**POV Frost**
The drive was a long one. 'WHY DID THEY GIVE ME A TEN TON LORRY! FOR DEATH'S SAKE I'M TRANSPORTING A RECON SQUAD NOT HALF A PLATOON! I MEAN COME ON! ACCELERATES LIKE A SLUG AND TURNS LIKE A WHALE WITH AN EATING DISORDER!' Without my normal choice in music I'm stuck with two idiots begging each other for a fight, a quiet engineer and a Demon Sword that seem creepily amazed by everything, creating a mildly annoying atmosphere. However they are my family, so I put up with it. "Hey Nathan how long we got?" Alex's obnoxiously confident voice flies through the truck to the quiet engineer, tinkering with his maps.
Nathan looks back towards Alex. "Just have a klick to go, we'll be there in an hour!"
'Great! Another hour of this bullshit! This is why I can't have peaceful holidays.' I snigger as my internal complaints amuse and distract me from the restarted argument between the blacksmith and the demo girl. Suddenly, something quelled the chaos. I forgot the radio was on and my favorite DJ came on. His Stage name was Deth Dex and he has been my friend for years even through school and the academy, however I am the only one with the privilege to call him Aaron. He is my bro through thick and thin. As it happens he put on a sweet track called shipwrecked! Alestorm's song however was remixed by Drop Goblin and its sick as tits! I catch the movement of hair in my peripheral vision. I turn to see Kairon with devil horns out the widow as he turned the song up and begun banging his head. Soon after we all join in at different intensities. Kairon was still busy headbanging, me and Nathan just bob our heads in time to the song, while Sal and Alex start a two man moshpit in the back. "Maybe it won't be such a bad trip after all." The travel wasn't such a drag when Deth Dex starting playing a continuous stream of pirate metal.
The truck comes to a screeching halt. Alex's boots make a thunderous boom as they slam into the floor "UGH FINALLY!" Alex's ungodly bellow earns a quick twitch as I close the door to the truck. "Oops, sorry boss." Her nervous laugh is rarely herd but in this sense it always comes out.
Nathan places his hand on Kairon's shoulder and says something to him. They must have gotten out the other side and walked round. Kairon seemed on edge for a moment there. I'll have to apologize later. "It's fine just watch your noise level okay?" I ask as politely as I can while still show some mild annoyance in the process by ending with a sigh. "Jeez, its already seven pm." I say to no one in particular. "Alright let's get moving, we gotta check in!" I state grabbing some of the camping supplies from the back of the truck. "Grab what you can and lets roll!"
Sal, of course, rushes for the heaviest thing. The tent bag. However, surprise comes over his face as he sees Kairon walking past with the tent bag, plus all our water and half our food. Even I'm impressed to put it bluntly. I imagine Sal feels his position as meat shield of the group is being threatened. I'm sure when he realizes that the rookie's specialty is crowd control rather than damage sponge, he will chill a bit. Sal looks back in the truck and divide the rest up evenly. As he begins to run and catch up he looks back to the truck. "Nathan! Don't forget the cooker this time!" He shouts back making me laugh softly as I remember the chaos that ensued due to the missing cooker.
**Ten Minutes later**
"Ahh just in time." I relish our teams precision as we walk through the doors at exactly quarter past seven.
"But, didn't we get here fifteen minutes early? Check in doesn't stop till half past." Alex questions observantly. The only time she will really put her brain to work is in a fight and when she is trying to lure me into a verbal trap.
"Its important to be at least fifteen minutes early."
I respond confidently but before I can follow up she interrupts my thought process. "Your just trying to one up the army aren't you?" 'SHIT!' I scream in my head knowing I've fallen for it again.
"To ONE up them would be infantile." Kairon's voice cut through the silence like a guillotine as he walks to the front of the group and looks back. "We're gunna SEVEN UP THEM!" He shouts enthusiastically while raising a green can of dnL.
The street falls silent as he cracks open the can and began chugging the lemon and lime flavored liquid. I studied the can and Kairon's body language. When the can turned up-side down I see the joke and hear Alex double over in pain from her hysterics while Sal stairs dumbfounded. Nathan dramatically face palms behind me while I chuckle at his cleaver save as he looks at me and winks. 'Well now I know he has my back no matter what the situation.' I then hear Sal start laughing heartily as Alex is explaining the joke. "C'mon, Let's get checked in." I say as I place my hand on Kairon's shoulder like he was my brother, earning a warm smile from Kairon.
As I walk up to the reception desk, I notice the rather splendid interior. A white marble floor, with smooth, matte white walls with modest pillars made with a similar style used in roman time. Between the pillars hung a red drape that covered about sixty percent of the gap between the pillars and a small gold sconce, each one having three LED lights giving the room a relaxed yet brilliant shine. The reception desk contrasted the floor with a grey marble base with a smooth black mock-marble top. The high-spec touch screen computer was operated but a female receptionist with blonde hair which was tied in a bun and wore a pair of discrete, low frame reading glasses that drew the viewers sight to her Forest Green eyes. Her uniform was a standard black blazer with a white blouse and plain black work trousers. "Wow, I could get used to this." Alex states admirably.
