The Last Guardian

Chapter_22: The Darkest Night

IN NOMINE PATRIS, ET FILII, ET SPIRITUS SANCTI, AMEN"In the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."

Billy watched as Johnathan was beaten black and blue by the demons and Grim stood there laughing and taunting. Billy was finally overpowered by the demons and he was pinned to the ground and kicked in the gut.

"Bring that one to me-" commanded Grim.

The demons dragged Billy towards him.

"You really don't remember me old man?" asked Grim grabbing Billy by his hair.

"You scums all look alike to me- " , grunted Billy.

"Still trying to be funny? Let's see how funny you are when I rip his heart out with my bare hands-" said Grim pointing towards Johnathan.

Johnathan was lying face down on the ground- he was unconscious- his mouth was red with blood and sticky with saliva. Somehow he started to dream- he saw himself lying on the green grass in a valley full of lush mountains and butterflies. He opened his eyes and was filled with awe at the natural beauty all around him. He noticed beautiful flowers everywhere and each flower was of a unique color. He wondered what was this strange and beautiful place! He saw butterflies all around him- all with amazing colors and giant wings- he approached one of them and tried to touch them- and as soon as he touched it's wings- a bright light flashed and he began to see all his childhood memories within a second and then it was gone. He went ahead and touched another- and this one showed his memories from when he was an angry teenager-he saw his parents and the struggle they faced while raising him-he was overwhelmed with emotions. This one disappeared too after showing his memories. He went on and touched another- it showed him memories from the time when he was just a new recruit in the army- he felt the enthusiasm and the wild adrenaline that he once felt during his training- he saw the time he served in the middle east-he saw how he was injured- to the time he returned home and saw Maya leaving him for another man.

Basically each butterfly he touched showed him his entire life in flashback- he realized what he had been doing wrong all the time- he realized how ungrateful he had been for having his life back and having these amazing powers- he began to be filled with so much emotions and joy- and slowly he felt peace in his heart and fell asleep in the green grass once again. A soft wind was caressing his face and he felt this enormous sense of satisfaction and gratitude in his heart- something or someone had taken away all his pain- he felt a guiding force watching over him-

Grim was approaching Johnathan grinding his teeth while the other demons stood around Johnathan like zombies.

Back at the alley Raven was lying on the street trying to figure out what had hit her. She took helmet off and stood up with this intense pain on her left ribs- she felt the bruises on her skin. The demon who stopped her from escaping suddenly jumped down from the roof and stood in front of her, ready to finish her off. She put down her helmet and took out her knife and raised her hands in an attacking position-

"C'mon you ugly son of a gun-" she taunted him.

The demon sprang at her and she immediately ducked and cut him on his chest. But he didn't care- infact there was hardly any blood coming out of the wound. Raven was surprised. The demon sprang again and she high kicked him on his chin- he fell back a few steps but atracked again. This time he blocked her attack and grabbed both her hands. She wrestled him- struggling to find a way out. She saw his teeth- they were human- but they were dirty and she could smell the stench coming out of his mouth. His eyes were burning red with rage. Raven knew she had to end this quickly- she kicked him on his crotch- he didn't yield- she head butted him and he fell back releasing her hands. She then took her knife and jumped on him and pushed the knife straight through his heart- black ooze started to pour out of the wound and the demon growled in pain. She took the knife out and stabbed him again and again and then one more time until he collapsed and died. She drew a sigh of relief and stepped back...

Grim grabbed Johnathan by the collar of his jacket and raised him up. He then lifted his right hand- the nails on his fingers were more than an inch long-

"No- stop! Wake up...wake up Johnny..." cried out Billy.

Grim pushed his hand at Johnathan's chest with all his might but as soon as his fingers touched his chest a bright spark of electricity flew out from his chest and threw Grim away. He was astonished and looked at his right hand- it was half burned-

"What?!" he cried out.

Johnathan stood there motionless with his eyes closed and his head stooped like he was in some kind of trance. His bruised face was sparkling with energy- his true powers were awakening- Billy looked at him with his mouth open.

Grim was angered and he rushed towards Johnathan but Johnathan took a step back and with his eyes still closed he kicked Grim on his chest so hard that he flew away a few metres and crashed on some crates. The other demons rushed at him but Johnathan with astonishing speed kicked and punched the hell out of them and within a few seconds, he had finished off fifteen demons!

Grim was finding it hard to believe- never before he had seen anything so powerful. Nevertheless he was still confident that no Guardian could beat him. He stood up and using his ability to jump he sprang on Johnathan from high above. Johnathan opened his eyes and picked up his Katana from the ground. He saw Grim coming in from above and as he was about to land on him, he stepped back and pushed his sword upwards- the sword went through Grim's body and impaled him. Grim collapsed on the ground- choking on black ooze- half dead!

As Billy and Johnathan approached him, he grinned-

"Bravo! You've defeated me-"he said.

"But you ain't dead yet-" said Billy.

"Huh... Nothing can kill me- this is just a setback- I'll be back..." said Grim.

"Not if I send you to the deepest pits of hell first- and tell your master how a crippled loser beat the so called 'Grim Reaper'- I'm sure he'll ne amused!" said Billy sarcastically.

He then took out a holy cross from his pocket and began to chant-

"Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen."

[Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.]

Billy exorcised Grim and the demon inside him soon fled out of the dead human body it was possessing. Johnathan put the sword back in its sheath and looked around him- the other Beta-Demons that were lying around him began to shake fiercely-their bodies vibrating in a strange  rhythm- the demon blood in them was being exorcised too and thick clouds of red smoke began to dissipate from their mouths. The Alpha Demon died which made the Beta Demons useless and they die too.

Billy stood up and looked at the mess around him- the exorcised bodies were still human but here was no way of helping them.

"So, these people- Are they gonna wake up?" asked Johnathan.

Billy drew a long breath and put his cross back in his pocket said-

"No son- they have been dead for months- only the demon blood in them was moving them like zombies-i wish I could help these poor people-"

Johnathan walked around looking at the faces of the dead people- these were ordinary people-regular people. He saw the teenage girl from before- she was lying unconscious at the far end of the dock. He hoped that at least she was alive. He went on and kneeled down before her and checked her pulse-luckily she was alive! 

"This one's still breathing!" he said to Billy.

"What!" exclaimed Billy and went up to Johnathan.

"Let's take her to the hospital-"said Johnathan.

Billy nodded and Johnathan picked the girl in his arms and put her in the backseat of the car. Raven came in bruised and exhausted.

"You look like crap!" she said to Johnathan.

"Heh! Look at yourself-" he replied.

"You go home Johnny-take her bike- we will take her to the hospital!" said Billy.

"Well Ok! But what about those dead bodies?" he asked.

"What do you think the police is for?" replied Billy.

Johnathan took Raven's bike and rushed off into the dead of the night while Billy and Raven took his truck and went towards the hospital. The wind was caressing Johnathan's face- for once in his life he felt inner peace- it was almost 3 a.m.