Chapter 1 – Mad Again…
The dreams have been constant, tainting my nights with images so disturbing that I’m afraid to sleep. They blend into my waking hours, making everything feel like an old grainy film. It’s as if I am reading a book and forget every word right after I read it. Sounds are muffled, like my ears are jammed full of cotton. Tastes and smells are a mere memory. Hell, even my sense of touch is dulled, like I have thick gloves stitched to my skin.
It’s funny. Now, after Melephos’ defeat, no one thinks I am crazy anymore… except for me. I want to blame my shadow. This started happening right after our joining to defeat Solarkar. But I know it isn’t true. Something got inside me then, some dark, foreign entity slithering like a parasitic worm in my brain. Could this be the work of Shalarom?
I was told that attracting the attention of the corruptor was never without peril. Is he sucking my soul out through some cosmic straw that I can’t see? I can picture an ominous tube sticking out of my head, twisting and performing loops in the middle, not because it needs too, but simply because it could. Shalarom, the embodiment of corruption and chaos, would have it no other way. Finally, after long unnecessary detours, the straw would end at a relaxing figure sitting upon a throne of bone sucking thoughtfully on the other end, lips pursed tightly together, his cheeks puckered. Of course I had no idea what Shalarom really looks like, but that statue I had seen, the tall distinguished gentlemen, haunts my dreams. My world never felt so unstable. So when I see the monstrosity charging at me I only stare, wondering if it is real or not.
To call it a monster or beast did not do the creature justice. Like many of the creations of Melephos, it’s all hunger and built to match. Big as a tank, the creature has at least fifty reptilian arms protruding from its back, each with a small mouth imbedded in its palms and brightly colored fingernails straight out of a salon magazine. Its hide is tree frog green, with a face that is nearly indistinguishable from its rear. Eyeless, it has dozens of small holes all over the front that are constantly expanding to the size of a walnut before shrinking to a pin hole with each breath. Most striking is a tunnel-like opening in the front that can easily swallow a dog whole. Teeth half the size of my foot line the entire expanse, gradually shrinking as the way narrows further in. Even more disturbing is the way they turn slowly in a perimeter with the next set of teeth turning the opposite direction, and so on all the way back, like some kind of organic meat grinder. Looking into its depths, I feel mesmerized at the way it moves ending at a football size beak that snaps open and closed with loud clacks. The stench of the creature makes my eyes water as a gust of wind slaps it across my face, a sickly blend of rotting meat, and strangely enough, a tang of citrus.
A strange fascination holds me in place as it charges with a lumbering trot reminiscent of a drunken rhino. Perhaps if I had slept in the last three days I could discern if this is real or not, but with my new feeling of unreality and extreme sleep deprivation, I can’t even move. Not even the gunfire around me breaks the spell. The creature shrugs off the bullets like stinging rain. Perhaps this is nothing more than another lucid dream.
Suddenly Whisper is there, appearing as a large white blur he plowes into the creature, toppling it over. Whisper, nearly twice as big, tears open the creature’s soft underside with a single swipe, spilling guts that spread out over the hot sands. The rank odor of bowels and worse hits me, effectively killing that tang of citrus I smelled earlier as Whisper stands atop his kill, his white fur glistening. Swinging his head right, Whisper gives a low growl, which would sound cute if he was just a normal sized ferret, but is rather alarming now. Following his gaze, I see a dozen more of the creatures rushing us, giving shrill cries that echo in the vast emptiness around us.
I try to remember why I am here. I vaguely recall a job from James Clifford involving traveling to Sheol, the world of Melephos, to plant landmines at the entrance in the crossing zone. Is that today? Is it happening now?
My head throbs from my lack of sleep and the glare of the rising sun. I could feel a thick sheen of sweat plastering my hair to my forehead and it’s not from the heat. Wiping my palms on my jeans I grip World Key which is slung over my black trench coat. Instantly I feel better, like a fresh breeze blew away century old foul air. Pulling the sword free I marvel at the blade, which perhaps is the finest creation in the five worlds. Silvery bright, it has a thick line of blue energy imbued in the metal running from the deceptively plain hilt along the edge all the way back down to the other side. Never showing a sign of abuse or even a slight scuffing, it’s like the sword existes outside of space and time.
