EXTRACT FOR
LiT Part VI - Impasse
(Author Unknown)

Prologue

    

    The experiences of the past, big or small, shape the impact of the future.  The choices of how to react to these occurrences leave an impression on the world around them.  Values mold the way to choose which pathway to travel.  These choices can test to ignore the ideals of the Lite for the false promises of the Dark.  Tough decisions are made every day, some without even knowing the consequences.  There are some impasses that should not be placed on anyone.

   



Introduction

    

    It hurt too much to be a dream; it was more of the rawest form of a nightmare.  One so intense, so painful, no movie or story writer could ever properly describe.  It was as if there was no time lapse.  Kameron couldn't remember how long he was being tortured before his rescue.  Standing was difficult due to the slimy substance below his feet.  Breathing the air felt like tiny rocks of burning sulfur tumbling down his lungs, but he couldn't cough them up.  His rescuer, the young light brown-haired woman dressed in renaissance clothing, was trying to hold him up.  There was a sense of honor in her focus as she concentrated on the surrounding blackness. Kameron tried grasping onto the slippery ropes that once bonded him to the wall, but the wall was no longer there.  His legs turned to jelly as he started to drop to the ground.

    His liberator caught him from crashing onto the ground. "Be careful.  Watch your footing.  If you are to fall, I do not think I could find you again."  She quickly snapped her head back as if something caught her attention.

    There was something oddly familiar about this woman.   Was it a familiarity of a person?  It seemed to be more of an emotion.  Why couldn't he remember?  His mind was in constant movement of scattered confusion.  Nausea started to overtake him, but again, he wasn't allowed to do anything about it. "Andre? No, Alec."

    The girl was starting to get irritated. "I am not a man."  Her mannerisms mimicked an animal having a predator on her trail.  "We must continue to move about."

    Kameron couldn't keep his chaotic mind in check.  Why were her glowing blue eyes and hands comforting to him?  He gently pushed her away to show he could stand on his own.  "I'm fine."

    She cautiously let him go, still keeping her hands close to him.  "Are you certain?  Please, if you fall..."

    Kameron gave off a false sense of confidence.  "I'm good." The light from her eyes vanished, but she kept her hands lit with a neon blue light so they could see each other; otherwise, there was complete darkness.  Kameron gazed down at his suit; it was dirty, full of holes, and soaked in blood.  He frantically checked his stomach, where he'd been pierced with an iron prod.  There was a faint scar where that white-faced creature had shoved the burning spear into him.  "How am I alive?"  The black business suit he was wearing was familiar, though it didn't feel accurate.  The tie was black with a single speck of a bright blue metal tie pin.

    "You are not alive." The young woman kept her eye on Kameron. There was a moment, where she had a facial expression of unbelievable hope, but it quickly vanished as a faint sound of evil came from the depth of the overwhelming shadow.

    "I'm dead?" Kameron lost all feeling in his legs as he started to fall again.  The lady caught him again with both hands.  She gripped him so tight out of pure fear.  The strength in her grip was unprecedented.

    "You cannot fall." She stood him on his feet, followed with a nod to confirm he could stand on his own power.  "No, you are not alive.  Although, the Dark will not let you properly die."

    "The Dark?" Kameron took a second to process everything.  "The Dark?  The Lite?"  He turned to her.  "Alex?" He squinted as he studied the girl.  There was no shaking of the constant reminder of the person in front of him.

    "No, my name is Cara.  Daughter of Lord DeTronous." She leaned in with curiosity.  "Who is Alex?"

    A deep sense of emptiness overcame him.  It was like having a melody stuck in your head but not knowing the words or name of the song.  "I don't know."

    "Well, whoever he is, that is the second time you called for him."  Cara moved her hair back.  "We must move. He will find us if we stay still."

