a entry into darkness
Bernard moved quickly down the back alley. He something deep within him told him that Tyler was already dead but forced the thought from his mind. I can still save her! He fell to his knees just in front of her sliding through the pool of blood that had accumulated from her wound. Wrapping her up in his arms, he laid her up against him and moved his hand over the hole in her chest. Blood still poured out as Bernard began crying out, planting his face on her shoulder. His muffled screams were lost in this dark place.
Why can’t I save her!? Bernard thoughts were racing. He tried to calm himself to better access his abilities.
5 4 3 2 1
He was now on the Beach of Time. “Sheri! Where are you? Help me!” Bernard whirled around and saw Sheri standing behind him. Something was different about her. He scanned her and noticed that the robes she normally wore were now replaced with a type of chain mail. In her hand was a sword that looked as if a normal human would have to hold it with two hands. The edge of the blade was hard to focus on. It seemed to be almost shifting as if it were a condensed gas.
“Bernard…”
“Save her!” Bernard cut her off not wanting to waste time with her lectures and riddles. “Give me power! I must save her.”
Sheri looked at the despair that had taken hold of Bernard. She knew his response to her denial of power would be met with anger. He would cruse her, he would curse God. This was her order though. She must test him. He had been trained up to this point and failure now meant one thing.
“I already have.”
Bernard’s face instantly whitened. He had heard what she said but couldn’t immediately understand it. What did she mean? Had she healed the hole in her chest? There is no way. What is she doing? “What do you mean?”
Sheri looked to the sand beneath her and closed her eyes. She couldn’t face Bernard this way. She still had feelings like any normal human did. “She is in heaven now.” There it was. Bernard would surely want to lash out her. She raised her head up to see his face had no emotion in it. Sheri found this a very interesting development. Is he using his training?
Bernard just stood there staring at Sheri. He wanted to know so many things but only one question came out, “Why did you lie to me?”
That was it, Sheri thought, he isn’t calm just paralyzed with hatred. “I did not lie Bernard. I told you I would save her and that is what I’ve done. She is safe now.” What would he do now? Bernard always had a way of surprising her. Proof of this was in the way he had reacted to her statement.
“So that was your plan all along? You used me to get what you wanted and still took her from me. All so you could have your precise rapture!”
“This was not me choice.”
“No? Then whose?
Bernard still filled with the rage from his heated discussion with Gus and Sheri, attempted to heal Tyler on his own. Instead of the Beach of Time he just used his basic skills. Only several seconds had actually passed even though it had seemed like almost an hour at the beach. There is still time!
As the moments passed Bernard’s desperation increased dramatically. His emotions began to run wild. Fear gripped him at the thought of actually losing Tyler. He would not stop though. He knew that he had the power to bring her back if he could only calm himself down. It could be done but it would take everything he had. that is when he let go and prayed.
Lord, please save her. I can’t let her die this way! She is my strength. Without her, Lord, I am nothing.
Bernard was now calm. He felt some warmth falling down from his hand over Tyler’s chest. He knew he had accomplished, with God’s help, what had been denied to him by Sheri and Gus but also that he was not there yet. He would still have to remain calm in his basic psychic level to be able to completely heal her.
Several minutes passed as Bernard concentrated on healing Tyler. He could feel some heat returning to her body. After several minutes she opened her eyes and turned to him. “Bernard, I can only say goodbye.”
“Tyler!” Bernard pressed himself against her.
“I love you Bernard. You made my time here... special.” A weak smile stretched across her face as she reached her hand up to Bernard’s. “I will wait for you.”
“Tyler? Tyler!?” Bernard became frantic. He did not know what she was talking about. He had brought her back. He thought everything was going to be fine until he felt her hand slip from his. She was dead again. “Tyler!?”
Bernard tightened his grip on her, screaming her name over and over. He was losing himself to his emotions. Nothing else entered his awareness as he sat there holding his lost love.
There was a creeping darkness slowing working its way up Bernard’s leg. By the time Bernard finally noticed it it was too late. It was now covering almost his entire body working its way to his head. He tried to scrap it off but his arms no longer moved at his command. His body was being paralyzed by this darkness. No amount of effort could free him from it. Finally the darkness reached over the back of his head and down around his face. It began forcing itself in around his eyes. Bernard could feel, not his body but his soul, being overtaken.
What is this thing? Bernard still could not move and the pain he was feeling only compiled the problem. Every ounce of strength he had was not enough to move. As he was struggling he suddenly found himself on the Beach of Time again. Here he was not completely free from the darkness that was engulfing him. The ocean was in a great turmoil sending massive waves breaking waves up to the shore while the sky, once clear, was now a mass of dark thundering clouds. He looked around and found himself, again, face to face with Gus and Sheri.
