Alex was walking home after leaving the soiled-pants ex-boyfriend of hers. She had a sense of relief off her shoulders that night. She actually seemed happy. The sky was a little bit more clear than usual. She looked up the bright purple star shining above her. Alex was still deeply troubled because she knew she was going to have to go against Sanah. She had a gut feeling that it was going to be soon. She came across the church where she saw the Cardinal walk out with Father Tom. “Cardinal,” Alex greeted him.
“Alexandria,” the Cardinal smiled at her as Father Tom walked on. “How are you this evening?”
“I’m okay,” she said, petting her dog. “What are you doing here?”
The Cardinal raised his eyebrows and gave a one chuckle laugh, “Actually, I just got out of a meeting with the Catholic Council in the Vatican about you.”
Alex’s gut started to turn, “Am I in trouble?”
He sat down on the steps of the church. “You are fine, we were discussing your role here and the role of your friend.”
“Anne?” Alex asked. “Is she still going?”
The Cardinal nodded. “We just are trying to figure out what we are going to do with her upon her return. She’s the first ‘outsider’ to see an infiltrator and live, not to mention the morphing of your little friend there.”
“I handled it fine,” Alex was scratching Komptin’s head that was lying on her lap.
“You’re also a Lite Sentry,” Cardinal said. “Forgive me for this, she’s, for lack of a better term, fully human.”
Alex normally would have taken offense by that, but she knew she wasn’t fully human. “What about the Catholic Council, they are made up of humans.”
“We are also all a special division of the priesthood. Only a select few are brought in the councils,” he looked over at the young priest. “We also have signed a permanent non-disclosure agreement if we indulge to the public.”
Alex glanced side to side. “What if someone might have scared someone by way of their dog?”
The Cardinal put up his hands, “I don’t want to know about it,” he laughed, full well-knowing what she was insinuating. Alex joined him in sitting on the steps of the church overlooking the office next door. She stared at the office reconstruction from across the street. “Your doing?”
Alex verified his perception. “Ariel and Devine had a little talk with me.”
“Ah,” the Cardinal said. “And I’m assuming they got their message across.”
“Yep,” Alex said, rubbing the back of her head.
“Cardinal,” the young priest came up to them. “I will call for the car.”
“Thank you, father,” the Cardinal said. The young priest walked down to the street level and got on the radio to speak to whom Alex was assuming was the Cardinal’s bodyguard. “What’s on your mind, child?”
“I’m good,” Alex said. “When do you head back to D.C.?
“Three days,” Cardinal Thomas said. “I’m a guest speaker at your college tomorrow night for the freshman class.”
“Father Carl doesn’t like me.”
“No, no he doesn’t,” the Cardinal admitted. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“I’m not, but I think Father Tom doesn’t like me either.” She watched him with the Cardinal’s bodyguard.
The Cardinal studied Alex's reaction towards him, “Why does that bother you?”
“Father Carl has no idea what I do, so for that ignorance, I can see why he doesn’t like me. Father Tom knows what I do,” Alex picked some dirt out of Komptin’s fur.
“The only one you have to prove yourself to is yourself and God. Everyone else, doesn’t matter,” he told her.
She smiled at him.
“Please tell me, what’s on your mind.”
“For the first time in years, I’m scared,” Alex said. “I know I could die at every hunt, but this one? This one is different.”
“Why is that?”
“He’s powerful, very powerful,” Alex pointed out.
“Yes, but you have something more powerful that will get you through this.”
Alex looked up at him, “Yah, what’s that?”
“A heart full of faith,” the Cardinal said. “Sanah had lost his faith and the Dark consumed him because he let it.” He thumped her on her chest. “Keep this, no matter what, and you’ll be fine.”
The car pulled up and the young priest opened the door, motioning to the Cardinal that his ride was ready.
“Cardinal,” Alex said. “I just want to say, thank you for everything.”
“Not a problem, dear,” the Cardinal kissed her on top of the head. “Keep true to your faith.” The Cardinal walked down to the steps of the car where the young priest was holding the door. He turned to wave to Alex, “You’ll be fine.”
Alex gave him a weary wave back. “I guess we need to find out what Sanah is up to.”
***
Sanah summoned Velcrown and Welltore. “I need you to gather a meeting for tomorrow night at the old hospital on the other side of town.”
Velcrown acknowledged the request. “How many do you wish?”
Sanah answered, “All of them.”
“You got it,” Welltore said.
