They Called Me FIVE

LANCE

"The Gifted People are more than that Lancelot. Three thousand years ago, you realize what they've done. That's why you work with Efta. You want to put an end to their cruelty. This –" he both raised his hands in the air, palms pointing at the metal gate with twisted wires and dripping with blood.

"This is their cruelty. You were chosen, revived once again to free the souls entrap in this gates." His marsh lights eyes stared at me, cocking his head in the side, expecting me to say something. 

But I'm confused. 

"I lived three thousand years ago? Work with the deity who chose Seven?"  I'm shaking all over I don't think the cold from this place has to do with it. I stared right into the shadow's empty face. Searching for answers.

If I really did live three thousand years ago, then that dream about Efta will make sense. Maybe the person who died back then was me. And she was crying. Could it be Seven too?

Is she a reincarnation of Efta? Same soul, same face, same adoration for blue roses... We meet in the exact timeline where we'll both be born again as Ekelktos? Not Deities…

Wait, wait, backtrack. I'm giving too much thought on this. There's more pressing matters I need to worry first. Before finding out who the hell are we in the past.

"You said, freeing them.. How will I do that?" My eyes slid to the rumbles inside and the hard grey metal of solitude that saves me from the horror within.

"Ask that question to yourself first." He floated towards me and made contact with my skin. The black veins… it slithered around my veins like sleek water. 

"How did…" My voice faltering at the mere sight of them. For the past few hours I've been trying to draw them out. When Magnus was battling the Childes alone, it didn't resurface. When Seven took it upon herself to protect me, Alpha Beast and Sam from the blood hogs walking through walls, it didn't resurface. 

I was desperate in those seconds. I needed it more than ever. I trained my shadows to obey my commands. Put a rein on them to control their quench for life. And yet… just one blast of black made them all disappear.

"You and your deity… you were wrong. You didn't choose me did you?" He turn around abruptly like I've caught him stealing food. He's guilty. I can tell even if he had no face nor expression to show me.

"It wasn't us." He admitted. 

"Then what? You let me borrow your power for a few days to randomly kill some fields and ugly Auf bastards but when I needed it the most, you take it away?" 

He was silent when he stared at the hands trying to get hold of the rails tightly, they make their way up, not minding the pain from the painful stabs of wires, I see their skin covered in blood, some of it have dried. 

One – a champion, has succeeded climbing the wires, his face, a gruesome artwork of three degree burn. He doesn't have eyes. His flesh, red and scalding, is like a fresh barbecued in low heat.

I gulped. In my mind I scream at him to hurry. Endure the pain, he can make it. I know he will. I tried to voice out these thoughts. But my throat was stuck in a choking mist. When I look down, the shadow has his index finger in my lips. Silencing me.

"You do not want the monster keeping them there get out." He told me. I parted my lips. A cold chill crawl in my mouth, freezing them in place. 

What kind of power is this?

"Just watch." 

My eyes can watch. But I don't think my heart can. A giant hideous hand, sharp pointy nails, and a face of a skull, no eyes, just plain skeleton blazing in fire. Loomed out of the gate. It picked up the owner of the hand – he scream. 

My heart is ramming against my chest. I gaped at horror. Watching the thing, the monster, swallowed the man in one gulp. It shakes its head in slow motion. Horns sticking out like bulls. A giant bull with skull face and height the size of a Beast.

It turn its back at us, before receding in the shadows of the gate. 

"Wha – what, what is that?" The shadow shake its head, not with disgust, but with pity. 

"The mortals inside - their injuries will continue to hurt, Lancelot. And none of them deserve to be punished with sentences higher than the greatest criminal in your history." He was rushing his words now, as if he were afraid the monster bull fire inside will pop up and drag us to his gates.

"Who are they? What did they do exactly?" 

"That's the thing. They did nothing. At least, nothing that could warrant such gruesome treatment from a monster." 

"I still don't understand. You want me to save them. But I don't have my blessings, I have no powers, don't you and your deity has more authority in this…space to call the shot?" My throat felt like I'd swallowed a pin cushion full of sharp needles sticking out to rip the inside of my neck. 

The mist around me thicken, it crawled on my legs, in my knees, until it incapacitate me from moving. I can only move my mouth, my eyes, and I popped my eyeballs out towards the shadow.

"Ask that question yourself." He answered sternly. He flip his cloak under his feet and Sam appeared right beside him. Still unfocused, transparent and staring at dead space. 

The shadow shoved Sam towards me, I almost didn't catch him. He weigh thrice the weight of his body back at his house. 

"It's time." A tick tick sound of a clock came from his pocket. He fetch it, look at the round object in his hands and waved a cloak above me. 

"Think back on what you see here, Lancelot. It wasn't us who chose you, Death did. Me, my master and you are just wielders. We don't have a say in whatever happens in our abilities, because it wasn't ours in the first place." 

He inched his faceless head closer, the marsh light burning brighter I lean back to get away from it. He didn't let me. He put his other hand on my nape and grip on it tightly. Putting my face right where he can stare me down.

"If only you knew what's the price for getting you out of there alive, you wouldn't be here grumbling about your blessings playing 'absent'." 

What's that supposed to mean? 

The shadow grabs my head and Sam's and began chanting some mantra too low for me to hear the actual words. I held Sam closer. My eyes lingering at the metal gates. His words felt raw and kept on ringing in my head.

Save the souls. Death chose me, not them. My brain cells is playing computer processor on me again. Picking up words and pinning them with others to make more sense. In my head I see a red line connecting them all.

But it still doesn't make any sense. Information are too haywire and scrambled. Amidst it all, I found one person that can link them all for me. Seven. 

She knows. I'm sure she does.

I close my eyes. The mist draping around me and Sam like an umbrella shielding us from the rain. The dead silence were replace by shouts. A shake in my arm jolted me awake. Magnus face come into view.

He looked at me, wild eyed. Seven is unconscious at his back, I can tell by the black hair. 

"What the heck Lance?! I thought you were dead!" He breathe in relief. I scrambled on my feet. Patting my hands to where Sam's is. He's still there. In the ground, the face not exactly what I saw of him in the other side.

"Sam. Sam. Sam wake up!" I shake his shoulders. 

"Lance, I know you can't accept it but he's –"

"Sam!" I watch his closed lids twitch. I stopped shaking him. His chest slowly rise from his chest. Color came back to his face. His cracked lips parted. His eyes crack open.

"What the –" Magnus step back in surprise, he almost dropped Seven cradling his back. 

"Sam!" I couldn't stop myself from tackling him into a hug. He yelped in surprise. His body is still cold. But at least, his heart is beating. His blood is pumping life on his body. 

"What happened?" he asked groggily after I break away from him.

"Death happened. Thank God I brought you back to the living safely!" I beamed.

"You did what?" Magnus butted in.

"Guys? A little help here." Alpha Beast almost stumbled back to Magnus when he lost his balance. I stood up and supported him. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Really not. Crap, this is tough." He croaked. His face has turned chalky white. Drained out of strength and energy, he collapsed on my arms.