The Monitors

Chapter 21 - First Assignment

"Wait!" Callista called as Damon leapt from tree to tree. They approached the site of the explosion. Damon stopped dead in his tracks, wide eyed. Callista caught up to him. "What happened?" she asked. That's when Callista saw it. Silas was unconscious on the ground, and Lucas was fighting a Precursor. But there wasn't just one Precursor. There was at least thirty of them. Some surrounded Lucas in a circle. Some were up in the trees. Damon was angry. He knew there was nothing he could do. If he just went charging in he would die. "What if I use him?" Damon asked himself, looking at his hands. "We have to help them." Damon told Callista. "If we go in there we are going to die!" Callista replied. "I can't just stand here and do nothing. I refuse." he said. Callista looked back at Silas. A Precursor was dragging him into the asylum. Lucas was becoming overwhelmed. Damon's eyes turned red as he glared with hatred at the Precursors. His marks now glowing bright red. "Relax." Callista told Damon as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Just think for a second. They don't want them dead. If they did they wouldn't have taken Silas inside." Callista said as Damon still glared at Lucas who was now exhausted and still fighting. "If we charge in, we die. Right now, a large portion of the Precursors are on this side of the building. If we loop back around to the Southern entrance where we were earlier, we can sneak in and find Silas and Lucas." Callista said. Damon turned to her, "And what if we get swarmed and killed as soon as we go inside?" he asked. "Then we get killed, but it's our best chance. We have a higher hope of saving them if we do this my way." Callista replied. Damon gritted his teeth. Callista was right. It would be a waste for them to just go charging in. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them his eyes were back to normal, and his marks no longer glowing. "Okay, lets head back." Damon agreed as he turned around. They both moved as swift and as fast as they could back to the Southern entrance of the building.

Damon was drenched in sweat by the time they made it back. It took them less than half the time it took for them to make it to the North entrance. They landed on the thick branch they had camped out on earlier. Damon peered around, looking for any Precursors. Callista was right. There wasn't a single one in sight. She turned to Damon. "See?" she said with a smile. "Yeah, I do." Damon said as he dropped down from the branch. He landed on the ground with a hard THUMP. Callista followed. "Let's go. Quickly." Damon said as he dashed to the Southern entrance. With the lightest steps he could he took cover on one side of the double doored entrance. Callista, on the other side. Damon slid the shotgun off his back. A CLICK could be heard as Damon switched the safety off. Callisa did the same. They could hear slight growls from Precursors inside. Damon, with beads of sweat dripping down his face, slowly opened the door with one hand. He stepped through into the darkness of the abandoned asylum. Callista followed behind him.

They were both breathing heavy. The air was foul. Like a hundred dead bodies. Damon covered his mouth. Callista vomited. After they collected themselves they proceeded. They were in the center of a long hallway. The dilapidated walls had history. Holes where bricks used to be, paintings with tears in them. Damon tripped over a brick, but caught himself with his hand. He pulled is hand back to see he had faell onto shards of glass. There was a yellow crackle of electricity as Damon's hand healed. "Which way do you think they are?" Callista whispered. "Your guess is as good as mine." Damon said in a whisper. He motioned for Callista to follow him. Damon could feel something. Something that couldn't be described. It was an odd feeling. Like a piece of him was somewhere in this asylum. Somewhere behind one of these bricks was a piece of himself that he was missing. It felt like it was pulling him further into the building. They proceeded down the hallway checking their surroundings.

Making sure a Precursor didn't sneak up on them. That's when Damon heard a brick slide across the ground as if someone accidently kicked it. Damon knew a Precursor was futher down the hallway. He motioned Callista into a room to their right. They slowly closed the door behind them. They both swiftly moved to the wall beside the door. A shadow of a head with flowing tentacles could be seen through the glass of the door. Damon's heart raced. There was a Precursor right outside the door. Damon slid onto the ground and so did Callista. Damon turned to her . She was shaking, beads of sweat running down her face. Damon put a finger over his mouth signaling to Callista to stay quiet.