《Stasis Shatter》


 Chapter 1: This Wasnt Supposed to Happen!

    The Echoes of Aethra


    Part 1: Stasis Shatter


    ~


    I am but a lone grain of sand astray from the hourglass¡­


    Searching, in pain, knowing the sand is concealed, I struggle¡­


    In the dark, I find pebbles.


    Those pebbles become akin to me.


    Amidst the pebbles is a ruby, pure as snow.


    As the hourglass went, my time was with these stones¡­


    Then time slipping, they turned, one by one¡­


    I was soon alone, and all my soul knew was pain, and that ruby¡­


    That ruby kept me sane...


    and caused more pain than the pebbles ever could¡­


    I finally came to see, with anger absorbing my being¡­


    I was meant to be alone, for my true kin are in that hour surrounded by glass¡­


    One day, when I pass, I shall be with my fellow grains of sand¡­


    For the hourglass itself tells me to go on¡­


    And one day I shall be back within¡­


    Where I belong¡­


    My friends, this I swear to you, within or without¡­


    History resetting, eternity of the spinning hourglass!


    Fight! Survive! For time has an end, though my own hourglass spins! An infinite resetting of a clock!


    Please, do not stop! Please, my precious time, do not stop!


    God, my Lord, allow me to make it, allow me to cross!


    I implore thee, Lord, allow me to make it in time!


    Faith must be held.


    Held as that glass holds time¡­


    I will find you, this has been sworn!


    It has also been wept¡­


    Please, my friends. Please, become those diamonds that pale the ruby and slow the flow of sand!


    The flow of time¡­


    Endless has the emptiness been.


    Comforting has been that ruby.


    Please, again I beg, my friends¡­ my diamonds¡­


    I am coming.


    The ruby dims, though in the darkness¡­.


    My God, can it be?


    In the darkness¡­


    My diamonds begin to shine, calling me forward!


    A tear is shed, followed by dozens, so heavy they are, the hourglass slows.


    My tears or theirs? What could it be but both, for they wet the sand and slow the very flow of time!


    Finally it has begun. Finally this void can fill. Finally I am not alone! Finally these wounds can heal!


    I have found you!


    ~the Grains of Time


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    * * *


    This SO isn¡¯t happening!


    Sprinting, running, broken damn sidewalk; Oh fuck! His foot caught briefly causing a mild stumble, though fortunately his forward momentum kept him going, well, forward. Good thing too, because the Doberman chasing him was large, and faster than shit. Balance recovered, his sprint increased in speed, but now what? I¡¯m about at the end of the street! the boy yelled in his own thoughts, as if it would give him some random idea. Think, think¡­ Great, end of the sidewalk, and unless he wanted to go straight across the street and up the Rock, it was left or right. Dammit! Left! His feet actually skid before the traction hit as he tried to slow for the turn. Adrenaline pumping, he turned left and saw the rabid thing a half block back out the corner of his eye. With another mental curse and his legs pounding pavement, he increase his sprint.


    No hesitation, he crossed the street. No cars! Woot! Running straight across the sidewalk on the neighboring side of Cowlitz Drive, and without a look back, he kept his sprint up the small grassy hill that climbed at a grade that slowed him slightly. Doberdick drool-snarled closer behind than he cared for.


    Hitting the top, his panic-induced energy blast rocketed him a bit faster than intended. Clearing the small flat grassy area in a flash, he was already at the downslope on the other side of the hill, so he instinctively jumped. OH SHIT! The downgrade on this side was quite steep, and much farther down than the side he had run up.


    Landings never as graceful as they were in comics and anime, his forward momentum lessened the impact, though it did send him into a violent tumble, before he somehow managed a shoulder roll back to his feet. A quick glance back showed the dog still running and almost down the hill, causing him to give a quick silent prayer his stamina would hold until something, anything, helped out here.


    Though a prayer for greater intellect may be needed¡­ for why he had just jumped into the large open field near the grade school, he wasn¡¯t quite sure. Could be stupidity. Random chance. Anything really. What he did know was that in a sprint through a grassy field this big, versus a canine, he was going to lose.


    Caleb took of running. Again. There was no way he could lose this S.O.B. before it got its teeth in him. Literally.


    This is SO actually happening!


    Then, ahead of him on the other side of the -still seemingly infinite- clearing, he saw a welcomed sight: a Castle Rock cop car. Honestly though, the initial reaction was akin to, oh shit, the cops! But only for the briefest of moments. Who doesn¡¯t clench their cheeks a little when they see a cop? But the silhouette standing next to the cruiser, and not the badge that he wore, was a very comforting sight indeed; rifle aimed directly at Caleb, or to be more precise, just past him at the dog that was quickly gaining.


    Caleb started to cheer, abruptly ending in a flinch, as he felt -FELT!!!- the bullet pass his left arm, hitting the grass. The second shot resulted in a yelp and wet thump. Caleb ran on a bit more before looking over his shoulder, to see the dog in a heap, appearing quite dead.


    Stopping to catch his breath, hands on hips, he leaned forward, gasping, laughing, and spitting dirt. After catching his breath, he turned and started walking ever so slowly towards Stryker.


    Realizing his left butt cheek hurt like hell, he started rubbing it instead of limping, making his way towards the far end of the field, where the officer still stood, rifle in hand.


    As he was getting closer to the cop, Caleb heard him bitching loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t just leave the carcass out there!¡± and ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me!¡± He ignored him the entire way, then flopped his tall skinny frame facedown over the trunk of the patrol cruiser. ¡°Dude, your aim sucks horribly. And I¡¯m starving,¡± he complained, then pushed himself back up to standing, and turned around to face Stryker.


    Stryker (Real name being Francis Chloe Stricksent, one can see why a nickname) was a cop. Not a very good one policy-wise, but an amazing one as far as the town and citizens were concerned. The girls probably loved him because of the middle-aged, boy band, pretty boy thing he had going on. His short-cut, naturally colored, bleached blond hair seemed to spike itself. His sorta metro-looking, movie star type of face was popular with the ladies. Guys liked him because he never wimped out, wasn''t a dick, or the bitchy type of pretty boy he appeared to be at first glance.


    Officer Stricksent was also an all-around good cop, giving breaks and breaking his ass for the community, sacrificing his own personal time and inherited wealth for the town, and risking his neck for others.


    Living alone, he became known at twenty one, when he inherited his wealthy parents¡¯ estate, and promptly donated everything except for enough money to buy a small house, and live the rest of his life happily. When he chose to go to the police academy to serve the town he had given his fortune to, it made national headlines. He wasn¡¯t doing it for any real reasons other than that¡¯s just how he was. He had more money than he needed, so had given it to the community he chose to make his home. He also had more time than he needed, so chose to use it protecting that home.


    Stryker was also known for doing the things no one does anymore, like helping little old ladies cross the street, or rescuing a cat from a tree. The latter had resulted in an uploaded internet video of him doing such, going viral and cementing his position as a police officer. For the world was so impressed with seeing a uniformed officer climbing a tree to get some kid¡¯s cat, that to fire him would be political suicide. Never a complaint, aside from the ¡®all policy and no brains¡¯ administration and co-workers, as well as the few like-minded spread throughout town. Stryker stayed humble, and kept an outstanding service record through and through.


    Well¡­ as far as they knew. But sometimes you gotta break the law to do what was right. At least that¡¯s what the officer told himself as he continuously covered for Caleb and his friends.


    Currently, Stryker looked sorta bitchy. Caleb wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. ¡°Dammit, Caleb! Now I gotta walk all the way out there!¡± he whined. Turning away, he suddenly whirled back, looking flustered, and tossed the rifle into the vehicle through the open window. After stalking out a bit into the field, he stopped and then returned.


    Trying not to laugh, Caleb watched the (actually quite ditsy) officer retrieve the gloves and large sack he had forgotten in the trunk in order to get the dead dog properly. This time Stryker seemed to stomp as he headed back out to the Doberman¡¯s corpse.


    Caleb just raised an eyebrow, since Stryker didn¡¯t volunteer speech as he returned with gloves on, sack over shoulder like a Santa of evil doggy meat. Walking to the back of the cruiser and dropping the bag with a flop on the gravel road, ¡°You look like a moron.¡± was all he said as he shooed the boy from the trunk he leaned on, eyebrow still raised like an idiot.


    ¡°Y¡¯know, Stryker¡­¡± Caleb began, finally relaxing and allowing himself a lazy stretch, as the cop opened the trunk of his old patrol cruiser and put the sack and gloves inside. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m grateful and all, but why exactly did you just happen to be here?¡± Not even seeming to acknowledge or register the boy had spoken, Stryker closed the trunk and returned to the driver¡¯s seat. Starting the car, he backed up to align the passenger side window with Caleb. ¡°Get in. Was looking for ya.¡± Caleb sighed at the non-answer and reached for the back door, but Stryker stopped him. ¡°Your giant ass is too squished back there. You may be fifteen, but you¡¯re like seven feet-¡±


    ¡°Six-three.¡±


    "-tall or something. Just ride up front. We ain¡¯t going far anyway, not like someone¡¯s gonna see and bitch. The whole town knows you kids use me like a taxi.¡±


    Caleb marveled at Stryker¡¯s ability to just ignore everything around him.


