Link 00: Zolomon's Report

A Fateless is born but is already in mortal danger.

LINK 00: ZOLOMON’S REPORT

Blood. The metallic stench of blood hung heavily in the air. I flipped open my phone to check the time. My evac wouldn't arrive for another eighteen minutes. The smell of blood did not prove to be a good sign. I picked up the pace. My sneakers smacked the wooden floors of the aging penitentiary. It would soon be shut down for good. Too many unsightly horrors had occurred in its one hundred and twenty years. I'd bared witness to some of the possessions myself, and they were far from publicity stunts. Demons were real, and they weren't the only ones seeking out vengeance; angels did as well.

I rounded a corner, heading for the front security guard's desk. The smell of blood grew heavier. I cursed under my breath; of all the times to have been late for my shift. Fate had held me up, and I barely managed to give them the slip. Their presence grew in the small Midwestern county of Belmont. My husband and I feared the worst, and for a good reason. The Body of Fate were dead set to see the world burn in hellfire, and we and a handful of others were the only ones standing in their way. The balance of power all came down to tonight. He would be born at midnight exactly. We could see his fate no further for the baby boy would have no chain to follow. Once he left his mother's womb, he'd be off the radar forever.

We could not allow Fate to get their hands on him, and turn him loose upon the world.

As I made it to the security booth, I found my eyes widening in horror. The security guard sat slumped over in his seat, blood dripping from the gaping wound across his neck.

“D****t all to hell,” I hissed under my breath.

Written in blood were the words, “You're too late, old woman.” and underneath that, only the word, “Fate.”

I slammed my fist on the security desk. The guard didn't have his key ring hanging from his belt. Of course, they'd taken it, and in this ancient prison, there were no electronic locks. Keys were the only way in or out.

Setting my jaw, I turned to the gate blocking my path to the western cellblocks. No barrier would be standing in my way tonight. I lifted my leg and kicked as hard as I could. The door easily flew off its hinges and crashed into the next door, taking it down as well. I winced, feeling the strain in my lower right side. Yes, I had a powered up prosthetic leg, but the rest of my body belonged to a fifty-six-year-old woman with arthritis.

I rushed forward, hopping over the fallen doors. I ran through the hallway bearing windows that overlooked half a mile drop into the valley below. Through the western cellblock I pushed and right into the courtyard. The spotlights were all out, which didn't bode well. They were newer additions, and a guard should've been stationed at each. Either they were in bed with Fate, or they were dead like my earlier unfortunate friend. Thunder boomed somewhere in the distance, and a hot, strong wind blew.

With every ounce of strength I had, I ran across the yard, and into the next building. I burst through the recreation room, leaping over tables. Finally, I made it to the branching hall, leading to the chapel, warden's office, and the med ward. I spun around the corner to the med ward, and that's when I heard the scream.

I raced up to the first door on my right. Without hesitation, I kicked it off its hinges and rush inside.

Before me stood an even grizzlier scene. Dr. Barnard Ring, an associate of mine, hovered over Susanna Ashe, a pregnant prisoner. In his hands, he held her heart. She lay with her head to the side, eyes dead and wide with fear; a scream forever froze on her once beautiful face. Two figures stood in the corner, cowering. The prison’s Priest Benedict, and Nurse Bowkawitz.

I ignored them and drew my forty-four magnum.

Dr. Ring regarded me with a grin, then crushed Susanna's heart in his bare hand.

“You're too late, Zolomon,” he said. “The child is dead. It has been ordered by the Ruling of Seven.”

He referred to the rulers of Heaven, which meant he wasn't with Fate; they were more demon friendly.

I stared at Susanna Ashe's swollen, torn, belly. It bore multiple stab wounds. Could the baby have survived such an attack? I didn't give the b*****d another chance to speak. One trigger pull later, Dr. Ring hit the wall, and slid to the floor, dead. Possessed or not, I didn't have the tools, nor the time. Fate would arrive soon. I could already sense their dark miasma in the air. They wanted the boy in their clutches.

I rushed to Susanna's body and reached into the bloody mess. As I found the baby, I carefully withdrew him and wiped the blood from his face. A deep cut ran over his right eye. Just as I’d feared he hadn't made it, and that the world's death sentence had been cast. But the baby stirred. It cried, and I realized I’d never heard such a beautiful noise.

A buzzing came to my ear. “Sandra? Do you read me?”

“Yes,” I said. “I have the package.”

“Dr. Zolomon?” Nurse Bowkawitz asked. “What's going on? What happened to Dr. Ring? Why did he�"?”

I glanced at her for all of a moment. “He wasn't Dr. Ring anymore.”

