the leader. "It is the Lunati crown."
"I can smell the power," Barbus responded. "But it is practically dormant."
"Yes!" Tarok called out. "The pieces must be joined together to unleash their true power."
The three creatures all began to breathe more heavily, as they turned towards the chamber's entrance, where Bishop & Addie were still standing. Barbus let out a fierce howl, as he rushed towards the archway, using his arms as two extra legs. The creatures, now on all fours, leapt towards the chamber entrance, causing the Malcolms to dive to the ground, out of their way.
As the three creatures rushed out of the cavern, Tarok could still hear their howls. He smiled, as he walked back over to the altar, taking the crown in his hand.
"It will not be long now," he said, seemingly talking to the relic.
Bishop rushed to his sister's side, helping her to her feet and staring at the chamber entrance, as if he knew hell had just been unleashed upon the world.
"How can you judge if you've never tried it?" Chris said, loudly, as he descended the staircase headed fort he Tracking Lab, with Spencer right behind him.
"I don't care what you say, Master Chris," Spencer retorted. "If man were meant to fly, he would have been born with wings."
"It's just a bungee jump!" Chris said, prodding his butler further. "It's one of the most freeing experiences you could ever have and you don't know what you're missing."
"I guess I shall remain ignorant, then," Spencer said, with a huff, as they walked into the lab.
Dr. Ian Hartford was seated at one of the main computer terminals, as Jessica Lorrie stood, leaning over his shoulder, so that they could both stare at the screen.
"Dinner will be served in one hour, sir," Spencer announced.
Ian simply nodded his response. Chris walked closer to the terminal.
"Any luck figuring out what was written on that piece of stone Tarok was so interested in?" he asked.
"Well, interestingly enough, the language isn't clearly Lunati," Jessica said, her voice full of excitement. "This stone tablet wasn't created by Tarok's people. That's why we only got a small DNA trace on it."
"But, it's obvious that Tarok knew what it was," Ian explained. "So, we're trying to decipher what these symbols are and how they could be connected back to him and possibly the treasure."
Jessica pointed to the screen, which was showing an exact replica of the text, which she had downloaded from her tracker.
"That symbol is definitely Lunati," Jessica said to Ian. "I remember it from the text you uncovered that told us of the treasure in the first place."
"So, what do you think it is?" Chris asked, curiously.
"Don't know," Ian said, "But we're thinking it could be a map of some sort. If both Tarok and Dark Shadow wanted it, it has to be valuable to finding the treasure."
"Maybe not..." Jessica's voice trailed off, as she began typing on the computer terminal adjacent to Ian's. "I'm cross-referencing some of the symbols, adding them into the database I created to analyze the Lunati language in the original texts. Some of the other symbols on the tablet are derived from Lunati words as well."
Her eyes grew wide, as she read her findings.
"What is it?" Ian asked, noticing her expression change gravely.
"I've been able to translate one line," Jessica said, as she looked up at the three men. "It's not good."
Chris walked over to the terminal and read aloud what appeared on the screen.
"The omnipotent within, if unleashed, will bring forth destruction and the instruments of death," Chris spoke.
Silence invaded the Tracking Lab at that moment, as all four of them looked to one another, each extremely worried.
"Oh dear," Spencer said, finally breaking the silence.
As the sun began to set in Silver City, Detective Garza dismounted his motorcycle once more, as he arrived home. He made sure that the Indian Chief motorcycle was secure in the small garage, which the black vehicle with silver streaks shared with a red Volkswagen Beetle convertible. Garza peeked inside the passenger window of the convertible and made sure the alarm had been set on the car, before he exited the garage, making sure it too was locked.
He walked only a few steps to the side of the two-story apartment building next door to the garage. Garza headed up the wooden staircase that lined the outside of the building. He skipped a few steps on the way up, using his tall frame to his advantage. As he reached the top floor, he pulled out his keys. With his helmet under one arm, he used the other to unlock the door to his apartment.
As Garza entered, the first thing he heard was a slight giggle, followed by more female chatter coming from his kitchen. He hung up his leather jacket, hanging his helmet next to it. He walked into the kitchen, where he spotted the girl from the picture on his desk. She was leaning over a boiling pot, stirring the pasta inside, while also talking on a cordless phone.
