Ten

Sam-

Howard Area, Chicago

Terra, Earth Solar system

Milky way galaxy, Charlie Quadrant

Neutral Free Zone

Ianuarius 15th Y-909 C.E

 They say that time heals all wounds. Even trauma one gains from past experiences. At least that was what Sam had been told after her Dad died. As she grew up, she realized that it was a lie. Time had nothing to do with healing or anything to do with trauma. Instead, she would say that time was a warden to it. Trauma was a cage that kept one bound to time. It was either the past becomes the present or the present becomes an endless loop. That was how Sam felt on the train ride back to Henry's place. She kept on relieving what she saw in Dr.Dingle's office. Sam wanted it to be her mind playing tricks on her. Anything but the truth. She wanted to take it all back. But she couldn't. Sam had never seen the insides of a person's burnt eyes before. The experience of relieving it felt like a long time. She was unaware of the passage of time or her surroundings. She wondered for the fourth time what the hell Dr.Dingles had been involved in. She was so deep within her trauma that she had no clue when they arrived at Howard station.

"Hey! Lady. Hey! missus." Time returned to normal and Sam was suddenly aware of what was happening. A conductor was standing in front of me. "This is the last stop for the red line. You getting out or what."

"Sorry," Sam muttered to him as she ran out of the train. She hugged her stomach tightly so the files won't fall out of the insides of her jacket. There were few people at the train station, so she didn't care about how freaky her appearance looked. It was raining a little when she stepped out of the station. Not much natural light from the moon due to the clouds covering it, though the lights from the street lamps were enough for her to find her way back to Henry's apartment. Most nights you would normally see people out on the streets. No matter the time or how late it was. The stores would be getting ready to close. Ladies sauntering to wherever they were going while the men stood by catcalling them or leering at them. It had happened to her a couple of times which usually made Henry mad. He would insist that it wasn't a good idea for her to walk around by herself late in the night. Though he would never tell her, somehow Sam knew why he felt that way. While Howard Street was for the most part populated by well-abiding citizens, you normally would see more wayward folks out in the street. Especially late in the night. And that made Henry uncomfortable. He didn't like the idea of her being out here late in the night. Henry was born with his entitlement and there was nothing she could do or say to change that about him. And deep down, she hated him for it. Sam hovered by the gates to Henry's building. Was he home yet? Or was he still at his stupid party? She didn't care. Sam got rid of the ring on her finger and put it away. She had decided that she was done with Henry. She only came here to get her Meds. That was what she told herself as she opened the door to the apartment. She turned on the light in the living room. It was empty. She ran up the stairs to the restroom, slamming the door. She breathed in and out deeply before looking at the mirror. Her hair was in a mess. It was sopping and all over her face. The little mascara that she had was mixed with the tear stains on her cheeks. She looked awful. She got out of her jacket and placed her file on the edge of the sink. She got her meds out and was about to take it when she heard footsteps. There was a knock at the door. She froze, not sure of what to do. Another knock and her heart resumed beating. She instinctively knew it was-

"Are you alright, Sam," Henry said. Sam sighed as she poured a glass of water for herself from the sink. She drank it in one gulp and poured another round. She opened the door to see Henry. She hated the look of worry on his face. Right now, she hated everything about him. She had no idea why she felt this way. But she just did. She hated the way he treated her, like she was some kind of fragile thing that could break in any moment.

"I'm fine Henry," Sam said.

"You're fine. Then explain to me why there's blood on your jacket by the floor. And your shoes." Henry spat. "Tell me why you're dredging blood all over my floor." Sam looked down at her shoes and saw the blood that was there. The blood that she had stepped on. She hadn't paid attention to it. Sam looked at Henry and knew he wanted an explanation. But she couldn't tell him the truth. Couldn't tell him that her therapist was dead and she had found her that way. She didn't even want to talk to him right now. Something... a feeling that she did not like was writhing within her guts. She tried to close the door but Henry grabbed her hand. "Jesus!, Sam your shaking-"

"Let go of me, Henry," Sam screamed. Dammit. She had never raised her voice at him before. What would he think...would he think her crazy and that she had finally lost it. Just then, Sam felt a vibration of some sort that passed between them. And then she felt it. No...it was more than that. It was like in her mind's eye, she could see a sort of melody within Henry. Like a music note. And for some reason, her voice seemed to reach in and interact...There was a charge of static electricity and then Henry took his hands off her. " Just leave me alone, ok."

