Bearing The Burden part one

                   Bearing The Burden Part One: Stone Hearts Don’t Bleed
                                 By: Dustin “Demon Hunter” Cameron          
                                                 Prologue

         So ironic that these are to be my last words. I did cause my own death after all, but I don‘t hold a grudge. He has every right to kill me, considering what I did to him, allow me to explain. You see, there were terrible wars that engulfed our timid blue orb. Brother turned against brother, friends against friends, mothers against daughters. It was horrible; at least it was until he showed up. I remember the day very well actually. The sun was setting on a day of death and blood, so much so that the sky had taken the hue of blood. A lovely shade in any other time, but it was a morbid reminder for those who had that blood on our hands. There arose a man, who walked the line of separation and took no side. He preached what the cause of this war was, and we were ready to believe him, if it meant that the bloodshed be stopped. He claimed that the followers of Christ were to blame, and it was their hate mongering that led us here. Nevertheless, we accepted these lies, just as our predecessors did when the world went to war the second time. In exchange for ending the war, he led us into yet more bloodshed, to “purify” our planet of hate and war for the last time. The system worked just as it did before. There arose another however, a young boy who could not have been but fourteen at the time. He said that such a man would lead us not into peace but hell itself. He carried around the forbidden book, also known as the “Bible” and claimed that we should forsake the one who brought us peace. It was not until later I realized who this young man was. I was friends with his father. It only makes my folly all the more ironic. Our newly appointed leader did not like this, but rather than kill the boy, he decided to kill his family instead, as an example to any who would oppose him. Fate is cruel in its workings, or rather, God works in mysterious ways. The child was beaten profusely, and then was forced to watch as I, a friend to his family, carried out the execution order… death by beheading. The look in his eyes haunted me until now. Now I look into his eyes once more… into the hatred that I have given birth to. It seems fitting this way that this is how I should die. The child was banished after the execution; he was confined to an alley at the edge of town, guarded by soldiers. He was constantly beaten, and depending on the soldiers’ moods, much worse. These soldiers were sadists; they took pleasure in his pain, just as I took pleasure in the death of his family that fateful day. However, one day, he vanished into the shadows. Heaven help us the day he returned. I was a general in the army of The Leader, also known as Drake Sinclair. A base was under attack and soldiers were dying by the hundreds. Reports came in from multiple positions claiming they spotted the assailant, leading us to believe that there were multiple rebels. This was to be my grave. If you receive this letter, know who started the rebellion that is sure to ensue. In a way, I am to end this injustice; I just hope God takes pity on me when I am being judged.

                                       Goodbye
         Matthew Reid.




                                  Chapter 1: Birth of Hatred

         It was raining now. Fitting, in a sense, to the slaughter that was about to commence. Dustin scanned the horizon one last time, incase this were to be the last time he saw the earth again. The trees were dead, grass was unheard of in the area, and the only major landmark was the military base he intended to eradicate. He sighed and rose from the branch he sat on and leapt from the dead tree he was sitting on. He slowly approached the gate, remembering all those who had tormented him, all those who he needed to kill, all those who had died because of his quick, sharpened tongue. He pulled out a rose from his black trench coat, and laid it at the foot of the gates of the military base, which would soon be referred to as the “Demon Incident.” He took one last look up into the pouring sky; the rain was as if the angels themselves mourned for him, or for those who would soon meet him, maybe both. He closed his eyes, and leaped over the gate, awaiting the alarm, and the sound activated explosives he planted during his reconnaissance of the grounds the previous week. It was funny really, they all had a vacation on veterans day, which is when he snuck in. the alarms went off, followed by explosions in multiple places. Chaos ensued, as soldiers were either running around screaming or shooting at comrades, suspecting treason. He had yet to raise a finger; he had not even started walking away from the gate since his entry. He pulled out some grenades and placed them in some nearby jeeps, pulling the pins as he tossed them inside. The ensuing explosions ensured their captivity. Dustin then unsheathed his double bladed sword, the deadliest weapon of his time, made so by him, and charged the soldiers. They never saw him coming…

         Inside the building however, security officers had noticed a teenager dressed in black outside standing inside the grounds. 
         “Someone put a movie in again?” an officer said.
         “No, you borrowed the VCR last Tuesday, remember?” another answered.
         “(Expletive)” the guard yelled, and proceeded to raise the alarm, only to be met with an explosion. A soldier by the name of Mathew Reid had narrowly avoided the blast, and hid inside of a trash bin, and wrote his final words. He was the only one to realize what was going on, and he intended to be killed so it was to remain private knowledge. He then exited the bin, and headed for outside.

