Meanwhile, in a remote region of the galaxy, the Darkness has summoned the Moon Hunter. In the Chamber of the Dark Faces, the Darkness is represented by the three faces of Baal. Each face looks strikingly similar. They hover in the nothingness of the Chamber. A red, hazy backdrop was draped behind them. Their faces were a burnt orange with large, blue scars. Long, purple hair flowed on each side of their red and yellow eyes. Fanged teeth protruded from their mouths. Patches of multi- colored lights floated like clouds across the Chamber.
“The darkness grows and soon shall envelop even us,” one said in a high-pitched
voice.
“There is no debate,” the inside face remarked. “The powers of Solstice must be
harvested.”
“We must put to a vote immediately,” another said.
“There shall be no vote,” the middle face replied angrily. “The Master has already
decided.”
The Chamber door creaked open. The Moon Hunter entered. His head was completely encased in a gold and yellow armored helmet. His eyes were covered by a glass visor tinted with ash. He wore a mixture of black clothing and body armor. A long, purple cloak flowed behind him. Above his head, a globe replica of a barren moon hovered and rotated with no effort. The Moon Hunter carried a long scythe with a multilayered crystal blade.
The three faces sneered as the door slammed shut. The Moon Hunter walked toward them on the narrow causeway. It was the only thing visible in the Chamber. On both sides of the bridge, there was absolute darkness. If one fell, there was no way of telling how far down the abyss descended.
“You shall not approach,” the face shrieked.
“The agent of the Darkness has already approved of me,” the Moon Hunter replied.
“He required only that I make my presence known to you. I am…”
“You are the Moon Hunter, destroyer of worlds,” the middle face interrupted. “Your
kind is quite known to us.”
“Then you are aware that I can locate Solstice for the faces of Baal,” he said. “And
return him to you.”
“Where has he escaped?”
“He has left your universe and traveled to another reality,” the Moon Hunter replied. “It is a place called Earth in the Milky Way galaxy.”
“The universe of the One? Where his beloved creation dwell?”
“Yes.”
“How can you know such things?” one face bellowed.
“The Darkness sees all things,” the Moon Hunter calmly responded. “The faces of Baal
grow weak and irrelevant to the Master. The Chamber of the Dark Faces no longer holds
power as it did centuries ago before it was banished by the light. You are false gods now.”
“You shall leave at once, Moon Hunter," the one face pleaded. “Leave no stone
unturned!”
“As you wish,” he answered. Moon Hunter turned and walked across the bridge.
“Find Solstice!”
The door to the Chamber opened.
“Solstice has chosen a planet where there are no knights to protect him,” the Moon
Hunter said. “I will return with him soon.”
The Moon Hunter disappeared as the long door crashed shut. Momentarily, the three
faces hovered silently.
“The Darkness knows the truth about us,” the face in the center spoke. “As does the
One.”
The teen stumbled through the crowd of party goers, an empty bottle in his hand. His
face was tan, his long black hair tied into a ponytail. A red streak of paint was splattered above his nose. He wore a buckskin jacket and a feather necklace adorned his white t-shirt.
He tossed a smoking cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with his moccasin.
All around him, the party continued under the full moon of the desert. A slight wind had
kicked up. There were several bonfires blazing, surrounded by teenagers. Some were toasting marshmallows, others blasting music and dancing. One group of kids had erected a
volleyball net and were playing. People milled around everywhere, grilling food and having a
good time. Cars were scattered across the perimeter of the party.
It was noisy, congested and dirty. Miles away from the nearest town, nobody seemed to notice or care. It was just another, boring Wednesday night in the Arizona desert. At least,
it was for these kids anyway.
“What a bunch of losers,” the teen said. He let out a hiccup. “You hear me?!?” You’re
all a bunch of losers.”
“Shut up you idiot,” someone called back. “Go home to your reservation.”
“You listen to me,” he shouted back. “You remember the name Dakota Nelson. I’m
protesting.”
He stumbled over to an old red car. Dakota let out a long, drawn out burp as he
fumbled for his keys.
“Yeah, you’re really protesting, Dakota,” another teen called out. “Go sleep it off.”
