Blood Moon And The Body Snatchers

Chapter 13: Shadow Machine

Kao stands in front of a mirror in his hospital room, stretching to try and ease the soreness in his back. Salem stands behind him, gently running a lint roller along his shoulders. Kao squints his eyes every time a shocking pain runs along his skin.
"Owww!" he shouts as he turns to give Salem an awful look.
"Well if you don't want to be in pain, maybe you shouldn't go around picking fights you can't win!"
Kao turned back around and slowly fixed his hair in the mirror. It had taken Salem nearly half an hour to dress him in his uniform, and kao hated every minute of it.
"I can't believe that even in death im expected to parade around like some sort of pageant girl."
"Oh don't be such a caveman, kao! Some of the most prestigious members of the family have come to celebrate your achievement! You will go out there and at least act civilized!"
"Fine. Could you run through the steps again?"
"It's not complicated kao, when the room is fully seated we will walk in. then when we reach the platform i will take my seat and you will turn to face the audience in a parade stance. All you have to do is stand there until Bruto finishes his speech, then walk up on the stage and take your place in the middle of the table."
"Simple enough i guess." kao grabbed his tie and tried to loosen it.
"Stop fidgeting with your clothes! They'll wrinkle! You must look your best tonight!"
"Right, can't imagine why I'd want to be comfortable, or happy."
"You'll be fine! Now come come! We can't be late!"
Kao and Salem walked side by side out of the infirmary and up the stairs to the back entrance of the ball room. They avoided the lobby, as it was custom that no one see the hero before he enters the ball. as kao and Salem waited at the door for their que, kao looked Salem up and down. Salem was a rather plain woman, she usually dressed in business attire. Though tonight she had went all out, she wore a beautiful black dress with pearl inlay around the sleeves and neck. Her hair was in a fashionable bun, and her ear rings matched the diamond pin that held her hair together. Kao had to admit, she cleans up pretty well.
"Before we get on with this non-sense" kao said "i just want to tell you how well you look tonight, and how thankful i am that you were chosen to be my keeper."
"Oh stop it kao."
"Im serious. I didn't know you had a dress like that."
"Well i didn't. I got it in Paris while you were dying on that roof top."
"Then im glad you can capitalize on misfortune Salem. It will be a useful trait when working with me."
The two smiled at each other, then locked arms as the usher signaled them to enter. They walked into a small foyer, then out into the ball room.
The ball room was a large, well lit semi-circle. Tables with beautiful white cloths and the finest linen handkerchiefs filled the room. All manner of people sat at the tables, none seeming to be older than thirty or so. There must have honestly been a thousand people in the room, all staring at kao and Salem as they made their way to the front of the room.
"I must have something on my face" kao whispered.
"Shut up." Salem grunted as she smiled and waved at the many people she knew.
When they reached the back kao saw the rest of the ghouls, all sitting in a line on the stage that occupied the back of the giant ball room. Kao looked at Anna and gave her a subtle wink, she squinted her eyes and shook her head fighting back a smile. Kao pulled out Salem's chair and sat her down, this wasn't part of the routine but he thought he'd bring a little hospitality to the ceremony. When Salem was seated he walked to the stage, took his mark and held his hands behind his back with his feet shoulder width apart. He kept a dead serious face as Mr. Bruto walked down the aisle dressed in a decorated war outfit. He reached the stage and gave kao a very serious nod, then turned and addressed the audience.
"Hello, and welcome." he said with a smile. "What a great time to be a Helena. As the years have passed, we have met our fair share of tragedy. We have met our fair share of grief. We have sent our children to die, and we will send many more. This is our way, this is our duty. We were never asked to save the world yet we do so with conviction and valor. Even as humanity fails, as presidents fail, as kings die and castles burn, we will never falter."
Bruto turned his attention to kao. "You, my child. You are the new breed, the next generation! All hope for the future lies within your heart! Im proud to have you in my charge kid."
Kao felt an incredible sense of pride well up in his chest. Kao had never been a good person, never dreamed of saving the world or the human race. In this moment, kao was alive. Kao was where he was supposed to be.
"I have only one question kao. Are you ready to bring hell to those who deserve it?"
Kao didn't hesitate. He opened his mouth and let out a loud "huh!"
Everyone in the ball room stood and shouted "huh!" then began to applaud loudly as Bruto turned around and raised his hands to rile them in a frenzy.
