chapter 5
Malachi felt like he had been on the road forever. He wanted this day to finally be over, but it seemed like it was doomed to last a while longer.
He was going on almost thirty hours of no sleep, and that didn’t count the last two nights of restless sleep. Even though he didn’t mind the dreams he was having, they were starting to interfere with his life.
When he woke up early yesterday morning, he was harder than he could ever remember being. There was no help for it. He had to relieve himself on the recliner when he woke up and then again in the shower. As long as he didn’t try to remember exact details, he was finally able to control himself. No woman had ever affected him like that, and of course she had to be a figment of his imagination.
It took longer than expected, but he finally was prepared to leave to go meet with his team. When he got there, Terah and Gideon were waiting but that left Gemariah and Tori late, as usual. Finally, fifteen minutes after the designated start time, the last person made it in and the discussion began.
Gideon, of course, was always upset when this happened. Gideon was perpetually mad at something or another. He would always say, “If I was in charge…” Then for good measure he would add, “So when the hell are you going to do something about it, Malachi?” It was times like these that he didn’t care to be in charge, because he would have to do something eventually…but not today. He was in no mood for this shit now!
He was what people called an exalted nephilim, therefore got dubbed “Man in Charge”. It just so happens that his mother was a nephilim and his father was an angel. The extra angel in him made him a little stronger, faster, and more powerful than the usual nephilim. To him, he felt that he was just as good as everyone else and hated that it was his parentage that got him his position and not his skill. Every day he strived to show that he actually deserved the place within his team.
Gideon was also an exalted one but from the other side of the spectrum. His mother was a nephilim and his father was a demon. He got all the advantages that Malachi did, but it was more probable he would slip into the darkness. He is the only exalted nephilim from the demon side to struggle constantly against the pull and fight for the side of God. All others turned down the path and became evil. Gideon can be a real dick sometimes though. “just because I fight on the side I do, doesn’t mean that I have to be all rainbows, flowers and shit!” That is Gideon’s motto; hence the reason he’s not in control of the group.
The meeting was simple and only lasted around an hour, maybe two. There was an increase in crime on the East side of Chicago around the Art Museum. There had always been crime there, but never as often or as brutal. The many mutilated bodies and numerous accounts of assault were starting to draw the public’s attention.
The way the bodies were found gave them the suspicion that there was something more sinister going on than just the normal sociopathic killer. Demons have a particular way they kill and certain parts of the body they find…tastier…than the others.
During the meeting, it was decided that they were to go scope things out this evening when the sun was setting. They believed that was the time of day when most victims were getting nabbed because more people were still out and about. More to choose from…
For the rest of the time, Malachi prepared. He went over what he had to bring with him, and what the others did as well. He did the planning on who was going to scope out what area and how big a perimeter around the museum they were going to cover. There was so much that needed to get done, and he chose to be the one to do it, therefore he could stay busy.
He was afraid that if he stopped, he would pass out where he was standing. Thankful that tonight was just surveillance, he released a loud yawn and thought how he would be worthless if it was anything more.
While filling the Springer with gas, Gemariah approached. He immediately started talking about a woman he brought back to his place the night before.
“Stop right there!” Malachi held out his hand and shut his eyes. “I’m in no mood today to hear you rattle off another tale about being a slut.” Gemariah was wide eyed and silent after his statement and Malachi sighed. “Sorry man, I’m just…tired…and kinda hungry actually.”
Gemariah got over his speechless moment to laugh. “Let me go get you something.” Leave it to him to blow something off like that. Not much got to the man.
As he was walking away, Terah stopped him and said, “Here, give him this.” She handed him a plate with a heavy duty sandwich and chips. Gemariah looked at it longingly until Terah hit him upside the head to snap him out of it. “Not for you!!”
Terah had the power that all of us coveted, but no one wanted. She had occasional visions and feelings of things to come. Sometimes they were small, such as when someone was going to need food. Other times, she has helped to stop mass killings. Terah put on a good front, but we all know they affected her more than she put on.
After a few more minutes of eating and talking about the plan for that evening, Gemariah went off to secure “shotgun” in Tori’s car.
Malachi just finished prepping and packing his bike when Terah came up to him. “Hey Mal, how about I ride with you today?”