Amen sister!' I quickly cut that thought out of my head and get serious. "Well don't. You know we are only here for the first and last night." I state flatly.
"Yeah yeah." Is all the response I get as she sarcastically waves her hand at me.
I notice the receptionist has a gold name tag pinned to her left lapel 'Hi! I'm Rachel! Have a nice day.' "Hi there, can I help you sir?" Her tone and smile are both warm and welcoming.
"Hi Rachel. My name is James Frost, I have a suite booked for five by the Academy." After my polite response, she begins verifying my claim through the system and grabs five key cards. "Sorry we only need one key card. We are only staying one night." I try to be polite and save the hassle of four key cards potentially going missing - those locks are expensive.
"Very well Mr Frost. If you like to follow me I will lead you to your suite." Rachel's voice is still warm a friendly while she beams a brilliant smile.
The trip to the room wasn't a long one, but gave me time to sample more of this hotels great internal design. The red carpet against the white marble floor and matte cream walls gave a warmer and more relaxed vibe due to the lower levels of light. It was only by a fraction so it isn't really noticeable unless you do sniper training. The lobby was probably designed to give a celebrity welcome of sorts while then bringing you down softly with the calm and relaxing hallways. The others are starting to wind down for the night, but I doubt we will be able to sleep for another few hours. "Who wants pizza!" I shout happily while picking up the room service phone to hear everyone scream "AYE!" in unison.
**The next day (12:30pm)**
The camp was set up a lot faster with an extra pair of hands. The fire pit was dug in record time thanks to Kairon and Sal's monster strength, me and Nathan set up the tent perfectly as usual and began hunting for firewood while Alex oversaw the organizing inside the tent. She was always good at maximizing the space whatever the room, style or environment.
We searched for an hour and a half to find the most possible fire wood and got back to camp for two pm. "So we all set for the mission Captain?" Kairon asks me as he concentrates to form two Ninjoto and his Witchblade.
After he is finished I begin to give the details. "Okay, so we have picked up spikes of madness in the forests around here. The mission is to find what ever is causing it and report back to Lord Death, Any questions?" My explanation is brief and clear.
"Sir." I hear Nathan answer confidently.
"Hmm?"
"Will you want me in weapon or human form Sir?" His question is a good one that required me to ponder on my answer.
"I'll have you in weapon form, don't forget the suppressor." I state as Nathan Nods and begins to glow green and changed into an M27 Assault Rifle, complete with a combat scope, fore grip and a suppressor, hanging from a sling resting on my left shoulder with my right arm through the loop. My beret was replaced by a Rangers helmet with a built-in cross com on the left side and a scanner on the right side. The screen was originally deployed but then quickly folded away when I pushed a small green button on the left side of my helmet just behind my cross com. The mass of my newly equipped gear suddenly hits me, pulling me down an inch or two but quickly adjusting to the new weight. "Right, shall we?" I ask rhetorically as I load Nathan with a stun mag. Sal has opted to leave his Angel Slayer battle-axe as he reassures Kairon he has an easy way of summoning it when he needs it - I know there is merit to his claim but Kairon is in for a treat. The four of us quickly began our search. I took point, Kairon was behind me, followed by Sal with Alex bringing up the rear.
For five hours, only wild life and the breeze played and rustled through the bushes. The cold air and withered plants still lingered as winter begun is last dying breaths. Then, after three hours of searching, a spike of madness was detected. It wasn't as strong as the spike we were sent to investigate, its probably just a garden variety Kishin. None the less, it shouldn't be underestimated. "You guys feel that?" I ask signalling for the squad to halt.
"Just your average Kishin. Nothing worth worrying too much about." Kairon's claim seems to have merit as Sal gives me a nod of agreement.
I form a detailed plan of how we will strike when we find the Kishin in an open clearing of trees roughly ten meters in diameter. "NOW!" I command as I signal for the attack to start. Me and Alex Come out of hiding and catch the Kishin in a V-shaped crossfire, focusing on its legs to force it into the air. It falls for my trap and is met with Kairon and Sal rushing to Kishin from opposite directions as we begin to hold our fire. Sal uses his daggers to cut straight through the monster two inches above its waist line while Kairon uses his Witchblade execute a synchronized decapitation. The Kishin's body quickly evaporates leaving the disembodied Kishin egg to slowly descend and hover over the ground "Awesome, good job all round guys." I compliment my team on its outstanding display of efficiency.
"Thanks but who gets the soul?" Kairon's question is full of curiosity but I sense no greed from his tone or body language.