“What’s going on?” Bernard thundered. He knew he was in no position to demand things after the argument that took place and after reviving Tyler.
“You are being taken over by a demon.”
“A demon?”
“Yes” Sheri nodded slightly and continued, “Everything is falling into place. You must now choose to either surrender yourself to the demon becoming engulfed in darkness or fight it and join us among the light.”
A sharp pain sent Bernard falling to his knees. He knew outside his body was being taken over. He did not know, however, how to fight it off. “Tell me what to do!”
“I have already given you the lessons needed to win your soul.”
Bernard let at a snide laugh just as he began gaining some control over the intense pain. “You would say that. First you take Tyler and now you refuse to help me. This is your fault. I am here because of you!”
“You are here because of God.”
“God gave me back Tyler! You were the one to let her be taken away in the first place.”
As Sheri began to speak she was quickly cut off by Gus, “Bernard, we follow God’s will. He felt pity for what he has put you through and gave you a gift. He allowed Tyler to say goodbye. He knew it would give you the strength to fight this evil now use the power to rid it from your body!”
Bernard began to slowly climb back to his feet as another sharp pain tried to force him back down. He would not allow it though. He continued to stand up. On his feet he stared at Gus and Sheri. None of this made sense to him. He was hurt, confused and angry. Angry at the way they seemingly offered him the world and when he asked for one small thing they took it from him. They took Tyler and now they want me. His anger began to grow. Small columns from the dark clouds above came down and gathered around him as he stared out at Gus and Sheri. I will make them pay.
“Bernard!” Sheri called out with a sense of urgency, “Fight it Bernard! Do not let it control you.”
She is right. It will not control me… this is my body and my soul. It is mine!
Sheri and Gus continued to look on with a sense of failure. They felt that they had lost Bernard to evil. Gus turned and began walking off and just as Sheri began to turn a string of darkness shot out from the clouds. Her reflexes were quick; whipping her sword from her side she blocked the darkness. Its force was strong and moved her back several feet as she tried to find a good hold in the sand.
“Gus!”
Gus hadn’t seen what happened but knew something was wrong. He was already turned around when Sheri had shouted for him. The level of evil that has hold of him shouldn’t be able to penetrate into this realm. “What’s going on? Nothing should be able to control him in here.”
“It’s him Gus. He is attacking us!” Sheri was still trying to hold herself up against the force of the darkness on her blade. Whenever she tried to push the darkness to one side its weight would shift making her reposition herself.
The clouds around Bernard were now starting to disappear. When they were all gone, Gus and Sheri cloud see that Bernard’s arm was covered in the darkness that was forcing itself against Sheri’s blade. “I will not be used like this. You will give her back to me now… or else…”
“Or else what Bernard!?” Gus shouted out to him. “Are you going to kill us?”
“If I must.”
“Bernard! Listen to what you are saying. How will this help you get Tyler back? How is any of this going to make things better?” Sheri was still fighting the darkness coming from Bernard’s arm. He had her pinned down. Gus was not equipped to fight like her but she could not do much from where she was. Her only hope was to talk Bernard down. What can I say? Just as she was about to speak Bernard cut her off.
“I will have her back!” Bernard’s expression was now one of hate. He whipped his arm and the darkness pressed against Sheri’s sword quickly twisted around the blade. She took this opportunity to jump back several paces and pulled out a length of chain. The blade of the sword she had dropped was now completely black and Bernard had moved up and seized it from the sand. He wielded the weapon as she had, with one hand, and charged forth. He took a wide swing at her right. She grabbed the chain with both hands and blocked the attack. Quickly she moved towards Bernard, running the chain along the blade, and wrapped the handle up with more chain. Bernard attempted to pull the sword away but failed. Sheri moved another step closer and the remaining chain wrapped itself around Bernard, holding him still.
“Do you think this is the way into heaven? Do you think this is what God intended for us?” Sheri had Bernard within inches of her face. The blade of darkness began hissing as a snake warning of an appending strike. She did not take her eyes off Bernard though. She wanted to get through to him.
“I will have her back…” A smile spread across Bernard’s face, “And you will help me.” Sheri felt evil in that smile but when she looked into his eyes saw only pain. He had lost. She started to feel pity for him.
Her guard was let down only for a second. She had not paid close enough attention to Bernard’s left arm. The darkness that remained on it had crept behind her and quickly grabbed her around the neck. She let go of the chains to try and pull the darkness from around her throat. As she did Bernard drew back his sword and plunged it into Sheri’s chest. Light poured from her wound. Bernard leaned in close to her, driving the blade through her back, and whispered to her, “I am sorry.”
