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 Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:52 pm
Liam stopped for a moment and whistled appreciatively to Crow. He searched around for another magazine and found he was out. He dropped the pistol to the floor and shrugged.
"Oh well!"
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:57 pm
Crow hated her power. All it did was give her headaches and make her break windows whenever she was too upset. But right now, as she crushed a monster's skull until it burst, she decided that the incoming migraine was more than worth it.
Jeddeth, grievously injured but ignorant to it, shielded Rabid with its body and forced its way towards the door, pushing her through the hole Julian had cut.
"Follow him," it said urgently. "Run! Don't come back!"
It covered the hole, shielding her from view as it roared, head splitting open and jaw hanging, tongue writhing.
Julian was gone, but the path was narrow and lead only one way. There was light enough to find the way, and the corridor was mercifully just dull, not foreboding.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 9:59 pm
Rabid, still in hysterics, turned back to see Jeddeth's form one more time before sprinting off, stumbling often, trying to find Julian and, as promised, not going back.
--
Liam stood back, simply watching Crow's...spontaneous-explosion-making. The last time he'd seen this, he'd had to fix all of the windows...
...oh, god, they were all going to die.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:10 pm
Taking as many injuries as she gave, Crow wondered vaguely if she was killing on her own, or if something was forcing her to it again. She had never been able to tell before, there was no reason why she should be able now. As claws raked down her back, cutting her open, she heard herself scream in pain and turn on the creature, and wondered how she knew how to react and marveled at how quickly she killed and moved on.
Julian emerged from the corridor, heart pounding from running so fast, glad no one had been around to see him run into a wall blindly at one point on the trip. Sucking in cold air and coughing at the scorch of salt, he stumbled into a new chamber and paused, squinting in the dim light.
Eyeless sockets in a fleshless face glared back at him, and something bound by chains and surrounded by great boulders of salt shifted.
"You."
---
Untold thousands of miles away, lying on what was now a deathbed, Ethan stirred and jerked awake, sitting up straight. He gave a wheezing gasp, trying to take in a deep breath, eyes wide open.
Lenore, sitting on the floor and trying to read, gave a shriek at the sudden activity.
"...Ethan?" she ventured, more frightened then she was willing to admit.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:14 pm
And there was a sudden explosion of blood as Liam used an enormous rifle that was meant for long-range to pop an abomination in the face from three feet away. He gave a triumphant laugh and backed against a wall, aiming again.
---
Hellis suddenly looked up from where he had been near-sleeping against the arm of the couch, and Björn's head snapped sharply toward Ethan. That was not a good noise.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:22 pm
Soaked in blood, Crow laughed at the sheer horrible absurdity of the situation, and gave a wild cheer as Jeddeth took on five of the creatures at once.
The single word burned in Julian's mind, echoing until he clapped his hands to his ears and tried to block it out. He felt exposed to the bone, stared down by those empty sockets.
"Me," he said, voice faint at first. He took a step forward, and felt a wave of malevolence so strong it made him sick hit him full in the face.
"Unwelcomed," Nahedathal said, voice strong and hollow.
---
Gasping again, Ethan shuddered and slipped onto the floor. He would have crashed had Lenore not dived to catch him.
"Ethan. Ethan. Wake up, c'mon," Len said, cradling him and brushing sweat-soaked hair from his face.
Ethan muttered in a voice that was nothing but a wheeze, one arm rising, reaching out desperately for something only he could see. His body wrenched and he choked, breathing hard and still reaching.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:26 pm
Rabid skidded down a hallway, certain that, by now, Julian was lying in pieces on the...floor?
"Julian?" she asked as she came upon the...bizarre, horrible thing addressing the young man. She took a step forward and went no further.
---
While Hellis watched on in terrified horror, Björn reached forward and cupped a hand to the side of Ethan's face. He had an irking feeling that this would be his last, brief moment of lucidity.
And then his upper lip twitched.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:49 pm
Julian couldn't hear anything outside Nahedathal's voice ringing in his head. He staggered forward another step and gave a cry of pain as a second wave of hatred washed over him.
"What's the matter," he said, voice choked. "Scared?"
The voice shouted fury in his head and Julian fell to his knees, shuddering. The chained corpse, forced into life for untold centuries, glared down at him.
"Slave," it said in that strong, clear voice. "Unfit to crawl before me."
Julian gagged as he breathed in the fine dust of salt floating in the cold air, and pushed himself up. He stood straight, glaring defiance.
"Monster," he said, going forward another step. "Murderer."
---
The touch jarred Ethan back into the here-and-now, and he looked at Björn vaguely, arm dropping. It took a long few moments, but then his face flickered into a very faint smile.
"Konstantin," he said.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 8:37 am
Rabid took another step forward, hugging herself. So bizarre...
---
Björn twitched again and uttered the first word he had since this whole fiasco began.
"No," he said, shaking his head. Hellis actually jarred a bit at the sound of his voice.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:02 pm
The chains rattled and Nahedathal gave a long, painful sigh.
"You wound me," he said with haughty sarcasm. The iron nail in his tongue clicked dolefully against his yellowed teeth. Julian gave a laugh, croaking and wry.
"You're such a ******** piece of s**t," he said conversationally, taking another few painful steps until he was in front of the salt-ring. Every breath burned and he felt increasingly ill. He wiped the blood from his nose contemptuously, and spit at the upright corpse.
"Leave me."
Julian laughed again, clutching the hilt of the Dhev-Anak painfully tight.
"What? You don't want me here?" he asked, feigning astonishment and wincing as the ringing voice in his head grew louder, deafening him. He shook his head to clear it, stepping forward again and resting a foot on a salt-boulder. "Not so tough, when your playthings are broken."
