The Last Guardian

Chapter_23: Johnny be good!

There are things in this world that cannot be explained- things that cannot be seen or heard but sometimes can be felt lurking in the dark. These things are of the supernatural order and they are very much real like the world around us- and just because we cannot see them- doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. Malevolent or benevolent- there’s a realm out there- way beyond human perception!

The darkness was spreading everywhere and its epicentre was this small city of Athena. The demons were only the beginning and the m*********r case was still to be fully solved- for now it rested as an unsolved case in the archives of the police department.

It was early morning and Lisa got out of her car holding a plastic cup of coffee in her hand. She was at the docks where numerous dead bodies appeared out of nowhere overnight. A local night watchman reported seeing them at the end of his shift and the police came rushing within the hour. The incident made headlines in the morning and reporters were flocking the site while the police tried to keep them at bay. Lisa looked at them through her black sunglasses- they wanted to know everything-and she nodded her head in disapproval thinking that if they knew what evil things were going around in this good for nothing town, it would blow their minds.

She went towards the scene of the crime with her coffee in her hand- the sergeant greeted her and explained the whole situation- around twenty people were found dead all around the dockyard and a boat that was thought to be lost at sea was parked in the waters! Lisa knew immediately this must have something to do with Billy and John. She took out her phone and dialled Billy’s number-

“Good Morning!” she said as the call got connected.

“Howdy miss detective- it’s been a while-“ replied Billy.

“It hasn’t been that long- listen there’s a pile of dead people on the docks and I wanted to ask if you knew anything about this?” she asked.

“Haven’t heard of it -“replied Billy from the other end.

“Really... ‘cause I see black ooze pouring out of their noses and it doesn’t seem natural to me-“she said.

“And you are saying we killed all those people?” asked Billy.

“I don’t know- you tell me-“she replied.

“Like I said I have not the faintest-“replied Billy.

“Well then- never mind I’ll simply drag Johnathan’s butt to the police station and grill him-“she said ending the conversation.

“No- wait!” replied Billy “those people have been dead for months- they were possessed- I exorcised them- but there was no way of bringing them back to life-“

“I knew it- huh! Demons you say? Why can’t I believe you-“she said.

“You know us- we only try to help people not hurt them-“replied Billy trying to be sincere.

“Well it’s the demon thing that I doubt-“replied Lisa.

“Oh they’re real too- and every other monster you have read or heard about- once existed and many of them still do-“replied Billy.

“Ugh! Ok- I will talk to you later- bye!” she said and cut the call.

It was her job to suspect and doubt and she took everything with a grain of salt. She wanted to believe Billy’s words but she will have to fact check everything that he said- she couldn’t believe anyone blindly and she knew exactly the person to contact-

Johnathan was still in his bed after last night’s showdown. He opened his eyes and immediately felt all the pain from last night. The gut punches and the face kicks that he received – he could feel all of them at once. He badly wanted to drown himself in alcohol to ease the pain but he knew that it would m**m his abilities.

“Only if I had the ability to heal myself too-God!” he cried out as he sat upright on his bed.

He looked around his room- it looked like a pig sty and it hadn’t been cleaned in days. He thought it was high time that he had cleaned his room and himself- but first- breakfast!

It was 10 in the morning and Johnathan had cleaned his room and took a shower. He cleaned his bruises and took an aspirin. He took a good look at himself in the mirror- he looked as if he had been going to the gym and doing some heavy workouts. His muscles were showing off and veins bulging. He looked at his prosthetic leg- the transformation was almost complete and the metal of the prosthetic leg had fused with new muscles and tissues with parts of the metal still showing through the flesh. He felt stronger and a lot better than before.

He took out a new pair of shoes- his only new pair, from the wardrobe. As he was taking out stuff from the wardrobe- his eyes fell upon the ring he had bought for Maya- he suddenly remembered about her-

“I got to see her once-“he said to himself.

He wasn’t sure if she was still in the hospital or had been discharged but he thought it would be better if he would check her house. With that single thought in his mind, he took out Raven’s bike from last night and drove towards Maya’s house.

An hour later he reached her house and rang the door bell- Maya opened the door –

“Yes? Can I help you?” asked Maya.

“Maya-it’s me- Johnathan” he replied.

“I’m sorry I don’t know who you are- have we met before?” she asked looking confused.

“Maya-I” Johnathan suddenly realized that Maya had no memories of him. He recalled the incident where he turned back time-maybe it somehow erased all of her memories about him. He stood there looking at her beautiful face for one last time- maybe it was for the best-maybe it was time for him to move on-maybe this was the only way he could be sure of her safety-maybe it was for her own good-

“Uh-Yeah-Sorry- You don’t know me –I just came here to check if you are ok-never mind!” said Johnathan and walked away.

Maya stood on the door confused and wondering who the man was –Johnathan smiled and drew a deep cold breath- she’s safe now-that’s what matters.

“Good Bye Maya-“he said looking at her from a distance and with a heavy heart he drove away.

Something changed inside him now- he suddenly felt free- his heart was light- like he was bounded by some heavy chains all along and now he had broken free of them. He sped his bike along the freeway, taking in the sweet morning air-he thought about the days gone by- he was a changed man!

He thought of going to the church and meeting BIlly and Raven, but as soon as he thought of them, he had this ominous feeling that something about both of them was not quite right. But how could he doubt them when they introduced him to his true potential as a guardian and helped him fix his life. Without them, he would have been lying in some backstreet alley drunk and drowned in a pool of sorrow and regret. But he still remembered how Ivan told him that he hadn't attacked Farid's shop- he knew Billy was hiding something from him, but what? Nevertheless he put hose thoughts aside thinking it would ruin his mood and drove towards the church.