    "To where?  Where can we go?" Kameron scanned the vastness of pure blackness in the area.  "My skin, it's burning, I'm cold."  He lifted his sleeve from his blazer and shirt.  "There is something in my arm."  A cylinder underneath his skin to wave.  It seemed to poke through a hole near his wrist.  With his fingers, he pulled out a worm.  "What the hell?"

    Cara hesitated before answering.  "That is where we are."

    Kameron's eyes widened with fear at the realization of his situation.  "Can we escape?"

    "You are the key." That ghostly sound returned from the distant deep.  Whatever it was, it caused Cara to flash her eyes.  Her demeanor changed to a mounted expression of seriousness.

    "Well, I'm ready to leave." Kameron's fear and anxiety were not contained.  "How do I unlock it?"

    "I cannot tell you that." Cara dropped the unfortunate news.  "If I tell you, it will not work.  But what I can tell you is..." Cara turned around into a fighting stance.

    The Lite generating from both her hands and eyes showed a creature with the face of a bear with glowing red eyes.  It lunged at the girl, but she elegantly counterattacked the beast.  The fight continued until she deemed it necessary to form a knife to stab in its back.  The monster seemed to disappear into the ground.  "Time is short."  She quickly turned to Kameron.  "Give me your ears."

    The intensity of the position they were facing became clear.  Cara's eyes had a mixture of distress and ineptness.  "What is it?" Kameron fixated on what she was about to say.

    "He is coming.  If we are to separate...."  Cara grabbed on to his shoulders.   "Hopefully, I find you. You will not know me.  I cannot tell you who you are.  Listen to me now and try to remember my verse..." She was suddenly yanked away from Kameron by her feet.  Her eyes glowed blue, and the only thing Kameron could see was the Lite moving from a frantic battle.  She could only manage to yell, "Stay true to your...."  Then it was dark, silent.

    The burning breathing had stopped for a moment, and there was no feeling of anything whatsoever.  Fear overpowered his mind and body.  There was nothing, complete blackness.  There was no sound, no light.  He couldn't even hear himself breathe or move about.  There was nothing around him.  Kameron was now alone.  It seemed like an eternity before he could even start to move.  The only thing he could do was stare forward into the nothingness of his prison.  What was he to do?  The air seemed to start to burn again as he reminded himself to start breathing. The small, razor-like cuts were scorching the flesh on his skin while he was getting colder.  He needed to move; it was the only option-but where?

    The only direction he could think of was the direction where his rescuer was taken.  He took a single step forward when a sudden red light appeared from nowhere.  An evil figure with a white face now stood before him as he grabbed Kameron's chin to pull him closer.  His tilted black hat shadowed his black eyes behind his long, greasy hair. "I remember you and your pure heart."  Contempt could be heard in his voice.  "I have something special in mind for you."  He picked Kameron up and, in an instant, slammed him downward.  Only the echo of Kameron screaming into a constant fall could be heard.

    



Chapter One

    

    Alex moved her head in the direction of the distant scream.  It almost sounded like it was coming from within the fire that engulfed the building before her.  This former clothing store has been burning for quite a while, and any person caught in the blazing fire would have died long ago.  Plus, the cry for help was far too faint.  The main support pillars of the structure had finally started to collapse.  Little fireflies of burning embers floated into the sky before disappearing into the blended stars of the night.  The fire was giving off massive waves of heat.  It was disheartening that she enjoyed the sense of warmth on this cold early spring night.  At first, Alex was reminded of snow from the ash of the fire. 

    The quarantined area of CopperTop Mountain seemed to be a war zone.  The curfew set by Gron, our soon-to-be, Demon-possessed mayor, Roger Somberson, had been in effect since the riot.  That night, the Conduit of the Dark, Vandor, briefly returned.  Alex's heart sank from the memory of that night.  The image of her fianc?, Kameron, tackling the Dark Master back into the Conduit just made her stomach turn.  Regardless of what she was going through, she had to conduct her hunts to try to bring back the Balance.  The Dark Harridan had somehow managed to take away her ability to sense both the Lite and the Dark.  Doing so made her job a lot harder.  On top of that, she had to avoid CopperTop Mountain authorities.  That was something she couldn't deal with right now.  She could only control what was happening now.