"Then hell is what we give them! No longer will we hide in the shadows, slowly clipping the wings of the beast! From this day forth we are no longer the protectors! We are the hunters!"
The audience lost it, clapping and whooping wildly. Kao had stirred something in these people, by fearlessly pushing onward against all hope he had awoken the same hunger in them. Bruto calmed the crowd.
"Let us eat, drink, and be hopeful for the future!" Bruto said as he walked into the crowd shaking hands.
Kao walked up to the table and took his seat in the middle. Panic and riot sat to his right, Anna and ghost to his left.
"You sure know how to cause a scene huh?" Anna said as she took a sip of wine.
"What can i say? Im sort of like... a big deal i guess." he said as he took a bite of pasta.
"Your nothing more than a figure head at this point redneck." riot said from the end of the table "i hate to tell you, but this little episode may be the death of us all."
"Hush riot!" Anna said
"What do you mean?" kao asked
"What i mean is the turnover rate of the ghoul squad is about to go through the roof. Our job has always been to cripple the enemy, not purge the entire earth of them."
"If you're scared you can back out now riot. I'll put in a good word for you at a gas station if you're trying to relocate." panic said with a smile
"You know im not scared panic! I just know the difference between clever war tactics and being sent to my death."
"If you're not ready to die for this then you're not really a ghoul." kao said, never looking up from his plate.
"You've been here for a month you creaton!" riot was whispering angrily "one puny month! You have no idea what horrors lie ahead of you."
"I'll do what it takes to know the truth, riot!" kao was looking at him now, anger rising in his heart. "I will die before i quit."
Just then, all the lights in the ball room went out with a loud clunk. Kao looked around but was virtually blind in this newfound darkness. Then a flicker of light came from the audience, it was Mr. Bruto. He had snapped his fingers and allowed a small black flame to rest on his thumb, illuminating his face for the congregation to see.
"Don't panic people." he said very loudly "it's probably just a blown fuse. I'll have the ground crew go check it out, everybody just stay seated."
Kao stood and began walking toward Mr. Bruto to see if there was anything he could do to help. He reached the end of the stage and nearly tripped on the first stair, then traversed the maze of people in chairs to get to Mr. Bruto.
"Hey, want me to go check on this?" kao asked
"No thanks kid, I've got the..." the lights cut back on in the middle of Mr. Bruto's sentence "see, everything's fine."
As the words left Mr. Bruto's mouth, a bloody shriek came from the crowd. Bruto and kao looked in the direction of the scream and saw a woman pointing to the stage. As they turned their attention to the back of the ball room, it became very clear what the problem was.
Behind the table where the ghouls were seated, stood five hooded individuals. The way they were dressed reminded kao of the grim reapers outfit, one long robe that swept the floor just enough to hide the feet of the man wearing it. The hood of the robes hung around their faces like a tear drop, coming to a point in front of their forehead. The faces of the mysterious assailants were blacked out completely and kao wasn't able to make out a single feature. Four of the hooded men stood behind each of the ghouls who were still seated, holding knives to their throats and pressing hard enough to crease the skin on their necks. The fifth man stood behind the chair where kao had sat before he made his way to Mr. Bruto.
"What in the..." Mr. Bruto said "How did you get in here!?"
"Silence! We didn't come to speak with the weaklings!" the man in the middle said as he stepped onto the table. "We have come to speak with the gravity boy! Make your way to the stage or your friends die one by one."
By this point ghost had a stomach full of being held hostage. He phased through the attackers knife and stood, driving a dagger of his own through the neck of the hooded man while also grabbing the man's shoulder for extra power. As his dagger pierced the man's throat he disappeared, leaving ghost holding nothing but a robe in his hand. The man appeared floating over ghost's head, with the same robe on, and crashed into him striking the back of his head. After a brief struggle ghost was sitting in the chair and the man stood behind him holding the knife to his throat once again.
Kao didn't really know ghost, but the sight of him being humiliated sent his blood boiling in his neck and up to his head where his skin turned red in pure anger.
"Kao" Mr. Bruto said quietly "im pretty sure these men are the five phantoms of new haven."
"You know them?" kao whispered
"No but I've heard about them my whole life."
"Sorry Mr. Bruto." kao said without looking "i don't have time for a history lesson." kao took a step forward "i am kao lecray!" he proclaimed "i am the 'gravity boy'."
