INTRODUCTION

 

Alex smacked another bug on her forehead. Which, was pretty stupid, considering she now had insect guts dripping down her pale face. "This sucks." On the other hand, her purple-skinned, gargoyle dog, who also served as a hunting companion, seemed unfazed by the blanket of little creatures crawling on him. The darkness of the jungle helped camouflage Komptin as he walked through the thick foliage. They were on, what Alex assumed, was somewhat of a trail. The feeling of tiny little legs creeping up her arm caused her to shiver from disgust. She was almost afraid to see what was crawling on her body. The sensation of a bigger bug slowly moving up on her sent a wave of goosebumps all over her body. It seemed as if time stood still when she saw the stick-looking bug walking up her arm. It didn't seem to care when Alex flicked it off with her finger. The bug just landed on the jungle floor and crawled away.

Multiple life forms made their presence known by releasing an eerie song throughout the jungle. Alex tilted her head back to prevent another creature from scuttling down the back of her neck. The bug was using all its might to dig into her black, weaved-in hair. Fortunately, she was able to reach the back of her neck to grab the black monstrosity. It had a set of curved pinching fangs on its head with a hard shell covering its body. Alex would have opened her mouth in disgust, but she was afraid of something flying into it.

Komptin walked with a confident gait- as if nothing could harm him. Truthfully, there wasn't much besides the supernatural that could harm him. Still, she knew him too well; he didn't enjoy this hunt either. Alex turned her head towards the sound of a jaguar in the distance. She casually stepped a bit closer to Komptin. The massive creature turned his head when Alex bumped into him. "What? I just wanted to make sure you weren't scared." There was no chance of her hiding her uncomfortableness from this situation. Fighting Demons or coming in contact with Infiltrators didn't scare Alex as much as the thought of being eaten by wild animals. On the nights she didn't hunt, she started the habit of binge-watching vicious nature channel shows. Her surroundings have now made her think she needed to watch more cuter puppy shows. However, here she was, in this jungle, in the middle of the night.

Alex and Komptin were asked to search for the Infiltrator who killed a Lite Sentry here in Brazil. This walk had given Alex a lot of respect for Juliana. That was her name, and for her to hunt the Dark in such conditions was truly admirable. Alex had never met her, or more shameful, knew her name until she arrived in the small town outside this tropical forest. The announcement of her death was the preamble to her battle at the F.O.R. Headquarters to rescue Anne earlier this year. There was always disgrace and hurt thinking about that night. They achieved their goal of rescuing Anne, which resulted in the Dark Conduit, Vandor, being banished inside the Dark. It was a great win for the Lite, but it came at a tremendous cost. One for which she could never forgive herself.

In the sky above her was one of the brightest shining stars only beings of Lite could differentiate. That star was formed when Ariel, who was one-half of the Guardians of the Conduit, was killed by a Caliginous. Then, another loss happened that night that was difficult for her to handle at times. Roger, who now called himself "Gron," was a Dark Sentry who killed her brother with hate and contempt. His eyes were brimming with satisfaction when he shoved his Dark powered fist through her brother's chest, Kale. Alex wanted Gron dead. There would be a time when Alex could confront him, and then she would show him the true power of the Lite.

Another bug landed on her cheek. Instinctively, she slapped her own face so hard it echoed through the blackened jungle. The remnants of the insect dripped onto her lips. "That's it!" Alex exclaimed. She'd had enough. Even though she'd promised Father Raimundo to find the Infiltrator that killed Juliana, she couldn't take it anymore. It was hot, it was humid, the smell was nauseating, and there was no sense of the Dark.

Alex turned around to go back to the hotel for a nice, hot shower when she noticed something; she stood still to verify her assumption. The jungle was quiet; not a single insect made a noise. A sudden stale sense in the air meant the Dark was ahead. "Damn it," Alex said out of annoyance. The trail behind her invited a night of relaxation with a topping of being clean; however, she knew there was no turning back now. The path ahead of her was what she needed to trek.

