~ Requiem ~

~Requiem~

I followed Aiyanna, the young and newly appointed Historian of the Hopi Indian Nation from the Memorial Service. Sitting at her desk, she looked up startled and nervously asked, “Who are you and how did you get in here?”

           “The fabled Hopi Histories of your Star Child and Chieftess, Shewuma Hopitu are incomplete. In her eulogy you omitted two very important facts. First Shewuma, not the Hybrid Commander, destroyed the evil called Lucifer. And second, she may not be dead. I’m not yet convinced that she can die.”

           “But the nuclear explosion.…” Aiyanna began. Telepathically, I disabled her ability to move and speak.

           “It’s time to set the record straight. I’m going to tell you the real story of Satan’s demise. I owe her that.”

                      **********

           It was 235 years ago. I remember it as if it just happened. The defensive Alien technology of both sides forced a final conflict of brutal and primitive hand-to-hand fighting during the final bloody battle, I broke through the lines and entered Lucifer’s sanctuary. The Bible stories are basically true. Lucifer led the Nephilim horde. His ultimate goal, to subjugate or eradicate mankind and control Earth’s abundant natural resources. I stood before Lucifer’s temple door examining its ornate carvings of demons and cherubs. The door opened on its own and light poured through. Right hand on my Beretta and left hand on the hilt of my Dragon Blade, I entered. Not unexpectedly, the door slammed shut behind me. The sun was setting but it was still bright inside the temple as light streamed through the clear crystalline pyramid roof. The walls were stone, but the floor was two by two-foot slates of white granite. Each slab was etched with a gray pentagram except for the center slab. That one was black. A quick inspection of the room revealed its few details. There was a hideous stone statue on the left. On the back wall were a set of shelves holding the stolen Super Computers, the Blue Crystal Skulls of Erran. He only needed the last Skull. The Sanctum. Mine. Organically programed to my DNA through a Computerized Crystalline Integrated Circuit (Cric) embedded in my brain. With the entirety of the Crystal Skulls he could take control of the celestial energy from Dark Matter, end the dampening field that disabled Alien technology and shift the balance of power in the solar system, effectively ending mankind’s tenure on Earth. Near the rack of Crystal Skulls, a pulsating mass of what resembled brain matter lay on top of and fused with a vibrating machine. Possibly an engine or computer. Probably both. There was no way to know. I’d never seen anything like it before. I deduced that it was no doubt the heart of the sentient security wall around the complex. On the right wall was a hostile and disrespectful interpretation of Jesus Christ on the cross at Galilee. Something moved toward me from the corner of the room. It was an undulating lanky body, spaghetti limbs, with a grotesque round head topped by a coned boney skull. I suppressed a gag from the revolting smell wafting from his body. I looked back and forth between the creature and the statue. They were identical.

           “So you’re Lucifer?”

           “Finally we meet. May I call you Debbie?”

           I was a little surprised that he knew my name. “You keep a statue of yourself?”

           His gangly body hunched and swayed as he moved to the center of the room. “What better statue is there?”

            “Well, let’s start with that one.” I nodded toward the crucifixion recreation.

           “Ah, yes. Jesus Christ. For some reason humans hold him in such high regard. I have a theory that it’s all because of his pretty face.” He shifted his spindly body from side to side. His head suddenly became human except for his pupils. They remained little white dots. It was unsettling and Debbie took a step back. “See how much difference the face makes?” He broke into a big smile. “Now, two points of interest Debbie. Jesus didn’t really look like that. And the spear in his side?” He patted his fleshy chest with pride. “My idea. For a few hundred years I masqueraded as a legionnaire of the Roman Empire, until the Vandals came in 455. Pope Leo just let them in.”

           He seemed so relaxed, just rambling. I had never thought much about what Lucifer would look like but this creature was more hideous than I could have imagined. A touch freaked out and not sure how to respond to his quirky persona, I tried getting more personal to lower his guard. “Anyone ever told you that you look like an odd version of George Clooney?”

           His face flashed anger but quickly returned to a smile. “Debbie. Come now. My physical body is 97,411 years old. If anything, George Clooney resembles me. Lucky bastard, isn’t he? Clever, though. Trying to distract me, perhaps. Spy a weakness or maybe gain some element of surprise?”

           I felt him trying to enter my thoughts and forcefully pushed him out. Then I said directly to his mind, “I’m not here to play games.”

           His eyes widened as his spindly fingertips touched happily. “Oh, Debbie. You’re a telepath. Of course you are. And quite an accomplished one I see. Enoch thought of everything when he killed your father and raped your mother. He was creating you…for me. Did you know that?”

           Enoch was Shewuma’s dead Alien husband and my mentor. The statement took me completely by surprise. “Liar!” I screamed. I drew my Beretta and fired three shots at his face. With speed I’d never encountered, he blocked all three bullets with his left hand. The hollow points were sucked into his odd sinewy skin like raw dumplings dropped into thick gravy. A slightly curved talon ripped through the end of his right index finger, oozing thick black blood. He dug his claw into the fibrous palm and dug out one, then two of the compressed bullets. Blood began to drip from the wound, hitting the floor in dark chunks. It was more like asphalt than liquid. As he was digging for the third bullet he said, “I guess you didn’t know that Enoch was your father.”

