Chapter 35: Juggernaut

I open the door finding Joan’s friend Sophia standing over a decayed corpse of the caged cows from earlier. At least that's what I hoped it was. The animal shakes on the surface of a metal table that replicates the metal plate from my maggot dream to perfection. Bloody knives and a saw lay on the construct, and the upper half of the creature's skull sits beside the girl’s crimson hands as needles jut from its exposed brain.

She mushes parts of the cow’s brain with scalpels before she sets the instruments on the table. Once she removes her gloves, she sets a small ruby right beside the shaking cow’s body. Eleven circles appear over her head with a ray of light flashing into the earth before she rips a dark red ball of flame from the creature’s head. The cow’s fidgeting ceases the instant the full soul rends from the open brain.

Deluge mentally vomits as I stare at the spectacle. She forces the soul into the ruby compressing the spirit into the container.

She lifts the gem and places it into a socket with an agile and proficient movement. Lines of light glow from the runes laced around the five foot golem’s body until the construct raises from its hunched position. Without warning, it slams its arm into her shoulder knocking her onto her side. It turns towards her shaking its head with a fidgeting and crazed jostling.

Before it smashes her, I jolt towards the golem tackling the thrall as I knock it over. I lift the small girl as the golem stands up before it bangs its three fingered fists together. Sophia says,

“Just run. There's no-”

I dash towards the doorway throwing her to the other corner of the room with as little force as possible. Her foot hits the doorway closing door. As I turn around, Deluge hardens my face, fists, and my shoulders as I set into my more condensed fighting stance. My arms tuck against my sides as I lunge in a slight crouch preparing for the onslaught of this creature.

Sohpia shouts, “You can’t fight it. It’s a golem!”

I smirk, “You never know unless you try.”

The golem charges at me accelerating with a rapid explosion of speed. I charge forward before slamming my front foot into the ground as it approaches. My momentum arcs through my waist until I jolt my fist directly into the center of the golem.

An ear splitting crack booms from the golem as my hand slams into its stone. The thrall stumbles back as chips of rock fall from a web of cracks on its chest. My hand holds together despite my ridiculous demands, so I pound my fists together saying in my mind to Deluge,

“Your alterations are pragmatic to say the least.”

Before he replies, I charge forward with measured steps. Once I close on the rock creature, I stomp my right foot on the ground in front of me siphoning my weight up through my waist. I jerk my left arm in a closed arc downwards as I turn my hips catapulting my hand from overhead into the golem.

Another deafening boom resonates from the thrall, but I continue my assault. I funnel force through my hips into my right arm creating a another sweeping hook. Before my strike lands, I pull the punch as close to my body as I can.

CR-POOM. The creature falls against the wall fidgeting with far less control than earlier. I charge once more slinging my right hand like a club from over head. CR-POOM once more. The impact shifts my balance, so I contort another blow into its side with my left hand using another compact, grounded blow.

My ears ring from the sound of the impact, yet the golem slams its head into my face breaking my nose and several teeth. The pain overwhelms me for a moment, and the golem smashes my arm with its rock hand as I gasp.

A sharp, puncturing pain erupts from my right arm, but I grit my teeth swallowing my screams and my blood. I growl as I regain my balance slamming an overhand left into the golem’s shoulder. As it stumbles, I swing my right arm jerking my bones into place with a stabbing spasm.

Deluge heals my arm mid swing allowing me to whip my right fist into its head chipping more stone. The golem thrusts its arm into my side breaking ribs and rupturing my organs, but I gorge on my pain. This isn’t my first time facing a painful death, and I doubt it will be my last.

Blood bursts from my mouth, but I slam my forehead into the golem's face hacking a slab of stone that falls on the ground. I swing with another wide right hook, but I miss sinking my fist into the concrete wall.

The golem regains its balance and begins to charge at me, but I yank my right arm from the wall hammer fisting the creature’s face. The concussion tilts the creature while leaving a large crack across its head. As it stumbles backward, I jolt forward.

My feet fall in place generating a flawless chain between the ground and my fist. The momentum of my strike grows until I bludgeon a blow that pierces into the golem's chest with speed like lightning and force like fire.

A thunder crack louder than a cannon booms from the golem as my fist lodges five inches into its chest boulder. Fissures form as the golem ceases all movement. The weight of the creature pulls me to the ground, but I stomp my foot into the golem ejecting my bloody fist from its chest.

After rolling my shoulders for a moment, I stumble to Sophia where I lean my back against the wall. I heave for breath for several minutes as clouds of powdered stone waft in the air. Thousands of rock chips line the ground as two blue torches light the room. I say,

“Alright. You have some explaining to do.”

She remains petrified, so I roll my eyes as I stand up brushing powder off my uniform. As I shake my head, stone and dust falls from my hair. I say, “Are you injured?”