This didn’t surprise Malachi. Terah always wanted to ride with him rather than be trapped in a car with Gemariah and Gideon together. Tori probably would too if they didn’t need her behind the wheel.
Out of the two females, Malachi always saw Terah more as a little sister. He found himself trying to protect her, even though she was fully capable of taking care of herself. He knew this, but Terah was smaller than everyone else and always put on a…daintier…front, while Tori, also known as Victoria, put forward a tougher visage.
“Yeah, no problem.” He said distractedly. “We have to leave in a couple minutes, so go get your stuff.”
“It’s all right here already.” She said, holding up a bag. “I had a feeling you would be okay with it.”
Malachi just smiled and shook his head. Sometimes he felt like she was using her “gift” a little too often then necessary, but he could never get mad at her.
A few minutes later they all took off toward the museum. Malachi and Terah were taking the west side, while Gideon was at the South. Tori and Gemariah were stationed on the North side, with occasional loops around to the lake side. Each group had a three block radius to cover, just to observe the surrounding area and the people lurking around it.
Malachi soon found a secluded spot to park his bike. He unloaded the stuff he needed for tonight and sheathed his sword, while Terah grabbed her bag and strapped on her dagger. They would all be on foot now to give them all a better read on the demon activity, if there was any.
A small advantage that nephilims had was the ability to sense an evil presence as well as a holy one. This could come in the form of a person with a corrupt soul, a demon entity, even the elusive fallen angels. It was as if they left an imprint of themselves; the stronger the evil, the deeper the imprint. This came in handy many times on their missions.
Malachi was not as focused as he liked to be. He was so tired! Usually, lack of sleep never fazed him, but it was the sleep with no rest that was getting to him. Even if his body wasn’t tired, his mind was exhausted. It was a good thing Terah stuck by him tonight. Now he would have a second set of eyes if he happened to miss anything.
Everything was turning out well, though. There had been no incidents with the humans around the area, no one on his team had reported the presence of any corrupt beings, and all was starting to look like he would make it home in time to get a little bit of rest for the night.
He thought he would check in just in case and projected to everyone.
Hey, anyone getting a read anywhere?
“Not so far” was the response from Tori while Gideon gave a short and to the point “No.”
The farther West Malachi and Terah went, the more people they saw out and about after dark. One look in Malachi’s direction and no one dared to make a move on him.
Everyone knows that crime is up in Chicago. Therefore, it never surprised Malachi that there was a squad stationed here. His team was never hurting for work and had assignments regularly for the city and surrounding areas. This was no different.
Just when Malachi was starting to relax a little, coming to the conclusion that the murders were all human related and it was not their area to handle, he felt an instant buzz in his head, as if someone started to project but stopped suddenly.
“Was that you?” Terah looked puzzled.
“No.” Not knowing exactly what was going on, he spoke to his team to see if they knew.
We heard it too. We were hoping you knew.
Tori and Gemariah answered back quickly, but there was still no word from Gideon.
Gideon! Where are you? Is everything going as planned?
Malachi projected. It was unlike Gideon to not answer. He would come back with a short or smart-ass answer, but he always answered.
Gideon!! Answer me!!
Just then Terah grabbed his arm. When he looked down at her, she had a worried face. She sounded somewhat confused, as if she was trying to figure something out. “I think we should run.”
When Terah tells you to do something, you do it. No questions asked! Her intuition is usually spot on. That is why Malachi was running at full speed toward the south side of the museum, at the same time reporting to the rest of his team what was happening.
When Malachi was a block away from the museum, he came up to a scene that shocked the hell out of him. He had never seen so many demons in one place. There were four demons in the ally with, Malachi estimated, ten corrupted humans.
A human that uses their free will for evil can be influenced easier by a demon. When a soul is corrupt, a demon attaches a part of itself to the person. Because of this, the human gains a little extra strength but gradually loses it’s free will. The demon has a hold on the person that can only be broken by death. Malachi and his team have failed on many attempts to save people from this fate.
The evil imprint in the alley was so strong that it almost brought Malachi to his knees. As he was running, he started to survey the situation. The four demons were standing and watching the proceedings in front of them. In between him and them, the humans were tearing at something on the ground. When he noticed a distinct weapon near the scuffle, he knew what they were after. Gideon!
