Sentinel by Cameron Polli - HTML preview

Chapter 13

“He’s regaining consciousness,” came a vague and distant voice. “Stand back – give him some room.”

Eli opened his eyes to see the dark sky of his living quarters above. He was lying upon his back near the straw hut, and as he attempted to sit up, Jack stepped forward to speak with him.

“Eli, are you alright?” he asked with a concerned tone. “You were experiencing another episode of psychosis, and a severe one at that.”

As Jack aided him to his feet, Eli shook his head vigorously to free himself from his state of confusion; his legs ached from the trauma induced by the grueling training he had endured.

Jack had to place his hands under his back to prevent him from falling, as the young Sentinel could barely stand.

“You were doing so well with the exercise, too,” Jack continued, while Jean and Rachel approached them, breathing heavily. “You had left these two in the dust, but you collapsed immediately before completing your final lap. You were twitching on the ground for a short time, before fainting altogether.”

Rachel and Jean’s eyes displayed worry.

“Are you okay, Eli?” Rachel asked him. “This is the second time this has happened. Is there something you aren’t telling us – some issue we should know about? We may be able to help you.”

Eli simply shook his head.

“I’m not sure…” he said quietly. “I was thinking about the Outlaws again, but then the same sort of visions I saw during my last episode appeared before me once more. This time, I witnessed a new scene: a group of Sentinels being devoured in flames and a sea of blood.”

“So…” Jack mused. “You experience visions? Is this something you have always done, even in the Living World?”

“No, not at all,” Eli told him. “It’s only happened very recently. I think it has something to do with the female Outlaw, Mary.”

Jack nodded in comprehension.

“Yes, she is an unusual one,” Jack admitted. “Even I am not sure of her full capabilities; her mental-manipulation skills are undoubtedly second to none.” He slowly lowered Eli down to

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the ground again. “Here, sit down. You look as pale as a ghost, and you can’t even stand up straight.”

Eli noticed that the bamboo door that led back to the Chamber of the Judge was visible near the center of the clearing. They must have found and activated my fortress key. I suppose it’s nearly time to leave.

“At this point, the chieftains have probably managed to summon forth many of our fellow Sentinels,” Jack announced, seemingly reading Eli’s thoughts. “We shall aim to return to the chamber as soon as Eli is fit, though I doubt they have assembled everyone yet, and they certainly are not prepared for us to cast our votes for the new Judge.”

Eli came to realize that he was sweating profusely – not just from the training, but also from his illusory experience; he did indeed feel unfit to do much of anything.

“Come to think of it, you two should leave,” Jack instructed Rachel and Jean. “Eli and I will be following you soon.”

The two obeyed without hesitation, opening the bamboo door and disappearing beyond its frame.

“So, what do you think?” Jack asked Eli. “You certainly aren’t looking well, but are you at least feeling strong enough to return to the chamber?”

Eli drew a deep breath, attempting to regain his composure; he stretched his legs out along the ground, and he found that they were left with a dull ache.

“I can sit down once we get back,” Eli responded. “so I should be fine. More than anything else, my inner fortitude is shaken – these visions have not been pleasant at all.”

“Yes, about those…” Jack began tentatively. “It will be problematic if you continue to have them, or at least the loss of consciousness associated with them will be. Is there anything in particular that seems to trigger them, such as concentrating thought on the female Outlaw?”

Eli lifted each of his legs slightly and noticed that they were already beginning to recover, as he could now move them without any significant pain or limitations.

“Well, that is what happened in this particular case,” he answered. “I thought about Mary, and a series of unsettling images followed. In contrast, the cause of my delirium on the cube is unknown. I attempted to contact Ana, failed, and found myself warped to a new reality.

I then witnessed events from the past that somehow related to my former life, and I found them

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quite disturbing. However, it is important to note that Mary was present in those visions as well.”

Recognizing that Eli was ready to move along, Jack helped the young Sentinel back to his feet.

