Keepers: Blood of The Fallen (5 page)

I turned and looked across the small moonlit meadow, that I didn’t even know I had nearly completely crossed, and saw Asia stepping out of the darkness and into the tall grass. The wind blew a gentle breeze that made her hair flow to one side of her head. I had almost forgotten about everything else in that moment. She stood there, staring at me, with a look of concern and gladness. I assumed she was worried about me. She started walking towards me, and then she stopped mid-step. I started walking towards her, and that’s when I noticed another figure in the woods behind her.

“Tana?”

The figure didn’t respond and neither did Asia. She didn’t move at all. She seemed frozen. The wind no longer blew, but her hair was still strung out to the side of her head. I ran over to her, and the figure stepped out of the shadow. He was wearing an all white robe. He appeared to be a younger man: younger than me. I told Asia to stand behind me, but she didn’t move. I was convinced he had done something to her.

“Who are you? What did you do to her?”

“She’s fine.”

He walked up to me.

“If she’s fine, why isn’t she moving? If you hurt her, I’ll have your head on a stick. What do you want?”

“That’s funny. However, I’m not here for jokes. I came here to inform you of a missing slave. You know him as Quazo. I know him as a bounty. He travels with a pack of Navarium beasts that he’s somehow trained to behave as his pets.”

“What did he do?”

“All you need to know is that he’s ordered back to the High Order immediately. If you see him again, call for me. If you say my name, I will come to wherever you are.”

“Who…what are you?”

“My name is Binatai. I am a…collector of sorts. If you say my name, I will come. Never say my name again, unless you see the slave.”

              He turned to walk away, and then I remembered Asia was frozen. “Hey, what about Asia?”

              “When I leave, she’ll be fine. She won’t know what happened, and no time will have passed.” He chuckled. “Yes, you have your tricks, and I have mine.” Then, he disappeared into the shadows.

As soon as he left, the wind started to blow again, and Asia stood there, staring at the other side of the meadow. She didn’t see me, and I was sure she thought I just disappeared. I reached for her shoulder, and she jumped when I touched her. Her eyes grew wide, so I told her immediately what happened. It was hard for her to believe at first, as it was for me, but she knew the world was crazy enough for something like that to happen. Considering we had our own share of “tricks,” as Binatai called them, we couldn’t be too surprised by anything anymore.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember exactly what the guy looked like, but I knew, if I saw him, I would know him. It was too dark to make out any real features anyway. She said she wanted to meet him. I couldn’t lie; I told her that comment made me a little jealous. She just laughed and said don’t worry, followed by how it was so cute.

I didn’t worry. I knew she was just curious about his ability to seemingly control time and space. I was curious myself. His robe wasn’t flashy, (I didn’t even know why he wore one), so he didn’t really seem like he came from any kind of special world or something. I didn’t really know what to think of him. I knew I could call his name to make him come back to us, but he would probably just freeze us in time and leave us like that…for…ever? I had to let that thought marinate. I decided it was best to just do what I went into the woods to do in the first place: clear my head.

I didn’t want to think that Santana was trying to get me to do something I was surely going to regret, just to
maybe
win something we didn’t know even really existed. She was going on blind faith, and listening to someone or something like Quazo was only going to get her and us killed. I could believe I wasn’t a video game character, nor did I have to speak with a British accent; those things seemed silly anyway. However, I wasn’t comfortable letting the bad side of me take over. That wasn’t going to fly. I felt enough of the bloodlust before, when I let that side take over. It felt great at the moment, but the guilt weighed heavily.

As we stood in the meadow, staring up at the stars, a peace started to form over me. Asia laid her head against my shoulder and wrapped her arm around my waist. I was starting to feel like I didn’t have anybody else. I didn’t even know if my parents were any good. I knew Tana wasn’t happy about Asia and I. It was going to be an awkward situation back home, in what was technically
my
home. I didn’t know what Tana was doing, but I had a feeling she wasn’t doing it at home.

I took Asia by the hand, and we started walking back to the house. I took her on the same path I created on the way to the meadow. We didn’t speak a word. I had no idea how she found me, considering she came from a different area of the woods, but I didn’t care to ask. We just walked back to the house in silence, and when we finally reached the house, it was an unworldly experience.

What was a peaceful and interesting walk, quickly turned into a terrifying zombie-ish moment of walking, flesh-eating-death. Santana was nowhere to be seen—I wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or not—but there were dozens of snarling…people. They had foam dripping from their mouths, and their arms, hands, and heads twitched uncontrollably. We had no idea what was about to happen, but we had watched enough zombie movies over the past seven years to know what we needed to do.

