The Spirit Killer

CHAPTER TWELVE

   It was evening now, the weather was relatively cool and to the average human the day was perfect; if only they knew what had transpired earlier in the day and what was to come in the night. Only those in the spirit realm and those involved in the spirit realm knew what event was going to take place. The workers at the factory of the evil ones could care less about these events; all they knew was that they were asked to stop work two hours earlier than usual and were still paid for a full day’s work. They didn’t care that there work was not completed; they didn’t notice the movement of large number of people in and out of the compound; they didn’t even notice that security had been beefed up. All they wanted was to get out of the premises and enjoy the rest of their day.
The inside of the factory was devoid of sound and people, except for the security guards around the premises; nothing seemed amiss but beneath the factory floors, a lot was going on. People and spirits were scuttling about; weapons where being arranged. It was as though they were preparing for war. In a way they were: the battle between good and evil. Despite the fact that no one knew their base of operations, they were not leaving anything to chance. It was better to be prepared than sorry; these were the words of Mr. Deacon. Asides that, they were also preparing for the resistance that they knew would come after the resurrection but all resistance would be futile. In the end every living thing would have no choice but to yield. All the other battles in the past had seen them, the evil ones, losing; but this time it was going to be different. The advantage was on their side. First, they were going up against a spirit killer that was barely two weeks into his powers and less training. It takes close to a year before a spirit killer can master most of his powers and they still couldn’t defeat their great lord. The second advantage was that they had succeeded in attacking their enemy’s hideout, hence reducing their man and fire power. This, they believed, would demoralize them. In all their years, they had not achieved such a feat. Their third advantage was that they had a hostage, the granddaughter of one of their enemies. With all these accomplishments, there was no way they were going to lose again, victory was certain… no it was imperative. This and more was said at a meeting earlier by john Deacon. His words boosted the morale of the spirits and now they felt invincible, unstoppable and indestructible. Things would have worked out fine for them but the mistake they made was that they failed to realize that they were going up against an unconventional enemy.
      In a certain room, Kadeem stood behind his numerous companions who were busy monitoring different screens. Some showed the entire perimeter of the factory; others showed different parts of the interior of the factory but there was one camera that showed a wide expanse of land with few trees and grasses and at the centre …a tombstone. John Deacon was there with a dozen or more spirits performing rituals. All this could be viewed from the control room where Kadeem stood watch. He was about to issue orders to the spirits stationed outside the enemies hideout to move in and make them surrender the artifact when all the monitors, save the one showing the ritual ground, went dead. The spirits in the room began to frantically work on the system as they murmured to one another but moments later the screen came back on. There was a visible relief in the room but it was short lived. It was replaced by confusion and then …fear. On the screen wasn’t what they expected; what they could see was the hooded figure of the spirit killer. Just the hooded face filled all the screens, though they couldn’t see his face, then he spoke.
“I’m pretty sure that you are wondering how I hacked into your security system? Simple I have a better hacker on my side and yes I know your present location and yes the spirits outside the place you raided earlier have ceased to exist.”
“I must congratulate you ….” Kadeem began recovering from the shock. “…but if what you say is true… it will be very difficult to breach our defenses; so my advice to you is to hand over Albium before it’s too late.”
“Are you sure we can’t breach your defenses? Are you REALLY certain about that?” He replied.
Kadeem looked at his companions and then back at the screen. He wasn’t feeling confident anymore. He decided to try a new tactics.
“We will kill the girl if you refuse.” He said finally. Hoping that would kill their spirits but he was wrong. From the screen they could see the killers eyes sparkle.
“That … will be the greatest mistake you will ever make and you will not live to regret.” His voice sent shivers down their spines then the screen went blank.
“Sound the alarm!” Kadeem yelled.
“The alarms are not working and we can’t get the monitors back online; we’re completely blind, sir.” One of the spirits said as he still fiddled with the computer keyboard.               
“Then arm yourselves.” He said
“But sir …he can’t possibly know about this place?!”Said another spirit. They all waited for an answer.
“He shouldn’t but to be on the safe side, we must be prepared. We have come too far to lose now.” He answered.
This answer seemed satisfactory enough for they all scrambled into the other room and re-emerged armed to the teeth. One of the spirits handed Kadeem his weapons and then he led them out the door.