With that, I turned on my heel and rushed back into the hall. I started toward the courtyard, but a figure appeared at the end. A tall woman, with red hair, pulled back into a ponytail. She wore crimson robes, and in her right hand, held a morning star. I'd never seen her before in person, but I knew her to be Eve, the leader of the Right Hand, the warriors of the Body of Fate. She's managed to take out a score of our operatives in a single battle.

“Not good,” I breathed.

She marched towards me. I couldn't win a fight against her while holding a newborn, if at all. I needed to get to the evac point. I sprinted the opposite direction and skidded to a stop before the chapel. A man appeared in azure robes. He held a staff in one hand, and wore an amulet adorned with various colored gems. I knew him to be of the other sect, the Left Hand of Fate. His name being Adam. They were known for their powers on the supernatural front. He tapped his staff on the ground, and a portal opened up at his feet. A huge clawed hand reached out and grabbed the wooden floorboards.

“D****t!” I hissed.

I spun and headed for the mess hall, with the hope I could find a way out from there. When I entered the room, standing in the dead center, I found the Eye of Fate, Lord Xeno Staedtler, himself. The leader and most powerful member of the cult. Despite the lack of wind, his red and black cape flapped about, and he held a wicked looking dagger in his right hand.

“Greetings, old friend,” he said. “It has been far too long. Sanguinem Gladium has missed you.”

I cringed as I stared at the weapon to which he referred. He'd once held me at his mercy and tortured me for days with the dagger.

With my free hand, I lifted my gun, knowing full well it couldn't harm Xeno.

“Hand over the child, dear,” Xeno said. “And I will allow you to leave and go back to your feeble, cowardly husband. Tsk, tsk, making a woman do a man's job. I’ll have to have a word with him.”

I clenched my teeth and unloaded the remaining bullets. Every shot struck him, and he reacted to each, taking the hits, or pretending to. When my gun clicked empty, he stood up straight and pulled back his hood, revealing his gray-tinged skin, and his glowing red eyes. He brushed his silver hair over one ear and grinned.

“You hurt me... my feelings, I mean. I thought we were friends.”

“Once!” I shouted. “Until you betrayed us.”

“Betrayed is such a harsh choice of words, my dear.”

The loud chopping of helicopter blades came from outside the building, and a bright light shone in the window.

“Sandra, get down!” my husband cried in the radio.

Xeno barely managed to turn before a barrage of bullets shattered the nearby window and showered him. This time, he needn't fake it. Each powerful shot came from a Gatling gun, and blood sprayed from the wounds. It wouldn't keep Xeno stunned for long. The moment the gunfire stopped, I ran for the window.

The helicopter turned, leaving the door wide opened. I jumped onto the sill and leaped for the copter. Something heavy caught my prosthetic leg. The baby rolled into the copter, screaming its head off. My husband grabbed up the child and grabbed my arm with his other hand. I twisted back and saw Xeno stood at the edge of the window, a horrifyingly evil grin curling on his lips.

A cold chill ran up my prosthetic and into my upper leg, where the flesh began.

“Lose the leg!” my husband cried.

I reached down and slapped the release. The fake limb came free in Xeno's hands, and his glowing eyes grew wide with fury. He roared as the helicopter flew into the air. He didn't dare attack the chopper with his dark magic, for risk of hurting the baby. He wanted him alive, at least for the moment.

I breathed a deep sigh of relief and turned to look up at my husband and his cheerful grin and wrinkled face. He almost looked twenty years younger.

“We did it, Sandra!” His voice teemed with excitement. “We've rescued the first of the Fateless.”

I sat up and leaned against a seat. “I hope we're right about them.”

“We are, believe me, we are,” he said as he wiped the blood from the baby's face. “Oh my! He needs medical attention.”

“Give me a second.” I nodded. “What's his name?”

The old soldier shook his head. “Remember, he was never recorded in the Codex of Fate. He has no name.”

“Then give him one.”

He shook his head, “I think it's your place to do so. You rescued him after all.”

I tilted my head back and sighed. “Let’s see.”

Thinking back into my past, I remembered the man who introduced me to my husband. He went by Jace, but his full name was Jacob.

“Jacob,” I said.

“After my grandfather,” my husband nodded. “A good name indeed.”

A moment later, the storm clouds parted as the first rays of sunlight splayed upon Jacob's face. Despite the cut down his eye and the permanent loss of vision in one, the baby cooed and reached for the sun.

“This is only the beginning, dear,” I said. “We won't let the world end.”

He grinned back, looking at me through dark sunglasses. “No, my love, we won't.”