    He got in and buckled his seatbelt, as Stryker put the cruiser in gear and started forward. The A/C had been up quite high apparently, and the cool air felt amazing as it blew the young boy¡¯s short enough to spike, yet fluffy, light brown hair. The blasting vent of deliciously cold air, combined with the sound of the gravel crunching under the tires as Stryker turned the car around, was the exact lullaby he needed after his sprint on this ridiculously hot April day. And just like that, eyes closed, he began to melt away¡­


    ¡°Besides¡­¡± Stryker started to speak out of nowhere, startling Caleb ¡°¡­even if someone wanted to bitch, I could always just explain the situation. Y¡¯know, the dog trying to eat you and all that.¡± The boy decided he needed to teach Stryker the difference in asking a question and making a statement.


    Around the time they turned off the gravel road near the grade school and back onto asphalt, Caleb decided to ask again, why the cop had been looking for him. ¡°WHY WERE YOU LOOKING FOR ME?¡± he asked in a very loud voice, causing Stryker to run a stop sign. ¡°Why are you guys so obnoxious, anyway? Only one of you that isn¡¯t is Bryan,¡± the cop grumbled. Then with a sigh, added, ¡°He is boring as hell though.¡± Stryker was still obliviously (or intentionally; so hard to tell) not answering the damn question! Caleb¡¯s dramatically slow eye-roll gave Stryker time to continue before a berating. ¡°Well, guess Ally isn¡¯t too bad, just lewd. Which is bad enough... Pazely on the other hand, now SHE¡¯S obnoxious!¡± His eyebrows had risen quite high with that last, as if he was accentuating the point.


    Continuing on from a stop sign he had actually managed to stop at, it seemed Stryker was heading towards the boy¡¯s house. It was only a few blocks from the grade school. ¡°Stryker,¡± Caleb started, slow and deliberate, making sure to pronounce each syllable, ¡°I know this may be hard for you, but I am trying to get you to answer a question. And if you don''t, I''m going to jump out and make you look for me again.¡± Caleb was staring at the side of Stryker¡¯s head, who continued looking straight forward as he pulled into the tiny driveway, and drove into the fenced-in yard, before putting the car into park and saying, ¡°Because she¡¯s back, and really annoying, and nagged me into finding you.¡± Stryker then pointed straight ahead out the windshield, finally turning to give Caleb an annoying inside-secret smirk.


    Puzzled, but following the pointing finger, the sight Caleb saw standing, hands on hips, was one he hadn¡¯t seen in almost a year. Hadn¡¯t seen a picture nor heard her voice. Not so much as a scrap of info on how she had been. Not ever, not in a thousand years, could or would he not know her immediately. He was more shocked than nervous, before a happiness that almost made him want to cry washed over him. Grinning from ear to ear, taking a deep breath through his nose, ¡°Pazely,¡± he quietly exhaled. Rushing out of the cruiser, slipping and near falling in the gravel, and looking like a derp, not even bothering to close the car door, he hurried to where she stood near his back porch.


    Pazely hadn¡¯t changed much. Actually, even though she should be pushing thirteen, she looked identical in size to when he saw her last. Even then, she had looked much smaller and younger than her years. Hell, she always had! This July 4th born little firecracker appeared more a child than a teenager.


    Her crazy, long, thick, black so deep he swore it had blue in it hair, It was pulled into twintails, slightly too high on her head, cascading all the way down to her calves, no, to her ankles! That was way longer than it was a year ago! And my God, it was so much thicker! Each twintail had what appeared to be a freshly picked rhododendron flower, a white on the left, pink on the right, both quite large (making her slightly big ears which were exposed, seem delicate and tiny in comparison) and pretty, attached to the hair bands binding each tail.


    Hands on her tiny hips, right one popped to the side, she was wearing black dance shorts with ¡®pixie¡¯ emblazoned on the front right. Belly showing under a deep purple, oversized shirt, which had been ripped near the bottom of the rib cage to look shorter. The once long sleeves also ripped to be short, now hung off one shoulder, exposing the small black sports bra she wore underneath. Not that she was really in need of one with that small frame of hers¡­


    Pazely¡¯s deep blue, large, yet still very Asian eyes, tried to look composed. Her pouting mouth forced into a frown.


    She willed not to show nerves. She tried to look casual with an exaggerated head toss and nose upturn, as she tsundered in a way only she could. ¡°Harrumph! How DARE you make me wait so long!¡± Paze chirped in a deceptively soft voice, as he ran to her. ¡°I mean JEEZ! It¡¯s been like-¡± and her composure broke in a squeal of surprise when he reached her and lifted her in a twirling, laughing, hug.


    Not even five feet tall, the tiny Japanese girl¡¯s bare feet dangled, his arms wrapped around her torso in a hug she couldn¡¯t escape. His arms felt so good. She had missed him so much. So very, very much.


    Pazely, unable to keep up the casual act after this last hellish year (Finally¡­ finally¡­ I made it home!) threw her own arms (which he had managed to not pin in his hug) and legs around him, and wailed loud enough to be heard on the moon, ¡°CALEB!!! I missed you!!!¡± though it was barely intelligible over her racking sobs and borderline screams. The laughing mixed in said enough though, and the words weren¡¯t needed.


    They had all always been together, for as long as any of them could remember. Caleb, Pazely, Ally, and Bryan, all growing up in the tiny town of Castle Rock, Washington. The four of them with uptight, clueless, or absent parents. Each of them better off taking care of themselves.


    Castle Rock wasn¡¯t very big, nor were the minds or goals of those calling it home. Nestled in the Cowlitz Valley on the banks of the Cowlitz River, built around the Rock (a large mountainous mass of rock, dirt, and trees, mistaken as a castle by early settlers) and at the start of the road leading up to historic Mount Saint Helens, Castle Rock was old. And behind. So close to city, yet so far that it felt like its own little world. And all four of them loved their hometown more than any town they could ever imagine.


    It was home. It was life. It was happy.


    So why were they, always somewhere inside¡­ so empty? So¡­ missing something?


    All of them went to the small dance studio in town. Bryan and Caleb were the only males at the studio, and not bad dancers. Ally and Pazely were both absolutely magnificent dancers, both with their own special talent; Ally with the technical side, and Pazely with her hip-hop. Those two traits, they were ridiculously gifted at. Everything else, they were only awesome. The girls¡¯ respective freestyle videos (as well as videos of them in class, and recital) were some of the more popular videos of dancers on social media. I mean, where else could they be seen? Competitions? With their parents?! HAH!


    All four got straight As in public school. None could do sports; parents refused. None got to ever have a vacation; parents didn¡¯t wanna. None got to take extra classes, nor even had college funds; parents didn¡¯t really give a shit. Dancing? They started that without their parents knowing. After some local media attention from some charity-related work tied to the studio, their parents had to continue to allow it. Though never getting to leave, never getting allowances (aside from Bryan), never getting attention, meant no competitions.


    And that was the catalyst that took Pazely from them.


    Ally was the only one of the group to get vacations, as she had relatives in California with money that traveled often. Those relatives (an aunt and uncle) had two young daughters who were all over the dance scene, hitting master classes casually as visiting a movie, competitions like they were attending school. Ally and Pazely wanted to compete so badly that the four kids staged a group sneak out -runaway- and took a bus to L.A.


    Everything was fine in the beginning. Both girls got first in their categories, Ally taking first overall with her solo, Pazely taking second with hers.


    Caleb and Bryan had a duo, which they placed first in, but didn¡¯t make it in the top overalls. Ally¡¯s cousins cleaned house in their respective division, though no placing overall numbers.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They were heroes! Sure, it was a smaller competition, but they had kicked serious ass! They rocked it!


    Then everything went to shit.


    Two days after the competition, they had missed their bus because a guy tried to assault Ally. Caleb saved her, and beat the would-be rapist unconscious. The four of them ran when the cops were coming; out of fear of being caught by their parents, not out of a legal fear. What had they done wrong?


    Not three hours later, Bryan and Ally got arrested, and maced for no apparent reason. Pazely and Caleb managed to get away. However, the cops actually shot at them. Their dramatic encounter with the police told the four that something was seriously wrong. Why were they the ones being treated like criminals?!


    Ally, being the fearless, defiant fireball that she is, instigated (and succeeded with) an escape from custody for her and Bryan. All four of them, resourceful and smart, got back together that same evening, without a phone call exchanged. Ally, still burning, proposed and made a plan to walk back home.


    It was a -massive understatement- pain in the ass, but they made it back, and headed straight to Stryker¡¯s property on the edge of town.


    Stryker is one of the most awesome adults ever! He gave them shelter without question, and got them pizza, letting them crash there safely, without telling their parents, while he looked into what had happened to them.


    Turned out (unbeknownst to the four) the wannabe rapist died from the beating. That, and he was the son of an influential family, with -alleged- organized crime ties. That was all that it took for cops to start a manhunt for the four ¡®murderers¡¯ which were explained to them in great detail by a single witness (a young Mexican girl, who later they could never relocate for further questioning) immediately following the deadly beating.


    Apparently, the kids never been identified. Miraculously, nobody¡¯s face was on a camera, no matches on prints, no positive identification was ever made. Inexplicably, they had made a clean escape! Stryker concocted a story about them running away and staying in the woods, and pleaded with Reba and Miss Terra at the studio to please go along with it. Those two weren¡¯t as clueless as most, truly cared about the kids, and couldn¡¯t give a shit about their ¡®perfect¡¯ parents. Stryker also chose to keep the details of the event to himself, not wanting any of them to carry the burden of causing someones death.