“In that case,” said Jack as he laid Eli’s arm across his shoulders and headed for the door.

“it seems as though you are vulnerable to these delusions whenever you are either fatigued or in an altered state of consciousness. As such, I implore you to always remain vigilant and alert, especially during battle, when the time comes.”

The pair of Sentinels proceeded through the entrance back to the chamber; when they arrived, they found themselves utterly duped, for the space they were in was now crowded with other Sentinels. Bustling bodies teemed about them, and Eli could not even determine what their position in the chamber was, as the masses of bodies that pressed him hindered his sight.

“Good gracious!” exclaimed Jack. “I can’t believe they’ve made so much progress already. We would be fortunate to have this many Sentinels alive in total, yet they may not even be finished in guiding the rest back here.”

Eli felt joy well up in him as he saw his fellow Sentinels greeting one another and laughing together. Who knows what they have endured on their missions. If it was anything as terrible as what we experienced, it is no wonder they are so elated to have returned safely.

Amidst the optimistic chatter about him, Eli heard a voice calling for him and Jack. He turned to his left to see Jean and Rachel burst from the surrounding crowds, their faces alight with excitement.

“Everyone is back!” Rachel shouted with glee. “I think we’re going to hear from the chieftains soon! We can finally take our next course of action together!”

“Indeed,” Jean added. “I believe I just heard others say that Vlad will be addressing all of us momentarily.”

“Then I suppose we’re just in time,” Jack said. “I’ll bet we’re going to hear about the new training divisions they’re going to establish, as well as the much-needed security measures that will be put in place. However, I don’t think we’ll learn what we’re going to do with Sarah yet - that probably won’t be until after a new Judge has been appointed.”

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Eli, now feeling more stable in his legs, lifted his arm from Jack’s shoulders and stood on his own, scanning the Chamber. He noticed Philip and Jedediah conversing with a wiry, young male, but otherwise, he could not identify anyone else in the crowd.

“I wonder whom we will be grouped with for training,” Eli thought aloud.

“Oh!” Rachel jumped in. “I hope that we’re all together for one training division!”

“Well, if memory serves, there are usually three to four Sentinels in a single training division,” Jack stated. “so it’s certainly a possibility, though I’m not sure if they intentionally group together Sentinels who are already familiar with one another.”

Eli could not share Rachel’s sentiment in this regard: Continuing to train with Jack was not at all appealing to him. Although he was not typically one to shy away from a challenge, Jack’s intense training was a bit excessive for even Eli. On the other hand, I do believe I would grow substantially under his guidance…

“Everyone, please sit down,” came a command from above.

The crowd conglomerated in the chamber looked up to see Vlad perched atop the great rock, his fellow chieftains standing beside him.

“We have managed to recover all of the survivors; thus, it is time to announce how we will proceed with the dire circumstances we face.”

The cluster of Sentinels migrated toward the nearest section of chairs, and Eli seized a seat in the front row; Jack and the others pushed their way through the mass of Sentinels to claim the seats beside him.

As everyone began to settle around him, Eli noticed that there were far fewer Sentinels present now than when he had first entered the chamber. They seemed to have been many in number when they were crowded into a single mass, but now that they had spread apart throughout the room, it was clear to see that their numbers had been halved. And Vlad said that these were all the survivors. Those who did not survive must have been victimized by Outlaws…

how could there have been so many? This was a massive onslaught, and we must make them pay.

A hand slapped Eli’s shoulder from behind.

“What do you think, son?” came Philip’s voice. “They finally rounded everyone up. Just imagine if we hadn’t found you guys when you were fighting them Outlaws: We’d still be wandering about the Living World, getting picked off one at a time by those bastards.”

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Philip, Jedediah, and the unknown Sentinel whom they had been speaking with all sat down in the row behind Eli’s.

“Yes,” Jedediah agreed. “Our construction of the soul key was pivotal for every Sentinel, for without it, not one of our allies would have been able to return.”

