Chapter 5:

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It was as if the hand of God stretched out across the land when the chariot broke through the skies. Instantly, the undead vacated Zak’s body. Nirvana ran to Zak’s aid but she was too late, he was dead.

“Zak!” she yelled at first, but then grief struck her voice, “Zak.” She leaned over his body, her hair stroking her hand as her hand stroked his face. Her tears plummeted on his face and she seemed to tune out the rest of the world.

The Army began to surround Nirvana, Ralph, and Reggie.

“You don’t want to do that,” Ralph warned.

“What are a bunch of wimps and a little girl going to do?” Leo said. Vigor had turned Leo into one of his own.

“Little girl,” she whispered, brooding over Zak’s dead body. As soon as she heard those words, anger shot up inside of her. Nirvana contained it.

She kissed Zak lightly on the cheek and in his ear apologized for what she was about to do. “You know I used to get pretty… upset when someone called me that.” Nirvana, her hair now drenched in an angry sweat and tossed in her face, slowly stood up as she continued.

“I would scream… and I would rant… and I would go on and on telling them how I wasn’t a little girl, but I am,” she softly chuckled through the tears. “Atton showed me that. I was… fourteen when I assumed the position of leader in the Valinior Force. I was barely a teenager, leading. I was twisted, sick inside for a long time. I was hurting from my mother’s death, still in pain from my father’s death, and furious from my brother’s abandonment. Through it all, there was someone there for me, someone I could honestly say I loved and you’ve killed him. You know what that makes you?”

“Murderers,” one answered.

“Cold-blooded monsters,” another said.

“I know a murderer. He’s only killed one person, one. That one man was haunted… and sorry. That one shot of the gun almost killed him too…but you’re not sorry. You don’t have hearts or –or souls so you can’t be sorry, you can’t be haunted.”

“Oh, shut up!” Leo exclaimed as he aimed a claw driven uppercut towards her chin.

“You’re evil,” she said grabbing his wrist before it reached her. Then with a wicked smile she icily whispered, “All evil deserves to die.”

With his free hand, Leo sent a hard claw to the left side of her face. Her head jerked a little and the bleeding was apparent but she seemed as if she had felt nothing.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“All the pain today has left me numb. I’ll probably look back, touch this scar, and cry, but I’m done crying today.”

“Today, you die. Do you not fear death?”

She smiled as she said, “Being afraid is a waste of time.”

Still tightly grasping his wrist, Nirvana eyed Leo’s oncoming swing and ducked. As she came up, she grabbed his right arm, now crossed over his left. Nirvana held both his arms and pulling them outward delivered a powerful head butt. She unraveled his arms, spinning him away but tearing off one of his claws. Nirvana then used this claw to slice the back of his armor causing the entire armor to fall off.

After he exited his daze, Leo looked forward facing a grenade that had been launched towards him. As he quickly accepted his death, he muttered one word, “Scheisse.”

“Sorry Leo,” Nirvana said honestly. She glanced towards Atton and saw him ready to face Vigor.

“Time has been cruel to you Atton,” Vigor said running his fingers through his hair.

“Shut up!” Atton’s voice now boomed with the power of the Reaper, which stunned Vigor. “It’s time for you to die,” Atton said.

Vigor chuckled, “Atton really; who do you think you are?”

“I am the Grim Reaper,” he revealed his scythe.

“So what, I’m supposed to ‘fear the Reaper’? Is that it boy?” Atton stayed silent. “You can’t handle it, Atton, you know that.” Vigor held out his hand. “Give it to me, give me the scythe and I can relieve you of this curse. You can live your life; you can be with Nirvana.”Atton held out the scythe for a moment in pure desperation but then, unexpectedly, he dropped it. Vigor eyed longingly as the scythe fell past his face and collided with the dirt battlefield. He looked back up at Atton and saw his hands trembling.

“Always so weak,” Vigor stated.

Vigor slowly squatted down inching towards the scythe. The second his eyes were off Atton and on the scythe, Atton used his skeletal foot to knock him backwards. Vigor flew back and Atton’s scooped up his weapon.

“You little –” Vigor’s words were cut short by the sight of Atton scythe at his throat.

“Finish the sentence, I dare you,” Atton threatened.

Unlike most, Vigor knew when he was beaten, but he knew how to get to Atton. “So you’ll kill me, won’t you?” Vigor smiled. “You’ll chop my head off like a good little Reaper, but I want you to look at her.” Atton gritted his teeth and tightened his grip. “Look at her!” Vigor growled. Atton cautiously moved his eyes towards Nirvana. “Every time she cries, every time she hurts, it’ll be your fault. All the pain she will encounter you have put on her. And know this; you had your chance to save her… but you gave it up.”

She will be better off without me, Atton thought. He saw Werly and CJ; he had given them the second chance they needed and deserved. He looked at Ralph and Reggie, well no matter he did they’d always be Ralph and Reggie. Atton then looked at Vigor, a gross manifestation of himself.

“Tell me you didn’t feel it,” Vigor began. “For just a second, you felt my pull.” Atton did not respond, ashamed of his answer. He chuckled as he said, “Berzerk.”

“What?” Atton wondered.

“Oh, you’ll see,” he promised with a smile on his face.

Atton looked at Vigor, not just at his face, but also into his eyes, into his soul. Upon seeing his soul, upon seeing the twisted evil that is Vigor, Atton knew what to do. He raised his scythe and followed through slicing his head, with that fatal stroke Atton Brown accepted is fate. Then he saw it, what no one else could see, all the souls of Vigor’s army waiting to be reaped.

He looked at Nirvana and told her he loved her. Atton whipped his cloak around and stole away into the shadows.

Nirvana remembered what Atton had asked her to do. He’d said, “When this battle is over, walk to the edge of Airosfield. You’ll see what I was talking about. You’ll see that we’re trapped.”

In all honesty, Nirvana did not know what to expect. She drove part of the way and then exited her car. She slowly paced towards the border of Airosfield. As she stepped over the edge, she found herself back at the beginning. Nirvana was on the other side of Airosfield. Now she understood that she was trapped. Nirvana knew until her part in this was finished, she could not run. She could not run from destiny.

Months later, Nirvana had a child, AJ. Two years later, she got married to a mercenary, Chris Jacobson. CJ checked himself into rehab and became much more charitable in his life. He and Werly then went into to business patenting some of the greatest weapons, including Nirvanas. Werly reunited with his family. They didn’t know how he was alive but they didn’t care. Ralph and Reggie got their own comedy show called A Little R&R. They were a giant hit. As for Atton, he was cursed to lurk forever in the shadows, reaping souls. That is of course, until he found an heir…

Submitted: December 01, 2009

Horror depression anger army schism attonbrown vigor