The Lost Sentinel

22 Something inside (2)

Tan P.V.O

I stagger to my feet and look around. The smoke is thick and it makes it hard to see.

“Ask for its will Tan, don’t fight it,” Hanika says, but she sounds like she is a thousand miles away, and her voice sounds distorted like its coming through a wall of water. I close my eyes, and think of what I can say in order to ask the smoke its will.

What do you say to something that you can’t see? I ask myself opening my eyes. And the smoke parts to reveal a figure a few steps away – it’s more like a dark shadow standing in a confident stance, he looks like he has his hands stuck in his pockets. But he doesn’t look like he’s wearing any pants, more like a skirt that has two edges both in the front and the back. His head is shaped in a weird way, as if he’s wearing a helmet that has two horns and a tail. His eyes burn red within the dark shadow as they stare at me.

“If you wanted to see me you should have asked,” he says stepping closer to me. The shadow swirls around him as he moves.

I stand my ground as he comes closer.

“You disturbed me,” he whispers once he’s stands next to me. “I don’t like to be disturbed.”

A breeze like feeling touches my face softly and I jump back. But he comes to me again this time at lightning speed, that surprises me, because one minute he was a few paces away from and then the next he’s close.

“Don’t run. You wanted me here,” he says with a laugh. “And now you have to pay the price.”

Before he finishes his words I feel a hard fist slamming into me. Air rushes out of my lungs as pain shoot through me.

I fall hard to the ground, rolling away as he lifts his leg to kick me.

“Wait!” I scream raising my hand. “I didn’t come here to fight.”

“Yeah. I don’t really care what you came here to do. I just want to kill you,” he says coming at me again. I try to dodge his fists but he moves so fast I can barely keep up. He hits me in the face and stomach ending with a kick that sends me spiralling in the air.

I brace as I see my body stumble down.

Fuck… this is going to hurt, I think as the floor rushes towards me. But he kicks me again in the stomach before I hit the floor, blood spews from my mouth, and I feel like I am going to die.

I hit the ground. I feel like I can barely move.

I watch him as he walks slowly towards me.

I push to my elbows, unable to do anything else.

Shit…I think as he comes to a stop in front of me.

He yawns staring down at me.

“I didn’t come to fight,” I repeat.

He shrugs like he doesn’t care.

“What do you want?” I ask him.

“I should be asking you,” he says crouching in front of me. His eyes burn into me as he stares at me, saying nothing.

I wait for him to say something, but he just stares.

Oh…I breath out as I suddenly remember I asked him a question that he turned on me.

Right.

He wants to know what I want.

“I need to know your will,” I say, doing exactly what Hanika said I should do. But I know immediately it’s the wrong this to say as soon as the words leave my mouth, because the shadow grows bigger right before my eyes. It looks like it’s turning into a vicious animal.

“That’s not what you asked,” he says his voice garbled and scary. I scrambled to my feet, because I don’t want him to slam into me while I am helplessly laying on the floor.

He finishes his transformation and he looks like a very large cat with equally large teeth.

Shit… I stare at him knowing I am going to have to fight my way out of this.

I wait for him to attack me. And when he does, I brace for the impact.

He hits me with such power, I feel like my whole body breaks into two.

I breath through the pain, forming a fist with my right hand. I will all the power I have inside me to ignite, and I feel it coming alive.

“Tan?” Hanika screams somewhere far away, but I ignore her focusing of the shadow figure. I slam my fist into him, and hear the satisfying sound of his scream.

“Yeah, I can fight back too,” I say going at him. We fight for what feels like forever with both of us sustaining injuries.

Time goes by, and I grow exhausted as the fight continues.

We slam into each other, knocking the air out of our lungs, we drop to the ground, panting but still staggering to our feet.

“I want to know your will, that’s all I need,” I say screaming at him as he makes to come at me again. But he stops his eyes narrowing on me. He morphs into the shadowy figure.

“I will not allow anyone to use me ever again. I am done,” he says turning and walking away. I run in front of him.

He looks at me, his eyes taking on a deeper shade of red that they almost look like blood.

“You and I are one now. I need your help. Maybe we can work together,” I say.

“You need my help?” he slowly asks.

I nod. “Lend me your power to fight. I am faced with a great enemy that wants to destroy my home. I am not strong enough to face it alone. I am trying to get strong. And I disturbed your resting place, because I need to become strong.”