    As for their parent''s reactions: Caleb¡¯s dad (his mom died not long after he was born) was absolutely furious, and grounded him. Which was all pointless, since he wasn''t ever there to enforce it.


    Bryan¡¯s were sorta¡­ lax. He barely got a slap on the wrist for running away. Being gone for well over a month was just a, ¡°Ha ha ha, kid thing¡±. They were nice, but would probably smile and offer you cookies even if you stabbed them in the face.


    Ally¡¯s parents were fire and brimstone Catholics; wailing about imaginary sins type. Like why she, ¡°Wants to go to Hell so bad?¡± and, ¡°How she could do this to them? Why was her soul so evil?¡± and tons of random other shit. All resulting in being punished by their priest, who made her do penance in the nude. As irritated as she was at getting the only lolicon priest, she was also glad he was old, and she could kick his scrawny ass. So he kept his distance and just¡­ watched.


    Pazely, on the other hand had the worst luck of all. Her parents were very meek. Traditional, but strict. So when her father beat her bloody, before keeping her locked in her room for days, feeding her plain rice and water, and a bucket to go to the restroom in¡­ Well, it was more than a bit shocking and unexpected. This was ridiculously out of character. Her parents were normally just busy! Absent and closed-minded to the extreme! Dad at the office, mom in the kitchen. Dad in his perfectly ironed suit, mom in her flawless and beautiful apron.


    Eventually, she returned to school looking like she had lost a street fight. For some reason, the school didn¡¯t care, and Paze refused to talk about it, so her friends respected her. She healed, and things seemed normal again¡­ until June rolled around. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Pazely had vanished.


    Stryker managed to use his connections to find out her parents had shipped her to some special boarding school in Utah. Unfortunately, that was all he could find, his inquiries quickly shut down. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but was threatened with the loss of his job by the chief and the city council if he didn¡¯t stop. So he had.


    It was hard truth, but at least they knew she was alive and safe.


    Now April, it felt to Caleb like a lifetime had passed. And she was finally home. Exactly -mostly- as he remembered her!


    Composing himself, setting her down, and skillfully hiding his tears until he wiped them away, he looked at her from arm¡¯s length. She was grinning and sniffling with that exaggerated cry only Pazely did, that was somehow so adorable, yet so sad. ¡°How are you?! You look great! When did you get home?!¡± Caleb said, grinning and a bit flustered, resting his hand on her head. This resulted in her ceasing her tears like they were never there. Clenching her fists and closing her eyes tight, she rubbed her head into his palm. Caleb smiled to himself, then said, ¡°You know, I think you got even more cute somehow.¡±


    Blushing, ¡°Of course! I¡¯m more cute than ever!¡± she chirped, stepping back to look up at him defiantly. ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll be even cuter than today!¡± Stepping back farther, she turned away with a head toss, attempting to look casual, but appearing melodramatic instead. Trying to hide her blush, she stayed facing away. But when Pazely blushed, her entire body turned red, and the exposed small of her back was the color of a tomato.


    Caleb being a male and noticing her body a bit lower than the small of her back caused the blush to go unnoticed. He did better notice the flowers in her hair though, as he looked her up and down. Not that he was checking out Pazely; it was just a guy thing to look a cute girl over, friend or otherwise. /not like he was lingering his eyes anywhere...


    ¡°Like the flowers,¡± he led, suddenly feeling embarrassed himself. Pazely put a hand to them with a puzzled look as if just realizing they were there. Then, eyes widened, ¡°OH!¡± she squealed and spun back around as she remembered their existence. ¡°Aren¡¯t they COOL? Bryan made them!¡± she answered in her noisy way, plucking one from her hair, holding it out to show him. ¡°See? Has these little vial thingies you put the stem in, then seal it. The chemicals keep it all, like, preserved or something.¡± Her super serious way of talking made Caleb feel nostalgic as he took the flower barrette from her extended hand.


    Then what she said sank in. ¡°Wait, Bryan? Bryan¡¯s been able to contact you?¡± he asked, looking up from the tiny, translucent green tube attached to the flower. Luckily, Pazely was quicker than she appeared. ¡°No, no, no,¡± she frowned, shaking her head. ¡°Don¡¯t be a dumbass! I found him first cuz I was looking for you.¡± She frowned again and sighed, realizing it made little sense. Then, with another sigh, she lowered her eyes. ¡°Wanted to see you first, but you weren¡¯t anywhere,¡± she confessed in a small, sad voice.


    With a sudden smirk, Paze raised her eyes to meet Caleb¡¯s, and they twinkled. ¡°I climbed in his window that he still never locks, and he was gaming with his headphones on.¡± To that, she burst into furious giggling, snorting twice, though she didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°When he saw my reflection in the screen,¡± she said, still giggling a little, ¡°he screamed louder than ME!!¡± Her last word was practically screamed, and she was now cackling.


    Caleb smiled. Poor Bryan, so stoic and calm, yet somehow every time Pazely managed a startle, you would think Hell itself had come for him. Amusing to no end, yet you couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed for him. Good lord! His freaking expression when he screamed in startled terror! And with that, Caleb was now cackling as well.


    ..¡­ *crack* ...


    What was that noise? Caleb thought, feeling a wave of dizziness.


    ¡°Hate to interrupt you two, but we should be going,¡± Stryker casually said from his driver¡¯s side window, A/C up so high his hair was blowing in it. Those cheesy sunglasses, plus the whole cop thing, made him look like a ridiculous stereotype. It suited him. Wait, what? ¡°Get going where?¡± Caleb inquired. ¡°To dance, duh!¡± Pazely chirped as she hopped past. Why go to dance? Frowning, he followed the bouncing girl towards the cruiser. ¡°There¡¯s no class today. It¡¯s Sunday.¡±


    Pazely was now glaring at the backseat with a scrunched frown. ¡°It¡¯s not Sunda- ew, is that poop?¡± she whined the last, and pointed through the back window. ¡°It¡¯s clean, and no I don¡¯t have no fucking poop chilling in the back of my car,¡± Stryker said without turning around, seeming more than a bit offended. ¡°No one¡¯s pooped, peed or puked in it in months, actually,¡± he declared proudly, as Caleb got in the passenger¡¯s side. ¡°This is still so disgusting,¡± the tiny Asian complained, thankfully quietly, as she too climbed in, though a bit more hesitantly than Caleb.


    All of them inside, seated and buckled, Caleb still confused, they headed out towards the studio.


    ¡­ *cra~ck* ....


    It was odd how quiet everyone was, though Caleb figured it was just happiness from a homecoming. Everyone sorta speechless, they just sat looking out the windows as they drove to the studio. Caleb was a bit curious what that noise was he had heard twice now, though dismissed it without too much thought.


    Castle Rock wasn¡¯t large, but it was still a town. And most towns had some type of nice neighborhood. In small Castle Rock it was the heights, the only hills in the town, on the other side of the train tracks. Their dance studio, the Jester¡¯s Edge Dance Academy, was located in this neighborhood.


    Stryker turned left into the gravel driveway of the Jester¡¯s Edge. Miss Terra hated boring studios and names, so hers sounded and looked flashy. The trees grew around the lot and building, making a perfect shield from any nearby roads or properties. Beautiful flowerbeds lined the lot, one in front of each parking space. There were fruit trees all along a small hillside on the east side of the lot, behind and across from where Stryker pulled the cruiser to a stop. Looking out the window, Caleb sighed at the giant rainbow-colored building. It was shaped a lot like a church (in fact it had been, then remodeled into the studio), though it looked more like some creepy cult¡¯s hangout.


    Directly above the huge, glass front doors was an image of a court jester. Primarily blue, purple, and white colors on his clothes, he was on a skateboard doing some type of stunt, or trick, or something. None of them really skated, nor did the studio have anything to do with skateboarding¡­


    And directly under the six foot or so high image, in the middle doorway, stood Ally.


    Ally. Was. Gorgeous.


    A good bit taller than the tiny Pazely, though not exactly considered tall herself, the slender, petite, blonde-haired beauty queen made her way hopping and skipping, hands clasped at the small of her back, to the cruiser that they sat in. Her hair hung just past her shoulders, powder blue eyes constantly seemed a bit devious, all the more so currently as she smiled those delicate pink lips through the back window at Pazely.


    When Paze kept ignoring her and recoiling, Ally kissed the glass. Not missing her chance, Pazely punched the window hard, causing it to move just enough to bash into the pretty blonde¡¯s teeth.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t break the window!¡± Stryker snapped at her as she opened the door that Ally had now backed away from. Ally had stepped back a bit farther, and checked her lip for blood with her fingers, barely fazed, it would seem. Then Caleb realized that Pazely had changed pants. She was wearing -very nice fitting- jeans. The hell? Why did she change in the back? He hadn¡¯t even heard her moving around.


    Oh crap, he had forgotten to change at home! ¡°Shit, my dance clothes,¡± he said with a sigh. ¡°What about them?¡± Stryker asked, sounding puzzled and looking at the boy¡¯s attire. Caleb wasn¡¯t sure why, and when he looked at himself, he saw that he was in his dance sweats, a t-shirt, and had his sneakers on, dance bag was even at his feet. ¡°The fuck?¡± he asked no one, royally confused. Stryker ignored him, and leaned back in his seat, messing with the heater. Whoa, wait, the heater? And that¡¯s when Caleb noticed it was cloudy, and that he also had a windbreaker on. Perhaps he should just get out of the car and stretch, try to help clear his head. Everything and nothing seemed to be making sense at the moment.


