GZ Tales: Imaginary Enemy Part 2

 

“I have an imaginary friend, but he's not very nice. Is yours nice?” The table next to the bed shook slightly.

            “Yeah,” Larry replied, feeling a tremor in the floor, “I have a very good friend. Maybe you'd like to meet him.” He eyed the table suspiciously.

            “Oh no. No, no, no.”

            “What is it, Isa? What's wrong?”

            Her eyes welled with tears, “You should run.”

            A shadow grew and loomed in the corner of the room.

            “It's not the child!” Nyhtwulf's voice boomed in his head.

            “Ow! Too loud.”

            “It's a secondary entity.”

            “Can you tackle it?”

            “I will do my best.”

            “I'll grab the girl.” He turned his attention back to Isa, “Okay, this is very important. I need you to listen to me. You listening?”

            She nodded and sniffled.

            “This is not your friend. Friends don't hurt people. This is one of the bad guys and I'm here to help you escape. But you have to be brave for me.”

            She shook her head as the shadow grew closer, “You can't. No one can.”

            “We can. My friend is right outside. He'll help us. Now, we are going to have to run, okay?” He held out his hand.

            A tall humanoid shape manifested from the shadow. It's raspy voice filled the air, “You mustn't touch the children.”

            A savage roar echoed as Nyhtwulf flew into the room and tried a flying tackle. Since both of them were intangible it worked. The two of them went through the far wall. Blacktide snatched up the surprised girl in his arms and ran out the door.

            “Out of my way now!” he shouted as an orderly almost stepped in front of him. The rest wanted nothing to do with the situation and were glad to stay out of it.

            “He's not my friend?” Isa asked as she clutched tight to his shoulder.

            “No. He's not.”

            “Is he the Boogey man?”

            “I don't know, Isa, but we're going to find out. Did he ever mention having a name?” He raced into a stairwell to avoid being caught in the elevator.

            “Silhouette.”

            “Wow, that's a big word for a little kid. I wonder why he calls himself that?”

            At that moment, the shadowy creature came through the door behind them, but Nyhtwulf was on him again and they spun out a nearby window. As the two struggled with each other they rolled and flew through walls of patients’ rooms and doctor's offices. People fled and screamed at the sight of them. Since this place was a psychiatric hospital, matters were worse. Patients suffering anxiety disorders were in total panic. Much of the staff were too busy dodging for themselves to contain panicking patients.

            “I am having difficulty containing him. Do you have a plan?” Nyhtwulf's voice came again into Larry’s mind.

            “Get him outside. That's where I'm going.”

            Knowing that Nythwulf and Silhouette weren't far behind, he found the first door on ground level he could and burst outside. Alarms blared but they were the least of his worries. He ran across the green lawn to a small grove of trees and bushes. He set Isa down.

            “You hide in there. We'll deal with this guy now.”

            Isa didn't argue. She crawled into the thick of the bushes and curled up tight, hugging her knees. “He'll burn you.”

            “Not if I burn him first. Now close your eyes tight until I tell you to open them.” He didn't want the scene to terrify her further andcould think of nothing else to protect her.

           

Nyhtwulf and the Silhouette spun out into the air, snarling, swiping and clawing at each other. Even though they could connect somewhat, they didn't seem able to hurt each other very much. Blacktide raised the intensity of his disintegration field around his body. The ground at his feet began to smoulder. He had no idea if his power could work on such a being. He had never tried before. He raised his hand and took aim. He didn't want to hit his partner. Could his power hurt Nyhtwulf? This thought caused him to pause. He didn't want to hurt another friend with his power ever again; especially not his best friend and partner.

            “The child, the child!” it snarled as it finally broke free and lunged for Blacktide.

            “Now! Have faith my friend and strike now!” Larry  hated it when Nyhtwulf shouted in his head, but this time it was for good cause. It shook him back to reality and he fired his power just as the beast was within inches of him. Disintegration makes kind of a low coughing “whump” noise barely audible to human ears. The energy beam hit the shadowy Silhouette and actually threw the entity backwards a few yards. The Silhouette dropped to its knees, clutching what appeared to be its chest. Its red eyes opened wide as if it were as surprised. Nyhtwulf flew up behind it and ghosted a hand through its head. Nyhtwulf’s unique power to disrupt mental and life energies took effect. The entity gave a terrible shriek that rattled windows and made everyone cover their ears. Then it exploded in all directions like shadows running from rays of the sun.

As the ringing in his ears wore off, Blacktide stood back up from one knee and looked around.
            “It is gone,” Nyhtwulf said as he shook off the effect by rattling his big head back and forth. “I no longer sense it.”

            “Guess we won't know what its deal was then,” he looked back to Isa and knelt near the bushes. “Hey, you okay? Come on out and meet my friend. I promise you he's nice.”
            Isa accepted a hand to help her out of the bushes. She looked up at Nyhtwulf in wonder.

            “Are you a dog man?”

            He chuckled softly, “I look like one don't I?”

            “Do you sense any reason that thing was interested in her?” Blacktide asked.

            “I sense dormant psychic ability in her. It is possible it was drawn to that, particularly because she is a child.”

            “Will he come back?” Isa asked.

            “I don't think so. And if it does, we'll send it running,” Blacktide said. “But how would you like to go to a much nicer place than this?”

            “Is it a hospital?”

            “Kinda, but way cooler than this one. You can even have a ride on my motorcycle.” He spoke of a hospital for people with powers. It was a place that existed to study developing powers in people and help them with control if needed.

            “That would be nice,” she looked up at Nyhtwulf, “but I'd really like to fly. Will he carry me?”

            Larry smiled, “Ask him.”

            Nyhtwulf was too happy to oblige, for the joy of a child.

GZ Tales: Imaginary Enemy: Part 1

 

“I don't know what you think you're getting away with, young lady,” the nurse scolded the red headed little girl.

            The child sat on her hospital bed with her knees in her arms, rocking slightly. Tears streamed down her face. “You shouldn't yell at me,” she murmured.

            “What?” the nurse scowled at the audacity. “How dare you? I've never met an eight year old with such horrible manners!” The lecture continued but the little girl buried her face in her knees. The metal service table next to her bed trembled as if in a light earthquake. The nurse took no notice of this, being too upset at what she saw as rude and disrespectful behavior. In a far corner of the room a shadow formed and grew out across the walls and ceiling, reaching up over the nurse’s head.

            “You need to look at me when I'm talking to you, little missy!”

            The little girl looked up, her face soaked with tears. Her expression was one of agony, “You should run now,” she said desperately, “Please run away.”

            The nurse looked up to the darkness that now obscured the view of part of the room. The girl hid her face sobbing, “No, no, no.”

            A new raspy voice floated into the room, “You mustn't suffer the children.”

            The nurse screamed. The sound echoed across the hospital ward, startling patients and staff. Staff members ran to the sound, finding the air thick with the smell of rancid smoke and burning flesh.

            Larry Peters pulled his motorcycle into the parking garage across from the government office he worked at. His long blonde hair was windblown, but he didn't care. He hated helmets. The Parahuman Activity Commission (PAC) existed to investigate threats conventional law enforcement couldn't handle. He was better known by his operating handle, Blacktide. His name came from his ability to emit disintegration energy from his body. Disintegration energy is like a beam of darkness or shadow that can move as fast as light.

             Before Blacktide joined up with PAC he had trouble controlling his powers. This caused great anxiety for him. He always worried for friends and anyone he might come to care for. His powers manifested at a very young age. Larry and his parents were sitting at breakfast when a surge of his power made him and orphan. The event lives on his nightmares to this day.

 Then he met his partner, a Twilie Demon called Nyhtwulf. When they first met, the demon formed a psychic bond with Larry. That bond allowed him to buffer Larry's powers and help him control them. At first it was a violation of Larry’s extremely private life. However, they soon became the best of friends and trusted partners.

            As Larry parked his bike, Nyhtwulf was nearby in his favorite delicatessen. Seeing the shadowy werewolf-like being with huge black feathery wings come in to the cafe always raised eyebrows and got attention. Since he usually moved intangibly, he never bothered to open the door. Nyhtwulf would just ghost through it, often startling patrons. Since his motives were always friendly, he never understood the fuss. The owner had come to accept it, especially since Nyhtwulf was a paying customer with a big appetite. Nyhtwulf had come for an entire box of his favorite treat, bite sized cream cheese cubes in foil wrappers.

            “Here you go, just the way you like them and on your tab,” said the man at the register.

Nyhtwulf snatched up the box with a lupine grin, “Thank you!”

            On his way out the deli, he tore open the box and popped a handful into his mouth, wrappers and all.

            “I see you picked up your afternoon snack,” Larry said as he walked up on the busy New York City street.

            “Yes, it's what I left early for.”

            The two of them shared a high loft apartment where Nyhtwulf could enjoy views of the city and Larry could get some peace and quiet. They walked across the street to the office building. Inside, they were greeted by Sally, the receptionist, who gave them a sweet smile.

            “He's waiting for you and in a mood,” she said.

            Commander Henry P. Larratus was always in a gruff mood and short on patience. He expected jobs to be done quickly and efficiently. Sometimes, the members of PAC liked to aggravate him just to see his bald head turn red. They were, however, careful not to do that too much. Blacktide and Nyhtwulf went straight to his office to see what the news was.

            “It's about time you two got here,” Larratus grumbled as they walked in. “I've got one that's right up your alley, Blacktide. A little girl who may be developing dangerous powers. Burned a nurse pretty badly in the psych ward this morning. Here, read the report.” He tossed a folder across the desk but didn't wait for a response, “I want you to find out if she's developing or if it's something else. Now get going.”

            Once you're dismissed by Commander Larratus, it means he has nothing more to tell you so it's useless to ask. Larry took the folder and walked out of the office. He went to his desk to look it over. As he read the nurse's story it reminded him very much of his own. Thanks to their psychic link, Nyhtwulf read the information at the same time without having to look.

            “She's just like me,” Larry said.

            “Perhaps,” Nyhtwulf answered as he put his box of cream cheese in their office refrigerator.

            They set out immediately. The story of a little girl named Isa had piqued Larry’s interest. Nyhtwulf flew overhead as Blacktide rode his motorcycle through the thick daily traffic.

The psychiatric hospital lay on the outskirts of the city in a peaceful green country setting. Pine trees and green rolling hills complimented the place's floral and well kept grounds. Inside, half of the children's wing had been evacuated. No one dared enter the little girl's room. When Blacktide and Nyhtwulf arrived they could see the relief in faces of the staff.

“No one can move her and we're done trying,” and orderly said, “Our head nurse suffered third degree burns all over her body.”

            “Just tell me which room is hers,” Larry said, not caring for the dismissive attitude he saw mixed in with their fear. He couldn't shake how everyone turned their backs on him once too. They blamed him for his powers when he never even asked to have them. They were afraid of him.

            “Room 115. Just don't upset her. That's when things go bad. Watch out for the shadows.”

            Larry walked away from the orderly abruptly and headed for the room.

            “I will wait outside in order not to frighten the child,” Nyhtfwulf suggested. “I do sense something.”

            “Good idea. What is it?”

            “I'm not sure yet.”

            Isa sat on her bed just as before and looked up when Larry knocked on the door frame. He took off his sunglasses and tucked them into his leather jacket.

            “Hey there.”

            “Are you here to take me away?”

            “Do you want me to?”

            She shrugged, “I don't know if you can.”

            “Well, let's not think about that then. Instead, do you like stories?”

            Hesitantly she nodded.

            “May I come in and sit in that chair?”

            Again she nodded.

            “My name's Larry, but they call me Blacktide. What's your name?”

            “Isa.”

            “I like that name.”

            She perked up a little, “So, what's your story about?”

            Larry leaned forward in his chair, “Well, when I was just a little older than you, something really weird happened to me.” At the sound of this she perked up even more.

            “I found out that I had an amazing ability. I could turn anything around me into smoke. It's call disintegration. Do you know what happened after that?”

            She shook her head, wide-eyed with wonder.

            “Everyone got scared of me.”

            “Everyone is scared of me too!” Isa exclaimed, “Do you also have an imaginary friend?”

            “Imaginary friend?”

            “I have an imaginary friend, but he's not very nice. Is yours nice?” The table next to the bed shook slightly.