A Beast with a Smile
Chapter 27 (Archy): The Birth of Earth’s Sentinel

I was rudely awakened by a series of abusive pebbles that were freed from the tight grasp of the rocky roof. They exploded into dust on my bloody mouth. Once again, the wounds on my face had reopened and cried cardinal tears. A mixture of mud and blood filled my mouth with a bitter aftertaste while the cave shook with echoes of grunts and the melody of a wooden shield being beat like a drum.

I sat up feeling a nagging pain in places where it hadn’t been before I was sent through a child sized crack in the wall. I looked at the hole and it wasn’t child sized anymore: a whole school bus could fit through the thing. I was lucky my armor withstood the impact, or at least what was left of it that survived the crash.

I was missing more pieces than what I had left leaving me with a nice pair of protective boots, elbow pads and half a pair of shoulder pads. Where there was no suit, my under armor was left naked to the world. My cargo shorts and brown T-shirt were torn up and covered in dirt. Bits of my back felt damp and stung with every movement.

A sudden crash in the other room made me forget the pain for a moment.

Scarlett must have gotten free, I thought.

My legs were noodles and filled with jelly as I pulled myself to the wall of the room’s entrance. My heart stopped when I saw him: The Child Warrior was limp and inert, floating in a puddle of his own blood. Scarlett was stuck in a pit of concrete, screaming bloody murder. Ore was about to crush Clark’s tiny skull, but a laser light show saved the day. I watched as his foot slammed down, only to be blinded by a rainbow of light.

I rubbed the splotches out to see little Clark finally replaceing his abilities. A veil of light protected him from Ore’s blood-soaked, golden shoes and a grin painfully spread itself across my cheeks.

“They can’t ever make fun of you again,” I said quietly aloud, hoping he could hear me.

Ore, frustrated and confused, slammed his boot down repeatedly, trying to correct his error. Clark’s eyes shot open with flashing lights like a strobe light, then a second blast of light reclaimed my eye sight.

Ore bellowed with rage at his prey’s new-found abilities. When my vision refocused, four Clark’s stood in a square formation around Ore.

One had glowing crimson eyes and was shielded by a flame cloak, burning away like the end of a torch. Another had a waterfall falling perfectly around him, enclosing him with his deep blue eyes. The third floated in a white aura, safeguarded by visible white lines spiraling as they blew by; his eyes glittered pearl white. The final one was encased in a stone with moss forming over the edges, his eyes matching in illuminant color. All four were covered head to toe in their elemental armor, like friendly versions of the monster they intended to defeat.

Ore’s countenance reflected his loss of power over the child: his shadow face sulked into a deep angry pout. Scarlett had a much different reaction, showing a mixture of happiness, confusion, and a bit of sadness. Her tears still twinkled when the light bounced off of them. I ran to her with the plan of setting her free, however, my run was more of a wobble to stay in a straight line. I lost my footing and slid on my face to where she was imprisoned.

“Are you okay? That looked painful,” she distressed, giving me the same look my mom gave me whenever I would get a cut.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just a little woozy from smashing into a wall head first. It surprisingly hurts like hell. How’s the quick sand?” I answered, pushing myself back up to my feet.

“Oh, it’s just lovely. Who wouldn’t want their entire body to be trapped in a pile of dirt while a five-year-old fights off a demon made of smoke?”

Ore was screeching again as he moved in a circle around the Clark clones, looking for a weak point to strike.

“Let’s get you out of here. I don’t want to risk the life of a kid who isn’t even in kindergarten yet.”

I held out my hands and tried to form a shovel to dig her out. I felt whatever little light I had left flee my soul and rebirth on the tips of my fingers, forming into my heart’s desire. The blue glow of the object faded and a shovel the size of my forearm was left in its place.

“I don’t know if you’re seeing what I’m seeing, but that looks like a shovel that kids use to make sand castles. Why did you make it so small?” Scarlett noticed, staring at my failure with wide eyes.

“I’m a little low on materials. This is the best I could do.”

“You know they make pills for that right?” she laughed to herself.

“Would you shut up?” I barked, slamming the tip of the spade into the impenetrable dirt, snapping the metal free from the wood.

“Well that didn’t work,” Scarlett remarked.

Always stating the obvious.

“You’re going to need to use your strength. That’s the only thing that can break this stone. Ore has the ability to control the earth; he can make any mineral harder than diamonds.”

“Don’t you think that I have tried that? It doesn’t work.”

The sound of nails scratching down a chalkboard rang through the cavern. I spun around to see the fire clone getting a cold hug from the shadow, Ore’s smoky flesh sang a horrible tune as it burned away. The clone thrusted his arm half way, then followed with a blast of hot flames that resembled a rocket blasting off.

Ore stumbled backwards into the clone made of wind and thrusted profusely at the white spiral gusts. His disembodied hand never came close as it was caught in a vine of wind that engulfed his right arm and freed it clean from the invisible socket. Silver blood sprayed all over the wind clone; it was instantly washed away within the spirals.