Feeling myself for the first time all day I heft the blade up, looking at my reflection in its surface which is clearer than any mirror. Deathly pale, I have dark bags under my eyes that could hold several pounds, punctuated by my lank, copper hair. I look a mess, which is fitting since that is how I’m feeling. The only part of me that is vibrant are my green cat-like eyes that I inherited from the Kiraten. Sighing, I am about to lower the blade when I see it, a flicker in my eyes. Squinting at my reflection I see it again, a drop of black in the corner of my eyes, polluting the white like viscous ink in a cup of water. Instead of diluting it spreads out, dimming my vision like a sudden storm cloud, reducing my eyes two black opals darker than the deepest reaches of space. This isn’t mere darkness, this is corruption itself, the power of Shalarom. I shudder as a wicked grin appears in the center of both my eyes. It is the smile of pure evil. Lowering the blade I squeeze my eyes shut.
It isn’t real
It isn’t real
It isn’t real
IT ISN’T REAL!!! I chant in my head. It is just from my sleep deprivation, that’s all. There is nothing to be afraid of.
“Brother, be alert! Our foes near!” Sarrow says in a strong voice, clasping me on the shoulder.
Opening my eyes I turn to her. Standing unafraid of the gunfire or the charging monstrosities she looks out of place in the barren environment, even more than I do. Appearing no more than twelve, she has the Kiraten green hair and long pointy ears. Her skin has a slight blue hue that highlights her eyes, similar to mine but of the deepest purple. Dressed for war or a rock concert, she wears a black hoodie, plain blue jeans and holds a Kiraten sword professionally at her side. Despite her young appearance, she is actually over thirty years old, having spent most of her life at a prison I had rescued her from. In these last few months she has quickly grown accustomed to life on Earth or Fomoria as the other worlds call it. Her knowledge of the worlds is invaluable, not to mention her shifting prowess. In many ways she and Whisper are the entire world to me and their presence gives me the strength I need. Taking a deep breath I focus, ready to work.
Around us men trembling in stark terror dig like insane dogs, placing round disks the size of trash can lids into the earth. When the proposal was made to Shifter Inc., I initially declined. I told them that metal did not survive shifting at all. I had experienced that in the past. It wasn’t until that Sarrow pointed out that we could cross where the worlds had merged, that I accepted. That blending of realities might not have the same effect as forcing our way through. As always she had been right, so now here we are placing rather large explosives just under the sandy surface. We’ve been at it for nearly twenty hours already without out any issues. Sheol, is devoid of much life, Melephos consuming even as he creates. That is fortunate, otherwise I doubt we would have lasted this long. The landscape resembles a slightly more habitable version of Mars with gray unfeeling sand stretching endlessly in all directions with an oppressive reddish sun blazing hotly overhead. Dry air leeches the moisture from every part of my being and strong gusts of wind blow sand everywhere.
At first I thought we wouldn’t have to do anything, other than provide an emergency trip home. Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. As luck would have it a large herd of these creatures passed by several hours ago and ha
ve been hounding us ever since. Some well placed grenades made them flee, but they kept returning and in greater numbers. Now, with large amounts of our ammunition spent, I doubt that even the land mines would deter the creatures of Melephos. Looking at the charging creatures I wonder if anything would.
Stepping forward with Whisper on my right and Sarrow on my left we face the creatures as they draw near. Before I can do anything my shadow finally decides to help. Taking on the form of a dark silhouette in front of us he expands, growing bigger and bigger until he towers over the charging creatures. They all stop, backpedaling several steps. It does them no good. Like a black tidal wave, my shadow falls upon them, submerging three of them in his darkness. The many arms stretch out of a massive pool of ink covered in a darkness that no scrubbing could remove. After a few seconds of frantic thrashing the arms slowly recedes into the void as my shadow consumes them. The rest flee as the darkness shrinks back down to my shadow’s standard size.
“That’s how you do it,” my shadow says, crossing his arms and giving us his trademark mocking grin.
I look hard at him. My shadow, corruption itself and a manifestation of my id had always been strong. I was told it was my human nature that made him so potent, the wisdom of the human race pushing his limits into unknown territories. But the level of power he has now is greater than ever. Did something happen during our merging to make him stronger? Just as horrors chased me in my dreams did he get some kind of corruption power up? I don’t know and my shadow is not inclined to tell when I confront him about it.
“I had it under control,” Whisper growls, his voice a purring tone that echoes loudly in the expanse around us.
“Sure you did, you flea-ridden rat,” my shadow scoffs. “If they ate you I’m sure your foul taste would have sent them to their grave.”
Tuning out their bickering I focus on the horizon. I can see more out there regrouping. It wouldn’t be long before they attack again. Joining me Sarrow also looks at the indistinct shapes gathering in the distance.
