Artemis
placed a hand over her mouth and yawned. It had been another long and
uneventful night. She rubbed her eyes to dispel her sleepiness. Dawn was fast
approaching. Her shift would soon be over and she could go home and sleep her
fill.
She glanced at her brother who was leaning against the cracked wall of
the alleyway. He was looking up at the gradually brightening sky, a cigarette
dangling from one corner of his lips. She frowned disapprovingly at him. He
caught the scowl on her face and grinned at her as he took a long drag of his
cigarette. “It will kill you one day, Danny,” she warned him.
He rolled his
eyes in annoyance. “We’ve been through this a hundred times, Sis. Smoking helps
me stay awake.” She snorted in disbelief. “Suit yourself. Don’t come crying to
me if you have lung cancer.” It was his turn to snort. “I never cry.” She
couldn’t help but grin at him. “Bastard.” His twinkling blue eyes met her
forest green ones. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Sis.”
She chuckled at their
light banter. Aidan was her best friend and the only person she could rely on.
They protected each other ever since they were children struggling to survive
in dirty alleyways and seedy districts. They were orphans for as long as she
could remember. She never knew who their parents were or what they looked like.
She closed her eyes and shook her head to clear away her dark thoughts. When
she opened her eyes, she found Aidan staring at her as if he knew what she had
been thinking about just moments ago. Darn twin telepathy. She turned her gaze
towards the Gateway to avoid her brother’s knowing look. She was at once
ensnared by the erratic movements of the runes swirling on every surface of the
wrought iron gates.
She never failed to be amazed by the strange runes dancing
along the iron bars of the Gateway even though she had seen it a dozen times.
They emitted a kind of energy that felt almost magical. That thought was
absurd. She didn’t even believe in magic. Yet to look at those finely crafted symbols
swirling and twirling in an intricate pattern around the iron gates, you could
almost believe….
She blinked when the runes suddenly increased the speed of
their movements and began to glow. The Gateway was opening. “Danny.” Her voice
was barely a whisper but her brother immediately whipped around to face the
Gateway with his guns drawn. They were both mean-looking heavily modified
Berettas.
She gripped the hilt of her sword which was strapped to her back and
unsheathed it. She pressed the red gem embedded in the pommel to activate the
sword’s electrical mode. She smiled grimly when she heard the soft crackle of
electricity as electrical charges ran along the length of her blade. It’s time to play, Callie. She had named
her sword Caliburn- after the legendary sword that was pulled out of a rock by
King Arthur.
They waited in anticipation as the iron gates swung outwards. They
had to squint to shield their eyes from the bright white light pouring out of
the open gates. Through their narrowed eyes, they could make out the vague
outlines of dozens of dark figures emerging from the depths of the light. Wraiths. The iron gates swung close,
abruptly cutting off the bright light. It’s
time.
Artemis immediately leapt towards the dark shadowy figures and thrust
her sword into one of them in one swift motion. Its blood red eyes widened in
shock. She could see rows of sharp teeth as it opened its mouth to let loose a
shrill scream of hatred and agony before fading away. Without stopping, she
quickly slashed another Wraith before it could attack her.
She could hear the
sound of gunshots coming from somewhere beside her. Give em’ hell, Bro. More screams of pain and rage as she swung her
sword and slashed the Wraiths which were leaping towards her with their
extended claws aiming for her heart. Take
that and that and that, you parasites.
“Artie, six o’clock!” Aidan shouted.
She spun around and plunged Caliburn’s electrically-charged blade into the
midsection of a Wraith which was about to attack her from behind. It dissipated
with an outraged screech. She gave her brother a brief smile then continued
attacking the remaining Wraiths.
Satisfied that his sister is safe, Aidan
cocked his Berettas, took aim and pulled the triggers, dispatching the rapidly
diminishing Wraiths one by one with practiced ease. Electricity was encased in
the bullets, killing the Wraiths immediately upon contact.