"Alright." He said stiffly. "If that's what you want." He went, leaving her alone to ponder on what had happened. Something was not right. Sam knew Henry. He would never listen to her. If he suspected something was wrong, he would insist on knowing about it. He would never back down. She thought about the strange sensation she had just experienced. Something had flowed through her to him. A sensation that felt so- Boom! Her legs gave way to the sudden vibration that rang within the floor. Henry sprinted out of his room.

"What the hell was that," Henry said, glaring at her. She ignored him as she ran towards the stairs. The explosion had come from the living room, where the ceiling had come crashing down. And in the middle of the room, the stranger from the gallery was there within the broken ceiling and glasses. He was crouched against some kind of creature. The first thing I noticed was how hideous the creature looked. It was greyish pale, the skin similar to that of a reptilian creature. The skin seemed to be bleeding, most of it filled with gashes and cuts. Black blood seeped out - at least I assumed it was black blood- from the wounds. Its lizard face howled against the boy as he pushed what looked to be a dagger through Its body. That was all she saw of the creature as it disintegrated into ashes, leaving behind a shard, the same glowing shard Sam had seen in Dr.Dingle's office. This isn't real. It's not real. I'm hallucinating. That was what Sam wanted to believe. But again a part of her knew that this was all too real. The sensation that she had felt from Dr.Dingle's office was back. It felt like a cluster of ants climbing up her arms. The boy still wore the same outfits from the events but they were all torn and bloody. He picked up the shard, a manic grin on his face as he pocketed it. Then he looked up to observe his surroundings.

"Huh, you again." He said. He staggered as he moved forward. His left knee gave out and he was coughing out blood. Sam rushed right to his side, catching him before he fell.

"Are you all right," She said. He might not be real but the thought of him being hurt didn't sit all right with her. He smiled at her like it was nothing as he pushed himself up.

"Fine. Used too much energy, that's all." He said. He wiped the blood from his mouth.

"What the hell is going on," Henry yelled. "Sam, who the hell is he. And what the hell was...was..-" Sam had totally forgotten about Henry being here. She slowly walked over to his side. He looked frightened, like any moment now he was about to piss his pants.

"That was an Abomination." The boy said. He pulled out another silver blade from what looked to be a belt around his waist. Sam had not noticed that before. "I can't believe I had to hunt a whole pack of them all the way here...to you." He was staring at her like he couldn't believe that she was real either. Abomination... what the hell. Has she been dropped in some kind of fantasy/ horror comic book. That was the first thing that popped up in Sam's imagination.

"What the hell are you talking about," Henry said. "You're crazy. Now listen here, I'm gonna call the cops If you don't fucking leave my apartment. I don't know who put you up to this-" Henry made to go for the landline but the boy grabbed hold of his hand. Sam gasped in awe. The boy had moved so fast that she totally lost track of him.

"I wouldn't do that If I were you." He said with a smug smile. Henry tried pulling his hands off him but the boy's grip was ironclad. The boy smiled down at Henry in a condescending kind of way. For some reason, it made her kind of happy.

"You said they travel in packs, right. The Abominations..." Sam said, clearing her throat. Her insides wanted to panic but for some reason, she was able to maintain a calm facade. The boy let go of Henry's hand and turned to her.

"Not really. Not all Abominations travel in packs. Only the Beast kind which are led by a Greater one. " He said. Sam had no idea what an Abomination was, or what the hell even a Beast kind or a Greater one but she nodded her head to him, going along with the conversation. She didn't care if this was real or not, right now all she cared for was knowledge about what was going on.

"So are there more of that thing-" Sam asked just as the room became chiller than it was seconds ago. The feelings on her arms traveled all the way to the rest of her body. The boy swore as a black hole appeared in the middle of the room. And emerging from the hole was an eight meter tall, huge monster. It had blood streaked fur, shaped like an ape, covered by what looked to be armor. Its eyes were black, filled with some darkness that made the hair on her body sizzle. Its presence felt suffocating like it was absorbing all the oxygen in the room, making it impossible for her to breathe. She turned to see Henry, but he was helpless on the floor, foam pouring out of his mouth. 

"That's an Abomination," the boy said. "A Greater one for that matter." Sam felt the suffocating pressure increase, her legs felt like giving in, unable to stand the increase in gravity. But a part of Sam's being resisted it. Fought against the influence. So she ended up crouching on the floor. "Wow. I'm amazed you can resist its King's will."