The darkness around Sheri’s throat raced up and down her body. It passed over the sword wound stopping the light from escaping. When her body was completely encased the darkness began to shrink until it returned to Bernard’s arm and disappeared. The sword remained with its hissing as Bernard turned his attention to Gus. He made no advance towards him but instead turned and walked
Why can’t I save her!? Bernard thoughts were racing. He tried to calm himself to better access his abilities.
5 4 3 2 1
He was now on the Beach of Time. “Sheri! Where are you? Help me!” Bernard whirled around and saw Sheri standing behind him. Something was different about her. He scanned her and noticed that the robes she normally wore were now replaced with a type of chain mail. In her hand was a sword that looked as if a normal human would have to hold it with two hands. The edge of the blade was hard to focus on. It seemed to be almost shifting as if it were a condensed gas.
“Bernard…”
“Save her!” Bernard cut her off not wanting to waste time with her lectures and riddles. “Give me power! I must save her.”
Sheri looked at the despair that had taken hold of Bernard. She knew his response to her denial of power would be met with anger. He would cruse her, he would curse God. This was her order though. She must test him. He had been trained up to this point and failure now meant one thing.
“I already have.”
Bernard’s face instantly whitened. He had heard what she said but couldn’t immediately understand it. What did she mean? Had she healed the hole in her chest? There is no way. What is she doing? “What do you mean?”
Sheri looked to the sand beneath her and closed her eyes. She couldn’t face Bernard this way. She still had feelings like any normal human did. “She is in heaven now.” There it was. Bernard would surely want to lash out her. She raised her head up to see his face had no emotion in it. Sheri found this a very interesting development. Is he using his training?
Bernard just stood there staring at Sheri. He wanted to know so many things but only one question came out, “Why did you lie to me?”
That was it, Sheri thought, he isn’t calm just paralyzed with hatred. “I did not lie Bernard. I told you I would save her and that is what I’ve done. She is safe now.” What would he do now? Bernard always had a way of surprising her. Proof of this was in the way he had reacted to her statement.
“So that was your plan all along? You used me to get what you wanted and still took her from me. All so you could have your precise rapture!”
“This was not me choice.”
“No? Then whose?
Bernard still filled with the rage from his heated discussion with Gus and Sheri, attempted to heal Tyler on his own. Instead of the Beach of Time he just used his basic skills. Only several seconds had actually passed even though it had seemed like almost an hour at the beach. There is still time!
As the moments passed Bernard’s desperation increased dramatically. His emotions began to run wild. Fear gripped him at the thought of actually losing Tyler. He would not stop though. He knew that he had the power to bring her back if he could only calm himself down. It could be done but it would take everything he had. that is when he let go and prayed.
Lord, please save her. I can’t let her die this way! She is my strength. Without her, Lord, I am nothing.
Bernard was now calm. He felt some warmth falling down from his hand over Tyler’s chest. He knew he had accomplished, with God’s help, what had been denied to him by Sheri and Gus but also that he was not there yet. He would still have to remain calm in his basic psychic level to be able to completely heal her.
Several minutes passed as Bernard concentrated on healing Tyler. He could feel some heat returning to her body. After several minutes she opened her eyes and turned to him. “Bernard, I can only say goodbye.”
“Tyler!” Bernard pressed himself against her.
“I love you Bernard. You made my time here... special.” A weak smile stretched across her face as she reached her hand up to Bernard’s. “I will wait for you.”
“Tyler? Tyler!?” Bernard became frantic. He did not know what she was talking about. He had brought her back. He thought everything was going to be fine until he felt her hand slip from his. She was dead again. “Tyler!?”
Bernard tightened his grip on her, screaming her name over and over. He was losing himself to his emotions. Nothing else entered his awareness as he sat there holding his lost love.
There was a creeping darkness slowing working its way up Bernard’s leg. By the time Bernard finally noticed it it was too late. It was now covering almost his entire body working its way to his head. He tried to scrap it off but his arms no longer moved at his command. His body was being paralyzed by this darkness. No amount of effort could free him from it. Finally the darkness reached over the back of his head and down around his face. It began forcing itself in around his eyes. Bernard could feel, not his body but his soul, being overtaken.
What is this thing? Bernard still could not move and the pain he was feeling only compiled the problem. Every ounce of strength he had was not enough to move. As he was struggling he suddenly found himself on the Beach of Time again. Here he was not completely free from the darkness that was engulfing him. The ocean was in a great turmoil sending massive waves breaking waves up to the shore while the sky, once clear, was now a mass of dark thundering clouds. He looked around and found himself, again, face to face with Gus and Sheri.
“What’s going on?” Bernard thundered. He knew he was in no position to demand things after the argument that took place and after reviving Tyler.
“You are being taken over by a demon.”
“A demon?”
