Semper Invictus Ch. 04 - Neck Deep

When Bob first refused her demands, he said, she literally picked him up and flung him over shoulders, carrying him into the bedroom where she tied him down into a chair to make him watch. He tried fighting her off, but, he added, she was just too strong to overcome.

"When did you notice the change in your wife?" I asked.

"About two months ago," he said. Two months -- which meant the beast had completely taken over his wife.

"Two months?" I asked, just to clarify what he said.

"Maybe a little more than two months, but yeah," he said. "Does that make a difference?"

"Possibly," I said. "Let me explain. From what you've described, it sounds like your wife has been, for lack of a better word, possessed."

"Whoa," he said, holding up his hands. "You mean, by a demon or something?"

"Not a demon," I said. "But by something. It's a creature that feeds off desires, amplifies them, feeds them back. Justifies them in her mind. In your wife's case, it sounds as if the thing has taken your wife's body over completely."

"Can you get it out of her?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "But it's possible the damage done to your wife is too great for her to recover."

"How do you feel about your wife right now?" Noei asked. He snorted as he considered the question.

"Seriously?" he asked. "To tell you the truth, right now, I hate the bitch. Sorry for my language."

"That's alright," Noei said. "I understand. What do you plan to do?"

"I intend to divorce her," Bob said. "But right now, I just want to live in my own house in peace. Right now, I don't feel safe with her around. There's no telling what she'll do or when she'll do it. You don't know what it's like." We heard a phone buzzing and watched as Bob pulled out his cell. He looked at the number, then at us. "It's her. Hang on."

"Where the fuck are you?" we heard a woman's voice scream from his phone after he answered. "You know you're supposed to be home when I get here. It's after 8:00 and you're not here."

"I'm with a couple of potential clients right now," Bob said.

"You'd better get your ass home right fucking now if you know what's good for you, cuck," we heard the woman scream. Bob ended the call and put his phone back into his pocket.

"Well, you heard the bitch," he said.

"Is she always like that?" Noei asked.

"Yeah," Bob said. "It's like that all the time now."

"Alright Bob," I said. "Here's what's going to happen." I laid out the basic plan for him and told him he would probably see things that might be difficult for him to process. "Hopefully, your wife will recover, but she's going to need your support." He shook his head.

"I honestly don't know if I can do that," he said. "But I'll try." We left the restaurant and went to Bob's house. Following the plan, Bob entered the house first. We were behind him, transectors in hand. Beverly was on her knees, naked, sucking her latest lover's cock. She looked up at Bob when he walked in.

"It's about damn time you got here, cuck," she snarled as she stood up. "When I tell you to be home at 8:00, I damn well mean it. Now, strip and go up to your chair."

"No," Bob said. Beverly stood up and grabbed Bob by the throat.

"What did you say to me, you worthless little worm?" she screeched.

"I said, no," he told her. She looked behind Bob and saw the two of us. Her eyes grew wide, and she threw Bob across the room like a rag doll. He ended up on the couch after his head slammed against the rock wall in his living room.

"What have we here?" Beverly asked. We brought our transectors up and activated them. The flames from our electronic blades lit up the room. Her lover pulled his pants up and walked to Beverly's side.

"What the fuck is this?" he asked.

"Get. OUT!" I commanded. Beverly laughed, and her lover just smirked at me. Oh, well, I thought. I gave him a chance to get away unscathed.

"Do you know who we have here, Rick?" Beverly asked her lover.

"No, who?" Rick asked in response.

"This is the Celt. And his little wifey-poo. I've waited a long time for this," Beverly said.

"Want me to kick their asses? I know karate," Rick said.

"Shut up, little man," the Beverly-Beast said. "These two would cram your karate right back down your throat. Stand aside." She pushed Rick away and faced me. "I've sucked about all of the life-force out of this being. Soon, I'll be sucking yours, Celt."

"I think not, beast," I said, raising my transector. Noei raised hers with me, and we struck at the same time. But something happened. Instead of going through the creature as expected, our transectors seemed... stuck. We pulled back as hard as we could to disengage the electronic blades from the beast and finally got them out. The Beverly-Beast laughed as we stood back, confused.

