Fighting demons

 Jon thrash around on the floor, the shadows in his head scratched at his mind causing his body to writhe in torment. Everyone has demons, some are bigger and meaner than others and when your demons are the toughest demons around, then you have two choices die or become the new toughest thing around.

            Jon has had doubt since he was a small child, his personal demons were small but fierce. As Jon grew older he also grew stronger. The smaller demons that caused little things like doubt and anxiety were no match for his renewed strength and resolve. What Jon didn’t count on was that the shadows in his mind and his internal demons grew along with him. They had new sources of food and new ways to hurt him. They fed on his poor finances, loneliness and growing responsibilities. Every time Jon felt strong enough to get through the challenge in front of him there was always a second challenge waiting. Jon had been fighting his entire life, fighting challenges, inner demons and fighting to just stay alive. He was not above taking challenges head on, but a rest from fighting would be nice.

            On the outside Jon looked like a regular adult, handling his job and responsibilities but on the inside he was a savage warrior, struggling every day against larger and larger demons. He wished he could go back to the days when his demons only teased him about coming up with rent money. They seemed so daunting at the time, but now it seems like child’s play. Jon drew his spiritual sword and his shield of experience and would chop the heads off of dragons, demons and monsters as big as houses. The dragon’s head would always grow back, the demons would reappear from the shadows and the monsters would split into multiples. Every day he would fight against his doubt and fears, unrelenting, unwavering.

            Not every day was a victory, some days he would trample the opposition but most days he would not. He would fall and limp home bloodied and broken. He would have to rest quickly because the next day he would have to be stronger than before. The world insisted that when he fell broken to the ground, he needed to not just rest up to full strength, he needs to be double strength. Jon was used to fighting demons every day and as he grew stronger he also became better at hiding the fact that he was struggling at all. Anyone that knew Jon would be shocked if Jon told them of the war that raged on inside his head.

            To make matters worse, shadows of doubt would follow Jon to his sleep. Small imps that would normally be dispatched in seconds while he was awake, would follow him to his bed and taunt him as he tried to sleep. The imps knew they were no match for an adult Jon who had been fighting dragons all day, but if they disturbed his rest and tortured his dreams then he would be softened up for the fight against the dragons.

            When friends and co-workers saw his inner strength, when he showed them the steel in his soul and the determination in his eyes, they would be inspired and amazed. Jon had been complimented on occasion because of how strong he was. He didn’t see the strength because he was so tired from fighting all day. Jon did have that strength though, a strength he didn’t know he had. When times were their toughest, Jon would pull out that fighting spirit, the spirit of Jon that had been fighting dragons all day long, and he would pull the spirit into the real world. He wouldn’t be able to maintain the warriors spirit for long, but when it was unleashed all would take notice. If this fighting spirit was enough to fight demons all day, what chance did mere humans have?

Clash of Reality part 3

            Torchlight flickered off of the green stone wall of the ancient catacombs.  The sound of battle echoed through the otherwise empty tunnels. Green flames exploded against a warriors golden shield. Upon impact with the shield the fire burst and split off, causing a splash effect. Ayla the Warrior jumped backward with her shield raised as she tried to avoid the scattering flames.

            A group of adventurers including Soul Shadow and Ayla were fighting the Ancient undead wizard known as the Lich. The Lich’s bone jaw rattled against its skull as The Lich moved around the room. The Lich could float and his movements were strange and unpredictable.

            Ayla charged in with her short sword and struck the Lich, then immediately had to block any incoming attacks with her shield. Green flames exploded against Ayla’s shield causing her to stumble backward. Every time the Lich threw his green fire the flames would explode on impact and send smaller flames in every direction. Even though they were in a stone room the green fire stayed burning for a few seconds before dying out. This meant that even if a single flame attack was dodged or blocked the heroes would still have to watch their step for any remaining fire still burning. The longer the battle dragged on the more dangerous the room became.

            Since Ayla was focused on fighting the ancient, powerful, undead wizard in front of her, Soul helped by watching her back. He used his ice sword to extinguish any flames around Ayla so she didn’t have to take her eyes off of the Lich. Whenever the area was clear of flames Soul would help attack. His speed was as amazing as ever and often was able to strike the Lich with his swords before the Lich even realized he was being attacked. Soul couldn’t stay in one spot and attack though because the Lich was even more dangerous up close.

            Red flames sizzled and burned the Lich ever time Soul attacked with his sword of Ember. The Lich swiped his skeleton hand at Soul ever time Soul got close. The Hands of the Lich glowed in a dark purple energy and every swipe of his hands left an energy trail similar to Soul’s swords.

            The rest of the group was helping too. As Ayla blocked the Lich and tried to keep him distracted other players would attack when they were able. There were five members all together. Ayla, Soul, Orx a fighter with a two handed axe, Simon an archer who specialized in using a magical gun instead of a bow and Fina the only spellcaster in the group. 

