Julia Lelieveld and the battle with the underworld
~20~

Renzo cursed. He quickly grabbed me and started to run, but our way was blocked by a large man, he had dark medium-length hair, a short beard and his eyes were in supreme concentration. I recognized him, it was Lucas and Renzo’s father.

Renzo was transfixed. “Father, what are you doing here?” He quickly looked back to make sure no one was closing in on us.

“Excuse me, Renzo, but I heard what was going to happen tonight. And I can’t lose another son to side with you.”

Renzo looked at him uncomprehendingly. “What’s that got to do with it?”

“What’s that got to do with it? Everything! Lucas is changing, just like you did. He’s going to ask questions and doubt us. The e-warriorship! Everything we live for!” He cried out. He was furious.

“Don’t do this, please. Let’s go.”

He started laughing. “Son, I’m not the one doing this, look at her.” And he pointed at me with a mean smile. I shook my head. Tears pressed against my eyes. “No, this was not the intention at all.” Renzo looked at me hurt. “What have you done?” he asked me.

“Evil visited me earlier this week. I was supposed to come with him, but I declined. He gave me until yesterday to go with him on my own to the underworld, but as you can see I’m still here.” At this point, tears were streaming down my face. I felt so miserable. As if I had failed.

“Sorry, I’ve been very selfish, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Then I’d rather surrender myself.”

Renzo was with me in one step and grabbed my face and looked at me forcefully. “No! You will not do that. You stay here. Of course you’re not going with him. Never! You did the right thing.” And with those words he kissed me forcefully and quickly. Then he turned to his father.

“Please go home, this is not your fight.”

“No, I’m staying. And if necessary I will fight you.” And he pointed at us.

I saw Renzo clench his fists and he came to stand in front of me.

Oh my god, this was going to go all wrong. I looked behind me. Evil was there, you couldn’t miss it. I tried to control my emotions and focus on the fifth element. I felt and listened around me. I got all cold inside. This was not good. I felt several evil sources around us. We couldn’t do this alone. I let the fifth element speak to the other elements, hoping the circle would hear. We really needed their help.

I took Renzo’s hand and squeezed it. He understood and squeezed back.

“Where is your brother, I thought he would be with you.” And he nodded at us. Renzo shook his head. “I didn’t see him tonight.”

His father looked confused. “Where else did he go in a tuxedo?”

Renzo shrugged. “I don’t know, but I really haven’t seen him.”

“It’s better this way, maybe I’m not too late to save him.”

Renzo stepped towards his father and pointed at him. “Watch what you say. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything you stand for is not reality. You are selling yourself so very short. I hope for Lucas that he switches to our side.”

Now Renzo went too far. His father approached him and lunged at him. But Renzo was quick, avoiding his father’s fist and standing back. He held out his hand. “Stop, I don’t want to fight you.”

His father laughed again. “You should have thought of that a little earlier, as far as I’m concerned you’re not my son anymore. Not when you talk about our calling like that.” And he went on the attack again and before I knew it I was firing an orb at him. I couldn’t bear to see him hurt Renzo. The air ball hit him full to the chest and he fell a few yards further onto the pavement. Renzo looked startled at me.

Shit, this was his father. “Sorry.” Was all I said to him. He looked at me for a moment and then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, you defended me.”

And with those words, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I turned around and stood in front of Renzo. And a man and a woman stood before us. They smiled at us and shook themselves free. Getting ready for a fight.

At the same speed, I fired another ball of air and it hit the woman in the shoulder, knocking her off balance. The man immediately took action and ran towards us with a large knife in his hands. I made another air ball and fired it at him, but he dodged it. Deftly he tossed the knife in my direction and as if in slow motion I saw the knife rushing towards my face. And at just the right moment I grabbed the handle of the knife. I looked a little surprised at my hand that held the shiny knife. The man seemed surprised too, but that didn’t last long. He ran towards me, I felt fire take possession of me and fired a fireball at him. He tried to avoid him, but couldn’t quite do it. His chest was hit and he lost balance. The woman who had fallen earlier caught him and together they came towards me. I heard behind me Renzo’s father attacking again. In the corner of my eye I saw something moving and I quickly looked back and saw that the circle was there. They didn’t hesitate for a moment and joined the fight. But as if Evil had been waiting for that, all I felt was darkness around me. Startled, I looked around, what was going to happen? And before I could think of that I saw possessed people coming our way from all around us, shit this went really wrong. I wanted to split up, but of course I couldn’t. Because of me this came, because of me everyone was now in danger. I felt a stabbing pain in my left arm, I was hit. It all went so very fast. I heard people shouting and screaming. Everything was raging around my ears and I saw people lying on the floor. In the midst of all the chaos I tried to see everyone. I saw Kate and Max fighting two big men, they stood their ground, but I saw Kate had blood on her face. Beside them, Leo and Sara stood back to back, using their powers against three possessed humans.