    ¡°What the hell do you want, slut?!¡± Pazely sneered at Ally, kicking her door shut with one leg like a horse. Ally¡¯s smile seemed sincere, and she put hands on hips. ¡°I just missed you, gawd.¡± Ally rolled her eyes. ¡°You see me all the time!¡± Paze told her, sounding like she was issuing a warning. ¡°You always going to be so violent when I express my love?¡± Ally purred. The way she wiggled her hips as she walked towards Pazely made her jean shorts ride in all the right (or possibly wrong) places. Her white and gold, silver-trimmed sports bra seemed terrifyingly small to Pazely then. Not to mention those shorts. ¡°B-b-back OFF!¡± She clawed at the taller girl¡¯s amazing belly, and missed as Ally just swayed away.


    Trying to make sense of things, and not phased by his friends antics, Caleb got out of the car. The weather had seriously changed. Was more like fall than the beautiful spring day it was less than an hour ago.


    Pazely began shrieking like a banshee, throwing kicks and punches at Ally, who tauntingly kept making slutty teasing faces as she dodged. Stryker did not get how did the girls could jump and skid around in gravel like that with bare feet.


    ¡°Good God, Ally, do you have to make her so screechy,¡± the officer complained (prompting a harrumphed and squeaky, ¡°Screechy?!¡± out of Pazely) out his rolled down window. No longer screeching, Pazely glared at Stryker. ¡°She says I don¡¯t have boobs!¡± Pazely whined at the cop, pointing a finger back at Ally, who was trying to look innocent. ¡°Aren¡¯t you like a year older than her or something?¡± Stryker asked Ally in the mirror. ¡°More or less,¡± Ally answered him. ¡°Okay,¡± Stryker continued, ¡°then you being older, should be the one being teased for having no boobs.¡±


    Caleb¡¯s eyes widened in terror from where he now stood, frozen passenger door in his hand, as he had been about to close it. Perhaps this is why Stryker is single.


    ¡°No boobs?¡± asked Ally, quiet and calm. Pazely seemed to have a sense of doom; without even laughing, she began scooting out of the way. Great, Caleb thought, this scorn thing Ally had going on¡­ Looking around the parking lot, he was grateful for the sight of Bryan off to the side, tying his bike to a tree. Caleb closed the car door and headed that way, more than happy to leave the scary situation behind.


    While Caleb headed over to Bryan, Ally went for the more silent kill. ¡°No boobs? Well then, officer¡­¡± Ally said, stepping in front of his rolled down window. ¡°What might you call these?¡± And with that, she pulled her sports bra back.


    Bra back down, Ally turned with a smug grin. A grin that was hiding her disgust with herself. She was a bit ashamed of flashing Stryker, yet hadn''t thought twice. She knew it was because she needed a man she respected to see her. Ally knew he didn''t think of her that way, Stryker wasn''t that kind of man. But she was pretty, and he was straight. Was just the way men were. They got flustered, or feral.


    A desire went through her, and she almost lost her grin. She was disgusting. Filthy. If Caleb knew the truth about her... The things she... And who she... who she had...


    Catching up to Pazely, who was eyeing her cautiously, Ally looked back and saw Caleb and Bryan were headed over now. ¡°Surprised she listened,¡± Ally stated absentmindedly, an odd note to her voice. ¡°Huh, who?¡± Pazely asked, confused as the boys neared them. ¡°Hmm? Oh," her happy confident demeanor returned, "I told Gigi to wait inside and she did,¡± Ally answered, not really paying much attention. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Pazely screeched. ¡°GREAT!¡± she threw both hands in the air with the second screech.


    ¡°The hell?¡± Caleb asked her as they reached them, feeling a bit awkward as people were looking out the doors and windows because of the screaming. ¡°Annoying sluts and annoying children!¡± was the snapped explanation, as if that explained anything. Caleb looked to Ally, with a ¡®The hell is she talking about?¡¯ look. ¡°I was saying that I was surprised Gigi listened to me,¡± Ally smiled in reply.


    ¡°Geeg is here?¡± Caleb grinned to Ally, who smiled back bigger and nodded, visibly confused at his reaction. Pazely started hissing. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s wrong with Gigi? She¡¯s adorable!¡± Caleb admonished the girl, who seemed to throw a sigh at him. ¡°Yeah, adorable if you like goofy-looking onions with big teeth that smell like PEE!¡± Again with the screaming. Caleb just rolled his eyes ¡°But, she¡¯s an adorable little onion head! And she isn¡¯t a baby anymore, y¡¯know? She¡¯s what, four¡­ five?¡± Caleb hesitated, looking at Ally. ¡°Six,¡± she answered him quizzically. ¡°See?¡± Caleb said, completely missing the very clear confusion in his friends voice and expression. ¡°She¡¯s not a baby!¡± he lectured, and Pazely flipped him off, then stomped away.


    ¡°Well, this should be a long day,¡± Bryan finally sighed, from where he stood next to Caleb. He was tall at six feet, though dwarfed by his friend of the same age. Everything about Bryan said generic. Short brown hair. Normal skin quality. Faded hazel eyes. Flat, bored-sounding voice. He always wore jeans and t-shirts, with white sneakers. His glasses never seemed to fit, and were always boring wire-rimmed, lab geek looking things.


    Where this boy shined was his intellect. Caleb honestly believed Bryan may be the smartest person on Earth. He seemed to lack in the common sense department at times, but they all did here and there. The only reason Bryan probably wasn¡¯t in some lab working for the government was because his parents were too lax to give the boy chances and opportunities.


    Good thing that¡¯s exactly how Bryan wanted them to stay. Boring, as some would call it. A pointless existence. He would always prefer the freedom to explore the unknown and study the unexplainable, at his own whims. Fancy schools and government jobs meant boring work, schedules, co-workers, regular paychecks¡­ Bryan wanted freedom. He could make his own money, when and how he needed. You couldn¡¯t buy the life he wanted, but you could live it. Bryan was happy, though he didn¡¯t always seem it to those around him. Luckily, the ones around who mattered most, he knew already understood. For they were the best friends anyone, anywhere, could ever have.


    Stryker began backing the cruiser out, and suddenly Ally, with a slight flush to her cheeks, and avoiding eye contact, held up her right hand. Both boys looked to her curiously, as she turned to away towards the studio. Ally suddenly held up three fingers.


    Now two. Caleb was curious. One.


    The sound of Stryker managing to get sideswiped by not one, but two cars at once as he failed to look before pulling out of the driveway, was pretty dramatic.


    Ally¡¯s one finger slowly went down, and her hips picked up the sway, she triumphantly headed into the studio, her unseen smile of vindication and guilt, contrasted with eyes full of guilt and shame.


    Caleb and Bryan exchange confused looks, as the cop got out unhurt, and was apologizing profusely to the other uninjured drivers. With a shrug, the boys walked to the studio doors, and went inside.


    ¡­ *cRAck* ¡­ *snap* ¡­ ¡­ *crack-POP-snap* ¡­ *creak*¡­.


    Entering the decent sized lobby, Caleb was shocked to see it completely packed. Looking back out the glass doors, the parking lot was almost overflowing. What the hell? Why hadn¡¯t he noticed that? Odd. Oh well, no biggie. He turned back to Bryan, but he wasn¡¯t there. ''Dickhead left me!'' Caleb sighed to himself. Oh well again, it seems. Everyone must be in the room. With another sigh he weaved through the mass of bodies, heading down the hallway to the right, greeting people as he passed them in the crowded lobby and hall, he entered the last door on the left.


    His choice had been correct, as everyone was in the windowless dance room. In the far left hand corner, directly across from the door he opened, and the far end of the only mirror covered wall, was where the control area for the stereo stood. And currently messing with it was their instructor, Reba. Being a male at a dance studio was difficult in many ways at times¡­ Take for instance, his dance teacher (who was only eighteen or so, mind you!) bending over, wiggling her teal and blue booty short-clad butt to music apparently only she could hear.


    ¡°About time!¡± announced the miniature blonde in the center of the room, drawing Caleb¡¯s attention. Her tiny arms were crossed over her chest, eyebrows raised in an exaggerated expression of attitude.


    Gigi.


    The oversized t-shirt she wore was covered with random brightly-colored outlines of kittens, and hung to her knees. Legs were bare to the floor. One eyebrow still raised, her pale blonde hair seemed to blow and bob in a breeze he couldn¡¯t feel. She had it bound at the exact top of her head with a purple hair scrunchy. As if defying gravity, it rose bundled out of the bindings, before cascading out in every direction.


    Those two missing front teeth, the freckles, her large green eyes, plus the slightly too big feet, hands and ears, somehow made this little ginger blonde all the cuter. Gigi was honestly absolutely freaking adorable.


    ¡°Well,¡± she said with a corny head shake, arms still crossed, ¡°I don¡¯t get a hug?!¡± She uncrossed her arms, hands to the side, palms up in a big shrug to accentuate her already obvious point, eyes now looking up at the ceiling, like ¡®go~sh!¡¯


    Gigi was adorable!!


    ¡°Jeez,¡± Caleb pretended to complain, as he stood near the door, dropping his (Whoa, when did I change bags?!) dance bag to the side. ¡°Uh,¡± he started, only momentarily confused, ¡°You mean I gotta walk all the way over there?¡± Perfect recovery! He faked a lazy stretch, getting suspicious frowns from Ally and Pazely, though Gigi¡¯s expression changed to one of joy, if not subtle confusion. ¡°You mean I can have a hug?¡± she grinned huge, missing front teeth working for her. ¡°Um, yeah? I haven¡¯t seen you in forever!¡± Caleb teased, though the looks of outright bewilderment from his friends didn¡¯t go unnoticed by him.


