|
The group of people were being whipped into a frenzy by the minister's pre-sermon music inside the Church of Histhology; some were throwing up their hands and letting the music carry them around the chapel. Some stamped their feet and clapped their hands to the rhythm of the beat of the music.
A man in a uniform that called back to World War One era navy sailing stood at the pulpit, he signaled that the music be turned down. He was an older man, his days in the sun had aged his face to the point of it almost being like leather, and his white hair was closely cut almost in a military style.
"Welcome my children," the man on the platform said. "Soon the total solar eclipse will happen and then we will begin to call forth our new master."
The audience applauded and cheered.
"There is something we need to do first," he said. "We must attack the League of Explorers headquarters, so they cannot stop the coming of our new master."
There was more cheers and applause from the crowd.
"We will do that tomorrow when they are at their weakest," he said. "There will only be a few of them there, and we can overtake them quickly. They will not be able to get a communication out because of solar prominences from the pending eclipse."
"We need to gather up all able-bodied men and women and get them to the city as soon as possible," he said. "Pack as many people as you can into your vehicles and we will soon stop those that think the entry of the new master into our realm is not a good thing."
The morning sun shined into the library of the League of Explorers headquarters. It was the only place where Agent Force could find quiet enough to think. Most of the files the "Psychiatrist" read were legitimate, but the ones about him were doctored by a government Psychiatrist friend of his. At least he thought so. As one of the new guys, Force had to undergo a battery of Psychiatric Tests, and he hoped that his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder did not show that much. He was brought in along with The Elementalist and Dr. Magi to fill in as back-ups to the new group. Dr. Magi was away being debriefed by Major Patriot about what she had found out about the black creature that was holding the submarine down.
The door to the library opened and The Elementalist rode in on a sphere of air. Force wished he could be 10 years old all over again, like The Elementalist was.
"Hey, Mister Force, what are you doing in here?" he asked.
"Just needed somewhere quiet to think kiddo," Force replied.
The kid jumped off the sphere and onto a comfy chair opposite Force. The sphere of air disappeared with the wave of a young hand.
"What do you think about the Priest guy who was just here?"
"That church he works for was being investigated by folks from all sorts of government agencies," Force said. "I know when I was with the Secret Service, we were trying to nail down a counterfeit money ring they were using to 'fund' their church. The FBI was also working to see if their accounting practices were on the up-and-up."
"I have been testing the samples of the black muck from the house and have found something that might be significant," Magi said.
"And that is?" Major Patriot asked.
"Shock Jock's electricity did two things to the muck," Magi said. "First, it stimulated the muck and made it more solid and at the same time made it brittle."
The major noted something on her pad and continued on a new line of questioning.
"What about where the creature that was holding the submarine might have come from?"
"I have been researching, with the rather limited resources of the library on site, and concluded that it might have come from another dimension."
"Can you find a link to the Church of Histhology with the appearance of the creature?"
"No, but I believe with time, I can find some link to the church and what happened."
Suddenly, an alarm claxon started sounding.
Major Patriot put a finger to her earpiece.
"Computer, status report," the Major called out.
A pleasant male voice spoke from apparently nowhere, "Protestors are beginning to launch projectiles at the building."
"Am I dismissed Major?" Dr. Magi asked.
"Yes, continue your research, hopefully we can find out where this ooze came from." Patriot said.
Magi got up from the table and straightened her long white lab coat and pulled out her dark brown ponytail before she left the room. She opened the door and called out, "Portal!" and a wormhole appeared in the doorway. She walked through it and it disappeared.
Major Patriot ran into the main control room that was a floor above the conference room.
The glass in the window next to where Force and The Elementalist were sitting shattered. A few more rocks flew in barely missing them both.
"Get behind me kid," Force said.
A two foot diameter amber colored force shield appeared attached to Force's left arm. It deflected some stones, but Force flinched every time a larger one hit the shield.
My force blasts are useless against them because it would also take out the fence that is holding them back.
A signal chimed.
"Major Patriot to Agent Force, what's your status?" the female voice asked, businesslike.
"Kind of busy trying to keep from getting pelted with rocks Major," he said.
The Elementalist snapped his fingers.
"I got this," he said.
In what can only be described as a form of Tai Chi, the Elementalist did a series of movements that ended with him waving a hand left to right that formed a wall of air that intercepted the stones and held them there.
"Good job, do you think you could put up a more physical barrier?" Major Patriot asked.
"One major barrier coming up," Elementalist said.
In another series of Tai Chi type of movements that ended with him raising both hands; the ground between the fence and the building arose with brown stone peaks some nine feet high.
"Good job Elementalist, you just earned your pay for the month," Patriot said. "Agent Force, it looks like the situation has been resolved for now. The two of you need to get ready to move out of here."
Next: Wolf Pack
Characters created by Jesse N. Wiley and various authors
|