    The scream came again, but this time it sounded different.  This was closer and didn't sound like the original one.  Regardless, it broadcasted as a cry for help.  She and Komptin, who was in a German Shepherd state, approached a boarded-up supermarket.  There was a small hole someone had kicked into the boarded-up windows.   Alex motioned for Komptin to go around before she approached the jaded entryway.

    She flashed her eyes a quick neon blue burst before easily ripping off the board to scout the abandoned market before entering.  Normally, she would have gone through the hole already there, but she didn't know what was on the other side.  She wanted to do a small recon.  Shelves were toppled, unworking light fixtures were barely hanging, and small amounts of traces of food could be seen.  Alex did notice a faint outline of a human figure in the rubble.

    Alex quietly made it through the window, waiting for the imminent attack.  There was no sound as she landed inside the supermarket.  After a quick survey of the rampaged area for Infiltrators or Demons, she cautiously approached the body.  Her heart felt heavy when she saw a young male with dark skin; he was gripping a damaged package of dinner rolls.  His breathing was slow and heavy; the marks of Demon claws on his chest were oozing dark red blood.

    "I just wanted to get food for my mom," he muttered with the sound of blood gurgling in his throat.  

    All she could do was wipe the blood from entering his eyes.  "Shhhh," she said in a quietly caring fashion.  It was all she could do.

    "Am I going to die?" The fear in his eyes told Alex he already knew the answer.

    "Yes, I'm afraid so," Alex scouted the area to make sure she wasn't going to get blindsided. "In a short time, you will never know what fear or pain is anymore." Alex grabbed his hand for comfort.  She kissed his hand and placed it on his chest.  She gently placed the other one on top of it.  

    "Please, make the pain stop," he tried to hold in the mixture of crying and fright.  

    Alex checked the wound, but she already knew there was nothing that could be done.  It would be a long twenty minutes for the boy before the inevitable.  "I can make the pain stop."

    The boy tried to smile.  His body showed evidence of losing color.  "Thank you."

    "Close your eyes," Alex tenderly whispered to him.  "I want you to think of your happiest time...and remember, in your heart, He loves you.  Okay?"

    The boy slowly closed his eyes in anticipation.  Alex placed her fist on top of the boy's heart.  Alex closed her eyes, prayed, and then quickly formed a spear.  The boy's body quickly tensed, but then relaxed as his eyes became lifeless; the pain now gone.  The Lite Sentry wiped a tear before standing up.  Behind her were three figures standing upright, with glowing red eyes and claws extended. Alex remained still while continuing to stare at the boy as she lit her fists to the same neon blue as her eyes.

    "How'd it feel to kill someone so young, Sentry?" The Demon in the middle hissed.

    "I ended his pain." Alex peeked over at an Infiltrator outside the window she climbed in, staring at her.

    "After I'm done with you, I'm going to dump the body to his mother." The Demon started to laugh.  "I'll be sure to watch the whole thing.  I think I'll record it for all to see." 

    "You are so sick." Alex was disgusted.  "But I do find it funny you think you're leaving." She cracked her neck in anticipation.

    Komptin jumped at one of the side Demons in his purple-skinned gargoyle form.  The Demon screamed as he knew the fight of his life had just begun.   The Infiltrator in the window was about to join the fight, but it was dragged from behind, preventing it from entering the building.

    The remaining Demons attacked Alex.  She grabbed one of the shelves and swung it across the side of the head of the first Demon.  That sent the possessed man sliding on the floor into the wall.  The second Demon screeched as it charged Alex.  She dodged the punch; normally she would've met it with an uppercut to the chin.  But she wanted to make this Demon suffer.  She instantly kicked its knee. Like dry kindling, the sound of the snapping leg brought it down to the ground.  There was a bottle of briquette lighter fluid on the ground.  Alex grabbed the container while holding the Demon in a headlock.  She squeezed his head until he screamed so she could dump the fluid into his mouth.  She threw the Demon off to the side.  The Demon could only stand on one leg as the two stared at each other.  