The course laid out before her was barely visible as it had become narrow and overgrown. The only comfort Alex was given now was that the bugs were no longer a nuisance. The combination of sensing the Dark along with the haunting effect of the sudden calm of the surrounding area was something she could not ignore. Keeping her head still, she moved her eyes towards Komptin as he too was on edge. They both instinctively started to walk without making a sound. A clearing was evident on the trail ahead. The two hunters of the Dark both knew something wasn't right in the area.

There was an opening at the end of the trail showing the ruins of a stone building. It appeared to have the layout of an old church. Warmth and security were always present on holy ground, but she didn't sense any here. There was no doubt there would be a confrontation with the Dark tonight. If this were a haven for her, she would not be able to form a weapon. The Dark could not harm anyone on any type of holy land to the Lite. Alex put her fist up and lit it up using the Lite within her. A sense of sadness overcame her as she realized she wasn't in a sanctuary. There was definitely a strong Dark aura engulfing the area.

Komptin didn't move around much. He faced the jungle waiting for the imminent attack. Alex made her way to what looked like an altar at the head of the room. Anybody could see that the amount of blood splattered on the tabletop meant there was a struggle. At the base of the altar, bones were laying mixed with torn clothing. Some light reflected off a piece of metal that was buried underneath all that remained of this poor individual. Alex moved over some of the clothing to pick up a handcrafted rosary. She gently wiped off the dirt to see dried blood covering the crucifix. On the back of the wooden cross, there was an engraving. Alex licked her thumb and wiped off the dirt. There it read, 'Juliana'.

Alex turned to the sky, knowing she was now among those who had perished in this war. There was no doubt; this was the spot the Lite Sentry was killed. A faint sound of tree limbs breaking caught her attention as something of the Dark was emerging. She motioned for Komptin to come with her to hide in the shadows of the jungle floor. Komptin morphed down to his German shepherd state to rest against her. The two of them watched as the noise grew louder from whatever version of the Dark approaching. Out from the blackness of the jungle, an elderly man with long, gray hair emerged. He was using an old, wooden staff with a glass ball on top. Inside was a maroon liquid that almost looked like blood.

The average person wouldn't think twice about the man, but Alex saw something in his eyes. They weren't supernatural. They didn't have the physical presence of the Dark in them, but they were evil. He grunted as he walked up to the altar, almost giving a smirk of remembrance as he grazed his hand across the bloodstained table. He lifted his head as if to smell the air. "I know you're here, Sentry."

Alex swallowed hard but didn't make a sound. She stared ahead with Komptin at the old man, her body a little more tense. Now, there was a concentrated sense of the Dark.

"Come on out!" he yelled but was facing away from her.

A flash of red eyes came from the jungle; a familiar voice came out from amidst the shadows. "Why couldn't we meet in town?"

Alex's body further tensed as she was now focused on her racing heart. She clenched her fists when Gron came out of the shadows. His red hair was neatly combed as he was on his way to meet the old man. A memory of her brother being murdered by this demon flooded her mind. Alex flashed her eyes and lit her fists from rage as she lunged towards Gron in blind vengeance. She screamed as she shot a beam of Lite at the old man, knocking him over. Roger immediately ignited his fists into a red glow. He flashed his eyes as he easily grabbed Alex to throw her into the wall of the building. The back of her body smashed against the decrepit wall of stone.

Komptin followed suit behind her, now in his gargoyle state, running towards Roger. Komptin yelped as three Infiltrators tackled him from the side. Alex watched him fend off his attackers as she put her hands on the ground to get up. Roger's boot stepped on her hand before she was able to rise. With his fist glowing red, he smacked her on the side of the face, directly on the scar Sanah had given her. The pain was tremendous. She flashed her eyes a neon blue to get back up, only to meet another fist, again to the side of the face. The blow knocked her down onto the jagged floor of the old building.

