Chapter 7 - The Blood Moon Homicide

A red hue nearly overtook the moon as it hovered in the skies above.

Lines to and from Pangea Academy were cut off.

Pangea's wireless communications were jammed.

Within a room situated on the third floor of Pangea Academy, multiple people were face to face with each other.

...

D's squad stared down the afro-haired man.

"Who are you," D questioned, not breaking eye contact.

"Luke," the Pangea Academy graduate simply answered. D's squad was silent as they were stunned that there was finally an obstacle in their plans.

[No way...Luke's here?] D thought to himself.

The guard-watcher cocked his silent pistol and pointed it at the guard.

"If you let us go, I won't kill him," he said.

"Give me the USB and get out of here," Luke menacingly responded. "Leave the guards unharmed, and I will not pursue you."

"No can do," The hacker responded. "We are under direct orders to complete our mission and by any means necessary. There is nothing you, other students nor faculty can do."

"Try me," Luke said, unmoving. D shrugged, then looked at the guard-watcher.

"Kyosuke. Do it," he said as he nodded his head. Kyosuke, with a death stare in his eyes, pulled the trigger and put a bullet in between the guard's eyes, killing him instantly.

Luke's mouth fell open.

[No! Just this morning, he was holding the gate for me! Now...now he is dead!]

Luke's blood started boiling.

"How dare you," Luke screamed, lunging at Kyosuke.

Kyosuke took a step forward and turned to point his gun at Luke. Luke, with his excellent agility, proved too fast for his like-age Japanese opponent. He grabbed Kyosuke's wrist, twisted and squeezed, causing him to drop the pistol. Luke pulled Kyosuke toward him, and without hesitating, did a spinning heel kick to the side of Kyosuke's head. Kyosuke was slammed through the wall with the velocity of the kick; so hard that it seemed like his head was kicked clean off his shoulders.

The assault squad did not know what happened until they saw the hole in the wall. They were speechless.

"Everyone," a calm D said. "Get out of here. I will hold him here."

"B-but David, wait," the hacker started to say.

David shot them a menacing look as they tried to protest.

[David?] Luke thought to himself. [No, it can't be...]

"I got him. That USB is more important than all of us," he concluded. "Although we successfully achieved our operation's first phase, the second phase will have to remain unfulfilled. Now go!"

"As if," Luke growled. Everyone took various stances.

He tried to use his agility to get past David and toward Kyosuke and the hacker, but David stepped in front of him, barring his way. He motioned to his squad to leave.

The hacker slung an unconscious Kyosuke's arm over his shoulder and started moving toward the exit, while David continued to stare at Luke.

Luke's eyes widened.

"They are not getting away," Luke threatened, his pupils dilating.

"Try it," David mockingly replied. Both men got into a fighting stance.

Luke tried to lunge past David, and would have been successful if David didn't grab the collar of the graduation gown Luke was still wearing.

"I actually got a bone to pick with you," David told Luke as the former held the latter's gown.

Forcibly pulling on Luke's gown caused the back and shoulder areas to rip at the seams. This caused Luke to get much angrier than before.

"Oh yeah," Luke asked, as he put weight on his left foot.

Luke pivoted and connected with a right hook. The hook shocked David momentarily, but he immediately countered with a left knee. There was so much power behind the knee that Luke got knocked off his feet and slammed a hole into the wall.

Luke grunted and tried to catch his breath.

"Yes," David replied. "Now, I can pay you back for that embarrassing defeat several years ago."

"Ah," Luke said, as he struggled to get out of the wall. "So that is what this is about. David. The former fifth-rank of Pangea Academy. I thought the name sounded familiar, but wasn't sure since you've got that mask covering your face."

In response to this, David removed his mask.

"Yes, Luke. It is me," David said as he threw the mask aside. "But I'll tell you right now, I'm not the weakling I once was. In fact, I graduated as the first rank at the academy I left Pangea for."

Luke laughed, but started coughing at the pain that replaced the numbness he was feeling throughout his body. One place in particular felt like it was on fire. The graduate brushed it off, however, ripped himself out of the wall, and fell to the ground.

As Luke caught his breath, David picked up Luke by the neck. They stood about the same height, 6'2, but David picked Luke completely off the ground.

"I will show you a power you have never witnessed," David told him.

David started to tighten his grip around Luke's neck. Luke started panicking, until he put most of his energy into his knee on a last ditch effort. It connected, causing David to release his grip. Once Luke's feet touched the ground, Luke immediately gave David multiple punches, building momentum. After numerous left and right hooks, Luke ended it with an uppercut. Completely lifting his adversary off the ground with a maximum momentum uppercut, David flew backward, landed on the ground, and slowly slumped.