She shakes her head with a slow motion as though her joints creak. She opens her mouth, but no words come out. I pinch the bridge of my nose as I say,

“Look. If you don’t speak, then at least listen.”

I lunge down while arching my neck propping myself up with my knee. I say, “As you’ve seen, I am not normal, but I can’t allow others to know this, especially Joan or Petra. I’m asking as the man who saved your life. Please don’t tell anyone of this.”

She just nods her head without blinking or removing her stare from the golem. I continue, “Why did the golem go berserk?”

She mumbles, “I...I’m trying to allow...”

After a moment, I lay my face in my hands as I say, “Please speak to me. Your cowardice is cumbersome.”

She sits without a word, so I stand up saying, “Fuck. I save a damsel in distress who’s mute. Now I have to clean up her mess without any answers or help.”

I start pushing stones into a pile as Deluge negates the hardening of my fists and face. After several minutes, the mute says, “Are you a god?”

Laughter explodes from my chest as I drop a stone from my hand. I place my hands on my stomach as I bellow a blast after blast of chuckling. As my guffawing dies down, I wipe a tear from my eye as I say,

“Now what makes you think that?”

She says streaming her words together with a rapid yet clear pronunciation, “You healed the cut on my neck saving my life, you never told anyone saving me again, and you beat a golem to death with your bare hands, and you can break stone with your fist, and your super good at comebacks, and you're a master musician, and-”

I raise my hand saying, “Woah now. What are you talking about?”

Deluge says, “I healed her.”

I say aloud, “WHAT?!”

Sophia tries making herself even smaller failing to do so at my shout. I support my head with a hand as I think, “What. The. Fuck. Deluge.”

He snaps, “She laid dying. You would’ve done the same.”

I gesture my hand outwards as I think, “The point is, you can heal people? Why didn’t you say anything?”

He says, “She lay dying, so I saved her. The process involves fusing with a being partially. It has also been of no use so far. Her soul is also...unique. I was curious."

Questioning that abnormality seems as good a place to start as any for clearing my confusion, so I sigh as I say to Sophia, “There's something unique about your soul. Would you please elaborate?”

She pales as she says, “What? Uh. What do you mean?”

I place my hands on my hips as I say, “Let's pretend I’m a gemchaining prodigy. I understand souls. I need to know why your's is different.”

She whispers, “Can we just...not talk about it.”

My patience snaps. I reach out a hand towards her as I say with outrage razing the air, “I granted you salvation twice, yet you refuse to answer even a single question of mine. This is absurd.”

She grates, “I...I was five years old. My brother and I were running on a rocky hill at my parents estate. I stepped on a stone that slipped, and as I tumbled down, I fell from a cliff of twenty feet at the end of the hill.”

Tears well in her eyes lashing me with guilt as she whispers, “I...I broke everything, but my parents were able to save me. My father was master soul forger. He had earned our family's fortune...”

She begins weeping and slurring her words as she says, “He...He took one of the babies of our maids and...he ripped its soul out.”

My hair bristles as she continues, “He used our family’s crown jewel to hold the soul...He ripped my soul from my body so that he could...into the baby...I'm a monster.”

She shivers as she admits her shame. Guilt of epic magnitudes quakes my very core, so I rasp, “You are no monster.”

She snaps with a grating scream, “You know nothing! Absolutely nothing!”

I lower my head while raising my hand. I shall free her from her desolation with my own crucifixion.

Claws grow from my fingers while my skin changes color to gray. I contort my hand as muscles bulge from my arm. I say, “I am a monster. Everyday I wake staring in the mirror, and I don’t know what I am.”

I clamp my deformed fist as I say, “But I do not wallow in self pity. I do not expect the understanding and sympathy of others. I bear my burden. As a wise sage told me, I shall tell you.”

My hand returns to normal as I smile saying, “You may overcome your circumstances, but only if you can get your head three inches out of your ass.”

She sputters a weak laugh as I walk over offering her my hand as I say, “Instead of being an abomination alone, how about being abhorred together?”

A small smile forms on her face as she grabs my hand. I lift her with a measured tug as I say, “Then we need to clean this mess up. Any ideas?”

She says, “Nothing.”

I crack my fingers as I say, “Then let’s improvise.”

We clean up all the chips and powder sweeping them into a bucket. After mopping the floor to a sterling shine, I lift the golem heaving it over my shoulders with a loud grunt. As I squeeze through the doorway, Sophia says,

“How is this improvising?”

I grin as I say, “Who in the hell will believe a person carried a demolished golem across campus?”

She places her hands on her hips thinking for a moment before she says, “Uh. I guess you're right.”

I grunt, “Of course I am. I have experience in this. Place your faith in me.”

I charge up the flights of stairs heaving for breath as my legs burn as if I injected acid into my thighs. The sensation abates thanks to Deluge, so after a short rest, I sprint across the campus heaving the bloody and broken golem with tiny, rapid strides of my legs.