She smiled upon seeing his arrival.
"Oh, I know," she said to the caller. "Look, we'll talk tomorrow. I can't wait. Thanks for the update. Yeah...thanks again Tara. Bye."
She hung up the phone as she looked back at Garza.
"Hey," she said. "I thought I'd whip up some spaghetti, quick and easy. How was work?"
"Eh, didn't do much," Garza responded, as he grabbed a glass from a cabinet and poured himself a glass of water. "What about you? Did you get all your school stuff squared away?"
"Yep," she said, with a smile. "All set for tomorrow. It's gonna feel so good to finally be back."
"Sienna, we were only gone a week," Garza said.
"Still, it feels good to be back home."
As she watched Garza drink from the glass, she noticed him staring off.
"What's wrong?" Sienna asked, as she walked closer to him. "Thinking about gram?"
Garza nodded.
"Me too," she said sadly.
Garza reached out, grabbing her into a hug.
"I'm sorry, kid," he said.
As Sienna shed a few tears, she sighed.
"It's times like this that I wish I could have known mom and dad, you know," she said.
"Yeah," Garza said, holding her a little tighter. "I wish you could have known them too."
As Sienna rested her head on her brother's chest, she felt something under his shirt poking at her head. She grabbed at the necklace he wore, moving it out of the way. As Garza peered down at the ring on the end of that necklace, he couldn't help but think back to his trip to Texas.
As he sat on the side of his grandmother's bed, holding her hand, he almost felt like everything was normal, especially as she smiled up at him. She was more alert today, Garza thought. He leaned over, kissing her forehead, which caused his necklace to escape from underneath his shirt.
His grandmother smiled even wider.
"Such a strong bond they had," the old woman spoke, her voice weak.
Garza saw her gaze on the ring that hung from the golden chain. He instinctively took it into his hand, holding it tight.
"That's not how I remembered it," Garza said, practically whispering himself. "But...I don't want to go into that now, Grandma."
She shook her head, resisting his words. She lifted up her wrinkled hand, grabbing hold of his hand that was wrapped around the ring.
"They were strong," she whispered. "I know it wasn't easy growing up with your father gone so much and your mother falling apart, but before that time, they were so happy together."
Garza had always hoped that were true. It was the reason he kept the ring.
"The greatest gift they ever gave me was you and your sister," the lady revealed, "Your mother was not a well woman, but she knew where you needed to be. You were always foremost on her mind and your father would be proud of the man you've become."
"I know, Grandma," Garza responded.
"Hold tight to that ring," she said to him. "It's the greatest gift they could have given you. It's the heart of your legacy."
Back in the present, Garza once again instinctively grabbed that ring, holding it tight, along with his grieving sister.
As nightfall arrived in Silver City, the sun was gone. The moon, however, was beginning to shine brighter in the sky. Downtown Silver City was more deserted than in the daylight, thanks to most of the businessmen and women having already gone home to their families. But there was an approaching trio that was also looking for home. As the three resurrected Ja'Vey approached the area, the first noticeable sign was their glowing eyes in the darkness.
As they approached the skyscrapers and businesses they each looked dumbfounded, utterly taken aback by their surroundings.
"I do not understand," Barbus, their leader, spoke. "Our pack's territory extended for miles...and yet it is now overtaken."
"Time has changed," his green and purple ally said, at his side.
"What is all of this?" the third, orange and black creature said, angrily, as he smashed over a light post using only the strength of his forearm.
The three watched as the light post fell over, crashing onto a parked car.
"Come, Abaddon and Gadarel," Barbus ordered his followers. "I believe it is time to mark our territory once again!"
Barbus let out a fearsome howl, as energy burst forth from his eyes, blasting a coffee shop, whose windows burst upon impact. The resulting explosion inside the cafe left it burning, a hulk of rubble. Barbus chuckled with delight.
He looked up at Gadarel, his tiger-like general as he hopped swiftly between two large buildings, clawing at the windows of both until he reached the top and let out a howl of his own, which caused all of the windows of both buildings to shattered.
Almost a block away, Abaddon cracked his knuckles, and extended his arm, causing a large purple and green cannon to appear under his arm. Abaddon gripped tight to the weapon, as he let out a gasping laugh and fired on another building, causing it to collapse instantly from the fireball emitted by the cannon.