"What... What..-" Sam had no idea what this boy was speaking of. But just then, the Ape monster decided to attack. The Beast lunged right at Sam with frightening speed for its size. Its arm extended, his wrist moving out of its arm, exposing a bone structure that was expanding. The boy reacted with a punch to the hand, sending it crashing to the ceiling. He then sent two more punches to the Beast's face, the shockwave from it made the entire building shake. Sam lost her footing, her butt landing on the floor. She moved backward to where Henry was. The Beast had taken the punches from the Paladin, its fury at what the mortal had done to its pack made the Abomination able to tank the attack. And even though the Abomination wanted to kill the mortal, it had something more urgent to do. It's eyes fell on Sam, it's target that was behind the Paladin. Leon Haravok noticed the look of the Beast. So its target is the girl. Leon thought to himself.

"What's the matter" He said. Leon flexed his muscles, knowing that those two punches of his did nothing to the Abomination.

"Paladiiin..." the Ape hissed. And then it lunged at Leon. Leon got into a fighting stance, his face set into a neutral expression as he began to weave out of the reach of the Ape's punches. The floor of the building shattered as the Ape's massive fist tore through the wooden floor. Luckily for them, they had entered the Grey- the isolated plane that existed alongside the mundane plane. So all the damages that was done to the living room would not be reflected in the identical room in the mundane plane. The downside was that both the girl and the human had somehow ended up inside the Grey. Leon had an idea of how it had happened. But for now, he had to concentrate on the Abomination. He blocked a kick from the Ape with his foot, then sent two quick jabs to the chin. Leon's body was highly reinforced, his strength matched that of the ape, so black blood spilled out of its mouth as Leon's fist connected. The Ape glanced at Leon and then spat black blood mixed with broken fangs on the floor. And then growling, the Beast smacked him with both arms sending Leon crashing down through the lower floors of the Apartment building. Sam watched as the Beast followed him through the hole. She could hear the sound of their fight moving through the floors and then there was a boom that came from outside the building. Sam moved without thinking. She swung the door open and began jumping down the stairs, from the twentieth floor to the first without even thinking of taking the elevator. By the time she came out of the building, to her left in front of Henry's home, most of the buildings had been damaged by the guy flying through it. And then another blast of woods and debris, and something came flying smacking the cars that were parked in the streets. Along with that came the alarm from the cars. The boy was laid across a Prius car, the car badly damaged. Sam ran to him to see if he was ok. As she crossed the street, Sam wondered why nobody in the area where concerned about the destruction that was happening in the streets. Even the buildings that were destroyed by their clash didn't draw any attention. The boy got up from the vehicle, stretching his body as wood and metal fell off him. 

"You shouldn't be here," the boy said. "You would have been safer up back there," There was a screeching howl that sent her knee jerking. She looked up to see the monster land on the ground. The lamp posts were flicking, going out, and turning back on. The monster in front howled again which made the boy grin. He had a savage look in his eyes, a look that seemed to border on ecstasy and boredom. Sam couldn't decide what it was. He took some steps, and then he was gone, like he had teleported. But there was no flash of light or Magic circle under his feet like there was in most fantasy comics. It was only after he appeared beside the monster in the front that Sam realized what had happened. He had simply moved faster than her eye could perceive, and now in front of her, he was striking the monster with his bare fists. His moves consisted of fast paced punches that went well with his explosive power and speed. But what drew her fascination was the fact that he was able to go toe to toe with the huge armored monster. Their fight began to break the asphalt ground, cracks appearing across, sending a miniature quake around the streets. 

"Sam! What the hell are you doing," Henry called out to me. He was awake and had come out of his building and ran to me. Sam could see the look of confusion on his face as he tried to pull her off the road, but she refused to.