“Brother, when is the last time you slept?” Sarrow says quietly so no one else can hear. Worry lines crease her forehead and for a brief instant she looks her true age. For a long moment I don’t answer. The thought of lying does occur to me, but I have an honest streak that gets me in trouble more often than not.
“A few days,” I say, exhausted. It suddenly feels like the world is crushing me.
“Is it Sarah?” Sarrow asks in a soft tone.
I prepare myself for the pain that name would bring. I expect hot needles to pierce my heart and a wave of misery to wash over me. Holding my breath I wait and feel nothing, the corruption inside of me eating away even that bit of emotion. Is anything real anymore?
“No, I put that behind me,” I say, not sure if it is true or not. Sarah had only died a short time ago, I expect the pain to still be fresh but now it’s like it happened to someone else… someone I no longer know.
“Is it … that then?” Sarrow asks, a small note of fear in her voice. Not looking at her I nod. “You can’t go on like this, brother. You must face these demons and not hide from them. I have told you what you must do. Now it is for you to follow that course. If you don’t…” She trails off not needing to continue. She is right. There is only one way I can face this. In truth I knew it all along, it had happened on that day as well. When my shadow and I merged something had tried to take us over and it took both of us together to repel it. Foolishly I had thought it done. But with each passing night it only gets worse.
“Ok,” I say, resigned.
“Tonight then?” Sarrow demands.
“Yeah…”
“Do you want me by your side?”
“No,” I say. “This is something I need to do alone.” Well almost alone, I mentally add, watching my shadow who scatters into bits as Whisper leaps at him only to reform nearby. I only half listen as my shadow makes randy comments about Whisper’s sexual choices involving moles and poodles. This day couldn’t end fast enough. A cursory glance behind me and I see the cracks in reality joining my home and Sheol. This is where Melephos had crossed over. Appearing like windows of various sizes I could see ruins of buildings and the crack paved streets of my home. Palentor and Sarrow both said that the worlds would separate again but it could take years or even decades. I was told of the five pillars, each one connected to an ancient one that held the worlds apart. As long as one pillar remained standing, the worlds would be separate. This way it would take all five acting together to reunite the worlds, and from the way they acted at my trial that would never happen. But looking at the pockets of reality around me, clearly the rules could be bent, perhaps even broken. If this could be achieved by mortals, what else is possible?
Sarrow suddenly seizes my arm. “Brother, look,” she says in a trembling voice, pointing to the horizon. I don’t see anything other than the creatures that have been hounding us. Then I see it. If Sarrow hadn’t already confirmed it, I would have thought my hallucinations were acting up again.
I’m hesitant to ever employ the word impossible. Traveling the five worlds and seeing gods up close, the word has lost almost all meaning for me. Yet that is the first thought to pass through my mind. This is impossible. The horizon is moving.
Lifting skyward, beneath the many armed creatures who scatter like fleas off a dead rat, the sands part revealing a monster that is disturbingly familiar. It is shiny black with tentacles covering most of its visible surface. They must be massive for me to see them from this distance. Even more disturbing is the sheer speed at which it snatches the smaller creatures. Lifting them high as if they weigh nothing, high pitch squeals fill the emptiness that resonates in the primitive part of my mind. I know that sound, the cry of the damned. A maw opens in the black surface large enough to fit even Whisper in, and one by one the creatures are tossed in. The sound of breaking bones drowns out their cries. Before the events in Chicago I would have said this was is biggest creature I’ve ever seen. Much bigger than the dragon Zinneth, it towers over the landscape like a new ruler enjoying the spoils of war. The sun behind the creature gives it a strange glow as the light reflects off its polished skin.
“By the five…” Sarrow says in awe.
“Shifter, I think it’s time we leave,” Whisper says, coming over to us. He gives the creature a wary look as it continues to eat.
“For a change I agree with the rat,” my shadow adds, appearing behind him as a silhouette.
“What the fuck is that?” James Clifford says, running over. Sarah’s older brother had been promoted to head of the new special division call ICE, the Interworld Control Enforcement Agency. I don’t know why they were leaving out the A, perhaps ICEA doesn’t sound as interesting. He has light blonde hair and tan skin from constant sun exposure with cool blue eyes that remind me so much of his sister. Wearing army attire he holds an assault rifle in one hand and a short range radio in the other. “The spawn of Melephos,” Sarrow says, her expression awestruck and her voice weak.
“The what?” I demand. Surely this thing can’t be related to Melephos, though it does look like a smaller version of the devourer.
“Old tales from when the Kiraten traveled the worlds freely told of powerful creatures in the land of Sheol second only to the dragons. They are said to be so powerful that even the devourer could not feast on them.”