         Simultaneously, Orion was leading Don and the other members of the houties and some spirits to the door that led to the chamber below the factory. He was amazed they got this far with little casualties. Mark, who wasn’t with them right now, had prepared a plan. He would enter the factory before the workers closed for the day. He had posed as a businessman along with James but at the time they were leaving; only James left with one other spirit disguised as Mark. They were so busy preparing for an attack from all sides that they had let the enemy in through the front gate without suspecting a thing. Mark was banking on that and while inside he would disable their security system and take out the guards, at least most of them. The plan worked. Before any of the guards could respond, Orion and his group were halfway into the factory. They were the ones that handled the rest of the guards and spirits. There was no sight of Mark though when they had taken out the major force. Now they were on their way to the lower chamber where they believed they would find leader and Sandra. As they got close to the door something stirred in the shadows. Everyone was immediately alert. Out of the shadows stepped out a figure wearing black with a hood.
“What kept you” Mark asked in his deep voice that seemed to be activated once the hood was on.
“Aw! We just stopped by the eatery top side for some well done spirits; dad had his medium rare though.” James answered.
Mark bowed his head a little. Though James couldn’t see his face, he felt that he was smiling. He seems a really nice guy; could be fun to be around but for some unknown reason he struck fear in his heart. This should have been natural because stories of past spirikos and their feats brought fear to his people but this guy hadn’t even done a quarter of those feats yet he was feared not only by him but by all the other houties and spirits. It could be because he lacked a spirit pressure and the fact that his methods were …unpredictable. His thoughts were interrupted by Orion.
“You had to say that, didn’t you.” He scowled jokingly.
James shrugged his shoulders. They headed for the doorway now with Mark at the head of the group. He stretched out his hand but stopped almost touching the handle.
“What’s wrong?” Don asked. Mark had withdrawn his hand and was examining the door. There was a shape of a skull with three red eyes. Mark tilted his head a little and said;
“I wonder!” then placed his three middle fingers into the eye sockets; they shifted backwards while he removed his fingers. The entire wall and the door swung left.
“Really?!” said James.
“How on earth did you know that would happen?” Don asked.
“The door …it just seemed so …simple and besides there were no hinges on the door.” He replied.
They all stepped into the chamber. It was lit so they could see how large and…
“Empty!” James exclaimed.
The houties and spirits had fanned out, exploring every corner, but couldn’t find anything. Kyle turned to James and shook his head. He returned to his father, Orion and Mark.
“There’s nothing here.” He reported.
“The resurrection, where is it supposed to happen?” Mark asked.
“The burial place of darkness, which I might point out, is that no one has seen in centuries.” Don answered.
“You’re wrong the evil ones have found it.” Orion interjected.
“Those were rumors.” Don objected.
“I think Orion is right. Think about. If they haven’t found it they wouldn’t have demanded for Albium.” Mark opined.
Don was thoughtful. The logic was sound.
“It was rumored that it was somewhere in this state but we couldn’t find it.” Don said slowly.
“Time is running out; we need to act fast.” Orion said looking a little disturbed.
Walked forward a little and he thought out loud.
“If it’s in this state that explains why there base is here. And it also means that the burial ground must be close by.” With that he crouched and placed his palm on the floor, tilted his head as though listening for something. The others just stood there, watching. Seconds later he rose to his feet.
“The reason you haven’t found it is because it’s below the surface. To be precise, there’s seven feet of concrete and soil separating us.” He said.
Orion didn’t look too surprised but Don and James were. The shocking realization after all these years they should have figured that it wasn’t on the surface anymore. It had been buried beneath the floor where they now stood. James looked at Mark. He wanted to ask how he knew but he thought that would be a silly question, after all …he is the spirit killer.
“Where’s the entrance?” James asked.
Everyone turned to Mark. He in turn looked back at them.
“How should I know.” He said.
“Then let’s create one.” Orion said waving to one of the spirits who immediately came running to him. He was carrying a bag pack from which he produced a small shinning sphere almost the size of a gulf ball. He handed one to Orion.
“Its seven feet thick you know” pointed out Don.
Orion looked at him. There was a wicked smile on his face. Don knew that look.
“No, you haven’t?!” he said grinning.
“What?” James asked.
“He’s tweaked it.” he replied.
Orion smiled as he was handed three more of the sphere and said;
“I have tripled its potency now.”
“Then why are you adding more?” Mark asked as he shifted backwards gradually.
“The more the merrier and it’s been a while since I got to blow something up.” He had completed his arrangement and was now sprinting to the doorway whence they came. Mark was already by his side; Don and his son were left standing alone; there were no houties or spirits close to them anymore. The exchanged glances and ran for their dear lives.
           
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