           “I don’t believe you.” Obviously, shooting him wasn’t the way to go. Besides, against my better judgment, I now wanted to hear more of what he had to say. I watched the third hollow point come out of his hand resembling a flattened mushroom. With a flick of his wrist, it came at me like a ninja star. Pulling my Dragon Blade, I deflected it.

           “Sorry Debbie, that was tacky. But you’ve been fighting out there for hours and there’s not a scratch on you. I wanted to see just how fast you really are.”

           “Fast enough to take you.” I felt much more confident. If he bled he could be killed.

           He stopped swaying and said, “Overconfidence is not attractive, Debbie.”

           Sensing danger, I pulled back my time sense. Seconds lagged and he began to move in slow motion. I focused on his eyes while watching the rest of him with my peripheral vision the way Shewuma had taught me. Wu was right. The eyes flickered, betraying him. Even as Lucifer initiated his pounce with all the talons tearing through the other fingers, I was already spinning away to my left. As I moved from his path, my Dragon Blade lingered and cut deep into his body while a talon made contact with my arm as well. Facing each other once more revealed a bloody slice to his midsection. “YES!” I said through clenched teeth. Seeing the visage of Jesus over his shoulder made the moment even more satisfying. On my blade arm, a single deep talon puncture was bubbling up blood.

           The moment of victory was short-lived. I was dismayed to watch him easily seal the gash. He pushed the gaping wound together and it held like pinching biscuit dough that had separated. Killing him would be harder than I thought.

           Lucifer sniffed the air and looked directly at my bleeding forearm. He couldn’t contain a reflexive chortle of excitement that escaped from his throat. Visibly excited he whispered, “Your blood smells magnificent.”

           With gun and blade drawn, I maintained a ready crouch. “So it’s true. You Nephilim drink blood.”

           He regained his composure and said, “I eat and drink whatever I choose. I just prefer blood.” He circled warily back towards the Skulls as if to shield or protect them.

           I couldn’t figure him out. He was aggressive and overbearing but simultaneously cautious and tentative. It occurred to me that he might be stalling, perhaps expecting some type of assistance. He licked the trace of blood from his talon. It sent a shudder through his body as a thick grainy penis ripped through his previously nondescript crotch and began to grow into an erection.

           I recoiled in disgust. “That’s enough! You repulse me. Let’s get this over with.” For the first time he stood up straight revealing his true height of well over six feet and bellowed a growl, then returned to his slouching posture.

           I wanted him to make the first move, so I pushed him a bit. “Was that supposed to scare me?” I sneered. “I have no fear of you.”

           “Make no mistake, Debbie. You will feel fear. But there is so much for us to experience together first. Pain, rape, humiliation. Then and only then will I suck the last of your life’s blood from your body.” His lips smiled but his eyes projected malevolence. I felt goosebumps rising on my arms.

           There were sounds of battle outside and a loud bump against the oak door startled us both. I smiled and rose from my defensive stance and confidently squared off against him.

           “Don’t think your ridiculous soldiers can help you. Even the strength of an Annunaki could not penetrate that door.”

I pushed him some more. “The fighting has reached the temple and you’re afraid you’re going to lose. You’re afraid of me.”

           “Yes. Yes. Your pitiful group will win the battle,” he admitted. “Shewuma, your Indian slut slipping by my wall was a calculated but not unforeseen risk. But the invasion of your stinking Sasquatch was unexpected. Touché, by the way. I have the Sight. Surprising me is harder than you can possibly imagine. But I’m not afraid of you, Debbie, I’m excited. In a few minutes you and I will leave and begin our new short but historic life together.” He pointed to the machine and said, “My pet will take care of the rest.”

           So the wall was his clencher. A bomb probably. I fired four shots at the hub of the organic machine. The first shot left a laceration. The other three were diverted away. It was worth a try. I holstered my pistol.

           “Seven shots, Debbie. That leaves five bullets. As you see his reflexes need work. But I haven’t yet come up with a way to beef up the somatic reaction arc in my new one.”

           “A combination of both chemical and electrical nerve stimulus is how I would go, like the human brain. The reaction time should increase by seven percent.”

           “Huh. That might work. Very impressive, Debbie. I’m relatively sure that I can impregnate you. Perhaps I will just cut off your limbs and keep you alive to advise me and have my offspring. Though I hate to lose those magnificent legs.” He stroked his chin. “It’s time for another son. I wonder if I could pull that off somehow.”

           He had to be stalling. It was now or never. I switched the Dragon Blade to my right hand and pulled my Fat Belly Flayer with my left. “I am going to kill you, Lucifer.” But I began to feel funny. Lucifer cocked his head with interest. Feigning a swipe with his talons, I pulled back awkwardly and went down on one knee, dizzy. Then I stood up quickly trying to disguise my sudden weakness. I felt a pain shoot through my temple. I was unsteady on my feet and my breathing was becoming labored.