"Didn't think our next encounter would be this easy," Roger bragged as he twisted his boot on top of her hand.

Alex clenched her teeth. There was no way she would give him the satisfaction of hearing her screaming from the pain. A stone laying on the ground next to her was within her grasp. With all her might, she smashed it against his knee. Roger grabbed his knee as he stumbled backward. Alex was now able to get up with her eyes glowing blue and her fists lit. She punched him across the face causing him to spin into one of the Infiltrators attacking Komptin. That gave Komptin the opportunity to engage in a counterattack.

Roger pushed the Dark bear-like creature out of his way to face Alex. "It was such a satisfaction killing him. You know his blood dripping down my arm, combined with the shock of Anne's and your faces, was something to truly treasure."

"I will get-" Alex started to say, but she was hit in the back of the head by the wooden staff of the old man. The hard ground caught her fall at the cost of blood and scratches.

"Go, Sentry, I will see to her," the old man screwed the ball off from the top of his staff to toss it to Gron.

Gron wanted to stay and fight, but he knew he could damage the prize in his possession. "Just let me know if you kill her." Gron held the ball to the light of the moon with Alex in the background.

The old man stared at Alex, "I will kill her, just like the last one." He turned back to his Demon Master. "To his command."

Roger nodded at the old man before winking at Alex who was surveying the situation, "Hey Alex." He blew her a kiss. "See ya around." The minion of the Dark disappeared into the darkness of the jungle with one of the Infiltrators following.

"That only leaves two," Alex whispered under her breath. "And one soon-to-be-dead old man." The sound of an Infiltrator screaming before he was diminished by Komptin brought a small smile to Alex's face. The final Infiltrator took off into the jungle. "Go, don't worry I got this." She went to turn her attention back to the old man. His staff again came swinging at her head. The only part of her body that moved was her hand catching it before it smashed her face. "You're not going to do that to me twice." Alex yanked the staff from his hands to examine it. "I suppose you're not going to tell me what you gave Roger."

"He is Gron. Don't disrespect him with a human name," the old man told her with a sneer. "I don't want to kill you, but I will," she told him, breaking the staff with ease with her two hands.

"The last Lite Sentry tried, she didn't leave here," the old man walked up to Alex. "You think you won by locking my Master away?"

"Ah, yeah," Alex gave a snarky reply. "Have you ever thought of using Listerine?" She backed up from his foul breath.

The man snickered, "You wanna know how she died? The mixture of fear and failure in her eyes was truly something to witness." He walked up to Alex as close as he could before touching her. Alex just stared, wanting to punch him. "Are you going to kill an old man?"

Alex remained stone-faced as she felt the Dark behind her, "No." She stepped out of the way as an Infiltrator tried to attack her from behind. The dark beast accidentally ripped apart the old man. After realizing what it had done, it turned to Alex, where she grabbed the bearlike creature by the throat. She tossed it against the wall with a follow-up knee to the stomach. The Infiltrator bent over from the hit, so Alex leapt on the wall pushing herself off with her foot and grabbing the beast's head, driving it into the ground. She cracked her neck before kneeling on the back of its head. Her hands formed a neon blue knife and she stabbed it into the back of the neck, through to coming out the other side.

After it melted into the ground, Komptin joined her. "You okay?" Alex checked a small wound leaking a neon blue liquid from above his eye before scratching his ear. The rosary was undisturbed as Alex picked it up from the ground. She thought about going off and trying to hunt Gron, but she knew she would face him again.

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

The clock had just turned to three-thirty in the morning, but sleep was elusive. Kameron laid on his side with the clock face staring back at him. His bed was destroyed from tossing about like a crocodile in a death roll. There was so much going through his mind that night. For some reason, his boss was in his thoughts. Temporary Director Michal Grossman was in line to become the official Director of the FLOTUS detail, which would be beneficial for the organization. Grossman selfishly was instrumental in delivering a blow to the F.O.R. last spring. Only a couple of people knew he covertly planted the explosives in the F.O.R. Headquarters. Besides his selfless act, he was just a good man.