Sanah walked through the hospital that once held the sick and dying. The sin of man that caused such pain in this world. The human race deserves to suffer. He walked into a room that must have been the nursery. He remembered his child being born. It was the happiest that he’d ever been. The thought of making sure he grew up in a world without worry raced through his mind.
No one cared about the death of his wife and son. He came home one night to find a demon in his living room holding his wife while an infiltrator surrounded his son. The fear for his family consumed him but he had to remain true to his faith. The demon had asked Sanah to willingly accept the infiltrator to inhabit him. If Sanah had allowed it, then the demon would have let one of his family members go. The demon would not let Sanah choose which family member would live. His wife screamed at Sanah not to accept the infiltrator, that they would meet him in Heaven when the time came. Sanah knew a person couldn’t be infiltrated based on a threat, and so did the red-haired demon. He was just doing this out of pure enjoyment. He wanted him to choose.
Sanah prayed to give him strength as he watched the demon kill his wife and the infiltrator to tear apart his boy in front of him. He attacked the infiltrator, eventually killing it later that night. The demon that killed his wife was never seen again, but he would never forget him. His red hair that matched his glowing red eyes. He had never seen a demon that was able to produce a glowing red fist, but he had as it went through the body of his wife.
He had lost so much in this war and sacrificed so much. No one appreciated his fight in this war. The next generation of Sentry was beyond undisciplined. She was a representation of what this human race has become; an unfaithful, self-centered, narcissistic burden on this planet. The Dark, The Dark will put them in their place, make them pay for their sin. The sacrifice of Sanah’s soul was a small price to ensure humanity fell to the power of the Dark.
***
Alex didn’t want to feel like a third wheel in the car, so she decided to take a cab to the airport to see Anne off. She would drive Anne’s car back with Mole to drop him off at the apartment. They decided that Alex and Mole would just stay in the apartment with Brenda; whom they hadn’t seen for quite a while.
She met Mole and Anne who were outside the airport terminal, looking at each other. She could see Mole was fighting back the tears, but Anne was in full Niagara Falls. It kind of choked up Alex a bit, watching the two of them. Alex felt as if now was a good time to approach them. “Hey guys.”
Anne wiped away some of her tears, “Hey.” She knelt to give Komptin a good-bye hug and he returned it with rubbing the top of his head on her cheek. “Oh, I’m going to miss you.” she said, scuffling up his head. Anne got up and gave Alex a hug. “Take care of him.”
“I will,” Alex said.
“And be careful,” Anne added. ‘I’m going to miss you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Alex said to her, giving Anne a false confidence that she wasn’t worried.
The two pulled away from each other. They gave each other a quick, forced smile.
“Ms. McClure,” a voice said to them.
“Yes?” Anne turned around to see who was calling her name.
“I’m Antonio Caesar,” the man in the suit said. “I will be your escort to the Vatican. I understand that you speak Italian?”
Anne extended her hand, “Parlo abbastanza per cavarmela. Per favore chiamami Anne.”
“Molto bene, e un piacere conoscerti,” Antonio answered her. He looked over at Alex. “And this must be Ms. Alexandria Johnson.”
Alex stepped back, concerned that he knew who she was, but then it clicked that he must work directly for the Council. “It is nice to meet you.”
“It is an honor, Ms. Johnson,” he shook her hand. He sat there and stared at her as if she were a celebrity.
“How do you know Alex?” Kale asked him.
“Ms. Johnson was Ms. McClure’s…” he tried formulating the words. He looked to Anne, “Riferimento al personaggio?”
Anne smiled, “Character reference,” she told Kale. Anne was hoping Kale bought it because she didn’t have a character reference on her application. Anne knew that he was just covering his tracks by announcing he knew who Alex was.
“This is my boyfriend, Kale,” Anne introduced him to her.
Kale shook his hand, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Caesar.” Kale looked to Anne, “Do me a favor, will you please?”
“Si,” Antonio caught himself staring at Alex.
“Take care of Anne, please. I will forever be in your debt,” Kale asked.
“Of course, I will,” Antonio said. “Are these your bags?”
She nodded. “What flight are we on? I never got any tickets.”
“We have a private jet that will take us there, with a 3-day layover in England. There we will get some last minute items before you start your studies,” Antonio told her.
“Private jet, fancy,” Mole told her. “That’s one hell of a scholarship program.”
Alex could see she was getting nervous as Anne asked, “How many are in the study program?”
“Just you,” Antonio answered. “Only a one student program. I will have all the answers for you along the way, but we do have to get moving.”
