The Light of His Sword (7 page)

“You make it sound like some ancient battle
between gladiators.” Alyssa smiled.

Gabe glanced at her, “I’ve learned it
doesn’t matter who you’re fighting or how the feelings still the
same. They want to kill you and you want to survive long enough to
protect your people. Mike gets that better than anyone. For him,
it’s all about winning the battle. For me, it’s about the people
and how we can help them recover from the damage that’s been
done.”

“Do you see him very often?” Alyssa
asked.

“I have a feeling I’ll see him soon.” Gabe
answered.

********

Walton snarled through clenched teeth, “You
fool! I told you to summon the reptilian demons! Not some lesser
horde of beasts, barely capable of possessing of a fully grown
woman!”

“I called out to all that would answer.”
Maxwell countered, holding his ground as Walton advanced across the
room toward him. “We didn’t have much time.”

The elders stood around them in a circle in
the center of the sanctuary. A single light shined down on the
small group, leaving the rest of the room in darkness. The large,
black altar, devoid of any inscription or decoration stood in the
center of the circle. Maxwell glanced around at the elders smug
expressions. They were enjoying this because Walton’s wrath was
rarely aimed at Maxwell. He was Walton’s right hand man, and he was
good at it. His broken nose and two black eyes did nothing to
convince the fools around him that the stranger’s threat was real.
Maxwell sneered at them in disgust. They were cowards. They would
cower in horror if Walton screamed at them in the same way.

When Walton reached him, Maxwell puffed out
his chest and said loudly, “They would not come. The reptilian
demons are stubborn and defiant. They refused to be ordered about
by a mere mortal. You should have called them yourself.”

Walton’s face was red with rage. His hot,
putrid breath snaked up Maxwell’s nostrils, “You are not a true
believer. If you had faith that they would come, this would be over
now. You are as worthless as a woman!”

Maxwell fumed at the insult Walton spat at
him, but he would not accept responsibility for this defeat. Walton
was emotional and impulsive about this stupid woman and child.
“This is no ordinary man. He dispatched the demons within minutes
of the attack and walked away unscathed. We must resist the
temptation to rush into battle with this man. We must be organized
and selective in our approach.”

Walton spun and walked to the middle of the
circle gazing around at the faces of his followers. His face filled
with disgust. Not one of them was worthy to replace Maxwell. They
were too lazy or stupid to walk by his side. Walton turned slowly
back to Maxwell as his anger faded. Maxwell was right; they needed
a plan. “Maxwell, organize the elders and don’t stop calling the
Reptilian Demons to our aid until they respond. Do not fail me
again. I will meditate today for guidance. I will ask for more
powerful demons. This warrior will not survive our next
assault.”

********

Alyssa’s dreams were full of darkness and
shadows. Walton’s voice kept calling to her, threatening her. She
was back in the compound. Walton and the elders dragged her to the
sanctuary. It was dark and smelled of rotten meat and incense. She
screamed and struggled against them as they pulled her toward the
altar. A single light shone down on the altar blinding her as they
bound her naked body to the cold, black surface.

Walton stood over her and raised a knife
high in the air... suddenly she was outside playing in the grass
with Emily. They were laughing and running trying to tag the other
children. Then she was up in the attic of the gathering hall
listening to her mother tell one of her fairytales about a
ferocious giant. A moment later she and Samantha were cowering
inside a dark room hiding as Gabe fought a desperate battle against
monsters with black scaly skin and red glowing eyes. She peeked out
the window and saw Gabe fall under the assault. The monsters dove
on top of him. She could hear him screaming in pain as blood
spurted out of the pile of monsters.

Alyssa woke with a start. She glanced
anxiously around the car. Gabe was driving, and Samantha was eating
a sandwich in the back seat. The sun sparkled high in the sky
touching her face with its warmth. Samantha reached up from the
back seat and handed her a round sandwich wrapped in brightly
colored wax paper. “It’s called a cheeseburger, and it’s
wonderful,” Samantha explained. “There was a little box of skinny
potatoes but I ate all of them, sorry.”