    "Now what?" It asked her sarcastically.

    Alex flicked a match from a box lying on the floor and tossed it at the Demon as she squirted more lighter fluid.  A trail of fire followed into its mouth.  The soldier of the Dark started burning from the inside out.  He frantically screamed in pain, flailing about.  Alex decided to let him suffer while she took on the other Demon.  He tried to run, but she shot him with a Lite Beam to the back of the head.  The possessed man somersaulted over into a pile of rubble.  Alex ran over to him and angrily stomped on his head until it caved in.  She picked him up and threw him into the wall.  Then followed with a knee to the gut.  She dropped to the ground, using her leg to flip him over.  The Demon barely stood up, with black blood dripping from his body.  "You suck."

    Alex formed a knife with her Lite and ended the Demon's existence.  She slowly turned to the body shell of the burnt Demon.  He could barely stand.  Alex swiped the Demon's knees, keeping it on the ground. "Stay down."  She forced the weakened, burnt Demon to the ground.

    Komptin finished killing the Demon he fought.  He limped over to Alex's side as she stared at the body of the young boy.  The Lite Sentry checked over a small wound on her hunting companion.   "You okay, boy?"  The gargoyle dog enjoyed a small scratch behind the ears.  Alex knelt at what once held the life of an innocent child with his life ahead of him.  The sound of an Infiltrator being diminished brought a small grin to Alex's face, but it didn't last long.  The burnt Demon rustled as he stood back up.  "I said stay down."  She shot another Lite Beam at it.  It screamed in pain as it fell back to the ground.

    Tristan, the new Lite Sentry who was waiting for orders from the Council, joined Alex inside the supermarket.  His face had a bloody nose and lip.  "I got him," he said with half confidence.

    Alex smirked and continued to stare at the boy's body.  "Good job." She barely spoke.

    Tristan saw the small shell of a lifeless boy.  "That looks like a Sentry burn on his heart, was it Gron?"

    Alex just stared over the boy's body. "I needed to end his pain."

    A realization of what Alex did hit Tristan.  "Alex, I'm sorry."

    "You didn't know."   Alex stood up.  "Tristan, being a Sentry, you are going to have to make decisions; decisions that will affect people who you know, and those who've you never met.  Some of these choices are going to suck and others are going to be flat out gut-wrenching."   Alex turned to Tristan.  "This is gut-wrenching.  Call this in anomalously.  The boy's mother will need closure."  Alex turned to walk out the door.  "Let's call it a night."  Suddenly, the charred Demon stood back up with his eyes glowing red.

    "What the hell is that?!" Tristan jumped back with his fists and eyes glowing.  

    "Come on, let's go home." Alex and Komptin started towards the Demon with no sense of urgency.  She formed a knife and nonchalantly cut the Demon's head off without breaking stride.

    

***

    

    Anne decided to spend the night at the church.  It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep in her own bed; far from it, she was just way too tired to drive home.  The feeling of not wanting to get into a car accident or hit a deer didn't seem appealing to her.  It seemed her duties as Council Historian were pushing a little bit more every day.  Luckily, the plumber was able to switch out the hot water tank before the contractor quit.  The Freedom Off Religion, aka - the F.O.R., destroyed this church before the Catholic Council was able to retain it back.  Every step forward to get the church open was a major cost increase.  But the key part was proceeding.  The sun wasn't even hinting to start the day when she finished showering.  This gave her some time to finish up some work before everyone got here, including her handwritten weekly journal.

