01-22-2011, 10:45 PM
The sensation of relief and reprieve that had crashed over him after he spoke with the Older Man was quickly eroded by the cruel reality of battle. He seriously doubted the obstacle that stood before them was a mere scouting party. The evidence for this belief lay next to him in the form of a bruised and broken former militiaman. Dozens just like him lie scattered across the battlefield. Some were dead, others, like this one, were lucky to only be seriously wounded. A bone in his arm had been fractured so severely that it had pierced his flesh. The worst part was the blood. Sid watched it pour from the wound like a river that had broken its banks and surged forward in its newfound freedom.
Sid had tossed the man his canteen. He couldn’t think of anything else to do. They didn’t have any bandages, or any medicine, or anything.
The ground exploded before him, interrupting his thoughts and sending him crashing onto his back. A wave of sand rose up from the point of impact and washed over his fallen figure. Reacting quickly, Sid rolled onto his stomach and then crawled on all fours to the nearest mound of discarded duffel bags, taking refuge behind the tough fabric.
Everything was moving so quickly. Orbs of energy rocketed towards them from across the battlefield, and the human’s meager rifles fired back explosive packets of a similar energy. Sid rolled onto his side and peered around the mound of bags. His canteen lie on the ground, dropped from the crisped hand of the burnt and disfigured man he had given it to just moments before. His body lay lifeless.
“Oh my god . . .” Sid whimpered. His lip curled and his brow furrowed as his face clenched. He couldn’t take his eyes from the battlefield, however. He watched as the small party of aliens pitched baseballs of power into the men who had been traveling with him. Sid couldn’t even remember how the battle had started. Everything was moving so quickly, too quickly. He pulled his knees up to his chest wrapped his arms around them, holding onto himself tightly as he rocked back and forth, tears flowing from his eyes. His parents would be worrying about him by now, and his friends would be equally confused. He would probably never see them again.
The sound unclasping metal caused him to open his eyes. The explosions and shouting and violence that surrounded him became drowned out by the sound of the separating metal. Sid looked around and was surprised, almost shocked, when he realized that the source of the sound was his own backpack. He uncurled his body and reached towards it, but stopped when he noticed that the bag was unzipping itself.
“What the hell?” he whispered. After wiping the tears from his cheeks, Sid grabbed the now open bag and peered into it. Sure enough, the mask was staring back at him.
He dropped the bag and closed his eyes. He shook his head a few times, and then glanced down at his knapsack. The massive, colored eyes stood back at him. For an inanimate object they were quite piercing. Then again, he thought, this mask was no ordinary piece of carved wood.
“I can’t do it,” he whispered and looked away, but quickly found himself being drawn back towards the mysterious artifact. It whispered back to him, it called out to him. Whenever he needed it, whenever he had doubts, it seemed to come to life. It was as if his weakness gave the mask strength.
“No, I won’t. Not again.” Memories flashed back in short segments. He was standing over a bleeding man. The sound that a car makes when you open the door while the vehicle is running was coming from his right. He could see the plastic door in the very corner of his vision. The body was lying as if it had been pulled from the car. In the distance, he could hear the sound of his dog whimpering. She was dead. She had been dead for a week prior to this memory. Why was this happening now?
The scene in his head remained still, it was frozen in time. As he inspected the brief segment of the recent but forgotten memory he noticed his own shadow just above the man lying on the ground. His head was very wide, and oval, almost like the title character from ‘Hey Arnold!’ (one of his favorite cartoons as a child).
“Hey, kid!” A voice rang in the distance. He turned and peered around the mound of bags, tearing himself loose from the grasp of his own memory. The Older Man had been shouted to him, he was crouched with a group of men behind a nearby duffel bag. “Toss us one of those bags, we need more ammo!”
Sid grabbed one of the duffel bags and heaved it across the gap towards the men. Almost as soon as it left his hands it exploded in the air. The detonation ignited the ammunition, which acted as a secondary eruption and sent his body careening backwards.
“Run kid, run! They know where you are!” the Older Man’s voice echoed, though he could hardly hear him. His ears were ringing. His head hurt. His body ached. He rolled over and groaned in pain, and then pushed himself up on his feet and went to sprint in the opposite direction. As he was preparing, though, he stopped himself and turned around once more. The Mask peered out at him from within his back pack. Sighing heavily, he reached over and pulled the ancient device from his school bag.
“Here goes nothing,” Sid whispered. As he pressed the mask against his face, he could feel the familiar demons surging through his body. The sensation of raw, uncontrollable power consumed him. Wind ripped around him. His skin thickened and his clothes became loose. His vision changed, it became vibrant and open. The final surge came and then the Knock, and he could feel his body being tossed around on the ground. And then it stopped, relaxing in its own way.
He stood up and looked like what he had come to call an ‘ancient forest demon’ and faced in the direction of the alien invaders. He felt quirky, as if his body was filling with something foreign and he only had partial control of himself. An orb of energy was fired in his direction; it sparkled and cracked as it came in his direction.
Sid shot forward his hand and reached out towards the incoming ball. The world around him began to slow as he extended his fingers towards the orb, which was now barely moving. Within an instant, the world had come to a crashing halt.
“That’s pretty cool,” Sid whispered as he hopped over the mound of bags and inspected the baseball-sized sphere. He wrapped his fingers around it and moved it around, and then pitched it back to its origins, towards the invaders. As the ball was released from his hand, time slowly began to reinsert itself, and then fully reengaged the world in real time as the ball began to head back towards the aliens.
