The headless body of Cherice Carpenter hits the ground a few seconds after Quint evaporates into thin air. Her severed head lies a few feet away, thrown by the act of her beheading. The crowd of punkers in front of The Congress Theater have begun to panic and scream at the sight of this, as would any sane person. A full blown riot breaks out and absolute pandemonium begins.
“Holy shit.” Is all Jack can say.
“I think it’s safe to assume we just met Xal’Vak.” Liam adds in total disbelief. “Oz, how come you couldn’t tell he was a fake?”
“Did we forget about the Old Spice? That stuff can disguise a rotting corpse.” Oz replies.
“Whatever! We need to get Cherice’s body out of here!” Saorshe screams.
“Oh no.” Violet says under her breath, but loud enough for the others to hear it as well.
“Oh no what? What oh no?” Brad asks.
“Look.” Violet points into the distance. Down the street is a large group of thirty or more vampires heading toward the theater.
“Fucking great. Can this get any worse?!” Jack begins to sweat.
“Don’t be a pussy. We can take ‘em” Violet urges.
“Whatever you say, superwoman. We need to get out of here… like now. Anyone have any ideas where we can stash this crazy chick?” Brad asks the others.
“The military base. How about that?” Liam responds.
“From last night?” Oz asks.
“Sounds good to me. Let’s do it.” Jack responds seriously. “Brad, you remember where the base in Humboldt Park is?”
“Umm…” Brad thinks aloud.
“I do.” Oz interjects. “We’ll take my van.”
Brad, Violet and Oz head for his ancient conversion van. Brad turns back to the others and asks, “What are you all going to do?”
“Figure out what to do about our friend Xal’Vak.” Jack replies. “Now get going!”
The three pile into the van and take off down the street. The approaching vampires see Violet get into the van and give chase on foot.
Jack walks over to Cherice’s severed head and picks it up. He hands it to Saorshe. “Hold this.” He deadpans. “Liam, help me carry her body to your car.”
Liam nods and together they load the headless body into his trunk. “Let’s try to make an inconspicuous getaway.”
“We just loaded a dead body into your car in front of half of Bucktown. I just hope no one saw your license plate.” Jack jokes.
“Take me to the library.” Saorshe says as they speed down Milwaukee.
After stopping on the way to pick up a few bags of ice in which to pack Cherice’s corpse to keep it “fresh”, they arrive at the library and hurry inside. On Saorshe’s desk in her office are the tomes she picked up at the haunted house.
“What are you going to do?” Jack asks.
“Take a look at these tomes to see if there’s something I can use to resurrect Cherice.” She replies.
“You said that you couldn’t decipher them.” Liam corrects.
“Well, I did decipher some parts. I learned a spell from this one.” She says, pointing at the larger of the books. “I’m hoping I can find something to help us now.”
“So do I.” Jack mumbles as he sits down on one of the chairs.
Saorshe opens the large book and places her hand in it, followed by the next book in the stack and then the third. “Dammit.” She says under her breath. “I can’t read them. At least not yet.”
“Was that some sort of witch power?” Jack asks.
“Psychometry. Through touch I can pick up on important details of inanimate objects. I was hoping it would work in this case.” Saorshe replies. “Wait a sec. Liam, can you go to the car and get me Cherice’s diary?”
“The locked one she got from Mikey the ghost? She keeps it on her?” Liam asks in a mildly creeped out way.
She nods in agreement and goes back to trying the tomes again as Liam heads out to retrieve the diary. A few minutes later he returns and places it on her desk.
“Would you like some coffee too, ma’am?” he jokes.
She smiles at him before placing her hand on the diary. A moment later she says, “I can tell that it doesn’t come from our dimension. It comes from the same one as the DeathDromes. We need to find the key to this. There’s definitely info in here we can use.”
“Try again.” Jack urges.
Saorshe concentrates and places her hand on the lock. “I kind of got this impression the DeathDromes represent some sort of importance. I’m not sure what that is though.”
“Like the fact that they’re made of basic elements?” Liam inquires.
“Could be. Let me try something…” Saorshe says as she rifles through one of her desk drawers. She produces a cigarette lighter. “Gotta have something to light my candles with.” She holds the book up and puts the flame under the lock. The sounds of gears turning can be heard, but nothing happens. “It’s having an effect, but I don’t think this is going to cut it.” She reveals as she throws the lighter on the desk in defeat.
“I have an idea…” Liam interjects while raising his eyebrows in a mischievous manner.
Liam ignites the acetylene torch and holds it to the locking mechanism on the diary while Jack holds the book with a pair of thick asbestos gloves. Saorshe stands as far back as she can in the machine shop to avoid getting showered with sparks, bits of burning book and/or demons that might fly out of it once the lock is opened.