Chatter amongst all of the Sentinels present slowly faded as Vlad raised his hand up, signaling for silence.

“To begin, I would like to present you with some uplifting news,” he announced. “We have recovered the Saint: She resides safely in my bunker as we speak. This means that, despite our losses, our first mission was successful.”

The Sentinels gathered in the chamber, save Eli and his friends, began to clap in triumph; Vlad raised his hand once again for silence, then continued to speak.

“But… we have a major issue that must be addressed: Outlaws have managed to infiltrate the Judge’s domain, and they have assassinated her. This means that we are currently without a Judge.”

Upon hearing the grim news, panic fell over the room; the chamber rang with anxious murmuring and even a few wails. That’s right – none of these other Sentinels have heard the news yet. They are completely unaware of what has transpired recently.

“Furthermore,” Vlad continued. “it means that we need to introduce new security measures, such that we have not seen in many years. We are not exactly sure how these Outlaws managed to breach the Judge’s domain, but with our precautions in place, they should not be able to succeed again.”

“You shouldn’t be so certain,” Jack piped up, rising to his feet. “These Outlaws are not to be trifled with. My group encountered one in particular that has abilities that far surpass those of any Outlaw I have seen in the past. In other words, don’t underestimate them – don’t underestimate them in the slightest.”

As Vlad nodded in comprehension, another Sentinel stood from her place at the far end of the chamber, near the wall. This one looked just like a female version of Jack: She had the same blue eyes, and she looked to be about the same age. Despite her short white hair and wrinkled skin, there was a certain essence of youthfulness to her, just as there was with Jack.

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“I agree,” she stated. “I am the last surviving member of my group – the rest were killed by a pair of Outlaws. Their strength was formidable, but I am more concerned with something one of them mentioned: He said something about Jay Takashi, acting as if he was still alive.”

More murmurs of unrest filled the chamber, and even Vlad released a gasp of terror.

“T- Takashi?” he stuttered. “He still roams the Living World? Has anyone seen him?”

The anxious chatter in the chamber continued, but no one answered him.

A female chieftain beside Vlad studied some stationery she was clutching and whispered something into his ear; he almost appeared to be trembling as she eventually pulled away, and the crowd of Sentinels silently awaited what had been said.

“My friends,” he said solemnly. “I’ve just received word that there are four divisions of Sentinels in close proximity with each other that have been annihilated entirely. It could be possible that Takashi was the culprit; this theory would explain why no one has seen the demon: No witnesses survived.”

The assembled crowd was seized by throes of unrest, as the Sentinels’ chatter grew louder, and they fidgeted about nervously.

“Of course,” Vlad continued. “we do not have conclusive evidence of this. Moreover, regardless of whether Takashi is alive or not, we already know that we must keep our guard up against the Outlaws that currently threaten us. Doing so will require every bit of effort and vigilance we can muster; Takashi’s being alive and well would simply make things more challenging for us.”

Eli squeezed his fists tightly and clenched his teeth at the thought of being confronted by Jay Takashi. Jack said that he could defeat one hundred Sentinels, so I suppose that decimating four divisions, which would amount to no more than twenty Sentinels, would be child’s play for him. We are fortunate that our group did not meet him, or else Sarah would not currently be with us.

“As such,” Vlad went on. “changes must be made immediately. We will assign a team of guards to protect our domain from further Outlaw infiltration. We will additionally distribute weapons to all of you and divide you into training units, so that you shall be prepared for any coming battles. In fact, my associates are determining whom the units shall consist of as we speak; we hope to include six to eight Sentinels per unit.”

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“Well, shoot,” Philip muttered from behind Eli. “Those are some pretty big training units. It must be because there are too few experienced Sentinels to lead the training sessions, so they have to settle for fewer groups, with more members per group.”

“I will note that we have already decided who will make up the Judge’s guard,” Vlad told the crowd. “The Sentinels we have selected are: Jedediah Williams, Kawi Nkrumah, Jane Smith, Victor Asimov, Richard Brar, Thomas Morales, and Ruby. You seven will be tasked with protecting the Judge, whoever that will be.”

