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 Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 4:59 pm
Looking sick, Julian shuddered as he heard horribly wet ripping noises and unmistakable crunching. Shaking his head, he kept on, trying to remember which way was to the parking lot.
"Here's hoping they haven't destroyed ******** looked down the landing. A lone creature was climbing up onto the landing, shimmying up the gutter. It was vaguely human, shriveled as though it had been mummified. Its face was a permanent rictus, and a thatch of bleached blonde hair hung tangled in its crooked teeth.
"Esht," it said again, blinking dumbly. "Ehlkagir."
There was sudden silence down below, and three more of the creatures skittered out into the open, all looking up the landing. Julian swore loudly, and pushed the others back the way they'd come.
"Run. Run run run!"
---
Crow came across a room whose door was hanging off the hinges. She wandered inside, looking around for the occupants. The room had been torn apart and there was a red spot on the floor. Ignoring it, she pulled at her clothes in discomfort. They were damp, and they stank, and she wanted to get them off. Her eyes fell on a suitcase and she kicked it open, pulling out clothes that were too big for her. But at least no one had died in them.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:03 pm
And so they did. Rabid grabbed onto Julian and the entire group ran. After all, being eaten by mummies was very, very not their idea of fun.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
Björn found himself unintentionally clutched the vague shape of the cross around his neck, beneath his shirt.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:16 pm
The sudden movement made the Hakin snap. It shrieked and jumped onto the landing, running on all fours. The creatures waiting below jumped and vaulted over the railing, following after. The first Hakin closed in and leaped, bony fingers splayed out and grabbing as it collided with Björn.
"NO!"
Julian swung around and punched the creature in the face out of pure instinct. It yelped and let go, slipping off Björn's back and shaking itself before twisting itself unnaturally and getting up.
"Okay. Okay, fire escape, something, anything," Julian rambled, skidding to a halt. They were back at his room. Dead end.
"Great," he muttered, looking back around. The Hakin had followed, and were approaching.
---
Dressed in stolen clothes, wandering through the complex in total disorientation, Crow didn't realize she was being watched until the Hakin was right behind her. She turned, hearing it breathe, and stared blankly at it. It growled at her, shambling on shriveled legs and its heavy-clawed hands dragging on the ground. Something in her snapped and she panicked, running for the stairs.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:22 pm
Björn felt suddenly sick. Now that he had something to live for, he wasn't all that keen on being attacked.
"Thanks, man."
"Julian, Julian, do something, Julian. They're gonna kill us."
"
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:28 pm
"Any time," Julian said, arms thrown out in some attempt to shield the others as the first Hakin approached. Its teeth had been knocked inwards and thick sludgy blood dribbled out of its mouth.
"You. Home. Come," it rasped. "Forgiveness."
Julian's expression never changed.
"Come again?"
"Home. Need. Slave."
"Ah."
The Hakin gurgled, shuffling forward further. Its jaws clicked in anger as it saw Liam.
"Kill. Rend. Cut."
"You ******** off and leave him-"
"Thief. Usurper. All fault. Rend, kill, ash'yat emm ya sic vai."
Julian stepped back further, standing protectively in front of Liam.
"Just try," he hissed. "I'll rip your ******** heart out."
The Hakin's answer was interrupted as something small and wearing a huge hooded sweatshirt bolted up the stairs. It paused, face obscured by the hood as it looked in their direction. The other Hakin hissed at it.
"RUN!" Julian screamed. The figure wavered in indecision, then shrieked as one of the Hakin leaped at it.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:35 pm
Oh, jeez. Oh, jeez. They were going to see someone torn apart right in front of their eyes. None moved...save Björn, of course. The huge man lunged forward and plucked the thing up by its head, watching as it popped like a grape.
"Oops."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:38 pm
The other Hakin gaped, shrieking and slinking back before fleeing.
"Too easy...." Julian muttered, running up beside Björn. "They're going to get more of their friends. We should get goin' while the gettings...."
He trailed off, staring at the hooded figure. It was gasping for breath and starting to cry, pushing itself up and cringing away from the dead Hakin. The hood fell back, revealing Crow, frightened, face bloody, and very, very much alive. She gave a terrible cry and latched onto Björn, shivering so violently her teeth chattered.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:41 pm
"Okay, okay, shhh," Björn cooed rather uncharacteristically and peeled Crow off of him, picking the poor hysterical thing up so as to not slow the group down.
