Allies Made

There was only one place I knew that Nerock would go, if he still existed. He would head for Chicago, where I first met him.
        Back when I thought he was human.
        Before I was imbued.
        I faced many cold nights and hot days of summer across the Midwest plains on foot. I must have walked for a week. Every so often, someone offered me a ride, and they took me as far as they could.
        I kept the mutt with me. It seemed to like hanging around me for some reason.
        Must be because I don’t stink of monster.
        Oh well, he was the only company I had. I don’t make many of what you would call “friends”. I made a few contacts here and there on Hunter.net, but only for information purposes.
        As I was headed toward Chicago (we were in Illinois at the moment), it suddenly came to me. I had a name for the mutt. I stopped on the side of the road and knelt down in front of the dog.
        “I’ve got it. I think I’ll name you Hellsing. What do you think?”
        The dog just stared at me, panting and drooling.
        What was I thinking?
        He didn’t care anyway.
        He’s just a dog.
        We approached the city limits on a Monday morning, when the fog had just lifted off the cityscape. I could see the tall business building where I might find Nerock. It was called ACE Computers Inc.
        ACE Computers…
        I know that name…
        I remember…
        I blacked out.
        Dreams.

*               *               *

        “Honey, you’re going to be late for work!”
        “Don’t worry, I’ll make it!”
         A man in a business suit looking quite familiar ran down a set of stairs into a kitchen. He grabbed a cup of coffee, choked down a bit of donut, and kissed a beautiful woman.
        “I’ll see you after work. Bye.” Her voice was soft and soothing, like a calm breeze after a great storm.
        The man rushed out the door and jumped into his car. He drove like a madman, cutting corners, and going over the speed limit…by a lot.
        He pulled into a parking lot and ran toward a large building.
        A building with its name in giant letters on the side of the building…ACE Computers Inc.
        I realized within my dream that the man I was watching was in fact myself…before it happened.
        My past self went into the building and clocked in. He made his way to a small cubicle lined with photographs. I tried to look at them, but they were fuzzy and hard to make out. He began typing with the speed of a goblin, analyzing data streams and maintaining networks. And then a voice…
        “Hey what’s going on?”
        I saw him. It was Nerock in his human form.

