Chapter 2: Forever Black The Rise of Necrom

The bus rumbled and groaned its way through the maze of streets in Alex’s home town. Naturally, all the kids that he hated rode his bus. Their scheduled after school bus antics frequently sent all of them back to the school by pissing off the driver. Luckily, today did not seem to be one of those days. However, Katie still loudly jeered at the fat kids on the bus. Besides, whatever else was such a small mind capable of doing?1

Without much incident, he stepped off the bus. Unfortunately, he was followed off with a rain of paper balls. He sighed and jokingly contemplated borrowing a neighbor’s gun and putting on a light show for his school. But the street out before him was too homely to keep these thoughts alive for too long.2

Alex liked his neighborhood. It was quiet most of the time, except for the guys across the street with their discordant motor scooters and ATVs. It was also only a partially suburbanized region, so trees had a chance to grow to amazing heights, and autumn still looked beautiful, although raking up the mess took weeks. He also had a chance to walk home from the bus stop every day and get himself a nice look at quiet nature for five minutes…well of course there was the ambient noise of chirping birds and scampering squirrels.3

His five-minute walk ended at his doorstep. He knew he was fortunate to have such a huge house, yet still he felt like the bottom of the barrel. It looked simple from the outside: a paint-less house with two windows adjoining a side walkway to the “front” door. But, when one came inside, one would often be awestruck. They commended him for being able to navigate in such a “labyrinth.” 4

He pulled out his copper colored key to open the door, but was interrupted when he heard a gust of wind and everything turned black…5

Alex awoke in…well he really couldn’t tell. It was darker than dark. “What the fuck?” he asked blatantly, too tired to panic. With no wet match to make this situation even somewhat funny, he looked around for some opening from which some light could possibly lead him outside. Finding none, he began to feel his way around the walls and floor. He could tell from the rough walls and darkness, that he was obviously in some sort of cave. How he got here, there was no clue to explain in his brain.6

He found a long wall and proceeded to follow what he thought might be a tunnel. He began to surmise that maybe he had been knocked out and dragged somewhere. Rocks eventually turned to sand and finally he regained his sight. He slowly turned around to survey the strange place. It was just a nondescript cave, save the dim torches hanging on the walls. Well at least he was in a tunnel now and could probably find a way out now. 7

Suddenly, a familiar (and at the same time alien) face obnoxiously appeared in his own. “AAAAHH!” screamed Alex at the strange creature that rescued him those many years ago, stumbling on his ass in the process. He was now in the energy level (courtesy of adrenaline) to panic. “Do you remember me?” the creature asked in telepathy, redundantly gesturing to himself. It seemed to be a two dimensional creature that was not but a mere shadow on the wall, but it was definitely still recognizable. Alex slowly shoved his way up the wall and nodded, face still drained of color. 8

“That’s good,” spoke the creature, unassimilating from the dark wall. “My name is Sabre. You need not be afraid; I have just brought you here for a life-altering reason,” he chuckled with spastic motions of his head. Alex sulked, “Most people would be worried by that.” 9

“Well once you figure out exactly what you’re going to be doing, you won’t be so scared,” His new companion gave him his…arm-like thing and motioned in a general direction in the abyssal shadow. “Come, let’s begin.” Alex grabbed the stone-like hand and followed. 10

A long walk took them to an opening, though also poorly lit. Sabre led him to the cave exit…overlooking a vast dark gorge. Cliff-like walls of rock stretched infinitely up and down the horizon, battering the senses with awe. Another opening was directly across from the one they were standing on. 11

Something stirred in the shadows…a giant squid curiously drifted by his stunned face. They weren’t on land, they were underwater, but he was strangely able to breathe. This had to be some sort of-“dream? No, it’s no dream,” finished Sabre, striking Alex to prove it. “Ow! I didn’t need that,” whined he and his arm’s nerves, “So I guess that’s where we’re going?” he pointed across the cliff.12

Sabre dropped Alex’s hand in a hurry and wasted no time. He answered with a, “Yep” and came to one…knee-like thing and used his leading hand to press into the ground. He quickly muttered some chant and the spot where his hand lay lit up.13

A huge beam of light shot to the other side and drooped down like slow-motion pancake syrup to create a rather elaborate gleaming white bridge. Alex’s eyes bugged out and he was impressed…or he would have been if he wasn’t trying to remember if he had or had not smoked his first crack rock today. The bridge glowed and shimmered as though out of a story book. Angelic designs adorned its sides.14

“What th- “Fuck?” finished Sabre to his own amusement. “Okay, can you read minds or something?” asked Alex. “Yes, but I didn’t that time. Do you have any idea how predictable and overused that phrase is?” he laughed.15

