Ancient Awakening (The Ancient) by Matthew Bryan Laube

Quite some time ago, Ann’s mind had reached its maximum level of tolerance for freaky shit. The fact that she had not simply rolled up into the fetal position at the sight of Vanessa’s true face was nothing short of a miracle. She was so far past losing it, she was almost giddy. When the little Hispanic guy who had been hit by a truck just days before (and was probably loaded with pain killers) was up out of bed, walking around and beating a mythical beast to death with a cast he apparently no longer needed, Ann almost giggled. She knew this was not the right reaction, but what could she do?

  Ann was relieved to see Miller alive, until she was reminded just how nuts he was. Then again, the world seemed to have recently gone mad, so maybe that worked. Lyrics from an old song popped into her head. You may be right, I may be crazy, but it just may be a lunatic you’re looking for.

  “So you’re some kind of demon hunter?” Mike asked. The big guy seemed pale. He had wanted nothing more than to run the hell out of this place and maybe that was the smartest thing to do.

  “Aye, something like that. But I've been out of the game for some time, and things may have changed. Now, while I do love to chat about myself, I think it’s wise for us to retreat and find some supplies.” He looked himself up and down. “And maybe some pants.”

  “Supplies? Like what? An army?” Mike raised his voice. “I say we get our asses out of here while they’re still in one piece.”

  “Not without Keith,” Ann said firmly. She had come this far, and heck, now she had a professional demon hunter on her side. She briefly wondered where you went to school for that? Transylvania?

  Miller rubbed his chin. “Yes, I'll do what I can to help you, lass, but what we find may not be pleasant.”

  “Are you crazy? Did you guys see that thing? And that other...thing?” Mike asked. The lights in the hallway flashed off again and then came back on.

  “Look Mike, thanks for trying to help me, and you don't have to stay, but I need to find Keith. I'm not leaving until I do. It seems Mr. Miller here is going to help me out.”

  For a second Mike just stood there and fumed. Then he kicked the wall and shouted, “Fine! If you idiots want to die, I can't stop you.” He made no move to leave.

  Miller turned to Ann and said, “Ann, I am going to need some weapons if we are to survive this.”

  She thought hard. “Well, there’s a security station down the hall. We might be able to find something there.”

  “Good,” Miller said. “Lead the way.” They were off down the hall.

  Mike glared at them. “Damn it, I can't just leave you two here.”

  Suddenly, they heard a crashing sound from the direction that the wolf-man had come, as if the ceiling was collapsing. They turned to see what Ann assumed was a giant black demon making its way around the corner. It moved slowly, as it was far too big to fit into the hall. Its pointed horns dragged against the ceiling, smashing lights and knocking down tiles. It had the head of a bull and giant hooves for feet. Its body was a huge mass of muscle and black scales. The creature seemed to be blind and was smashing into everything in its path.

  “Melakh! I’m going to rip you into little shreds!”

  “Good Lord, it’s Vanessa!” Ann was stunned for a moment.

  “Was Vanessa. How odd. It seems to be blind.” For a moment, Miller's voice sounded solemn, as he inspected the creature. Then, far too cheerfully, he yelled, ”Run for your lives!” and broke into a run. Mike quickly passed the limping Miller, who was following Ann down the hall. She led them through two more rights and a quick left, arriving at the security station.

  It was a tiny room, just a bit bigger than a walk-in closet. There was a desk covered with monitors on one side, while the other side held a simple coat rack. On a third wall stood several lockers. A security guard was pulling off his coat. He looked up at them as they entered.

  “Can I help you?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Miller said, picking up the man by his shoulders and shoving him into the hallway just as the massive demon turned the corner.

  “Mother of God!” the man screamed, as Miller pulled him back inside and slammed the metal door shut. Mike grunted as he shoved a metal cabinet in front of it. The extra precaution made sense, but was the door demon-proof?

  “Now that you've seen our problem, can you spare any weapons?” Miler asked.

  “My God, what the hell was that?” asked the security guard.

  Ann put her hands on his shoulders and shook him. “Focus, buddy. That thing is going to be at our door very shortly. We need something to stop it from eating us.”