Luke caught his breath from the exchange he just gave David, then turned his attention toward a corner where the guards were. The guard that was still alive gave Luke a nod. Luke returned the nod, then exited the room.

Now in the hallway, Luke began to run, but was stopped abruptly because he immediately felt a sting in his side. Grabbing at his side, pulled back his tattered gown and white shirt and saw that a piece of metal had pierced his side. He realized it was when he was slammed into the wall and hastily got himself out of the hole, but due to the adrenaline coursing through him, he didn't notice it until now.

As the pain overtook him, Luke started limping toward the exit, determined to get the people that intruded on his precious academy.

"Hey," he yelled as he neared the exit. The assault squad minus David of course were readying to get ready to go. "You all better not leave, because I am going to take you all down!"

{Embrace Darkness} Luke heard behind him.

Luke's vision immediately went black, as if he was blinded. He felt his body lose all it's primary senses. He stood for a moment as his brain tried to fathom what happened.

A moment was all that was needed.

Luke felt himself get pierced by a sharp object.

...

Outside, excited chatter was overtaking the group that Niko told earlier to get to safety.

Although they had erected a barrier energia earlier, the group continued to observe the lunar eclipse.

"Look, up there," someone yelled out as they pointed upward. Everyone looked up.

Their eyes got wide, and there wasn't a single person who's mouth was unopened.

"The moon's finally gone completely red! It's a blood moon!"

Various bouts of excitement were exchanged among the observers, because they finally got their desire.

After the excitement died down, they were all talking amongst each other.

"Hey, you know," one of the observers started to say. "It's said in ancient mythology, that a blood moon means a cosmic attack will befall the king."

"No way! Do you think that could even happen during this day and age," another asked.

"I guess it could," a third piped up. "Kings do still exist."

"Well, hopefully they have body doubles," the first observer said. "That was always a fool-proof way to save the life of the king."

"But wait, what about-"

Their conversation devolved into endless chatter under the blood mooned sky.

...

As his vision came back, Luke saw an almost-bone-like spear protruding out of his chest. Suddenly, he felt many spear-like objects pierce his back.

Luke fell to his knees, and heard David walk up behind him.

"I told you you would witness a power never-before-seen," he said put his hand on Luke's shoulder. "Now, fall."

David let go of Luke's shoulder, and started walking away toward his team.

Luke struggled for air, as he felt air enter the wounds his blood and oxygen were extruding from. Instead of oxygen in his chest however, Luke felt another substance fill his lungs and rush up his throat. Suddenly, he coughed up blood.

Luke's vision got blurry, and he felt his body get cold. He was still on his knees, however, refusing to give into his failing body.

He gaze turned toward David, who had turned away from the newly grad.

...

David pulled out a radio.

"It is done, sir," David called over the radio. "We ran into a hitch, but it's been dealt with."

A gargled voice responded back to him.

"The boss says that we should extract," he told his squad mates.

"Right," Kyosuke responded after he came to. "We burnt up too much time with that Pangean."

"We need to get out of here," David commanded with a nod.

Everyone turned to make their escape.

As David turned to leave, Luke lunged at David. He felt the fabric of his shirt's shoulder rip off. Caught off-guard by this act, David twisted his leg as he tried to regain balance.

"Damn you, Luke Pruever," David screamed in pained anger.

David turned and kicked a staggering, but smiling Luke in the head, with the newly injured leg.

As David grunted in pain, Luke fell onto his back, with the objects completely piercing his back, and through his chest. Luke spit up much more blood than before.

David, shook off his injured leg. He felt injured nerves creeping up the injured leg. As he was holding his side as well, the leader of the assault team slowly walked toward his group once again. They limped off into the night, barely escaping.

...

As Luke laid on the ground, blood almost exclusively pouring out of his mouth, the air escaping out of his wounds, and with his vision becoming more and more blurry, he faintly heard someone calling his name. A couple people calling his name actually.

A male and a female to be exact. A male who had dirty blonde hair, and a woman baring brown hair with a green tint.

"Luke! LUKE! My answer is…"

Luke's hearing faded, the last words of the woman reaching him as a muffle.

Laying in a pool of his own blood, Luke's sense of smell and touch shut down. His blurry vision began tunneling.

In his final moments, Luke's desire was to tell the two present who had attacked the academy. Luke struggled desperately as he spoke those last words.

"D-D-David...Tyr...a...ugh..."

Luke's vision went completely black, and his body lost the last of it's heat. Luke felt himself being picked up, before he felt completely at peace and took his last breath.