"Marvelous! Just marvelous!" the man in the robe said "i don't know why i pictured you to be better looking."
"I don't know why you're worried about how i look." kao said as he made his way to the stage.
"What a clever young lad! I say, you remind me so much of Lyken, it's scary!"
"You knew Lyken!? How old are you dude?"
"Much, much older than you child." the man said as he pulled his hood back revealing his face. The man looked young, 18 or so. He had long blond hair with one small braid hanging down the right side of his face. Kao realized he was a Helena. The man was tall, with a face that was as blemish free as a baby.
"I not only knew your ancestor boy! He was my best friend."
"Why are you here!? Why are you telling me this!?"
"Well son. To be honest, i came here to see you. It's a shame really, that you would be fooled by such a corrupt regime of low blood traitors. You see kid, you're not like these people. You are the key."
"Don't talk to me in riddles you old fool! Why are you here!? Let my team go before i start taking your heads off!"
"My my my. Your team you say? I know you have seen a vision of the past kid, but do you really know the true nature of your people's genocide?"
"How could you know that? I haven't told anyone, how could you know that!?"
"I know many things, kid. Anyway, i haven't come here to ramble on this way. I came here to make a wager."
Kao was steaming mad by this point "a bet? You come here and put knives to the throats of my people, just to make a bet?"
"Your people are dead, kao! These are not your people, and you will soon learn how little you actually know of them. In the meantime, I and you are going to play a little game."
"Im not going to give you much longer, freak." kao said "end this with words or blood, as long as you end it now."
"You will watch your peon mouth foolish boy!" the man declared "the rules of the game are simple, you must fight my top project. If you win, there will be a fabulous mystery prize! Though if you lose, and you will, all your friends will die!"
Kao looked to Anna, she had a strange look on her face. It wasn't a look of fear, but of anger. She breathed heavily and tried her hardest not to tear up from the agony of helplessness. Kao saw her pain and his anger boiled heavier than ever. He couldn't suppress it any longer. 'Jack' kao said in his mind 'emergency get here now'.
"I'll fight any and all of you on fair or handicap terms! I am not afraid of you!" kao said.
"Oh how lovely! If everyone would please make their way to the arena outside, we will continue our party there!"
All five of the hooded men vanished, as did the ghouls they held hostage. Kao's fists clenched tightly in anger as he cherished the thought of tearing the heads off of the intruders. Everyone in the room stood and began walking to the back of the room, they exited the door slowly and quietly, they were all too shocked to speak. Jack appeared in front of kao.
"I watched the whole thing from the door, kao. This is bad, no one has ever found blood moon. This could compromise our whole operation."
"We'll have to let Bruto worry about that, jack. Right now we have to save the squad by whatever means necessary."
"Right, im with you there. This may get very sticky indeed."
Kao and jack exited the ball room and made their way to the outdoor arena. They rounded the corner of the academy and saw the bleachers full of neatly dressed Helena's with fear on every face. It reminded kao of a horse race where one of the horses had gotten into the stands. Kao entered the field and took his place in the circle closest to the academy. The hooded man stood beside the other circle with the rest of his men behind him still clinging to their captives. Mr. Bruto approached kao and put his hand on his shoulder.
"This situation needs to be handled, kao. Im counting on you to end this quickly, the shareholders are here and we don't want them to witness the defeat of our newest addition."
"No offense Mr. Bruto, but that is a very shallow thing to fear when your own daughter is being held at knife point."
"You and i both know how this must end kid. I am damn worried about my daughter, but this operation is way more valuable than the life of one ghoul."
Kao looked at Mr. Bruto. "Your right, im sorry I'll do my best sir."
The hooded man walked to the circle directly across from kao and began to clap. He put his hand to the ground then began to slowly lift it upwards. As his hand raised, an electric orange glow began to manifest beneath it. When the hooded man's hand was high above his head he stepped backward and watched as the glowing light crackled and hissed in a violent reaction. The light then began to die slowly, revealing a man beneath its now soft glow. The man was hooded, just like the rest of the intruders, but he was very different in size. The new man stood a staggering nine foot tall at least, with shoulders as broad as a grizzly bear. The man stood perfectly still with his hands cuffed in front of him, breathing heavily underneath his large hood.
"Dear god!" kao said to jack "that robe must be made out of a king sized comforter!"
"easily." jack replied "I'd hate to know what his dry cleaning costs."