         Dustin was now near the door, bullets whizzing by, and he was enjoying every minute of it. Years of training had made him so agile he could dodge a bullet, much like in the matrix. Only two people know his training regiment, and both would rather kill you than reveal the techniques. Dustin suddenly noticed a solider behind him, he was unarmed and Dustin could actually smell the fear emanating from him. He then recognized the man, as a certain Mathew Reid, the executioner of Frank’s “Day of Revolution.” he pulled the lever on the guillotines that slaughtered his family. Dustin was literally seeing red, for in his recollection, he was shot in the face. Dustin was little more than disturbed by the wound, and continued staring in disbelief at Mathew. He pulled out a dagger and threw it into the neck of a would-be killer to his right, and descended upon Mathew, and a 12-year-old boy let out years of hurt into one bloody rage filled beating upon the man named Mathew. Guards actually stopped shooting and marveled at the animalistic mauling of their brother in arms, as if it were hypnotizing. As for the mauling itself, let us just say that dental records were the only source of identification afterwards. The tooth was found 20 yards away from the “body.” When Dustin could do no more damage, he took up his sword and continued his assault. Dustin made his way into the building and was handing out ticking grenades like a politician handing out false promises. He made his way to the computer room to acquire information, and then he would set off the series of bombs linked to the remote in his pocket. There was less and less resistance, which worried Dustin, but if it isn’t broken… he opened the door to find the computer smashed and a huge figure slammed into Dustin and slammed him through a wall opposite of the room. Dustin fought valiantly, but the blow had messed with his head and Dustin soon gave in to unconsciousness. He awoke to being beaten in a makeshift torture room inside the base. He recognized the room from his reconnaissance mission earlier; he was now near the rear exit. This exit however, led only into a fence with no door, the only gate was in the front, and he would be dead before he reached it. He would have to jump it, untangle himself from razor wire, then run off to avoid the explosion…great. He summoned his strength and broke the leather straps that held him down, and kicked one guard in the head, which knocked him into another, which left two more. During the attack, Dustin noticed his coat and sword in the corner to his right, and so made a diving leap towards them. He then felt the collar around his neck, which sent 10,000 volts of electricity through his body. He collided into the wall, and twitched in the corner near his possessions. “Amateur mistake” Dustin yelled as he rose up and grabbed his coat and sword. The guard pushed the button, and apparently boosted the volts it sent also, as Dustin’s body smoked after the surge ended. He rose again however and threw his weapon into that particular guard, and ripped off the collar that caused him so much pain. The other guard turned to run, but Dustin had already regained his weapon, and was two feet behind the guard, mid-swing for his head. Dustin leaped the gate, untangled himself from the razor wire, and pushed the button. He then laid there and rested as the rain continued to pour down upon him. Explosions and screams of the dying in the background.
                             