    ¡°I knew you still loved, Gigi!¡± was the child''s only warning before bull-rushing him. When she slammed into his body, he let escape a little ¡®oof¡¯ of surprise from the force. That was a serious impact! Hugging her in a good squeeze, he heard pop music start to play from the speakers. Ending his hug, she slid down him as he set her back on the floor, her shirt hiked up quite high. She turned to walk back towards the center of the room, shirt tucked into the back of her light purple underwear.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t wearing any pants, child. What the hell?¡± Caleb laughed, and Gigi spanked her butt, seeming startled at the slap. ¡°What. The. Fuck.¡± Bryan volunteered to the right, near the back of the room. Gigi¡¯s hand was still on her butt cheek, as if confused at what it found. ¡°Watch the language, Bryan,¡± Reba scolded, standing and turning towards them, her long, slightly curly, brown ponytail falling back behind her shoulder again. Bryan just held his hands out towards Gigi in exasperation, who was somehow giving herself a wedgie while trying to untuck the shirt from her panties. ¡°See?¡± Bryan said as Reba facepalmed.


    ¡°Lies!¡± Gigi yelled at Bryan, making no sense. Ally finally walked over to her and pulled out the wedgie, making Gigi¡¯s already round eyes go rounder, and giggle, then she fixed her shirt. ¡°Still, why no pants?¡± Caleb asked from where he was on the side of the room, beginning to stretch. Ally gave him a deathly glare. ¡°They are pants! They are pantsu, it¡¯s a special kind of pants!¡± Ally said in a soothing voice, yet her eyes said both ''go against me and die,'' and ''are you a moron?'' Caleb had no idea what she was talking about.


    ¡°We had a hard enough time getting her to wear the shirt-¡± Reba started, before Ally shot a glare at her too. A quick stammer, and she continued, ¡°Err, the shirtskirt was hard enough to get her to wear,¡± Reba corrected. Caleb loved the ponytail, curly-haired, girl next door look of his instructor. The booty shorts and bare midriff were good too, of course.


    ¡°What¡¯s a shirtskirt?¡± Caleb asked, still puzzled; Geeg wiggling around to the music.


    ¡°She was naked,¡± Pazely spoke, slow and deliberate, sounding like she was unsure Caleb really wanted an answer ¡°We barely got a shirt on her, let alone underwear. By saying shirtskirt and pantsu, well, it got her to wear them¡­¡± she trailed off, looking at Caleb like she expected... something.


    All Caleb noticed was that Pazely now wore black booty shorts, a black sports bra, and black jazz shoes. ¡°Why the hell do you keep changing clothes?¡± he asked, getting a look from the Asian like he was completely tripping out. Then the clueless male noticed Ally had changed clothes too! Now she was wearing small, black, hipster dance briefs (Underbutt much, Ally?) and a tiny white top that was designed to look shredded and torn, like she was attacked by a tiger or something, very short, revealing all her belly and more.


    Caleb was used to Ally dressing skimpy. The skin flashing thing seemed to run in her family, her mom being the only non-nudist of three sisters. Ally didn¡¯t run around naked in public, just close to it. In fact, Caleb had never even seen her nude, or in something this revealing in public. And he had known her their whole lives. But wearing that and dancing?! From here he couldn¡¯t even tell if she was wearing a sports bra or not, and her tiny chest seemed more¡­ prominent to him than usual.


    His blush was fierce and so was his irritation. It just meant another place he had to make sure his eyes never landed. Being a straight male at a dance studio was a terrifying thing. Show even one sign of sexual interest at ALL in a girl and you would be descended upon by the dance moms, for daring to notice their gyrating, half-naked daughters as females. Which was annoying. Caleb was a decent guy, and also a Christian. What teen isn¡¯t a bit horny? But he wasn¡¯t gonna take advantage or go slutting around! Now wanting to was a different matter. Jesus understood. You just kept it in your pants and waited for marriage. Unlikely, but he was going to try. They all were.


    Mid-song, Gigi had gotten the rhythm and was busting out pretty seriously. Even Reba was grinning and clapping. Reba didn¡¯t impress easily. As the music was changing, and Gigi was had winded down, Reba glanced up at the clock on the wall. ¡°Shit! Okay, you guys ready?¡± she asked, turning to look at them.


    Everyone but Caleb nodded. ¡°Ready for what?¡± Caleb asked, as Reba left the room. ¡°What is with you?¡± Pazely growled at him. She¡¯s sure being moody for her first day back. Caleb frowned, and turned, standing, to look at her and Bryan. ¡°Why is everyone acting so casual? It¡¯s Sunday, or Monday, or whatever! Why are so many people here? Why is Gigi here, for that matter?¡± he sounded whiny, but was actually beginning to get irritated.


    Puzzled, Bryan answered, ¡°Um, it¡¯s Saturday, man. And everyone¡¯s here for the master classes.¡± That answer just made Caleb frown in deeper confusion. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that I lost, like a week?¡± Caleb asked, and no one really knew how to answer. The pop song playing now was so hyper, Gigi looked like she was going to have a seizure as she danced and shook around wildly, clueless of the mood in the room. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s like halfway through April, so it should be¡­¡± Caleb trailed off as he looked around for the calendar he already knew was by the stereo controls on the wall. They were messing with him, right?


    ¡°April?¡± Pazely asked, before he took three steps to the far corner, halting him with her changed tone. He turned to look at her. ¡°You¡¯re serious,¡± was all Bryan said, Caleb looked between them. Pazely was obviously concerned, looking at the others as the general vibe was beginning to feel creepy. Caleb hated when people did that when they weren¡¯t the ones that should be feeling scared!


    ¡°Fuck, Caleb. What the hell?¡± Ally shivered involuntarily from the corner. Even little Gigi had stopped dancing. ¡°It¡¯s October,¡± Bryan said matter-of-fact, looking Caleb in the eye. ¡°Not April.¡± Bryan walked towards him hesitantly, then stopped. ¡°Dude, are you okay?¡± Everyone was looking at him with looks of worry. And maybe some fear.


    What¡­ the¡­ this¡­ Heh¡­ So confused¡­ A joke? ¡°Is this a joke,¡± Caleb stated, instead of asking. Then, looking at Pazely, ¡°You just got back today from being gone!¡± Startled at the exclamation and creepy mood, she answered in a quavering voice, ¡°Th-th-that was months ago.¡± Caleb walked back a few steps. Their looks¡­ They weren¡¯t lying! ¡°Caleb, you¡¯re scaring me,¡± Pazely whimpered, sounding on the verge of tears.


    *CrACKsnipPOP* ¡­! ¡­¡­*crack* ¡­¡­ no¡­¡­ *pop* ¡­ jok-¡­ *snapcrEEEeeeeak*


    ¡­¡­fool¡­¡­


    Caleb froze. Did¡­ wait¡­ ¡°No joke,¡± he said blankly. ¡°Fool,¡± he added, then looked up at Pazely. ¡°No one else heard that, did they?¡±


    None had a chance to answer. Reba returned, with someone behind her. All Caleb saw was a man in huge, tinted sunglasses and a ridiculous (had to be a wig) looking head of long, straight brown hair. He sorta looked like he half-assed a Halloween hippie costume.


    Before anything else about the man could register, the ground quaked, sudden and violent.

 Chapter 2: Isn鈥檛 This What You Wanted?

    Tikity tea and tikity too,


    time for a little fun with you!


    Tidder my hat, but before I do that,


    this is the time that I do!


    He entered the room, not a womb or a tomb,


    how mighty he¡¯ll loom...


    for his doom.


    So let¡¯s assume, that there¡¯s room,


    for his gloom,


    to consume!


    Wicciwee! Hiccihoo!


    Lorentine! Florentine!


    To slime! To glisten! To gleem!


    To dine! Finished and waxed!


    No time for hats!


    Let¡¯s relax? And release, at our own lazy lax!


    Ha ha ha!


    Leento and gleento,


    all bloated and stinko.


    Not fine! It¡¯s mine!


    For alas, little lass! Your new friend¡¯s an ass,


    a fool at all that he¡¯ll do!


    Triddle and traddle, come sit on my laddle,


    I¡¯ll saddle, and spank, and I¡¯ll do!


    Crackit and crickit,


    hear the man rickit.


    Just frick it.


    Don¡¯t lick it, he¡¯ll swoon.


    Fre lee dee dee dee.


    No shit and no pee.


    This silly ¡®ol man is me!


    Not a turtle! Or a hurdle!


    Not old and not young,


    nor fallin'' to me glum,


    I ain¡¯t this old fool that ye see!


    Wee hee hee!


    Hoo hoo, you!


    A drink? ¡­ Don¡¯t mind if I do!


    ~Ramblings of a Drunken Fool, XIV


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    Caleb¡¯s feet were thrown out from under him. The violent heaving of the ground didn¡¯t cease for a few more seconds. It looked like everyone, save Gigi, had also been knocked flat.


