Marcus finished most of his chores by noon. All the time he kept staring at the silver ring and its mysterious crimson jewel. He wondered what else it could do, its power cured his wounds overnight, but how could he tap the ring’s power? Marcus didn’t even know what he had done to have the ring heal him in the first place.
Marcus began to feel frustrated as he tried to use the ring to do something. At first he thought that if he focused his attention on a single command, the ring would react, but after an hour of trying to get the ring to lift a simple napkin with no success, Marcus began to wonder if the ring’s only power was to heal its owner.
However, the ring came to life when he smashed his fist on the dining room table and the nearby lamps shook violently and almost fell to the floor.
An earthquake? was Marcus’ first thought. After all, how could hitting the table have any effect on such far away objects? Sure, the table shook and that was that. However, he tried again to perform the same trick.
But nothing happened.
Marcus, however, was not discouraged. Now he knew that there was a key to unlock the ring’s power. A powerful emotion, from the looks of it. But what kind of emotion? At just seventeen, Marcus barely knew the kind of power that emotions had on human nature. They could raise a man to the heavens and bring him down just as quickly.
Just a few moments ago when he smashed the table he was feeling angry and last night he was desperate. These two emotions were dark, but what would happen if he felt happy or ecstatic? Would the ring react as it did with anger and desperation?
Marcus knew that it was going to be rather challenging to feel extremely happy, but what about love? Love was the strongest emotion of all, dark and light, capable of despair and hope. What would happen then? He had to try.
At first Marcus thought of thinking of his parents, he loved them, closed his eyes and concentrated on what he felt for them, but he only managed to achieve was a small trickle on his finger. What he felt for his parents wasn’t powerful enough.
Then his thoughts began to drift towards Abigail, and the ring began to react to his thoughts, the love he felt for her, the pain it caused him to see her with another man. These two opposite emotions had a more powerful effect on the ring. Electricity began to surge through his body the more he concentrated. The power of the ring was running through his body, and Marcus felt that he could do anything, everything. But what would be his first “wish,” what lay deep within his heart? The dining room began to shake as Marcus began to accumulate more and more power, he had to release it or it would destroy the house. A glimpse of a pair of black wings took shape in his mind’s eye, majestic and ordinary at the same time. What better way to test the power of the ring than to bend the rules of nature?
“Grant me the black wings”, Marcus whispered as in prayer, “that would allow me to fly into the heavens above.”
In the blink of an eye, Marcus found himself on the rooftop of a skyscraper. He glanced down to the city below and his stomach sank. How did he get here when just moments ago he was in the dining room of his house? Perhaps the ring also answered to another wish deep in his subconscious. There was much he needed to learn about the ring, but now he had to try the black wings that hung from his back.
The black wings were forged by his will, thanks to the ring. But would they work at all? Or would he plummet down to his death?
Marcus thought he was crazy for what he was about to do. He ran to the opposite ledge and like a track runner began to run to the ledge to jump. That would allow him to gain enough speed and wind for the wings to lift his entire body and glide through the sky like a giant raven. His target was the rooftop of another skyscraper a couple of blocks away from where he was standing. If he reached it, it would not only prove that his wish to fly was indeed granted, but that the ring was capable of doing so much more. His feet pounded the rooftop floor with such strength that he swore that it sank a little.The ledge was drawing closer and closer, no turning back, as he felt the winds gathering beneath his black wings.
Marcus’s feet kicked the ledge of the rooftop and his heart sank for a moment, the thought of falling to his death ever present in his mind. But he didn’t have the luxury to have such thoughts.
Instead of falling, he was gliding through the air.
It worked! The wings held his body weight and he was soaring between the tallest buildings of the city with utmost ease like a true raven.
His target was just a few feet away. But Marcus wasn’t slowing down, but gaining more speed. Marcus tried to slow down, but the failed to read the wind currents and lost control, spinning uncontrollably and almost smashed into the streets below.
No! He couldn’t die like this!
Marcus wished to read the wind currents, like real birds did. The ring granted his wish. Now able to see the wind currents Marcus was able to avoid certain death and regained enough altitude to reach the rooftop of his original target. However, it wasn’t a smooth landing, Marcus couldn’t gain a steady foothold on the rooftop and rolled on the ground and stopped just a few inches shy of the ledge, one of his legs touching nothing but air.
