Destiny: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Distress Call
After almost one full year in the six-story mall, The Organization’s members had started to form groups that they would hang out in. Ynez, a small girl with short black hair and two daggers in her belt, would be seen walking with Skye and Lourdes. While the three older men of Greg, Matt and Josh worked on getting The Organization’s members names and their weapons on a list, Zach, Tyler, Jeffrey, and a small boy named Joey would train in the gym on the fifth floor. Jeffrey would attach his arm blades securely somewhere slightly above his elbows. Joey would swing his nun chucks around him, getting used to the weapon. Tyler would throw his ninja stars at Zach from difficult angles while the blonde boy deflected them. Everyone seemed to take glory in all of their weapons, everyone except a blonde girl, crying in the corner of the sixth story.
Annie had gone up there many times within the past year, for the thoughts of her parent’s death and the fact that she had no weapon would’ve made any eight year old cry. The sixth floor was her secret get-away area, to get her separated for the others in the mall. No one ever went up there, for it was mainly just filled with beauty salons and beach clothing stores. It was one particularly dark day, the clouds were darker than ever, thunder sounding in the distance, when Annie found herself up on the sixth floor again. As she turned a corner to go into the beauty salon she would be alone in, she saw two boys sitting on the nearest bench. A glimpse at the scar on one of their face’s told her it was Zach. The other was a boy she had seen before in the building, but had never gotten around to talking to.
It seemed Zach was comforting the boy, for the boy was crying particularly hard and soon stood up and walked away. As he passed Annie, she noticed two short swords tucked under his belt.
“That’s just Danny,” Zach said, seeing Annie as she walked toward him and sat down. “So what are you doing up here Annie?” She tried to mask her emotions, not wanting to seem weak and defenseless, as her brother Matt always teased her that she was.
“Nothing, but I could ask you the same question.” She looked at Zach as he shrugged.
“I haven’t really been up here since… well…” He looked over at a wrecked news booth and a store that looked like it had been ransacked. “… Since a shadow broke into the mall and tried to destroy everything up here.”
Annie’s eyes widened with terror. “Oh no! Don’t worry! Our brothers, Jeffrey and Tyler took care of it.”
“And where were you when this happened?” The question caught Zach off guard and he quickly changed the subject.
“It doesn’t matter. By the way, where is your weapon?” The question reduced Annie to nothing. Her eyes started to tear up and Zach hastily tried to calm her down. “No please! Don’t cry! Just tell me what’s wrong and…” At that moment, every emotion that had been bottled inside Annie for the past year hit Zach like a wave.
She explained everything to him, up until when they had gotten their weapons the past year ago.
“… And all I got were these!” She held up her hands that were wrapped in a golden cloth up to her elbow. They had not worn out over the past few years, and they had served no purpose to Annie. “How am I supposed to help The Organization is all I can do is wear this cloth around my arm.”
“Maybe it’s their power that is important.”
“What?” It was Annie’s turn to be caught off guard, and the blonde boy next to her smiled.
“We recently found out that everyone’s weapons have a special gift. Like the other day!” Zach grew more excited in telling Annie the story, and she listened with wrapped attention. “Tyler and that girl, Lourdes I think, they were focusing on their weapons really hard, and they started to glow!”
“Tyler and Lourdes started to glow?” asked Annie with utter confusion and amazement.
“No, not them! Their weapons! And the next thing I knew they were on the other side of the mall before I could count to one! It was amazing!” Annie seemed happier now and she smiled widely.
“I wonder what mine will do!” she said with excitement. She turned to Zach and asked, “What does yours do? Have you tried it yet?”
“Mine? It doesn’t do anything. Nothing I want to ever use, anyways…”

Annie sat on the same bench she had talked to Zach on so many years ago, but now the seat next to her was empty, for he was trying to catch a shadow general with Tyler and Lourdes somewhere. The sixth floor had changed in the past nine years, for now it was the infirmary. Only one man was in there with a bloody gash across his chest and Annie was clearly taking time before assisting him.
“What did you do this time Matt?” Matt was now in his late thirties and could tell Annie was taking her time.
“It came out of nowhere. I was out of bazooka ammo, so I had to resort to just clobbering him with it. The sneaky bastard came up behind me, I turned around, and…” He pointed at the wound. Annie had finished wrapping the golden cloth around her hands.
“Why didn’t you just use your power against him? Couldn’t you just pummel the shadow to the ground with the bazooka’s super strength?”
“I did!” said Matt defensively. “But that was after he hit me.”
Annie put her golden hand over Matt’s wound and the cloth glowed. The gash started to close up and soon there was no trace of the wound anywhere. The blood remained on his skin, but she washed it away with a wet towel.
“Thanks sis,” Matt said, putting his shirt back on and then putting on his black cloak over it. With a wave, he walked down a flight of stairs and disappeared from sight. Annie was alone again, alone as she had been nine years ago. But she wasn’t crying now. She stood up and walked around the vast shopping center for what seemed like hours. Then a small beeping came from her watch. She looked at it, but instead of its normal safe green color, it was flashing red. It was an emergency, and a glowing number that was displayed on in shocked Annie. X.

