Fifteen years ago a gateway to hell was opened and a plague of evil spread across the land. London was in complete darkness for days and in that time the hordes of hell infiltrated every level of government. Afterwards there was chaos. Against such opposition the Prime Minister became over-whelmed; people were being slaughtered, cities were in flames and in his panic he resigned. A new Prime Minister was elected: Prime Minister Ruban Gadriel and then the world changed forever.
Ayaan Hussain stood there, still holding the phone in his hand. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard… could she be telling the truth? Or was this all a big, elaborate trap? But if she was working for the enemy and they knew exactly where he lived, why didn’t they just make their move when he was at home? And why was the hijaabi woman so important? One way or the other there was no way he could ignore what she had told him.
“Save the hijaabi, save the world.” The words rang in his ears.
Looks like it’s gonna be another late night. Pocketing the phone he knew he was going to have to make the appropriate preparations before he made his move. Tonight. But first he had a class to get to.
He heard the bell ring as he ran through the college gates. Skidding to a halt outside room 2.03, he took a deep breath and straightened his jacket before walking in. Ayaan mouthed an apology to the teacher who simply nodded before continuing.
“Late again bro?” asked Sufyaan as soon as class ended. Sufyaan Khan was Ayaan’s best friend, he was strict on rules but had a kind heart.
“Assalamu alaykum to you too bro” replied Ayaan, as they shook hands.
“Walaikum salaam, not setting a good example Ayaan. As seniors people look up to us.” Sufyaan was always worried what people thought about ‘us’.
“God forbid anyone should turn up to class late” Ayaan chuckled as they walked to their next class.
“Hey guys! Wait up.” They turned around to see James Masters rolling towards them. “Some of us can’t walk as fast as you!” James had been in a wheelchair ever since the incident. Although he never really liked talking about it, he was always the first to make fun of it.
“Hey James, sweet wheels,” Ayaan smiled. He had never met a person as free spirited as James.
“Hey man, don’t diss it until you’ve tried it. I get great mileage on this baby.” chuckled James.
“How are you feeling James? You were off sick for a week,” Sufyaan enquired.
“There and there man. Had a killer fever, which is bound to happen when you dance in the rain” the smile returned to his face, “but I’m well enough to be back in the spin of things.” Ayaan had to roll his eyes at the terrible joke.
“Anyway, did you guys read the paper this morning?”
“Yes, some masked menace beat up some guards.” Suf didn’t approve of violence under any circumstances.
“Do you guys ever read past the front page?” James rolled out today’s paper.
“Why? What did we miss?” Suf asked.
“Oh I dunno, it could be the hail stones the size of your fists falling from the sky in Scotland or the fact that another ‘accident’ occurred leading to the death of another known scholar… which FYI was not an accident according to you know who.” James’ father was a Police Detective, and thus was privy to the kind of information that most people never found out about.
“That’s the fifth one in the past two weeks. Where abouts was this?” Ayaan’s curiosity was suddenly sparked.
“Up in Sheffield.”
Suf turned to Ayaan, “what do you think it means?”
“Hhmmm, I’m not sure yet” said Ayaan, more to himself.
“Coincidence… perhaps?” Asked Suf sensing Ayaan’s thoughts.
“There are no coincidences, only...” Ayaan trailed off lost in thought. Arriving at class they took their usual seats at the back. Much of the day passed quickly. It always amused Ayaan how things seemed to speed up just when he needed them to slow down.
*****
Big Ben chimed the final stroke of midnight as an armoured van ripped out of the police station hurtling through the streets of London. The sky echoed with thunder and heavy rain poured down. The wind howled as the van weaved in and out of the streets. With curfew in effect the streets lay bare, save for those that clung to the shadows. The van sped along the streets; its cargo, a single woman. It had orders to stop for nothing until it reached the Red Guard Detention Centre, a terrifying, sadistic internment camp. The truck would never reach its destination.
Guardian Angel stood waiting upon the rooftops. The rain whipped into his eyes as he struggled to keep the van in sight, watching as it neared his position. He had run multiple scenarios through his mind, planning out each possible detail of how this could play out. He preferred the subtle approach.
Just one armoured van, how disappointing. He quickly dislodged a slate at his feet and hurled it at the oncoming van. The slate flew like a bullet and smashed into the van’s windscreen with a crunching sound! The armoured car veered wildly and lifted off two of its wheels as the shocked driver fought to regain control! The problem with subtlety was that speeding armoured vehicles didn’t really have secret entrances that one could conveniently slip into.
"What the hell was that?” Screamed the driver. He stopped the truck and opened the door to investigate.
"NO!" The second guard screamed, but it was too late. A gloved hand appeared around the driver’s neck and hauled him out of the truck. The sound of pouring rain filled the driver’s cabin and obscured the guard’s vision as he peered out through the open door. The passenger-side door was suddenly jerked open and the guard spun round, a black blur slamming into his head. The punch knocked him unconscious.
"Too easy" chuckled Guardian Angel, before taking the keys out of the ignition and walking around to the back of the vehicle. He slid one of the keys into the lock and unlocked the door. But as he slid it open a few inches, a large fist smashed through catching him square in the chest. The impact launched him into the air, his body flying across the street before slamming down on top of a parked car. The windows exploded outwards and the frame buckled. He could taste his own blood, as his head pulsed with pain. Nausea washed over him and he desperately fought to stay conscious. He felt like he'd been hit with the actual armoured van.