           Lucifer chuckled. “Finally. Head hurt? Feeling weak? Short of breath? You’re very strong, Debbie. Exceptional. But you still need air.” Wheezing, I did a quick internal and external check with my Cric. So that was his trap. The reason he had been holding back. There was no oxygen in the room. To keep me alive, the survival program in the Cric would shut my body down completely in less than a minute. I swayed and my weapons clattered to the floor. My arms hung like lead weights at my side. If only I could have pulled my pistol and fired at the roof. But I couldn’t. I had been a fool. “Shewuma,” I sent to her mind, “I’m sorry.”

           Lucifer kept talking, waiting for me to pass out. “You know Debbie, I can convert nitrogen, hydrogen, even carbon dioxide for my body to use.” He wagged his finger at her, gloating. “But not you. You have to breathe oxygen.” He paused as there was another loud thump against the outer door. Feeling satisfied he said, “See? No one can help you.” Mere seconds from blacking out, I was still on my feet somehow. The white dots that were his pupils tripled in size. He said to me tenderly, “I think it’s time we go now dear, and start our new life.”

           As he moved towards me, a raucous crash rained shards of clear crystal quartz down in the room. Shewuma, your Chieftess, landed on the granite, rolled and came up standing to my left, bow in one hand and the severed head of the Annunaki General called Scar in the other. The sweet relief of a deep breath of fresh air brought me back from the brink of unconsciousness. Lucy retreated two steps, twitching his spindly fingertips with agitation. The George Clooney face morphed back into the gruesome round head and he bared his jagged teeth in umbrage. I felt my strength quickly returning and shook the pieces of the broken crystal from my hair. “You’re here,” I said to Shewuma’s mind.

           “Sorry I’m late, Debsi,” said Shewuma, keeping her eyes on the beast.

           “How quaint, Debbie” Lucifer scoffed. “Your Indian whore.” Then he spied the separated head and took another step back, baffled. “How? Their armor is impenetrable.”

           “I ripped it off with a wrestling move called a guillotine. I’m stronger than I look. Bet you five dollars it’ll work on you.”

           Lucifer regained his calm, ignored the remark and said, “Thanks for killing that royal pain. Get it. Royal. Because those idiots think they’re royalty.” We didn’t laugh. “So you think that the two of you combined can defeat me?”

           “No sweat,” I said, back to full strength, “I know we can. And so do you.”

           While I drew my Barretta,  Shewuma nocked an arrow and pulled it back with breathtaking speed, hissing, “I just want to shoot you in the face.”

           Lucifer stepped back onto the slab with the black pentagram. That’s when I realized what he was doing and hollered, “He’s going to run!”

           As the slab dropped away, Shewuma and I both fired our weapons. The escape hole resealed instantly, blocking our pursuit.

           Wu asked, “Can I see that again?”

           “Sure.” Touching behind my left ear, the Cric projected a memory hologram. We watched in slow motion as Lucifer dropped through the escape hole with his hands at his side. Just before his head disappeared, my hollow point exploded in his right eye and Shewuma’s arrow buried itself deep into his left eye.

           Shewuma put her arm around my neck and pulled me into a consuming kiss, then whispered in my ear. “I could hear everything he was saying to you. Up here.” She pointed to her forehead. “When the door wouldn’t give, I thought I’d lost you.”

           I broke the spell. “Hey, Babe. We need to do this later. There’s still that thing.” I pointed to Lucifer’s undulating machine. “It’s the security system and it’s booby trapped. We need to destroy it.”

           “How? We can’t get near it.”

           “Only metal can’t get near it,” I said. We scanned the room. Shewuma said, “What is that statue made of, Dibs?”

           My eyes sparkled. “Limestone.”

           “Any metal in limestone?”

           “Not a drop, Wu. Do it.”

           Shewuma rushed to the statue of Lucifer, picked it up high over her head and ran fast toward the wall’s brain. I felt like a cheerleader watching the quarterback in the big game.

           As soon as she felt resistance from the brain about six feet away, Shewuma hurled the statue as hard as she could. The organic top half exploded like a gelatinous mass under the weight of the statue. The mechanized bottom section sputtered and died.

           Like a starstruck teenager I gleefully declared, “That was pretty hot.”

           Shewuma flexed her bicep and winked. “Come on Debsi, let’s go find the bastard and finish this.”

           Outside of the compound in the desert we found the arrow and bullet Lucifer had dug from his eyes in a pile of black blood nuggets. Even with Shewuma’s tracking skills, it took 2 days to find him in the desert. At the end, on his knees, Lucifer raised his head towards us. His eyes were gone. In their place were gaping, already decomposing pits of mucus and leaking brain tissue. I asked him, “Any last words Lucy? Do you mind if I call you Lucy?”

           “Fuck you both,” He mumbled vehemently.

           Shewuma replied, “You wish." And raised her Zombie Axe.

           **********

           “And that, Aiyana, is the true story of the fall of Satan. Your Hopi Chieftess Shewuma, the greatest Star Child ever born and the love of my life. She saved me. Saved the Tribe. Saved the world. May she rest in peace. Wherever she is.”