Soon, only one was
left. Artemis swung her sword towards the last Wraith, aiming for its neck. It
had anticipated her move and managed to leap backwards before her blade could
slice through its neck. It hissed at her then quickly bounded out of the alley
into the streets. Aidan tried to shoot it but the bullets missed their mark and
hit the dirty wall of the alley.
Artemis immediately ran after the Wraith with
Aidan following closely behind. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she
chased after the Wraith along the empty streets of downtown New York. Aidan
tried to shoot the Wraith but it pranced along the street in a zigzag pattern,
making it hard for him to aim.
Artemis was glad that the shops were still
closed and that no one is around for the Wraith to possess. Then she saw an old
woman standing on the steps of her apartment building. The Wraith saw her too.
“No!” she screamed but it was too late. The Wraith bounded across the street in
one leap and wrapped itself around the old woman before she could make a sound.
The old woman fell down the steps and landed on her back. The Wraith yanked her
mouth wide open and plunged its head into her mouth.
Artemis watched in horror
and tried not to gag as it crawled down her throat and took control of her
body, shredding and slicing her organs along the way. The old woman’s body
jerked and convulsed violently before ceasing all movements. Her body lay still
at the foot of the steps, blood running down her chin from her slightly parted
lips.
Artemis and Aidan stood frozen to the spot, speechless from the dreadful
scene they had just witnessed. The old woman’s body suddenly leapt to its feet.
It snarled at them then took off at a run. It was almost comical to see the old
woman’s body running with the speed of a young athlete.
Artemis was the first
to recover from her dazed state. She gripped her sword tightly and gave chase
to the Wraith-possessed body. Anger burned in her heart as she pictured the
Wraith crawling down the old woman’s throat and taking over her free will.
Molten lava seemed to flow in her veins. A red haze of rage clouded her vision.
She was closing in on the possessed body. A loud roar filled her ears, drowning
out the sounds of her labored breathing, the pounding of her footsteps, her
brother’s worried voice calling out to her….
In a burst of speed, she leapt
onto the body, bringing both of them down. Without pausing, she raised her sword
and sank its blade deep into the frail flesh of the old woman’s possessed body.
The body threw back its head and opened its mouth as though it was about to
scream but no sound came out. Instead, a black vapor drifted out of its open
mouth and dissipated in the cold air of dawn. The old woman’s head flopped back
to the ground, lifeless and limp. Dead.
Artemis pulled out her sword and got
off the dead body. When she lifted her sword and saw blood covering its blade,
she felt sick. Her whole body trembled as she stumbled into an alleyway. She
threw down her sword in disgust. She leaned against the graffiti-covered wall,
bent over and emptied the contents of her stomach. She wiped her lips with a
gloved hand after she was done and slid down the wall until her rump connected
with the ground.
She suddenly felt weary as if all the energy had been drained
from her body. I should be used to this
by now. I’ve done this plenty of
times before. But she was affected every time. Tears blurred her vision.
None of them fell from her eyes. She would never allow her tears to fall. She
had cried enough in her life. She had learned early in life that crying never
helps. The only thing she could do was move on and never look back.
She suddenly
felt a warm hand close around her shoulder. A bottle of water was shoved into
her hands. She looked up and saw her brother standing next to her, his cobalt
blue eyes were filled with quiet understanding. “Drink up, Sis. Your breath no
doubt stinks right now,” he murmured. She chuckled, grateful for the reassuring
presence of her brother.
She uncapped the bottle and drained it in one long
swallow. “I also bought breath mints just in case you need some.” Aidan handed
her a tube of mints. She lightly punched his knee and glared at him in mock annoyance.
“Let’s go home. I’ve already called the Undertaker to take care of the body,” he said as he grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet.
“Wait a minute.”
Artemis picked up her sword and switched off its electrical mode before wiping
away the blood with a piece of ripped poster she found lying on the ground. She
sheathed her sword when she judged it reasonably clean. “Now we can go home.”
She left the alleyway and walked down the streets with her brother, not once
glancing at the corpse of the dead woman sprawled in the middle of the road.