Anne understood. “Well, I guess this is it,” She took in a deep breath. Anne gave another hug to Alex and she turned to Kale. “Kale.” The two of them looked at each other.
“I love you,” the both of them said at the same time. They embraced each other in a passionate good-bye kiss. The two continued to hug, refusing to let each other go.
“Ms. McClure,” Antonio was looking at his watch and then at the two of them. “Take your time.”
The two parted. “I have something for you,” Mole reached into his pocket and gave her a box. He looked to Antonio, “Here is the customs form, please don’t let her see it.”
Antonio grabbed the paper. Alex could see he was trying not to smile, “Of course.”
“Promise me you will not open it until the date on the package. Promise me.”
“I promise,” Anne inspected the box. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” Mole said. They gave each other one last kiss before Anne walked away with Antonio. She turned around one last time, giving all three of them a final wave.
They all returned the wave as Komptin gave a loud bark. “What is so special about the date that she can’t open that box until then?” Alex asked Mole who couldn’t take his eyes off Anne until she disappeared past security.
“It was the day that I completed my Iron Man,” Mole answered her while taking a drink of water.
“What’s in the box?” Alex asked him.
“The flower she gave me when I crossed the finish line. I had it bronzed that week,” he finally turned towards the parking lot.
“Oh, that’s sweet,” Alex said, rubbing his back. “I can’t believe you kept it this long.”
“Yah, I just hope the engagement ring attached to the flower is the right fit,” he said, walking to the car.
Alex's eyes grew big, “Kale Moler!”
***
Alex decided to go for a hunt that night. She was tired of wondering, she got tired of being scared. She was going to find out what Sanah was up to. She actually had to go out and get a new outfit for the hunt as all her clothes were at the studio apartment. Alex was pretty sure that Gastrix had tossed all of her stuff into the garbage. She had cleared it through Father Tom to buy some clothes for her hunt. All he told her was, “Don’t go overboard.” Alex knew she didn’t have to ask permission, but she felt like she needed to prove to the Cardinal that she could be responsible.
She had bought a black leather vest to go over her dark blue long sleeve shirt. She bought a pair of black pants that seemed to fit just right. They were stretchy enough to kick but had a tough material to them. She ran her finger over her scar on her neck before putting on her collar. She sat there looking at her neon red hair. “I hate red,” she told Komptin who was staring at her on the bed. She ran her fingers through her hair. “I need to go do something first.”
***
Alex returned to the apartment after visiting the hair salon in her new woven hair. It was very similar to her hair prior to her wonderful boyfriend. She had asked the salon girl to tie it into a ponytail tight because she was going out to find Sanah. It was too bad that her first official boyfriend was the jackass he turned out to be. She knew that if she didn’t have the power of the Lite, Gastrix would have probably really hurt her emotionally and physically.
She walked into the bedroom to apply her dark makeup. She looked in the mirror and she was Alex again, and she liked it. She looked to Komptin who was eagerly waiting by her bedroom door. “I guess you are ready to go.” Alex opened the door and saw Mole with a suitcase in the living room. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to go home for a bit,” he said, looking at his phone.
“Is everything all right?” Alex opened an Apollo. This sweet taste of nectar had never tasted so good to her.
“Yeah, I’m good. It’s just I didn’t ask Anne’s parents’ permission to ask her to marry me…I hope I didn’t put the cart before the horse.”
Alex walked up to Mole and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’m pretty sure they would be honored to have you as an addition to their family.” Alex smiled at her brother, “Plus, technically, they get me as well.” She playfully smiled at him. “How are you getting home?”
“I have to be at the airport in a couple of hours,” Kale checked the time on his watch. “Do you have time to get a drink?”
“Just as long as you just have Coke,” she winked at him.
“That much is for certain,” he put his phone down on the end table. “I have to take a poo-poo, I’ll be right back.”
“You know, Mole, you don’t have to tell me everything,” Alex said. She sat down on the couch. Her mind went back to thinking how lucky she will be to have her best friend marry her brother. The two were just so perfect for each other. Who knew, that night at the lake, the simple gesture of Mole giving Anne a sweatshirt would lead into marriage? Alex was a bit envious of them. They actually found their soulmates. Mole’s phone rang on the end-table.
“Can you grab that? It might be Anne calling,” Mole yelled from the bathroom.
“Yah,” Alex grabbed the phone. “Hello.”
“Hello, Anne?” the voice said on the other end of the phone.
“No, this is Alex, Mole’s sister.”
“Oh hello, this is Kameron. Mole’s old roommate. How are you? I don’t think we ever officially met,” he said.