* * *16

They entered the other cave. This one was much more detailed and better lit. Hieroglyphs and pictures lined the walls, fragmented by years of earthquakes and erosion; there was a musty scent about the air, probably coming from the skeletons dramatically placed in the corners.17

Seeing these, Alex immediately suffered what he thought could have been a fatal heart attack. “ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ME?” he shrieked. Sabre laughed that creepy throaty laugh again, “No, I’m not going to kill you. People have died here from another thing…of which you shall learn soon. Plus, it gives people the serious sense of what we’re actually doing here; I’m not just a lazy creature of the shadows. I’ve been delivering this speech for thousands of years, and I’ve been working on how the newcomer takes it each time.”18

Alex’s eyes jumped at the mention of that amount of time, yet this was an animal which he had never seen before. But then the inevitable question escaped his lips: “Why am I here?”19

Sabre walked over to the walls, clearing his throat (consolations to them who have heard this unsettling sound) and he asked, “Do you know the story of these walls?” Alex shook his head. “Do you know where we now stand?” The head shaking once more took place. Sabre’s face twisted in what Alex guessed was a smile. “Then the secret was kept well; that’s good.” 20

He moved to the walls and began to motion along pictures of temples and other important looking buildings as he spoke, “Long ago, there was an island, home to three nations. These nations were homes to masters of forces of nature, of the elements fire, ice, and lightning. They lived in harmony and prosperity, keeping faithful to their gods. Unlike today, where death and negative qualities have simply become part of life, back then there were no such things as these.” 21

He then moved to a group of men and women with auras adorning their heads. One of these sat off to the side, caressing a mass of black spines and waves. “Their gods were satisfied except for the last, evil one. No one knows why, but he created a spirit of death and destruction called Necrom. This spirit wielded the energy that wipes out life. Hunger, pain, sorrow, anger, disease, and death came into existence. That spirit is the reason that anybody dies or feels any sort of pain,” he continued. 22

He then walked over to a picture of many men in armor of varying color holding spears and such items against the beastly thing. He tripped over an obtrusive skeleton leg and shot the owner a look that said, “Yeah, I love you too.” 23

Finally reaching this destination, he continued, “So, the inhabitants of the island fought back. Armies fell as Necrom rampaged through their numbers. A vicious battle of life and death had begun, yet it leaned towards Necrom as the victor. 24

Next, there was a picture of three men in red, blue, and golden armor stood in a circle (or a triangle, whatever you please) holding up their hands to a gleaming white orb. “So a secret order of the single strongest fighters from each nation was founded. They worked so well together that their powers fused to become a life renewing energy. Through this fusion they were even able to tap into each other’s powers. With this power they were actually able to prevent a total global bloodbath. This war beyond death still rages on to this day.”25

“Okay but what does this have to do with me? Did you just bring me here to give me a false history lesson? It’s obvious that this is total bullshit,” pressed Alex skeptically, though the fact he was sitting in the very room disproved his theory much. “One might think so… come,” beckoned Sabre.26

He raised his left appendage (Alex couldn’t really know for sure if it was his arm) to the wall and it slid into the ceiling, revealing a rather well-sculpted room. They walked into a massive golden chamber with lightning shaped insignias inscribed on the walls. It was a 26 sided room that seemed to be focused around a small platform in the center of the room. “Let me guess, it’s some sort of shrine to the lightning god,” presumed Alex. “Not exactly, but it is maybe the most important room in our little excursion today and it may change your mind about everything you have seen and heard. Stand on the platform.” Seeing as he was supposedly not going to be killed today, he obeyed. Sabre’s hands changed into the sickle-like weapons that Alex had seen a long time ago. These he ran frantically along grooves in a control panel near the platform27

As Alex neared the platform, he noticed a strange but slight groaning in the structure of the room that grew the closer he came. He reached the platform, and immediately some of the walls of the chamber slid back and a golden light struck him...dead…28

…Or was he? Alex could see nothing of himself but watched the battle unfold in front of his face, as though he was taped to a television screen. He saw people in armor…obsolete, ancient armor. They were swinging their various weapons at and also being thrown left and right from…nothing? 29

Then all of a sudden, it flickered into “life” in front of him: a huge, black panther, eyes aflame with bloodlust...well they would be aflame if it had any. Swiping its car-sized claws, the opposing army had no chance against it. He could see the detail of the unrelenting fear in their eyes; fear of the end and the frightening mystery that lie ahead for them. Still, they marched on in dwindling hopes of come-from-behind triumph; others cowered in terror beside the burning trees.30

And the blood! Alex could only watch helplessly as these soldiers rained down over the land: Seven in the water, one hung limply on a tree, 30 here, and 10 there. There were bodies piled all around as mothers, wives, and children crowded around, crying, and trying desperately to wake them up from this new-discovered phenomenon of motionlessness. Some were beaten to death, others disintegrated from accelerated plague. 31