    What was going on? Possible memory loss, and now earthquakes? And yet somehow¡­ he just felt like going with it. The only real emotion, or sensation at the moment¡­ was overwhelming excitement about the current situation. Nothing else. Unless confusion was an emotion? Well, plenty of thoughts too; just no other feelings really¡­ Or¡­


    Dammit, he just didn¡¯t feel right! And that was keeping his excitement under control. That and the confusion. And... whatever else he was or wasn''t feeling?


    Gigi announced how fun that was, then returned to dancing, now to skipping music. Pazely just lay on her back, repeatedly sighing, looking at her fingernails. Every mirror was cracked and splintered, several pieces completely shattered, leaving huge bare spots on the wall. Bryan was sitting, bleeding a little on his left shoulder. He didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    Ally -fan service probably not intentional- sat up scowling. At least someone cared. Her eyes went to the foolish-looking man in the wig, and her expression changed to pissed. That was unlike Ally. She always kept her anger in check, only showing the emotions she wanted people to see. They all were that way, to an extent, Ally was just the best at it.


    Looking at her through tinted glasses, the dipshit in the wig figured Ally was justly irritated. He had to admit, the timing and ferocity of that storm was inconvenient, at best. He liked the girl. She reminded him a bit of one of his sisters¡­ Regardless, he was wrong. Ally wasn¡¯t just irritated. And when his thoughts cleared a bit, and he properly focused on eyes that glared directly into his, the man realized just how furious she was.


    That was fun,¡± Hippy-wig announced with an all too happy smile, rising to his feet with an almost unnatural grace. Trying to deflect, or dissolve, Ally¡¯s anger -and failing- by acting casual, he brushed dust off his awkward and fucktugly green corduroy jeans, and fixed his buttoned tie-dyed shirt.


    Ally and Gigi (the latter had stopped dancing to stare at the strange man) both made a grimacing face at his ridiculously annoying perfect white teeth smile, that he was flashing around the room. The energetic head wiggling thing he did made him look like such an ass that you wanted to slap him. When he threw in some annoying shimmies, even the two boys glared at the douchebag.


    Wiggling around, more creepy than a caterpillar in heat, Hippy-wig made his way over to the skipping music to correct it. When was the dance world ever going to go digital?


    Outside, the sounds of sirens could now be heard in the distance, as well as several car alarms. The sound from inside the studio was one of panic; there were shouts, and sounds of girls of many ages crying. Possibly even a few mothers¡­ The lights were still on in their room, one of the fixtures having ruptured. At least there was still power.


    Caleb could now smell smoke. Or had he been smelling it all along?


    Music no longer skipping, the annoying man turned around with a, ¡°Hiyuck!¡± laugh sounding thing, and clapped his hands. ¡°What a quick way to warm up!¡± he seemed to sing in an accent Caleb couldn¡¯t place. For one thing, singing in an accent wasn¡¯t something his mind could grasp well. He sounded vaguely Irish, or maybe Scottish...


    Reba, standing and furious, couldn¡¯t hold back from verbalizing her anger. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?¡± she snapped to the guest instructor, who raised a blond eyebrow above his oversized lenses. ¡°¡®Twas it not a quick warm-up?¡± his face pouted with annoying exaggeration.


    Twas?!¡± Ally practically spat the word at him as she stood, stealing Reba¡¯s point position on yelling at this fool. ¡°The fuck it ¡®twas not!¡±


    Ally!¡± Reba sounding truly startled at the girl¡¯s rude use of language, temporarily forgetting her anger at this Goldy character.


    That actually caught the attention of Goldy, snapping his thoughts back lucid momentarily. If this young, beautiful, sexy, edible, er¡­ Edible? ¡­ Oh! If this teacher thinks Ally¡¯s outburst was so unusual, then perhaps something is more off than he thought. ... Thought. Thought was hard. Hmmm. Interesting. Must be clue!


    He mentally gave himself (and managed to physically feel) a pat on the back for being so smart, as he giggled and a mirror pane to his left shattered while he stood, looking clueless. Desperately trying to think in his temporary insanity, he was focusing as hard as he could. So why was thinking of a way to fire flaming applesauce from a homemade cannon so interesting and important at the moment? What was in that damn drink. It had to have been a hallucinogen. ''And damn, now I am headbanging and giggling in utter hysterics! Lovely!''


    Headbanging, giggling, and grinding some wickedly intense gyrations to the J-rock beat that was playing form only one speaker, he felt ashamed and humiliated. Why? Because he currently looked about as shameful as one could get.


    Why are you so stupid?¡± Gigi asked him. Hippy-wig suddenly quit headbanging and pulled down one side of his sunglasses, revealing an emerald-green eye. Tilting his head to look at Gigi, he asked, ¡°Why are you so ugly, hmm?¡± Flat and rude was his tone to this tiny girl he had heard so much of, but had yet to meet. Was that not a natural answer when one asked you about your own stupidity? When her expression froze like he had pressed her pause button, he figured it must not have been. ¡°Hmm?¡± was all he could muster, suddenly feeling guilty.


    Mr. Goldy!¡± Reba shouted, whipping around from where she stood, having walked over to check on -and lecture- Ally.


    Goldy hadn''t seemed to notice, instead frozen in place, looking into Gigi¡¯s wide open almost perfectly circular, eyes. no one should be able to open their eyes that wide without looking comical, or strange. This little girl, it looked like a natural expression. And... unsettling. Deeply, chillingly so. A wrongness his befuddled mind pushed to this side; bright emerald eyes, with a hint of lime, reminding him of his own. Of his sister.


    Her tiny bottom lip began quivering violently, tears streaming freely, her wide eyes closing to normal size, and like that, a horrific memory slapped him -for now, at least- back to reality. Gigi remained silent in her sadness. Knees steady, hands held in tight little fists.


    ''Ye God, what am I doing? How cruel of me!'' Still looking into her eyes, that gaze continued to instill emotions in him. He wanted to be afraid, but couldn''t. That cold dread was still present, yet... a familiarity, a... nostalgic safety, nagged at his mind. Like a mother, her glance reassuring her babe all was right with the world, and no monster could harm him.


    Making this little girl so sad truly was an atrocity that cut him deeply. ¡°I ¡®tis sorry, Gigi,¡± he apologized, not adjusting the drastically crooked sunglasses or wig. Kneeling, he took Gigi¡¯s hand. There was a tenderness in the moment, this idiotic person now controlled, that just made you¡­ not want to interrupt.


    Pazely and Caleb were craving some serious popcorn.


    I was only trying to be funny. And playful,¡± his voice was kind and soft. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, alright?¡±


    I¡¯m not crying,¡± Gigi sniffled, no longer sounding in the least sad, tears staining her freckled cheeks. ¡°Why do you know my name?¡± she asked abruptly, before adding, ¡°and why are you so confusding?¡±


    Goldy was surprised. Not at the invention of her adorable new (he thought it was new) word ¡°confusding¡± - but at how easily she caught he knew her name, without her ever having said it. She was quick for a girl of her age. Or perhaps that¡¯s something anyone would notice quickly? He was struggling desperately against these odd impulses once again; Gigi debacle forgotten, remembered, forgotten, remembered again, in rapid succession.


    He definitely felt like he was on some type of hallucinogenic¡­ and a mighty good one at that! ¡°Well, I, uh¡­¡± struggling for words, this wasn¡¯t like him. Dammit, he had to have been drugged! Taking a deep breath, ¡°I have heard a lot about you,¡± Goldy smiled, and looked up to meet Ally¡¯s eyes.


    The ground heaved violently again.


    The power went out, plunging the windowless room into darkness, the floor splitting and cracking.


    Again, Gigi managed to remain standing.


    The smell of smoke seemed to be everywhere now, and the sounds of chaos outside, and inside, were unmistakable.


    The sirens however, remained the same. A small town only had so many, after all.


    ¡­*crack* ¡­ *snap* ¡­ *crack*¡­ almost¡­ there¡­ *pop*¡­ ¡­


    Caleb crawled quickly to Pazely in the darkness, whom had cried out during the quake; Bryan hopping over him, heading to their fallen teacher. ¡°That hurt like hell,¡± Paze grumbled when he reached her, not even getting the chance to ask if she was okay. ¡°You¡¯re a liar!¡± Ally shouted in the darkness while Pazely got to her knees. Caleb saw, from the bit of light in the hallway from some sources or other, the silhouette of Ally as she ran out of the room.


    Go check the minis!¡± Reba ordered Bryan, who knelt by her. She seemed to know he frowned in the dark. ¡°They need you more, it¡¯s just my ankle.¡± Then added, ¡°go!¡± At that, he stood and left. Then, the form of a child chasing after her cousin, ran out right after. ¡°Dammit,¡± Caleb snapped, and with Pazely now standing and fine, took off after the kid, Paze following.


    Sighing, Reba lay in the darkness. Why were the kids acting so strange? ¡°Mr. Goldy, a hand please?¡± the teen girl asked. Had to keep up appearances. Unlike the kids (and this moronic psychopath in bad clothes) she was concerned. These storms didn¡¯t happen for no reason. Why couldn¡¯t anything in her ife ever stay normal?! At least she had hurt herself like a normal person. Messing up her ankle by stumbling? It was so absurd she would have laughed if alone.


    Good idea, we should get outside in case the building were to collapse!¡± he seemed to sing in the darkness, the girl did not find so dark. ¡°Um, sure,¡± she replied, making a mental note to kick his ass later. Then, when he practically pranced out of the room, that mental note became a vow.