                                       Chapter 2: A Demon’s Heart

         It was still raining when he arrived home, the one place no one would find him, his grandparent’s old trailer. Everyone had moved, and the land was void of life, which suited Dustin’s needs perfectly. Dustin crawled through the front door, and collapsed on the nearby couch. He slammed his fist into the wall, and a first aid kit was revealed inside the wall. He took it out and started bandaging his wounds. Although it was rumored he could dodge bullets, he could not. He relied on poor aim and surprise to avoid death. Although he was fast enough to throw off a snipers aim by a few centimeters, he was still hit quite a few times in combat. He gritted his teeth on a piece of wood and began the painful task of removing the bullets in his arms and legs. The one that caused him to see red had barely missed, but still gave him a cut above his brow. He would remove the ones in his torso, but he did not have the strength for that kind of accuracy at the moment. His organs were intact; he had been shot enough to know when one was hurt. He had just finished when he received a phone call. It took a few rings to register what the noise was, as no one knew his phone number except friends and family, but they were… Dustin hesitantly picked up the phone, and then slowly, he began,
         “Hello?” he said.
         “Dustin?” the caller said.
         Based on the tone he was not an immediate threat, but the call could be in the process of being traced.
         “State your business or I’ll kill you” Dustin said, hoping to scare away the caller.
         “Yes, well, I was hoping to recruit you to uh… join our party” the caller said hesitantly.
         “No satellites are monitoring this phone, and there are no bugs I assure you, so you want me to join the rebel forces eh?” Dustin replied.
         “Yes, in so many words” the caller said.
         “Well, I believe I am as effective by myself as your entire rebel forces are put together, so, in so many words, take your offer and shove it up your--”
         “Wait, here me out at least” the caller interrupted.
         “Ten seconds” Dustin said.
         “What have you got to lose by joining us? We’re after the same thing, we can offer you better medical benefits then the wood and knife you use now, and you won’t have to hide in that shack” the caller said very speedily.
         “I should kill you where you stand, NO ONE insults my home and lives, and I will join you only so that I can kill you after my blade steals the life of Frank Aeropostale” Dustin yelled, and hung up.
         He took out a map he had made, seeing as how there was only one group of rebels, he had monitored their activity, and pin pointed their base through reconnaissance and stakeouts. He tucked the map into his trademark coat and headed out the door, the phone ringing yet again.
         After several days of walking, he arrived at the base, almost passing out from dehydration. He knocked on the front doors, and awaited the firefight he would get if he was no longer welcomed because of his statement made over the phone. Dustin suddenly tensed up as his soldier’s sense kicked in, he could hear a click behind him, .45 pistol, three bullets, fired recently, 30 feet away, and was being held at a slight angle. Dustin turned and dodged the bullet, then ran at the would be assassin. When the attacker broke free from her stupor, Dustin’s blade was at her throat.
         “Wait, you’re a girl?” Dustin said in surprise.
         “You were expecting an alien then?” she said as she remained perfectly still.
         “Got a mouth on you I see, hmm, you’ll make things interesting then I see” Dustin replied.
         “Like this” she said as she fired, the bullet hitting his foot. Dustin did not so much as flinch. She fired again and again, aiming higher into his leg, but still he remained unmoving despite the obvious pain.
         “You’re out, thanks for playing, now you have two options, one, I slit you’re throat and destroy the seven cameras trained on me and leave, or you let me in and I forget you just shot me and take advantage of the medical facility my contact seemed so proud of” Dustin said sternly, hiding the pain he felt. She had begun nodding after option two, so he released her. Dustin held up her pistol cartridge and said, “You get this back when I get in.” she felt for the spot where her ammunition should be, only to find it was gone. “I hate you” she whispered. Dustin merely grinned and followed her, limping only after the first step when no one was watching.
         Not many people were brave, yet foolish, enough to fight against Frank. The men and women of RAGE, (Resistance Against Global Evil) however, were. They started up shortly after a certain twelve year old had taken a stand against Frank. Their leader was a man by the name of Jacob Smith. He started RAGE along with Adam Bowers, David Hutton, Shaun Weatherman, and even Whitney Hill. Adam was their weapons specialist, David dealt with hand-to-hand combat, Shaun was in charge of their communications array, and Whitney was in the sick bay, which was ironic since she was afraid of germs. Since then they had grown into a multi national “terrorist” group, fighting the tyranny of Frank. As for the sharpshooter Dustin had already encountered, she was known as Raven, a reserved young woman, about sixteen. Where she learned to shoot is unknown, but as long as she can hit her mark, no one asked questions.  She joined up with RAGE shortly after the attacks began on Frank at the hands of a mysterious demon.
         Dustin stepped into the deceptively massive building and was bombarded by stares and looks of awe. He was apparently a legend, in what manner had yet to be decided. He was soon greeted by Jacob and the rest of the original five members.
         “Greetings” said Jacob, “I believe you wanted to kill me.”
         “So it was you, can’t believe you had the guts to talk to me yourself, thought for sure you’d get one of your cronies to do it” he said. Jacob’s calm physique vanished and he had to restrain himself. Thousands of guns clicked and were ready to fire at a moments notice.
         “Enough pleasantries, I’ve come to join your forces. I’ll need to make use of the medical bay and then I’ll be ready to fight again, and speaking of fighting, I suggest you call them off before I have to kill someone” Dustin said.
Jacob laughed.
         “You couldn’t kill them all”
         “Only one way to find out isn’t there. Do you really want me to take them out?” Dustin said.
Jacob raised his arm to call them off, and Dustin was taken to the sick bay.
         “Psycho” Adam said silently.
         “Got that right” Dustin yelled back from down the hall.
Adam hurriedly found work to do.          
                                       Chapter 3: RAGE of Hell