Philip snorted, while Jack chuckled quietly.

“That’s hilarious,” Jack remarked. “He acts as if he doesn’t know that he will be the next Judge. There’s no way anyone else will be selected.”

“Yeah,” Philip agreed. “I guess he’s just too modest.”

Eli found it interesting that three of the seven selected happened to be Sentinels he knew.

I had a feeling that Jedediah and Ruby were strong, but I am surprised they did not choose Jack; perhaps that is because they would rather have him lead a training unit: a responsibility that requires significant experience.

“As for the rest of you,” Vlad proceeded. “you will still be required to do battle, should the necessity arise. Because of this, most of you will soon be sent to our armory to retrieve new weapons, although I know that this will not be the case for some of you, who are already armed.”

Vlad then turned to face his fellow chieftains and paused for a moment; the chieftains shared a series of glances amongst themselves, and after some time, stared back at Vlad and nodded.

“I suppose that is all I have to say… for now,” Vlad announced as he turned back toward the crowd. “I will point out that we shall need to wait a good deal longer before the Angels appoint a new Judge. We will soon be able to cast votes, but more time will be needed before the new Judge is actually given the power of the position. Aside from all this…”

Vlad trailed off, observing the Sentinels conglomerated below with an expression of feigned optimism.

“I do not know exactly what the future holds for us, but I have spoken with some of our senior Sentinels, and we agree that in all likelihood, our next order of business will be escorting the young Saint to a shrine. I cannot say where this shrine would be located, or if we will even

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be able to open a soul-gate in its vicinity, but it is probable that we shall need to seek one out nonetheless.”

Jack leaned toward Eli’s ear.

“By ‘senior Sentinels’, he means me and Philip,” he whispered. “I guess we carry a quite a bit of weight around here, don’t we?”

“Shut the hell up,” Philip grunted from behind. “Some of us are trying to listen – this is very important.”

“Regardless,” Vlad was saying. “There is no doubt that challenges lie ahead – such that we have not seen yet. Unity, perseverance, and grit will all be paramount as we move forward.”

Vlad’s face grew stone-hard; a solemness fell upon all gathered around the great rock, and Eli gulped. He's having a difficult time hiding his concern. What is he afraid of? Takashi?

Whatever it is, everyone else can… just sense it.

“Ultimately, there’s no avoiding it,” the short chieftain said. “Our future hinges on our success. Should we fail, all will be lost: not only the Living World, but also us along with it. I cannot overemphasize how important our next course of action will be; it will require each of you, and each of you will be required to give everything you have.”

The chamber was now completely silent – not even Jack uttered a sound. Eli felt chilled to the bone as he heard Vlad speak, though he knew everything he had said was likely true, and that all assembled needed to hear it. Against the Outlaws, one must indeed give everything they have. Then again, it would seem that the other divisions have had to battle Outlaws as well, so I am sure this isn’t news to them.

“But…” Vlad eventually carried on. “I know we have encountered challenges in the past, and we have always overcome them. In a way, I feel that Sentinels’ success is always inevitable, no matter what the obstacle is. After all, we’re all here for a reason, for none of us could be Sentinels if we could not surmount difficult odds. It’s as if a Sentinel is always guaranteed to give their all, especially when it matters most, as it is all we know how to do.”

Vlad’s words resonated profoundly with Eli, who had not soon forgotten how he had felt during his time in the Maw; many of the other sentinels, however, did not seem particularly convinced, as doubt shadowed their faces. I don’t know if we actually have enough powerful Sentinels to win whatever fight lies ahead, but I’ll always give my best, regardless of whom I’m fighting with.

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“I wish you all the best of luck in the days ahead,” Vlad concluded. “Trust yourselves, and trust one another.”