“Yes” Sheri nodded slightly and continued, “Everything is falling into place. You must now choose to either surrender yourself to the demon becoming engulfed in darkness or fight it and join us among the light.”
A sharp pain sent Bernard falling to his knees. He knew outside his body was being taken over. He did not know, however, how to fight it off. “Tell me what to do!”
“I have already given you the lessons needed to win your soul.”
Bernard let at a snide laugh just as he began gaining some control over the intense pain. “You would say that. First you take Tyler and now you refuse to help me. This is your fault. I am here because of you!”
“You are here because of God.”
“God gave me back Tyler! You were the one to let her be taken away in the first place.”
As Sheri began to speak she was quickly cut off by Gus, “Bernard, we follow God’s will. He felt pity for what he has put you through and gave you a gift. He allowed Tyler to say goodbye. He knew it would give you the strength to fight this evil now use the power to rid it from your body!”
Bernard began to slowly climb back to his feet as another sharp pain tried to force him back down. He would not allow it though. He continued to stand up. On his feet he stared at Gus and Sheri. None of this made sense to him. He was hurt, confused and angry. Angry at the way they seemingly offered him the world and when he asked for one small thing they took it from him. They took Tyler and now they want me. His anger began to grow. Small columns from the dark clouds above came down and gathered around him as he stared out at Gus and Sheri. I will make them pay.
“Bernard!” Sheri called out with a sense of urgency, “Fight it Bernard! Do not let it control you.”
She is right. It will not control me… this is my body and my soul. It is mine!
Sheri and Gus continued to look on with a sense of failure. They felt that they had lost Bernard to evil. Gus turned and began walking off and just as Sheri began to turn a string of darkness shot out from the clouds. Her reflexes were quick; whipping her sword from her side she blocked the darkness. Its force was strong and moved her back several feet as she tried to find a good hold in the sand.
“Gus!”
Gus hadn’t seen what happened but knew something was wrong. He was already turned around when Sheri had shouted for him. The level of evil that has hold of him shouldn’t be able to penetrate into this realm. “What’s going on? Nothing should be able to control him in here.”
“It’s him Gus. He is attacking us!” Sheri was still trying to hold herself up against the force of the darkness on her blade. Whenever she tried to push the darkness to one side its weight would shift making her reposition herself.
The clouds around Bernard were now starting to disappear. When they were all gone, Gus and Sheri cloud see that Bernard’s arm was covered in the darkness that was forcing itself against Sheri’s blade. “I will not be used like this. You will give her back to me now… or else…”
“Or else what Bernard!?” Gus shouted out to him. “Are you going to kill us?”
“If I must.”
“Bernard! Listen to what you are saying. How will this help you get Tyler back? How is any of this going to make things better?” Sheri was still fighting the darkness coming from Bernard’s arm. He had her pinned down. Gus was not equipped to fight like her but she could not do much from where she was. Her only hope was to talk Bernard down. What can I say? Just as she was about to speak Bernard cut her off.
“I will have her back!” Bernard’s expression was now one of hate. He whipped his arm and the darkness pressed against Sheri’s sword quickly twisted around the blade. She took this opportunity to jump back several paces and pulled out a length of chain. The blade of the sword she had dropped was now completely black and Bernard had moved up and seized it from the sand. He wielded the weapon as she had, with one hand, and charged forth. He took a wide swing at her right. She grabbed the chain with both hands and blocked the attack. Quickly she moved towards Bernard, running the chain along the blade, and wrapped the handle up with more chain. Bernard attempted to pull the sword away but failed. Sheri moved another step closer and the remaining chain wrapped itself around Bernard, holding him still.
“Do you think this is the way into heaven? Do you think this is what God intended for us?” Sheri had Bernard within inches of her face. The blade of darkness began hissing as a snake warning of an appending strike. She did not take her eyes off Bernard though. She wanted to get through to him.
“I will have her back…” A smile spread across Bernard’s face, “And you will help me.” Sheri felt evil in that smile but when she looked into his eyes saw only pain. He had lost. She started to feel pity for him.
Her guard was let down only for a second. She had not paid close enough attention to Bernard’s left arm. The darkness that remained on it had crept behind her and quickly grabbed her around the neck. She let go of the chains to try and pull the darkness from around her throat. As she did Bernard drew back his sword and plunged it into Sheri’s chest. Light poured from her wound. Bernard leaned in close to her, driving the blade through her back, and whispered to her, “I am sorry.”
The darkness around Sheri’s throat raced up and down her body. It passed over the sword wound stopping the light from escaping. When her body was completely encased the darkness began to shrink until it returned to Bernard’s arm and disappeared. The sword remained with its hissing as Bernard turned his attention to Gus. He made no advance towards him but instead turned and walked