The lock simply falls off the diary and onto the ground.
Saorshe runs over excitedly, takes the diary out of Jack’s hands and quickly opens it. Upon her initial attempt to decipher the writing inside, she eventually figures it out and begins to slowly read it aloud to the others. “There’s a spell in here that could come in handy. A jet of flame.”
“Ironic. That would have been extremely helpful a few minutes ago.” Liam says in an annoyed tone.
“There’s a lot of talk about the DeathDromes. A passage talks about how Xal'Vak is a shapechanger, but we figured that one out already. Some of this doesn't make much sense. At least not yet. But there is some information about the ritual that made Cherice undead. It’s not something that’s reversible, but technically she’s immortal until her body rots away.” Saorshe explains.
“And that means…?” Jack asks.
“She’s not really dead. She’s just… broken. We have to find a way to ‘mend’ her.” She translates.
“So how do we go about ‘mending’ her?” Liam inquires.
“We’re going to have to take part in a trial of sorts. To…” she reads ahead for a moment, “test our ‘Virtues as a Champion’.”
“What kind of a trial?” Jack asks.
“If I’m reading this right it’s a physical one.” Saorshe answers unconfidently. “But it looks like if we do this together as a team we would gain from it in some way. It doesn’t say what that would be, but it sounds like a reward.”
“I’m down.” Jack says.
“Me too, I guess.” Liam adds.
Saorshe gets on the phone and calls Intel to let him know about these new developments. His response is to ask that Jack comes to see him right away.
Jack arrives at SubTerranean and makes his way to the Green Room to see Intel waiting for him.
“I’m glad you came. Saorshe told me about what you three are planning on doing tonight and I wanted to let you know that I now officially consider you part of the team.” Intel says with a big grin on his face.
“That’s good to know. I don’t have to drink any punch or something like that now, do I?” Jack asks comically.
“No, no. But you’ve earned a gift as far as I’m concerned for your bravery thus far.” Intel adds as he walks to the section of wall in the back of the room that opens up into a large weapons locker. “You may choose one of these blessed weapons as your own.”
Jack walks to the cabinet and looks over the weapons on display. There’s a crossbow, a claymore as well as a variety of swords, a mace and a long bow. Jack takes a long look at an Asian influenced sword known as a Jian. He takes it from the cabinet and places it into its accompanying sheath.
“The Jian, a nice choice. Lightweight and deadly.” Intel boasts.
“So does this sword appear and disappear like the weapons the others carry?” Jack asks.
“Yup. Kinda cool, isn’t it?”
“You have no idea. I wish you could do that to my M4.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“Thought so.”
Intel hands over a Post-It Note that has a series of numbers written on it. “Give this to Saorshe for me, will ya?”
Jack looks it over and a second later asks, “Are these coordinates?”
“Nothing gets past you.”
Intel inputs the coordinates into Liam’s Garmin and once the destination pops up on the screen he tells the others, “Grant Park. That’s where the trial is to take place according to Intel.”
“Specifically?” Saorshe asks.
“Next to where it becomes Millennium Park.” Jack answers.
“Well, let’s get going then. I’m not sure how long we can leave Cherice in the ice bath before she starts to get ripe.” Liam jokes.
Once they arrive at the coordinates in Grant Park the three spread out to try to look for clues to figure out what they need to do to take their trial. They all seem to notice a singular sprinkler head sticking out of the ground near the sidewalk.
“I don’t see any other of these around, just this one. Kind of odd, wouldn’t you say?” Saorshe points out.
“Use your mojo detector. For all we know it’s a trigger for a trap of some kind.” Jack adds.
“Shellshocked much?” Liam snickers.
“If you’d seen the things I did in the war you’d be paranoid too.” Jack says in a serious tone.
“It is giving off a slight magical aura, but I don’t detect any danger.” Saorshe interrupts as she concentrates on the object.
“Well, then. There’s only one way to find out.” Liam says as he leans over to push the sprinkler. The sounds of machinery coming to life underground fills their ears and the grassy area behind the sidewalk opens up to reveal a descending flight of stairs.
“Down we go.” Saorshe nervously quips.
As they descend into the darkness Saorshe casts her Ball of Light spell which illuminates a passageway at the base of the stairs. The entrance closes behind them.
“Awesome. Now we have no choice but to carry on.” Liam says.
“Pussy.” Jack whispers loud enough for Liam to hear.
“I’m a werewolf. That would make me a bitch, thank you very much.” Liam says as he continues walking.