He was tossed back to the middle, wailing in pain and bleeding liquid moonlight from the missing limb. He grumbled and started stomping his feet. Rocks began to float up to the wound, forming into a mineral arm made of gold as a replacement. He thrusted his arms around in a circle, lifting up a cloud of stones and sending them to each of the four elemental clones. The clones all staggered backwards, doing everything they could from falling down.

Ore saw an opportunity and began to fill the room with a thick black sand from the land above. His eyes darkened as he began to spin the dirt, lifting it up into a blinding sandstorm. Ore kept the sandstorm going, making it stronger and filling it with stalactites from the ceiling, turning them into flying daggers.

“Clark! Get out of there! It’s too dangerous!” Scarlett shouted, trying to break free of her prison.

The clones looked at us and shook their heads saying, “No,” in sync.

Their faces resembled Clark’s, only being distorted by the elements that protected them.

One rock shard pierced through the skin of the water clone, flying in the front, then out the back. It was sheathed in ice and shattered once it contacted the wall.

He blasted Ore with a jet of water, pushing him to the ground. I could hear Ore gasping for air, drowning under the water. The other clones regained their footing as the sandstorm died down. Ore slammed his hand on the ground, sending a rock pillar under Water’s feet, throwing him to the ceiling.

The earth clone stomped his feet and green grass grew in a wave towards Ore, wrapping around his misty body, pinning him to the ground. The wind clone added to the chaos by sending hurricane winds in the form of a spinning white ball. I watched in awe as the ground cracked where the ball zoomed past.

The ball smashed into Ore’s phantom chest, tearing in two. Ore’s blood was spraying out of him like a fountain. He screamed in pain as he pressed his two halves’ together. My broadsword slipped from his breast and banged against the stone floor, covered in molten silver.

The fire clone made a mad dash for the injured Ore, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. He kicked Ore in his leg, dropping the beast to his knees. He reached for the broadsword and raised it above Ore’s head, preparing for an execution. He brought down the blade in a faithful sweep, but there was no sound of dead flesh being split into pieces, there was no sound at all.

The sword rested above the Ore’s neck, pressing against it, but not separating it. He was looking at someone. A dark figure cowered in the corner; her golden eyes glowed with fear and I could see a trail of silver blood near her leg. She had come back through the hole that she escaped through and had been watching the battle in secret. Golden tears had soaked her shadowy face. The fire clone lifted the sword and rejoined the others next to the meteor.

“What is he doing? He’s going to get himself killed. I’m sorry, Scarlett, but you’re going to have to replace a way to get yourself out. I have to go save him.”

She nodded in compliance as I hobbled to the other side of the room. Ore stood leaking and wounded, his body still split down the middle. The rocks that he used to form his new arm had fallen and turned to dust. His body had become more ghost like since the beginning of the battle.

He met eyes with the Clarks, then looked at the little obscure girl in the corner. I stumbled behind one of Clark’s clones and nearly fell, but a cube of air held me upright, carrying me to them and keeping me tightly locked in for the ride.

Ore’s eyes were filled with defeat, holding fear rather than rage. The earth clone stepped towards Ore and held out his hand with his palm open. I thought Ore would pry his eyes out, but instead he held out the bleeding nub Clark had left him.

The earth shook as a mountain of gold and silver grew like flowers underneath our feet. They floated out of the dirt and into the sky around the four clones and Ore. The fire clone began to melt them into a water- like fluid, then the fluid attached itself to the nub, forming a golden and silver hand. The water clone sprayed it off, supercooling the arm, and the wind clone air dried it with a massive gust of wind.

Ore squeezed the fingers on his replacement hand a few times, seeing if it would work, then looked at the Elemental Clones with pleasure and thankfulness.

“What are you doing Clark?” I asked impatiently as I was strapped to an invisible chair.

“The right thing,” they said, meeting Ore’s golden eyes.

Ore nodded, swiping his arm upside down, turning Scarlett’s concrete prison into a soft mud. She rose, wiping away tears and brushing away the dried dirt that stayed behind. She walked over to the group with a sense of uncertainty. The clone released my air bed and Scarlett had to catch me before I face planted in the red Alpha-serum.

A shriek of demons flooded the hall through the hole as the cave began to shake from the incoming stampede of Oscuri.

“We must leave,” the Clarks responded, turning their back to Ore and the girl.

The earth clone lifted his hands and the meteor began to shake impatiently. The screams grew louder as the meteor lifted, revealing an old sewer.

An escape.

Scarlett and I limped through along with the four clones. As soon as we passed through the open gate way I could see a black mass of Oscuri break through the hole; thousands of black shades filled the small room. They saw us and began to sprint at us but were stopped only by the meteor smashing down in front of them, sealing the exit forever.

“Why didn’t you kill him?” I asked, feeling relieved I didn’t have to watch my friend die twice.

“He was just protecting his daughter. No one deserves to die for protecting their family.”