  The man's obvious fear made her feel a bit better. It was not unreasonable to simply want to run away screaming.

  “Uh…” his eyes darted wildly around the room, at last stopping on a cabinet.

  “Here?” Miller asked, beginning to shake the cabinet. Suddenly, there was a bang at the door. Mike braced the cabinet blocking it with his body.

  “Melakh, I can smell the cop’s blood in there. This door won’t stop me!”

  “Be right with you!” Miller responded, sounding calm and polite. Returning his attention to the guard, he said, “I don't suppose that you have the key for this?” Just then, the door seemed to hop out of its frame, briefly knocking Mike back.

  “Anytime now!” Mike shouted at the security guard. He was fiddling with his keys, but dropped them as something huge hit the door, bending it slightly. Ann snatched the keys from the floor and quickly worked out which one she needed. She flung the cabinet doors open to reveal two shotguns and several boxes of ammunition.

  “Shotguns?” Mike asked, still leaning his weight against the door. “And combat ones at that. Isn’t that a Mossberg? A bit much for a security job.”

  The security guard only shrugged. “It is Newark.”

  Leaving his spot at the door, Mike snatched a shotgun out of the cabinet and did a quick ammo check before giving it a pump.

  “Those won't help much. You need a sword or an axe,” Miller pointed out.

  “They make me feel a lot better. You know how to use one of these?” he asked Miller.

  “Not exactly the shotguns of my time, but I am a fast study.”

  Once again the lights flickered, the computer screens in the room dimming with the power loss. Then, just like the last two times, the power came back on.

  There was another loud bang, this time at the wall next to the door, which suddenly splintered, long cracks running from the corner of the room to the edge of the doorframe. This was instantly followed by another blow. Brick and plaster exploded, showering Ann in dust and pebbles. She couldn’t help but let out a little scream as a huge talon pushed its way through the new hole in the wall. Mike shoved the shotgun point blank at the talon and pulled the trigger. The demon’s hand exploded into black chunks. In the closed room, the sound of the gun was even louder than the beating on the door, and Ann slapped her hands over her ears. Black blood from the demon splashed over the front of her coat.

  From outside came a loud howl and the bloody talon was quickly pulled back out of the room. Loud crashing noises accompanied the beast’s retreat down the hall.

  Miller whistled, clearly impressed by the shotgun’s effect. “I stand corrected.” He picked up the other shotgun. “Show me how it works.”

  Ann turned back to the security guard. “Can you call for help?”

  “I...I…yes.” He started pressing buttons on a phone on the wall, and then paused to look back up at Ann. “But what the hell do I tell them?”

  Ann shrugged. Massive bear attack probably won’t cut it.

  “Tell them there’s a group of armed gang members shooting up the place. They'll believe that and come with the heavy equipment,” Mike broke in, before continuing to show Miller how the shotgun worked. It was handy having a cop on your side, even if he had wanted to run away. To be fair to Mike, he was handling himself
pretty well.

  Ann looked down at a row of security screens. Those that had not been destroyed by flying debris were flipping through camera views from around the hospital. Several showed werewolves roaming the halls. One was dragging an unconscious man across the floor. “This place has gone to the dogs,” she joked, trying hard not to break into a panic.

  “You have a very odd sense of humor, lady,” Mike noted while stuffing ammo into the pockets of his jeans.

  “It’s either that or the fetal position.”

  Mike nodded. “Yeah, I know that feeling.”

  The security guard jerked the phone away from his head. “It just went dead!”

  Of course it would just go dead. Ann had seen this movie before.

  “Did you get through?” Mike asked.

  “Well, I started to, so they do know something’s wrong.”

  Miller pushed his way between them. “What’s your name, son?” he asked the security guard, who gave the seemingly much younger man a hard look that lasted a moment.

  “Bill Tirhsred,” he responded.

  “Joseph Miller. Welcome to the good fight.” They shook hands.

  “I just got here for my shift, thought it was odd no one was around,” Bill said. He was a slightly bald, middle-aged man. “What the hell was that thing?”

  “A demon, apparently,” Mike responded.