         Dustin woke up in his quarters for the duration of his stay at RAGE. It was completely white, which had to go. There were no windows, only a bed and a door. Dustin sighed and got up, examining the handiwork of Whitney during the surgery.
         “Stitches need work, not tight enough, I risk infection. She missed a bullet lodged in my chest, but it’s in too deep so I can’t dig it out myself, my tapeworm is gone and my neck seems to have lost its crick. Not too shabby, I could get used to this. Now to see the training grounds” he said to himself as he got up and headed to the door. He began wandering around RAGE looking for the way to the training grounds, when suddenly he bumped into Raven again. She reached for her gun; he had his blade at her throat again in seconds.
         “Got to stop meeting like this, people will start talking” Raven said.
         “Familiarity breeds contempt, and being contempt can result in the loss of life, learn it, live it, love it” Dustin said.
         “You’re not seriously threatening me, are you?” she said slightly shocked.
         “You’re not the first person I’d have killed and you certainly won’t be the last, I would suggest you not tempt me Miss Raven” he replied.
         “How do you know my name?” Raven said no longer slightly shocked.
         “Hmm. You don’t remember it do you, I saw you there, the same day of my execution I saw you in the stands watching” he said reminiscently.
         “You weren’t executed” Raven replied.
         “I died along with my loved ones, I am merely an empty shell, fueled by revenge and hatred” he replied coldly.
         “Fair enough, but out of all the people there, how did you pick me out?” she asked.
         “You were the only one who didn’t hate me, who was saddened by my loved ones death… to forget you would mean I would forget my last shred of humanity, the last act of kindness before I became who I am” he said with a hint of hurt in his voice. Raven was awestruck at what he had said. The “Demon of Bereavement” who was no more than a cold-blooded killer just revealed he had a heart. Dustin relinquished the hold he had on Raven and continued off down the hall, the soldiers who had been staring began quickly walking in the opposite direction. Raven remained unmoving from that spot for several more moments, still in awe of what happened, then it hit her, “Did he just hit on me a little?” she whispered to herself. She chuckled at the notion, and walked off, the idea eating at her curiosity. Dustin finally found the training grounds, and David and Adam were there training, Whitney intently ignored Adam as he shot at targets.
         “They used to date” Dustin sighed as he looked around the indoor facility. Not a bad set up, especially compared to his old training grounds, which was a sewer. There was a close quarter’s area, complete with mats, punching bags, etc, and the gun range was massive enough to practice the fine art of sniping. There was even weapons training for close quarter’s weapons, such as swords. Dustin grinned, but first… He ran up to Adam and waited until he ceased firing.
         “Not a bad shot” Dustin said.
         “Thank you” Adam said without looking up as he reloaded.
         “How are you at moving targets though?” Dustin asked with a sly grin on his face.
         “Want to find out?” Adam said.
         “Thought you’d never ask” Dustin said as he ran to the target.
         “If I get to you without you hitting me, you give me a freaking map of this place, deal?” Dustin yelled.
         “Deal” Adam said, and then started firing his favorite automatic weapon, a classic WWII Tommy gun. Dustin couldn’t hide the excitement of a challenge for his speed. Adam was exceptionally good, but Raven was better, and he only regretted that Raven wasn’t testing him instead. Dustin leapt through the air and landed behind Adam, and held out his hand for the map. Adam begrudgingly handed one to him, and continued his target practice. Whitney couldn’t hide her joy at the sight of Adam missing. Dustin leaped to the close quarter’s area and began attacking the students who were training there, using the reverse end of his blade of course. No one put up a challenge, and he took it upon himself to help train them. Shortly before the lesson on utilizing momentum and the reaction time of the human mind ended, the mission alarm started to wail. The students scribbled some notes and ran to the briefing room. Jacob was standing behind a podium, waiting for everyone to enter. Dustin leaned against a wall in the back.
         “Alright men, we have a situation. Drake has discovered our base, and is on his way to destroy it. If our intelligence is right, he may show up himself, so this may be a blessing in disguise. Your mission is to survive until Drake reveals his whereabouts, and when he does, attack that position with your entire being. This may be our last battle, so it will be a hard one, many will die on both sides, but tomorrow, we will end this, one way or another, understood?” he yelled in a speech like manner. The room filled with battle cries as it emptied, all except for Dustin.
         “You won’t win, your plan is doomed” he said.
         “We won’t know until we’ve tried” David yelled.
         “Hmm, so you’ve fought him then, face to face, no one to aid you in any way as thousands of troops fired on you relentlessly, pushing the pain out of your mind so that it doesn’t kill you?” Dustin replied.
         “…No” David replied.
         “Then shut up, I have, and let me just say this, if you even look at him off guard you will die, if you see him on the battlefield do not look away, don’t radio for help, you pray and fight. If you don’t then you will die” Dustin said coldly.
         “Point taken, now MOVE OUT” Jacob yelled.
Dustin smirked and walked out of the room, leaving the original five to meditate on what he said. Dustin walked out the front door of RAGE and listened, the army was a good seven hundred miles away, hundreds of thousands were marching; hundreds of thousands of more were in vehicles such as tanks and even the occasional jet.
         “I will die today, but before I do, I will take you all down with me to hell” he said as he gripped his double blade. He ran off to face the army as the RAGE troops were resting.
         “We aren’t scheduled to mobilize until tomorrow, where is he going?” Raven said as she leapt down from the tree she was lounging in and followed. She didn’t get far before Dustin leaped from behind a tree and grabbed her by her hands.
         “Where do you think you’re going?” he said.
         “Same place as you, where do you think you are going?” she replied.
         “I’m going to my grave, a place you’re not welcome in” he said as he released her and ran off.
Raven was stunned for a moment at what he said, then looked at her hands and saw a note.
         “I knew you would follow, which is why I am writing to you now, you see, I actually like you, you have style and a certain finesse about you that I admire, so I would appreciate it if you lived through this battle by not being in it. Someone as skilled in
combat as I will not survive it, but you can if you leave now.