Alyssa frowned as she unwrapped the greasy
sandwich, and then glanced suspiciously at Gabe. He ignored her and
changed lanes. Alyssa’s eyes opened wide in awe when she looked
past him out the window. She sat up straight and gazed at the urban
landscape filled with towering buildings of various shapes and
sizes. They were on a four-lane road keeping pace with the cars and
trucks around them heading deeper into the city. Alyssa couldn’t
speak; her heart was pounding so hard she couldn't think. She
wasn’t sure if she was excited or terrified. There were so many
cars, moving so fast beside them. She glanced at Gabe; his face was
calm, relaxed. He didn’t seem worried.

“We’re in Denver,” Gabe said softly. “We
just missed rush hour traffic so we should make pretty good time
through the city. We should make it to Salina, Kansas around
dinnertime. We can stop there to eat and make St Louis by
midnight.”

Alyssa watched in awe at the people in the
cars around them. Who were they? Where were they going? Why were
they going there? The car beside them was full of children, and a
woman was driving. She was the only adult in the car. Alyssa
smiled, triumphant at the sight of an independent woman with her
children.

A small car zipped past them. It wove in and
out of traffic then disappeared in the distance. Alyssa’s eyes
opened wide. She looked at Gabe and said, “I don’t think I can
drive in the middle of so many cars.”

Gabe chuckled and said, “Ok then, Samantha?
Do you want to take a crack at it?”

Samantha giggled in the back seat and leaned
forward. “Yes!” She declared triumphantly.

“Very funny,” Alyssa rolled her eyes, “But
I’m serious, there are too many cars and we are going too fast. I
don’t think I can do it.”

“Don’t worry,” Gabe glanced at her, “The
traffic will die down once we are past the city. You won’t have to
drive until we are out in the country.”

Alyssa sighed in relief. She looked back at
Samantha, who sat staring out the window. She hoped Samantha would
remember this journey as an adventure. Alyssa said, “Samantha, I
can’t wait to see you running around grandma’s farm chasing the
chickens and playing with the dog. The last time I was at the farm.
I was 5 years old. I remember the big red barn with white trim that
sat across from the house. One time, your grandpa caught a black
lamb and called me over to see it. The barn smelled like hay and
manure, but I went inside anyway. I wanted to pet the lamb, but I
didn’t want to stay long.”

A bright smile spread across Alyssa’s face
as she continued. “When you’re grandpa caught me wrinkling my nose
at the smell, he let go of the lamb and swept me into his arms. He
carried me over to the small fenced in area next to the barn where
grandma kept the pigs and said,
You haven’t smelled something
stinky until you’ve smelled a pig
. He was right.”

In less than an hour, they were out of the
city. Gabe drove down a four-lane highway over rolling hills
surrounded by fields of grass as far as the eye could see. Gabe
pulled into a rest stop so they could stretch their legs before
Alyssa took over driving. There was a small playground with a
cement turtle and a small jungle gym. Samantha rushed over to climb
on top of the turtle and play.

Gabe disappeared into the building and
brought back some bottles of juice and a few bags of chips. He sat
down on the wooden bench at the edge of the playground next to
Alyssa and handed her a bottle of juice.

She flashed him a questioning look and said,
“No energy drinks?”

Gabe grinned and said, “You don’t need one
right now, and I’m planning on taking a nap. Besides, those things
are wicked; I wouldn’t recommend them for daily use, only
emergencies.”

“So you had an emergency the day we ran into
you at the Travel Center? You bought 4 bottles.” Alyssa stared at
him with a raised eyebrow.

“Not exactly,” He answered holding her
gaze.

“You remember that day? You gave me two
bottles?” Alyssa added.

“I bought them for you.” Gabe answered
innocently.

“Really? That’s very interesting. Because I
was behind you in line; you didn’t know I was standing there until
you turned around.”

“I saw you and Samantha when you were
shopping.” Gabe couldn’t help but break into a huge smile. She was
just too adorable.

“I don’t think so; your hair was wet, and
you smelled like soap. I think you just got out of those showers at
the back of the building.” Alyssa was leaning forward trying to act
aggressively. She was confident that he was hiding something.

“I did see you, Alyssa. I’m telling the
truth.” Gabe’s smile vanished.

“Imagine that, a man actually telling the
truth.” Alyssa said with a faltering smile.

“Believe it or not Alyssa, there are men in
this world who value honesty and treasure their friends and
family.” Gabe’s eyes filled with sadness. “Men like your
father.”