"What the hell is going on," Henry screamed. No one but them could witness the absurdity that was going on before them. At first, Sam thought she was crazy, that everything that had happened was her mind playing tricks on her, but it seemed she was wrong. Henry was also able to see what was happening. Boom! A shockwave spread throughout, making Sam accept Henry's hand and then they ran off the streets, taking shelter behind one of the vehicles. Sam was still watching the fight, for some reason she was enthralled by the battle that was going on. The monster swiftly used its extended arms to grab a wrecked Prius and threw it at the boy. He caught it and easily ripped the damaged car like it was nothing, then used the half part of it to smack the monster. Sam noticed how Henry was muttering, pointing to where the Prius car used to be. There was a dazed expression on his face like he couldn't believe reality. Sam understood what he was going through. She had experienced the exact feeling. Meanwhile, Leon was getting ready to finish the fight. The few attacks that he had used on the Beast were mostly to gauge the level of power that the Greater one had, and now that he had seen it, the boredom was starting to get to him. Leon didn't like fighting unarmed, but he had used his fist only to test the Abomination. And Leon found the beast lacking. Most of its power was gone with the death of its pack, and Leon exchanging blows for blows was just him playing around. He flicked his hand gathering particles of golden light, and a single edge curved sword appeared. Leon grabbed the blade and began to get to work. The air around him got intense, and cracks of yellow electricity emanated from him as he began to thrust and slash at the beast. The Ape tried to use his armor to block the attacks but the blade easily cut through the metal, spilling more black blood. By the time the beast realized that its armor was useless against Leon's blade, it was too late. Leon had delivered countless cuts on the beast. Even the Beast trying to reinforce its defense didn't work, as Leon overpowered the Abomination, using vertical slashes, up and down, to smack the Beast around the street. Leon was filled with spots of black blood, a weird rotten smell hanging over him. The Beast was bleeding fiercely from the cuts it had received from Leon. His tanned skin glowed, golden lights wrapping around him. The coldness that came from the night temperature vanished. A warm feeling spread across Sam's chest making her feel good. The light spread across the street wrapping itself around them in a protective way. There was a loud piercing roar that Sam felt that could have torn her eardrums, her bones shook at the sound of it. Sam did not like that feeling. The monster gathered enough force within its feet and bounded off the ground, whizzing past where Sam and Henry were hiding. The force sent them across the street. The monster collided with the boy and the shockwave was enough to bring some of the buildings in the streets down. The monster backhanded the boy, blood splashed out of his mouth as he fell. Then it sent a forward kick right to his guts. Then, it was followed by a downward punch that sent rocks and asphalt flying everywhere. Even with all the force the monster generated, Leon's body smashed through the ground, there wasn't that much damage on him. But the beast didn't seem to care for it turned its attention back to Sam. Sam pulled back in fear, trying to get away from the monster, but then her back was against one of the destroyed cars, whose alarm had gone off. The creature's hand came close to her face forcing Sam to close her eyes in fright. Somehow she could feel the overwhelming darkness that was emanating from the creature. After a couple of seconds, as nothing happened, Sam opened her eyes to see that the monster's arm was inches from his face. The arm was moving, trying to get closer but for some reason, it couldn't reach me. She blinked in surprise at the creature. The Ape…Abomination or whatever the boy called it, seemed to be shocked at what was happening.

"Must bring you." It said in a howling inhuman voice. "Must bring you. But can't touch Asha'yee. His...ss Ma...jeeessty ordered...to bring the Star scorched… he requests your presence-" Sam couldn't understand what the creature was howling but the monster didn't get a chance to finish as a golden sword sliced through the arm that faced her. The boy appeared in a golden flash and kicked the Ape to the other side of the street, away from Sam.

"Are you ok?" He said. Sam nodded as she got her ass from the ground, embarrassed at him seeing her whimper in fear. "Alright time to finish this." Although he didn't have any blood or sign of damage from the attacks the Ape had done on him, he looked palish, with drops of sweat sliding down his temple. But even still with the exhaustion that he was probably feeling, Sam could see a crazy glint in his eyes. His expression at this moment was like that of someone experiencing the best that life had to offer to him. Within her heart, Sam felt a tinge of enviousness and pull towards the enigma that was the boy. Leon's mouth stretched into a maniac grin. He was enjoying the battle. This Ape was more stubborn than he had judged it to be. It was forcefully drawing more power than it should have just to deal with Leon. More! More! Make it more entertaining! Leon summoned two more golden swords. He swirled the blade around as he moved towards the Abomination.

"Paladin won't let me do my job." the Abomination shrieked " was asked not to harm the girl...but you....I'll make an exception. I'll feed upon your carcass."

