Chapter 1 - The Oracle
#1 of The Hellfire Saga
So... this is the first chapter of my currently yet unnamed project. the two characters I have quickly fallen in love with Geist, the living Specter, and Oracle, the Navajo Shaman. I truly hope those of you who read this like it!
Six in the morning. This was how early Geist normally woke up, even though he now was no longer required to check upon Hard Drive's tank anymore thanks to Fidget. Yet, unlike previously, he's lately been waking up suddenly in a cold sweat.. His dreams lately have been filled with dark times. He saw hellfire, brimstone, demons reaching for him, wanting to claim him for their own. He wipes away the few droplets of sweat on his sweat gently as he climbed out of bed, groaning slightly. Per usual, he wore his black leather uniform to bed the previous night. The hum of the lights were almost let him know he was still home. He rarely turned off the lights thanks to the darkness of the cell he was kept in. He would see things in the dark, which helped him come to the realization he was a Medium, a person who can see and communicate with spirits.
"Same thing... every night," he sighed to himself as he rubbed his face, as if to physically rid of the twisted imagery he had just encountered in his sleep.
After a few more minute, he slowly stood up and walked down towards the Central Intelligence Room just down the hall from his own room. He prefered the tightness of the hallways down in the subbasement of the facility, he especially loved the fact that it was well lit, but unfortunately for him, ghosts can still come to him in the light. As he entered the C.I.R., he would find Fidget, the young teenage technological genius of a ferret overseeing Hard Drive's tank diligently. Hard Drive is a mouse that's literally directly linked to every single computer system in the world. He was Diagnosed with ALS at a young age and was tricked by GeneCorp to build a similar machine to the one he was currently in. Since then, his brain had been completely dependent upon the link that being unplugged from the machine for too long would kill him. The lights from the consoles shined off of his glasses that were kept close to his eyes to aid in his vision and gave him a sort of mad scientist look about him, especially with his short brown, disheveled hair. He was always wearing some classic rock, or some death metal band that has no mainstream exposure along with his usual pair of blue jeans.
"How's the tank holding up Fidget?" Geist inquired as he picked up the clipboard with the overnight report.
The voice caused fidget to jump a bit. He was always so focused on the machinery that he never notices Geist enter. "JESUS!" he sighed suddenly as he gasps, placing his hand over his now rapidly beating heart. "Sorry... I was just..." he finally stuttered after a short period.
"It's ok Fidget," the rabbit said calmly as he places a hand over his shoulder, "You get lost in your trances when talking to the machines. Just give me your report."
"Right... r... report..." he muttered. "Um... there was a small spike in the Oxygen scrubbers, and I found some major inconsistencies in the programing of the decoders. I cleaned all that up and did my usual virus checks and scrubs for the night."
Just as Fidget finished his report, Hard Drive's holographic interface suddenly appeared beside them. "Fidget is much too modest..." The mouse spoke up. "Thanks to his diligence, my systems are operating at 98% efficiency, but our data retrieval and decoding has seen a 150% increase in efficiency."
Geist couldn't help but smile at the now blushing ferret. It was obvious he wasn't used to getting compliments. "S... Sorry..." he finally said after a while. "I'm used to talking with computers. but I've never received a compliment from one."
As Geist was putting down the report, the automated door reopened. The door gave way to the black feathered form of Oracle, the raven whom the team accepted along with their financial backer Antonio Draco. He wore a simple pair of blue jeans, and simple white shirt that fit over his wings the sprung from his back. Holstered upon his belt was a special token the raven always carried, it was an old metal tomahawk, a gift from his father before Oracle had left the reservation into the world. The look upon his face was somber, almost fearful if someone could read the face of a raven. Geist could pick up on subtle shifts in peoples moods.
"Gagii?" Gagii was his legal name, in the Navajo language, Gagii was the word for Raven.
"Geist," he finally sighed out, "I must speak with you. It is important."
The rabbit nodded and handed the clipboard to Fidget. "Keep an eye out on anything else you can improve Fidget. I'll be back in a moment."