He did have to admit, though, that wasn't all that was troubling him. Alex hadn't contacted him since she'd left for Brazil with Anne to retrieve some records. He flipped over to the empty spot next to his bed. The only sound in the room was from him rubbing his hand on the sheet. It was obvious. He would never know what it'd be like to have her sleeping next to him when he wakes in the morning. "Not every relationship is perfect," he tried to convince himself. A hint of the city lights was peeking through from behind the drapes. Since he was wide-awake, he might as well go for a run.

It was no surprise the temperature was cool during the run. It was expected for this time of day, but the weather was warning of a hot day ahead. He passed an all-night construction crew working on the section of the road a couple of miles from his apartment. He would have to leave for work earlier than usual today. Traffic was going to be backed up, so the alternate routes to work were going to be more crowded. Up ahead on his run, there were some flashing emergency lights. There seemed to be a lot more lights at the scene than for the usual car accident. Kameron's curiosity got the best of him as he found himself heading in that direction.

This was a good opportunity to work on his short-run burst. His legs moved quickly, and the air pressing against his face caused his eyes to water. When he arrived on the scene, he took a moment to practice slowing down with his breathing control. It was relatively easy to control his heart rate and breathing. Kameron stood outside the police tape where he saw police officers talking. On the ground next to them, was a dead body lying on the street. It looked like he was explaining what had happened.

An Asian female police officer approached Kameron, "Can I help you?" She was young-looking, but she gave off the impression she had already seen her fair share of what this city offered.

Kameron smiled to show her that he wasn't a threat. "No, I was just on my run, and I was curious," Kameron felt a little guilty about filling his inquisitiveness with a dead body on the ground.

The police officer obviously didn't care for his attempt at kindness. "Stay behind the tape." She turned her attention to a reporter who'd showed up on the scene trying to get in. "Hey, stay behind the line!" She went off yelling at the belligerent reporter who was trying to get the story.

At that moment, Kameron was awarded with a better view of the body. It was a shell of a dead teenage boy on the ground. The blood on his white sleeveless shirt showed he was shot five times. There was a tattoo on his arm of an upside-down four. Mixed feelings came over Kameron when he saw the symbol on the young boy's dead body. Those feelings had to be pushed away as the alarm on his phone told him that he needed to start heading back to his apartment. There was a sudden chill in the air. Kameron surveyed the surrounding area as if someone was watching him. Although there was no evidence of him being watched, there was no shaking the sensation. Perhaps seeing the F.O.R. symbol just made some bad memories materialize. No matter the cause, this wasn't exactly how he wanted to start his day.

 

***

 

Michal was more than happy to hit the stop button on the treadmill. As his experience in life grew, it seemed the price was his body. The left knee had a feeling of water in it, his shoulder was starting to give him trouble, and of course, his eyesight was starting to get blurrier. All qualities he could not afford to give up as a Secret Service agent. Granted, he knew his time on detail protecting the First Lady was coming to an end. It was a bittersweet situation because a possible promotion would be announced today.

The final word of the new Director of the FLOTUS Detail was coming. "Director Grossman" was something he would like to hear. Moreover, he knew he wasn't going to have to be transferred to some detail hunting down some idiotic threat from someone seeking attention.

He wiped down the treadmill before picking up his phone to see a breaking news report of a police shooting that happened downtown. Shame filled him as the first thing he was hoping for was a legit shooting. Was he becoming so callous that it didn't matter if someone had lost a life? There wasn't much about it on the news, but depending on which news outlet one read, the direction shifted on whether they said it was a righteous shooting.

The smell of breakfast cooking from the kitchen lingering in the hallway meant he was already running behind. He quickly bee-lined into the master bathroom to shower. Once he completed his longer and hotter shower than he had time for, he was able to get dressed rather quickly. Michal went into his gun safe to pull out his weapons for his holsters. He stepped out of his bedroom at the same time his seventeen-year-old son stepped out of his. "Good morning, Moses."