Malachi pushed it harder, trying to get there faster. He turned to tell Terah, but she was nowhere in sight. He knew he didn’t lose her. She was smaller, but almost as fast as he was.
He projected to everyone, informing them about the situation and where he was located. When he got close enough, he started to toss the humans off of Gideon. By the time he got him uncovered, he noticed that Gideon was in bad shape. He was unconscious, and had numerous lacerations to his torso and arms. None of which would kill him, but it did make him vulnerable while the others were fighting. Anyone could give the kill shot while the others were distracted.
Malachi knew he had to heal him enough to wake him up. Making him capable of fighting would be optimal because of the size of the threat, but Malachi would take what he could get.
He couldn’t do anything until the rest of his team got in place. The humans had reformed and were coming his way once again. He was taking care of who he could and tossing the others out of the way. They were ruthless and kept coming, and he easily could see why Gideon had gotten tripped up. What he really wanted to do was go after the demons, but he couldn’t leave Gideon unguarded.
The third wave had just started coming when he heard Gemariah’s voice in his head.
We’re here mal! What’s the plan?
Right now, I need to heal Gideon. We need him for this. We need all the manpower we can get against the four demons at the end of the alley. Keep it clear while I do this!
After giving the order, Malachi went to work knowing his team would do exactly as he stated.
He put his hands on the middle of Gideon’s chest and started to feel the familiar tingling sensation throughout his body, signifying that their spirits were connecting. His mind searched through Gideon’s body to find the wounds. He ignored the superficial wounds and went straight for the major ones. The first was a severe laceration to the midsection. He pictured it closing and the skin fusing together to make it as if nothing happened.
Once that was healed, he moved to Gideon’s head. Ignoring the commotion around him, Malachi detected a couple damaged areas that needed attention. After careful searching and mending, he felt movement under his hands.
He heard a deep groan then looked down. Gideon’s eyes were just opening up. He looked around then snapped back to Malachi. “What are you doing!?! Get off of me and get your ass up and fight!”
“Shut it Gideon!” Malachi snapped back as he got to his feet. He held out his hand as an offering to help him rise.
Gideon ignored the offered hand and unsteadily rose on his own. “You should be taking care of the situation. I didn’t ask for your help!”
“No you were too busy being unconscious.” Malachi shot back.
That gained a scowl from Gideon. Handing him back his mambele, Malachi continued. “Try to hold onto your weapon next time. You’re welcome, by the way, for saving your life…again. How many times is that now?”
Gideon just turned away, shouting back, “Just get moving. You’ve spent enough time fooling around.”
Malachi couldn’t help the grin that came as he unsheathed his cusped falchion. Regular weapons would kill a human, but it would only piss off a demon. He received his falchion from the Lord’s messengers after it had been blessed by Him himself. The weapons were able to send a fallen angel to the sharp pits of purgatory to wait for judgment, but they were also the only thing that could send a demon back into hell. This is why every member of his team had a different weapon made for them especially.
Alright…Gideon and I will do a closer attack on the demons. Tori, you try to hit them from a distance with your arrows while we have them distracted. G, you finish off the corrupts, and then join us. Remember, subdue who you can, handle the ones you can’t.
Where’s Terah? Wasn’t she with you? Gemariah projected back.
I wish I knew…
Right here, right here. What, you miss me that much?
Terah sang back as she ran into the alley.
All at once, two demons ganged up on Malachi. They were in a human disguise at the beginning, but as the fighting progressed, they slowly transformed into their true form.
Sharp claws were slashed at him while a tail tried to whip in his direction. They continued their assault nonstop and wouldn’t let up. He threw his elbow into the face of one right before spinning and ramming his sword through another’s chest. He removed his falchion and stepped back with enough time to avoid the flames that engulfed the demon.
He had heard Satan wasn’t too happy with the ones that got sent back and kept them there for a time before letting them come back, torturing them all the while. That would more than explain the pissed off but panicked looks on their faces when they disintegrated to nothing but ash.
“Ahh!” Malachi got distracted for that split second and claws raked down his back. They would heal quickly but still hurt like a son of a bitch.
He turned around, sending his falchion into a downward arch and just managing to graze the demon’s arm.