Behind me, Renzo was still fighting his father and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lucas appear in the frame. He observed the whole picture and as if a switch had flipped he went on the attack against a possessed person. He had sided with us. He found his way to his father and I saw him yell something at him, his father turned pale and looked at him in disbelief. And that’s when his father punched him hard in the face. Lucas landed on the ground a few feet away. This was the last straw for Renzo, and Lucas’s distraction allowed Renzo to hit his father back. He, too, fell motionless to the ground. Renzo turned and looked at me. He screamed but I didn’t hear him and as I wanted to scream back I felt a hard blow in my back. I fell forward and the pain spread through my body. I seemed paralyzed for a moment, but the fifth element did its job and as I climbed up someone grabbed my arms tightly and quickly pulled me to my feet. It was Renzo. I looked at him gratefully. I was startled by his face. He was tight and blue. But I didn’t have time to dwell on this. He turned me around and I saw an energy ball coming my way again and with a quick movement of my hand I blew it back to whoever fired it. And suddenly, as if time stood still, everyone was frozen on the ground. At least not everyone. I could still see Renzo, Lucas and his father moving, just like myself. We looked at each other questioningly, what was going on? Renzo came close to me. Lucas got up and walked over to us questioningly. Their father also stood up and continued to look at us from a distance. “Are you doing this?” he asked, pointing his finger at me. I shook my head. “No, I’m not doing this. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“You might brainwash those guys, but not me, I know you’re behind this.” He came walking towards me with his bloody face, but before Renzo could do anything Lucas stepped between his father and me. “Dad, it’s over. Resign yourself to it.”

“Never!” he shouted.

“Well, well, what a pent-up human feeling.”

We all looked in the direction from which the charming male voice came. And there he stood. I knew immediately who he was. Although I had never seen him in this guise. A tall, charming young man stood on the edge of the scene. He had medium length dark wavy hair. His muscular body was wrapped in a black tight-fitting suit. His spotless shirt was loosely under his jacket. He was Evil, the boss of the underworld.

I immediately stepped forward and stood in front of everyone.

“Julia, how nice to see you again. Girl, you see a little pale, are you not feeling so well? Ah well, then you should have listened to me, didn’t you?” he asked sarcastically.

I started to get angry. My body was shaking with all the energy that started in the heaps. He started laughing. “Honey, do you really think you can hurt me? Try it.” And he spread his arms as if surrendering.

I gathered all the energy in my hands with a hard thrust I fired everything at him. Two incredibly bright and large energy balls rushed in his direction. And with a simple flick of his hand, they disappeared before our eyes. And again he started laughing as if it was all very funny.

Again I took a step in his direction. I felt someone grab my hand. “Don’t, stay here.” I looked around and saw Renzo staring at me intently. And that look made me realize that I had to do it. I could no longer endanger the people I loved. “Sorry.” Was all I said and I pulled my hand from his grasp and walked on toward Evil.

“Here I am, take me with you.” This time I spread my arms.

“Interesting, but my offer is no longer valid. Surely you have noticed that from all the subjects who are here on my behalf.” And he pointed to the still frozen possessed people fighting the circle.

“No, that would be way too easy now, wouldn’t it?” And he looked at me with a mean smile.

My stomach turned. What did he mean? I surrendered anyway. He could take me to the underworld. This was not good.

I stood protectively in front of the other. I glanced around and saw Renzo’s father watching the entire conversation intently. I even saw a small smile on his lips. Evil looked with me and he saw the same.

“Oh, old e-warrior, what are you laughing at? Do you like this? Are your own children in danger? I ordered your son not to hurt the girl. But what are you doing? You attack them. Against her and your sons? Isn’t my word important then?” he asked softly.

The look on his face changed instantly. He said respectfully, “No, of course not my leader. I didn’t mean it that way, I didn’t know about the assignment. I won’t bother you anymore.”

“Then you are a little late. Is it not?” He kept staring at him.

“Tell me what to do, my leader. I would give my life for you.” As he said that, Lucas and Renzo looked at each other in shock. But it was already too late. With a single flick of Evil’s hand, Lucas and Renzo’s father’s neck snapped and he fell lifeless to the ground. “So, now that we’ve sorted that out, where were we?”

I looked startled at the lifeless body lying on the ground and then at Renzo and Lucas. And as if we all felt the same we ran to Evil at the same time. He started laughing again. “Oh, how naive you are.” And again with a single movement I felt my body being thrown backwards. I looked around again and saw that Lucas was lying next to me. Where was Renzo? I stood up painfully and saw that Evil was holding Renzo by the neck.