The man walked up to the large hooded monster and began to speak loudly so the entire arena could hear his triumphant tone.
"Introducing project Shadow-Machine!" he then snatched the robe off of the man and reveled in the frightened gasps of the on lookers. Beneath the robe was the largest man kao had ever seen, muscles flexing under their own weight as he prepared for battle. His head was shaved except for a thin strip down the middle. He was covered in scars and stitches that let kao know he knew his way around a fight. This man was a giant, and kao was beginning to think that he was on the big side of being a giant.
The hooded man released the muzzle and it fell to the ground, giving the giant his first deep breaths in a long time. He opened his mouth and sucked air in greedily revealing his razor sharp teeth. The giant held his head cocked sideways and never took his eyes off of kao, angrily awaiting his chance to tear him apart.
"Project shadow machine is the latest development in ghoul-killing technology!" the hooded man shouted "coming soon to stores near you!"
"Keep your tongue in your mouth coward!" kao said "you're too scared to fight so you make him fight for you!"
"I made him to fight for me! He does what i say because i am his creator! Unlike your weak academy who sends its youth to fight its foolish conquest! Do you know what you fight for? Do you know why you take the lives you do? You fuel a corporation, a cash scam, a guttural disgrace to the honor that is being a Helena! Lyken would be disgusted with the last of his seed paired with the ones who took his life!"
"They didn't kill Lyken, they were tricked!"
"Don't act like you know, your speaking to a man who fought and bled beside your ancestor. I know your story better than you ever will."
"Then why are you doing this? Why are you trying to kill me? What will you gain?"
"The truth is part of the prize kid. If you win, you will be blessed with knowledge." the hooded man reached over and unlocked the giants cuffs, they fell to the ground and clinked at the giants feet. The behemoths arms fell limp by his side as he cracked his neck to the left and right. The hooded man pulled out a thick, black metal cylinder. It was about two feet long but was very thick. The giant took it from the man's hand without even looking at him. Kao recognized the cylinder, riot carried a smaller version on his hip.
"What is that?" kao asked
"It's his weapon kao. This man must have been a member of the strength clan before these guys got ahold of him."
The giant let out a loud grunt and let the hammer fly from the end of its handle. He raised it high above his head and swung it around as if he was loosening his shoulders for combat. The hammer was extremely long and it looked to be heavy. Bright red markings travelled down the shaft and along the sides of the hammers head, which was about the size of an anvil. Despite the weight of this enormous hammer, the giant swung it around like a golf club.
"That's a bad sign, jack. We're going to have to use a dodge-counter strategy here."
"My thoughts exactly, when the lightning comes to your body you need to focus it on your legs and hips to get the speed you need."
"Right! Im trying my best not to get angry and fly off the handle here, i just don't know man someone is about to get hurt."
"I'll help you control your breathing, kid, but it's all in your mind. We both know i can't stop you if you get out of hand, so it's up to you to keep that from happening."
"Can't make any promises."
"I wouldn't believe them if you could."
The hooded man grabbed the giants shoulder "kill him" he said very calmly. Then he flipped backward into his group of associates.
The giant let out an earth shattering roar, similar to a bear after the hunt. He bent his knees then burst forward at a speed that shocked everyone at the field. The giant swung his hammer from high above his head. Kao fell backwards and landed on his back to avoid the blow. When the hammer hit the ground in front of kao it did so with such force that it actually caused kao's heart to skip a beat.
"No time to run vitals kid! Powering up to 35%!"
Kao didn't want to hear vitals, he wanted to feel the sickening power that he had come to crave. He rolled backwards onto his feet and smiled as the insanity was released from his spine and into his blood. Kao was no stranger to drugs and drinks, but this feeling could never be replicated in a meth lab or liquor still. The black lightning snapped and popped all along his extremities and completely numbed him of the soreness from his last fight. Kao focused the lightning into his thigh muscles, then met the giant head on and drop kicked him right in his chest. A small explosion boomed from the bottom of kao's feet and made the colossal man stumble backward. Kao landed on his back then kicked himself back to his feet. The giant wasn't phased for very long, he grabbed the hammer with both hands and began swinging it wildly over his head from left to right. Kao avoided the blows as his perception of time had changed dramatically along with his heightened power level. The giant swung hard one last time and dug the end of the hammer into the dirt. Kao stepped on the head of the hammer, then on the handle, then brought his left foot over and kicked the giant in his head. Once again a small explosion rang out, knocking the giant to the ground. Kao climbed on top of his side and began pounding the monsters head in an attempt to finish the fight. The beast stood as if kao was a small child and flipped him to the ground. Kao took a step back as the giant regained his footing.