With that, Vlad retreated from where he was standing atop the rock and nodded to one of his fellow chieftains; it was the one who had informed him of the death toll suspected to have been caused by Jay Takashi. She assumed his place in front of the rest of the chieftains, a sheet of paper in her grasp. She must be preparing to announce the personnel for the new training units. This should be interesting… I wonder if there’s any way I will not be assigned to Jack’s group.

“Many of you already know me,” she began in a low voice. “but for those of you who don’t, my name is Elizabeth. I have recently assumed the position of Chief Scribe, which was held by Vlad prior to the Judge’s death.”

She flashed her eyes toward her paper quickly, and Eli’s suspicions were confirmed.

Those are the listings for the group members.

“Therefore,” she continued. “I will be informing you of whom our newly formulated training units will consist of. After this has been done, we will distribute weapons to all who need them, and we will then commence training immediately. We have no time to waste if we wish to overcome our assailants, so we will spend every available moment preparing to defeat them. After all, chances that we will not need to encounter Outlaws another time are quite slim.”

The crowd shifted uncomfortably around Eli – it was as if he could simply smell their fear. Most of them are deathly afraid of the Outlaws, which is understandable, but it will drastically impair our ability to complete whatever mission lies ahead. I hope they can find a way to overcome their fears – they’ll need to if we are to succeed.

“Without further ado,” Elizabeth announced. “I will begin listing the constituents of each unit, so please grant me your attention for a few moments. Unit one will be led by…”

Elizabeth’s voice seemed to trail off, as a ringing began to fill Eli’s ears; the Sentinels about him became warped and distorted, shifting into bizarre shapes.

“Not this again!” Eli muttered in anger, clutching at the sides of his head.

Dizziness befell him, just as it had during his previous delusional experiences, but this time, the Sentinels did not disappear; they simply remained in their distorted states, and he could still vaguely hear Elizabeth’s voice, though he could not quite make out what she was saying.

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The young Sentinel almost felt relieved that this episode was not as severe as the previous ones, until he caught sight of what was before him. Posing in front of the great rock was a bloodied man with crazed eyes. He was staring at Eli intensely, and none of the other Sentinels seemed to notice him. Once Eli was able to ignore the blood-spatter on the man’s clothes and face, he identified him as his father with a jolt of disbelief.

Wearing a familiar yet disturbing grin, Eli’s father approached him slowly.

“It’s been a while, son,” he said softly. “It looks like you’ve grown a bit since the last time I saw you.”

Eli was taken aback, not knowing exactly how to respond, especially after having seen his father in the strange vision he had experienced before.

“What are you doing here?” Eli asked tentatively. “I thought you were dead. Where have you been as of late?”

Eli knew he could not expect a reliable answer, as the person he saw before him was merely an illusion; none of the other Sentinels had noticed him yet, and Elizabeth did not cease her speaking.

Still, as his father gazed into his eyes, Eli strongly felt that what he was seeing had to be more than an illusion.

“I suppose you can say I’ve been… taking care of some business,” his father answered eventually. “I had to temporarily leave you and your mom behind, and you were both gone before I could return home. Unlike the two of you, I never died.”

Eli’s father caught sight of Jack, who was just staring ahead at the speaking chieftain.

“Who’s this?” he asked curiously. “Your friend?”

“Oh, this is Jack,” Eli told him. “He’s more like my mentor than my friend; he’s the first person I met upon becoming a Sentinel.”

His father nodded in comprehension, still studying Jack carefully.

“Yes, about that…” he began again. “What do you think about being a Sentinel so far?

It looks like you are all in a bit of a bind right now.”

Regardless of whether he was currently witnessing an illusion or not, Eli found speaking to his father somewhat comforting, even given the series of visions he had seen.

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“It has been nothing but stressful,” Eli admitted. “Because of the bind we are in, we have not been able to receive a moment’s rest. The very fate of the Living World hangs in the balance; if we fail to protect the Saint we have been tasked with guarding, all is lost.”

Eli’s father seemed as though he had not been paying attention at all to his son’s last few remarks. Instead, he was fixated on his surroundings, surveying the chamber and the Sentinels within it.