“No! Don’t do it!” I yelled at him.

“Why should I listen to you? You didn’t do that to me, did you?”

“I’m coming, but leave him here.” I felt the tears running down my cheeks. How could this happen? Renzo looked at me anxiously. I had never seen him like this. It broke my heart. I took a step in his direction. “Stop! Do I have to break his neck too?”

I raised my hands and stepped back. I looked at Lucas with a piercing look, hoping he would understand me not to do anything either. Renzo stood there so hopeless. He could barely rest his toes on the ground.

“No,” I said softly.

“Oh, so you can listen, can’t you? Do you know what I’m gonna do? I just think I’ll take him. Then can I enjoy myself with a new pet. That’s how I punish you and this person.”

“What? Take? No, I’m telling you I’m going with you. Leave the others out of this, this is between you and me.”

“Hm, tempting, but that’s too easy, isn’t it? No, we’ll do it my way, keep it a little exciting.” And he raised his eyebrows mischievously.

I instinctively took a step towards him and as I did he lifted Renzo higher and where he held his neck, blood rushed down. Renzo gave a cry of pain.

“No Renzo!” I immediately stepped back and held up my arms. “Stop! Please stop, put him down!” I looked at Evil pleadingly.

“Oh, what predictable sensitive creatures you are.” And with those words, he let Renzo rest on the tips of his toes again. Renzo’s gaze was pained.

“Goodbye again.” He said as if we were best friends and as time went back to normal Renzo and the Evil were gone. “No!” I exclaimed. I ran to where Renzo had just been standing. The drops of blood were still on the floor, but Renzo and Evil were nowhere to be seen. I fell through my legs and looked lost at the place where he had just been. This couldn’t be true. Renzo had been taken to the underworld by Evil himself. As I looked up I saw Lucas transfixed to the ground. He looked at his father’s lifeless body and immediately I felt a heavy pressure in my stomach, the emotions of when my mother had died came over me. No, this just really couldn’t have happened, and why? Because I was too selfish not to go to the underworld on my own. How could I not have seen this happen? Now everyone else is the victim. I looked further around. The possessed humans, like Renzo and the Evil, were gone. Defeated, Max, Leo and Sara looked around. Kate sat on the floor with her hand against her bleeding head. What a terrible nightmare this was. Suddenly I felt my legs again, I got up and ran to Kate. I looked at her and luckily she looked back at me with clear eyes. “Are you okay?” She nodded.

“Max!” I shouted. He looked around and saw me sitting with Kate, as if he was being shaken awake he ran towards us. He sat down next to Kate and looked at her for a moment. “I’m fine, I just have a headache.” He just nodded and picked her up and headed for the car they’d come in. I looked around and saw that Leo was on the phone. When he saw me he nodded and hung up. He took Sara by the hand and walked towards me. “Julia? What happened? Where is everyone?”

I looked at them uncomprehendingly. “Everyone’s gone! Where are they?”

And suddenly I realized that they were also frozen in time. I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about it anymore, that Renzo was gone. I just couldn’t say it yet. Leo apparently saw how I struggled with my feelings. “Come on, let’s go to Rob.”

I looked around for a moment and saw Lucas still standing with his father. “Go ahead, I’ll be right there.” Leo and Sara looked startled at Lucas and his father and Leo wanted to walk towards it. I shook my head. “Don’t, I’ll see you in a minute, okay?” He looked at me confused for a moment and then nodded. “We’ll wait in the car around the corner.” I nodded and they walked away. I turned and only Lucas and his father were there. There was nothing or no one else to be seen. As if nothing had happened. I carefully walked over to Lucas and stood next to him. He still looked at his father with that lost look. I followed his gaze and his father lay on the floor with his head strangely bent. I felt my stomach clench. His eyes were still open and he was still bleeding a little here and there from the fight. It was so disturbing.

“Lucas?” I asked cautiously. He didn’t respond. Carefully I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it gently. No reaction. “Lucas!” And I squeezed his shoulder a little harder now. As if he had been taken out of his trance, he looked at me withering. I was startled by his look. He saw that I was startled and quickly corrected himself.

“What can I do for you?” I asked him carefully.

He looked at me for a moment, then at his father. His gaze became flat and unfathomable. He shook his head and said, “Nothing.”

And with those words he went to his father, picked him up and walked away. I was transfixed. What should I do? Should I go after him?

But judging by his look, he definitely didn’t want to.

I saw him walking around the corner and it was all quiet and dark. I focused on the fifth element, nothing at all. I clenched my teeth and turned towards the car.