    

    As the same as last week, there really hasn't been any change.  Though, I really wish that wasn't the case for the start of the next seven days.  A leader of evil will be sworn in as mayor of CopperTop Mountain tomorrow.  Roger Somberson, whose Demon name is Gron.  He will be in another top position of power.  The Dark-possessed leader of the F.O.R. will oversee the well-being of the oblivious citizens of CopperTop.  It was almost a landslide victory when he was voted as the youngest mayor in the history of the state, might even be the country. The scary part is that the majority of the citizens are welcoming him into office.  Fortunately, we who follow the Lite are still making our presence known.  Even though I have found peace in my husband's death, it still isn't easy watching the man who murdered him being paraded around as a hero.  

    Though it hurt, knowing he is in Heaven with no pain is comforting.  I wish Alex could feel the same.  Alex's fianc?, Kameron, sacrificed himself to close the Dark portal that brought Vandor, the Conduit of the Dark, back for a very brief time.  No words could describe the pain our Lite Sentry felt as she watched the only person she ever fell in love with, throw his body into Vandor, pushing him back into the Dark Conduit.  I have never seen her in such emotional turmoil.

    Alex tries hiding her pain by acting as if nothing has happened.  She isn't fooling anybody around here, but we all play along until she's ready to talk about it.  Right now, her focus is the new Sentry, Tristan, by taking him on some random hunts.  Although she still prefers to go herself, well, with Komptin at her side.  There still hasn't been a way to bring back her inability to sense the Dark, or what Alex needs the most, to restore her connection to the Lite. The only progress we made was finding out her link was taken by something called the Dark Harridan.  We still don't know who it is..."

    

    "What are you doing?" Megan came into Anne's office with a stack of folders.  The church's secretary came into Anne's office with a little caution.  "Father Carl wanted me to give these to you."   She placed them on her desk, in clear view of Anne's work.  There was no hiding the fact Anne closed her journal for privacy.

    The Council Historian peeked out the window to see the sun had made itself known.  Time seemed to have escaped her.  "I was just journaling; it helps with everything, kind of a stress reliever."  Anne calmly put the journal into the opened file safe behind her desk.  With a quick spin of the dial after closing the door, it was locked away.  The pile of folders Megan brought showed Anne she had a lot of work ahead of her. "Thank you."

    Megan intentionally sat down on the seat where Alex normally sits.  Her black and red streaked hair was tied nicely behind her with a maroon bow.  "I get that, the journaling thing.  I've been doing a lot of writing myself lately."

    Anne got up to get some much-needed coffee.  "Really?  Is it something you hope to have published, or is it just for your own personal release?"  She showed Megan the pot.  "Want some?"

    Megan waved off the offer.  Megan grabbed a book from Anne's desk to start thumbing through the pictures. It was an early renaissance book of church literature.  Megan was disgusted holding it, but she needed to hide it. "Oh, I already have a publisher."

    Anne found herself pleasantly surprised for Megan.  "Really, who picked it up?"

    "Well, we're in talks right now. I don't want to jinx it by saying anything."  Megan quickly retreated.  "But if they accept it, it's ready for worldwide distribution."

    Anne smile at her sweetly. "That's fantastic.  I understand why you would be leery.  What's the context?" Anne leaned on the heater in the room to warm up.

    "It's about life-changing perspective."  Megan got up to join Anne in leaning against the heater.  "It's a bit chilly down here."

    "The furnace is on its last leg."  Anne savored the sip of hot coffee. A quick feeling of warmth trickled down her body.  "I can't find anyone to fix it."  Anne and Megan just sat there in silence for a bit.  "You know, I would love to read your book as a beta reader."

    Megan just turned her eyes towards Anne.  "Oh."

    Megan sat there, didn't really know how to answer.  "I really hope one day you do read it." Her phone chimed, letting her know of a message.  "Oh, Father Carl needs me to grab some coffee and doughnuts for Bible study."   She got to the doorway to head to the store for Father Carl's request.

    "The offer to read it is always open." Anne's chipmunk cheeks seemed to emphasize her genuinely caring nature.