“That wasn’t my resting place,” he says spitting on the ground. “They used my power to draw people there, to heighten their hunger, so that they can do anything to satisfy that hunger – kill, offer themselves to be killed, offer their children, mother… anything.”

All the strange history of the Mayans I’ve read about come to my mind, but I shake it off because there can’t be any truth to it.

Or…

He steps closer to me. And sniff me. “I can feel the fear and desperation within you to win, to live, to become stronger,” he says touching my chest. My heart hammers against my chest, and I am sure he can feel it.

“Yes, the world is depending on me to do this,” I say feeling the heaviness of it on my shoulders. “I need to save my home. And yes, stay alive.”

“My power will make those desires worse. Might just kill you, as you try to satisfy them,” he says letting his hand fall away.

“Yeah. But I might end up dead anyway. I need you,” I say knowing it to be true. My other half will die if he goes in the ring with little power. If I end up dead after I save the world, I will put that as my greatest achievement.

“Fine,” he says turning to walk away.

“What is your name?” I ask.

He stops walking, and stand there for a few minutes not turning around to look at me. Seconds tick by before he says, “No one has ever bothered to know. But you can call me Tan,” he says turning around with what looks like a smile on his face. He winks at me, and then turns around to walk away.

Shit…

I drop to the ground as exhaustion causes my legs to weaken and give out. I close my eyes, taking deep gulping breaths.

When next I open my eyes, I find Hanika staring down at me.

She looks worried and shocked that I am awake. 

“Did you really have to do that?” she asks smacking me in the arm.

“Ouch!” I exclaim brushing the spot. “What did I do,” I ask surprised that she would react like that. She’s the one who told me to do this.

“Do you know what happened to you?” she asks.

“Yes,” I say groaning as I get to my feet. I look around me, shocked to find stains of blood on the white floor. “Is that…?”

“Yes! I told you to ask for his will, noooo…you had to fight,” she screams at me. “It’s been two days since you were in there. I thought you were dead.”

Oh… that’s strange.

“Sorry,” I say stretching my back. “But it’s done,” I say showing her. My arm turns smoky and power surges through me.

“But that’s not you,” she says staring at my arm.

“Yeah, he’s helping me,” I tell her, but she doesn’t look very happy about that.

“It’s still his will and not yours,” Hanika says with a shake of her head.

“He’s willing to help, that’s all I need right now,” I say, because there was no other way to convince the energy inside me to do my bidding. He’s too strong for me. Right now, I am happy that he’s on my side. When and if his powers make me desperate and kills me, I would have fought and hopefully won.

“I am going to my room,” I tell her. And I can feel her disapproving glare all the way out.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Mount G

Tan P.O.V

I have done all the preparations I can. The 48 hours ran out so fast, and before I knew it was time.

I move around my room to release the energy that is thrumming within me. My arm has gotten more lines, these ones look strange, and they seem to be changing every few hours.

I guess my other half has gotten more power.

But it feels strange.

I shake the worry off. I need to concentrate.

Zulan, stares at me. That’s what he told me his name is.

It’s a lizard, I keep telling myself, but strangely enough I find comfort in having someone to talk to, even if it’s a lizard.

“You can’t come,” I tell him. It’s been a running argument for the past five hours. And he doesn’t seem to be getting it.

“I am,” he says.

“What would a lizard do in a fight?” I ask turning to him. He gives me a duh stare again. I am getting used to his stares. And it’s weird that I can interpret them so easily.

I shake my head because I feel so stupid talking to him, no matter how hard I try to get used to his presence.

But before he can say anything the door opens and the robot returns.

I take a deep breath as the message gets displayed on the screen.

The computer screen blinks switching on: Fighter: GH42067 its time for your fight. Follow me.

Without looking back, I follow the robot out. We walk down the corridor until we end up at the arena. The noise is deafening all over again

The screens above are bright as they show my previous fight. The crowd seems to go crazy for that.

Tan! Tan! Tan!

I hear my name being shouted over and over again.

It hadn’t been like this the first time.

I walk down to the middle of the arena to find my opponent waiting for me.

And this one looks more human than alien.

I stare at the screen as his stats are being displayed. 

                                                 Fighter: HY40691

Name: Ababddon

Age: Nineteen

Occupation: Secretary

Race: Human

Special abilities: Fire bombs, Super speed.

Possible powers to be cultivated: power to control air.

Status: Level 1

He’s human? I stare at his stats not sure I understand.