“That looks much bigger than a dragon,” Whisper says.
“Yeah, a lot bigger,” I add.
“It does indeed,” Sarrow agrees. “I do not understand. Something so large and powerful should not exist. It took the five together to make the dragons, but this…” She falls silent, shaking her head.
“I don’t care about any of that,” James says, sweat glistening on his brow. “Can it come to Earth?” Startled I look back at the merged worlds. If it could come through then it would be Melephos all over again.
“No,”
Sarrow says firmly. “Melephos was too large and powerful to cross to Fomoria by himself. It took all of Solarkar’s followers to do this. This creature will not be able to travel there on its own.” The ground shudders as the creature finished its snack and sinks below the sands, heading right for us.
“If you fools have had enough talking, I think it’s time to leave,” my shadow says. James didn’t even bother responding, instead he begins barking orders into his radio. It’s hardly necessary; everyone is already on their way. Laying my hands on Whisper and Sarrow I watch the men cross the tear in reality. Once the last one crosses over, I shift us away from the hot sands to the frigid Chicago air. Turning I watch through reality as the monstrous shape draws closer like a charging sand dune. Entering the mine field there is a series of thunderous explosions and both Sarrow and I clamp our hands over our ears as the creature ruins a days’ worth of work in seconds. James and the others can’t see or hear across the worlds but the pockets of merged reality give them enough to know whats happening. Slowly the sounds dissipate as the creature moves on, its sheer bulk expanding the entire minefield as it passes by without any noticeable damage. Taking my hands from my ears I direct my gaze from Sheol and look at James whose face is an angry mask.
“All of them?” He asks.
I nod.
“Shit, all that for nothing,” he says, his shoulders slumping. “I’ll try to come up with something new. Let’s call it a night.” Then, looking to the early morning sky with a tinge of orange on the horizon, he adds. “Rather, make that a day.”
“You must not give up, James of house Clifford,” Sarrow says. “We shall find a way to protect Fomoria from the creations of Melephos.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” James says brightening. I give Sarrow a warm smile. She always knows exactly what to say. “Ok boys, clear the area and bring the guns online as soon as we are gone.”
Sheathing Worldkey I pick up Whisper who is now the size of a large cat placing him on my shoulder. The feeling of unreality returns as I walk with James and Sarrow and do my best to ignore the dozens of large automated weapons pointing in our direction. Every few days even from my distant home I could hear the deafening reports of gunfire and accompanying explosions as a another nasty crossed over and was exterminated. Waving to men behind fortified bunkers and even more lining the few intact rooftops with anti-tank weaponry, I know we are in safe hands. Well, as safe as we can be until the worlds separate once more.
“Thanks for the help today,” James says.
“Clan Shifter shall never rest while our foes remain!” Whisper says in his purring tone. Reaching up I scratch his ears. James gives me a puzzled look. Now that Whisper is in the human world only Sarrow and I can hear him, our senses stretching beyond this world.
“He said we won’t give up,” I say brushing sand off my long black trench coat.
James smiles at Whisper. “If only I had a dozen like you…” He pauses a moment then adds. “Especially if you were full sized.”
“With that many you could conquer the entire world,” Whisper says in all seriousness and I can’t help but laugh. I have no doubt he is right.
Waving farewell to James, we get in a Humvee driven by an officer whose posture is so stiff I would be amazed if he can bend over. We drive in silence amidst the ruins of Chicago, Whisper sticking his head out the window, his eyes closed in pleasure. Collapsed buildings and various piles of rumble made the way slow going. Many compare the damage to an atomic bomb, though what had happened was far more devastating. Melephos the devourer entered our world with the aid of his disciple Solarkar, wreaking havoc upon the city and the entire world. Now, nothing is the same and Shifters Inc. is busier than ever.
“Might snow tonight,” the driver says, probably in some attempt to break the awkward silence or to encourage Sarrow and me to roll up our windows. Being part Kiraten neither of us are bothered by either the heat or the cold and, from the suggestive tone of the man along with the way he’s bundling himself up, I don’t think he shares that luxury.
“Snow?” Sarrow says in a puzzled tone, taking her gaze away from the city ruins, the cool air sending her hair flying.
“That’s right! You’ve never seen snow!” Whisper says excitedly pulling his head back inside. “It’s great stuff! White and fluffy just like me, it falls from the sky when it gets cold. We can go play in it soon!”
“It is just frozen water,” I clarify at Sarrow’s confused look. “Will the wonders of this world never cease?” Sarrow says in amazement. The driver coughes and drives on in silence.