"Ole buddy can take a hit, I'll give him that."
"Ole buddy? You act like you know this gargantuan."
"Oh yeah man we go way back like a broken recliner"
"God you're an idiot. Keep your wits about you and wear him down, something that big has to run out of steam sooner or later."
"Got it."
The giant screamed in anger and set his sights on kao again, screeching and dragging his hammer behind him. The giant swung the hammer upwards at kao's chin and he was barely able to avoid it. The beast powered up a bit more and sent his lightning into the head of his hammer, then slammed the hammer into the ground causing the earth to shake slightly.
"Pull out your swords, kao!" jacks' voice rang loudly inside kao's head.
"Right!" kao pulled the knuckles from his pockets, felt their weight, and reconsidered. "They might only slow me down jack this guy's crazy fast. I think i can take him with the knuckles."
The giant raised his head and howled into the night, his fierce teeth glistening in the moonlight.
"No!" kao said aloud. "daggers." he then let the blades out about seven inches.
"I don't think daggers will even get through his pecks kid! We need a good stab!"
"No, when he fell i saw some sort of device attached to the back of his head. When he stood and began fighting the thing glowed like crazy, i think that's how they control him."
Kao approached the giant in a full sprint and leapt onto his back, the goliath swung his arms in a vain attempt to reach kao, and his muscles made his mobility an issue. Kao climbed higher onto its back and was able to get a better look at the device. It was a small, square, metal box on the back of his head. The bottom of the box had what looked like a metal spine which came out of the box then dug into the giant's neck. Kao lifted the dagger and buried it into the top of the box. The giant began to flail and scream as kao dug the box out of his head. As kao pulled he saw what looked to be a plug on the back of the box, the plug was lodged deep in his brain. When kao finally snatched the box off of the giants head, it detached with a pop and kao fell from the man's back onto the ground with a thud.
The giant stumbled forward, then fell to his knees. He could barely hold his head up at first, then his head lowered slowly and he fell face first digging his nose into the ground. There was a brief moment of silence that felt like an eternity to kao... who was this man? Who had he been before these freaks got ahold of him? Why had life been so precious while he was alive, then so disposable now? These thoughts didn't last long however, the crowd waited to be sure the beast was dead then erupted into a madhouse of cheers and applause. Kao looked around the stadium, unable to do anything but smile. When he looked back down toward the phantoms he saw panic and Anna rushing towards him, he barely had time to put up his hands before he was tackled to the ground in a fit of celebration. They all stood and hugged for a minute while the cheers of the crowd continued. When the five hooded men began to approach him, kao raised his hand to quiet down the audience.
"Cleverly done Mr. Lecray. You have exceeded our expectations tenfold." said the blonde man with his hood off.
"Your expectations mean nothing to me." kao replied with his arms around his friends. Even ghost and riot had walked up to join in. "if you want to go five on five, were ready when you are."
"Kao. Your heart is strong, but your mind lacks the knowledge you deserve. You have beaten shadow machine, now you will get your prize."
The yellow haired man pulled his hood back over his head and stepped back into the line. When he was situated, the hooded man on the far right stepped forward and stared at kao for a short second. They were eye to eye, but kao couldn't see the man's face beneath his hood. The strange man looked to his left at the forest beyond the field, then turned his attention back to kao.
"Follow" the hooded man said in an odd voice. He then bolted towards the woods and stopped about ten feet shy of them. Kao didn't want to go, he didn't want to leave his team with these four freaks while he chased the fifth through the forest on an alien moon.
"Don't go." Anna said softly. "It might be a trap."
Kao looked at the man, then back at his friends. He turned his attention to panic and spoke in a cool, but stern tone. "Panic, you guys can handle these weirdoes right?"
"You know it bro! They got the jump on us earlier, they couldn't win a fair fight if they tried something funny now!"
Kao looked at Anna, who was begging him not to go with her eyes. He wrinkled his forehead and smiled, then without saying a word he burst into a run toward the hooded stranger. The man stood for a minute, waiting for kao to catch up, then matched kao's pace.
"What a fool." Anna said to herself as she watched kao disappear into the dark, wooded night.