Chapter 4: Demon Days

Shad finds out the 12 Monkeys are hiding secrets about dark magic. Most of the WolfPack is killed by the demonic form of Seriph.

Shad continues his investigation studying the bookcase. He pulls an interesting book from the shelf that has no title. It’s strange compared to the rest of the books. It’s hardback etched with intricate designs made of swirling gold. It's thick with pages handwritten in cursive ink. He opens to a page marked with a folded corner and starts reading.

We have been tasked to be the bringers of death. To move the world to the next phase, living solely for the darkness. We believe the destiny of each person is to give their soul, to the keeper of souls. Our group has lived here protected by the dark forest for over a millennia, though our origins began long before that. We bent the world to our will over time. Although as individuals we age and die, through this syndicate we are able to change the world forever. We first came together in this forest to practice the dark magics in secret from the rest of the world. It’s special due to its netherworldly properties to create a gateway to other dimensions. We continue to learn, and pass down our magic through the generations.

We once had a great ruler called the Black Prophet. He guided us and taught us all the stolen knowledge he knew. One day the Black Prophet had a vision predicting the end of the world. A day when the world reaches a point of daily horrors, with no hope of salvation. On that day he predicted the shadow demon would arise consuming all life on the earth, thus creating the world anew under the rule of the shadow realm. He taught us that it is up to us to bring this demon to our reality, to cleanse us, to cleanse the world.

Many generations ago our ancestors learned of a ritual to bring demons to this world. We found in order to do this we must reach into the afterlife and pull them into an empty physical body. Even after a millennia we were never able to make it a lasting effect. All of our experiments failed without the soul of the deceased. We found we needed a body that was on the border of life and death. Only this would allow us to solidify the possession.

Finally after countless generations, one of our clan members gave birth to a stillborn child, sanctified by the dark forest. With the boy’s soul still in the veil of the afterlife, we quickly performed the ritual of summoning a demon to this realm. The demon attached to the soul of the infant as we resuscitated the boy. The boy’s soul returned to his body, along with the demon. In perfect symbiosis the demon shared the boy’s body.

We raised the boy to be the savior and destroyer of this world. We taught him the teachings of the black prophet, his role, and what he must do. We taught him how to use his hatred to access his demon powers. Ultimately when the time is right we will give our lives to feed his demon. We named him Sariph. He will be the ruler of the worlds. He will bring the darkness cleansing the universes. Unfortunately, there was also another born--

The text abruptly stops. The rest of the pages have been ripped out leaving just a shred of text.

The second demon child forever left a scar on the land. From that point forward a large circle of the forest would never grow.

Shad swiftly enters the room with the prisoner.

“The pages are ripped out! What am I missing?! What’s the secret?!”

Shad slaps the man but unfortunately he’s already dead. Shad gets on the radio, “Arch, I’m not sure what I stumbled onto. I think we’re in for more than we thought, and it sounds like we don’t have much time before the bombs are triggered. There’s more, I stumbled onto these strange documents. It has something to do with the religion of the cultists.”

Before he could finish his thought, Shad is interrupted by escalated thoughts from Tank.

“There’s a strange looking man standing in front of the castle. He isn't responding to any of our commands and, well there’s just something not right here.”

Shad darts outside joining his team. The WolfPack has already taken their positions. The strange looking man stands alone. The character is of a larger build, not wearing a shirt. He has a small tuft of a goatee on his chin, but otherwise no facial hair. His nose is of average proportion, slightly crooked at the bridge, obviously from being broken many times. He bares prayer beads wrapped around his thick neck. His right eye is jet black. On the right side of his face, thin jagged gray scars that web out from his right eye socket down to the right side of the jaw, like wicked claw marks. The scars extend up slightly onto the forehead. His hair made of dreadlocks hanging a bit above shoulder length, and of a twisty nature not all matted looking.

Cloth wrappings hang around his lower torso stopping about halfway up the abdomen. Peeking out from under the cloth, three more scars weave up his left side. They are large around and curve upward, much like a claw swipe from some fell beast. Strangely the positioning makes them appear self-inflicted, however impossible due to the size. He wears simple cloth pants that are torn and tattered halfway between the knee and foot, with a sash for a belt.

He’s broad at the shoulders with large arms and hands. Aside from having a large build, the character isn't necessarily musclebound, but in a good physical shape. The right arm of the character is not quite human looking. It is a good 30% bigger than the left. It's black covered in small armored scales with jagged thorns that protrude from them. Each scale decreases in size as they approach the wrist. The right shoulder has several more prominent thorns which rise upward and curve towards his head. Where the shoulder meets the arm the blackness recedes, leaving black roots that web across the right side of the chest.

“How dare you kill my people!” shouts the sinister looking man.

Shad counters advancing towards him, “Are you one of them!? Are you with the 12 Monkeys?!”

The strange man growls, “You compare me to them?! They were just for me to use! My pets! That silly cult only existed because I allowed them to exist. I was the one who was supposed to kill them! It was my right! I am Sariph! It was my right as the bringer of death to take the souls of those who brought me into this world! Now your lives will replace the souls that were taken from me!”

