Free The Warrior's Beckoning by Patrick Howard

receded…briefly. The first cylinder became active, and Daniel’s body fell into a slump as a cloud ofenergy entered. Two more to go…the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. A bloody and badly beaten man limped out.
    “Help me!” he cried out. He faltered and fell to his knees and began to crawl toward us. Two black hounds tore into his ankle and pulled him into the black cloud that appeared. With a scream he was pulled back in silence. Life drained from him until only a dried husk remained.
    From the dark cloud came two black hounds and two of the small shadow creatures. All three teams opened fire, and the creatures fell instantly. The shadows paused, and the lights flickered some more. A Spirit of Decay rose from the floor by the wall to the right of us. It thrust its scythe into the wall and formed a black hole, from which a black hound lunged out and onto one of the guards. One of the smaller creatures followed, swinging its scythe at the other guard. I fired at the hound. The guard fired at the shadow creature. Both dissolved just as David’s cylinder became active. His body fell, lifeless, as the mass of energy around him vanished.
    One more to go…
    Creatures poured into the room from the black holes created by the spirits’ scythes. When a new black hole opened up on the ceiling, we focused our fire on it. The Survivor fired rapidly into the Spirits of Decay as they appeared. Another black hole opened to our left. We were being surrounded. The teams in the hall were holding on, but for how long?
    Finally, Frank’s chamber became active, and his body fell. The mass of energy entered into the same darkness. The administrator called over the intercom, “All personnel get to the emergency exit now! Self-destruct mode is now active!” A countdown followed.
    “Where’s the exit?” Joel asked no one in particular.
    “Over here!” shouted a soldier over the gunfire. The exit was behind the chambers. The teams in the hall fell back first, and we provided cover for them while they raced toward the emergency exit. The Survivor followed them, leaving nine of us to defend each other.We fell back as one and moved to a lift opened by a heavy hatch. The door was closed and locked as the lift was activated. The creatures pounded on the door. As it rose, the ceiling opened up, revealing the looming trees. We could not see the sky.
    “Evac is coming. Rendezvous with the helicopter at the abandoned mine. You’ll only have a minute on the surface before the facility explodes. Move quickly!” The administrator’s voice was replaced with static.
    We arrived at the surface and sprinted into the forest.
    “Everyone take cover!” the soldier ordered. Each of us ducked behind a tree and crouched low. Seconds later, the facility’s self-destruct activated with a blinding flash. A powerful shock wave forced the trees to bow. Turning away from the smoking hole, we ran deeper into the forest toward the entrance to the mine. There was a clearing there—the only possible place for helicopter extraction.
    The Survivor stared into the darkness as we set up a defensive ring. “They are all dead…” he said softly. He felt the ghost hunter’s life fade. He felt the soldier’s defiant explosion snuff out his life-force. A little girl ran out of the mine amid the smoke. The Survivor knelt down, and she ran to him, crying.
    As he picked her up and held her close, he turned to me. “A shadow is pursuing her. It must not take her.” Joel and I ran to the entrance and peered into the darkness. We saw movement. We fired short bursts into the mine as the shrieks continued to echo.
    I heard the helicopter approaching along the horizon. The security teams fired into the forest as the shadows circled around us. I knew what must be done. We would be left behind for the future of mankind. The shrieks intensified and grew in number as the helicopter hovered in the clearing. The Survivor ran to it and jumped in, setting the girl into