I was prepared to fight and slam heads against bricks with reckless abandoned, but Asia took me by the hand and told me to wait. We watched as the horde of zombies walked towards us and fell, one at a time. I didn’t know why they fell, but it was as though they couldn’t touch us. Then, one did. It scratched me on my arm. It was a tiny scratch but enough to garner an automatic reaction; I sent him flying back into the crowd. That’s when we noticed a sound in the distance. It was a bunch of snarls and whispers. We ran inside the house and locked the door behind us.

I screamed for Tana, but she didn’t answer. We both screamed her name and walked around the house looking for her. We were hoping not to find her dead, but I wasn’t feeling good about the situation. We checked every room, but we saw no one. I called her cellphone and got the voicemail after the first ring. Once the rumbling stopped outside of the house, we went outside and got into the car. Unbelievably, there was no sign of the zombie apocalypse. Aside from the bodies we left in the driveway, there was nothing. The driveway was a little slick; we could feel the tires slide a little bit as we accelerated.

I knew the only places I could look for Tana was at her dad’s old house and her old place. There was something in me that knew she wouldn’t go to her old house, so I went straight to her dad’s place. It was dark: eerily dark. The house had been empty for years, so I didn’t expect any light to be there. We went into the house anyway. Fortunately, I remembered where the spare key was kept, under the old tennis shoe. As we walked in, I yelled out her name. We got nothing in return. As soon as Asia said, “I don’t think she’s here,” we spotted a flickering light coming from the guest bedroom.

“Tana…” I called out to her, wondering what kind of response I would receive back.

“Don’t come in here, Moses…” Her voice sounded differently. She didn’t have the kind voice she usually had.

There was no way I could let that slide; I had to go in. I motioned for Asia to stay put outside of the room’s entrance, because I didn’t want her to be involved. I couldn’t help but notice that Tana had called me Moses, my real name. Anytime I was ever called Moses, it made me cringe. For some reason, I was never fond of sharing a name with someone biblical and definitely not with someone as iconic as Moses. I always preferred my middle name, Maurice, or Mo, and Santana knew that.

I crept into the room, taking each step slowly, until I reached her. She was sitting at her dad’s old desk, mumbling something to herself, as she frantically opened and closed the desk drawers. Because she was moving so quickly, it didn’t really seem like she was looking for anything at all, but more like she was just slamming the drawers to be annoying, like a kid-sister. I reached out to her and put my hand on her shoulder. She froze… Then, she swung her arm around and sent me flying against the wall.

3

I knew Mo was in some serious trouble, the moment I heard the crash against the wall. I ran into the room, and that was when I saw Santana. She looked at me with a jerk of her head, and then, without hesitation, she turned and jumped through the second floor window. I had never seen her look the way she did; it was a look of pure evil. Santana had always seemed to be a sweetheart, but at that moment, she was anything but sweet.

I ran over to Mo to see if he was all right. He was just waking up when I knelt down beside him. I couldn’t imagine the emotional pain he was going through. All I could do was help him up and hold him close.

III

1

If I had been alone in the ordeal, I would have probably been all right with sobbing in a corner in that room, but because Asia was with me, I felt like we could figure out what to do next. I
was
hurt, though. I felt like I could cry at any second, because I had seen Tana go through a possession before, I knew that she had to fight with all of her being to win. I knew that it was a good chance she could lose. The first time she was possessed, she wasn’t nearly as violent, and she seemed to be able to control some of what she did: not this time.

No, this time she was lost. Whatever had control of her had been looking for something in her dad’s house. Considering Asia explained to me that the book was a load of crap, I had no idea what it could have been looking for in there, but I figured that was the first thing we had to find out. We went through the entire house, looking for anything out of the ordinary. We didn’t run across anything, that is, until we checked in one of the most obvious places in the house: the bookshelf.

On the bookshelf, in between Stephen King’s “It” and a newspaper with the headline “The Grailers Found Dead: Neighbors Shocked,” was a book that was very worn and only had one word on the front of it: “Ringjallja.” I had no idea what the word meant, I knew it wasn’t something of the English language, and we both left our phones at my house, so no there was no internet to look it up. We assumed it was some sort of Navarium book that slipped into the wrong hands, Tana’s dad’s hands: a Keeper’s hands.

We did think to go back to my house, so we could use the computer, but the trail of blood that Tana left sidetracked us. I wasn’t sure how I noticed it, but I figured it had something to do with my thirst, which was returning for some strange reason. It was just small droplets that shined more than the dirt around them, in the moonlight. We started following them, down the hill in the front yard, across the highway, and into the woods.

Asia was still clutching the “Ringjalla” book as we went through the forest, breaking off limbs and watching for any signs of Santana. I hoped deep down that she would not attack us and force me to hurt her, but I couldn’t help feeling like the other fate would be worse. Asia told me, timidly, that she was confused as to how Tana could be possessed. She said Quazo told her that Keepers couldn’t be possessed but only slowly reaped, until they were a shell of themselves. I told her to keep walking…I didn’t want to tell her what I had been thinking. I was still too busy convincing myself that my dreams were incorrect.