“You all coming out into the desert to trample on my people’s ancestral lands,” Dakota continued. “You got no respect. There will be justice. There will be justice. The Great Spirit will not overlook this travesty.”
He slumped down into the driver’s seat and closed the door. He inserted the key. The
engine turned over several times but would not start.
“Come on, come on,” he pleaded. “Start!”
The engine roared to life.
“I shouldn’t be driving,” Dakota whispered. “I’ve just got to get over those hills and I’ll
rest.”
The car raced away from the party in a cloud of dust and disappeared over the sand
dunes. The fire ball appeared in the night sky, a trail of flame flowing out behind it like a tail.
Elisha Lightning whipped over the sand dunes rocketing past tumbleweeds and broken
cactus. She could see Paradox Runner moving in a parallel line with her.
“I can take him,” she whispered to herself. She gritted her teeth and accelerated. A solid streak of purple and green lightning shot out from her.
Dakota Nelson slumped over the steering wheel of his car. He felt sick. He had pulled
off the dirt road and parked his vehicle.
“Don’t drink and drive,” he mumbled. “Don’t drink and drive.”
Suddenly, the interior of the car was flooded with light. Dakota popped up and
gazed out the window. All around him, there was light.
“What in the world,” he gasped. Dakota frantically rolled down his window. “It’s like it’s
turned into daylight out here!”
He gazed out the window and saw the fireball descending from the sky in a blaze
right towards him.
“Oh no, no, no,” he shouted, reaching for the keys in the ignition. He fumbled around
with them. Everything around him was getting brighter and brighter. “Holy crap! Come on!
Come on!”
Dakota Nelson could feel the heat of the fireball as he realized the car was not going to
start. He mumbled a prayer to the Great Spirit and then closed his eyes.
Elisha Lightning saw the car parked in an isolated part of the desert. However, she was
focused on somebody else. At super speed, she pivoted and in a matter of seconds placed
herself directly in the path of Paradox Runner. He slid to a halt, using his orange boots and
one gloved hand, kicking up sand and stone. He smiled.
“Good move,” he said.
“I’m getting ready to put you away, PR,” Elisha Lightning said. Her hand with the Elijah
bracelet glowed with purple and green energy.
“Not the super punch again,” Paradox Runner said. “I have things to grade.”
The night sky disappeared and was replaced with a bright light. The fireball roared
directly over their heads.
“What in the world was that?!?” Elisha Lightning gasped.
“A bright star in the sky over Arizona,” the Paradox Runner quipped. “Just like a star that appeared over two thousand years ago in a tiny town called Bethlehem. Do you think the gods have come down to Earth tonight?”
Elisha Lightning remembered the car she had seen just minutes ago. The meteor was
heading straight toward it.
“You hesitate,” the Paradox Runner remarked.
“There’s a car,” Elisha Lightning replied. “Over the hill.”
“Oh yes,” Paradox Runner smiled. “I remember seeing that ugly piece of junk too. It
must be a student’s. Probably from the party. Maybe there is even more than one person in
it. You know how young people are these days. Here’s the paradox, my dear. Capture
the super villain…”
“You’re not super,” she interrupted. She watched the fireball descending closer.
“You’re just a villain.”
“Ouch, that hurts,” Paradox Runner replied. He continued, “Capture the super
villain or rescue the person in the car. Capturing me you could save thousands. Save the person in the car, you save only one. It’s your choice.”
“There’s no choice,” Elisha Lightning said. “I have to try.”
“But, are you even fast enough to save the boy?” he said. “It’s so hard to play the
hero?”
She zipped away in a flash of speed leaving Paradox Runner alone. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
Elisha Lightning raced across the desert sand. Cactus, scorpions, and snakes
disappeared under her lightning laced boots. Above her, the fireball filled the sky as it
plummeted closer and closer to Earth. She gritted her teeth in determination and
increased her speed. Elisha Lightning could see the red car in the distance. As the ball of
fire grew larger and larger, she realized an awful truth. She was not going to make it in time.
THE ADVENTURE WILL CONTINUE........