As the final words leave his lips black mist oozes out of his mouth. His face becomes shrouded in a thick darkness. His facial features can hardly be made out. Black eyes glow piercing through the mist, in a way where only a darker black could eclipse another black.

Shad readies himself as the brute's black right arm twitches. He sends a telepathic order for his team to move in. Sariph attacks Shad with a whip-like weapon extending from his arm. Shad dodges to the right while countering melee style with his combat knives. Mid lunge the knives are stopped immediately by Sariph's calloused blackened skin of his right arm. Stunned by the impossibly black armored arm, Shad notices another black blunt object heading straight for his head. In an attempt to dodge Shad steps back, but not quickly enough. He’s hit powerfully on the side of the head knocking him to the ground.

Injured, and dazed he remains on the ground. A familiar tingling sensation vibrates in his wound. Shad’s armor now turning pitch black where it was hit. The blackness spreads quickly until fully encapsulating his armor. Still on the ground, a memory from Em echoes in Shad’s head.

If you are injured the nanobots will react by trying to repair your injury. They will try to adapt to their surroundings, replicating anything they come in contact with.

He looks up to see the enemy’s left arm now growing large and black as well. Darkness is literally leaking from his enemy. He’s a pure aberration, a walking hole in the world. He’s completely coated in a mysterious darkness obscuring most of his body. Calls of chatter echo through the telepathic communication.

“Alpha Wolf has been hit!”

“Engage! Engage!”

The WolfPack unleash their weapons on Sariph from all directions. Bullets pierce into the mutant. He staggers back from Shad, but seemingly unscathed. Sariph lifts his armored right arm protecting his face. His left arm continues to grow in size while the rest of his skin produces black scale like armor. Black veins from his arm spread throughout his body. Bullets continue to penetrate, but still he doesn't go down. His wounds eject the bullets, instantly healing over. The blackness fully spreads, transforming his body into a giant demon brute. His size has more than doubled. Black thorns protrude all over his body. His hands and feet have evolved into armored claws. The clothes he once wore have long since torn off. Only tattered remains hang on. Any human appearance has also dissolved into this demon beast.

Sariph marches towards the WolfPack undetermined. Shad is still on the ground, hardly able to look up to see the fight. He’s overwhelmed by a ringing noise and the thoughts from his teammates.

“What!? This guy won't go down! Give me another clip!”

“I'm dry! I'm going hand to hand!”

“Why won't this guy go down already!”

The team surrounds Sariph, finishing all their ammo. Husky calls out, “Get out of the way! I’ll light this guy up!”

He aims his mini gun unloading the entire clip at the monster. Countless shells litter the ground. The dust kicked up makes it hard to see an already impossibly black creature.

The angered demon continues to charge through the dust towards the group. Arctic and Grey, now out of ammo, charge with their swords. They hack away on the black armor to no effect. Their camouflage armor having no effect as the demon easily grabs them by their heads smashing them together. Their bodies go limp collapsing to the ground.

Snow charges yelling, “No!”

He unloads what’s left of his shotgun at close range. Even a direct shot placed behind the demon’s head doesn’t take him down. Infuriated Sariph counters by swinging his barbed chain around Snow’s leg. It latches on allowing Sariph to swing his body around. Snow is helpless hurling through the air as he smashes into Husky, causing Husky to fall unconscious to the ground. Sariph continues his assault on Snow, slamming him on the ground, then uses his massive feet to step on his chest. He pulls up on the chain ripping off Snow’s leg. His screams are silenced when Sariph stomps on his head like a watermelon.

Tank Girl returns to the battlefield with a bazooka in hand. She fires a shot making a direct hit. No effect, just more dust kicked up. The brute charges her. Silverback attempts to buy her some extra time by unloading the last of his dual mini uzis. Sariph picks him up and throws him down on the already injured Timber.

Tank switches to her .50 cal readying to take a shot. She takes a deep breath then releases a shot directly into his right eye. In a rage the demon screams a deathly howl. Barbed tusks begin to force their way out of his jaw. He charges Tank impaling her with the mammoth-like tusks. He lifts her up shaking her in the air like a rag doll before throwing her to the ground. The once dazed Shad has now fully regained his cognitive abilities.

Such a hard hit… Thanks for the upgrade Em. If it wasn't for this I’d probably be a goner by now. I can already feel my body healing.

Shad looks down at his hands and arms, then down at his legs. His armor has turned completely black.

Why is my armor not going into camouflage mode? It’s just staying black! The damn thing must be damaged from that hit. I’ll have to move quickly.

Snow’s thoughts echo in Shad’s head, “Ahh! I think I've gone blind. I can't see anything!”

In a rage Shad charges Sariph from behind. He sends out a thought, “I’m coming for you Snow. Don't worry I’ll get us out of this.”