The tenth and fourth numbers of The Organization stared at the new shadow that was in combat with the shadow general. Most of Zach’s features had remained intact. Darkness rose from Zach like steam off his body. His teeth were now jagged and his hands were now claws. His black cloak flowed around him as he jumped back and forth. Unlike most shadows, however, it seemed that Zach’s shadow had taken on a beast like aspect. He seemed to walk on all fours and it didn’t seem like he could talk as the general could. The sword seemed to be of little use to this shadow, for some reason.
The shadow general swung his scythe back and forth as Shadow Zach jumped back, dodging each of the swings. On one vicious swing toward the boy, the shadow realized that Shadow Zach had jumped on the blade and was now running down the shaft of his weapons. The shadow Zach kicked the general in the face, knocking off his skull helm. The general let out a roar and managed to grab Shadow Zach within his free hand’s grasp. He slammed Zach’s shadow on the ground, but instead of being crushed, he became a two-dimensional shadow and traveled along the ground. He rose and struck the general in the back and there was a loud crack. The general fell to the ground, unconscious, his skull armor having a huge crack in the back of it.
“Yah! Way to go Zach!” Tyler cheered as Lourdes clapped beside him. Shadow Zach turned his head and his red eyes stared at Tyler. Within two second, Tyler was pinned down upon the ground, and Zach’s shadow was punching and slashed the figure below him.
“ZACH! STOP IT!” The shadow turned to see Lourdes rushing toward him. Then the feeling of blood trickled down Shadow Zach’s body, for she had stabbed him with the machete right through his chest. Darkness rose more quickly from Zach’s body until he was no longer a shadow, but a human with a sword thrust through him. He keeled over and fell on the wet grass, staining it from a lush green to a dark crimson.
“Oh my God…” Lourdes backed up as Tyler slowly got up and touched his face. His cuts were very minor, and there were only a few bruises on him. Tyler looked at Zach and his face turned pale.
“Lourdes! What did you do?!”
“He… he was going to kill you…”
“No he wasn’t, I could tell that Zach was trying to restrain his shadow against doing it, or I would have been dead. Quick,” he said, pulling the machete out of Zach and picked him up, “put the general shadow in the trap so we can take him back to base.” Lourdes stood stalk still, not moving.
“LOURDES!” She jumped a little. “You take Zach then. Get back to base and I’ll pick up a ride there from another member. I’ll take the trap.”
She nodded slowly and took Zach and ran down the hill as fast as she could, carefully placing Zach in the back and he groaned. Lourdes tried to wipe her bloody hands on her black robes, but they were shaking too much. She pushed a button on the side of her watch. Her watch turned red and started blinking the number X on its screen. She got in the car and drove as fast as she could.

Greg stood before everyone, standing on a podium and a map of the city was next to him. Once Annie entered the room, seventeen Organization members stood before him.
“Everyone knows that to claim the city back, we are going to need to expand the light shield from around the mall to around the city. We have the power and energy, according to Jeffrey and Michael, who have both been working in the command room religiously.” Everyone clapped and Jeffrey and Michael waved a hand in recognition. “Unfortunately, there are three shadow generals that are in the way. The shield won’t kill them, and then they can just summon more shadows within the shield, which will kill us all. The three go as follows…” He flipped a sheet over and three drawn figures were displayed on the paper. Greg pointed to the first one. “One of these has a scythe and can float in the air. Zach, Lourdes and Tyler are fighting it right now so we can capture it. It could know some valuable information about the other two. General number two…” he pointed to the next one, “… relies on shadows to gather strength, both the alive evil ones and the normal ones around him. The last one is currently unknown, but we know that it has something to do with technology. Now, I think Zach and Lourdes are…” Greg stopped abruptly and stared at the front door. Annie and the other in the crowd turned around and saw Lourdes with Zach in her arms. Blood ran from his body down Lourdes’ arms and onto the floor.
Annie ran over and was joined by Greg and Jeffrey as Lourdes set Zach down next to them. Annie put her hands over Zach only to realize that her golden cloth was in her pocket. As she put her hand in her pocket, Zach opened his left eye. The blue eye stared into space. Annie finally got the golden cloth on her hands and held her hands over the hole in Zach’s chest. The inner organs and tissues began to seal together, but the wound wouldn’t heal anymore, as if it had been stopped. Annie stepped back.
“That’s all I can do.”
“Why?” asked Jeffrey, but Greg had the answer.
“It’s because these item’s power drain our energy. Haven’t you noticed that Jeffrey when you use the technology around yourself? That’s why there is a limit to our powers. Zach’s had no limit…” Greg said solemnly.
“How come his doesn’t when ours does?” asked Lourdes, but Greg picked up Zach and started to walk away with Annie to the infirmary. Just as everyone else in the Organization walked away to continue their work, Greg turned back to Lourdes.
“Let’s just say that you stopping Zach was the best option you had. Zach hasn’t unlocked the power of his weapon yet.”

As Skye saw the little blonde boy fall back into the shadows, she saw an older man plunge in after him. As he fought with the shadows around him, he finally found his little brother. But as he pulled him back away from the darkness, he heard a deep, low voice that chilled him to the bone.
“He is one of us, now…”