Alyssa couldn’t tear her eyes away from his
intense gaze. He reached out and touched her hand, startling her.
She jerked it back and turned to look for Samantha. Gabe knew it
was a reflex. He rose and headed for the car calling back to her.
“We’ll need to get gas when we stop for lunch. I’d like to sleep…”
Gabe stopped suddenly in mid-sentence and spun to face them.

Alyssa was walking across the playground
after Samantha, who had chased a small dog toward the trees that
lined the small picnic area. Gabe bolted across the playground.
“Samantha no!” He yelled, racing past Alyssa.

Samantha reached for the dog as she neared
the trees. She turned in response to Gabe’s shout just as the dog
bared his teeth and began to growl. Samantha staggered back away
from the dog. A shadow moved out from under the trees and began to
creep across the grass toward her.

Gabe reached her quickly. He snatched
Samantha up and spun in one fluid motion turning back to sprint
across the grass toward Alyssa. The dog chased after them nipping
at Gabe’s heels, snarling and barking. The shadow on the grass sank
back into the shade of the trees.

“Get to the car!” He shouted as he ran
toward Alyssa.

Alyssa gazed at the shadows beneath the
trees behind them. The wind rushed through the branches of the
small trees, but the darkness beneath them did not dance in
sparkles of sunlight. They remained solid. Gabe grabbed her arm as
he passed her and pulled her along behind him.

Jerking open the rear door, Gabe dropped
Samantha on the seat, pushed Alyssa behind him and turned to face
the pursuing dog. “No!” He shouted, moving aggressively toward the
dog. It froze at his command and stood snarling as Gabe opened the
passenger door for Alyssa and shoved her inside.

Gabe took a menacing step toward the dog,
and it ran off. He raced around the car and slid behind the wheel.
Starting the engine, Gabe roared off toward the highway. A small
green pickup truck exited the highway into the rest stop and headed
straight for them. The truck came up quickly behind them.

“Seat belts!” Gabe ordered as they pulled
onto the highway.

Alyssa leaned over the back seat to help
Samantha find the seat belt and secure it. The pickup charged up
behind them and crashed into the rear of the car. Alyssa flew
backward and slammed into the dash. Her head hit the windshield
with a crack. She collapsed unconscious onto the seat.

“Mommy!” Samantha screamed as the pickup
truck crashed into them again.

“Hang on Samantha.” Gabe snapped. He knew
their car couldn’t outrun the pickup. He shoved the gas pedal to
the floor. A small black car suddenly roared into the grassy median
from the other side of the highway. It spun sending grass and dirt
flying as it turned to join the pursuit. Gabe reached over and
placed his hand on Alyssa’s back; she was still breathing.

Gabe glanced at the rearview mirror. An
older man in a cowboy hat was behind the wheel of the pickup. It
slammed into the rear of the car a third time. Gabe swerved the car
into the right lane. He slowed down allowing the pick up to pull up
beside them. The Cutlass had a steel frame; Gabe was counting on it
to handle the weight of the pickup. He slammed into the side of the
truck. The driver scowled, struggling to keep control as it swerved
onto the shoulder. Gabe didn’t wait; he slowed to match the pickups
pace and slammed it hard in the rear side panel. The truck spun
into the median as they reached an underpass slamming into the
barrels that protected the concrete bridge supports with a
sickening crunch of metal.

The small black car appeared to their right
smashing into them. Gabe increased his speed. Alyssa slipped to the
floor and began to moan. Gabe jerked the steering wheel to the
right and forced the car toward the shoulder. Samantha peered over
the edge of the window at the driver. It was a young woman with
short blonde hair. She glared at him with a vicious scowl.

Gabe knew he could force her from the road
and into the trees. He hesitated; she was so young, it was hard to
end the life of someone that young. But he had no choice.

“Hold on!” Gabe ordered and hit the brakes.
He slid the cutlass behind their pursuer and shoved the accelerator
to the floor swerving around to the right side of the car. He
slammed into the rear right panel with his front fender. The black
car began to spin. Gabe slowed and watched as the car spun across
the road in front of him onto the shoulder. It hit a road sign and
flipped end over end crashing into the trees.