I have no idea what's going on. I can't move my body at all.
Uh oh, Victor says. Looks like we're frozen in time. We had a good run.
No! I think back to how far we'd come. We're not done! I refuse to die! Not here!!
My concentration fails and the binding spell holding Moordoor melts away. The professor steps out and walks toward my suspended body.
"I didn't want to have to do this, Aster," Moordoor says. "I do personally have strong beliefs in fair fights. But I cannot let you stand in front of the good of humanity." He swings his leg back and delivers a full-force kick right into my jaw.
I can't scream, but I feel a few teeth get knocked out or knocked loose by the brutal attack.
"I suppose you fancy me a madman, hm?" Moordoor asks, circling my body. "A madman who was acquired far too much power? Well let me set some things straight. Humankind is constantly straying from their set paths of morality. It was these flaws that took my wife and daughter away from me." Moordoor stops circling and turns away.
I take this as my opening. Victor, I have an idea, but it's a little bit crazy.
Crazy is all we got, right now, Victor replies. Your college history professor is monologuing. The stage is yours. Don't screw up, m'kay?
I silently cast a spell… on myself. Well, more specifically my right arm. I focus the blood in my right arm to move it. I silently dip my finger in the pool of blood around my head and move my finger toward my forehead. This next spell is a gamble.
Meanwhile, the professor continues with his story.
"Up until last year, my wife, Valerie, and I had been married happily for 24 years. It was at year 8 of our marriage when we were graced with our first and only child, a daughter who named Serena. Everything was perfect. I loved my family more then anything in the world. But as always, life has other plans. It was a spring evening during the 24th year of our marriage. Serena had just brought over her new 'boyfriend.'
As a father, I want what is best for my daughter. The boy in question was not a good fit for my daughter. At all. How could that diseased rat even associate himself with Serena!" Thee professor takes a breath to recompose himself. "I could tell just by the way he spoke about my daughter how much he truly cared for her. After the boy left, my wife and I gently told Serena that she couldn't see that boy anymore. Serena did not… take the news well. She told yelled and said that if we wouldn't love her, she would go live with her boyfriend who did. She turned and ran out the front door." Dr. Moordoor then goes quiet.
"What happened next pains me to this day," he continues. "It was a Friday night, so people are out partying and engaging in other nonsense. My daughter runs down the lawn and toward the street. My wife pursues her. I look down the street and I see a car with its lights off speeding down the street. Towards my family. I urgently call them back, warning them of the impending danger. When my voice finally reaches them, they're in the middle of street, and it's too late. I watch on in horror as my family gets crushed under the tires of the vehicle." The professor goes silent after this.
This is fine by me. It's time to see if my plan will pay out.
I force myself to take a deep breath. "Nunc. Stat. Adhuc." I breathlessly mouth the words. The sound of a large clock tower bell rings out throughout the hangar.
Moordoor whips around to face me, and I'm standing to face him.
Aster, you're an absolute genius, Victor says. Painting the infinity symbol on your own body to cancel out the effects of the time stop!
I flash the professor a grin. "If I said it once, I've said it a million times. You. Can. Not. Win."
The professor turns red. "You insolent wretch! Sullying the magic that I will revive the world with! I spent months researching spells to bring my family back. I will not be defeated!"
He shows me the face of the pocket watch. The 8 is now an infinity and is glowing brighter than ever. "TIME IS MINE TO COMMAND!" he roars.
Suddenly, the largest hoard of zombies yet appears. I get into my fighting stance one last time.
"You're not the only one who can stop time," I say. "Now, Nunc Stat Adhuc!" The large bell sound rings again and the zombies cease moving. Moordoor, however, remains unaffected.
"Now for my next attack!" I say. I gather blood in my mouth from my broken teeth, then mimic blowing a gum-bubble. I blow a red bubble the size of a small car. "Check this one out! Sanguis Damnat!" The bubble explodes into a mass of red flames, taking out the zombies and the professor. Time returns to normal, and I feel drained. It takes all of my strength not to drop to my knees.
The professor struggles to get up across the hangar. Then, I realize it. He's not holding then pocket watch! The artifact was located a couple paces in front of me. I dash for it, then something grabs my ankles and I hit the ground hard. I roll over to look at what caught me, and I'm shocked.
Victor gasps. M-my body…"
It's true. Victor's reanimated body is holding my left ankle.
I kick the Victor in the face and lunge forward for the pocket watch. I grab it and yell out. The thing was burning hot! What do I do? Then, I get an insane idea, and I'm going to chalk the decision I make up to the blood loss talking. I grab the Victor corpse's head and begin to beat it into the pocket watch in the same fashion in which I had originally killed Victor.
Really, Aster? Victor asks. Is all that really necessary?
Truth be told, I couldn't suppress my grin. "Nope."
Eventually I hear the watch Crunch! and the space around the hangar returns to normal. The zombies that were still spawning ceased to do so and dropped lifelessly to the ground.
I drop the corpse and exhale. "I did it."
You sure did, Victor says. That was crazy.
I turn toward Moordoor now. "Now for y-…" My jaw drops. Moordoor was gone.
Victor curses in my head. He's still out there!
"Relax, dude. If he ever comes back, we'll be here to stop him. But hey, we got your body back!"
Oh YEAH. I get to return to flesh!
"Yeah! Wait… what?"
This possession was just temporary, Victor says, matter-of-factly. Part of the mission was to use the watch to bring my body back to a possessable state. But Moordoor did that for me!
I slap my forehead. It hurts. "What didn't you tell me this from the get-go?"
Excellent, question… But anyway.
"No, not 'but anyway.'" I say, beginning to argue, and don't bother stopping myself. I sat there arguing with the ghost in my head for about 15 minutes. I was super relieved that I can relax for the first time in days.
My name is Aster Umera. I am a dark hero.