“Boys, please shut up.” Saorshe demands as something at the far end of the tunnel comes into view. As they approach it appears to be a person holding a large sword. Saorshe attempts to ascertain if this person is of a magical nature. “The person up ahead isn’t human. It’s a demon.”
Upon hearing Saorshe proclaim the being’s demonosity, Jack takes the safety off his M4 Carbine. “Are we talking an evil demon here, or something else?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we should ask.” Saorshe quips.
“HELLO!” Liam screams suddenly.
“Subtle. Real subtle.” Jack says.
An instant later both Liam and Saorshe are hit with a wave of nausea. Their equilibrium gets thrown off and they begin to waver. And just as quickly a booming voice fills their heads.
“WHO ARE YOU?” the voice demands.
“Uhh… I’m Liam and this is Saorshe and Jack.” He replies while pointing to the others.
“Who are you talking to?” Jack asks quizzically.
“You can’t hear the demon’s voice? It’s deafening!” Saorshe screeches.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?”
“We are here to take part in a trial.” Liam says.
“FOR WHAT PURPOSE?”
“Our friend has been badly hurt and we need her to be healed.” Saorshe explains.
“We were told that completing the trial would accomplish this.” Liam adds.
“WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE WORTHY ENOUGH TO TAKE THE TRIAL?”
“Because our friend needs our help. Isn’t that a worthy cause?” Saorshe answers.
“AND WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?”
“Because she’s our friend. That’s what friends do. Help each other.” Saorshe continues to elaborate.
“Okay, you guys are freaking me out a little bit.” Jack says as he takes a few steps back.
“Zip it. The demon is communicating with us through our minds.” Liam explains.
“So why can’t I hear it?” Jack asks.
“Because you suck. I don’t know. Just keep quiet!” Liam demands.
“AND WHY IS SHE IMPORTANT?”
“She is a Champion, like the three of us.” Saorshe answers.
“WHY IS SHE IMPORTANT?”
“She was murdered by one of the DeathDromes and was brought back to life when the spell that killed her failed. She has pledged to fight the evil plaguing the city until she can no longer do so. Leaving her in her present state is wrong, as I’m sure you are already aware.” Saorhse pleads.
“And she’s my friend!” Jack exclaims at random.
“AND IF THE DESIRED REWARD IS NOT DELIVERED BY COMPLETING THE TRIAL…?”
“It’s still the right thing to do, regardless of the outcome.” Saorshe states.
“We have to try.” Liam adds.
A few moments pass in silence, then the demon steps aside and motions for them to pass. They do so cautiously as a large pair of doors open to reveal a massive underground arena.
“I can guarantee that this was not planned to be part of Millennium Park.” Jack says in awe.
As they reach the center of the empty arena they notice three demons holding weapons at the far end. Three dangerous looking demons.
“DEFEAT THEM AND YOUR FRIEND WILL BE HEALED.”
“Defeat as in kill them or defeat as in subdue them?” Liam asks.
“I LEAVE THAT CHOICE TO YOU.”
“So what’s the haps? What’s going on?” Jack questions.
“We have to defeat the three demons over there.” Saorshe explains. “The one that let us pass says that it’s up to us to kill them or not.”
“Great.” Jack sighs.
“I think it’s safe to say they’re not the nice variety of demon.” Saorshe adds as she notices their swords are covered with serrated edges, electricity arcs between their hands and they snarl menacingly as they begin their advance. “Defend yourselves. Here they come.”
As the three demons move into the light the Champions can see that they are of a skinny, wirily muscled build, have grey skin that is covered head to toe in ornate tattoos and their faces resemble that of a satanic fish.
“Focus on one until it’s down, then move on to the next. Go for the one in the middle first, it might scatter the other two.” Jack says as he unloads a clip into the demon. It takes the damage without breaking stride.
Now that the first move has been made the demons pick up the pace and rush up to the Champions. Liam swings his blessed sword at the middle demon, but it’s too fast. It dodges his attack easily.
“Out of the way!” Saorshe screams as she casts Jet of Flame. Her outstretched hand becomes a flamethrower and the demon is set ablaze. Liam rolled out of the way just in the nick of time.
The demon on the left unleashes a fierce kick to Jack’s midsection that knocks him off his feet and painfully to the ground, his gun sliding from his hand. Liam rises from his tuck and roll to deliver the fatal slash to the flaming demon; its top half sliding off its waist. Seeing that Jack is down, Saorshe casts the spell again setting the demon on the left on fire.
“Careful with that!” Jack yells as he stands, the flaming demon not three feet from him. He takes out his blessed jian and slashes the demon across the chest. It takes the hit without flinching as its flesh continues to burn.