            Simon fired an freezing round at the Lich. The Lich was hit but didn’t seem to notice. Usually this would freeze the unit solid, instead it only slowed the Lich down. Fina was a charging a spell in the back of the room. When it was ready she let out a barrage of lighting bolts that struck the Lich in rapid succession. The Lich was jolted and stopped fighting for a second also bits of the Lich’s cloak ripped and had burns on it from the lighting. Ayla, Soul and Orx charged in when they saw an opening. Orx jumped in the air and slashed his battle-axe down on the Lich, the impact of the strike caused the ground to shake. Soul moved in and slashed with all of his strength. Soul unleashed a flurry of freezing and burning strikes. Ayla finished the attack with a precision strike into the Lich’s chest.

            The Lich took massive damage in the brief one second opening where he couldn’t move. This wasn’t enough to stop him though and he reached out his long arm and grabbed Orx with his large skeleton hand. The Lich lifted Orx into the air with ease. The other party members gasped and began attacking with everything they had. Orx screamed and the Lich began to laugh. A haunting laugh echoed through the stone halls. Dark energy swirled around Orx as the Lich was draining away his health. Soul jumped and tried to slash the Lich’s arm to free Orx but the Lich’s second arm came up and swatted Soul. Dark energy engulfed the hero as he flew across the room. Soul hit the wall with a sickening thud and crumpled to the ground. Ayla couldn’t stand it she charged with her shield and using all of her strength slammed into the Lich with her shield. The Lich, who was still floating, was knocked off balance and was sent into the wall on the other side of the room. The Lich dropped Orx and then hit the wall. Bones broke free and fell off of the Lich.

Fina repeated caste her healing spells on Soul and then Orx. Soul was able to stand but was weakened. Dark energy still clung to him and sapped his strength. Fina began charging a large spell. Soul and Ayla nodded to eachother and charge the Lich. Simon began firing every kind of special bullet he had. Explosive, fire, ice, acid and frag ammo were all fired as quickly as he could reload. The Lich was standing and no longer floating. His hands began to glow even brighter as he charged up a spell. Soul ran at the Lich head on. The Lich caste his spell and threw a giant green fireball at Soul. Soul threw his swords and jumped into the air at the last minute. The fireball barely missed Soul and it continued to fly forward, now at Ayla. Soul’s swords flew straight and both hit the Lich in the chest.

The green fireball was about to hit Ayla but Fina cast a reflective spell on Ayla’s shield. The Green fireball stuck Ayla’s shield and Ayla pushed back against it with all of her might. The Green fire was not blocked but reflected and sent back at the Lich.

The Lich was being shot with all sorts of elemental ammo and had two of the games most powerful swords sticking out of his chest. He was too weak to float or teleport and his own giant fireball was headed right at him. The green fire struck the Lich and he let out an unholy scream as he was burned to dust.

The battle was over and the fight was won. The heroes sighed with relief. They had beaten the legendary Lich. There were no words that could express how happy they were with their victory.

Orx: GG guys. GG.

Soul:…You just had to ruin it. yeah, good game to you  too Orx.

            Ayla laughed and Soul smiled. The rest of the party signed off and their characters were sent out of the dungeon. “So I think the hero of the day deserves a kiss, don’t you?” Said Ayla with a sly smile. “Y-yeah that would be great!” Soul said. “I was talking about me!” Ayla said and then started to laugh.

Soul: So Sarah…

Ayla: Ayla is fine.

Soul: I know we talked about meeting. Things have been going so well so I figured I could take a bus to your town.

Ayla: Wow, that would be great! This is kind of sudden. Did you just decide on this?

Soul: No, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Besides then I could give the hero of the day a kiss…

 

            Weeks passed from that day. The day Jacob and Sarah beat the Ancient Lich. It was a great accomplishment for them and meant even more because they did it together as team.

            In the small town of Lindberry at the local bus station a pale twenty two year old girl with red hair waits for the bus. She wore jeans and a t-shirt with a warrior crest on it from the game she plays. She was also wearing a red cloak made of thin material. It seemed a little out of place but She wore it with pride. The bus pulled up to the station and passengers all file out of the bus. The passengers all looked travel weary. They lug their bags and backpacks, each person matches up with someone waiting for their arrival. The redheaded girl looked around but didn’t see anyone for her. She watched happy reunions and smiles as strangers left the station.

            Then she saw him. The boy she was waiting for, Jacob. Jacob was twenty three, average looking with brown hair, jeans and a black t-shirt. He dragged a green suitcase behind him. He looked at the ground as he made his way past all of the strangers. Then he saw her, Sarah. She was more beautiful than in her pictures and she even found a red cloak that looked like the cloak from the game. His heart raced as he walked toward her. They were both smiling like idiots as they drew closer. Jacob went to call her name, “Sarah!” He thinks, but stops and instead says “Ayla!”

            Sarah’s smile widened even more, despite being almost physically impossible. She grabbed his arm and looked up at him “Soul, you made it” She said so only he could hear her. Jacob leaned down and kissed her. “My hero” Said Jacob.