---
The smile faded and Ethan shuddered, eyes flicking over Björn's face. He made a choked sound and suddenly tried to sit up, grabbing hold of Björn's arm.
"I'm not brave enough," he said, voice frantic. "I'm not. I'm sorry."
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:08 pm
Rabied watched on, head cocked to one side. She knew it wouldn't be quite smart to dive in unless Julian hit the ground.
Then she'd gladly run that thing through.
Until then, though...
---
And there was another brief moment of lucidity. Björn looked infinitely sad and cupped a hand to the side of Ethan's face. He studied Ethan a moment, not really knowing what to say.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:21 pm
Nahedathal leered at Julian with those empty sockets, jaw working and lips drawn back. He took a step forward, chains growing taut. His withered body was shaking with rage. Julian, head held erect and standing stiffly, watched him impassively.
"You don't scare me," he said, voice soft. Nahedathal hissed, arms raising and darting out as though to grab Julian by the throat. They were shackled and snapped back, limbs sizzling from iron and salt both. Julian watched with head tilting to one side, and he leaped on top of the boulder.
"C'mon. Come get me. No threats? Not gonna tell me how badly you're going to hurt me? No?" he asked evenly. Nahedathal muttered in Azhumnian and struck out again. Julian was faster, and Nahedathal's severed fingers fell listlessly to the ground, light as dead leaves.
"WRETCH!"
"Oops. I'm sorry, did you need those?"
---
Turning his head and resting it against Björn's hand, Ethan closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He didn't want to die. He really, really did not want to die. He knew with his last breath, he'd just stop. It terrified him.
"I don't want to stop," he said, already weak voice fading further. "I don't want to be nothing."
Ashamed of his fear, he clutched Björn's hand harder and tried not to shake.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:30 pm
Rabid laughed then. Hard. There was nothing to be afraid of. Not only was this man a corpse, he was shackled and surrounded by things meant to keep him in place.
Honestly, what did he expect to be able to do?
She stepped forward, just a bit behind and to the left of Julian, smiling smugly.
---
Björn laughed slightly, caressing the side of Ethan's face with his thumb. Poor kid.
"You won't be nothing," he said, head tilting to one side and eyes going brilliantly wet, "I swear to you, there's something after this." He looked over and, with his free hand, pressed the crucifix on Ethan's rosary into his hand.
Hellis had moved up, clinging desperately to Len and crying silently.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:50 pm
Nahedathal, seething in purest outrage, gave a long shriek and reached for Julian yet again. Julian, his mind seeming to have broken cleanly in two some time ago, slashed the knife across the corpse's face.
"For every single life you made me take," he said, voice still calm and even to counter his wild movements. "Sehletah. You made me burn it. All those PEOPLE-"
His voice broke suddenly and with a laugh that was half a sob he slashed at Nahedathal again and again.
"ALL THOSE PEOPLE!" he roared. "For WHAT?"
Nahedathal, finding himself suddenly short limbs and sporting new holes, shrieked and tried to fight back. Julian laughed hysterically.
"It hurts you. It HURTS YOU," he crowed. "Tell me how much it hurts! Beg me to stop! COME ON! You love it when they beg, don't you?"
Nahedathal roared, grabbing hold of Julian and burying his yellowed fangs into his shoulder. Julian cried out in pain and acted swiftly, angling the Dhev-Anak upwards and shoving it through aged flesh into Nahedathal's withered heart. The corpse screamed, writhing in his chains and grasping wildly for the Dhev-Anak as Julian swung it in a wide arc, slicing it cleanly through Nahedathal's neck. His head flew from his shoulders, crashing onto the salted ground and smashing apart.
Julian, suddenly dazed and looking strangely young and rattled, backed away, tripping over the salt-ring and bumping into Rabid.
The room was dead silent.
"Too...too easy..."
His words were affirmed as brilliant white fire began to tinder on the limp body. Julian stared, bewildered.
"Essssht yaa em'sei ********. ******** fire reduced the body to embers, fighting free of its iron bindings. It was roughly humanoid in shape, and Julian could have kicked himself for being so stupid. Without a body to contain it, Nahedathal's spirit was free. And it made a beeline straight towards Julian, fiery maw opened wide as though to swallow him whole.
Julian didn't even think. He just moved. Rabid was right beside him, and he realized quite vividly that if this didn't work, her last thoughts were probably going to be about how much of an idiot he was. The Dhev-Anak shifted in his grip and he took a stance like a batter, swinging the long-bladed dagger and catching the flaming monstrosity down the middle. It cut the thing cleanly in two, and Nahedathal gave a last long, terrible scream before the flames of his spirit simply guttered out.
Julian had time to laugh in disbelief before he staggered, buckled and fell to the ground.
---
Clutching the rosary, breath growing shallow, Ethan's head had lolled to one side. His eyes were nearly closed when a sudden jolt shook his body, and his eyes rolled back into his head.
Lenore managed a strangled sob, clutching Hellis and giving into her cowardice again, unable to watch.
Ethan sputtered, coughing, and suddenly his back arched.
And white fire began to tinder and trail off his skin.
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:56 pm
Rabid simply stared a moment, and then grinned. She dropped to her knees beside Julian and hugged him. Hard.
"My big valiant Julian~"
---
Hellis buried his face in Lenore's shoulder, teeth gritted as he sobbed. He didn't want to watch anyone die any more, let alone anyone he liked.
Björn drew a hiss through gritted teeth and pulled his hand away. Now, he didn't know much about humans or body-invasive creatures, but white fire really didn't seem to fit. He simply sat there, freezing and hoping this wasn't the be all end all.
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