Drawing Dead Spotlight - Ben

I never thought I'd be fighting for my life on school grounds, let alone against a giant bear creature.

But I'm getting ahead of myself; let me start this at the beginning.

My name's Ben and I'm a teacher. I'm also a paranormal investigator and even a sorcerer. Don't believe me? Well, maybe this will convince you.

The dry erase marker squeaked as I wrote on the board. "So class, you see, what Edgar Allan Poe's really saying with this poem is-"

"Mr. M, sir?" a student asked, raising her hand and waving it back and forth, really wanting my attention. I smiled as she cut me off, turning from the board. "Yes, Julia?" I put the cap on my marker and put it down, straightening my tie. "What can I help you with?"

She got up from her seat and pointed to the open windows to my right. "There's a big man outside, and he's not going away." The class laughed as 7th graders would. "Now now, Julia, there's no one out-"I stopped as I turned and saw just what she said. A giant of a man, looking at least 8 feet tall in a black bowler hat and a long flowing brown coat, the collar popped to hide most of the face. However, one look at it and I realized it wasn't a man. Eyes hidden behind black round rimmed glasses flashed red, and suddenly the man was gone. The windows exploded, sending glass everywhere. "Everyone down NOW!" I shouted too late, instinctively throwing up an invisible barrier to protect my students from the flying glass.

Without thinking, I rushed forward and tackled the man out of the new doorway he made, snapping my fingers and sealing the wall back up and repairing the windows before increasing the circumference of my shield to cover the entire school. "I don't know who you are or what you're doing here," I started, kicking the behemoth away from me. "But you picked the wrong teacher to mess with!"

The man threw off his coat, and I wished instantly he hadn't. The thing before me wasn't a man, looking more like a fusion of several bad movie monsters with fur. It let out a howl and growl, with claws bursting from where fingers once were. "Looks like you could use a manicure, Harry."

The thing obviously didn't like being called Harry, because it started swinging at me madly. I ducked and dodged, rolled and weaved like the wind, letting my magic and instincts guide me. I was a little slower than normal, being in my teacher clothes and dressed for success (except in magic!) And my sense of dressing professional cost me, as a set of claws raked down my back, tearing through my shirt and skin like paper. "Jeez!" I yelled through the pain, stumbling from the force of the blow before turning and heaving a nice fireball into Harry's face. It howled in pain, and I took the chance. Channeling pure magic into my hands, I unleashed a flurry of punches of every type: jabs, uppercuts, crosses, even threw in a falcon punch in hopes it would be enough.
Harry dropped to the ground, not dead but out cold. "That was too easy-"I started to say, before I suddenly felt my feet fly off the ground. I was hurtling like a fast ball thrown by a rocket launcher, skidding and rolling on the ground, messing up my shirt even more as I tried to get to my feet. "Foolish boy," an old voice started, and my entire body lit up with pain like a redneck trailer park on Christmas. Lightning coursed through my body and I felt nothing but pain, crying out and trying to fight against it. I managed to see where it was coming from, and couldn't stop myself from laughing.

A man who looked like he walked away from a Lord of the Rings cosplay event / live-action role play was aiming a hand at me, lightning shooting from his fingertips. "You may have bested my beast, but Taroth is not so easily vanquished." I could barely breathe from a mixture of laughter and pain. "Y-You've gotta be kidding me!" I managed to gain some strength as he was ranting, thrusting out my arms and shattering his lightning storm.
"You are a child compared to Taroth!" He conjured a nice sized fireball, heaving it at me. I threw up a shield, slicing it in twain and killing it instantly. "You have to do better than that."

He smiled, and I knew that my ego had gotten the better of me. Suddenly I couldn't move from my current stance. My hands fell limp to my sides, and I was more hovering than standing, and I saw his right hand was aimed at me almost like a hand holding a puppet's strings. "I apparently have. What's say we cut off your air supply…?"

I wanted to protest, or say something witty and cool, but instead I found myself gasping for air. I could see the kids in my classroom looking horrified. Their teacher was being killed, and they were powerless to help. I struggled and fought, but somehow this old codger had me beat. To think, it'd end like this. Killed by an old fart in front of my students. I fought demons and monsters with Dom and the rest of Connors Investigations, but it'd be an old guy to beat me.