“Hssss…” The demon hissed and grabbed his wound before he took a step back. Small flames were seen at the sight, but slowly started to disappear. “You will pay for that. How about I serve your heart on a platter to my master?” His voice was gravelly.
Malachi was advancing on him. “Not going to happen.”
Just then, they charged at each other. They were so close that Malachi was having a hard time using his weapon and was relying more on his combat fighting skills. It had been going on a while and Malachi felt himself start to tire. This was where healing Gideon was going to kick his ass; it took so much strength out of him before the fight had even begun.
Eventually, the sword got knocked from Malachi’s hand. He knocked the demon down with a kick to the midsection and it gave him an opportunity to get the falchion back.
He rolled to it, but it wasn’t fast enough. The demon was on top of him and they both continued to fight until Malachi had him pinned with the sword pressed to the demon’s throat. They locked eyes and the demon started to laugh. “He’s coming for you…”
Malachi didn’t wait to find out whom. He was worn out and just wanted this night to be over with. He rammed his falchion directly into the neck, successfully severing the head, and quickly rolled away to avoid the flames. The demon was still laughing as he became dust.
He immediately got to his feet and looked around to assess the situation. Everything was pretty much taken care of. All but one demon was vanquished, and Gideon was working on the last one. Terah was tying three humans together while Gemariah fought the last one. Tori was… Malachi couldn’t find her… Ahh, Tori was sitting on the side of the alley, doctoring a wound on her thigh.
Malachi heard the shrill cry of the demon just as he started making his way toward Tori. Hearing that cry numerous times, he knew the last demon had been sent on their way.
When every last one was handled, they all convened together. There were three humans to get back to headquarters, which unfortunately meant seven dead bodies needed to be disposed of.
Checking out Tori’s leg, he asked if she needed him to heal her.
“Nah, it’s not that bad, I can handle it.” She waved him off.
Malachi stood up and the world spun for a moment; enough so, that he had to reach out for something.
This got his teams notice and Tori was the first one to speak up. “Hey! What was that? Mal, you alright?”
“Yeah, just a little drained is all.”
Gemariah jumped in. “You know, I can wait for the cleanup crew, why don’t you head out and we’ll meet you at headquarters?”
“He can’t drive his motorcycle like that!” Terah, always the protective one, Malachi thought.
Gideon’s voice showed how irritated he was getting. “So what if he crashes…What’s it gonna do, kill him?”
She just rolled her eyes. “No, but he’ll be pissed off if he crashes. He loves his bike.” As if an afterthought, she added, “I can ride it back for him. I’ve been watching, and think I’ve got it.”
Malachi had had enough of his team talking about him as if he wasn’t there. He held up one hand. “Silence!”
He looked at everyone. “This is what’s going to happen. Tori, are you okay to drive with your leg?” At her affirmative nod, he continued. “Okay, Tori…you are going to drive Gideon and Gemariah to headquarters where Terah will meet you with my motorcycle.” He couldn’t believe he just said that, but he didn’t trust anyone else with it. He knew Terah, if she said she could do it, she could. Hell, she probably saw this day and knew she had to ride with me all those times to learn.
“What are you going to do?” Gemariah asked.
“I’m going to wait for the cleanup crew to explain what needs to be done, and then I will catch a ride with one of them.” Malachi was really looking forward to the quiet for a moment.
Everyone started to scatter and do what they were directed to do. From the time his team departed, he had to wait fifteen minutes for the cleanup crew to get there. Once Malachi was done explaining what had to be done, it took the guys another hour and a half before they were done.
It was now close to morning and he was riding in the back of their van to headquarters. The crew consisted of all humans that either feared him or worshipped him. The entire ride was spent getting stared at; boldly or out the corner of their eye. It all got a little old after a while. He had forgotten this reaction when he said he would ride with them.
By the time everything was finished, it was four in the morning. Knowing that his day was far from over, he decided to stay at work and get a head start on the paperwork. There were reports to fill out, statements to make, and most of all, he wanted to talk with Gideon and find out how it all started. This was supposed to be just an observation mission, but it turned into a full on attack mission.
Basically, he had a long day ahead of him when all he wanted to do was go home and get some rest.