As the destruction continued, a lone car turned onto that street at the wrong time. As the couple inside watched the destruction happening in front of them, they never saw Gadarel crashed onto the hood of their car, howling at them. The woman let out a terrifying scream, as her husband tried to put the car in reverse. But, before he could act, the driver's side window was shattered by the arm of Barbus, who grabbed at the man, until he had pulled him out of the car completely.
The woman continued to scream in peril, as she backed away from the driver's side, forced to watch Barbus and Gadarel rip at her husband, until his clothes and his body were left in pieces on the street. As she heard another howl she looked out the front window and saw Abaddon standing in front of her vehicle, wielding his cannon, focused directly on her car. She let out a piercing scream, as he fired.
A speeding procession of sirens headed towards the devastation unfolding downtown. But, as the squad cars, unmarked vehicles, and emergency ambulances got closer, they seemed to be caught in a barrage of escaping cars, trying to get away from the carnage. The drivers no longer obeyed the rules of the road. The only thing on their minds was survival. They drove down streets in the wrong direction, turned into dark alleyways and even drove in reverse. This chaos, was now preventing the emergency services from doing their jobs.
Sergeant James Durst was standing amongst the chaos, trying to get some order restored, so that his people could get closer to see what was causing such destruction only a few blocks ahead.
"Please, everyone calm down! You will be evacuated in an orderly fashion, but we need to make way for the ambulance and fire department, now!" Durst yelled through his megaphone.
At that moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Garza standing there.
"What are you doing out here? You're off for the night," Durst said, as he turned his sights back to his other officers who were trying to help clear the street.
"What's going on?" Garza said.
"Not sure, but some thing is attacking the city. We got sporadic reports of some kind of wild animals, maybe wolves. Whatever it is, it's causing panic and we can't get our men or the ambulances through," Durst explained.
Garza looked ahead at the open space between a few cars.
"I can get through," Garza said, as he put on his helmet, and felt a strange sensation, that caused him to almost lose his balance.
Durst grabbed a hold of him, preventing his fall.
"No!" Durst said, "You go home! You're obviously exhausted."
"No, Sarge!" Garza said, regaining his footing and forcing himself to ignore his dizziness. "I can do this. I'll bring back a full report."
Garza rushed back to his motorcycle, ignoring Durst's calls for him to stop. He started the bike and sped through the thin opening between the cars, headed straight into the heart of the conflict.
As Garza got closer, he saw the bursting fires and firemen trying to get them under control, using whatever means they could without their large fire trucks on the street. He looked on the other side of the isolated incident and saw the cars had that area partially blocked as well. He slowed his motorcycle only to be tackled off of it by something. The two went rolling past the street and into a secluded alley. As his helmet was knocked off, he saw the glowing red eyes of Barbus. Garza was stunned. It was dark, but he could still tell this was no rabid wolf. Barbus howled loudly and pulled his paw up to swipe at Garza's face, but then paused, as his sense of smell took over, he sniffed Garza all over and then howled again before rushing off.
Garza made it to his feet and walked back towards the street, just as another wave of dizziness came over him. He steadied himself and picked up his helmet, as he saw his motorcycle lying on the street. It was then that he saw something landing from above. It was a large white vehicle of some sort, being lowered from a flying red jet. As it landed on the street near the alley, Garza noticed the pink color on top of the vehicle resembling a submarine, which began shooting water from several points, beginning to extinguish the flames.
He watched in confusion, as the tow cable that had lowered the vehicle retracted and a man, wearing a red suit jumped from the flying jet to the ground, with his white and black blaster drawn, firing at the creature that had just attacked Garza. He watched as a woman in a pink costume, matching the red one, jumped from the vehicle on the street, wielding a white and pink weapon of some sort. She fired the weapon at one of the nearby fires, extinguishing it swiftly. But, another of the creatures was swooping down towards her from behind. She didn't see it.
"Look out!" Garza yelled from the alley, as he pulled his gun.
