I stopped because before my very eyes yet another ghostly child appeared! “You cannot
leave! None of us can leave! He won’t let you! We’ve all tried and we died! But you are
still alive you can fight him and set our souls free! You must go to the well! It’s
your only hope�? She turned to her left and pointed towards the woods and whispered
sadly, “Go now quickly, go to the well�?

 

Once more I was alone! I will never ever forget the hopeful innocent expression in that
child’s eyes! She wanted me to go to a well! To do what, hide? To bring back water? She
never told me what I was supposed to do once I found the well! I stared at the woods,
looking for the shape of a well, for some sort of a building, a shed, but saw nothing!
But I followed her tearful suggestion, I ran towards the trees, as my legs became
slowed down by brush and brambles, but I never stopped.

 

How far into the woods was I supposed to go? Had I passed it already I cried out to
myself? Just before I was about to stop and try to think, I found the well! Or rather,
the well found me as I felt myself falling through a hole in the ground! As I fell
through the hole I painfully landed hard on rocks I thought at first and every part of
my body was sore! It was dark in that hole but there was some light and as my eyes got
accustomed to the darkness, I realized I hadn’t fallen on rocks at all!

 

I had fallen on skulls! Hundreds of skulls! I saw no bodies, only skulls! Then, I saw
high atop the mound of skulls was an ancient sword stuck into the pile!  There was a
skull engraved into the handle of the sword! As my eyes got clearer and clearer, to my
horror I saw that many of the skulls had horns on them! That was when, during my moment
of lost hope and despair that a man’s face appeared in the shadows. He had long hair
but spoke with kindness and compassion.
 
He was not a danger to me! “Be not afraid! I am called, The Guardian. Over the centuries,
battles have been fought on this ground between good and evil! At times, good won, and
at other times evil won! I am no longer able to fight against the demon that seeks your
soul and every soul that he can bring to this place! He is powerful, very powerful! As
you have found, he will not let you leave! But he has not killed you as quickly as the
other’s and there’s a reason why he hasn’t!

 

He senses your strength. He knows that you are here with me and he’s angry! You are at
a fork in the road with two paths! The first path will lead you away from this place;
but he will catch and kill you! Your soul will become a part of the misery that is held
within the walls of that hospital! Other’s will be tricked to come down the same road
you came down. One by one he will kill them too until he has collected enough souls to
leave this sacred ground.

 

If that happens the world will end! Nothing will be able to stop him! But there is a
second path! You can choose to take this sword I left here and return to the second
floor and command him to appear! You can take this sword and fight! Fight for your
life, the lives of all he has murdered, and the lives he wants to take�? and then he
was gone! I lay there bruised and sore, as tears rolled down my face! “I don’t even
have the strength to lift that sword! I can’t even get out of this hole I fell into!

 

I have no courage to fight a demon. He’ll kill me too�? I shouted! Suddenly the ghostly
man appeared, shook his head, and his eyes displayed such kindness to me, I felt
speechless! “If you pick up the sword, my spirit, my power, and my strength will flow
through you! You will indeed be a powerful adversary! He will be very afraid, but he
will not run! He will fight you and he will fight to kill you!

 

He’ll show no mercy and you mustn’t show any to him! You must not show fear! The demon
is an Archon! He has one and only one task! To imprison souls and leave them trapped in
a world where they are unable to free themselves and rise toward the heavens! If you
choose to stay and fight, you must bring the fight to him! He will feel less powerful
then if you let him come to you! But fear not! You will not fight the Archon alone!

 

Nay! By lifting this sword to the heavens my spirit shall be beside your spirit! The
spirits of all the souls he has taken will also join your spirit! You will indeed be
powerful! But time is growing shorter now that he knows we have spoken and you must
choose! Will you run and die, or shall you fight�? I was terrified! Absolutely
terrified! But I refused to run! The demon would catch up to me anyways and kill me!
Then I would be another soul he had trapped!

 

No I would fight, even if I died; at least I could say I had the courage to face my
own death! I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up at the Guardian who gave his
own life and had lost!  “I choose to fight�? I shouted as I struggled to keep my
balance and reach the sword! As my right hand took hold of the sword I tried to lift
it and I struggled for it was heavy!

 

Suddenly, The Guardian quickly moved closer to me and I felt a jolt of electricity
fill my body as I lifted the long sword high into the air! Before I could ask how I
was to get out of the hole I was trapped into, I found myself being lifted off the
pile of skulls, soaring higher and higher until my feet were back on the ground
beside the hole! In a firm voice I heard, “You must cut off the demons head and toss
it into this very hole! Then drop the sword into the hole tip down first to ensure
the Archon cannot be reborn! You are now “The Guardian�?and you know what must be
done�?
                                                                                                                 
As I looked at the back of the second story building all the rooms were in flames,
smoke billowing out of the roof! “Fear not, the flames will not hurt you�? I glanced
down at the sword in my hand and saw the beautiful intricate carvings and letterings
on both sides! It no longer felt heavy! In fact it felt as if it had been made
especially for my hand! I made my way back to the front of the building and stepped
through the front door!