Four years prior to that night, I had a dream that Santana had been possessed and confessed to me that she wasn’t a Keeper. In the dream, she told me that she served no one, and her power ruled supreme. I had that dream several nights after the initial night, but I would have remembered it just the same as I always had. I hated to hear my suspicions confirmed, that Tana might not be a Keeper, but I was also not surprised by the information. I just didn’t know what she really was, and I was hoping that my friend was not my enemy. I didn’t want to cause her harm, and I didn’t want to lose her.

I knew that Asia could feel something in me change. She no longer walked 5 feet behind me, she was right beside me. I knew that if I had in fact lost Tana, I would always have Asia. There was something about Asia that screamed purity and serenity. I watched her do her Tai Chi on several mornings, and the fact that she was a Keeper, made her movements beautiful. Whenever she would practice her Tai Chi, I could see her chi flowing throughout her body. Her chi always gave off a bright yellow aura. However, whenever she stopped for the day, I could never see it again, until she practiced again. I never told her about it, but I know she saw me one day.

“I lost the trail…” I said as I stopped and looked around the area. There was nothing but trees and barely any moonlight at all. “I could just be missing it, but I’m pretty sure it stopped right here.”

“That’s weird... If this is where it stopped, then she should be here as well,” Asia said. She looked around and up into the trees, hoping for a glimpse of Santana.

“She won’t be up there, she’s never been the type to climb trees. She has to be here somewhere, though. Her wound wouldn’t just heal itself; the glass from that window seems to have gotten her really good.”

“I just need to focus…I can find her, I know it.”

Asia closed her eyes and started to take deep breaths. I looked away for only a second, because I heard a bird, but when I looked back I could see Asia’s chi pulsating from her stomach. It was incredible. Her yellow aura got brighter and larger every second until we were standing inside of it, like a bubble. Then, she opened her eyes. Her irises were yellow as well.

“Asia?” I tried to get her attention, but she just turned her head and stared off into the forest.

She then turned her entire body, slowly, and smiled. She reached her hand out to me, without even looking my way, and I took it, reluctantly. Then we started to walk in the direction she was looking. Then, it was like walking through a dark tunnel. Usually, when you walk through a tunnel, you can see a light at the other end, but in that tunnel, there was no light at the other end, only darkness. I was hoping it was because it was dark outside. I knew better than to question any of what was happening, because Asia probably wasn’t going to answer anyway.

When we reached the end of the tunnel, it was like we had just walked into Atlantis; only it was nighttime. Asia snapped out of her trance and gripped my hand a little tighter.

“I’m exhausted,” she said with a chuckle.

“I bet you are,” I replied.

We started walking onto the street, which was discovered later to be pure gold. It was nothing like the famous yellow brick road, but it was something far more precious. The reflection of the full moon was giving the perfect amount of night-light, and I was glad for it. I didn’t even notice that the moon back home was only a crescent, until Asia pointed that out.

“I don’t even fully understand what just happened, but this is where she went. Her trail continued through that tunnel, and it stops here. This place…this place is beautiful, even at night.” The beauty of the city stunned Asia.

We had not even seen the city in the daytime yet, but we could tell where we were. The High Order of Keepers had to have had a hand in the creation of such a beautiful place. It was crazy, how the place shimmered in the moonlight. The tall buildings even seemed to be made of a precious metal that had been polished and buffed. In the midst of the awe-inspiring moment, there was an abrupt interruption. A blaring message came from all over the city, followed by loud horns and the message once again.

The message was clear, and spoken by a thunderous voice:

All warriors report to the temple immediately. Women and children stay home, and keep each other safe. I repeat, all men will report to the temple immediately. Bring any equipment and food you can, but leave an efficient amount for your families. For now, that is all.

Lights started to turn on in every building, a few at a time, and we could see people stumbling out of their homes, holding duffle bags. There were some people we knew that were too young to be called warriors, but since they were leaving their homes, they must have been warriors in their world. We saw some of the men holding their wives in the doorways, as if they were saying their last goodbyes, and knew they would never return. We didn’t realize it at first, but we were watching a military deploy into battle.

We started to walk down the street. The sounds of the soldiers’ feet pounding on the golden roads sounded like a thousand sword-makers banging their hammers against hot steel. We took that moment in for a couple of minutes. Then, we decided it would be best to follow them, because if there was danger, Santana, or whatever she was, was probably causing it.

We ran through a small neighborhood of illustrious houses. We tried to catch up to the soldiers, but a woman, who was standing in her doorway watching her husband run off, stopped us. She pulled us over to the side and asked us where we were from.