“No, we haven’t. Mole is in the restroom, I will say you called,” Alex said to him as she picked up the remote to the television. The cracked screen of the TV was staring back at her. She got embarrassed as she knew what that television represented.
“That would be great, thank you very much. I hope you have a nice evening,” he said.
“Yep, you too,” Alex said, hanging up the phone.
Mole came out of the bathroom, “Who was it?”
“Your old dorm roommate,” Alex said. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
***
Alex went to the park after dropping Mole off at the airport. It was a typical Friday night in the park. The food vendors were out trying to sell their products to a bunch of young adults who didn’t know any better. Speaking of which, Alex was really in the mood for deep fried Oreos. She purchased the delight from a vendor and bought Komptin a hot dog. She sat down on a park bench overlooking the crowd. She was getting a bit nervous because she didn’t feel any presence of an infiltrator or anything in the air that someone had infiltrated. “Well, we are not going to find anything just sitting here on the park bench.” Alex slapped her hands on her legs and sprung up and bumped into a kid running with a pamphlet in his hand. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Alex said, helping him up.
“I’m going to be late,” He got up and ran off.
“Must have a hot date or something,” Alex told Komptin. She picked up the pamphlet the kid dropped, “Hey, you dropped…” She looked at the Freedom Off Religion pamphlet. She saw another girl holding the same pamphlet heading in that direction. “Excuse me.”
The girl stopped, “I don’t have time to talk, I gotta go.” The girl just blew by Alex and took off.
“Must be some meeting,” Alex said.
“Oh, look, the girlfriend of our ‘good friend’ Gastrix,” a voice behind her said.
Alex turned around and saw two girls dressed in neon green with a cybergoth style to them. “Do I know you?”
“I’m Shelly, this is Tori,” one of them said. “We’ve seen you at the clubs with Gastrix.”
Alex was a bit embarrassed, “Well, if Gastrix is a friend of yours, you really need to re-evaluate your taste in friends.”
“Oooo, someone is feisty…I like that,” Tori said. “I take it you two broke up.”
“You could say that,” Alex said.
“Did he hurt you?” Shelly asked while examining her.
“He tried,” Alex admitted.
Both Tori and Shelly looked at each other and then back at Alex, “And?”
“Well, let’s just say he didn’t really make it to the bathroom when he should have,” Alex waved her hands in front of her nose, mocking a bad smell.
“I like her,” Shelly said.
Alex watched another girl with one of those pamphlets walk by, heading in the direction where the others were. “Must be something going on with that organization.”
“What organization is that?” Shelly asked, eating popcorn out of Tori’s hand.
“The F.O.R.,” Alex said.
“Those nutcases?” Tori said. “They have been all over the web advertising for a ‘Freedom Off Religion’ power meeting. Something about obtaining ‘true’ power.”
Shelly chimed in, “Yah, it’s a really weird location too. You had to RSVP to even be let in.”
Alex looked in the direction the people were going, “Yah, where is it at?”
Tori looked at her phone, looking up the location, “Yeah, that’s what I thought; it is at the old hospital.”
Alex spat out her energy drink, “What?!”
“Is there a problem?” Shelly asked.
“Oh, damn it,” Alex said. “You needed to RSVP to this thing? Does it say how many people are allowed to attend?”
“No, but do you want to get in?” Tori said. “I can get you in, no problem.”
“Getting in is not the problem, it’s going to be getting out,” Alex said. She turned to them, “It doesn’t say who’s all going?”
“Oh, honey, are you wanting to know who's attending?” Tory asked with a sympathetic look.
“I just need a number of who’s attending,” Alex said.
Tori and Shelly sat down, “Ah, that will be easy.”
“What are you doing?” Alex asked.
“Getting you your answer,” Shelly said. Tori went into Shelly’s backpack and pulled out a little portable computer. She started typing away.
Alex peeked over her shoulder to see a bunch of computer jargon on the screen. “This is way above my solitaire.” Even Komptin tried to take a look at it.
“Don’t forget to set the fourth algorithm or we are going to be groveling for the next hour,” Shelly pointed to the screen.
“Yeah, I got it,” Tori said. “38.” She slammed her notebook down. “Time?”
“Five minutes, 49 seconds,” Shelly said. “You’re getting slow.”
“Oh, you are going to pay for that,” Tori grabbed Shelly’s chin and kissed her.
“Promise?” Shelly asked.
“If you would excuse me, but I need to go,” Alex said. “I owe you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” the two of them said at the same time.