 

I looked to my right and once more saw the three ghosts and their spirits entered my
body! I walked to the top of the stairs and saw the entire floor in flames as ghost
after ghost flew directly into me, hundreds of men, women and children of all ages!
Each joined my spirit until the last spirit had entered me. I was in truth at that
very moment, The Guardian. All the dead people who the Archon held prisoner here as
well as my own spirit!

 

The time for the fight of my life was now at hand! “I command you Archon to appear
before me! I’m here to take back that which does not belong to you! Your rein over
this earthly realm is over! Appear before me or are you afraid of a woman�? The
hallway became a roar of pure fire! As if this place was hell itself, but I felt
no heat or pain! “Does Satan’s most powerful angel hide behind fire? If so, then
truly you are not powerful�?

 

As suddenly as the flames had engulfed the top floor, the flames disappeared. The
hallway looked like there had never been a fire! That was when I saw someone at the
far end of the hallway with a sword in his hand! I could only see his shape but
nothing clearly. But I did see his sword! His sword was on fire! He began to walk
towards me and with each step taken I could feel his confidence! Then I heard The
Guardian’s whispering voice.

 

“Be not afraid! He fears you twice what you fear of him! Be strong in faith and
heart�? I felt myself swallow as I waited! It seemed a long time until we stood
facing each other less then 6 feet apart as he glared at me! “It’s you Guardian!
Have you forgotten it was I who defeated you before? The souls of all I have
taken are also in this mortal woman! How convenient�? He gazed with intentness
at the sword in my hand!

 

Then he looked into my eyes and saw no weakness! “I have existed for eternity!
Legions of my followers roam this earth! Surely you can’t think that you can strike
me down�? He took one more hesitated look at my sword and spoke. “If you lay down
your sword and pledge your soul to me woman, I shall not kill you! Instead, I will
give you power and wealth, like you have never imagined! If you will not listen to
me, perhaps you will listen to your mother�?

 

As he finished speaking his left hand gestured beside him and I saw my mother
appear beside him! The only difference was I knew she wasn’t really my mother!
But even though I knew it wasn’t momma I felt tears fall from my eyes! She held
her arms out to me and called me by the nick name only momma called me as a little
girl. She told me she didn’t want me to die, and that if I laid my sword down that
she promised to stay here with me!

 

As she walked up to me with outstretched arms to hug me, I ran the sword through
her stomach and pushed her away as my tears fell to the floor. Blood poured from
her stomach and onto her hands as she looked at me with astonished pain and torment
before she fell to the floor! I gripped the sword tighter and shouted at the demon;
“You can’t fool me with your tricks! I will not let you deceive me! The souls I now
possess are not yours!

 

“Fool�? he shouted at me! You have sealed your fate�?If you want my soul, then here
I am�? I had barely uttered that challenge when his flaming sword sliced through the
air, but my sword met him halfway, igniting a thousand sparks and the battle had
begun! I had the determination and fighting skill of a great warrior, the hope of
all those who had died and the courage that my mother had instilled in me my entire
life! For me, it seemed as if time itself had stopped as the battle waged on and on
relentlessly!

 

By know both my hands held the sword as I swung with all my might. Slowly, ever so
slowly, one step at a time the demon began to back up! He no longer had a sinister
smile on his face! He was straining to defend my blows and as he began to weaken, I
became stronger!  On and on we fought! Then, after I slammed my sword down onto his
sword, I swung it down once more before he could bring up his sword again and my
blade sliced off his head!

 

As the demons head and sword both fell to the floor, all of the souls that had
entered my body now soared free and floated freely high in the air before the
ceiling became open sky! Each became a glowing speck of light and ascended to heavens
stars until they no longer could be seen! Then I heard The Guardian’s voice compel
me one last task! “Remember, you must take the archon’s head and drop it into the
well with all the others!

 

Then drop your sword, tip first into the hole! You will find that when you return
to your car that it will start. You will also find that the bridge will not be
destroyed and that your mother awaits you. Go now! I’m proud of you for having both
faith and courage�? I walked over to the head and picked it up by one horn with my
left hand and made my way out of the building and to the forest. As I stood by the
hole, I tossed the demon’s head down into the darkness and carefully dropped the
sword tip first into the darkness!

 

I made my way back to my car and once inside I put both hands upon my steering
wheel and cried. When I turned the key over, the engine started fresh and strong!
Then, to my surprise, I heard the tone of my cell phone ringing and I anxiously
picked it up and pressed the button and heard my mother’s voice!  

 

©2007 Raymond Cook (All rights reserved)