"Entertain me more, Great Ape," The boy yelled. " Give me more of your misery" The swords began to glow and shine more brightly, making the sky look like the sun was rising. The golden lights were back on him, sparks were emitting off his body. This...This was power... Sam's mind said to her. The Abomination's body began to glow, a blackish aura that would have made Sam's skin crawl were it not for the boy's golden aura that warped itself like a shell on Sam. The boy attacked first, using his sword to strike at the neck of the creature. The Ape ducked around it, sending a forward jab but the boy blocked the jab with his blade. And then the Ape poured more barrages of punches. Leon parried all the attacks, using horizontal slashes both reverse and forward to shift the momentum of the attack away from him. As time went on, he began to channel more Od, his strength and speed rising. His blades would move past the ape's defense, rendering a couple of slashes at the Abomination. Then using a vertical slash with a curved arc, he was able to cut off the right arm of the Abomination. Black blood sprayed out of the abomination as it shrieked in pain. And like that, the fight became blurry. They were both moving at a fast pace and Sam began to lose sight of both of them. She had never seen anything move so inhumanly fast. Ringing laughter echoed everywhere. Sam knew the laughter belonged to the boy. The boy appeared out of thin air, standing horizontally against one of the building's surfaces... no..not the building..but the space between them. The boy was standing horizontally in the air. The boy smiled sadistically, his eyes glowing insanely. He leaped from whatever platform he was standing on, spinning his body in a twister like movement, releasing a wave of golden light that tore through the granite street, ripping apart the ground, cars, and the street lamps. The Ape was covered by the light, its scream of pain was cut off by the exploding sound that came after the light. Due to the movement of the boy, the fight had gotten a little further away from them so the attack didn't come close to them, but Sam could still feel the intense heat and the quaking of the ground. Even with the attack Leon had released, the ape had survived with some of its armor broken, black blood leaking out. Its face was consumed with an endless rage, its black aura solidifying and becoming like armor. It moved quickly and grabbed Leo, who still was laughing, and slammed him against a car like a ragdoll. And then it did it again a couple of times. And that was when the Ape went in for the finishing move. Dark energy began to draw and focus into an ax, made up of dark energy. And Sam knew she had to do something. She could not stand by and watch. Not again. Not like what happened to Father. She looked desperately around for something. Henry was flat on the ground unconscious again. Then she spotted the white shard next to him. This was the shard that the boy had pocketed. Sam rushed to Henry's side and grabbed the shard. It felt warm and for some reason, comfortable in her hand. The shard vibrated… more purred-like…as if it had a life of its own. Without thinking or making some kind of plan, her legs pulled her towards the fight. The demon didn't seem to notice her, its focus was solely on the boy. The Ape sent the ax down upon the boy's neck. Sam walked slowly at first and then her feet sprinted into a run. She couldn't describe what was happening but for some reason, she felt empowered. Like there was something in this instance that she could do that would help the boy. Without thinking, she leaped off the ground, and bounced off a Mazda car, moving through the air as time slowed down. She tightened her hand on the shard as gravity pulled her towards the monster's back and with as much force as she could muster, Sam shoved the shard into the monster's back. The Ape roared in pain, shaking Sam off its body, and then brushing the tip of the ax cut against her ribs. The pain was blinding, Sam staggered backward, as blood splashed out. She was bleeding but she had given the boy enough time to get his next attack ready. The boy side-kicked the shit out of the ape's face and its neck snapped in the opposite direction. The creature didn't seem to notice as it tried to pull the shard out from its back.

"Are you crazy?" Leon said. "You could have gotten killed." He pressed his hands against the side of Sam's stomach as blood spilled out. His hands glowed, and the warmness turned into heat. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt. "This should stop the bleeding. Luckily for you, Beast Abomination doesn't have venom like Infernal Abomination." He moved in front of Sam, facing the Ape. "It's time to end this. Close your eyes and don't look at me."

"Why," Sam asked.

"Just trust me." He growled. And for some reason, Sam did trust him. He began to glow again, this time the light was more intense. He floated up in the air, golden sparks emitted out of his body. Golden electricity flowed from his arms into the sword in his hands. He was glowing as bright as the sun. Sam had to close her eyes as he had warned her. Even though she couldn't see him, she was able to see his aura and that of the Ape. The boy's golden aura spread throughout the street and engulfed the Abomination's blackish aura. It was like a clash between two different types of melodies, clashing against each other and releasing a discordant sound that felt like it could tear the world apart. After what felt like a while Sam opened her eyes to see the boy hovering right back on the ground. The monster was gone, specks of ashes lingering in the air. Even with the pain in her stomach, Sam made it to the boy as he touched the ground. He looked pale and exhausted. His breath was staggering in and out. Blood licked out of his nose. He coughed a couple of them. On the ground was a huge white Shard plus the one Sam had used to stab him. What the hell were they? Sam had a vague feeling of what they were but she didn't want to think of it.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked. He nodded, smiling at her. She tried to move but Sam's legs gave out from under her. She collapsed on the floor, her body too heavy. Like she couldn't hold it upright. She had never felt so exhausted before in her life. The boy came into view as he carried me from the ground. But it didn't matter, she felt herself falling into the darkness, and just like that she was out cold.