  “That’s Vanessa Black, one of the doctors here. Apparently she’s been infected or cursed with something.”

  “Dr. Black? Tall woman with really nice...” he looked over at Ann, “...hair?” he finished lamely.

  “Yeah, that’s her. And she’s not alone. A bunch of patients seem to have the same problem, except it’s making them big and furry with claws,” Ann explained.

  “Wait,” Mike put up a hand in warning. “How do we know this guy is human?”

  Ann nodded. It was a fair question.

  “He is as human as you are, Mr. Samson,” answered Miller.

  “How do you know?” Ann asked.

  “Trust me, I've done this before.” Miller grinned.

  “So you've been trapped in a hospital with a gaggle of werewolves and a demon?” Ann raised an eyebrow.

  “Well not this exact situation,” Miller waved his hand around the room, “but similar ones.”

  “Does anyone have a cell phone?” Mike asked.

  “Here.” Ann tossed her phone over to Mike. Snatching it out of the air, he quickly dialed and put the phone to his ear.

  “This is Officer Mike Samson. I need to report an emergency, my badge number is...”

  Miller tugged on Ann's arm, stealing her attention away from the phone call. He whispered in her ear. “What did you see before we crossed paths?”

  Ann shrugged his hand off of her arm. “I gave that bitch, Vanessa Black, a taste of this pepper spray and she went all…demony? Demonie? Demonic, that’s the word.”

  “Pepper spray? A weapon of some kind?”

  “Umm, yeah, it’s like an anti-rape thing, you spray it in their eyes and it burns them.”

  “Hmmm.” Miller rubbed his chin again.

  “Why? Is that important?”

  “Have you ever hit a bee hive with a rock, Miss Ann?”

  “No, what kind of a stupid question is that?”

  “Well you just did. This hospital is the hive and that doctor is the queen. When you hurt her, you woke up every cursed creature nearby.”

  Ann went a bit paler. “So all this chaos was my fault?”

  “Well, yes and no. Chances are, this was going to happen soon enough, and you just moved things forward a bit. Don't worry about it.” He shrugged. “These things happen to me all the time.”

  Mike snapped the phone closed. “I got through. Help is on the way, but there was some kind of odd static.”

  There was another thump at the door. This one was not nearly as loud, but a little scream of surprise popped out of Ann's mouth.

  "What now?" Bill looked toward Miller.

  "Wolves this time, I think. I believe Mr. Samson did enough damage with his wonderful new toy that our demon friend has sent in the reserves."

  A furry and clawed hand reached through hole in the wall. The four of them stood against the wall to get as far away as possible from the new invader. Mike breathed out hard. "Not again."

  The pounding on the door continued. It sounded as if many fists were knocking at once.

  “Everyone, this is how it is going to work." Miller pumped his shotgun for dramatic effect. "Our mission here is a rescue one. We are to find as many people as possible and get them out. We also aim to keep you three alive."

  "Just the three of us? Not you?" Ann asked. Miller grinned that stupid, crazy grin.

  "I always make it out alive." He paused for a moment, as if mulling something over. "Well, almost always,” he corrected. “Your job is to help any curse-free humans you find, and maybe...” Miller paused to look down at the hospital gown, "to find me some pants. Leave the monster killing to me. That includes you, Mr. Samson.” Mike nodded at that. "Try to avoid the wolves as much as possible. The demons are the real threat. If you do need to take down a wolf, aim for its head. I am not sure how well these shotguns will work against them, but I have high hopes." There was another louder bang on the door as several bodies hit it at once. "Everyone against this wall here. Let them open the door. I'll make a path out for us once they enter. I expect it to get very messy, so Miss Ann, you may want to cover your eyes."

  "Bite me, Miller. Give me something to hit ’em with and I'll be right there with you." Ann's tough talk sounded a bit weak, even to her own ears.

  Miller gave her a smile. "Good lass. Well put."

  Mike spoke up. "Is there any way to turn these people back?" There was a bit of pleading in his voice. "I mean, these are innocent people, infected with some sort of disease. Maybe there’s a cure."

