Short Story Collection

The Sahara: Chapter 4

Jezelle sat back on her throne of titanium. Dominique was beside her, and a dozen guards stood in two rows of six on either side of the throne room. They didn't need the guards, they had enough power to kill all of mankind with their combined strength. But they soon learned that fear is more powerful than magic.

It had been four years since they were captured and thrown in prison. Three of those years had been spent in hiding. They trained at the edge of the desert, dangerously close to human civilization. When they were strong enough, they bent humans to their will and learned to collect offerings and worship in order to boost their power.

The Sahara, they'd named themselves after the desert they grew up in. How fitting, as they were as evil as the parched ground. Magic had sucked their souls clean of goodness, and no amount of holy water could save them. They thought they were unstoppable, little did they know that it was coming. The Endgame, the battle that would decide it all.

Meanwhile in a city nearby, kids were gathering to storm the Palace of The Sahara. They weren't normal kids either, every single one of them was a mutant. They could fly, breathe underwater, run like the wind, and lift literally anything. Some of them had super senses. None of them had magic, but they had gathered hundreds of mutants. Despite their immense power, The Sahara was just two people.

The human guards didn't stand a chance as kids charged into the palace, trampling them in the crowd. Helen, the leader of the mutants, hovered above on her white wings. Although she was only ten years old, she was born to lead. When they arrived in the courtyard, Helen stopped and faced the mutants below.

"We are here to fight, not only for our lives, but for the fate of the world!" she shouted.

"Yes!" the kids cheered,

"Will we let The Sahara destroy our planet?"

"No!"

"Will we let them kill everyone in the world?"

"No!"

"And what will we do to stop them?"

"Kill them!"

"Yes, let them see what it feels like to know your death is near. Let them have a taste of their own medicine."

The crowd erupted in shouts of agreement. Helen smiled, now that they were excited and angry at Jezelle and Dominique, she could finally give the order. The single word that would either end or start it all.

"Charge!" Helen roared and flew as fast as her wings would carry her straight to the throne room.

Meanwhile, in the throne room everything was calm. That was until a kid with wings crashed through the window with a knife in her hands and charged at Dominique. Jezelle flicked her wrist and the kid flew backwards. Just as she was getting up, the doors burst open and hundreds of kids crowded into the immense throne room. This would take more than a flick of the wrist, but luckily Jezelle and Dominique had practiced and knew what to do.

They held hands and concentrated. Soon, the room was filled with an unearthly red glow as the witch and wizard gathered their power. Just a few more seconds and this would be over. With a roar of fury, they let loose a wave of energy so strong it knocked all the kids to their feet, moaning in pain.

That wave had taken out about half of them, and left The Sahara exhausted. But more kept coming. Jezelle pressed a button on her throne and the emergency note appeared. It was a request for more worship and burned offerings on their altar. Tying it to her pet raven, she whispered the directions and set it off through the broken window.

Before the kids could shoot it down, the raven was high in the sky and out of sight within seconds. Now they had to resort to less efficient ways of battle. Jezelle, who had been smart and wore more practical clothing, grabbed Dominique's arm and they leaped out the window. Being the witch and wizard that they were, they landed with relative ease and grace.

They didn't wait for the kids and instead took two laser guns from a shed and leapt onto a low roof. Aiming their guns they fired at the first kids to stream out of the building. This caused chaos and a few deaths, but it was still two against two hundred.

Sensing that their end was near, they decided to use the emergency backup plan. Jumping into a secret tunnel, they arrived at the energy source. It was a pulsing orb of dark energy and transformed into two apples when they arrived. Taking a bite would mean an infinite boost in power, but it would also mean death within five minutes.

Without saying a word, Jezelle and Dominique each took a bite of apple. Then, before they uttered the spell, they said their last words.

"I love you, Dominique."

"I love you too."

Then they held hands and said, "In aeternum simul usque ad mortem, in aeterna beatitudine manebimus. Inimicos nostros maledice sempiterno cruciatu, et mortem Telluris millennii post hoc date. Ex cineribus oriamur, et Phoenix. Et super eos qui noverunt nos vindicate. Post mortem, sancta puritate, virtutem nostram servemus, contra omnes dissidentes valeamus et praevaleamus. Nam nec mors nos seorsum faciet. Memoriam nostram teneamus vitae nostrae, nec obliviscamur quia non dimittimus. Sanctitatem tuam veneramur et potentiam. Sahara infinitus est, quaeso, nos hanc viam serva. Sana nebritatem animas nostras, sana corda malorum. Non est locus culpae in caelo. Vale Terra mater. Nunc surgamus ad loca nostra cum diis."

With that, The Sahara was no more. It was the end of Jezelle and Dominique. In fact, the only person who survived was Helen. Why? Because she was a god disguised as a mortal. And like The Sahara, gods don't forgive and never ever forget.