Days of Darkness: Awakening

Chapter 22: The Final Confrontation

Everyone stood in awe around the building. Everything seemed and felt surreal, and they couldn't understand the extent of what was happening. Large, nightmarish creatures had become an everyday norm for two and a half years. Wormholes and explosive battles between two men opened up their eyes to tons of possibilities in the world. They had never seen anything of that magnitude before. The arrival of Dante showed them that anything is possible. But after seeing all that Damien was capable of, and how he could hold his own against such a threat, they started to believe in the incredible.

On the inside, Damien could feel his power growing stronger, more rabid, like a caged animal waiting to be released. It frightened him more than anything, though, to know that he held the ability to destroy everything in his path. But, too, it humbled him. It gave him a sense of purpose. He now understood why he survived the Event: so that he could be the one to save the world and the entire human race from annihilation.

Dante stood at his wormhole device reprogramming it so he could continue his mission to merge the dimensions. Just as he started the device back up and opened the portal over the city again, Damien grabbed him by the shoulder, turned him around, and punched him in the face.

The glow in Damien's eyes grew stronger as his rage took over. "I could kill you!" he shouted as they continued to fight.

Dante just laughed as they traded blow after blow in an unrelenting brawl. The fierce battle shook the foundation of what was left of the rooftop. Then, Dante decided to take the fight to new heights – literally...

As Dante started to raise himself into the air, Damien looked up at him with great anger, and then, the unexpected happened: a rush of static electricity flowed through his body and propelled him into the air and the fight continued.

Dante grappled with Damien and head-butted him before releasing a barrage of punches and energy attacks. He found tremendous joy in his fight with Damien. It was the challenge to his power that he had always looked for. It was a game to Dante, and he reveled in the fury of the battle. As he started toying with him, he grabbed Damien and flew him closer and closer to the wormhole above the tower.

Back on the ground, all they could do was watch the fight and wait for the outcome. All the soldiers cheered loudly for Damien to win. Christian sat on the back of the truck with the wormhole device waiting for them to come down while Diamond comforted Nadia.

"Do you think he can do it, Diamond?" Nadia asked.

Diamond just looked at the fight above. "I don't know," she said in a quiet tone. "I really don't know... But if anyone can pull this off, it's Damien. He's given hope to not only myself but everyone here watching and waiting. He's made us all believe in the impossible. He's given us hope – a light in the darkness. I don't think he realizes it, but he's fighting for the world right now. Not just Chicago. So, no matter what happens here, Damien is a hero, and I'm proud to have fought beside him."

Diamond's words were able to relax Nadia to the point she was no longer worried. She understood that Damien would do everything in his power to stop Dante. As she stood watching, she began to feel sick to her stomach to the point she ran to a nearby trash can and vomited.

Right away, Diamond ran to her side. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nadia replied. "It's just a little stomach bug. I'll be alright."

Diamond didn't press the issue with Nadia, but she knew that something was off. Nadia rarely got sick and this was out of the ordinary. As soon as they walked back over to the crowd, Christian hopped off the back of the truck. "Alright, the machine is ready to go. We just need them to come back down."