  "Mr. Samson, while I have no idea what the word ‘infected’ means, I assure you that we will do what we can for these people. Our first task, however, must be for you to survive.” Miller paused. "Now, any other questions?"

  There was another slam at the door. It was beginning to buckle. Bill meekly raised his hand. "Can I have a shotgun?"

  "No!" Miller and Mike said at the same time. There was a moment of silence between them as they all looked at the door. Another crash and the frame was pushed further out. A clawed hand appeared at the top of the door. Another bang, and another. Bill let out a small whimper and Ann's already-cramped stomach spun.

  Suddenly, the door fell into the room, taking a chunk of the wall with it. Three werewolves spilled into the room, hopping over the cabinet, clawing and howling their way into the room. Ann noticed with a shock that the lead wolf was the little old lady they had found asleep in one of the emergency rooms. Her green hospital gown still clung to her, though the sleeves had been shredded. Her gray hair shot out in wild directions. Miller stepped forward and fired his shotgun directly into her face. Her head exploded in a horrible red mist, like a rotten pumpkin.

  Ann screamed. She couldn't help it, but didn’t look away. Mike stepped forward and shot the second wolf, but missed the head, instead catching it in the chest and knocking it straight back into the hall, taking down a third wolf on the way.

  "Move!" Miller commanded. It became obvious Miller had spent a lot of time in charge. He barked the order with such authority in his voice that there was nothing else to do but follow. Mike took the lead, with Ann and Bill following and Miller watching the rear. The wolf at the bottom of the pile was struggling to get free but Miller quickly stopped him with another blast of his shotgun.

  "Fantastic weapon!" he beamed, his grin growing wider.

  "Where to, Miller?" Mike shouted back. Apparently his desire to run like hell had left him. Ann was glad for it. He seemed more competent than Bill, who was quaking like a le
af and waving his little handgun around in front of him, but far less insane than Miller.

  Miller pumped the shotgun and hobbled forward. "Room-to-room search. Might as well start with this one on your left."

  Mike obeyed, and took cover next to the doorway. He nodded at Miller. "Monster hunters first."

  "Aye, that's a bright lad." Miller limped past him and moved to give the door a kick, but then thought better of it and slammed it open with his left hand. Ann held her breath as he walked in, but there were no gunshots. His voice came out shortly after. "Empty."

  The next four rooms were empty as well. Each time Miller went through a door, Ann cringed and the twist in her stomach worsened.

  "Where is everyone?" Ann asked.

  "No place good,” Mike grunted.

  "Aye," Miller put in, "Something very odd is afoot here. I couldn't be this late."

  Ann wasn't sure what to make of that, but so far only about half of what Miller said made sense, even on a good day.

  "I only passed one person on my way in. I thought that was strange,” Bill added in a shaky voice.

  Miller stopped abruptly. “Well hello, beautiful!” He whistled. On the wall, behind glass, hung a red fireman's axe. Miller smashed the glass with the back of the shotgun and pulled it out. Moving the gun to his left hand, he hefted the axe with his right, trying to get a feel for the weight.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Mike asked.

  The old grin crawled back over Miller's face. “Oh, I think it will come in handy.”

  They repeated the same exercise in every room. Miller entered first, with Bill behind him and Mike and Ann watching the door. Ann had her pepper spray ready. It was no gun but had worked so well on Vanessa that it had to be better than nothing.

  A few seconds after entering the fifth room, Miller let out a loud "Ah ha!”

  "What is it?" Mike shouted as he spun around the corner, Ann close behind.

  "Trousers!" Miller was ecstatic. They had entered a locker room of sorts. Clothes lay tossed about the place. Miller was holding up a pair of green scrub pants. Ann quickly averted her eyes as, with one smooth motion, Miller ripped the hospital gown off.

  "To finally get out of that dress!" There was a bit of banging around as Miller struggled with the scrubs. Ann turned around again after hearing a loud rip. Miller had torn off the one leg to make room for his cast, but otherwise he was decent. He shuffled through the room looking for something else to put on.