Liam runs over and finishes the demon off by disembowelment. “One more to go!” he hollers as he looks over to see the last demon ready to attack Saorshe.
As she prepares to cast another spell the demon spins and kicks her right in the face. She does down in a heap as its hands begin to spark. It prepares to unleash a torrent of electricity directly into Saorshe. Jack runs in and slashes its arm with his sword. He sliced through some tendons, in turn making the demon’s limb useless. Liam runs his sword right through the demon, its blood spilling out onto the floor and almost onto Saorshe. She stands just in time to avoid getting crushed by the falling corpse of the creature.
“Thanks.” Saorshe says as brushes the dirt off her clothes.
“No problem.” Both Jack and Liam say in unison.
Suddenly the three corpses of the demons begin to convulse and crackle with electricity. A single bolt of energy fires from each of the bodies and down the entrance corridor.
“The hell was that?!” Jack screams.
“Only one way to find out.” Liam says as he starts to run back to the corridor. The others follow.
Once they reach the entrance to the corridor they are met by the demon from earlier. It stands before them, sizing them up. An uncomfortable silence sets in as the Champions are at a loss as to what to do. Do they attack or continue staring down the extra-dimensional creature?
It reaches out and touches each of their shoulders. Almost immediately they are filled with a sense of empowerment and energy. All three of the can now hear the voice of the demon in their minds…
“YOU HAVE PASSED THE TRIAL AND PROVEN YOUR STRENGTH OF CHARACTER, A VIRTUE THAT FEW HAVE EVER ACHIEVED. YOU PUT YOURSELVES IN GREAT PHYSICAL DANGER TO HELP YOUR FALLEN COMRADE, THEREFORE YOU HAVE PROVEN YOUR WORTH AS A TRUE CHAMPION.”
The demon disappears. The Champions make their way back to the staircase and out the reopened entrance to Grant Park. As they approach Liam’s car they can all see that the trunk door has been opened rather forcibly. As they get closer it looks like it’s been blown open by a shotgun. Not knowing what to expect they take their time opening it, afraid of what they might see.
Suddenly the door flies open and Cherice stares up at them from the interior of the trunk. She is dripping wet from all the melting ice that surrounds her.
“What in the name of hell is going on here? Why was I in your trunk covered in ice?” Cherice asks impatiently.
“You… kinda… died.” Saorshe mumbles.
“Died. Are you serious? I can’t die.”
“Well, you did.”
“And we saved your ass by kicking some demon… ass.” Jack says with a certain amount of excitement.
Cherice gets out of the trunk and knocks all the loose pieces of ice from her clothes. “Wait a sec, was it that old guy we found at the theater that killed me?”
“He wasn’t Quint. He was the Water DeathDrome.” Liam replies.
“Well then why are we standing around? Let’s go after the bastard. I have a score to settle.” Cherice exclaims.
“Later. We need to get some rest first. Here…” Saorshe says as she hands over the opened diary, “we managed to get it open. We found out that by participating in a trial we could resurrect you, and there’s some info on the DeathDromes in there as well. I’m sure the answers about the ritual that killed you is in there. And more.”
“Thanks. Really. For everything.” Cherice says under her breath, embarrassed.
“So, umm, what’s death like?” Liam asks childishly.
“I’m glad you asked. There was this light that I was gliding toward, and when I got there all my friends and family that I’ve lost were waiting for me. They showered me with hugs and kisses… it was beautiful. Then my cousin Monty said to me ‘Bitch, go back where you came from.’”
“I can see your sense of humor has returned.” Liam remarks.
Saorshe uses her Sight power to look at Cherice to see if anything about her has changed since her resurrection. She can tell that there is definitely something different about her, but she’s still not technically ‘alive’. She then checks in with Intel to let him know that the trial was a success and that Cherice is okay.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired and am in need of some nice deep sleep.” Liam says while yawning.
“I should get back to the library and do some research. I wrote down some of the passages from the diary that I think might contain some info we could use.” Saorshe adds.
“And I should check in on the others at the base.” Jack says as he gets in the Liam’s car.
The others pile in and take off down Lake Shore Drive.
Saorshe sits in the library going over the passages she copied from the diary. Some of them refer to how to defeat the Water DeathDrome, specifically by electricity.
“That is the best news I’ve heard all day.” She exclaims to herself.
After Liam dropped the others off at SubT, Jack and Cherice decided to go and check in on the army base situation. Pulling up alongside the gate they see an insane sight… there are between thirty and forty vampires surrounding the armory building. They are attempting to break into the fortified complex by bashing the doors in.
“So much for getting some rest.” Jack sighs.
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