The female hero turned, but it was too late, as she was thrown off of the vehicle, by the creature with the glowing green eyes. It looked at Garza and then focused its cannon on him, firing. He dived back into the alley as the cannon's blast hit the edge of the building next to him, causing rubble to crash down around him. He managed to wiggle out of the debris and made his way back to the edge of the alley and fired his gun at the creature, hitting it directly.
The bullets, however, seemed to do no damage, as the creature howled happily and jumped off the vehicle, continuing its rampage. Garza's eyes searched for the woman in pink, whom he found fighting off a third of the creatures, this one had glowing yellow eyes. Garza watched the Pink warrior kick the creature away with a spinning kick, which she followed up with a blast from her weapon, sending the creature flying backwards, into a parked car.
Garza was impressed. But at that moment, he saw her red companion in trouble. Barbus had managed to knock his weapon from his hand. The two fought hand to hand, until Barbus connected with a paw to the Red warrior's chest, sending him crashing to the ground in a barrage of sparks and smoke. Garza fired his gun at the creature, but it again did no damage. In fact, it only drew the creature's attention towards him. Before he could get to Garza's location, the woman in pink's weapon fired on him, sending him flying.
As Garza tried to emerge from his position to help, his dizziness overcame him, causing him to collapse on the street near his motorcycle. As he began to lose his senses, the last thing he could hear was the woman in pink's voice.
"Hey! Are you all right? Can you hear me? Can you hear me?"
Almost an hour later, Bishop & Addie Malcolm found their fearless leader, Tarok, pacing in his chamber. He turned quickly towards the entrance as he heard their approach. Once he saw that it was not the Ja'Vey he frowned.
"I guess you haven't heard back from your secret weapons yet," Bishop said.
"It will take time," Tarok said, just as they all heard the rumble of approaching creatures.
Barbus, Abaddon and Gadarel entered Tarok's chamber together. As they did, Barbus passed by Bishop and Addie who had moved further inside the chamber, near the altar. As he passed, Addie put a finger up to her nose. She could smell the stench of blood and smoke on him.
"Were you able to locate the other pieces of the treasure?" Tarok asked Barbus.
"This world has changed," Barbus said angrily. "What have you brought us into?"
"I have given you life so that you can seek out the treasure," Tarok said. "It should not be difficult for your heightened senses."
"There are too many smells," Gadarel spoke, as he followed his nose to an attractive smell that led him to Addie.
As he began to sniff her hair, Bishop pulled his sister away, standing between them. Gadarel chuckled, as he walked back over to join Abaddon by the entrance.
"We cannot help you," Barbus said to Tarok.
Tarok looked shocked.
"But—you must! I command you!"
Barbus stepped up close to Tarok's face, staring him in the eyes.
"You cannot command my pack!" Barbus said, still seething from his earlier battle. "Dissenting voices broke the Ja'Vey apart, but my greatest warriors and I survived that. Surely, we can survive the petty threats of a mere Lunati!"
Barbus turned to face his comrades, who were both nodding in agreement.
At that moment, Tarok placed both of his hands out towards Barbus, zapping him with his electrical energy. Barbus's body began to shake under Tarok's hold, but then he began to laugh loudly.
Bishop & Addie watched nearby, caught off-guard by the response.
Barbus walked right out of Tarok's electrical grip and joined his two followers at the entrance.
"As I said, your threats mean nothing!" Barbus said. "Once we have truly regained our freedom...we may be open to finding the treasure of the Lunati. But for now, we have our own mandate!"
Barbus turned to his comrades and nodded. He headed for the cavern exit, followed by Abaddon and Gadarel. As they departed, Bishop & Addie had their eyes on Tarok whose eyes had grown so big that they thought the pupils might actually pop out of their sockets. It was clear that the fallen Lunati king was not happy with this turn of events.
Once outside the cave, the trio of Ja'Vey glanced around the forest, but kept close enough to hear one another speak.
"Our mandate?" Abaddon wondered aloud.
"There is a hunter among us," Barbus revealed.
Abaddon & Gadarel both stiffened up at the revelation.
"You mean—" Abaddon started.
"Yes!" Barbus cut him off. "The bloodline that imprisoned us lives on and it is my intention to finally get revenge on those that forced us into that stone prison!"
As Gadarel and Abaddon nodded along, Barbus let out a fearsome howl, joined seconds later by his two companions.