He was shaking, from fear and excitement as he moved away from the ledge and onto safer ground. Marcus lay on his back, breathing heavily as he gazed into the sky above. He never noticed how blue the sky was, how so far out of reach and yet so close, Marcus raised his right hand and clasped at the sky, but touched nothing but air. Still he couldn’t help but smile as his attention shifted to the ring on his right hand. The crimson jewel glittered in the bright afternoon sun, filling his heart with hope.
Hope for a better future.
*****
The world had changed, for Marcus at least. For everyone else the world was the same.
The power of the ring had given him the ultimate freedom, the power to basically rule the world. But this newfound power didn’t come easily, and he had found it entirely by accident. Or was he destined to find the ring? Marcus didn’t believe in chance and certainly didn’t believe in destiny now that he had the power to reshape his environment. If he didn’t like something, he could draw on the ring’s power and change the outcome.
Marcus first test with the ring’s power was to have Mr. Aker to quit his job. Marcus half-expected to hear that Mr. Aker wouldn’t be teaching anymore, and he was shocked to find that Mr. Aker was still teaching despite the many complaints against him. But his attitude had become worse. He had become even more antagonistic towards Marcus and the rest of his fellow classmates.
Marcus wondered if he would become just as bad as Mr. Aker if he used the ring’s power on him. His reluctance to use the ring on Mr. Aker was more for his own sake than his teacher’s. Marcus didn’t know how the ring would affect a living creature. What if he killed him? Would he be able to live with the killing of a person no matter how vile and cruel that person was?
However, Marcus couldn’t allow Mr. Aker to continue abusing the student body. Something had to be done.
During the following days, Marcus studied Mr. Aker’s routine and made sure that he wouldn’t get caught–he had to figure out how to become invisible–and finally decided when he would carry out his plan.
“What are you doing?” Mr. Aker asked Marcus with a broad grin twisting his face. “Are you planning to get back at me?”
Marcus had followed his teacher into a narrow alley that he usually took on the way to his apartment building. An awful smell sharpened the air that almost seemed to corrode the buildings surrounding them. But Mr. Aker didn’t seem to mind the smell or his surroundings, but it made him look terrifying.
“Well, what is it?” Mr. Aker asked pushing his left foot forward.
Marcus didn’t respond, the stench made him queasy and if he opened his mouth, there was a very good chance he was going to be ill.
“I always thought of you as a coward, Mr. Biel.” Mr. Aker was drawing closer. “Was that little outburst all you had?”
Marcus only watched Mr. Aker’s lips move and saw the poison that oozed through them. He always thought that his teacher was a man who verbally abused his students to vent his grievances. For an instant, Marcus was able to gaze into fhis mind. He was shocked to discover how rotten he truly was. Mr. Aker actually had a pretty cozy life, and he wasn’t being mistreated or suffering from some kind of injustice. He just relished the pain he caused. It was a game for him, the moment a student broke down in tears gave him such immense pleasure that he had to relieve himself. This made his resolve even stronger. Marcus couldn’t allow someone so, for the lack of a better word, evil, to continue to work in a school or anywhere at all.
Marcus was so enthralled with the secrets of his teacher that he didn’t see Mr. Aker picking up a metal pipe. Marcus felt the cold and wet metal pipe smashing the left side of his forehead, making him lose his balance and fall to the ground with a dry thud.
“Don’t ignore me you little fucker!” Mr. Aker roared his face twisted by anger, but it was soon replaced with a wide, toad-like smile as Marcus moaned in pain. “Guess I have to teach you some manners!” Mr. Aker continued, unable to hide how much pleasure it gave him to club Marcus on the back with the pipe.
Marcus mind was racing. At first he thought that he could use the ring to change the evil that lurked inside Mr. Aker, but now that his confrontation had gotten physical, he wasn’t so sure of being kind to a man who was rotten to the core.
Mr. Aker swung the pipe again, this time aiming at the back of Marcus’ head. But the attack never came; the metal pipe spun high into the air before falling to the concrete with a loud clang as Mr. Aker flew backwards, hitting the ground with a loud dry thud.
“That’s enough,” Marcus bellowed.
