Behold a Red Horse

In the long dark hallway on the bottom sub-floor of Mount Weather Annex C, Sable strolled forward with a burning passion highlighted by her fiery red hair. Security guards who tried to stop her fell to the floor: incapacitated by her kanon field.

However, the elite soldiers who made up the Director's personal guard were different: they were immune to basic kanon fields and some had abilities of their own. The squad guarding the final door to the ritual chamber was not going to go down without a fight.

That suited Sable just fine. If it had been in the open she would have lost against the MAJI special forces. However, in the cramped long hallway, she could focus her entire kanon domain in one confined spot.

Sable sucked in a deep breath and exhaled out. Last time she had been interrupted by Rook. Now it was time to see what she was really made of. Do or die time.

She bent down and took a sprinter’s stance. When she sucked in another deep breath the air itself was drawn towards her. She exhaled. The soldiers who were lined up with weapons drawn felt their aim shifted and distorted.

The next time she breathed in the lights in the hallway itself were drained of their energy putting almost everything into darkness.

The special forces immediately grabbed the night vision thermal goggles—PSQ-20s—attached to their helmets down to their eyes. Although night vision required ambient light to work, these prototypes had a thermal sensor installed which allowed them to see an overlaid thermal image: even through smoke, fog and dust.

However, what they saw through their four-eyed goggles was a sun growing brighter and brighter and brighter. The team leader panicked.

“Weapon’s free! Fire! Fire!”

Sable felt time slow down to a crawl, she saw images of her entire life bubble to the surface: faces of her friends, students, competitions, tests, Rook, Sheila, Queen, The Director, Angelica… and her father.

Sable manifested a miracle—she took authority and unleashed the manifestation with a Rhema.

“INFERNO.”

The air in the hallway ignited like a nuclear explosion.

››››››››››››››››››››››››››› / △ \ ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹

I see the knife plunge at my exposed stomach—I’m going to die.

In the past year I’ve had my life flash before my eyes too many times. I’ve even seen things that I didn’t know I had experienced because Angie had been secretly using my body at night.

I should feel terrified of the pain I’m about to experience of cold metal cutting through my warm flesh. I should be sad that I’ll never see my home, grandparents, or even Sable again. I should be feeling a lot of things the old me would have, but I’m not.

I feel grateful.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The knife stopped a half inch from my chest!

I looked from the knife to the Director's shocked face—as we both turned to look at the hand holding his arm. I blinked and still can’t believe what I’m looking at—

It’s…

It’s…

”Impossible!” The Director cried.

“Angie!”

The girl wryly smirked. Angie stood looking like my physical double holding the Director's arm in an iron grasp. Her eyes flashed red. “Hey Rahab, God heard your case and thinks you're full of shit.”

She delivered a left hook with the force of a freight train! His body flew through the large cavern and impacted the wall. Dust and rock fragments exploded everywhere.

Angie rips off the ropes binding me with ease. Now that I can get a good look at her I realize she isn’t a doppelganger. Her hair has never been cut or combed and hangs down to her butt, she looks more muscled, and of course her eyes glow red hot. At this moment she’s her own person.

I feel my emotions suddenly return to me and I can’t help but want to cry and hug her but she ruined it—my head is stiff-armed when I go in for a hug.

“We’re in the middle of a fight, dummy!” She flicked my forehead. “Be all sad and sappy later!”

I nodded happily.

We both turned and took defensive positions toward the fading dust cloud.

Out of the dust cloud stepped the Director. He adjusted his cuffs and tie as he walked towards us.

To my shock he didn’t have a scratch on him. Not even his suit was damaged. His voice became deeper than any pitch the human vocal cord was capable of.

“I am overjoyed at this new development. I will trade both your souls and reclaim my body.”

He instantly manifested a kanon field that took control of the entire cavernous room. We barely had time to prepare when he snapped his fingers—

“DIE.”

››››››››››››››››››››››››››› / △ \ ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹

On the other end near the entrance Sable had been fighting some of the robed cultists as well as dodging attacks from Queen and Dom. She should have been overwhelmed by the volume and numbers but she was a one-woman army.