"What, don't you like the new and improved version, Celt?" the Beverly-Beast asked before laughing maniacally. Then she appeared to grow and rise up before us. It was almost as if she was growing before our eyes, but then I realized what was happening. Rick's eyes grew wide as he watched the scene before him.

The beast was extricating itself from Beverly's body. I saw its thick legs appear, then its coiled tail. The long snout of the beast's head appeared above Beverly's head, tendrils of smoke oozing from its wide nostrils.

Beverly's face changed. No longer cold, hard and cruel, she looked at us with fear. She turned her head and saw Bob, still unconscious on the couch.

"Please," she begged. "Help... me." Noei saw the tail begin to unfurl and pushed Rick out of the way, but it was too late. The creature's tail whipped around to strike Rick, but Noei put her body in front of him and was struck hard on her right shoulder.

The end of the tail whipped around Noei and struck Rick's head, sending him back against the wall, where he fell. Noei fell down as well and nearly dropped her transector. She was dazed but alive. I saw the tail start to whip back in the opposite direction to strike me, but I hit first.

"SEMPER INVICTUS!" I screamed as I lunged forward, running the transector through Beverly and into the creature's heart. I saw the beast's eyes grow wide and knew I had hit the magic spot. I twisted the handle of my transector, hoping that would be enough to break the hard casing around the thing's heart.

I heard the crack of the thing's heart casing and detected the rotten-egg smell that indicated the thing's heart had been destroyed. It looked at me with wide, bloodshot eyes.

"Your day is coming soon, Celt," it screamed before disappearing in a puff of acrid smoke. Beverly's nude body fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. I handed Noei a packet of powder from my jacket then checked her heartbeat as Noei went to get some water.

Feeling a faint but steady heartbeat, I put her feet on a pillow and quickly checked Bob and Rick. They were alive but shaken. Bob rubbed his head as he began to come around.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Head hurts like hell, but I think I'll be alright," he said. I looked at Beverly and saw her trembling on the floor. By then, Noei had returned and tried to get Beverly to drink. I knew she needed medical attention quickly.

"She's going into some kind of arrest," Noei said.

"Call 911," I told Bob. "Your wife is dying."

"Let the cunt die," Bob snarled. I grabbed him by the collar and got in his face.

"She may be a cunt, but she's still your wife and your responsibility," I said. "Call 911 -- NOW!" Bob nodded his head.

"Alright, alright," he said, making his way to the phone. I went to Rick and saw he was dazed but alive. I went back to Noei and Beverly, and Noei looked at me, concerned.

"Is she going to make it?" Noei asked.

"I don't know," I said. I could tell Beverly was scared when she looked up at us. Her color was off, and she felt cool to the touch. Beads of sweat dropped off her forehead. Bob stood by us and looked down at his wife, and I could see the hatred on his face.

"I called 911," he said. "They're sending an ambulance." Beverly looked at her husband, tears falling down her face.

"I'm... so sorry, Bob," she croaked. "I couldn't stop it. I tried, but it was too strong. Please, don't hate me." By now, Rick was on his feet and stood next to us. Beverly looked at him, confused. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Rick," he said. "You picked me up at the club, remember?"

"No, I don't remember," she said. "I think you should leave." He looked at us for a bit, confused and shaken.

"You people are all fucking weird, you know that?" he asked.

"I think you should do as the lady says," I told him. "And forget what you saw here tonight."

"Hey, I didn't see shit," he said, shaking his head. "I'm outta here." With that, he picked up his shirt and left the house.

"I think we need to go as well," I said, handing Bob the glass of water Noei brought from the kitchen. Noei used that as her cue to call for an Uber. "Make sure Beverly drinks all of this. It'll help her. You might want to get something to cover her up with. Are you gonna be alright?"

"I'll manage," he said.

"I suggest the two of you see a counselor," I said. "You're gonna need help getting through this."

"You got that right," Bob said. "Honestly, I don't know if I'll be able to get through this."

"I understand," I said, handing him my card. "Call me if you have any questions. And keep us informed on your progress."

"I will," he said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I said.

"Uber will be here in about five minutes," Noei said. "I asked them to pick us up at the corner." We said our goodbyes, grabbed our luggage from Bob's car, and walked to the corner.

