The Nazorean

T-h-a-dump. T-h-a-dump. T-h-a-dump. It is not only the sound of frightening marching. It’s the sound of fear, evil, and darkness, rising in intensity. They are coming closer. The darkness. The gloom. It envelops. Overtakes and encloses all that is innocent and good.

“Shhhh,” she whispered. “Be quiet, or they’ll find us!

“Oh, Geist, be with us!” the other pleaded.

The girls ran quietly in haste. The first looked a bit older than the other. The streets were void of life, void of sound, but the dark and hideous creatures were everywhere. Amongst the cold, barren, abandoned buildings they both scanned their surroundings in fear that made their lips quiver. To be seen was to want death.

“I see it! The cathedral they spoke of!” the latter silently proclaimed.

Though it was still a few hundred meters away, a large smile came over her face; a sigh of relief. The church looked faint, seemingly embracing the darkness of both the sky above it and the earth below. What irony concerning the one place that should hold the saints, the “light of the world”. But nowadays, these hearings seemed to be no more than a legend, tales of a distant past.

The two came closer and closer to their destination. It was only a matter of moments and they would be safe.

“Aaaahhhh!“, the older screamed in pain.

“Monika!”

The young girl turned around. Monika groaned in agony. Thick, sharp, steel teeth had pierced the lower parts of her left leg. Desperately, the other tried to free her wounded friend.

RRRRROOOOAAAARRRRR!!!

A monstrosity in the sight of any man or woman that were to come across it. Craggy and freakish it was. The eyes of the girls were filled with dread and fear. They froze.

“Remnants! I see them!”

Meanwhile, the rocky giant in front of them slowly stomped towards the two.

“Quick,” Monika said. “Take this key. To meet the rest!”

“No,” she replied. “I won’t leave y-”

“It’s a CR key, it will grant you access down at the catacombs and you’ll be saved!”

“Please!“, she tried to resist, but the former consigned the silvery bright item into her hand.

“Go!”

Hesitantly, the girl ran toward the cathedral. The creature’s growl was deafening; he had fixed his eyes on the fleeing target. Monika launched her blade with the strength she stilled had left, piercing one of its legs. It shrieked in response. Hatred filled its dark, hollow eyes. The young weary woman drew out another sword from behind her back, gripping it tightly with both hands. She took a few deep breaths. The rocky monster began to charge towards her whilst the men who had seen them were closing in on the gap from behind.

The young teenager was now in a safe range. She opened the large and thick dark brown door to the sanctuary. Tears were streaming down off her face. She turned around towards the fighting zone, only to see a blazing projectile on its way. Promptly she made her way inside and closed the door behind her. As fast as she could she raced to the catacombs. There was a blinding flash, as radiant as the sun. The noise of glass was deafening; windows destroyed by the powerful blast. The house of worship ignited into a fiery ball of scorching flame, bringing the very pillars of the building down to its knees, while a pillar of fiery smoke took form.

*****

“Christian!“, a still voice called out. “Christian!“, it called once more. “Christian!!!”

With that, he woke up from his sleep. Elijah was his name, responsible for such an abomination. Christian loved his bedtime. He was one of those peculiar people in this world, who would wake up naturally. He hated anything or anyone who tried to wake him whether it be the alarm clock or his brother, who stood right in front of him.

“It’s 8! We’re gonna be late!“, Elijah chanted frustrated.

With those words, Christian was now fully awake. It was going to be the first day of his senior year; his last year at high school. He was not going to be late. Not like the other first days at school. He quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. He had no time to thank Elijah for intervening this once in his slumber. Knowing that he’s on a race against time, Christian found strength and energy that only came to one in a moment of desperation. On a normal day, his morning routine would take an hour and a half, which was quite unique for boys his age. Today all it took were fifteen minutes and he was fully set for school. No stranger will be approaching his presence today, however, as he’d skipped the shower.

With all the necessary stationery in his bag, he headed downstairs. His siblings could not wait for him with most of the food for breakfast already depleted. Christian was fortunate to have not only one but three siblings! But that, and being the oldest was no easy task!

Elijah, his brother, was a sleek, tender, and loving guy. He was an average person, had no beard, the only sign of puberty being the slow and gradual appearance of a mustache above his upper lip and a strong posture.

Esther, was quite light-hearted, funny, and cheeky, always being accompanied by her sister Immanuela who was still young and childish. As one would believe, Esther and Immanuela’s interests strongly differed from the boys. It was no surprise why friends and family would often ask how Abraham and Sarah, parents of the four, managed to keep them under ‘check’. Abraham and Sarah were a happy and proud couple, married for many years, and had known each other for even longer. Abraham Miles, called “Abe” by his best friends, was the pastor of a small, humble local church, while his wife Sarah Deborah “Debby” Miles was a nursery teacher of a well-known nursery school in town.