“We’re from Water Valley. Mississippi. Water Valley, Mississippi,” I told the lady.

“You’re not going to the temple are you? It’s no place for strangers like you.”

“Like us?”

“Yes. People from the tunnel never go to the temple. The Temple of The Keeper is no place for strangers. They will behead and drain you, for sure.”

“Behead us? But, we’re on your side. We’re Keepers.”

“Then why don’t you live here, with us?”

“We never even knew about this place until just now. We’re going to the temple because we lost a friend, and we think she may be there.”

“If she’s there, and she’s from the tunnel, she’s probably already gone I’m afraid.”

I couldn’t believe it. I refused to believe it. I was afraid that she was the reason everyone was going to the temple. I grabbed Asia by her hand, and we started to run again. We followed a young warrior who had just run out of his home and onto the street. He almost looked confused about where he should go. He did, however, find his way. We followed him all the way to the temple, through the city of gold to a temple, which seemed to be made of sterling silver; I couldn’t be sure since it was still dark out.

We waited at a safe distance until all of the soldiers ran inside of the temple. Then, as the huge doors were closing, we slipped inside. We entered into a hallway that stretched about one hundred feet long. The floor seemed to be made of some sort of crystal. It was so shiny, even with no sunlight coming through the windows. The people that lived in the city could probably see very well in the dark, with just moonlight. There were huge statues in the hallway, they were made of shiny metal, of course, and they all held a sword in their right hands and a mace in their left hands. They were giant knights, and “giant” could very well be an understatement, as they had to be at least eight feet tall!

We walked down the hallway towards the two huge doors at the very end; the walk seemed to take forever. We did finally get there and just as Asia reached for one of the doors, they disappeared. They just disappeared, like water vapor.

“What…uh…what? What just happened,” I asked, turning towards Asia.

“Did you see…whatever that was? They just disappeared… They just disappeared. They…”

Then, we turned to go back, and that’s when the entrance doors also disappeared. “Wait,” I said laughing nervously.

“What are we supposed to do,” Asia asked.

“Maybe we could ask one of the statues,” I said with a chuckle. “Or we could try to burst a window and get out.”

When I said that, the statues moved their swords in front of each window, in unison. There was no way we would be able to get through the windows if the statues could move, and they apparently could, and they didn’t want us to leave. I tried to focus as hard as I could to see if I could muster up some energy. My thinking was that if we had to fight to get out, I had to be ready. We did have to fight. We had to fight the knights that I thought were just statues.

I figured I would have to channel some of my old video game character days, in an attempt to melt the armor, so I gave it a shot. When the first knight came off of the wall, I went right for him, and I caught him off-guard with the element of surprise. I managed to get just close enough and focus my energy into my hands. His metal armor turned red almost instantly, and he started to wail. I had my hand planted on his stomach, and his armor limited his movements, so he couldn’t reach me to grab me. I had no intention of letting him go. “Cook. I want you to boil! And when you do, I’ll serve your friends your soup.” I didn’t realize just how wrong that sounded at first.

3

I wasn’t prepared to fight something like that, but watching Mo fight was promising. Then, it clicked. I realized that the knight showed agony. He was a living being. “Mo!” I cried out to him. I wanted him to stop, so we could see if maybe we could just talk our way out of the situation. There was no need for blood when we could just walk unopposed.  “Mo, stop!” He seemed fixed in a trance, and he didn’t show any sign of awareness. I could feel the blackness in his heart. “Mo, you have to let him go.”

By this time, the knight’s armor was completely red, and I could see the heat vapor rising from the near-molten metal. The wailing stopped, and the knights flailing arms fell to his side, dropping his weapons. The knight then dropped to the floor, no longer seeming to be alive. Mo still didn’t release him. I wasn’t sure of what I could do. I looked around at the room, and the other knights were still standing beside the windows, holding their swords in front of the glass. I wasn’t sure if they were living beings or moving statues.

I turned back to Mo and walked up behind him. I put my hand on his shoulder and told him to stop, in the calmest voice I could possibly use. I felt a jolt of energy that felt like electricity, shoot up from Mo’s shoulder to my hand and throughout my body. Mo, then, immediately let the knight go. The blackness was gone.

1

I didn’t realize that I’d nearly killed the knight, until Asia put her hand on my shoulder. I felt my urge to finish the fight, leave. I didn’t really believe that there was a person inside of the suit. The other statues were still standing there, doing their same pose. I grabbed the knight’s helmet and yanked it off of his head. There was really a person inside of the suit. He was a giant of a man, but otherwise, he seemed to be a regular guy. The only thing was, there was nothing in that place that was regular. “Wake up,” I said to the unconscious knight.