Do this as a favor to me, because someone needs to survive to carry on the fight against Drake.
         Your friend,
                   Dustin”

         She read and re-read that note several times before it sank in, both what he said and what he laced the note with, a sleeping agent that enters through the skin. She would wake up unharmed the next day, just in time for the massacre to be over.
         Meanwhile Dustin was well on his way to meeting up with the war machine that is Frank’s forces. He lacked five hours of intercepting them, and his death. By nightfall the army stopped moving and so did he, for he needed to rest after traveling nonstop all day. Dustin was an hour away, and could easily ambush them, and now you know his plan. He slept for a few hours, and then took out the plastic explosives he stole from RAGE and made his way to their camp site. He began tinkering with the vehicles first, rigging them to explode upon ignition, then he placed some grenades set to go off in half an hour inside shoes and other inconspicuous places.
         “The traps should catch the survivors, RAGE will need some information on bases, plans, stuff I could care less about” Dustin said to himself.
          He completed his mission, then stood in front of the entire camp, took an insanely deep breath, and yelled a demonic growl that shook the ground. As he did, the timed explosives went off and everyone was in panic. Drake appeared before him, in full armor.
         “Expecting me I see” Dustin said calmly.
         “I had good reason too, I knew you were here” Drake said in a creepily anxious voice.
         “Today, both of us will die” Dustin yelled as he leaped for Drake, his double blade raised.
                                       Chapter 4: Death of Hatred                    
         
         In a flash Drake drew out his sword and blocked, the ground buckling under his feet from the force of the blow. Dustin pushed off of Drake’s sword and landed softly back on the ground. Dustin twirled his double blade in the air and ran at Drake again, swinging at speeds too fast to see, yet each attack was blocked without effort. With one last burst of strength, Dustin stabbed towards Drake, and Drake caught the blade in his hand. Dustin paused out of shock, then fear as he tried to regain his sword from Frank’s grip.
         “Who are you?” Dustin said.
         “Ask not for whom the bell tolls” Drake replied with a vampirish grin. Dustin tried to hide his fear, but given the circumstances…
         Dustin leaped into the air again, twirling his blade over his head, and then slashed towards Frank’s side, only to be blocked again. Drake pushed Dustin off and countered with a kick to Dustin’s side. Dustin hit the ground with a sickening thud, but slowly regained his sense of balance. By the time he looked up, the blade was coming down, straight towards Dustin’s arm. Dustin brought up his blade, and Drake sliced through the handle of Dustin’s near-legendary blade. Dustin picked up the other half and began to wildly swing at Drake, blade after blade, swing after swing, all knowingly futile. Dustin had one option, and that was to die. Drake had yet to cease his vampirish grin, knowing the outcome of this meaningless battle. Dustin looked at him, defeated, alone, and doomed. Then Dustin did something unpredictable. He dropped his swords and reached into his pocket and took out a grenade, the pin missing.
         “A good bye present, from everyone in the family” Dustin said with a somber grin on his dirtied face. Drake stared for a moment at this unforeseen circumstance, then turned his back and began to run. Dustin yelled and leaped onto Drake’s back. Drake screamed and Dustin grit his teeth, waiting for the boom.

                                       It was a dud….

Drake stopped for a second, letting this sink in, then started laughing. Dustin was decimated. Why him? As Dustin contemplated this paradox, Drake relinquished Dustin’s grip with a bone-breaking elbow to the temple, which caused Dustin to fall. Drake then stomped his foot onto Dustin’s chest.
         “God must hate you or something, you know that?” Drake said with a sadistic grin on his face.
         “Wasn’t your claim to fame the fact that YOU were God?”
         “Either way I’m right and you’re dead” Drake replied, applying pressure to Dustin’s ribs, causing one to snap. Dustin yelled in pain, clawing at Drake’s foot. Drake kicked Dustin in the head, and continued merging Dustin with the ground. Dustin coughed up some blood, and spit out a tooth. Still moaning in agony. He looked at the swords he dropped moments ago and nearly cried at the thought of his stupidity.

         “NEVER let go of this blade Dustin, NEVER. The instant you do, you lose a part of yourself, a part the enemy can use against you. If I ever see you let go of this I will personally stab it through your hand so you can’t do it again.”

First day of training was rough, especially since Dustin actually dropped the sword while attempting to scale a building. His master was true to his word. Except when it came to how likely it was that Dustin could win against Drake.

