Shadowman, page 20
part #1 of The Valiant Universe Series
The space in which they stood rapidly fluctuated in darkness due to the resultant flicker.
Jack gave her a thumbs-up. “Thanks so much,” he said. “You guys can leave now, though. I don’t want them taking you hostage or anything once I start kicking their asses.”
Alyssa immediately complied.
Having had enough of Jack’s bravado, the cops’ laughter came to an abrupt end. “The heir is a proper fool.”
Jack finally got a good look at the silver-haired man as he came out from cover to pursue Alyssa. He was uncommonly short in stature, dwarfish like Ti Jean, but obviously human.
“No!” the man began. “We can’t leave him!”
The demons in uniform separated themselves into position around Jack. “Look, boy, your allies are desirous to see your end.”
“They’re gonna be disappointed, then.”
As if on cue, the flickering light in the background fizzled out, making the space even dimmer.
“Enough from this dead child.”
Jack readied himself as the three demons lunged at Jack in a coordinated attack. This is it.
The cop who remained in front rushed him head-on while the two others went for his head and legs, respectively, but Jack had already engaged his sixth sense. I can still perceive everything they’re doing! he thought. This is gonna be cake!
Acutely determining the distance of each, he took a perfectly timed lunge toward the enemy in front, putting him just out of range from those at his back.
Those two will miss but I can’t evade this one. He used his appendage to feel for the area beneath the one rushing him head-on and felt a rush of exhilaration upon realizing his palpations had unwittingly reached the enemy’s foot. Looks like I don’t even have to!
He gently tugged at the foot, forcing the rushing attacker into a brief stumble.
This momentary loss of control was all Jack needed to commence a counterattack.
Gotcha! He caught the stumbling demon’s hand and yanked it close before seizing its whole arm. And now you’re done. Capitalizing on the demon’s forward momentum, Jack lifted it into a shoulder throw, putting it on a collision course with the ones behind him.
The ensuing engagement had gone unnoticed by the silver-haired man who was still arguing their need to stay. “We can’t leave,” he said. “Jack hasn’t been trained!” The man shot a hasty glance behind his back to check what Alyssa was staring at before continuing. “He isn’t ready . . . ?”
In disbelief, the man turned fully to catch the end of the violent maneuver. Heaving the cop over his shoulder, Jack sent its flailing legs into the face of the other that leaped into the air. In less than a second, the thrown cop was slammed upon the last one, interrupting its intended ankle grab and pinning it to the floor with an impressively loud crash.
Out for the count.
Just as Jack was about to release his victim, Bossu suddenly began scolding him. “Do not stop!” he commanded. “This is not some trivial street fight.”
The young host immediately reaffirmed his hold and looked down at the disoriented foe. I have no clue what to do from here.
“I do not recall such difficulty during your earlier skirmish,” Bossu replied. “I was actually impressed.”
The demon officer who was struck midleap had begun grumbling incoherently from the floor.
I have no choice but to make it harder for them to keep fighting. Gripping his foe by the wrist and bicep, Jack quickly lifted the limb toward his knee before hesitating. But I might obliterate the whole arm.
“You mean to say the enemy need only don the trappings of humanity, and just like that, you are compelled to show them mercy?” The two witnesses watched in silence as Jack’s formerly fluid movements came to a sudden and unnatural stop, unaware of the telepathic upbraiding he was receiving. “Truly?”
Oh man . . . Jack ended the moment of hesitation by hoisting the demon up by the arm. Bracing its limp hand against the side of his chin, he made the limb straight before crashing into it with his knee.
CRACK!
Jack could feel the breaking limb reverberating against the side of his bone mask while the house echoed the sound, startling Alyssa but causing the older man to smile.
Bossu continued. “It is imperative that you become relentless in your warfare, Jack. Do not behave as if your fight is with flesh-and-blood humans.”
Standing on one leg, Jack released the limb before suddenly performing a swift somersault. “Whoa!” he exclaimed, surprised by his own reflexes.
Alyssa gasped as the demon officer that was pinned to the floor suddenly swiped at the spot where Jack’s other foot had been. The lad came down from his brief front flip and landed upon the outstretched hand before grinding its wrist with a sharp turn of his heel.
It all happened in less than a second.
Jack took a step back as the three officers aggressively got to their feet.
“Ow!” they cried. “That almost hurt!”
The two that were at his front swung their mangled limbs in a forceful motion as if wicking off water, supernaturally undoing the damage.
Bossu hummed with a strangely lighthearted vindication. “You see?”
Jack was still in awe at his unintentional counter. You win, he replied silently. Won’t happen again.
The cops began moving into position, though this time, all three remained in view. “Beginner’s luck,” they stated. “Or perhaps underestimation.”
“Oh gosh,” Jack began, rolling his eyes, “rationalizations? Really?”
The demons chuckled. “Irrespective of the cause behind that fluke, it shall not happen again.”
I have to keep those two out of harm’s way. Jack began walking toward the demons while gesturing with his hand, rapidly bringing his thumb and fingers together. “You guys talk too m—”
Without warning, the cops launched into their attack, which now consisted of a series of supernaturally coordinated strikes.