Students stare at my feat with looks of amazement, but I accelerate as I ignore them until I barrel into the forest breaking small trees as I do so. Before anyone can follow, I sprint until I reach the Machia River near campus.

Studying the nearby geography proves useful. Once I stand two feet from the shore, I gyrate the golem in circles picking up momentum until I lob the construct about twenty feet from the riverside. I brush of my hands as I give myself a mental pat on the back for a job well done.

I jog through the forest until I reach campus, and as I walk out the forest, I step as if nothing abnormal occurred. I exacerbate the nonchalance by looking at the wildlife of campus without a care in the world.

After a steady trot across campus, I dash into a bush where I slide my way through the brush evading the gazes of others using the university's fauna. As I reach The Hearth, I spot Sophia being screamed at by a teacher with a pepper beard and square shoulders. His monocle appears unnecessary as he gestures with it a ludicrous amount while his purple skin and bloated belly speak of his poor health.

A plan pops in my head, so I walk up shouting with feigned outrage, “Excuse me sir. What has driven you to scream at such a young maiden?”

He drops his monocle in surprise as I trot up with a noble march. Deluge cleared the blood from my uniform while my cloak covers the tears in my suit, so Mr. Monocle stammers, “Now you listen here. This young lady has destroyed a room in the hearth. The wreckage amazes even me.”

I gasp while placing a hand on my chest, “For true!?" I lower my hand leaning towards him as I say, "Well good sir, if you would show me such a travesty, I will back your claims!”

He smiles as he says, “Well then, we have ourselves an upstanding lad. What is your name?”

I smirk as I say, “Michael. I’m a member of the gemchaining team.”

Sophia shakes her head while pointing her finger and mouthing something behind the teacher, so I say, “Trust me dear, I will get to the bottom of this.”

Mr. Monocle says, “So we shall.” He gestures his arms saying, “Right this way.”

I grab the edge of my coat saying, “But of course!”

We reach the bottom of the hearth where cracks split from the rooms concrete walls and foundations. The crater from my missed punch caused long crevices across the wall. Mr. Monocle says, “Look at this. Sophia was the last person here, so she must have been the culprit.”

I lay my chin on my hand as I say, “Now correct me if I’m wrong, but how do you speculate she punched a hole in the wall?”

He says, “She is a rowdy one. She’s been a culprit of many problems around the school, and now I may finally condemn her. I know she was tinkering with transmitting a soul directly into a golem without any processing.”

He raises his hands as his volume increases, “The audacity! Everyone knows you must first indoctrinate the animal.”

I nod my head saying, “I lack knowledge in the field. Would you elaborate?”

“Gladly. You must first lobotomize the animal. You then break all four of its limbs and move its soul into a gem. There you resonate the gem until the-”

I grit my teeth as I snarl, “I understand. So what was she doing?”

He lowers his monocle as he says, “Uh. Well. She is trying to forego these practices by numbing the animal's pain receptors via surgery.” He laughs as he says,

“She then tried to avoid the resonating process by cutting the animal's brain so that it fails to feel anger then implanting the soul into a golem as quickly as possible so that the soul doesn’t decay in the gem.”

Fury fumes from my skin, but I now understand Sophia. I calm myself before I say, “And?”

He adjusts his monocle as he says with an unsteady voice, “Uh. Uhm. Well. This leaves the golem unstable.”

I gesture to the room, “I see no golem.”

“Well, it must have run off.”

I walk up to the door saying, “I don’t see any fresh breaks here, and how would she have survived with such a monster loose?”

“It must have ran out then.”

I raise my hands as I say, “So you're telling me that a golem ran outside, and not a single student heard its stomps in the upper floors?”

“Well. I suppose it was quiet.”

I cover my face with my hands as I say, “A quiet, rampaging golem?”

He reddens paralyzed by my tone. I continue, “Alright. Let’s just assume for sanity’s sake that there was no golem here. There is significant damage to the other rooms as well as this one, and there is no feasible way this little girl could possibly perform such damage by herself.”

He reddens until he purples. I finish him as I walk up grabbing a chip of stone from the wall saying, “You're accusing a five foot girl of punching craters into concrete? Are you an idiot?”

He shouts, “You must have been her accomplice! I shall have you both charged.”

I raise my hands inspecting them as I say, “Wow. For an accomplice of punching holes in concrete, my fists are rather unblemished and uncalloused.”

Mr. monocle stomps out of the room as I cover a grin on my face with my hand. Once his steps stop echoing from the stairs I say,

“That Sophia, is how you improvise.”

(Author's Note: I would love for your feedback via ratings and comments, and if you like the story, I am releasing another story called Biomancer: Songs of Sirens. Here's the link, http://royalroadl.com/fiction/6012 )

TY for reading! :bye: