Fall Foretold

Little Billy 2

Ken didn't hesitate to hit him with the buttstock of his gun. He did it more than once. There was a dead man with a slit throat on the floor, a young hypnotized boy staring at him, and enough reason to buttstroke the little boy and take him away.

He tied the stunned boy in his barn, impatiently waiting for him to wake up. There were hundreds in search of the key and they would do anything to find it. If he wasted too much time, he would be giving them enough time to realize that a boy had stolen the key, and enough time to trace the boy to his barn.

He shook the boy, violently, forcing him awake. "Wake up, i***t!", he slapped the boy.

"Aah!", the boy let out a cry. "Let me go!". He tried to shake off the ropes around him.

"Stop crying. I won't hurt you"

"Why am I tied up? What do you want with me?", the boy asked and stopped shouting.

"I'm trying to protect you from yourself. You killed a man"

"I would never do that. Get away from me!"

"You did!", Ken screamed. "You almost killed your mom. She had to run away"

"No", the boy cried again. "You're lying!"

"I'll help you!", Ken calmed him. "I will take you to your mom but you have to help yourself in this case"

"How do you mean?"

"There's a key with you. The key can make you lose yourself and do bad things; bad things like killing a person. You have to give the key to me"

"I... I don't have it"

It was annoying to hear that. This was the first time he was handling a kid and it started beautifully. "Uhn? I can still smell the key on you. It's the key that's making you do bad things"

"I don't know. I can't find the key. I don't know where it is", the boy replied.

'How is it possible?', he thought. He could sense the key's hypnosis on the boy but there seemed to be no key on the boy. 'Did he swallow it?'. "Did you swallow it?"

"How would I? It's too big", the boy replied. "Am I in trouble?"

There was someone around. Ken could hear stealthy footsteps. Whoever had come in was definitely trying to be silent. No one could hide from Ken. He picked up his gun and walked out of the barn.

"I don't have the key", he pointed his gun, standing behind the stealthy stranger. "You can go home, now"

The man turned, swiftly, twisting the gun from Ken's hand, and kicked Ken back. "I'm here for the boy in your barn".

"He doesn't have the key, either", Ken replied.

"You can't lie to me, dude. Mario is never wrong in his divinations", he pointed his gun, about to shoot. Ken couldn't avoid the shot, no matter how hard he tried. His closed eyes blinked open, as he heard a slashing sound.

The man, whoever he was, was down. The edge of the huge key shot out through his neck, as blood squirted out. The key flew back out, pulled by a rope, cutting the half-dead man, further.

Little Billy had gotten loose from the ropes. His eyes glowed, as he slowly approached the terrified Ken.

He could see the key, already. He didn't need the boy, dead or alive. He cared less. He picked up his gun and shot the boy, repeatedly. The bullets dropped to the ground, falling off the boy's body. "I have chosen my desired host.", the boy said, confidently, in a thick distorted voice. "You are not worthy of unlocking the beast. You should not live to see the Unchaining". He slashed Ken's neck with the key.

★

Albert had entered his car, reluctantly, heading for Gotham. Stan Ashwood was probably on a trip around the world, trying to achieve one of his dreams before the expected sudden death would get to him. For the diviner to have being specific when mentioning Gotham, Stan had probably settled there, already or was staying back there for a while. The legendary Romero was about to do it, himself.

He was driving at 120 miles per hour, wearing a sunshade, like a frustrated drunk. He was probably wishing he had punched the diviner in the face when he got the message. He looked left. His eyes fell on the exact word; '....... diviner'.

Two words had come before it but he hated that word alone, so much that he almost parked the car to comfortably spit on it. It took him two seconds to realize an advantage he was about to miss. He reversed and parked the car.

'Mario, The Diviner' was on the sign board. The man had a kiosk with a room at the back but, obviously, he was selling sweets, biscuits, chocolates and fortune cookies. He had that displayed. Romero had an instinct that never failed him. No matter how bogus the diviner seemed to many, and to him, the diviner was not an ordinary road vendor.

Romero walked out of the car and entered the shop. "Hello?", he called. "Mario?"

"I am Mario", the diviner appeared behind him. "What dost thou seek in my proud abode?"

"I need to find someone"

"Shh!!!", Mario said, walking around, dramatically. He had a colourful dreadlocked hair, with some tattoos on his white face, dressed in a thick bulky costume. "You have come to the right place"

The diviner walked into a room and returned with a map. "Uhm.. Forty dollars for the map"

"Ok?", Albert counted some bank notes and gave it, wondering what would come next.

"Whom do you seek? First name, first"

"Stan. Stanley Ashwood, owner of Planet News"

"Hmm. Do you have a picture of this being you seek?"

"Yes, on my phone", Albert replied and pulled out his phone.

"Put it back!", the diviner shouted, like the phone would blow up the place. "Think about the man you seek. imagine his face". The diviner put his hands on Albert's head. "Close your eyes while doing that"

The diviner rubbed Albert's head and moved back, dramatically. "I can see him... in Gotham. But he might leave there, anytime"

"I know that. That's why I'm here. If he leaves Gotham, where will he make his next stop?"

"Even if I tell you that, he might move again before you get to him... which is why you have to pay another sixty dollars to have a tracker on your map"

Albert counted another sixty dollars and handed it to the weird diviner. "Have this".

"Voila!", the diviner said, as he grabbed the money. "There you have your tracker on the map"

"Uhn?!", Albert exclaimed, looking at the map in his hands. A small glowing dot had appeared on the map, moving around. When he stared at it, the map seemed to have zoomed in his face, like he could see the streets that Stan was walking on and Stan, himself. "This is the best work I've seen from a diviner"

"Adios, amigo!", the diviner replied and curtsied.

************

Albert spread the map out in his car, where he could see it while driving. Another glowing dot appeared on the map, moving as he moved. That was his location. "Perfect!", he smiled and stepped on the gas pedals.

He had driven out of Sterling City, already, when his phone beeped. The digits we're hidden. He answered the call and placed the phone on his ear. "Hello?"

"Terminate the mission. There's a less threat to deal with."

"Who am I speaking with?", he parked the car.

"You already know. I'm giving Titus a break. Let Stan remain outside the city. A young boy has the key. Get the key from the boy before anyone gets to him"

"How am I supposed to find this boy?"

"The same way you found Stan. Don't sleep on it"

★

His dad had a punching bag installed in the vault. "If you'll be going to war, you have to be ready, emotionally and physically. Punch that bag like your girlfriend broke your heart!"

"Uhn?!", Joe stopped punching. "I'm allowed to have a girlfriend?"

"Well, you're not allowed to lie", Mr. Ryan replied, winking at him. "She came to ask of you. You were sleeping, then. She said you saved her from her kidnappers"

"She's just a friend. Besides, she doesn't know it's me so that never happened", Joe smiled. "I didn't say she was my girlfriend"

"You didn't have to say it", Mr. Ryan replied and sat down. "If she didn't mean so much to you, she wouldn't be used as bait to get you. They could have chosen me, your mom, or even Felix... What's her name?"

"Laura. I'm really trying to get it off my mind, now", he sat beside his father.

"Ok, then. We will not talk about it", Mr Ryan stood back up. "Let's get back to work"

"Not yet... You know a lot about the Unchaining. Tell me more, please"

"I actually don't know a lot. There was a rumour that there's something called the master key which is also capable of unlocking the beast. I don't know what really makes it different from the real key. Some say it can be used by anyone, unlike the real key. Some say it can't manipulate or control it's holder, unlike the real key can. Some others say it doesn't even exist"

"Well, it seems no one is going after the master key. Even if it were true, they shouldn't know. That would only increase their chances of succeeding with the unlocking of the beast"

"If it is true and they know about it, stealing the key before it gets to the Devil's daughter might not work"

"I have another question, dad. Who is the devil? Why does he bear our family name?", Joe asked. He had ignored that question, many times in his head, already.

"Many people share the same family name without being related in any way... while some others are related, even by blood, but have different surnames. I will tell you a secret... only because you might need to know. Lucifer Ryan, the famous devil, is one of us"

"Hm?", Joe exclaimed. He had thought of that, already. He just didn't think it could be true.

"Yes. He is my brother", his father began the story. "The man in that portrait, your grandfather's father, was a hunter... and a cultist, too. Some of the hunters joined a cult, unraveling supernatural secrets on how to deal with the wildlife. The man was immune to wild attacks. He had supernatural abilities and he stayed strong till he grew old and died. Before he died, he passed on his powers. My father had refused to take the powers. He was scared of the stories his father told; about how he would see ghosts and demons that are meant to be invisible and how they could drive you insane if you are scared of them. He rejected the powers. When my father had his first son, he named him John. The man named him Lucifer. My father didn't reject the name. Then, my older brother was fascinated by the stories of the wild; the stories that scared my dad was only fascinating to my older brother so the man passed his powers to John and died. My father knew about this but he accepted it. We let my brother tell us stories of what he could see and the sad stories he could hear from the animals and the trees, and the ghosts and the demons. John was never scared.... When my father died in war, John had warned us. He tried to make my father stay but my father had to serve his country. My father believed him and he was ready to die... so he prepared this vault for John so he could be a hero, someday, with his powers. Everything here was produced by my father. He didn't reject his father, even though his stories seemed horrible, neither did he reject his first son for his horrible stories too. After father died, my mother was harsh to John. She was horrified by his powers so she sent him out of the house. There was nothing I could do to that. Then, John became Lucifer and lived by what he grew up with on the streets. He became an unstoppable threat to Sterling City. He discovered the beast lock, exposed all myths associated with it. Then, he created a group to rule after the Unchaining, with a plan to unlock the beast, themselves."

"Wow! I really thought he was so horrible"

"No. Not as horrible as you think. I was his weakness. I went against him and his team. He took me down, many times, but he never took any of his seventy- six chances to hurt me. I took the one I got; his spine. I forced him on his back and made him listen.... The truth is I didn't really force him to listen, he chose to. He's powerful enough to rise again and even remain an unstoppable terror, while on a wheelchair..."

★

He sat on his wheelchair, having no choice, in the garden. He watched kids play, around him, as his wife prepared dinner.

Cedric had come for him again. Whatever had to do with the key or anything supernatural, Lucifer was considered to know about it.

"When will you stop coming to greet me?", Lucifer said and drove his wheelchair closer to Cedric.

"The key is still missing. Stan is out of town. According to a blogger, some people want him dead because he can't produce the key to the beast lock. Definitely, someone else has the key"

"You all have been saying these things into the air. The people will soon begin to panic before mysterious things that cannot be understood. The key is with a boy"

"A boy. How do I find him?"

Lucifer shrugged. "If you do, you'll die. I'll just go myself"

"Can you? Just help me find him and I'll get the key"

"You will underestimate the little Billy and he'll kill you. I will get the key", Lucifer turned, wheeling himself back to the garden. "Also, keeping the key is a waste of time. Forget the prophecy".

★

The cafeteria had been pretty noisy. Despite the number of questions she had answered in the class, Laura was still bombarded with questions while she ate. She only had a few ending minutes to enjoy her lunch.

Joe had a lot of notes to write. He didn't copy the notes he missed when he had been away from from school.

Her phone beeped, as she ate. It was an unknown number.

"Hi, Laura", Jackson greeted, and sat with her. She couldn't reply him. She had picked the call, already.

"Hi, Laura", the caller said.

"Hi. Who am I speaking to, please?"

"It's Davis"

"Oh, Davis. Thanks for the other day"

"You're welcome. I was wondering if we could meet , today"

"I'm in school, now"

"I know. I mean, after school. Can we meet at Spencer's Joint, please?"

"Hmm. you want to give me a treat?"

"I could if you would receive a treat"

"I would not reject a treat. That would be me paying you back"

"Wow! That's pretty nice. Paying me back with my money"

Laura laughed. "I'll be there. Immediately school closes, I'll come over. I think we have to talk"

"Absolutely, see you in many minutes. I'll be counting each one"

Laura laughed, as he ended the call. "Hi, Jackson. Sorry I was on a call"

"I know. I could see that. How are you feeling now?"

"I'm feeling tired of these people who keep asking me questions like I got r***d or something"

"Hmm. I might have told them that. Sorry"

"What?!", she exclaimed, dropping her spoon.

"Oops. I was kidding. Ok?", he laughed and walked over to Joe.

"Hi, man", Joe greeted him. "I only have one more page to be done with this"

"Have you told her?", Jackson asked.

"Told who what?"

"Have you told Laura about your feelings?"

"I'm leaving that for another day", he replied and took a glance at Jackson who looked extremely serious. "Is there any problem?"

"No. Not at all.... Take your time."

★

David McMidday walked into the Planet News building, up the stairs, into the elevator and into his old office, without getting questioned. No one had replaced him, yet.

“Are you back with us?”, Jonas asked for the umpteenth time.

“This time? Yes, I am”, David replied and sat down. He began typing on his computer, like he had a goal or a plan in mind.

“Do you have a news? What are you typing, so serious?”

“I’m making a deal, typing an agreement. For now, the life of your jobs and this company might be on my shoulders”