Powers Both Heroic and Horrifying

The green glow from Elysia’s hands lit the inside of the well. Elysia clung to Alex’s back as he slid down the side of the well, his dagger scraping the side of it, slashing through the stone as they fell. Before they hit bottom, Elysia created a soft cushion of green energy below them. Still, they hit with a thud, briefly losing their balance.

“We’re alive…” Alex moaned. “Right now I refuse to consider living a plus.”

“We have a chance,” Elysia said. “Let’s find where this root buries itself so we can dig it out.”

She turned her glow onto the great root in the center of the well. It was black and pulsating. Their eyes followed it down to the ground, where it wrapped itself around a man.

“Holy…” Alex said in disgust.

“Eldrin!” Elysia ran forward, grabbing the man’s hand. He wasn’t desiccated like the others. His eyes were wide, aware, horrified.

“E…Elysia?! How…is Augarium…” he croaked out.

“No, unfortunately. What happened here?” Elysia asked.

“Tried to find a way…protect Gravine. Those scum…bandits…offered me a plant. Said it was magic. Magic plants…my specialty. My arrogance…thought I could control it. But Cucuboros…so tricky. So convincing…” Each word sounded like a battle for the old man.

“Well, I’ll get you right out of there and we’ll have ourselves some pumpkin pie,” Alex said, raising his daggers. He plunged them towards the root, where they didn’t even make a scratch.

“What?” Elysia asked as the attack failed.

“This damn root is like steel!” Alex said.

“Last…last defense of Cucuboros…” Eldrin struggled. “It is tied…to me. In order to kill it…”

“No…” Elysia said. “No! I refuse to accept death! Nobody dies! I won’t let anybody die!”

“Your friends…I can see through the eyes…of Cucuboros…if I try. They’re about…to die. Elysia…please…don’t make me responsible…for their deaths,” Eldrin begged.

Elysia stood there, shaking her head, not knowing what to do.

*

The attacks kept coming. Blow after blow, Jake, Kraelin and Silver kept fighting them back, swinging at vines, only for new ones to take their place. It was a hopeless battle. They knew it. Yet still they fought. Jake turned his head to the still normal humans huddling in the corners and doorways and alleys surrounding them, gritting his teeth.

“What is wrong with you?! Help us!” he shouted, slicing yet another whipping vine.

“We…we can’t!” a woman cried out. “He’s too strong!”

“We’re too weak!” a man yelled.

“He’ll hurt us…our families…” a teenager wailed.

“My friends are going to die here!” Jake shouted. “I’m going to die if this keeps up! But I ain’t giving up! Maybe I’m too stupid like Kraelin and Alex and everyone else thinks! I’m not special! I never will be! But I won’t back down! If you can’t stand up for yourselves, THEN I WILL!”

The metal bands running through Jake’s skin began to glow, much like Alex’s cloak had. Kraelin slowed momentarily, seeing what was happening.

“Jake…” Kraelin said.

“I won’t stop until either all these damn plants go down or I do!” Jake screamed. “And I ain’t going down anytime soon!”

Energy crackled over his body. He grew a foot as the metal expanded all over his body, and two great swords extended from the backs of his hands as his sword was absorbed into his body. With a blistering roar, he surged forward, slicing through vines and knocking the zombies off of Kraelin and Silver.

“So…I’m guessing this is new to you, too,” Silver asked Kraelin, punching a zombie over his shoulder.

“You would be correct. I have absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Kraelin said, leaping over her and delivering a flying kick to a zombie.

The villagers watched. They saw the teens fighting a hopeless fight, tiring, going on, one of them transforming into something fierce, desperate, powerful, all for them. A hand grabbed an axe, and a fat man began to walk forward.

“If he can do it…” the fat man said, rage in his eyes, “…then I can do this. For my family. No more.” He ran to the vines, chopping with all his might.

“NO MORE!”

The dam seemed to break. The villagers surged forward. No more. They would take their lives back. They would stand with these young people.

“Jake!” Kraelin shouted, a smile on his face. “We might actually have a chance!”

“More than a chance!” Jake said, charging at Cucuboros. The Twisted spit great seeds at him which exploded, knocking him back but not down. “I believe in Alex and Elysia! Any minute now this thing is going down!”

*

“I won’t kill you!” Elysia refused, backing away from Eldrin. “I…I’ve known you since I was little! I can’t…”

“Please…Elysia…don’t keep me alive…while others die…” Eldrin begged.

“Elysia…I…I don’t think we have another option. We don’t have time,” Alex said, looking at the old man. “I don’t…I’ll do it. If it’s the only way…”

“No! I don’t accept this!” Elysia shouted. “There has to be another way! I’m not going to let you be a murderer!”

Alex hugged her tightly. “I can deal with it. You’ve been through enough lately…I can handle this. I’ve got it. I can help.” He broke the hug, turning and walking towards the old man, a dagger in his hand.

“Thank you…young lady…” Eldrin said.

“Young lady…heh. I’ll forgive you for the lady thing, considering,” Alex said. He raised the dagger, tears falling down his cheeks. “I’m s…sorry…”

The light changed. Suddenly it went from bright green to a black, pulsating glow. Alex and Eldrin both looked, seeing Elysia standing there, her face contorted, her hands covered with crackling black energy.

“No,” Elysia said simply. “I won’t let this happen. Not again.” She placed her hands on the root of Cucuboros, pouring her black energy into it. “Not again! Nobody dies!”

*

Cucuboros started shaking. His plant flesh began twisting and pulsing. “What…what is this…what are you…” he moaned as his skin began to blacken.

“Kraelin, what the hell is going on?” Jake asked. He looked and saw his friend staring not in elation at their enemy dying, but in horror.

“Tell me you didn’t…not again…” Kraelin whispered.

Black energy began to crackle over Cucuboros, pulsing and pounding, searing his flesh. The vines limply fell off the people they were holding, twitching before rotting away.

“Void…” Cucuboros croaked. “I can see…the Void…the screaming nothing between worlds...stupid girl…how can you…”

The Twisted exploded, plant bits flying outward as a beam of black energy shot up into the sky. As they watched, they thought they heard a scream, but they couldn’t tell if it was Cucuboros…or Elysia.

“Did…did we win?” Jake asked.

“If you want to call it winning…” Kraelin said softly, not knowing whether to cheer or cry.