November 11

I grasped the nearest elongated object that I could find to push myself back onto my feet and closer to the shining object.

The object before me is nearly reminiscent of one of the standard tanks of propane that one would fine at the local gas station, if not rather scuffed from being hid in such tight and unkempt quarters.

My hand grasped the widened yet grippy handle as tightly as possible as I rushed back into the main center room of the cabin.

My mind ready but also frantic. Calm but erratic. If the others were here, they may have called me “insane,” but I would say that I feel “sure.”

The noises just kept on getting louder and the banging became more forceful. Almost as if the forces doubled from the point I tripped and fell in the back room to my actual trip a few feet to the main room.

Well, this just keeps on getting more and more fun.

I looked over at Shia, who was still sound asleep on the cot on the east wall. She seems as if nothing in the world was happening at all. I wish that I could have such a luxury. So peaceful, almost too peaceful.

My head moved again towards the back door, which seemed as if it was on it's last legs. I made the conscious effort to move my eyes to the front. Nothing seemed to be of major discord thanks to the sturdy dresser. One less thing to worry about at the second.

Okay, okay. Umm... Think Denny think. Okay, kitchen. Knives. Okay, that may work.

I set the propane tank down, ran to the most left drawer, and yanked it open, almost jarring it loose from it's embedded railing. Rummaging through it, I found almost nothing that could be of use.

My hands scratched almost every surface of the drawer. I can't waste any more time on this. I pulled my hand out haphazardly and the drawer came lose along with it. The piece was not that hard to catch but the object that followed behind was not something that I could catch with my feet.

Believe me, I have tried. Never ends well.

What was most intriguing was what the object was. From the looks of it, it seemed to be half of a wrench that seemed to be well taken care of besides it's split appearance.

I started to talk to myself again as if someone else was actually attempting to listen. It calmed me, so I didn't stop.

“Okay, this may actually be the main piece that I need for the trap.” I placed the object into my back pocket. “Perfect. Brilliant. Okay. Next, I need some sort of lighter or even something that can spark will do. Let me check the back room again for anything useful.”

As that statement left my lips, I felt a spreading pain from my left side. Maybe moving too fast did not work in my favor again. The floor almost seemed to be one of my best friends in the world because I just can't get away from it.

I heard a thump and a crack coming from the front of the cabin. I lifted my head as I lay still on the hardwood floor. What came in to view was the exterior of the hinges and framing of the door started to jut inwards, almost as if the dresser did not even matter.

“Damn... Damn... Damn.” I snarled under my breath. The only possible course of action was to suffer through the pain and place the trap.

I pushed myself back onto my feet and waddled my way over to the rather heavy tank. I pushed it onto it's side and attempted to roll it over to the back door. The good part was that it actually was moving quite easily despite the bigger frame of the barrel.

Once it hit the frame of the door, I grabbed for the wrench that I had placed into my pocket and placed it firmly onto the nozzle of the barrel and jarred it a little. I attempted to wiggle it even a little bit more but to no avail. Perfect.

I used some of my strength to materialize a makeshift hammer. With most of my strength, I bore down the hammer and swung headstrong at the wrench. I heard a crack and a slow hissing. Finally, a good sound to hear.

The pain hit me again. This time worse than the last. Why does the healing process have to hurt even worse than the original pain? Especially right now?

This time I knew that pushing myself up would be impossible without an object to assist me. But crawling is still an option worth using.

The growling started to grow more vicious. The smashing and scratching even more insistent. They really want to get in. That seems like vengeance for their commanders death. Too many noises to count but I could guess that the ones that are not at the manor with Kyo, Aster, and Elsa are here with Shia and I.

Shia... She could provide the spark for the final stage of the trap. A-Ha!

My left arm was almost outdoing itself just to help the rest of me, overstretching in front of me to gain the most ground. Next was the right and the left again. The bed was getting close rather quickly.

The blanket was well weighted on the surface of the bed and helped as a sort of rope to pull me onto the unbalanced legs beneath me.

I shook Shia in urgency to attempt to wake her up with no avail. I tried calling her name but still no response. The most that I could hear from her was some jumbled words and a turn. I grabbed her and mustered the last of my strength the move her to the bed furthest from the back door as I could, the bed that I had used previously.

That was a heroic but stupid attempt to be the savior as all the life that I thought I could muster was sapped out of me. Move body, move. But it seemed as if it wouldn't even try.

I started to hear muttered talking from the bed above but could not make out most of the words. I tried my best to resist the urge to give in to my bodies fatigue. But the more that I struggled, the more I fall closer to the line.

My mind was slowly subdued and fell under.

…...

A near pitch dark, blank field lay before my eyes, mind, and soul. An expanse of shadows, confusion, desperation, everything, and nothing. Some would call it beautiful but I am part of the many that would call it terrifying. The view was reminiscent of an abandoned factory that had no slits for the moonlight to shine through and no air to spread any feverish glow.

“Hello, Denny. Are you looking for solemn silence or a conversation with a Protector?”

A rich yellow light appeared out of the sky and acted as a spotlight in the vast darkness. The voice headed from the direction of the ominous light but a lone chair was placed perfectly in the center of the beam.

“Who... Who is there?” I attempted to hide my fear but I couldn't resist.