The next day, Detective Garza shuffled into his kitchen, holding his head, as he reached for the coffeepot. Sienna Garza emerged from her room, looking completely fresh. She walked over to the small table, where she placed a few textbooks. The sound of them hitting the table scared Garza.
"Holy crap," Garza said, as he jumped to face her. "Sienna, you scared me."
"Have you been sleep all this time?" she wondered.
"Why? What time is it?" he asked, still groggy.
"It's almost 2 in the afternoon!" Sienna said, as she walked over to him. "You really did get knocked out last night, huh?"
Garza placed his cup of coffee in the microwave and shook his head.
"The last thing I remember was...getting really dizzy on the street. There was this voice," he spoke, still confused.
"Sgt. Durst brought you home," Sienna explained. "You were demanding that he not take you to the hospital. We helped you to bed and he left. I'm starting to think he should have taken you anyway."
"I'm alright," Garza responded, as he sipped his coffee, then looked back at his sister. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"
"I only had two classes today," she said with a smile. "I had lunch and caught up with the girls then came back here, just in time apparently. You slept so hard you must not have heard the movers arrive with grandma's stuff."
Garza looked disappointed.
"I missed them," Garza said. "I needed to tell them about the storage unit I rented."
"I know," she said, "But you didn't tell me so I had to let them bring everything up here. It's all in the spare bedroom."
"Okay," Garza said, with a sigh. "I'll call them back while I'm getting dressed for work."
"Are you sure you want to go in today after last night?" Sienna asked, concerned.
"I'm sure," Garza said, as he retreated to his bedroom to get dressed.
Fifteen minutes later, he found his sister in the spare bedroom, looking at a photograph from a box she had opened.
"What are you doing?" Garza asked, quietly.
"I couldn't resist," Sienna said, as she showed him the picture of their grandmother when she was no older than twenty. "I think I'm gonna keep this here."
Garza nodded.
"You guys looked a lot alike," Garza said. "The movers should be here in an hour to take all this stuff to the storage unit. Can you stick around to supervise?"
"Sure," Sienna said, as the phone rang.
She exited the bedroom to answer it. With his sister gone, Garza himself couldn't avoid the urge to open one of the boxes. It was one marked private and fragile. He knew because he had written it on the side at his grandmother's request. He opened the box and reached inside, pulling out one item that was tucked inside. As he held the folded white handkerchief in his hand, he could feel a slight bit of dizziness again.
Garza steadied himself and unwrapped the handkerchief, revealing a knife. He pulled it closer to his face, so he could get a better look at the markings on the handle. They weren't very familiar to him. He thought back to the first time he saw that blade.
"This is very important, Stephen," his grandmother said, as she handed it to him.
"Grandma, this knife has dried blood on it," Garza said, as he examined the blade.
"I know," she responded. "It is the blood of your father."
"I don't get it," Garza said, giving her a confused look.
"This blade holds great power," she said, her voice growing weaker. "You must keep it safe and nearby."
"Grandma, you have to tell me what this is about," Garza pressed. "Why is my father's blood on this knife. Was it used to kill him?"
The old woman couldn't help but smile.
"Hardly," she said, with a smile. "Your father was always too smart for that. He kept it close to him...you must do the same."
"I still don't understand," Garza repeated.
Back in the present, he opened his eyes, breaking the flashback to his time in Texas. He didn't know the true origins of that knife and he was upset that his grandmother didn't hold all of the answers he sought.
Garza walked purposefully into the detective division at the Silver City Police Department, headed straight for his boss's office. Before he could get there, he saw Sgt. Durst talking with several other officers inside of his office. An arm grabbed Garza, catching him off-guard, until he saw it was Rebecca Shields.
"Becca, what's going on?" Garza asked his friend.
"I was just gonna ask you the same thing," Becca said. "Durst came in this morning completely pissed about what happened last night. Chaos, destruction...the mayor's not happy."
"I can imagine he wouldn't be," Garza said.
"Did you see those creatures?" she asked. "The eyewitnesses are describing them as...demons. Some kind of mutated animals?"
"They were strong and they had death in their eyes," Garza said. "That's what I remember."
"Durst mentioned finding you passed out on the street. You okay?"