*               *               *

        My eyes blinked open. I was still in disbelief. Were these really my memories? Of course they were, you can’t just make that stuff up. That was it then. ACE is where I needed to go and investigate.
        Hellsing and I slowly walked the confusing maze of streets through the very heart of Chicago to get to our destination. People looked at us suspiciously, like we were going to rob someplace. I guess a black trench coat and a displeased demeanor just don’t settle well with some people. I noticed there also seemed to be an increasing number of officers for this part of town.
        Oh great. Someone called the cops. Get ready to run, Hellsing.
        Sirens began blaring, and officer vehicles blocked off all roads at the intersection. The first cop stepped from his car and tried approaching slowly, with his hand on his gun still holstered.
        “Alright, now just take it easy.”
        His voice shook. He was afraid. Good. That means he won’t be as good of a shot. I reached down and picked up Hellsing. I looked past the barricade of police cars. Only about a hundred yards to the front doors of the ACE building.
        We could lose them in there easily, if we can get inside.
        I knelt slightly, my leg muscles tensing like taught rubber bands ready to spring forward. The cop heard a noise from an alleyway and took a slight glance with his eyes. Perfect.
        I ran as fast as I could, trying to dodge bullets, carry Hellsing and leap over the two cop cars ahead of me. I continued in a zigzag pattern, throwing off their aim. Some followed me on foot, trying to keep up. Others went back to their vehicles and tried to run me down. Fortunately, as soon as the barricade abandoned its post to follow me, traffic came again. Citizen cars blocked the officers’ way in getting to me. I made it through the doors without problem. After I was inside, I made it to the nearest elevator and got in.
        Wait…where will he be?
        I don’t remember his assumed name.
        I said the phrase that allows sight quietly to myself. “In the world where I am blind, now I see.”
        I reached out with my senses to find him.
        Nothing.
        Not even a ripple.
        Even Hellsing wasn’t getting nervous.
        It has been too long. He would have been here by now, rebuilding his slave army. I don’t understand.
        I didn’t have long to sit and think about it. The elevator stopped between floors. A voice came over the small intercom.
        “We know you are in there. Just stay put and give yourself up.”
        Yeah right.
        I started scanning for an escape route. I saw the security camera tucked into the corner. I quickly pulled one of my pistols and put it out of commission. Without any further hesitation, I leapt up toward the ceiling of the elevator. I was able to push the door open. I wrapped Hellsing in my coat and tied it to my waist. I climbed my way on top of the elevator car with Hellsing hanging from my waist. I went over to the emergency ladder and climbed to the next floor. I was able to pry open the doors with my sword and crawl through the opening.
        I let Hellsing out of the coat, and put it back on. I called upon my sight once more to see if Nerock was closeby. Still, I received nothing. It was time to leave. I found the emergency stairs easily enough, but it was 40 floors down. I didn’t have time for that.
        I pulled out my spare rope and tied it onto the banister, letting the rope hang down the open center of the stairs. With Hellsing in one hand, and a rope in the other, I began my descent. I slid down the rope faster and faster, burning away my armored glove to almost nothing. As I came closer to the bottom, some officers were on their way up. I fired a few warning shots to keep them busy.
        10…9…8…
        I tightened my hand with all my strength, but it wasn’t slowing us down much. We were still headed toward the hard ground too fast.
        I braced myself for impact, accepting my end.
        Time seemed to stand still. The Herald spoke to me.
        “Not yet.”
        I felt a surge of willpower that coursed through my veins. Time began again. My grip tightened till we slowed to a stop, five feet from the bottom. We dropped to the bottom floor. I set down Hellsing. I looked at my hand. It was burned badly. Blood dripped from the open wound. It hurt like Hell. I pulled a small handkerchief from my pocket and tended my wound as quickly as possible.
        We exited through the maintenance door.
        “C’mon Hellsing. Let’s go somewhere for a bite to eat.”
        We headed out into the streets of Chicago again, looking for someplace that might serve some decently priced food. I was looking back and forth, scanning the street when I noticed something move in the shadows of an alleyway.
        I stopped.
        I stepped backward.
        I crouched down.
        I stared at that alleyway, quietly calling to my second sight.
        Something darted out of the alley and into a building.
        Not just any building…the Sears Tower.
        But this thing was definitely human…and armed.
        I rose to my feet when I heard the alarm of metal detectors sounding.
        I calmly and inaudibly slipped through the doors with Hellsing just behind. The sound of the blaring alarm covered my entrance with my entire arsenal. The guards didn’t notice as they were trying to stop the man from entering an elevator. I went around to the other side of the lobby and entered one of the elevators. The doors closed. I pulled out my hacker PDA and plugged into the elevator system panel. I quickly entered some simple codes and watched the elevator activities. The elevator the man had entered went all the way to the top of the building…to the Skydeck.
        I pushed the button for the Skydeck floor.
        The elevator rushed upward.
        I felt my weight double against the floor of the car.
        The car came to an abrupt stop.
        I deactivated the elevators so the police would have trouble reaching us.
        The doors opened.
        There was the strange man, pointing a pistol at someone.
        I invoked the second sight.
        He was pointing a pistol at a goblin!
        Hellsing held back a bark when I looked down at him with a stern glare.
        “Shhh…let’s watch.”
        I walked over to the nearest table and sat to see what this man planned to do.
        He actually took the first shot…a sign of inexperience.
        The goblin easily avoided the bullet, but it cracked the window open behind him instead. The crowd cleared the room, except for myself and Hellsing. The sheepish people ran down the exit stairwells. Then the creature spoke.
       “So, yet another hunter tries to take me out.  Do you have any idea how many of your kind I’ve killed?”
        A hunter?
        This guy is a hunter?
        He’s reckless. He’s unorthodox…
        The goblin materialized a giant sword.
        …He’s dead.
        The Goblin charged.
        The hunter dropped his guns in exchange for two short swords from his back. The hunter made a futile effort for a strike, but the goblin was too fast. The goblin did leave his defense down just long enough for the hunter to get a good kick in. The goblin stumbled backward toward the open window. The hunter made another striking effort, and would have struck true if not for the goblin being so quick. The goblin retaliated with a swift swipe, leaving a bloody line across the hunter’s chest.
        I almost stood to take the situation, but then something happened that would never leave my memory. The hunter fought faster and more fiercely, driving the goblin backward, step by step. A red mist poured from the hunter’s body, and the goblin decayed before my eyes. It shrieked in pain as it was driven closer to the window. It slipped through the window and began falling, but not without making a last attempt at taking the hunter with him. The hunter was distracted from fatigue, coughing and hacking when the goblin took hold of his ankle.
        I jumped from my seat, deciding to take action. Hellsing sensed my alert, and followed close behind.
        I pulled the enchanted sword from its hilt.
        I unleashed a whirling fury of metal.
        The sword guided me to precisely remove the goblins hands from the rest of its body. It fell to the ground, wailing in a cry of revenge.
        He’ll be back…and he’ll be pissed.
        Hellsing decided to greet our “friend” first with a traditional lick to the face. The hhunter rose to his feet. I couldn’t contain my comments any longer.
        “What the hell did you think you were doing attacking a goblin alone? Did you want to get killed?”
        He shrugged. “Getting killed wasn’t really part of the original plan,” I said.  “Thank you, by the way, for saving my life.”
        I gave a slight nod. “You can call me Judge, and this is Hellsing…my dog.”
        He pointed at himself. “Matthew. Call me Matthew.”
        I looked at his wounds, and almost felt sorry for him.
        “Come on, I’ll take you somewhere safe.”
        He looked over at the elevators. I could see he remembered about the police just behind him.
        “Don’t worry…I took care of it.”
        We took the service elevator all the way down into the basement, and I led him further down into the pipe tunnels under the streets of the city. My safe-house was only about a mile east.
        We came upon the bolted and locked security door I used for the safe-house. I opened all the locking mechanisms and entered the large room. Every wall was lined from top to bottom with supplies, ammo and weapons.
        “Sit.” I pointed to a chair in the middle of the room.
        I got out the first aid and dressed his wounds as best I could.
        When finished, I turned to my computer systems to check Hunter.net.
        I needed to find out if anyone could give clues to where this goblin may have went. He’ll be going to a demon more powerful soon to inform him of the hunters he encountered.
        And we’ll be there to destroy them both.