Sid looked on as the orb crashed into the ground near the fleeing invaders and detonated, hurling their bodies across the earth as they had done to his fellow militia men. Now seemed like as good a time as ever to test out his new toy.
Sid had tossed the man his canteen. He couldn’t think of anything else to do. They didn’t have any bandages, or any medicine, or anything.
The ground exploded before him, interrupting his thoughts and sending him crashing onto his back. A wave of sand rose up from the point of impact and washed over his fallen figure. Reacting quickly, Sid rolled onto his stomach and then crawled on all fours to the nearest mound of discarded duffel bags, taking refuge behind the tough fabric.
Everything was moving so quickly. Orbs of energy rocketed towards them from across the battlefield, and the human’s meager rifles fired back explosive packets of a similar energy. Sid rolled onto his side and peered around the mound of bags. His canteen lie on the ground, dropped from the crisped hand of the burnt and disfigured man he had given it to just moments before. His body lay lifeless.
“Oh my god . . .” Sid whimpered. His lip curled and his brow furrowed as his face clenched. He couldn’t take his eyes from the battlefield, however. He watched as the small party of aliens pitched baseballs of power into the men who had been traveling with him. Sid couldn’t even remember how the battle had started. Everything was moving so quickly, too quickly. He pulled his knees up to his chest wrapped his arms around them, holding onto himself tightly as he rocked back and forth, tears flowing from his eyes. His parents would be worrying about him by now, and his friends would be equally confused. He would probably never see them again.
The sound unclasping metal caused him to open his eyes. The explosions and shouting and violence that surrounded him became drowned out by the sound of the separating metal. Sid looked around and was surprised, almost shocked, when he realized that the source of the sound was his own backpack. He uncurled his body and reached towards it, but stopped when he noticed that the bag was unzipping itself.
“What the hell?” he whispered. After wiping the tears from his cheeks, Sid grabbed the now open bag and peered into it. Sure enough, the mask was staring back at him.
He dropped the bag and closed his eyes. He shook his head a few times, and then glanced down at his knapsack. The massive, colored eyes stood back at him. For an inanimate object they were quite piercing. Then again, he thought, this mask was no ordinary piece of carved wood.
“I can’t do it,” he whispered and looked away, but quickly found himself being drawn back towards the mysterious artifact. It whispered back to him, it called out to him. Whenever he needed it, whenever he had doubts, it seemed to come to life. It was as if his weakness gave the mask strength.
“No, I won’t. Not again.” Memories flashed back in short segments. He was standing over a bleeding man. The sound that a car makes when you open the door while the vehicle is running was coming from his right. He could see the plastic door in the very corner of his vision. The body was lying as if it had been pulled from the car. In the distance, he could hear the sound of his dog whimpering. She was dead. She had been dead for a week prior to this memory. Why was this happening now?
The scene in his head remained still, it was frozen in time. As he inspected the brief segment of the recent but forgotten memory he noticed his own shadow just above the man lying on the ground. His head was very wide, and oval, almost like the title character from ‘Hey Arnold!’ (one of his favorite cartoons as a child).
“Hey, kid!” A voice rang in the distance. He turned and peered around the mound of bags, tearing himself loose from the grasp of his own memory. The Older Man had been shouted to him, he was crouched with a group of men behind a nearby duffel bag. “Toss us one of those bags, we need more ammo!”
Sid grabbed one of the duffel bags and heaved it across the gap towards the men. Almost as soon as it left his hands it exploded in the air. The detonation ignited the ammunition, which acted as a secondary eruption and sent his body careening backwards.
“Run kid, run! They know where you are!” the Older Man’s voice echoed, though he could hardly hear him. His ears were ringing. His head hurt. His body ached. He rolled over and groaned in pain, and then pushed himself up on his feet and went to sprint in the opposite direction. As he was preparing, though, he stopped himself and turned around once more. The Mask peered out at him from within his back pack. Sighing heavily, he reached over and pulled the ancient device from his school bag.
“Here goes nothing,” Sid whispered. As he pressed the mask against his face, he could feel the familiar demons surging through his body. The sensation of raw, uncontrollable power consumed him. Wind ripped around him. His skin thickened and his clothes became loose. His vision changed, it became vibrant and open. The final surge came and then the Knock, and he could feel his body being tossed around on the ground. And then it stopped, relaxing in its own way.
He stood up and looked like what he had come to call an ‘ancient forest demon’ and faced in the direction of the alien invaders. He felt quirky, as if his body was filling with something foreign and he only had partial control of himself. An orb of energy was fired in his direction; it sparkled and cracked as it came in his direction.
Sid shot forward his hand and reached out towards the incoming ball. The world around him began to slow as he extended his fingers towards the orb, which was now barely moving. Within an instant, the world had come to a crashing halt.
“That’s pretty cool,” Sid whispered as he hopped over the mound of bags and inspected the baseball-sized sphere. He wrapped his fingers around it and moved it around, and then pitched it back to its origins, towards the invaders. As the ball was released from his hand, time slowly began to reinsert itself, and then fully reengaged the world in real time as the ball began to head back towards the aliens.
Sid looked on as the orb crashed into the ground near the fleeing invaders and detonated, hurling their bodies across the earth as they had done to his fellow militia men. Now seemed like as good a time as ever to test out his new toy.