    Caleb ran straight down the hallway, dimly lit by flashlights and candles, dodging injured (or melodramatic) people everywhere. It looked like part of the ceiling had collapsed, and a big portion of the hallway wall was gone. Passing Bryan, who was doing the unofficial medic thing, he made it to the lobby, which was much brighter due to the grim daylight outside, seeing Gigi already out the door. ¡°She¡¯s a fast little shit,¡± Pazely commented, then looked about, hoping no adults heard her. The child was fast indeed. Caleb ran after her, Pazely following quickly behind.


    Outside, the sun was almost set, and parking lot looked like a meth addict went through it with a backhoe. Several trees were knocked down, and Caleb could now see the neighboring properties and road in front of them, though most of the east and west trees were still standing strong. The ground in the parking lot was broken everywhere, holes and upheaved land all over. The rips, mounds, and holes were not exactly end of the world quality, but still, what the hell?!


    As soon as he ended his thought, a large crackling arc of electricity (which seemed to also burn with a white-blue fire) stretched the length of the parking lot, from left to right, some twelve feet at its highest. Not even bothering to recoil, Caleb was stunned at the sight. Literally, as there was a bight flash immediately after, and a bang. Bright and loud, though not blinding or earsplitting. Like having a camera flash go off in your face, alongside a -big- firecracker.


    All around the parking lot, amidst the chaos and mayhem of upheaved ground, flipped cars, and background sounds of the apocalypse¡­ people ran around, and panicked, like people do¡­ but no one seemed the least bit alarmed at the actual burning electric storm itself.


    Stranger still was that Caleb didn¡¯t really feel the need to be confused. Everything seemed completely confusing, yet he was good with it. Did that even make sense? Sorta devil may care thing. Sorta not. He should be freaking out, shouldn¡¯t he? At least have a faster pulse than normal! Caleb then became quite aware of his pounding heart.


    ¡­*crrrrEEEeeak* ¡­ ¡­¡­ not good¡­ *pop*¡­ *POP8¡­ *SnAp*¡­¡­


    Pazely (ignoring Caleb who''s mouth was hanging open, hand held as if trying to block a glare), didn¡¯t really give much of a shit, and didn¡¯t overthink it. She wasn¡¯t totally sure why, but knew the storms were happening again. Yet this time, she wasn¡¯t really afraid.


    Off to the side, she saw Gigi climbing on a car to get to a tree branch. Pazely made little fists, and began stalking that way. She may not give much of a shit at the moment, but she was about to give Gigi what she did -ooooh, she SO did- give!


    Stryker came bursting out of the trees some yards down from where Gigi was now hanging from a branch, driving a fucking limousine. Launching from the seven foot or so higher ground on that side of the lot, he hit the gravel, and went into a drift, sliding hard and fast across the parking lot. Eventually he hit broken ground and the limo came to a stop, front facing the studio, tilted toward Caleb and Pazely at a slight angle.


    STRYKER!¡± Pazely screeched, tree-climbing child forgotten. ¡°I¡¯m having a bad, baaaaaaaaaaaaad day!¡± Her following groan included a head roll. She seemed oblivious to the second and third sets of flaming lightning arcs.


    People were now clearing the parking lot, heading back inside. If the storms and quakes weren¡¯t enough, now vehicles were bursting out of the trees.


    Reaching Stryker¡¯s rolled down window, ¡°Why must you add to the problem?¡± Paze sighed to him, popping out a hip. ¡°The storms are bad, and we seem to all be crazy!¡± she said with another -deeper- sigh and crossed her arms. ¡°Gigi is being obnoxious, Ally is extremely pissy, and you come flying out of the trees in a limo.¡± Pazely cocked her head and looked off to the side some. ¡°Does this town even have a limo?¡± she asked absentmindedly.


    Stryker, with his broken sunglasses only half on his face, an inch sized piece of scalp missing above his left eye, police uniform and jacket covered in dirt, and no radio, just stared at her. Blood and mud caked in his hair, with no small amount on his face and shirt, although it was much less than you would expect from a head injury. Knuckles bruised and bloody, he couldn¡¯t even muster a sigh. These kids would never cease to confuse the hell out of him.


    Behind Caleb, who was still standing there looking derped, Mr. Goldy wiggled out the doors of the studio, past the people going in. His wig was righted, and sunglasses no longer crooked. He walked up next to Caleb, and stood with thumbs in belt loops. He looked ridiculous, and made Caleb look more so himself.


    Who the hell is that?¡± Stryker asked Pazely, momentarily forgetting the chaos at the sight of this goofy-looking stranger. But before Pazely could answer, the forgotten Ally yelled from the far end of the parking lot, ¡°Do you really not remember?!¡±


    Assuming she was shouting to him, Caleb turned around and stared at her, puzzled. ¡°Remember what?¡± At his question she sobbed once, loudly. ¡°This is your fault!¡± she cried out in accusation. Caleb again thought she was still talking to him. ¡°We did your stupid ritual, but now everything is FUCKED!¡±


    Ally¡­¡± Goldy said quietly, startling the boy who didn''t know he was there. Looking to Caleb, then to Pazely, Mr. Goldy seemed to be in a different mood as he spoke. ¡°You¡­ really don¡¯t remember, do you?¡± his tone was grave. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious yet!¡± Ally screamed at him. ¡°You never said this could happen!¡± She was staring at the man next to Caleb as if she was waiting for an answer to some question not asked. ¡°But¡­¡± Goldy mumbled quietly enough that none but Caleb could hear, ¡°It wasn¡¯t even real¡­¡±


    Everyone forgot¡­ the summer?¡± Caleb asked, looking from person to person. ¡°I remember everything.¡± Pazely said, although her voice finally showed a bit of concern. ¡°Then, do you know me?¡± Goldy asked, walking towards her brisk and eager. ¡°Ew, no!¡± she snapped, and he froze halfway. Looking a bit hesitant, ¡°I don¡¯t know any freaks like you!¡± was the defiant answer, though Stryker noticed she leaned a little towards the limo. ¡°Pazely, I think we can drop the charade. Something may not be right! Do ye know me?¡± Goldy asked again, sounding desperate and frightened, yet grinning like a kid on Christmas.


    When Pazely shook her head no, he dropped his chin into his waiting hand. Hair (well, wig) hanging in his face as he tilted his head down and wandered off to the side near where the limo had made its dramatic entrance. This made no sense! He could not have caused this; it was impossible! ¡°Did you all go stupid or something?!¡± Ally yelled. They were acting like they were all too stoned or something! Even then, you wouldn¡¯t be so casual during this type of a situation! Why was this happening!? He must have lied! That stupid ritual must have caused this!


    You told us to trust you,¡± Ally called more calmly. ¡°You said it would help us, that it would help the storms! Now it¡¯s gone! Now everything is fucking gone!¡± With that, Ally turned and stormed off into some fallen trees, back behind the studio into undeveloped woodland they sometimes hung out in.


    Pazely started crying, then promptly slapped Stryker as he tried to comfort her from the window of the limo, her tears stopping as abrupt as they had began. ¡°What the fuck is going on with you guys?¡± Stryker asked threw clenched teeth. Ally was the only one that seemed lucid, and she was more angry and out of control than Stryker had probably seen her, ever. What was she talking about? Who forgot what? And why the hell was Gigi in a freaking tree!!


    Stryker began bitching at Pazely for letting the child climb a tree in this situation, as Mr. Goldy stood, chin in hand, clueless to the world around him while he pondered.


    How could any of this have happened? That was all that Mr. Goldy kept thinking, over and over again. He may have stood there for hours if the next quake hadn¡¯t hit. And hit it did, hard and fast. Someone in the parking lot screamed as a hunk of earth heaved a car up and onto its side.


    Gigi finally lost her footing, belly flopping on the large branch when the tree tipped suddenly. The violent quaking ended, but the tree kept tipping.


    A little girl (people had started to filter back out to the parking lot again) screamed as the tree began falling, wide-eyed Gigi remaining on her belly until she was nearly upside down, and shoulder-rolled free before it hit the ground, scurrying clear as branches crashed down around and behind her. Geeg calmly looked back, shirt tucked into the top left of her pantsu. Frowning, ¡°I liked that tree,¡± she said, with a sigh out her nose, completely ignoring the woman that ran to her side to see if she was okay. Of course she was okay! She fell farther than that all the time. Wasn''t a big deal, old people were just dramatic. It was probably why they died so easy. Drama and dumb.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Stryker was looking apprehensively at the huge pieces of earth that had risen near the vehicle he sat in, he wondered if a well-placed bullet or two would help them focus¡­ ¡°Pazely, will you please give me a hand here?¡± Stryker asked the Asian that had also been taken off her feet from the quaking. He needed at least one of them to cooperate. Pazely proceeded to give him a smartass grin, and some applause from where she sat on the gravel. ¡°What are you all on?!¡± Stryker shouted in frustrated accusation.


    All you said was now,¡± the tsundere answered, quitting her applause. Stryker honestly couldn¡¯t remember if he had even said anything with ¡®now¡¯ in it. ¡°Just hurry up and get in the vehicle!¡± he pleaded. ¡°You kids ain¡¯t got nobody coming for you, right? I need to get you all somewhere safe!¡± Even in his frantic urgency, when he thought about it, he wasn¡¯t even sure why he was so panicked to help them. Nor why he half killed himself getting up here. If he took the time to think about it, his own actions made about as much sense as the kids he was near hysteric to protect.


    Pazely just blinked at him, as if she didn¡¯t understand why sitting around outdoors in such a situation was unsafe. In fact, sitting indoors wasn¡¯t really any safer.