"How are you feeling?" I asked when we got to the corner.

"Shoulder is sore," she said. I looked and saw the beginning of an angry bruise.

"Hang on," I said. I clapped my hands and began rubbing them together. After a few moments, I placed my hands on her shoulder. She gasped when I did that.

"Oh, that feels so good," she said as the heat from my palms worked into her muscles. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"A long time ago, when I was in Japan," I said. "Feel better?"

"You know it," she said. "Please, do that again." I repeated the treatment and got the same response from her.

"When we get to the hotel, I'll put a warm washcloth on it," I said.

"Thank you," she said. "That thing really packed a wallop."

"Yes, it did," I said. "The creature wasn't all the way out of Beverly's body, so it could've been a whole lot worse. That was a very brave thing you did, protecting Rick like that."

"Well, he may have been an asshole, but I didn't want to see him shredded by that thing. Is it just me, or was there something different about that creature?" she asked.

"There was definitely something different about it," I said. "We'll need to talk to Svan about this when we get back."

"Do you think Bob and Beverly will be okay?" Noei asked.

"I honestly don't know," I said. "Bob is very angry with her right now. And I don't blame him." The Uber stopped at the corner, and we got inside. We looked back and saw an ambulance had just pulled up to Bob's house.

When we got to the hotel, we paid the driver, grabbed our luggage, and checked into our room. I took note of a small shop in the hotel lobby and later went to get some cream for Noei's shoulder. I ministered to her shoulder and held her that night.

I got a call from Bob the following day before our flight left. Beverly was doing better after a good night's sleep. According to Bob, she had gone into shock, and her body chemistry was entirely out of whack.

"Doctor said if she hadn't been brought in, she probably wouldn't have made it through the night," Bob said. "They're keeping her for a day or two to make sure she's stable."

"I'm glad she's doing better," I said. "How are things between you?"

"Rough," Bob said. "She tells me she didn't have any control over what she did, and claims she doesn't remember everything. I don't know what to believe. Anyway, I'll stay with her until I know she's 100 percent. We'll see what happens after that."

"Alright, Bob. Thanks for the update," I said.

After getting home, I submitted my report to Svan and gave Noei's shoulder another heat treatment. It didn't take long for Svan to contact me.

"Steve, I'm a bit concerned about this report," he said. "Are you saying your transectors were nearly ineffective against the creature?"

"Yes," I told him.

"We've heard reports like this from other dimensions, but this is the first I've heard from yours," he said. "We've put together an updated unit, something that's a lot stronger than what you currently carry. I'll go ahead and get these issued to you."

"I appreciate that, Svan," I said.

"I'm also concerned about this creature you faced. It wasn't an ordinary beast. In fact, it was one of the few we've been able to put a name to," he said.

"Oh?" I asked.

"Yes," Svan said. "It's been in your dimension for a long time now, but it's managed to evade all the other enforcers. As best we can tell, it's fairly high in their hierarchy."

"Kinda like a general or something?" I asked.

"Something like that, yes," Svan said.

"What does that mean for us?" I asked.

"It means the other creatures in your dimension will be fighting among each other, jockeying for that position," Svan said.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Yes. We've managed to map out that wormhole," Svan said, putting a "map" on our screen. I saw a winding yellow line going around several blank spots that I knew represented other dimensions in the multiverse. "From what we've been able to determine, there are literally thousands of the things in that wormhole."

"Any idea where they'll end up?" I asked.

"It's still too early to tell, but our best estimate is someplace fairly remote," Svan said.

"ETA?" I asked.

"At the rate they're working, about 25 days, tops," Svan said.

"And there's nothing you can do on your end?" I asked.

"We are deploying protection grids where the wormhole approaches other dimensions, but that's about all we can do at this point," Svan said.

"Can't you deploy some of those grids around our dimension?" I asked. Svan looked deep in thought before answering.

"The creatures would simply work around them," he said. "But wait a minute. Maybe we can deploy them in such a way that we can force them to go where we want. Like perhaps, your Death Valley. That looks quite remote."

"Yes, it is," I said. "How long would it take to deploy those grids?"

"I'll have to get the Directorate's approval, but I think we can have them online in a week," Svan said. "In the meantime, I'll send you some new transectors and a new tracker we've been developing."