“Time is going; it won’t wait for you, so get going!“, their mother exclaimed.

Christian and Elijah made themselves ready for another day at Oakwood High. Half an hour passed as both brothers finally arrived.

“Good morning, gentlemen!“, they heard from behind as they walked down the hallway, which was half empty, for the lessons were about to commence.

The young man tapped Christian’s left shoulder, with a gentle smile upon his face. Sammy stood at 181, very handsome and well-built, which got him some smiles from his female counterparts and rolling eyes from Christian, his best friend. He was quite the clever guy and conveyed some knowledge in the sciences seemingly unmatched amongst his peers. Only Christian and several other students tried to keep up with him. Sammy was infatuated by science fiction and loved to explore and talk about technology and innovations only found in science fiction novels and movies, but he also had a clear interest in engineering. Not a day goes by when Sammy would not show Christian one of his latest drawings of a futuristic car or objects that would be very much welcomed by the military if built. One could say the future lay wide open to Sammy’s imaginations.

While Elijah departed to his classroom saying a brief goodbye to Christian and Sammy, the latter continued to stay close to Christian. Sammy did not seem to mind that they were about to arrive late to class.

“Do you believe in ghosts, spirits, or specters, Christian?”

“What do you mean ‘do I believe in ghosts’?“, Christian retorted.

“I researched and found out that 45% of Americans believe they do; 1 in 3 Brits as well and 29% of Brits believe in haunted houses!“, Sammy explained.

Christian was startled.

“Why would you even research something like that during your alone time! Is that all you did during the summer?“.

“Have you forgotten, Christian? He’s weird! That’s what Sammy does!”

A female voice they heard to their right. It was Alysha. She was always outgoing, energetic, and adventurous her parents would say. She wasn’t like the other girls who would talk about make-up, princesses, and fashion during her adolescence. She, Sammy, and Christian were like the three musketeers since the 6th grade.

“Alysha! How were your holidays?“, Christian asked.

“Oh, don’t get me started on what will go down as the worst summer in my whole life!“, Alysha groaned. “My parents dragged me to some lame outdoor boot camp for an entire month!“.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I was actually looking forward to coming back here!“, said Alysha.

“You can’t be serious! We are talking about Oakwood High! Who wants to be here?”

“With a bit of luck, maybe this year our school won’t show up in the newspapers due to some random teens fighting each other or something like that!“, Sammy interrupted.

Despite the large crowd, Christian still managed to eye out some of the students he had known since Freshman year. One of them got his attention in particular. Sammy traced his eyes and, not before long, groaned in response.

“Ugh! Still don’t wanna give up on her don’t you, Christian?”

“What? Isn’t she nice?” Christian responded.

“Yeah, but in the past three years you haven’t done a single thing to gain her attention!”

Of course, they were talking about none other than Veeona Vaughn. Most of her mates called her VK, which stood for Veeona, her first name, and Keandra, her middle name. She was average in height, but fit and slim. Her black braids went down to her back, long and shining. Many would often notice her by her big round earrings, which would end where her neck started. Her dresses always seemed to be of the latest trend; her jeans usually blue or black. She hardly wore heels, but her countless Yeezy shoes beat the competition, nonetheless. Without a doubt, VK was highly regarded amongst her peers.

“You gotta give up, Chris!“, Alysha replied chilled. “Guys like you simply got no chance. You’re talking about ghosts, comic books, and sci-fi. She’s talking about Yeezys, fashion, hairstyles, and prom!”

The three-headed toward their classroom to listen to Mrs. Summerbloom’s same speech that she always gave at the start of the new academic year. Nothing but the new nervous freshmen they started to see at the school halls occasionally made Oakwood High look any different.

The last bell rang. It was business as usual at Oakwood High. Students here and there, and teachers still tired as if the summer was simply not enough.

“Alright, I take back what I said!”

“You actually expected something new?“, Sammy questioned.

“Okay, okay, alright! How about we go to the park, just relax and talk a bit?“, Alysha proposed.

Sammy nodded in approval. Both turn to Christian. He let out a big sigh.

“Guys, I got the...”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sammy quickly dismissed. “You got ‘the meeting’! We get it!”

Sammy and Alysha made their way outside, while Christian remained. He sighed once more, before heading to the other side of the school. A humble waiting room lay before him in which he went. He took a seat while the receptionist lay adjacent to him. Not before long, a young woman walked up to him. She smiled.

“Same time, same place?“, she asked.

“Yep!”