"Knock, knock," chuckled a deep voice. Guardian Angel’s vision cleared and he saw a menacing figure jump out of the van, a behemoth of a man with pale white skin, black eyes and a sleazy suit.
“Who are you?”
“Hhmmm there’s really no point in telling my name,” sneered the behemoth “especially to someone I’m about to kill”. The huge man looked around to see what had happened to the guards before turning back to Guardian Angel.
Guardian Angel returned his stare and said, “I guess they don’t teach you guys manners, as a final courtesy we tell our opponents the name of the warrior who vanquished him. So when we send you back to hell, you can tell your boss who defeated you.” This time it was Guardian Angel's turn to smile “I don’t need to know your name, demon, just remember mine.” Guardian Angel launched himself at the man throwing a furious punch which was barely blocked. “Guardian Angel is the one about to send you back to HELL!” Taking up a stance he began to throw high-speed punches and kicks, striking ruthlessly from every direction! His opponent was surprisingly fast though and each and every blow was effortlessly blocked until finally, he broke through with a straight left to the demon’s face. The demon staggered back, before regaining his balance. He smiled coldly at Guardian Angel, then pulled off his blazer and ripped his shirt open to reveal his naked chest.
Guardian Angel could make out a sort of swirling tattoo across the muscles. “This rune is my name. In this language it is pronounced ‘Slade’, the demon of the shadows.” The moment ended and Slade threw a punch of his own knocking Guardian Angel back several paces. They both threw themselves at each other with all their strength. Guardian Angel's face knotted, as he hurled lightening fast strikes at his opponent, tearing through his defences and breaking him down. For every blow Slade blocked, two more hit their mark until a final strike threw him into a car, crushing it like a beanbag. He lay there in the wreckage gasping for breath, then grinned and slowly got to his feet.
“Seems like I’ve misjudged you. You’re not as pathetic as you look, I won’t be holding back anymore. It’s time to end this.”
Slade rolled his shoulders and then came at him with renewed vigour. The onslaught was furious and Guardian Angel found himself being pushed back by the speed and power of the demon. A body blow knocked him off balance and he was kicked to the ground! Taking the punishment, he fought his way up from the floor and hammered his fists into Slade, but the demon managed to grab both of his arms. Guardian Angel tried to twist from Slade’s iron grip but couldn’t and was head butted viciously. He snarled and head butted him back and then did it again before jumping and twisting to bury his knee into the demon’s jaw. Slade’s arms went slack and Guardian Angel landed before delivering several strikes to his back. Slade whirled around and swiped at him with full force sending him flying into a lamp post. They were both shattered, gasping in their own separate agonies.
Guardian Angel rolled onto his hands and knees and coughed harshly, spattering the pavement with blood. He turned his head and noticed the armoured van some distance away. Its two-ton bulk had been knocked over in the fight and was on its side. The rain had stopped some moments ago and inside the cargo hold he could make out a figure, dressed in white, slumped against the metal.
He turned his head back to Slade. They were too evenly matched. Slade must have thought the same. The demon’s face spasmed with anger and something dark flew from his hand. Guardian Angel threw himself out of its path just in time and it slammed into the building behind him, destroying it like a bomb blast. All of a sudden Guardian Angel was all too aware that the inhabitants of this street were now awake. Fear showed through him, the rule Jabber had taught him was to protect the innocent. The people of this street were innocent but if this fight continued they’d be put in grave danger.
“I see you’ve noticed the awesome power of my Shadow Ball,” Slade laughed. “You can not begin to comprehend my true power.” Again he quickly formed a dark energy ball in his hand before throwing it at the car that hid Guardian Angel. He barely had time to leap out of the way before the car exploded. Slade then threw another which Guardian Angel just dodged but not without burning half his coat. Dust from the vaporised debris was filling the air now and all the while Slade laughed sensing victory was at hand. He waited as the smoke slowly cleared.
Guardian Angel had hoped he wouldn’t have to do this so soon, but he didn’t seem to have a choice anymore. The danger to the innocent was too great for him to ignore and there was no way he could afford to lose here... not like this. Calming his beating heart, he rose and drew his sword. Focusing on its sealed power he whispered, “Awaken sword of justice.” No sooner had he spoken the words that the air around him momentarily became still. Then energy from the sword erupted with such force that the road beneath his feet began to shake and crack until he was standing in a crater.
"Impressive" sneered Slade
"You ain’t seen nothing yet!"
Growling Slade launched another Shadow Ball.
This time Guardian Angel did not move, but simply raised his sword and whispered, "Dark Lightening." The power coursing through the blade poured into the tip and a fierce bolt of black lightening surged out with a deafening boom, cutting through everything in its path. The shadow ball dissipated on contact but still the dark lightening whipped across the space, landing into Slade and overwhelming him.
Slade fell to the ground unable to believe that he had lost. As he collapsed his body disintegrated into dust.
"It’s over," whispered Guardian Angel before replacing his sword in its sheath. He carefully walked over to the armoured van and climbed over a mangled door. He found the still unconscious hijaabi and realised that she was heavily sedated. As he gazed upon her face a gasp escaped from his lips as recognition dawned on him.
“Noor?”
You are a living magnet. What you attract into your life is in harmony with your dominant thoughts. Therefore if the present world should go astray, the cause is in you, and in you the solution is to be sought. For a true believer stands out for justice as a witness for Allah (swt) against the rich, the poor, against family, friends and even against himself.