         “I know you can do it”
         “You are a freaking demon, so I don’t see why you can’t”
         “It’ll be easy after I get done training ya”

Funny the thoughts you think before you die. Drake pierced Dustin in the stomach and started twisting the blade, bringing Dustin out of his nostalgia. Dustin started coughing up blood, waiting to die, just like in that cursed alley. Soldiers coming to beat him until the brink of death. He hated them with such a passion. Almost as much as Drake, who took the blade out of his stomach and pierced his chest. Dustin could fell his heartbeat, if you could call it that. It was beating once every five seconds, which isn’t good at all. What would Raven say if she were here? Seeing him like this, almost dead and thinking about everything else but how to escape. There was no escape, but Raven still wouldn’t have allowed him to quit.
         “Wh…why am I…thi…nking of her?
         “I see death is starting to cause your mind to deteriorate. Finally, I am going to be rid of you. A shame really, you were the only challenge left in this world. RAGE will soon be crushed, and this girl you are mumbling about will be executed after years of torture. I thought you might like to know her fate, think of it as MY good bye present, except mine will actually deliver” Drake said grinning his vampirish grin again. Dustin was fading in and out of his rant, but he heard two words, “Girl” and “Executed” which was all the motivation he needed. The blade still in his chest, he grabbed its handle and pulled himself up the blade, getting closer to Drake. Drake was speechless, stunned at this very odd sight. Dustin punched him in the face, pulled out the sword from his body, and stabbed Drake in the neck. Dustin grinned as he lay there, slowly dying. It was over, and he had been true to his word. Today they both died.
         “I can see my grave… opening to engulf my battered body. Death isn’t cold, for me, it’s an escape…”
                               Chapter 5: Raven’s Lament
         
         RAGE was suited up, ready to fight their losing battle. Raven woke up, first confused, then angry. She crumpled up the note she got from Dustin, then put it in her pocket. She would make him eat it later. She ran to catch up with the RAGE forces. Jacob was leading them, in full armor, heading towards the battlefield, not knowing the battle had already been won. They arrived to find dead bodies everywhere, and those that weren’t dead were ensnared or hanging upside down in trees. Others were caught in nets, or passed out with darts in their necks.
         “Genius” David said as they marched into the battlefield. Everyone nodded in agreement. No one was left to call for reinforcements, no one was left to fight, Dustin had single handedly won this battle. Then they looked over to their right, and saw two lone bodies, lying in the dirt. They recognized the trench coat, and the other body had a face that wouldn’t be soon forgotten. They rolled Dustin’s body over and saw all his wounds, and the single wound in Drake.
         “He got his butt handed to him, but he still won with one shot” David said.
         “Uh oh, he’s still breathing” Whitney said, looming over Drake. Raven emptied her gun into his head.
         “And now he’s not” she said with a grin.
         “Glad to see you made it Raven, just in time for the funeral” Jacob said with a little hurt in his voice.
         “What do you mean? Surely we don’t bury the enemy now” Raven replied, and then she saw the black trench coat. There isn’t a word to describe what Raven felt, she knew little about him, other than he was the first to take a stand, yet she was still hurt at his death.
         “We should get going. Reinforcements could be on their way” Shaun said as David picked up Dustin’s body. They marched back, ignoring the screams of the dying, the captured, and the heaviness in the air. They could hear tanks in the distance, but the funeral march carried on. Slowly they made their way back to RAGE. The sound of the nearby tanks couldn’t speed up the funeral march. They had already came prepared for war, now they were overdosed on motivation to fight.
         They arrived at RAGE without incident, laying Dustin in their sick bay until they could bury him. Raven remained, sitting in the chair closest to his bed. She sat there for an eternity trying to maintain control of her emotions. She still didn’t understand why she felt so devastated by his death. He had threatened to kill her on several occasions, and she was still unsure whether he was bluffing or not, yet there was a void in her heart. Did she harbor feelings for him? Figures her crush died, but at least he didn’t die in vain. Drake was finally dead. Maybe the world could now pick up the pieces and start over. However, could she do the same without him?
         “(Expletive)” she whispered as the tears formed again. She looked at his lifeless body, angry that he left her alone. He was so selfish, so self-absorbed, so… oh who was she kidding. He saved her life with that note, and saved the free world, knowing he wouldn’t be around to witness the fruits of his labor. The tears started flowing now. Was this peace even his intention? Did he fight solely for revenge? No, couldn’t be, he may have buried his soft side, but he still had one. She looked at his note, confirming her thoughts. She then glanced at the clock in the room, and was surprised to see she had been there for over two hours. She saw Shaun out of the corner of her eye, peaking through a crack in the door. She took the gun out of its holster and aimed it at the crack in the door.
         “How long?” Raven asked.
         “I checked in here and there, didn’t mean to disturb you, I’ll leave now” Shaun replied, hastily walking away. Raven sighed. Dustin would have just fired a warning shot into the wall, never even looking up. She got up from her chair and grabbed his note to her and placed it inside his coat. she took a long look at his face, knowing that after today, all she’d have were memories. A single tear escaped and landed on his body as she took her last gaze, memories of their first meeting racing through her mind…