"What up?" He walked in front of his dad to the breakfast table. The music from his headphones were so loud that every word could be made out.

"Really? 'What up?' Is that all I get?" Michal watched his son, who wasn't giving his father any time this morning, just walking in front of him. Moses had the potential of being such a good boy. He was athletic and smart, but his attitude as of late was something Michal couldn't get over. His clothing had become more of something of a high-class gang member. All he did was hang out with his friends or in his room, listening to music. The only time they said more than a sentence to each other was if they were fighting, which seemed to be a lot as of late.

They both sat down at the table. Michal sat in his normal spot facing the door but away from the window. Moses sat as far away from him as possible with his phone, and the only movement was from him bobbing his head to the music or answering a text message. "Moses, you know there are no headphones at the table." His son just continued to listen to music. "Moses," Michal said a little louder.

"Listen to your father," his wife, Talia, said as she came up behind him, smacking him in the back of the head. Moses took off his headphones as she placed the plate full of food down in front of him. Michal loved Talia's breakfast; it was something she always put her generous heart into by making a hearty meal to start the day. Talia calmly put her hand on her son's phone to tell him to put it away. "Not at the table."

"Sorry Moms, there was another shooting by some saltine pig early this morning," he told her. He started to scarf down his breakfast.

Michal sighed at his son's ignorant comment. "Moses, you don't know the facts of the case yet. The body cam hasn't been released." His wife brought him his plate. Michal couldn't help but admire the beauty Talia still had after all these years. Even though some gray hairs were starting to peek through, her presence still made Michal feel like a thirteen-year-old boy with his first crush. "Thank you, honey."

"No problem, but do we have to have this discussion, now?" she asked him, trying to prevent a fight.

Moses just shook his head. "What? How can you say that? You know it's just another cop trying to use any reason to eradicate another brother. Black people keep falling victim to these so-called protectors. Yah, they're protectors all right, to the whites."

"Where do you think we should go for our family vacation this summer?" Talia tried to dissolve the situation before it started to snowball. She sat down to drink her coffee before biting into her breakfast.

"Really, do you think all law enforcement are trained just to shoot people with dark skin?" Michal was trying to get through to his son. "I've been in law enforcement for twenty-five years; I don't remember any training like that."

"You're an over-glorified security guard." Moses' annoyed demeanor towards his father was evident. "All you do is protect people who write laws to keep black people down."

"Hey, take a look around." Michal started to get angry. "You're not exactly in the projects." The appreciation he lacked for what his father had provided for his son didn't make Michal angry. It was more coming from hurt.

"You're just an Uncle Tom sell-out with a gun," Moses said underneath his breath as he got up.

Michal stood up as well. "What did you just call me?" He threw down his napkin.

Talia put her hand on Michal's. "Calm down." She turned over to Moses, who was now getting ready to head out the door. "Where are you going?"

"School," he forcefully said. "Hopefully, I make it before some bacon decides to shoot my black ass as well. Later Moms." Moses grabbed his backpack. "Dad," was all he said before shutting the door as he left.

Michal sat down, shaking his head before rubbing his face with his hands. "So angry. We didn't have this problem with the first one."

"He's just a teenager trying to figure the world out," Talia tried to comfort her husband. "Your mother told me some of the stuff you did when you were his age."

"I was an angel," Michal playfully told her.

"Really? What happened with you? Was it Madison?" She smirked as she drank her coffee.

"She told you about that?" Michal got embarrassed. "I gotta go to work." He was up out of his chair to put his suit coat on. He kissed her goodbye. "Love you."

"Love you, too, honey. Good luck today." Talia adjusted his tie. "You know, maybe we can try that sometime. I bet I'd be better at it than Madison."

Michal grabbed his keys. "I'll be home before Moses gets back from school." He gave her a kiss goodbye before heading out the door.