Jack leaned backward, dodging the first that was aimed at his face. This is just too easy! He immediately weaved his head out of the path of an incoming claw swipe before bending forward at the waist to evade the hook sent toward his upper body.
Jack’s face lightly touched his knees before he snapped back to an upright position.
For a moment, a fleeting look of astonishment formed on the faces of the three demons before they resumed.
Don’t get too cocky, Jack said to himself. There’s always the chance of things going bad like what almost happened in the Deadside. He noted the two Abettors still observing the skirmish. Only now there are potential casualties.
Although the demons managed to form a triangle around him, Jack’s sixth sense made it impossible to exploit any presumed blind spot, thereby allowing him to continuously maneuver around their varied attacks, one after the other.
“WHAT?!” they screamed.
Showing no signs of being winded, Jack watched the cops prepare another go at him.
Responding to his provocative gawking with glares of scorn, they huffed and puffed as they paced around him into the desired formation.
With two now directly behind him, Jack repeatedly took his eyes off the one in front to nervously glance over his shoulders. The scheming demons stepped back and forth, adjusting themselves accordingly to remain unseen by his peripherals.
Easily perceiving their actions, Jack snorted a chuckle toward his chest, unintentionally dropping the farce. They have no idea.
Though slightly more than a minute had passed since being encouraged to leave, Alyssa and the old man had not moved, bewildered by the fledgling Shadowman’s prowess. They continued watching as he presciently sidestepped a dropkick aimed at his back and immediately ducked under the perfectly timed lariat that followed before springing into the air, seamlessly avoiding yet another ankle dive from behind.
Having rebounded into a scrambling regroup, the cops immediately resorted to a flurry of punches and kicks, hitting nothing but air.
Jack struggled to compose himself, covering his mouth while maintaining the rhythm of his swift dodging. Gotta . . . stop . . . laughing!
“HOW IS HE DOING THAT?! ARGH—” The enraged hollering of the demons suddenly stopped as one of them made contact at last.
Jack appeared as a posing statue, having stopped the enemy’s foot with a raised knee. “Beginner’s luck,” he replied. Before they could respond, he snatched the demon’s leg, swinging the imposter toward the other two.
One was sent crashing through the entrance, the position of his body adding further damage to the wrecked doorway. The second had stumbled backward, clumsily avoiding the path of Jack’s swing. Continuing through the miss, the young host spun another revolution and cast the demon toward its already departed fellow with a hammer throw.
Jack sensed the one who managed to dodge his attack stumbling his way uncomfortably close to the two humans. I knew they were gonna try eventually, he thought, angrily lunging at the demon. But it’s not happening!
Jack glanced at Alyssa as he clutched the demon’s collar. “Kill the porch lights.”
Upon saying this, he immediately darted toward the gaping entryway with his victim in tow, jostling the demon violently in order to stifle any attempts to break free.
Surprisingly, the two previously jettisoned foes had already removed themselves from the wreckage. Anticipating them to be lying in wait, Jack instinctively engaged his appendage but was confused by the resulting feedback.
Everything’s all marred and murky, he thought. I need Alyssa to cut that light ASAP so I can see what the fake cops are plotting. But I can’t wait because this one won’t stop freaking fidgeting.
Crossing the threshold, Jack stalled for less than a second upon hearing the sound of gunfire. Several bullets struck the panel set into what was left of the adjacent wall, successfully disabling the light outside. Nice, Alyssa, now where did—Oh, wow.
Alyssa’s shots came not a moment too soon as Jack’s newly accommodated appendage revealed the two demon cops to be just out of physical view, their fists already flying at him from their positions on both sides of the porch.
At the last moment, Jack lifted the monster for protection but was perplexed by the nonexistent impact against the demon he held aloft. What? he thought. No way they missed.
His appendage dutifully confirmed that they had halted, somehow stopping themselves from striking the third in the nick of time.
Without delay, Jack tossed their fellow forward and waited for the catch before swiftly crashing into all three with a well-placed dropkick.
The demonic trio made an agile recovery, already shuffling into position as Jack arrived in their midst on the front lawn. They immediately resumed their method of attack, viciously sending forth a consistent barrage of strikes.
This time, however, he would abandon his fluid weaving for blocking, switching up with an unpredictable rhythm while seeking an opportunity to redirect any incoming blows.
Jack was carefully observing the demons and soon realized their attacks had not become clumsy. Hey Bossu, he said silently, don’t people start slipping up in combat once frustration sets in? These three are getting more pissed by the second, but . . . He remained stationary, using only his elbows and hands to deflect a series of incoming strikes. I can’t get them to hit each other!
The Lwa responded with amusement. “Hm hm hm,” he began. “Mad?”
No, I’m genuinely curious. They seem incapable of striking themselves.
“Well, for one, they are not people.”
Jack stepped away from a kick rising toward his face before deflecting another’s punch, a maneuver that put both demons in each other’s way. You know what I mean.
Though it had all occurred in the blink of an eye, the two cops’ movements came to a halt. Their limbs stopped right in front of their unintended targets, forcing them into a contorted position that seemed impossible to hold.