“Dad?” Eli prompted, awaiting a response.

His father redirected his attention back to Eli and smiled.

“Dad?” he repeated. “We’re both fully grown now. You can just call me by my real name – call me John.”

“Alright… John,” Eli continued. “exactly what kind of ‘business’ did you need to take care of? Why was it so important that you had to leave us?”

John opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated, choosing his words carefully. His father’s difficulty in providing an honest response to such a simple question concerned Eli, and he felt a churning of worry in his stomach. What have you been up to, John? And why am I seeing you just now?

“At this time…” John began slowly. “it’s hard to explain. You’ll learn more about me as time draws on; just keep doing what your friend – er… mentor – tells you to.”

“If you are an insinuating that I am going to have to learn through more of these visions,”

Eli answered. “then I would have to decline. My fellow Sentinels will need me soon, and I cannot afford to continue experiencing hallucinations like this if I wish to aid them.”

As John opened his mouth to speak again, Eli’s attention returned to the blood-spatter on his clothes. It was all completely dried; there was no telling how old it was.

“Don’t worry about the visions,” John finally assured him. “It will all be worth it in due time. Good things for you lie ahead, Eli. I simply need you to trust me for a little while, and for you to stay safe on your missions.”

He placed his hand atop Eli’s head.

“Well, I’ve kept you long enough already,” he told him. “You still have some important work to do – please see to it that we’ll be able to meet again. The next time I get to see you, I will have something great in store. So long, son… for now.”

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Bright light blinded Eli from all angles, and it forced him to cover his eyes. When it seemed that the glare had vanished, he removed his hands from his eyes, only to see that his father was gone. The appearances of his fellow Sentinels had returned to their original forms, and he could hear their voices clearly. To his surprise, they were all vacating their seats and heading towards the center of the chamber – some were even activating their fortress keys.

Jack was grasping onto Eli’s shoulder and shaking him lightly.

“Hello, anyone home in there?” he prompted. “It’s time to get back to it.”

Eli looked to Jack in confusion.

“Time for what?” he asked. “What’s going on?”

Jack rolled his eyes.

“Don’t tell me you did it again!” he exclaimed, exasperated. “You missed the announcements for the new group assignments! Everyone is getting ready to start training.”

Jack rose from his seat and yanked Eli up along with him.

“Come on, you’re in my group,” the old Sentinel said. “The others are waiting for us ahead.”

The pair hurried over to a crowd of young-looking Sentinels standing at the foot of the great rock. One of them was Rachel, but the rest – four others - were unfamiliar to Eli.

“Sorry about that,” Jack apologized. “We’ll be departing right away. We can all get acquainted once we arrive.”

He tossed his fortress key into the air, and an icy, metal door fell to the floor with a heavy clamor.

“Go on in,” Jack ordered them. “I’ll be right in after you.”

Everyone obeyed, save Eli, who stood beside Jack outside the door for a moment.

“I’m going to give you a bit of time to pull yourself together,” Jack told him. “Training won’t do anyone any good if you keep zoning out like this – we need you in a sound mental state. Once you think you’re ready, join us immediately.”

Jack proceeded through the door, leaving Eli alone.

Now that his vision had ended, he was feeling well; he was not convinced that there was much he could do to prevent his visions, as they seemed to occur of their own accord. What did I just see? Was it an illusion created by Mary? If so, why does she keep showing me my father?

On the other hand…

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Eli considered the possibility that what he had seen was actually is father, rather than just a false imitation. Of course, he had to dismiss the possibility almost immediately, for if his father had died in the Living World and survived the Maw, he would obviously be a Sentinel. If he had failed to conquer the Maw, he would be in the Void; it would make no sense for him to be able to simply appear and disappear as he chooses.

Shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of his troubling thoughts, Eli moved toward the doorway before him. I must be just imagining things on my own… but still, the question remains: Who is my father? Perhaps more importantly, who am I?