    Megan turned to Anne with a grin.  "You know, I may actually take you up on that."  Megan spun around to see Alex standing right next to her.  Megan screamed.  "You scared the hell out of me."

    Alex chuckled as she joined Anne by the heater.  "Hey Anne, do you have any of those note pages?"

    Anne waited until Megan left to grab them from her filing cabinet.  "Starting your report early?"

    "You know me, Ms. Punctuality."  Alex received the approved blank Council report papers.  "You think they will ever go to at least a typewriter."

    "Nope."  Anne knew the pain of writing reports for the Council.  They didn't want any machinery used for Council reports in fear of hacking or copying their official correspondence.  Anne handed her the report pages.  "Have fun."

    

***

    

    Alex didn't want to stay long in Anne's office.  It didn't miss Alex's attention on how tired Anne had come off; it was mostly Alex who couldn't put up this front for much longer.  Part of her wished she could sleep again, or maybe she was sleeping.  Perhaps Sana actually killed her upon that stabbing.  This was her Hell-to find the meaning of true love for another person, only to have it ripped from her.  This nightmare she was currently living had no foretelling of any closure.  Alex was exhausted, tired of the hate, so drained from losing.  Was the Dark that strong? Could the Lite not defeat them?  The Lite Sentry had to quickly check herself.  That was the dangerous path Sana decided to travel.  That particular dead-end road did not have a pleasant destination.  Lately, it seems that a constant reminder was needed that she was a Lite Sentry.  Her job wasn't to defeat the Dark. It was to help keep the Balance.  And she was doing a piss-poor job at that.

    On her way up to her own secluded office to write her report, she noticed Tristan basking in the sanctuary of the congregation room.  The young man always wore a conservative sweater when he sat in the middle of the room on the far end of the wall.  It was an odd place to sit.  Alex either liked the very back when she went to mass or the very front when she was alone or nestled up with Kameron.

    "Alex?" Father Richard was coming by with his coat still on.  The overweight priest was coming in from the back parking lot.  He was a good man, caring.  Alex knew he wished his Lite Sentry would open up to him.  For some reason, she felt that would betray Father Tom. His death never should have happened.  Neither should have her brother's, Sarah's, or Kameron's.

    Alex shook her head to get rid of the thoughts of Kameron.  "Sorry, Father.  Just thinking of a song in my head.  Can't think of it, but the tune keeps playing over in my head.  Don't you hate that?"

    "Yes, it's almost as annoying as being lied to."  Father Richard gave a caring smile.  "Do you want to talk about anything that's on your mind?"  The shiny bald man took off his coat.  No matter what, it always seemed like he was sweating.

    "Nothing to talk about," Alex lifted the unfilled Council report paper.  "Gotta get to the writing."

    "You know where I'm at; completely confidential." He joked as he pulled on his collar.

    "I'm good," she went down the hallway, whistling a song.  "Can't get that song out of my head.  Ugh!"  She gave out a fake laugh.

    Father Richard watched his Lite Sentry put on a false sense of confidence and emotional expression as she started her day.  "Hey, Alex."

    "What up, padre?" She bounced as she turned around.

    "Tears in Heaven." 

    "What?" Alex stared at him in confusion.

    "The song you're whistling: Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton." He pointed out.

    Alex just nodded as she turned back around to head upstairs.  "If only he was crying in Heaven." She slowly found solace away from everyone when she opened the door to her private office. 

    The only other living soul was her faithful hunting companion.  Komptin was asleep by an open window in the wooden bed made by Kameron.  The colossal protector had peace to him as he slept, regardless of what form he was in.  There was a clipboard inside her desk drawer, which she quietly grabbed.  She slowly made it up to Komptin to sit next to him on the floor underneath the window.  The smoke from the fires still gave the air an unwanted scent.  The riots were all but gone, but their damage took a toll on the town.  Alex stroked her dog's fur before starting her report.  How she envied him as he laid down in peace.  With a gentle kiss on top of his head, she started to write her account from last night.