"I'm fine. I need to talk to him," Garza said.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Becca responded. "He made it pretty clear before all the media showed up that he didn't want you working today. You might want to steer clear, for your own good. Go home. Get some rest."
"I can't do that," Garza said. "Something strange is going on out there, Bec. I need to find out what it is."
At that moment, he heard the phone at his desk ring. He walked over to it, with Becca close behind him. He answered.
"Hello, Detective Garza," he spoke.
"Detective Garza," a whimpering woman spoke. "Please! Please, you have to come. Help me, please!"
"Ma'am, what's wrong?" Garza asked, as he gave Becca a troubled look. "Who is this?"
"Please...they killed my husband," she said. "They said I had to call you. Please, help me!"
"Who is this? Where are you?"
"At the shore line...please hurry!" the woman said, before she let out a piercing scream.
Garza hung up and put his helmet back on as he headed for the door.
"Who was that?" Becca asked, as she kept pace with him.
"I don't know. But whoever it was, she needs my help. She asked for me personally. I gotta go," Garza said, as he exited.
Becca shook her head, not liking his penchant for going off on his own.
Chris Hartford entered the Tracking Lab in the basement of his home. Once he located Jessica Lorrie seated at a computer terminal, he walked over and sat down next to her.
"You've been at this all night and all day," Chris said. "Want to take a break?"
"I can't," Jessica said.
"Even dad gave up," Chris mentioned.
"Your dad got too tired from his medication and had to take a nap. Plus, I have coffee. I'll be fine," Jessica said. "Besides, I'm getting close to a breakthrough on this translation matrix I came up with."
"So you've been able to completely decipher the tablet?" Chris wondered.
"Enough to figure out that those creatures we fought off last night are in fact connected to the tablet Tarok stole," Jessica explained. "They're called Ja'Vey...translated it means omnipotents."
"No surprise there...given the power they had and all the death and destruction they brought."
"It's more than that," Jessica said, as she pointed to some text on the screen. "They are death and destruction. I cross-referenced the tablet text with some of the old Lunati texts. This is actually more Latin than Lunati, but there's definite correlation. I found mentions of an omnipotent named Barbus. Apparently he does bring destruction and the instruments of death."
"Okay," Chris said, looking even more curious.
"The word destruction is actually used as a proper noun on the tablet. That's what the word Abaddon stands for, untranslated. The word Gadarel means instrument of death. They're used as names," Jessica said, with her eyes wide.
"Three names...three creatures," Chris reasoned.
"I think so. Barbus sounds like the leader and it appears all three were trapped at different times within that stone tablet...at least their spirits were," Jessica explained. "Apparently, Tarok had the power to release them."
"So, how do we put them back?" Chris asked.
"I don't think we can," Jessica said. "The tablet talks about a hunter, a human who has the power to seal away the dark omnipotents. The text is limited though so I have no idea how to go about finding this hunter...or if he or she even still exists. This tablet pre-dates the Lunati. It could have been passed down by generations, but since it was buried, there may be no more hunters left."
"The Ja'Vey obviously know that," Chris said, as his mind wandered. "Can you imagine what they'd do if they discovered the hunter's descendants were still around? I wouldn't want to be in that person's shoes, after last night."
Jessica nodded along.
"If this hunter's family line does still exist, the Ja'Vey would definitely go after them based on what I've read. Vengeance is their strongest motivator," she said.
Detective Garza rode his motorcycle as far as he could, as he reached the rocky shoreline. He dismounted, leaving the vehicle and his helmet behind. Garza walked closer to the cliffs, peering over the black rocks that were stacked along the edge of the ocean.
"Are you here?" he yelled. "It's Detective Garza! Where are you?"
"Welcome."
Garza looked around as he heard the dark voice, clearly masculine. He looked around but saw nothing. Just as he began to feel dizzy, he heard footsteps on the cliff behind him. Before he could turn, he was pushed forward. Garza hit the stones below as he rolled to the bottom of the cliff, almost rolling over into the ocean. He pulled himself back up, holding his stomach, which was in searing pain thanks to his rocky fall.
He looked back up at the cliff, where he saw the orange and black creature from the night before, with the glowing yellow eyes. The creature was laughing at him.
