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 Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:12 am
Hellis leaped from the chair and snatched up the paper, brow furrowed as he struggled to read it. He then gave a terrified yelpa nd threw the paper at Björn.
Flustered, Björn looked the paper over, and leaped to his feet.
"Come on. There's no time to waste. Your boy has less than an hour to live."
Liam and Hellis leaped to their feet and followed the man, who was already beginning down the street.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:17 am
Lenore ran out, leaving her family behind, expression already bordering hysterical.
"C'mon," Crow said, yanking Julian after her, backtracking, and yanking Ethan along as well.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:21 am
It took far too long to reach the place Björn had led them to, and even then it seemed entirely pointless. The man stared down at a patch of grass, head cocked.
"I could swear it was here. When William--"
"THINK!"
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! Jeez, woman..."
Björn squatted and pulled at a clump of grass. It came up easily, having only a thin mat of roots on a packed bit of ground. Beneath it was a stone slab of some kind.
"Aha!" He picked up the slab and tossed it aside. The hole was large enough for a semi to drive through.
"Follow me and don't mind the smell."
And then he was gone, disappeared into the tunnel revealed and turning a corner.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:24 am
Lenore followed close after, wings clattering together. She forced them closed, desperate to keep herself quiet andignoring the feathers that snapped off.
Reminded of a catacomb corridor for some strange reason, Crow tugged Julian and Ethan along. She pushed Julian forward towards Rabid, expression full of meaning. He stumbled, turned to glare at his sister, and then matched his stride with Rabid's.
"This is bad, isn't it," Ethan said to Crow, voice only a thread.
"Very," she muttered back.
"Do you think we'll make it in time?"
"I don't know..."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:28 am
"SHHH!," Björn hissed, and then stared at a wall that had appeared before them. He paused a moment, considering the consequences, crossed himself and stepped back.
With a forced expulsion of air, he threw himself at the wall, sending a section crumbling to the floor. He panted and wiped at his bleeding forehead a moment, and then laughed slightly.
"When in doubt, make your own doors."
Rabid rushed through that, and each enormous hole that followed, deaf to the slightly cracking that followed each passage.
The further the group went, the worse the smell got. Decay, clearly...and salt water? The walls were lined with bones, packed in and stuffed with some kind of mud. The siblings had probably been reminded of a catacomb corridor because...well...it was.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:35 am
Nearly swallowing her tongue to keep herself quiet, Crow trailed doggedly along, trying to ignore the smell and the bones. Ethan found it impossible to resist staring back at the empty sockets that leered out at him, half-expecting something to crawl out and attack them.
Lenore felt sick with anxiety, stepping over fallen bones and rubble. The black beaded bracelet at her wrist clattered now and again against her feathers and she clamped her hand over it, heart beating wildly. They were going to hang him. She made a tiny, agonized sound as she accidentally imagined it, shuddering at the mental image of Ike's neck snapping, swaying on the end of a rope.
Julian noticed Len's distress and gripped her shoulder comfortingly, earning only a bewildered look in return.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:38 am
When they finally reached what appeared to be the end of the tunnels, a slightly murmuring could be heard above. Björn stared at the ceiling, up to a wooden square in the ceiling. Someone up top said something, and a crowd cheered.
Hellis whimpered, on the verge of tears, and clung to Björn's bleeding and battered form.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:42 am
Lenore's mind went blank as she stared up. She could imagine the details vividly. Planks groaning, the creak of the rope....she started to hyperventilate.
Ethan, standing on the other side of Björn, stared up with his mouth gone dry. They couldn't be too late. They'd go, and they'd rescue him, and then they'd get the ******** out of this place....
"Julian," Crow dared to say, voice almost inaudible. "Julian, what do we do? We gotta go get him!"
Julian shook his head slowly, helplessly. He didn't know what to do. They could storm the room, definitely, but that could lead to Ike being shoved off even sooner.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:44 am
Luckily, in the way of Vavvians, they tried their best to shield their women of such horrible sights as hanging.
Thusly, the trap door was born.
"Crow, sh," Björn whispered as quietly as possible while angry, "They can hear you."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:48 am
Crow clamped a hand to her mouth, biting her tongue hard. The others didn't dare speak, their attention all directed upwards.
Trying to stay still, trying to stay quiet, Lenore didn't blink as she stared upwards. Ike was up there, he had to be...gods, what were they doing, just waiting down here? They could've gone and slashed their way through to Ike. They'd all had practice with such things before. Hell, even Len herself wouldn't mind killing a few people, if it meant keeping Malachi safe.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:53 am
And Ike fell through the trap door, hands clawing at the rope around his neck, eyes closed and thrashing wildly.
Björn lunged forward, pushed everyone back against the walls, and placed his hands beneath Ike's feet for some kind of support. He leaned in and whispered to the boy.
"Keep moving. If you don't, they'll look."
Ike looked to him, eyes wide and horrified. All that escaped was a brief choking noise as he continued thrashing, even as he was held.
"I'm going to let go now. Be dead." And he did just that.
Ike slumped, his entire body going limp, and twitched once or twice, then going completely still. A head peered down from above the trap door, and nobody dared move.
There came an insane cheer from the crowd, and the rope fell, sending Ike careening to the stone floor as the trap door closed.
Ike didn't move.
"Ethan. Cut 'im free," Björn whispered.
Rabid and Hellis clung to each other, watching on with bated breath.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:58 am
A scream nearly escaped from Lenore before Julian clapped a hand to her mouth, stifling any noise. She thrashed in surprise, ignoring the small exclamation of pain as she slashed his shoulder.
Drawing a knife from the sheath hidden under his shirt, Ethan cut the rope quickly. The cheering above was repulsive, and his lip curled as he glared upwards.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:00 pm
Björn pulled the rope away and threw it against the wall.
"Hey, Fuzzwad. Sleepyhead. Up and at 'em."
Ike suddenly sat up straight, drawing in a deep, rasping breath.
"Oh, GOD! I thought I was done-for!"
Björn smiled fondly and Rabid leaped forward, clinging to her son and rambling completely incoherently.
"Oh and I thought MY BABY and the bad men and OH GOD DRUGS ARE BAD!" And she shut up, clinging and sobbing into his fur.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:04 pm
Lenore's legs collapsed under her, forcing Julian to catch her to keep her upright and uncovering her mouth. A stream of relieved curses spilled out as a couple tears streaked down her face.
Ethan put the knife away, very stubbornly ignoring the questioning look from Crow and keeping his attention on Ike.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:06 pm
"Okay, Charlotte. Let the boy breathe," Björn nodded and stood, heading out of his man-made 'doors' and pulling his cellphone from hs pocket.
Rabid stood, holding her son's hand, and began to lead him after. Hellis rushed after Björn, clinging desperatly to his arm.
"Well. Care to fill me in?"
Rabid laughed slightly.
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