"It goes in the KSD." I say pulling a small black box from my hardcase.
"Umm. In non military?" He replies comically
"Kishin Egg Storage Device, but we say KSD 'cause it rolls of the tongue nicer." Kairon's confusion was changed to astonishment as he watched the soul be absorbed by the box and lit up with a red, three digit, digital number display. '1', was all that was lit up of the display showing the exact number of souls the box contained. "We then split the souls at the end of each mission between each member who needs them." I begin to analyse the trees and observable sky for anything out of the ordinary. "However, we aren't done yet. The spike's origin must be close. Nathan how far are we?" As I ask my weapon partner I close my eyes to listen closely.
"We about four hundred meters out, keep heading east." Nathan's calm voice has a small echo as he spoke through our resonance.
"Alright, just four hundred meters to go. Get back in formation and lets roll." My voice is soft yet has a firm, commanding tone. The team complies with my orders without question or complaint and once Alex has reloaded her shotgun we start moving.
"Cap' you sure Nathan knows where he is goin'?" Alex's voice spoke softly over the radio. "Everything looks the same round here."
"I know what you mean, but were going the right way." Kairon's dark and cold voice startled me.
"How can you tell?" I question anxiously.
"Don't you feel that blood lust? It's screaming clears as day." His almost sixth sense precision startles everyone as they are suddenly made aware of the potential threat.
"Can you tell what it's coming from?" Sal's question sends imagination into overdrive. 'It might be a Troll. Or maybe an overpowered...
"Its a witch! Get down!" Kairon screams as he rushes to the front to block an incoming spell. The spell detonates before Kairon has a chance to redirect its trajectory, launching all of us a modest few feet back and earning an audible grunt in pain from Kairon. "Not bad, but you will need a little more than a few fireworks to bring me down! Why don't you just come on out and we can talk face to fist!" Kairon's voice is confident as he challenges and slams his knuckles together. His wavelength suddenly jumps into action. "Soul Fist." Kairon takes a Muay Thai fighting stance while black a purple sparks of lightning jumped round his hands. His eyes were electric blue and focused on a large cluster of shrubbery that rustled in the distance. The witch then emerged through the bushes by ripping them out the ground with an invisible force, throwing them to one side. "Telekinesis huh? Not bad, but your gunna need more than a few invisible walls to bring me down!" Kairon snaps aggressively. Kairon lunged for the witch in front of him. The witch stares back with a wicked, cold and menacing gaze. such a sight would break weaker men, but not Kairon. He rapidly approached and begun with a right hook aimed for her temple. The with ducks under it, but doesn't see his open left palm rushing now for her forehead. Her eyes seemed shocked yet prepared as she pushed herself back into a tidy roll. Gaining a few feet as she jumps to finish her roll. "Your good, who are you?" Kairon asked confidently. His posture stand firm as he once again stairs down his opponent.
The witch seemed to stand there like she was ignoring his question. Her shoulder-length hair was cosmic blue. Her pale face was only made more terrifying by her black eyes. Her lips were blood red. She wore a sleeveless black and red dress reached down to her knees and was complimented by her fishnet stockings, black fingerless gloves and black and white converse. Her arms had symmetrical tribal sleeve tattoos which started as black on her shoulders that gradually faded into a deep aqua near her wrists. "My name Lorenza and I am the witch of telekinesis. So why are you hear Kairon?" I looked in shock at her confident question. 'She knows him.'
"I'm not sure how you know me, but I know I'd remember a pair of eyes as menacing as yours. So how do you know me?" His Muay Thai stance was forgotten as his arms were lowered to his side. There is an anger in his eyes that I've seen before. However this time it's not his madness, there is a hesitation in his eyes.
"Well, every witch in this world knows you Kairon. Your the first demon sword able to use magic. Your a weapon against the academy. Our most powerful one yet. You were made to remove the academy and kill Lord Death along with all of his followers. But then you betrayed us. Naturally every witch in existence now wants your blood. Although, I'm quite generous so how about you come with me peacefully and I promise I wont hurt you." She is obviously lying, if what she says about Kairon is true then she couldn't afford to keep him alive.
"I'm sorry to say this but if you want Kairon, your gunna have to go through me." Alex stated harshly and she walked to stand next to Kairon. Her shotgun was poised and ready, aiming straight for her midsection.
"You also have me to deal with!" I shout across as I get up and join Kairon in his fight.
"Well looks like its four on one. Not exactly what I call good odds." Sal joins the line, giving a confident walk and statement as he summons forth his battle-axe.
"At least for her" Nathan's voice is digitized yet, confident as we hear him through his telepathy.
cheers for reading guys sorry my internet has been fucking up really bad
this mean i might not be uploadin for a while but ill still be working so when i get internet ill have a tons of stuff to put up :D
cya next time guys :D