"Who are you?" Garza yelled. "Where's the woman? What have you done to her?"
Gadarel continued to chuckle, as he opened his mouth wider, allowing a white mist to seep out into the air. The mist traveled down to Garza and began to swarm around him, not helping his dizziness at all. As his head became immersed in the white smoke, he could hear the woman's panicked screams. He could see her inside of her car, as it was destroyed. He could see that it was the same street from the night before. She had died long ago.
They had tricked him, he thought, as he swung at the smoke, trying to get it to disperse.
"Why are you doing this?" he yelled, as the mist began to clear, sliding back into the mouth of its creator, who jumped down to the same level where Garza stood.
"We wanted to formally meet you...since you don't seem to recognize us."
This new voice startled Garza, as he turned around quickly, seeing the green and purple creature, with the glowing green eyes. Today, he was without his cannon under his arm. Garza looked around, quickly. He knew the black creature that had attacked him on his motorcycle was still missing.
"We recognize your scent, human," Gadarel called out from behind Garza, causing him to turn away from Abaddon.
"Apparently your hunter did not inform you of us," Abaddon said from the other side of Garza, causing him to quickly turn again.
The sudden movements were not doing much to help his disorientation, which seemed to be getting worse, as the creatures stepped closer to him. His vision began to blur.
"We are the Ja'Vey...the everlasting power of this world. Our leader, Barbus alerted us to your presence. My companion is Gadarel and I am Abaddon," the green and purple creature explained. "You seem strong...yet so weak that you cannot withstand our methods."
Garza fell to his knees, unable to settle himself. He could hear them both laughing, as they walked closer to him. He swung his arms out in retaliation.
"Stop laughing!" he yelled, as he fell over on his knees, pounding his fists into the hard rocky surface.
"Barbus thought you would present a bigger challenge," Abaddon said, as he knelt down on one knee in front of Garza.
He pulled the detective's head up by the chin, looking into his eyes. Garza could barely make out Abaddon's face, given his blurred vision.
"Apparently, he was wrong," Abaddon said. "Perhaps, he will have better luck with the rest of your pack. Perhaps, there is a true hunter there!"
Garza screamed out, pulling his face from Abaddon's grip. He struggled to his feet, as his body filled with rage at the possibility of Barbus being anywhere near his home.
"No!" Garza yelled, as he tried to get up. "No!"
He heard the laughs of Abaddon and Gadarel, as he began to stumble away.
"Hear this, human!" Abaddon called after him. "There is no stopping the Ja'Vey! This was merely a warning. Cross us and we will destroy you...just as we did your ancestors!"
As he got farther away from the shore, Garza could feel his bearings beginning to fully return to him. He hopped onto his motorcycle and before long was one the road to his home, going faster than the speed limits. He had activated his siren and whizzed in and out of traffic, no longer thinking about dizziness, no longer thinking about the shore, no longer thinking about the safety of those on the street with him. He was no longer thinking at all. The only thing on his mind was Sienna.
As he turned onto his block, he could already see the black smoke coming from the direction of his apartment. He jumped off of his motorcycle, before it could even come to a complete stop. He dropped his helmet on the ground, as he saw the rubble of his apartment building in front of him. The fire was still burning and there was smoke everywhere. As he got closer he glanced at the open garage and saw his sister's car still parked there.
"Sienna!" Garza yelled louder than he ever had in his life.
As he looked ahead, past the flames and smoke, he saw an approaching shadow in the smoke. His eyes squinted, as he could feel his heart racing. He moved closer and closer, until the figure's body became visible, walking towards him. Garza felt a wave of dizziness and fell to his knees, as he saw Barbus emerge from the smoke, carrying Sienna's body.
His dark laughter pierced Garza's heart.
"Welcome home," Barbus said, as the blood dripped from his fangs.
He dropped Sienna's bloodied body onto the ground and began howling, as Garza felt his heart shatter, as his eyes never left his sister's body.
"Nooooo!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next time on
Quest for the Lunati Treasure
Tarok seeks to regain control of the Ja'Vey, leading
to a dangerous confrontation. Jessica pieces together
the origins of the Ja'Vey and the only force that may be
able to stop them. Chris goes after the tablet. In the
wake of tragedy, Detective Garza makes a bold decision.