Climax in Flames

Before the good fortune of sending Edgar over the cliff could even sink in, I heard Ethan scream like the devils of hell were tearing him apart. I looked on in horror as the remaining four Darcarre drove their daggers into my ally again and again.

“Ethan!” I shouted and was about to run toward him, when I remembered the Consciousness Crown. It could be my only chance to save him! So turning, I headed back toward where I had knocked the crown off of Edgar’s head. I reached the edge of the cliff only to see that Darcarre bastard Dick had already beat me there and was placing the crown over his head.

“Ha Primus, you have only done me a boon by, what, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

I hated to see the crown go, but kicking Dick over the ledge was the only thing I could think to do before he placed the crown on this head.

I went to race back to Ethan, but it was too late. Three Darcarre hovered over my dead friend grinning in triumph.

Self doubt plagued me. Maybe if I had headed here instead of going for the crown, he might have made it. I took out my frustrations by beating the last three wounded Darcarre to death with my bare hands.

A minute later, I was covered with their blood and panting over their dead bodies. And that was how Hannah found me when she ran up to our position along with Klich and Ink.

“Jack, Jack, all the other Darcarre are either destroyed or have fled. The people of Telluride have regained their… oh no! ETHAN!”

She raced to our dead friend’s side and tried to cure him over and over. “Come on Ethan. Don’t give up. Oh Ethan. Damn it. Ethan!”

My hand lightly touched her shoulder and that was all it took for her to launch herself into my arms. Like a damn breaking, her tears poured over my bare chest. “Oh Jack, it has all been so horrible, but it can’t end like this, it just can’t.”

Some of the people of Telluride were gathering around, but none dared to disturb us.

Fires both big and small burned. Their twisted pillars of smoke were caught and torn apart by the strong mountain winds. All around us bodies both human and otherwise oozed their life juices onto the old mining camp.

The Consciousness Crown and everything else was gone. We had nothing to show for our trying adventures other than our lives and some of us didn’t even have that.

Hannah still cried. “It can’t end like this.”

I hugged her and tried to whisper words of encouragement into her ear, but all I thought was, it could end like this, but this isn’t the end, my battle is still far from over. Looking toward the north, I knew it was time for me to return to my home town and face my destiny. Drake, my only unfinished business, either he would go down or I would die trying to eradicate his filthy evil from the world.

But that day would not be today and as the abused people of Telluride watched, I lead my woman away from the scene of death.

Want to get in on how Jack began his adventures? Check it out here!