She was on security detail, on the look out for anyone who got too close to the compound. She hated security duty; no one ever came close to this place, that’s why they built it here. All of a sudden she spotted a black figure approaching. She moved in closer only to find the legendary Demon of Bereavement walking up to the front doors. She had been doing some target practice, and had already fired two shots, so she had four to take him down. She watched him for a moment, then brought her gun up and aimed for his head. He stopped and looked to his right, listening. She hesitated for a moment, cocked her gun, and then fired. The demon somehow dodged her bullet. Could anyone be that fast? She snapped out of her stupor to find a blade at her throat.
         “Wait, you’re a girl?” the demon said in surprise.
         “You were expecting an alien then?” she said as she remained perfectly still.
         “Got a mouth on you I see, hmm, you’ll make things interesting” the demon replied.
         “Like this?” she said as she fired, the bullet hitting his foot. The demon did not so much as flinch. She fired again and again, aiming higher into his leg, but still he remained unmoving despite the obvious pain. Who was this monster? Can he not even feel pain?
          “You’re out, thanks for playing, now you have two options, one, I slit you’re throat and destroy the seven cameras trained on me and leave, or you let me in and I forget you just shot me and take advantage of the medical facility my contact seemed so proud of”  the demon said harshly. Raven nodded her head after hearing the second option, and led him inside…

         She put her hand on the door handle, took one last look, then left, leaving the body in the solitude it had been so accustomed to. Maybe that’s why he fought…

                             Chapter 6: The First Seal Is Broken
         The funeral was scheduled for that night. The body lay in a coffin in the briefing room, for all to see. He was in his clothes he had died in, gripping his weapon with both of his hands. The alarm was sounded, and all rushed into the briefing room. Jacob loomed in front of all of his forces, searching for the right words to tell them.
         “I don’t exactly know how to say this, so I’m just going to come out and say it. I won’t sugarcoat it, Drake’s still alive” Jacob said, looking down at the coffin. Gasps and expressions of shock were abundant in the briefing room.
         “I know it’s hard to swallow, but Drake is back, and his assault on RAGE is continuing as planned. We have less then a day to prepare for war, so get a good night’s sleep, and remember the one who has already fallen. If you fight for nothing else than to make his sacrifice not in vain, then you fight with honor. This is it, this is the moment that will define us. If we go, we go in a blaze of glory. See you on the field of battle” Jacob said, walking towards the door, followed by David, Shaun, Adam, and Whitney. The rest of the forces followed, feeling the weight of the reaper hovering above their heads. Raven stayed behind, still soaking in all that was just said. How could Drake have survived a fight with the Demon of Bereavement? He had fought death personified and won. She closed her eyes to try and stop the tears. An image flashed in her mind…

         “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.”