Suddenly Sable felt an icy chill shoot down her leg. She didn’t understand it logically, but at an instinctual and spiritual level knew what was coming in the next second—

Death.

The two dozen cultists suddenly burst in liquid blood.

Queen and Dom fell. No, it would be more accurate to say they were pulled down to their knees.

Sable fell to her knees but caught herself—hands braced to the floor—like an unseen force was thrust down upon her. Death hungrily ate away at her willpower.

Queen and Dom stood back up. Something was protecting them from the widespread death. They brushed themselves off and started making their way towards her.

The atmosphere gave way and the unseen things from the spirit world became manifested in the physical. On their shoulders she could see the source of their power, two flickering tentacle-like creatures became visible, demon spirits. They’re contractors.

Sheila had warned her ahead of time of this possibility. Demon contractors make a pact in exchange for power. This would be trickier than she thought.

She looked over at the two Angelicas who had been brought to their knees. The Director had almost reached them. She had to do something. Now!

She strained her arm, trying to reach for the back of her sheath strapped to her waist. She felt the handle—Rook’s S-dagger. He had given it to her and instructed how to use it. She only had six “shots” loaded in the handle but it would be more than enough.

Queen and Dom had reached Sable. Queen took out a handgun and pressed it against Sable’s head.

“Be a good girl Sable and take your hand away, okay? If you do, I'll ask the boss to spare your life.” She squatted down to Sable. “And then you can be my little Sable-wable pet!”

“Hey, Queenie-weenie?”

“Oh yessy Sable-wable? Ooh, I just can’t wait for us to be together… just thinking about it makes my whole body tingle. Should I make your body tingle too to celebrate?”

She leaned in closer.

Sable smiled mischievously. “You disgust me.”

“Why you little bi—“

“PURGE.”

A power blast blew away Dom and Queen. The area wide curse was also broken, freeing Angie and Angelica.

However, their contracted demons shielded them from the blast without any damage. They both aimed their pistols and prepared to finish off Sable when the dust settled.

“Nice try bitch, but this is out of your league…”

Sable wasn’t in the dust cloud—she was already behind them—and she had a strange looking dagger.

Sable stabbed the back of Queen’s head. She dodged left—but Sable wasn’t aiming for her head—the blade plunged through the demon spirit. It had no effect.

Sable pressed the trigger on the blade which shot a stream of red through contours in the blade. The immaterial spirit took form, screamed, and vanished as it was dragged back into the abyss.

Queen fell to her knees, screaming uncontrollably.

Dom tried to shoot Sable point blank but missed the first shot. Sable grabbed Queen by the head and used her as a human shield.

“No! Dom! No! What are you doing? Don’t shoot! Save me!”

He immediately unloaded his magazine into his partner. He was trying to hit Sable, but missed. Dom laughed like a maniac.

“It hurts…” She croaked her last pathetic words.

Sable dropped Queen’s body and went to stab the demon again. Dom saw right through it. He swiftly dodged back while reloading.

“Too slow!”

Sable thought he had a point. She dove for Queen’s handgun and shot at Dom one-handed. He flinched and brought his hands up to shield himself.

All of the bullets were deflected. The demon’s semi-visible tentacles swayed around him like a protective shield. This isn’t good.

Dom brought his gun back on target. Sable knew she didn’t have a chance at dodging and her kanon energy was completely spent. She’d be shot multiple times and would just have to pray that she survived long enough to finish him off.

BANG!

Sable flinched and ducked. When she opened her eyes she realized she was still alive. She saw Dom was missing an arm.

“What happened? My arm! My aaaaaaaarm!”

Sable looked around to see who had saved her.

Next to the entrance Sheila lay prone with an anti-material rifle.

BANG! BANG!

The demon’s tentacles barely redirect two more shots that destroyed the renewables and ripped a chunk out of Dom’s other arm. Both the demon and Dom screamed.

“Ahhhhh! She’s supposed to be dead! I saw you kill her!”

“You saw what I wanted you to see.”

Sable flew through him with one graceful strike. Both the demon and Dom were cut into two.

“Give my regards to Queenie…”

There was no time to celebrate. Sable sprinted towards the raging maelstrom that was waging on the other side of the cavern.

And to think the real fight hadn't even started.