  Ann marveled at the fresh scars on the man's chest and arm where he had been hit by a truck just a few short days ago. Although the flesh was still the bright pink of the newly healed, there was no swelling at all. It seemed impossible, but following the laws of reality didn't seem to be all that popular today. Miller noticed her stare and stopped.

  "Try this,” Bill said, tossing him a shirt. It was a white t-shirt with the words "New Jersey Devils" on the front.

  Miller shrugged it on. "It will do. Many thanks." He evaluated his new outfit. “I look much improved. Wait…” He dug into the pockets of his new pants. “What is this?” He pulled a blue pen out of his pocket and held it up for the others to see. “A medical tool of some kind?”

  “That’s a pen,” Ann said, barely managing not to add “idiot.”

  Miller’s face fell. “Oh, that is far less useful. Still, it is a rather nice pen.” He shoved it back into his pocket.

  "Someone was certainly looking for something here,” Mike said after a few minutes of rooting through the open lockers. Each door had been torn clean off the hinges.

  "Someone not human, by the look of the lockers,” Ann noted. "How many of these demon-things are there?"

  "They call themselves the ‘Fallen.’ There are always seven,” Miller said, retrieving his gun.

  Mike picked up the thread. “So we know that Dr. Black is one.”

  “And a nurse named Mary as well,” Miller continued.

  Mike gulped. “Mary? Damn I knew there was something off about her.”

  “You know her?” Miller asked.

  “Yeah, let’s just say she tried to get, err, personal with me earlier. I guess I’m glad we were interrupted.”

  “Aye, so am I. Otherwise we wouldn’t be having this lovely conversation. You would be one of them.” Miller jabbed a finger out toward the hallway.

  “Well, great,” Bill put in, a sarcastic edge creeping into his voice. “Now we just have to work out the final five.”

  “Four,” Miller announced. “I know of one more.”

  Mike somehow found a way to turn even paler as he digested what Miller had told him. Then something seemed to dawn on him. “Wait, I was attacked by a werewolf earlier.” He lifted his shirt up to show the fresh cuts. “Does this mean,” he stuttered, “does this mean I’m going to become one of them?”

  Miller laughed. “Hah! Lad, that is the most ridiculous thing that I have heard in some time. If it was that easy, everyone would be cursed. Where on earth did you get such a ridiculous notion?”

  Mike pulled down his shirt, looking rather stung but relieved. “I just…well you know…the movies and such.”

  Ann backed him up. “It’s like a classic werewolf movie. A guy goes out for a hike in the woods, gets bitten, eats all his friends. You know. It’s how the legend goes.”

  Miller laughed. “These movies are like the shows on the TV? I have to see one! They must be fantastic!” Miller seemed to notice the stunned looks on the faces of the others, and dropped the subject abruptly.

  “What’s with those eyes anyway?” Ann asked. She shivered.

  “The mark of the Cursed. Well, one of them, anyway. All those touched by the Fallen have it, though wolves and vampires can hide it for short periods in their human forms.” Ann saw Bill jump a bit at that.

  “Wait! Vampires? Those are real too?”

  Miller laughed again. “Sadly yes, but again, the stories about them are completely incorrect. Some poor sod wrote a book about them where they had pointy fangs and could turn into bats or some such nonsense.”

  “Wait. Vampires don't have fangs? Then how do they suck?” Ann asked.

  “I hope for your sake you never have to find out. Filthy creatures. They should never be trusted."

  “So if there are seven ‘Fallen’,” Mike said the last word slowly, trying to get a feel for it, “How can the four of us possibly do anything against all of them?”

  “It is no small task, Mr. Samson. We do have a chance, however. The demons here are young and not yet completely themselves. Once they have had enough time to feed and grow, they will become even more unstoppable.”

  “That was pretty much the opposite of reassuring. Thanks, Miller,” complained Ann.

  A brief silence fell on the room until Mike broke it with a question. "I wonder if the Newark PD is here yet?"

  "I don't know. Everything seems so quiet. Let's see if we can find a room with windows and take a look around," Ann suggested.

  "Aye. Let’s head out to the next room. Keep your eyes open." As if hearing him, the lights went out. This time, they stayed out.