Being aware of your surroundings is one thing. Jack halted for barely a second to behold the strange sight. But this? He suddenly started moving again, sweeping the legs out from underneath the two immobile demons while simultaneously ducking under the third’s swipe at the back of his head. This is something else.
“They are not human, I said,” Bossu replied. “You do not understand?”
“I do now,” the young host replied aloud. “In that case . . .”
Sensing the orientation of the third cop as it continued reeling from its missed swipe, Jack rose from his leg sweep while continuing its spin and turned into the falling foe, striking the demon with a rising hook to the head.
The strength of Jack’s blow, coupled with the weight behind its fall, spun the demon’s head around several times. The total rotations achieved could be counted by the grisly rungs of contorted flesh twisted through the imposter’s neck.
Although the body landed with its chest to the ground, the revolving head had already stopped in a position opposite to the norm, causing it to face upward despite the body’s overall orientation.
Jack’s eyes widened with dismay as he looked down. Oh no, this is what I was afraid of! Bossu!
The cop had lost all his demonic features. His face reverted to the original human appearance, revealing just a regular guy, albeit in the throes of agony.
“It hurts!!” he bellowed.
Having already attained a suitable vantage point, Alyssa and the man looked at Jack standing defeatedly in the dark, as if petrified.
“Help me, please!! It-it hurts, oh God!”
Before Jack could fill his head with thoughts of regret, he was subjected to yet another telepathic reprimand as Bossu began barking at him. “THEY. ARE. NOT. HUMAN!”
Jack gnashed through his doleful expression with clenched teeth, truly understanding Bossu’s statement at last.
Seeing this, the once-distraught cop began grinning, its face suddenly shifting into the demonic. “Puss—”
Its taunt was cut off by a rage-fueled punch rocketing into its mouth.
“Shut up!” Jack screamed, forcing his fist into the demon’s throat.
Anticipating a sneak attack from the remaining two foes, he had already sent his appendage whipping about the area. As it did so, its feedback reported another presence lodged within the victim on the ground before him.
“What the hell is that?” Jack growled. “Sit up!”
He seized the demon’s hair with his free hand and lifted it up by its head, ignoring the unnatural orientation of its body.
Operating on pure instinct, he homed in on the concealed aura. And what do we have here?
Flexing his digits rigid, Jack thrust his hand farther down the demon’s twisted gullet. The signature of the otherworldly presence radiated like heat from a lightbulb. Using his fingers to confirm it as the source, he clutched what felt like a densely fibrous root before yanking it out.
His enemies in the background were preoccupied with a confounding tussle against the shadows. Their efforts to pounce on him were hindered by his appendage, which was now greatly strengthened by the pervasive darkness.
“What in the world?” Jack held up the extricated root to look at it while the two cops struggled at his back. “Ecckh!”
Irritated by its constant thrashing about, he steadily tightened his grip and slowed it to a squirm until its agony prevented any further movement.
Situated at both ends of its cylindrical body, he noticed rings of sharp teeth, crowded together like those of the demon cops. A hookworm from hell.
Jack looked back at the body it was pulled from, its demonic features unchanged. The cop remained in the posture he had held it when rooting out the parasite.
Keeping his eyes on the catatonic foe, Jack suddenly gave the hookworm a death grip and squished it to pieces. You die now.
The yellow eyes of the cop went out like a light before its body immediately decomposed into dust and tufts of hair. Even the uniform disappeared.
“So they’re just puppets,” Jack said, rising from his crouch.
He twiddled his fingers free from the gooey remains of the parasite as he untangled the two cops behind him.
“Indeed,” Bossu replied. “Most likely their primary function is reconnaissance.”
Jack turned and began approaching the newly freed adversaries, passively detecting the different locations in which their parasites were hidden. “Yeah, remote viewing basically. Now it’s time to end these freaks.”
He evaded the opening punch of the first while tripping him with an extending foot. Like a bully, he pushed the second backward before immediately descending upon the one he had tripped.
Grabbing the back of the demon’s collar, Jack dragged it toward the raised edge of the walkway cutting across the front yard. In one smooth motion, he threw the demon on it before leaping high into the air.
Jack landed on the back of his foe with a crushing weight far greater than what his slight frame seemed capable of, and pulverized the parasite nestled against the demon’s spine.
The force with which Jack landed destroyed the parasite so thoroughly that it looked like he disintegrated the demon with one mighty stomp.
Undeterred, the third and final demon had already begun sprinting at Jack as he crashed down.
No fear, eh? he thought. Well, I guess that’s easy since you’re not actually here.
Quickly spinning on his heel, he sent up bits of debris and mummified hair before impaling the advancing demon with his hand.
“Gotcha!” Clutching the parasite within, Jack pulled it out from the imposter’s bowels and destroyed it the same way as the first.
He turned around as the body collapsed into a heap of decomposition.
Scanning the vicinity for potential threats, Jack noticed the human onlookers staring at him from the wrecked front door and raised his arm. “Hello.”
The two Abettors hurried over upon seeing his salutation.
Jack began walking over to meet them, watching as Alyssa tempered her enthusiasm by slowing her approach. As she averted her gaze to holster her pistol, the old man overtook her.