"...Crow?"
"CROW!"
"Running first. Reuniting later."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:46 pm
"Crow?" Julian said, voice faint. The last thing he could remember was his hands around her throat, laughing while she tore at him with her claws and glaring hatred. "Sarah?"
Crow jolted, looking around as though she'd just been startled awake. Her mouth worked but no sound came out, and she shivered even worse and curled against Björn as a cacophony of metallic shrieks echoed up from the patio.
---
Knives, the thing masquerading as Ethan discovered, were easier to figure out than the gun he'd found in his pocket. He made the knife disappear again, and looked down at the man he'd been talking to.
"You," he said to the slashed body, "were no help."
His attention shifted as a Hakin ran past the open door.
"Where are you going?" he called after it. The Hakin trotted back, bowing its head and pointing. Ethan smiled vacantly.
"Take us there."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:49 pm
Björn pet Crow's hair absently and gave a quick glance out the window. Aurgh. He'd only work as a meat shield for so long before he collapsed. This wasn't good.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:54 pm
"If I could only see how many were out there," Julian muttered, wishing wholeheartedly he'd chosen to go insane somewhere else.
Crow, clinging to Björn for dear life, took a couple rasping breaths and suddenly tore away from him. She coughed violently, and old dark blood splattered out onto the cheap linoleum bathroom floor. She fell against the wall, gasping and wiping her mouth. Julian gave a cry and rushed next to her, brushing her hair back. A very long, deep crack in her skull over her left eye was closing up, skin knitting together again.
"Crow?" he asked, voice coaxing. "Hey. Hey, c'mon, look at me..."
Crow's eyes flicked open.
"I think I swallowed a bug," she said, voice rasping.
---
By the time it skidded into the parking lot, the motel was overrun with the war party's soldiers. It shuddered and slunk behind a car, watching a scout amble past. It gave a cluck of alarm as the scout's head suddenly flew past , cleanly detached from its body. It rushed out to investigate, only to find a series of sharp blades pointed very close to its face.
"Don't you even ******** move."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:56 pm
Well, that was a bit of a fall. Björn and Liam peered on in terror at the sight of blood but, hey, a bug. Unless it was a giant evil ghost bug, all was probably well.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:04 pm
Julian broke out into relieved laughter, hugging his sister. She lay limp in his arms at first, but then revived enough to hug him back. Her hands touched a wet spot on the back of his head.
"Hey, what-"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
Getting up and spitting into the sink, Crow turned on the water and took a long deep drink from the faucet. She looked around in curiosity, straightening her stolen clothes and scuffing the moldy carpet with her bare feet.
"Nice place," she said dryly.
"Well. Next time I go completely out of my mind I'll pick a spot that has room service," Julian said tartly.
"Dork."
"Dweeb."
The grins slid off the siblings faces as they heard footsteps on the landing. Shrinking against her brother out of instinct, Crow watched the half-open door with wide eyes. As it was pushed open and she saw Ethan in the doorway, she allowed herself a breath of relief.
"There you are," he said, smiling slightly.
---
"Would you believe me for an instant if I said I was here to help?"
"Not in the slightest."
"Ah. Well then. Bit of a impasse, isn't it."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:08 pm
Without a word, Björn grabbed Julian by the shoulder and tugged him away from Ethan. Call it instinct, but that bizarre look behind his eyes and the fact he'd shrieked in a very unpleasant way not fifteen minutes earlier told the man that something was wrong. His brow furrowed.
"Hey. What's wrong? It's just Ethan."
"Mmh."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:15 pm
Ethan looked up at Björn, surprised and a little hurt.
"I guess I'll be asking about that later, then," he said. "Look...there's suddenly a lot of walking mummy sorts of things wandering about outside. I had to take off and hide when they first stormed the parking lot, but the truck is still running so I suggest we get going."
Julian, who'd given Björn a confused look that transferred onto Ethan, glanced down at his hands.
"You're hurt," he said. Ethan looked down at his bloodied hands.
"It's nothing," he said, wincing at a distant scream. "Can we please go now? We can still make a break for it, they're all mostly busy killing everyone else..."
He glanced at Liam, eyes flicking, before he looked away again.
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