The hellcat trampled sons and fathers under-paw, squeezing the life out of their broken bones. The sky was painted with smoke, flames, and cries of the newly deceased. Lives were shredded all around, the living much more than the dead. Alex had never watched a real battle before; he felt the physical sensation of the bloody tears again.32

Well, it couldn’t really accurately be called a battle; it was more of an onslaught. Either this was real agony he was watching, or the weirdest action movie he had ever seen with the best actors he had ever seen.33

* * *34

He awoke from his horrifying dream (or was it one?) on the same platform he had stood on moments before. Sabre looked kind of curious when he witnessed Alex’s strange expression after coming out of the energy beam, “Did you see something?” Alex nodded, shocked. “What did you see?” asked Sabre, eager to hear about this unusual occurrence. 35

“I saw hordes of men in ancient armor being destroyed and mangled by a giant panther. It would have been awesome if it didn’t seem so real and unreal at the same time,” replied the flabbergasted Alex, “Why, is that supposed to happen?” 36

Alex asked this because Sabre appeared to look concerned for a second but then quickly composed himself, thinking it irrelevant. “Ah yes, the panther,” He said as though nothing happened, “Necrom’s most common form of attack, not that many but those who died would have seen,” Once again, Alex’s face crunched into a scowl of disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about? A 25 foot tall panther stomping on you is pretty hard to miss!” 37

Sabre helped Alex off the ground. He appeared to look sort of sorrowful, “Allow me to explain. These humans were just focused on winning against a threat and not about being one with the nature they controlled. Over the course of history, humans have lost interest in the understanding of nature. This has ultimately erased the ability to see Necrom and even fight against it. However, the members of the secret order have eagerly pursued this valuable field of knowledge,” Sabre walked back to his panel and again poked at it, “Seeing the enemy would be useful when fighting it, wouldn’t it?”38

Alex then connected this fact with the life he had been living. He was never instructed to follow a god that led a crusade against evil. They only really tried to coexist with the things around them. He was brought up to be a pretty tolerant and different kid. 39

He had a growing suspicion about what was coming. “Ok, ok, but I don’t have the slightest idea what this means to me. There is no connection to my knowledge between me and the people of that island,” pressed Alex. “The people of that island were your ancestors,” explained Sabre over his shoulder.40

Just then, Alex took a look at himself and was shocked, once again. He was clad in a golden color of the same form of armor the soldiers in the vision had. Small bolts of lightning flashed about his armor. He felt like he could run 100 miles without taking a breath. But he wondered where th-“helmet is?” finished Sabre once more. Then suddenly a piece of armor crept over his head like a machine and formed what he was looking for.41

Sabre still felt kind of worried about Alex’s vision, so he decided to try and alleviate his worry. “Now, this I always find amusing. Run towards me as fast as you can.” Alex did so, but found that he did not move an inch. “What happened? I didn’t move!” “You just went around the world four times!” snickered Sabre.42

* * *43

Sabre and Alex walked back to the first room. The former picked up a photograph. “One of the most important things about the job you need to remember is that Necrom is the only reason that anybody in the world dies.” He showed him the photo, “This person died from cancer. What do you see?” “A dead body. Am I supposed to see something else?” Sabre flicked Alex’s temple painfully with his finger. “OW! Is there a reason you have to keep abusing me?” cried Alex. Sabre ignored him and said, “Now what do you see?” He jumped in surprise. The body had giant, deep claw marks on it.44

“Now then, here are your weapons,” Sabre said as he produced twin swords from a cupboard in the wall. “They can be sent away conveniently by transforming the metal particles into electrical energy or fused together with magnetism to create one larger sword.” The powerful blades gleamed silver as they came close to Alex’s hands. He was about to grab them but hesitated, “Wait, are you saying that I have to defend this planet from death? You’re entrusting this task to three fourteen year old kids? You can’t be serious.”45

“It doesn’t matter if you’re fourteen. Do you have any idea how much power you have now?” Alex sighed and took them and felt a painful buzzing. “AH! SHIT! Why’d that hurt so badly?” he asked. Sabre also appeared to be worried by this occurrence, but again rebounded, “The swords accepted you, of course, because you are the next in the order.”46

Alex accepted the explanation but then asked, “But you said the order was made of three people; I’m only one. Where are the other guys?” Sabre closed the cupboard, “I think you know them well, Chris and Kyle? You should find them and tell them to meet somewhere with you. We are in a time of crisis so time itself is of the essence.” 47

Alex grew an excited smile. ‘Well that should have been obvious. The families that were in the order would have to maintain close contact or else there was no way the team could effectively be brought together. SWEET!’48

Little did he know that he was in for the most frightening and tormenting era of his life.