What a drag…

The sickening sound of bones and flesh being pierced erupted and Taroth grunted a little, looking down. A human hand now protruded from his ribcage, wielding his heart like a sacred jewel. "Aw, looks like you're heartless, old timer. Sorry, but he's MINE to kill…" A voice said, as the arm moved back the way it came, leaving a see through hole through Taroth as his power over me evaporated, and I could breathe again, falling to my knees and coughing. Air was never more appreciated by me than now.

Looking from Taroth's corpse to the man that was my savior, I couldn't help but replay his statement. Before I could get to my feet, a combat boot went right into the right side of my face. My glasses flew off my face, and I felt like a semi truck hit me, my face skidding along the ground for a bit. "Hm. Wonder what heart tastes like?" The man said, just after kicking me. He took a big hunk out of Taroth's heart, chewed a bit, and then spit it out. "Ew! This guy must've been a prune-a-holic. Wait…How do I know what prunes taste like? Darn it!" He threw a hand down, and suddenly Taroth's body erupted in flames and was obliterated in moments. "I'll never get that taste out of my mouth." He mumbled, tossing the heart.  He looked to me as I was getting up and putting my glasses back on, snapping my fingers and fixing them. I got a look at the guy for the first time.

He wore a black hoodie with a blue trim, ripped blue jeans and black sneakers with a red trim, with the hood concealing his face. Even with the hood hiding his eyes, I could tell he was looking at me.  He suddenly decided to scream at me.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" It sounded like a mixture of pain and rage, and echoed for what seemed like an eternity. "Oh Ben! Ben Ben Ben Ben Ben! Whaddya say…LET'S PLAY?!" Before I could respond, a wave of fire came right for me.  I managed to throw up a barrier like with Taroth, but before I could react he had a barrage of ice covered fists in my face. I dodged and bobbed and weaved the best I could, trying to return the favor with flame-covered fists, only to find him reading me like a book.

"Silly rabbit, I know all of your TRICKS!"

A flame covered sneaker kicked my hands away with another one hitting me in the face, leaving a nice burn and mark on my left cheek as I stumbled to the side. "Who the hell are you?!" I managed to thrust my hands back, giving him a lightning encased fist to the face. He laughed as his body jerked and convulsed, but after a while he let the lightning simply flow through him. "Oh…I'm nobody…"He suddenly yanked his hoodie back. "Just YOU! DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!"

I was shocked, because he was me! Granted, he looked like he got into a bad car wreck. The right side of his head looked like it survived an explosion or fire of some type. The hair on that side was burnt off, leaving him with a Mohawk like hairdo on the left side. Cuts adorned his face like badges of honor, especially on his right side. His glasses were cracked and his eyes were mostly black with red irises. "Betcha didn't expect that plot twist, didya reader?!" He looked to the side and screamed to no one.

"You can't be me…You're some kind of spell or golem!" I stated, and this only made him laugh.

"Oh Benny-Benny-Ben-Ben! Silly little boy, playing with his toys, thinking only of joy!"
He seemed to sing, dancing a little before hitting me with a storm of lightning, sending me hurtling backwards a few feet. I managed to get onto my knees but the pain was excruciating.  I thought he was going to finish me, but there was a twinkle in his sinister eyes. "Today's not a good day to kill you…She is coming, and I don't feel like seeing HER. So, I'll leave you two some playthings." He leaped at me as if to tackle me, then flipped me off and said "SUCKERRRRR!" and was engulfed in a dark explosion of black fire and smoke.
As I got to my feet, I saw what the playthings were. Harry was back on his feet, looking better than ever, and he had friends. "Great…a whole Harry family. Just what I need." I grunted.

As if on cue, one of them suddenly exploded, and behind where it once stood 'she' was. "Dom!" I said with a huge smile on my face. Through her shades her eyes flashed red for a moment, and she smiled a fang-filled grin, adjusting her shades. "Howdy, Magey Pants. You don't look so good. Need some help?" I smiled, dusting myself off. "I've definitely had a day, and yes, I could use the help." I snapped my fingers, summoning some chakrams made of pure flame, twirling them and readying myself as Dom landed beside me, cracking her knuckles and neck. "Who invited you to the Harry and the Hendersons convention?" She asked, and I tried not to laugh. "Nobody, they came to me."

"Well, you always were a popular one." She readied herself, looking to me out of the corner of her eye. "What about your school there?" She asked as we both charged. I smiled. "I've got a barrier up, and once we're done they'll not remember a thing. Attribute it to a prank or something."

She nodded. "Good deal. Well, let's go to work!" Dom said, leaping past me and heading for the nearest Harry. "Indeed. Let's." I said, heaving one of my chakrams with deadly accuracy.