He jumps up onto Sariph’s back using the black thorns as leverage. Sariph shakes ferociously trying to knock him off. Shad pulls out his poisoned blade then pries it underneath a thick scale on the demon’s neck. He slams up on it with all his strength. The added strength of his armor intensifies the attack. The blade pierces into the neck causing the demon to howl in pain before crashing to the ground. Shad yanks his blade from the fallen foe then steps back unloading his Scar-H into the black mass.

Another voice chimes in his head, it’s Timber this time, “Where am I? Shad come get me I can’t move!”

Shad runs over to Timber lying on the ground. Horribly mangled missing a leg, he lifts up his head. Shad tries to calm him down, “Don’t worry I’m going to get us out of here. Just hold on!”

He reaches down to feel his pulse. No pulse, no breath! He gets on the radio, “Brody we need evac! Get us out of here now!”

“Already coming in hot!” radios Brody.

More waves of voices continue to flood Shad’s mind. Too many at the same time to discern what they’re saying. Screams of fear are the only thing he can truly make out.

“What?! How are you guys still alive?!” calls Shad communicating through the chip.

“I think they got me sir. I’m pretty sure I’m seeing the light.” replies Tank.

A sinking feeling overwhelms Shad. Not because Tank is saying curious things, but because a shadow from behind passed over him. He looks back to see the demon standing a good five feet taller. It has doubled in mass within seconds. A black aura surrounding the demon makes him look impossibly more black and ominous.

Shad turns to encounter the demon once again. Two tentacles shoot out of the demon’s torso tightly wrapping around Shad. The demon lifts his head up to his mouth. It opens wide allowing more black mist to flow out. Shad squirms to get free. Sariph stops hearing sounds of a helicopter close overhead.

Em manning an M134 minigun unleashes pure rage onto the beast yelling, “Die! Die!”

Endless shells fall from the helicopter like a waterfall. Shad simultaneously pulls out his assault rifle shooting the demon in the face. Surprised, the demon loosens its grip on Shad allowing him to fall free from the tentacles. Two missiles fly from the helicopter. In a huge explosion a cloud of dust engulfs the area.

Em yells to Brody, “Hurry and land we have to get him out of there!”

Even through the ringing noise induced by the missiles, Shad continues to hear the dying thoughts of the WolfPack. The confused men and women callo him for help. Overwhelmed with confusion Shad crawls through the dust looking for his team. The dust, the ringing, the voices, it's all too much for him. It's all he can do to be on his hands and knees. Suddenly something grasps his shoulder. He turns falling to his back ready to kick the demon. Instead he finds Em, clouded by the dust of the air. It's hard to see him, but he can definitely tell it's him. Shad struggles to his feet, with Em’s support.

“Get to the chopper! We don’t have much time before the airstrike hits!” yells Em.

“No! We have to gather the team first! Help me find them!” counters Shad pushing against him.

“What are you talking about? They’re all gone! Come on we have to go now!”

“What do you mean they are gone?! We have time! They’re close, I can hear them, they’re calling to me! I won't leave without them!”

“No Shad we have to go now!” Em demands squelching Shad’s response. Em is joined by Brody, together they lift Shad up by the shoulders forcing him to the helicopter.

The ringing noise and dust starts to clear, but the voices in Shad’s head are intensifying. He kicks his legs screaming, “No!! No!! We’re not going to leave them behind!”

Brody slaps his face, “Snap out of it! I saw the whole thing. It was a massacre! No one survived that thing except for you. Now we have to get out of here before it's too late! The airstrike has already been called!”

They climb into the helicopter. Em straps in the hysterical man. Brody jumps into the pilot's seat, “Hold on it's going to be a rough flight.”

Lifting off Em looks out at the settling dust, “Hurry we gotta go!!”

The black form of the demon can just be made out. Definitely not taken out by the missiles, and standing firm. Two black tentacles shoot from the cloud wrapping around the landing gear of the helicopter. Startled from the shifting craft Brody pushes hard on the accelerator.

A sonic boom shakes the air. Red hot bullets hit the demon loosening its grasp. Two A-10 jets fly past. The two pilot's radio to each other.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?!”

“This is madness! I still don’t believe it! Let's take out that thing!”

They circle around readying their attack. Brody maneuvers away from the battle as fast as he can. The jets light up the sky delivering their payload onto the demon. A massive mushroom cloud engulfs the area clouding any view of the creature.

“Nothing could survive that.” radios one of the pilots. The shock wave from the blast overtakes the helicopter. Em and Shad nearly roll out of the craft, but with excellent skill Brody handles the tremors rescuing them from the tremendous spectacle.

Brody looks back to check on Shad. Em looks up concerned, “He’s still delirious. I can’t calm him down. He just keeps talking about the voices.”

A voice on the radio calls in, “The KillShot has reached the earth, you need to land immediately. Your electronics will be disa....” Static. The jets that were escorting the helicopter spin out of control losing altitude. Their electronics now disabled from the solarflare make them tumble out of the air.

The two pilots eject from the planes. The falling jets crash in fire, one and then the other. With the helicopter’s electronics disabled, Brody calls to Em, “Hold onto something this is going to be an autorotation landing!” Brody pulls on the controls as hard as he can. The helicopter crashes.