The voice was almost demonic. Not in tone but in the power of the voice. Controlling but controlled itself. Deep but in the terms of a boss addressing an employee that had made a bad deal with a potential buyer.

The spotlight slowly started to collapse into itself to reveal the source of the sound. I took a few steps closer to get a semblance of a view of the self proclaimed “Protector.”

The figure stood from it's chair and gave a bow that is akin to an actor after an amazing performance.

“Welcome, Denny. I have been looking forward to a chance to speak with you. Oh... that confused expression on your face tells me that you don't recognize me. I am so sorry, sir. I am what is known as The Dark Veil. Not your righteous weapon but the curse itself. Nice to finally meet you, it is a pleasure. My appearance is as you must see the curse I know, I am very sorry about that. It is something that I can't change, sadly.”

His appearance was reminiscent of a professional. He wore a full suit of black and white with a red vivid mask covering his eyes but leaving his neatly white skin to bask in the light above. The mouth that was portrayed kept a sharp and painful smirk that would make anyone feel uneasy.

“You probably still have a good memory of the battle with that one Tealwoe General, do you not? The rage, the anger, the feeling of losing control, the ability to take enough arrows to kill thirty-plus men, the strength to be able to fight for someone you love? Do you know now?”

The man stood still, tall, condescending but honest and started to chuckle. He is now starting to piss me off.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.... Am I toying with the best parts of you, Denny? Am I hitting all the right places? I am truly sorry. Do you remember the words after that battle with that Tealwoe general? You asked 'Am I a monster?' I will answer with the word, “No.” At least, I don't believe that you are. You had to fight to help your friends and to keep your precious... precious Darling, Kyo Koura Azuraine safe. Didn't you, Denny Boy? To answer the question in full, 'No, you are not a monster... I am the monster that you are.'”

He let out a deep and audible exhale. Not out of anger or disappointment but of discord.

“In normal terms, whenever you need power, I am that power. Whenever you lose control... Hehehe that is me. Whenever you can't see your parents face's, that is the side effect of... me. Life is but a game that all people, non-people, creatures, and entities play and there are additions such as The Dark Veil... Me. Do you have any questions?”

My teeth clenched tightly enough to possibly tear the roots and the bones holding them in. My fists clenched tight enough to grind themselves to dust.

“Why... Why wait until now? Until the point where the lives of others are in my hands. Why now? Do you choose to appear and make everything even harder than it has to be? Why did you choose me and not with my Father, who is in the same blood line? Why... Choose ME? Huh? What is so important or special about me? All you have proven to me is that death is something not to be afraid of which I have learned on my own from a young age. You have shown that everything that I believe, everything that I have achieved is nothing but a hoax or falsified by an inside source that I never knew existed. So, why chose me as a host for a curse that I had never asked for?”

“Because you are the strongest soul in generations... All the previous ones have either given in once I have shown myself to them or have just lived boring lives. But you... You, Denny are one interesting Human. You were attacked by the Princess of the Underworld. The King, Jol, wants you dead and you made his daughter fall for you. You have the unwieldy ability to heal yourself. Yeah, the downside is feeling the cuts, bruises, and bones reconstruct themselves but you can always re-heal with no adverse effects otherwise. I was only able to see until your high school days and guessed it would be the same as the others. But you... you have a VERY, VERY interesting life here. I am seething with excitement.”

“I will get to the point of why I finally showed myself to you. You are in a little situation as I can see. There are about fifty, give or take, Tealwoes that are outside right now ready to slaughter both of you like little animals. I have the ability to stop it... To give you a major winning advantage. Super strength, near-instant healing, and an agility boost for ten minutes? Sounds great, huh? Sadly though, there is a catch. You would have to give full control to madness. You will be able to watch but all your movements will be controlled by my ability. Your body will be on auto pilot and will attack anything that moves besides Shia. I can at least promise that.”

“What about the others?”

“You will just hope that they are not nearby for the next ten minutes. That is the best that you can do while this ability is activated. Do we have a deal, Mister Denny?” He held out his hand, walking closer to me with broad steps and a rather formal smile.

Damn it. If I don't, Shia and I are as good as dead. If I do, the problem can be easily solved but I could possibly kill the others if they return early. Damn, Damn, Damn.

“Damn. Fine... Deal.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

He let out a rather happy snicker and the light of the cabin came back to my vision. My body stopped hurting and it started to stand up on its own. Swaying to a steady position and then it barged headfirst towards the back door. The object that centered into it's vision was the now leaking tank.

It grasped the tank in my hands and ran into the door, using the scraping of steel on wood as the spark to ignite the gas. Using this as a crowd thinner and a distraction as my body barreled through the smoke and flames to get the upper hand.

The Dark Veil's power is more potent and intelligent than I had thought. I am already starting to regret this decision.

I am very sorry for the tardiness of this chapter. Adjustment to the school year and work have not been as forgiving as hoped. I will soon post the next part when time allows. So for now, please enjoy. :D

Also, I appreciate all the people who have been enjoying this novel as much as I have been writing it. I hope you will all keep enjoying it for the upcoming future and for any novels that may be upcoming. Ooh, Exciting, huh? I believe so. I never have said how much I appreciate all of you so, I felt now was a good time. :)