         Where had she read that before? It fit so perfectly with what was happening, as if it were part of some prophecy. Maybe Drake was the beast, and Dustin gave him the wound, so now he was back with more followers. She had to get her hands on where this prophecy came from. Maybe it tells how to stop him. She looked back at the coffin.
         “Direct combat won’t work, and he’s too powerful for indirect methods, so how can Frank be taken down?” She asked herself. No answer came, so she sighed and walked back to her room. She tried to sleep, but she couldn’t maintain a hold on it. When she slept long enough to dream, she dreamed of Dustin as he fought Drake. Dustin won, and was carried off back to RAGE. But others stumbled onto Drake’s body. Followers of his cult, also known as the “One Nation Earth” or simply ONE. ONE made up the army, the police forces, everything. They had a strangle hold on the earth now, and there was no more war because of it, except for the skirmishes against RAGE. But propaganda ensured that their skirmishes resulted only in victory for ONE. Their members accepted the bull that Drake was God, and so his followers were all the more willing to die for him. His followers found his body, and carried it off to their base, except when it reached there, he came back to life, completely healed. Now those who were skeptic followed him. She saw his army marching through the cities, and then she woke up. Eventually tired of the cycle, she went to the briefing room to spend time with Dustin, as she figured she would die in the battle. She entered the room and sat down, and noticed a book sitting in a nearby chair. She picked it up and looked at the cover.
         “HOLY BIBLE” it read. She flipped through it, finding most of it uninteresting until she reached the end. The book of revelations, chapter 13, verse 3 “I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.” it was the prophecy that had flashed into her mind. She flipped back to the beginning of the book and read it. It all fit with what was happening. All of the tragedies, the peace, the wars, all of it. She went back skimmed every book. When she got to the book of Matthew, and she read about Jesus, and what he did, she was amazed. He died for the people that killed him. He suffered for them, then he came back. She felt a peace in the air as she read on, eventually asking forgiveness for all that she had done that wasn’t pleasing to God. She confessed, repented, then prayed for Dustin. She prayed and cried over him, then over the battle that would soon take place. When she was all prayed out, she fell asleep in her chair. Jacob woke her up, dressed in his battle armor. It was time for them to go out in a blaze of glory. She rose from her  chair and joined the rest of the RAGE forces. Then they marched towards the ominous feeling of death. They could hear the thunderous roar of tanks and the rhythm of the marching feet of millions of obedient soldiers. They could smell death, they could almost see the reaper waiting for them. But still they marched, ready to die fighting to the last man. They reached an open field, and they stopped and waited. Then the ONE army found them. Their numbers blocked the view of the forest behind them in its entirety. Every troop in the RAGE army gripped their weapon, then charged the immense army. In the first minute, several hundred died, none of which were from RAGE. The air was filled with the sounds of gunfire, and the thud of bodies as RAGE besieged the O.N.E. army. The troops of RAGE could feel the grip of the reaper loosening from around their throats as they slowly dwindled the enemies numbers.
         “WE CAN WIN, PUSH THEM BACK WITH ALL YOU GOT” Jacob yelled above the roar of battle. The troops gladly obeyed his orders and advanced, mercilessly killing all in their way, just like a certain Demon of Bereavement. Something wasn’t right, Raven could feel it. Then she realized that the opposing forces had arrived without their leader. She turned around and saw birds flying in the air behind the RAGE army.
         “THE ENEMY’S BEHIND US, IT’S Drake!!!!” she screamed as she ran to meet the real forces of Drake. If what they were fighting was a diversion, imagine the size of Drake’s actual army. Raven pushed the thought out of her mind as she ran, hoping to get in a shot while Drake thought he had an element of surprise. Drake emerged from the trees that RAGE had marched through only moments ago, and Raven was two feet in front of him, gun aimed and ready. A single tear escaped her face as she shot Drake point blank in the skull. Nothing on earth could survive a wound like that, then again, she thought that after emptying her gun into his head before. She pulled out a second handgun, emptying both into his face, blood pouring from his eyes and mouth. He fell, and Raven dropped her handguns and pulled out an assault rifle that was strapped to her back. She didn’t normally use it, seeing as how she could sneak up on any enemy and take him out with one shot, with just a handgun… well, almost any…
She turned and raised her gun in the air, her comrades were rushing to meet the other opposing forces, meaning they were trapped, and couldn’t take on all of the vast numbers. They tried anyway, except all the luck they had vanished as RAGE member after RAGE member dropped dead on the ground. The reaper’s grip was stronger than ever, but for Raven, it lost it’s sting. She mowed down O.N.E. troops like no one’s business, and managed to hold her own throughout the onslaught of spellbound zombies. After several hours, the battle was over. Only six members of RAGE still stood, but O.N.E.’s forces had ran. The five charter members stood, exhausted and bloodied, but triumphant. They tried not to scan the field they fought in, in order to escape catching the eye of a brother or sister they had fought side by side with. They weren’t ready to let the feeling of victory end just yet. Raven was literally crawling to her comrades to join them in the spoils of victory. Her leg got caught on something, and it seemed to be actively grabbing her. She turned around to see Drake’s lifeless body behind her, his hand gripping her ankle. She screamed, then shot him in the head repeatedly. The grip didn’t loosen, if anything, it tightened.
         “I’d appreciate it if you let the futility of your actions sink in and cause you to desist” the body said without looking up. Jacob was half-way there, his steel bow ready to fire. David was running shortly behind, and Adam was pulling out his light machine guns. Shaun picked up a sword from one of the fallen and began to run at Drake along with his comrades. Whitney was scanning the battlefield for survivors, she wouldn’t be of much use anyway. Drake’s head lifted from the dirt, and he smiled a demonic grin as he rose and caught the arrow Jacob had fired, used it to pierce Jacob through the neck with such force that it went through, and he stabbed David in the throat with the same arrow. He laughed as the blood trickled down his arm. He pulled his arm from the carcasses, making sure to spill as much blood as possible. Adam was running at him now, wielding a light machine gun in each hand, yelling as he fired one, then the other as he reloaded. Drake easily dodged his line of fire, throwing David’s body into Adam which knocked him down. Drake leaped through the air and landed on Adam’s neck, crushing his windpipe. As Adam struggled to breath, he picked up one of his guns and unloaded it into Whitney, all except one bullet.
         “ I believe I’m forgetting someone, oh yes, that’s right, YOU” he said as he turned, the light machine gun in Shaun’s face. He fired, and all but one stood from RAGE.
         “You must be the girl he mentioned before he died, an honor to meet you” Drake said as he bowed, then stabbed Raven in the side. Raven collapsed from the pain, but was pulled back up by Drake.
         “Oh, don’t worry, you won’t die just yet” he said, as the wound in her side disappeared.
         “I’m going to have fun with you before I let that happen” he whispered into her ear, then he began to laugh a sadistic laugh, thinking of ways to make her hurt.
                            not the ending!!!