Once the raven and the rabbit were alone in the solitary of Geist's room, the rabbit quickly typed in a code to make sure the automated door to his room wouldn't open. Now that they wouldn't be interrupted, Geist turns around and leaned back against the wall with his arms folded across his body.
"What's got you so spooked?" he asked.
"I've had a dream Geist."
"I have dreams all the time." he replied curtly.
"Navajo shamans do not dream Geist. Shamans are given glimpses into what will be."
"You have prophetic dreams?" the rabbit asked curiously.
The raven nodded, "I offered no resistance to our joining because I read our joining months before we had even met."
"Alright, alright you have my ears! Tell me about what you saw..."
"Darkness..." the raven simply spoke "You were chasing after wolf prints, when darkness began to envelop you, trying to swallow you completely."
Geist felt a tingle up his spine that caused him to shake suddenly and violently. He remembered the dreams he had been having over the last few nights, the demons reaching for him. The metaphor was eerily similar to those nightmares. "A darkness you say?" he asked, trying play off the fear no present in his eye.
"You've been having dreams too haven't you?" he asked.
The rabbit was flabberghasted. "Yeah, I've had really bad dreams lately. Dreams of demons trying to reach out to me."
"You have aroused the interest of the Chinday..."
The rabbit was once again confused. "Chinday?"
"I guess the easiest translation would be Demons, or Evil Gods."
The rabbit closed his eyes, he found himself pushing off the wall his arms falling to his side. He felt helpless. Demons? How the blue hell was he going to fight quite possibly the most dangerous supernatural beings known to mankind. "What... what am I going to do?"
"Fret not, there is more to my dream." This caused the rabbit's ears to perk up in interest. Oracle continued, "As the darkness continued to devour you, A crow suddenly flies upon your shoulder."
"A Crow?" he asked.
"Crows in Navajo legend guide spirits from the great darkness towards the light. When the Crow lands upon your shoulder, his talons drop an item into your hands..." Before the rabbit could ask what that item was, he lifted up the ancient tomahawk he carried at his side. To signify the dream, he lays the tomahawk into the rabbit's hands gently, allowing him to feel the true weight of the weapon. "This is what the Crow gave you... Crow is guiding me to be your protector from the dark forces of the Chinday!
The rabbits eyes widened. Gagii, or Oracle, whichever you prefered, was not your run of the mill crackpot native american snake oil salesmen. Geist, being a medium, saw the kind of command the shaman had over ghosts and spirits. Geist smiled and handed the tomahawk back to the raven.
"Gagii, With you by my side, I will never fear the darkness. I know this is a very significant thing for your people, and I am absolutely humbled by your offer for aid, and gladly accept!"
"Then let the Chinday know, they've made an enemy of Gagii!" he replied.
Suddenly, there was a loud banging at the door, and Fidget's muffled screams came through. Geist panicked, thinking something was wrong with Hard Drive, his lover, quickly punched in the number to open the door quickly. As the door flung open, it revealed the normally nervous ferret panting heavily. It wasn't that long of a run, but with the lack of physical training the ferret had, combined with the rapid pounding, probably winded him.
"What is it Fidget?! something wrong with Hard Drive's Systems?!
"N... No, nothing like that!" the ferret finally panted out. "There's a family in New England. Supernatural... Activity. Exorcist couldn't help them... I... I thought..."
The rabbit and the raven looked at each other. "Oracle... what do wolf tracks represent in your dream?"
"Tracking... or movement..."
The two kept looking at each other, they knew what this meant, but it left a dumbfounded look on the ferret's face. "I... I did something wrong didn't I?"
"No, Fidget," Geist said, "Get into contact with the family, tell them the Children of Gaia can help them with their ghost problem. Oracle, you may want to go down to see Professor Prozac."
The raven looked a bit confused, "The Maniac?! What for?!"
As Geist was about to leave the room, he stopped at the door and turned his head back to Oracle. "If you're coming with, you're gonna have to suit up!"