"That would help," I said.

"Be careful with these new transectors. They work the same, but they're considerably more powerful than what you have now," Svan said.

"That's good to know," I said.

"Any idea how you want to handle this incursion?" Svan asked.

"I've got some ideas, but I want to think them through a bit first," I said.

"Alright," Svan said. "Don't wait too long, though." Shortly after we ended the comm, a green orb appeared in the lab. Two new transectors and a tracking device remained behind when it blinked out of existence. We spent some time familiarizing ourselves with the latest equipment. I had to admit, the Errnocht outdid themselves with the new designs.

We spent the next few days working out and monitoring as we usually did. I also worked out what I hoped would be a workable plan for dealing with the upcoming invasion. I contacted Svan when I had the details worked out -- at least on paper.

He listened quietly as I laid it out for him. He waited until I was finished before asking his questions and accepted the answers I gave him. He thought about it for a few moments before giving his answer.

"It's just crazy enough that it might work," he said. "We'll need to beef up one of the protection devices before we send it, though. That could take a day or two."

"How are you coming with the grids?" I asked.

"They are being deployed even as we speak," he said. "One last thing, Steve. I will have to run this through the Directorate to get their approval. They may have a question or two for you. Do you think you could be available for that?"

"Of course," I said. "Just let me know when."

"I will," he said. "Good job, Steve. I'll be in touch." We ended the call, and Noei came to my side.

"Do you really think this will work?" she asked.

"It has to work," I said.

"It sounds... dangerous. Will we be okay?"

"I hope so," I said. "Everything hinges on how well our bodies can handle that much energy being released at one time." She wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm... scared," she said quietly. I held her in my arms and kissed her pretty face.

"Me too," I said. "We'll get through it. Together."

"Make love to me, Steve," she said. "Please?"

"Of course," I said as I held her in my arms. We kissed each other deeply and ended up on the floor, making love. Our mutual orgasms hit as Svan's voice boomed from the communications panel. I looked up and saw his eyebrows raised.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"Uh, no," I said, putting my trousers back on. "We were just... finishing up." Noei grabbed her clothes and scampered to the opposite side of the lab so Svan wouldn't see her naked.

"Uh huh," he said. "I just spoke with the Directorate. They would like you to join the conference. That is, unless you have other things to take care of."

"That's fine, Svan," I said. "Let me just get dressed."

"Yes, please do," he said with a knowing smile. "I'm sure the Directorate would appreciate that." I smiled as I finished dressing and approached the communication panel. Svan connected me to the conference call, and I listened as they discussed my plan.

I didn't understand everything they said since a lot of it was technical talk about things well above my "pay grade" and general understanding. But I did get a general idea. The directors asked me a few questions, which I answered for them. After about 45 minutes, the meeting wrapped up.

"Steve, this is a very... unusual... approach, but I think that if it works, it will set the creatures back on their heels for at least two of your centuries," one of the directors said. "You have our approval."

"Thank you, Director," I said.

"Svan, I want you to take point on this," the Director said. "Make it a priority. Make sure Steve has whatever he needs to make this work."

"I will, Director," Svan said.

"Alright, then. Make it so," the Director said, ending the conference.

...

Three weeks later, Svan contacted me. The protective grids were put into place, forcing the creatures to direct the wormhole where we wanted -- at a remote location in Death Valley, California. A modified protective grid was ready to go and would be delivered to the site.

"From what we can tell, the creatures have ramped things up quite a bit," Svan said. "I estimate they'll break through much earlier than we first thought. I'm going to use the transportation device to deliver the two of you, along with the other enforcers and the modified unit to Death Valley. We'll monitor your progress from here."

"When is this going to happen?" I asked.

"In about five minutes," Svan said. "So get your transectors and get ready." A green orb appeared in one corner of the lab, and the next thing I knew, we were both standing on the flat, dusty ground. Another green orb appeared, and I saw the box that held the grid.

As I prepared the grid, three more orbs appeared. They blinked out of existence, leaving behind three men. Ewan MacGregor, Kenta Tanaka, and Victor Abara looked around at the uninhabited desert before approaching us. I introduced them all to Noei, and we spent a few minutes catching up.