Mr. Aker couldn’t believe what just happened. How could a student throw him like Marcus had done? It was impossible! He couldn’t believe his eyes when Marcus turned to face him, the wound on Marcus’ forehead was closing and the blood evaporating in a matter of seconds.
“W… Who are you?” Mr. Aker was now trembling in fear for the first time in his life.
“I now see the evil that lies deep within your heart,” Marcus faced his teacher, electricity running through his body, ready to strike.
“What are you going to do?” Mr. Aker tried to regain his footing, but fell flat on his ass again. The young man a few steps from him wasn’t his student any more. That young man was someone else. He was a man to be feared.
Marcus raised his right fist, drawing the ring closer to him. Closed his eyes and began to conjure the type of punishment that would befit a sinner like Mr. Aker.
However, his concentration was broken when a loud screeching noise that rippled in the narrow alley. And apparently, it wasn’t only Marcus that heard it. Mr. Aker heard it was well, but his eyes were affixed on something on the upper wall of the alley.
Marcus followed his teacher’s terrified gaze and couldn’t believe what he saw.
It was a creature; humanoid and larger than a month old child, black skin, with no meat or fat beneath its skin allowing the bone that gave its body form to be clearly visible, and its large bulbous red eyes like those of an insect were fixed solely on Mr. Aker.
Marcus was also shocked at the creature’s sudden appearance, but a more terrible thought crossed his mind. Had he summoned it? No, it couldn’t be. His concentration was interrupted by the loud screeching noise that surely came from that thing that hung to the upper wall with its claws.
The horrible little thing screeched again as it jumped toward Mr. Aker, its sharp claws glistening under the artificial light from a streetlamp nearby.
Marcus didn’t know what to do. The creature was just inches away from ripping Mr. Aker’s throat, if he allowed the creature to kill his teacher he would rid the world of a rotten soul, but on the other hand would he be able to live with himself? His hands would still be stained with blood, either way.
But what could he do? The creature, which clearly came from another world, crept out the blackest shadows in search for blood. It also meant that it couldn’t be harmed by anything that belonged to the human world. Perhaps it could be in its own world, but here, it was invincible.
Just half-an-inch more and the creature was going to use Mr. Aker’s neck to sharpen its claws.
Marcus did the only thing he could think of. He ran towards the creature and somehow managed to punch the creature square in the middle of its deformed head. A red flash of light illuminated the alley and the creature gave out one final screech before vanishing into thin air.
What just happened? Marcus thought out loud. But he didn’t have time to ponder on the answer. Hissing noises sharpened the air. Those noises began to resemble voices, speaking in a tongue that he didn’t understand, and slowly he turned around and saw a black, formless mass draining from the cracks in the walls of the alley.
As the formless mass began to divide and shape into hundreds, no, into thousands of little freaks like the one he had just killed, Marcus knew that it was time to turn tail and run. However, he couldn’t leave Mr. Aker behind to be eaten by those things. But he wasn’t moving at all: fear had frozen him on the spot.
Gathering all the strength he could, Marcus picked up Mr. Aker and ran as fast as he was able. It wasn’t easy. Despite his small frame, Mr. Aker was quite heavy and Marcus could feel the infernal horde breathing down their necks.
There was no way to outrun the creatures, they moved fast and in a matter of seconds had surrounded them.
What a horrible spectacle, thousands of teeth, bottomless eyes and snapping claws pointed in their direction, ready to rip them to shreds.
No! Marcus yelled inside his mind. It can’t end like this! The creatures gathered and cast a dome over them, preventing them from escaping. Immersed in total darkness, Marcus could only guess what would be their next move, however, he wasn’t going to take chance to find out.
Marcus raised his right fist and swung it in a horizontal arc, wishing for the creatures to disappear. The crimson jewel traced a glowing red arc, a horrible moan followed and the dome began to dissolve.
Once the creatures had retreated back into the darkness, Marcus was ecstatic. The ring not only it had the power to control what he found in the human world, but it allowed him to control all sorts of creatures. With that sudden display of power, Marcus understood that the universe was his to control.
“That was impressive!”
A large black shadow dropped a few feet from where Marcus and Mr. Aker stood. Black smoke covered the figure’s true shape, but as it stood up, the smoke began to clear and Marcus was able to get a clear look at the man.
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