Voice of the The Order

It’s time John, whispered the voice.

John opened his eyes to a crowded train, filled with determination.

For 10 years, he had been a member of The Order and done this dozens of times before, but he knew this time would be his last…this time would set him free.

Again, The Voice whispered, It’s time, get the blade ready and wait for further instruction. John slowly touched the side of his waist while keeping it covered away from other passengers and watched his side begin to glow faintly.

All members of The Order could hear the voice, but none of them knew where it came from. Many suspected it was the voice of God, or some higher being, but no one really knew. Members were from all different faiths, so in order to keep things cordial; they just called it The Voice.

One day, they would just hear it, and with each order given to them, they would see and face things that they could not imagine were real. It’s easy to just think you’re crazy at first, but when the voice guides you to your first demon…you start to reconsider.

The members would become dependent on its guidance because it wouldn’t just show them the way…it would keep them alive. Things would just happen at the right moment and they would know what to do, and soon after, it would show them the blade.  

Two cars down, a man wearing a gray coat, the voice continued. It sees its prey and is moving towards it...go now.

John jumped up startling the stranger sitting across him and began to speed walk quickly down aisle. He needed to be fast, but didn’t want to create a commotion that would alert the creature. In addition, carrying something that appeared to be a deadly weapon might be difficult to explain if anyone were to see him rushing with it.

He continued through the first car and pulled the door open to the second. Entering the second car, he noticed that this one was even more crowded than the last one. John had no idea how he was going to pull this off with so many people around.

It’s one thing to fight a demon in an open area where he could be free to use anything around him to control the situation, but far more dangerous when you need to protect so many people in such a confined space.

As John continued on, the train’s lights began to flicker followed by loud screeching from the side of the car. The sound was deafening as all of the passengers began to grab onto their ears to try to shut out the noise. The car began to slow down so abruptly that John collapsed walking half way down the aisle, only breaking his fall by landing into the lap of a young woman.

“Are you ok?” yelled the young women, trying to speak over the loud screech. “I’m fine!” John let out with a wail… when the lights suddenly turned off.

The passengers started to panic, and John knew he needed to get to the next car quickly. He grabbed the armrest of the seat and pushed himself up while simultaneously unsheathing the blade. 

A luminescent white light emanated from the blade, illuminating the entire cabin.

John stared at the stunned faces watching him hold this large weapon in the middle of a pitch-black train.

“Sorry folks” he winced. “Just a kid’s toy I picked up…and good timing”. John waved the blade on to his hand and allowed his hand to pass through the blade. While appearing to be solid, the blade did nothing to his hand, allowing it to pass through like a beam of light. This seemed to appease the passengers, but they rumbled on trying to figure out what was happening.

It was dark outside the train, and while emergency lighting was functioning, the train was a good distance from any station in what appeared to be a wooded area.

A loud scraping ensued from the car ahead creating a frenzy among passengers. They began to yell and raise from their seats. John knew he needed to move or he wouldn’t be able to get through the cramped space in time.

He pointed the blade towards the train car door and hurled forward through the crowd. Pushing past a herd of people, he grabbed the latch, pulled open the door stepping through in between cars.

Through the glass in the next car, John could see a large shadow cast above a man standing in the middle of the cabin… a man with a grey coat. The man’s eyes were completely black as he stood in stillness. The rest of the passengers were all slouched over, their eyes closed; they appeared to be pail and sunken in. It was almost as if the life was being drained out of them.

John turned the latch on the door and stepped through with his blade pointed at the man. The creature howled in pain when the light emanated in the room and immediately began thrashing. While only appearing as a shadow, the creature began scraping against the sides of the cabin that created large talon like tears through the top of the car.

The creature then imploded into the man and the man began to focus his eyes on John.

“Shit” cried out John.

The man thrust himself forward, grabbing John by the throat and raising him in the air.

John began to lose consciousness, but had enough sense to raise his blade and jabbed the man through the chest.

The blade, while penetrating him, did not seem to injure the man, but the creatures shadow appeared again and began to wail in pain.

John fell to the ground, but kept the blade raised and embedded into the man, while the shadow began to climb out of him, taking its talons, and shattering the glass window on the side of the car. It climbed through the window on the wall of the train car.

John sat for a moment and watched as the lights of the cabin began to turn on. The passengers began to awaken in a haze, as did the man lying in front of him with a blade of light piercing his chest.

Despite the relief that the passengers were recovering, John knew this wasn’t over. He stammered up and walked towards the broken window grabbing hold through the sides and carefully climbing through to the outside of the train.

He looked around for a moment on the ground and caught a glimpse of the shadow on a large boulder. The shadow remained completely still and faced John.

Blade held high, he approached the rock, and the shadow leaped through the trees and glided through the ground surrounding him. John, while holding the blade fully illuminated; took a swing at the shadow but missed, and then…darkness.

John stood there, eyes black, and the light from his blade…gone.

It was 10 years ago today… John; standing on the ledge of a bridge; gazing upon the brightly lit city. He felt nothing. Ready to give into the nothing … the darkness pulling him into the void. He prepared to lunge himself off the ledge, and then…Not today…a voice whispered.

You’re needed, the voice murmured. The decision can be made 10 years from today.

John, turning his head to his side; towards the voice; saw a feint light, and where the light laid was a hilt laying on the ground.

Now he stands at the top of a hill; eyes blackened, and below him are nothing but ragged rocks and the promise of nothingness as the creature inside him pulls him forward.

The creature now hissing inside him and pulling life from around, slowly inches him forward. The creature now speaks; Let go, just let it all go. No more pain, no more searching, no more sadness. You can just let go.

John slowly tilts his head down; lowers his eyes, and smiles…”Not today.”

With the hilt still in his right hand, the blade begins to burst with light.

The creature inside him begins to scream and claw its way out of him, but before it can escape, John thrusts the blade into his own chest holding the creature in place.

With the demon now held onto the blade, he pulls it out of him and raises it to the sky.

The blade illuminates the sky and the valley below. The creature screaming in pain…bursts into light. 

Now, there is only John holding his blade of light atop a hill.

He looks at the valley below and notices the beauty of everything filled with light. The trees, the flowers, the nature. It is as if John sees it for the first time. He smiles.