Halo

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I slipped on the scabbard that would hold my double edged blade that could cleave through the worst of a demon spawn but hoped to god it would not come to that. Despite what I did… had to do, I hated violence with a vengeance that defied reason, especially since I had been trained in the art of war since birth. It was what happened when you pair a witch with a warlock and produced a similar breed of mage for a son.

I, Alaric Atari, was my mother's son and my father's legacy. I would uphold the Atari name in battle and send the blasted evil back to hell.

I strapped on my vial of spells and my shots of curses then matched it with blessed knives and blades. I was ready to do battle with a speed that was alarmingly quick. I had done this once too often. Grabbing my satchel filled with yet more potions and holy water I set out to the location Father José sent me.

"Hey Atari!"

I was unsurprised at being called by my surname instead of my first name. The name Atari had a lot of meaning in these parts and I may well be the last male of my line. I spun around to see who the caller was.

"Hey Don!"

Donny was our neighbour. Distant and only neighbour. For him to be up and about at this hour could only mean one thing.

"Hey... er... could you give me a lift to school. I assume that’s where you are heading?"

I sighed. This was one of the many problems with having a secret identity and more importantly secret activities to match that identity.

"Sure hop in. I was heading off on a little errand elsewhere but had planned on dropping by the school first anyhow," I lied simply catching the door lock between my thumb and forefinger before giving it a tug upward. The door to the driver side released to swing wide open. My trusty Ute was a well-oiled machine but my frequent encounters with the hellish kind was taking its toll on the poor thing. The inverted door knob mechanism worked only from the inside after having been hammered in by one demon too many in the past.

"You really aught to join that gym I've been telling you about. Hammering up your own car... man that's just crazy."

I looked up at Don in askance belatedly recalling the crap I told him in the past to explain why my car got dented all too often. I think I concocted up an issue of having hidden rage that I needed to release from time to time and that I saw no problems with doing this on my own Ute.  I admit that excuse hadn't been one of my better ones. But a lie is a lie. Once told you could do nothing but live it down. Now, I simply shrugged off my shoulders indifferently not bothering with a reply.

"You know my sister has been harping on my back to get you to ask her to the dance this Saturday," Don started hesitantly. I remained mute.

"But of course you would have already had a date lined up....at least that is what I told her. You know it would help if you brought your girlfriend around sometime. I would help to get her and most of the female population of this town off my back."

Again, I only shrugged indifferently and pressed my foot down a little harder on the gas paddle. The ute shot forward gradually picking up speed. I took care to avoid going over the speed limit.

The fields of hay passed by swiftly. I turned off from the dirt roads onto the M3 and was shooting down the highway to the little town. I drove up and pulled over by the main entrance to the school. It was deserted. At this hour it naturally would be.

"You alright to being here? I could drop you off at the cafe?" I offered even though pressed for time.

"Nah man I'll walk up. Stretch these limbs and maybe some biceps at the Matthews."

The Matthews lived close to the school and were blessed with not one or two but eight daughters. They had a parade of boys and men frequenting past their front door on a daily basis.

I nodded my head in understanding and set the Ute in motion towards my destination. With each mile my Ute ate up the distance to my target bringing me that much closer to certain death. You would think I would have gotten used to it by now. That I would have lost the fear of dying but I hadn't and to say the least my fear of living was as great. Each option was as always a choice between a raging inferno and being stoned alive.  At least that is what my glimpses of hell offered me and we all know what kind of hell living is in itself.

I slammed my foot down on the accelerator letting my fear for me work to surge me forwards at a greater speed. I would get over this sooner rather than later. The crawling feeling in the pit of my stomach didn't let up and I grew tenser as I swerved off the road onto a beaten track that led me straight to the pelican cult’s headquarters.