    Dammit, this is one of those times I wish Ally was here!¡± he bitched loudly. Of course she had run off! Ally was the one that generally managed to keep a level head, and everyone out of trouble. Or at least from getting caught. Normally. Right now, he just wanted some damn assistance. He had never seen them all so careless!


    Good luck with that,¡± Horrence piped in, walking his granddaughter near the limo to get to his own car. Stryker looked to the giant, old, chubby, hunched-over man. He could never remember his last name¡­ ¡°Excuse me?¡± was all the officer asked, trying to avoid needing to say the man¡¯s name. ¡°She ran down the back trail, right? Well, I saw Lyle and his shitbag friends heading that way right before the storms started up.¡±


    That got Caleb¡¯s attention. ¡°What did you say?¡± he demanded, walking towards the huge, yet still shorter than him, older man. Horrence ignored the boy, but answered Stryker¡¯s exact same question, that Caleb had spoken over. ¡°Lyle, Frank, and Richard, plus some I didn¡¯t recognize. Went out that way a bit before the storms started,¡± the judgmental old bastard said, referring to the way Ally had gone.


    And why didn¡¯t you say this earlier?!¡± Caleb shouted. Pazely stood, worry on her face. Those guys were not people to be around alone. Ever. ¡°Because the little whore can handle herself,¡± was Horrence''s scornful answer, turning to Caleb this time, chubby cheeks red, wicked smile showing brown-tinted teeth. His granddaughter¡¯s eyes filled with horror and embarrassment from where she had been standing next to him, so meek and delicate, she was almost unseen.


    Brown hair in a tight bun, black leotard and white tights were dirty, and her left knee had dried blood on it, though her tights didn¡¯t appear ripped or torn. What amazing quality¡­ ¡°Grampa,¡± Trixie said in a kind tone that said he shouldn''t be so harsh, and the old man backhanded her across the face.


    Trixie was nine (almost ten) years old, and built like a tall girl, though still below average size for her age. Sweet and kind, she lived with her step-grandparents, parents having died in a car wreck. Her grandfather easily confirmed the stereotype of evil ¡®step¡¯ relatives. Trix was a dance studio only friend to Caleb. She was a little kid for one thing, and was also innocent. Caleb and his friends lived a PG-13 to R-rated existence on most days, and they didn¡¯t go out of their way to raise the life rating of those minds that were more family friendly. Especially literal children.


    Caleb always wondered how anyone could not live a life that, at times, had to be dark. R stood for "real" not "raunchy". In real life, things happened; uncensored and unfiltered, good and bad. Though¡­ with Trix¡¯s parents dead, and stuck with a grampa that treated her like a dog¡­ spoiled dog or not- her life wasn¡¯t exactly some lighthearted fairy tale, he supposed.


    Officer Stricksent was out of his car fast, blocking Caleb and Pazely from killing the old man. ¡°Caleb, go after Ally, now, or I¡¯ll murder you!¡± Caleb didn¡¯t even hesitate as he obeyed the officer, turning and sprinting the way Ally had gone. Running around a startled-looking Gigi, who refused any adult assistance and had been watching the drama. ¡°Pazely, get Bryan to go after him and help, and bring Gigi here, or die!¡± Pazely also turned and headed to the studio without argument. JeeeEEeeez, Stryker was pissy as Ally today!


    And you,¡± Stryker snarled, turning back to the old man, ¡°are to leave immediately, and if you ever do something like that again, I will not only charge your old ass with domestic violence and child abuse, but I¡¯ll make sure your wrist breaks in the process of me backhanding you into a fucking wall!¡±


    The anger in his voice was something almost no one saw. Ever. But he had to get these kids out of here, who else did they have? Several people in the town had already died since these storms started in the summer. His patience was wearing thin, and watching sweet little Trixie get hit like that¡­ This old sack of shit had paws larger than his granddaughter¡¯s head. Stryker was not a goody-goody cop, despite his reputation, and when in the presence of abusive males, those lines someone in his authority should never cross, began to look blurry.


    Horrence paled, his face doing a twitchy dance, not able to come to an agreement with his brain to show fear or anger. Despite the fury at being spoken to that way, it was quite clear to Horrence Officer Stricksent wanted to beat him senseless.


    Trixie, having Stryker stand up for her like that¡­ the quiet tears her brown eyes shed¡­ had the emotion of thank you behind them; the sting of the slap forgotten quicker than it had occurred. Stryker was so nice and sweet, and seeing him act that way for her, it just made her so happy. Caleb and all his friends were so nice and amazing! Reba and Miss Terra were too! How she wished her grandpa could see that! Her grandpa wasn''t a bad man, he didn''t usually hit her. He certainly never went out of his way to, it only happened out of reflex sometimes. She knew better than to embarrass him in public, especially standing within arms reach. It was her own fault, after all.


    The next quake was again violent, and this time accompanied by several flash bangs and arcs of that burning lightning.


    ¡­*snip*¡­*snap*¡­*crikcrikPOP*¡­ ther ..*crAaaaAck*.. ker!


    Running too fast, the sudden quake kept Caleb from stopping and turning left before the ravine. He managed to stay standing, but by the time the quake quit, he was pinwheeling his arms -the wrong way- to keep his balance at the edge. He failed and -oh shit!- went over the lip of the ravine. Another quake and flash bang effect as he was falling had him completely turned around and confused. Landing on his right butt cheek, tailbone hitting something hard enough, his breath was taken, stifling the shout.


    *CRACK* Oh dear *snipCrickle*¡­*PING*


    Stomaching the pain was easier than ignoring the sounds (and he swore voices) he kept hearing, no other sore areas, Caleb stood in the mud and dense underbrush. Without time to worry about what could be in his path, he crashed and cursed his way to the left.


    Trailing the ravine wall, and gritting his teeth against pain, he had to hurry. It was too dark in these trees as it was, and the sun was going down. What time even was it? For that matter, what anything was it? An hour ago, he was ecstatic! His Pazely was back, making their group whole again. This was an amazing sign for the coming summer. He had been so freaking happy! Then¡­ so very confused¡­


    Was it really October?


    A male¡¯s voice was yelling, not far from him. The briers gone, Caleb moving even faster, he found a low enough root on a stable dirt wall to climb back up to the trail. Or, where the trail should be, he noticed as he got back to the top. If you didn¡¯t know where to look, it wasn''t discernible with all the debris and destruction. Heading to the right, Caleb ran on through the dimly lit woods, having trouble keeping speed, the ground so uneven he kept skidding and stumbling.


    Fuck you!¡± Caleb heard Ally yell close by, sounding like she had been crying. Caleb said screw the trail, and sprinted straight towards her voice, through some dense trees, before breaking free, mere feet from the meaty eighteen-year-old Richard. He had been looking to Caleb¡¯s left, and turned as the tall boy crashed out of the trees to look straight at him. Caleb didn¡¯t slow in his charge.


    .. *CRACK* ..


    *poP*


    *snip* . *snip* . *crack* . *Snipcreak* ..


    Caleb began pummeling with his fists; right, left, right, using his speed and weight, still walking forward; left, right, left ¨C hits directly over the heart ¨C bringing his right knee in and high, Caleb kicked straight out in one big power stepto Richard¡¯s chest. Richard, in his ripped windbreaker, wife-beater, and jeans, was dead before he hit the ground.


    *Cra~ack*


    The attack, and kill, had taken seconds; Caleb was looking around for Ally, not yet registering his lethal assault. He saw her standing some ten feet away in the direction Richard¡¯s beady eyes had been first looking.


    Panting, ripped clothes, and covered in blood, dirt, twigs, and leaves¡­ Caleb looked more than a bit insane. Crashing from the trees, and killing the biggest mofo there in but a couple of eye blinks, just made him seem all the more psychotic.


    And all he cared about was that Ally had been crying. It was obvious on her face, though she looked no more the worse for wear.


    Then, three things dawned on him. One, that he had probably just killed someone without even thinking twice, or even once. Second, was that Ally was still as near naked as at the studio and she must be freezing. Third, was that there were at least four other males there, and they appeared a bit homicidal at the moment. Oh, and that Frank had a gun to Ally¡¯s head.


    Caleb¡¯s heart skipped violently, and a surge of clarity spiked through his mind.


    ''Wait¡­ did I just¡­ did I just kill Richard? Why¡­ There¡¯s a gun¡­ What... the fuck?''


    Trying hard to prioritize, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Caleb asked his friend, eyes not leaving the three angry males behind her; she had the one in front of her to worry about; Lyle¡¯s right-hand man of sorts. ¡°Fuck you, are you okay!¡± Frank snapped, eyes wide in horror at what he had witnessed Caleb do. The teen had been hitting Richard so hard the blows sound liked a sledgehammer, the first taking the big guy off his feet; fists blurring, all blow landed while Richard was in the air- the final kick knocking him back into the post hard enough, none watching would have been surprised if it knock the building down.


    Yeah, I¡¯m okay. Thanks,¡± Ally answered, ignoring Frank¡¯s outburst. Caleb¡¯s arrival, his killing of that fucker, a resolve that was long gone seconds ago had returned in spades. ¡°Counter chaos, huh?¡± she said to Caleb, not looking from the furious man with the gun in her face.


    Counter chaos? So¡­ guess it¡¯s us or them.¡¯ Caleb knew that meant the two of them had to take these guys out, right now, or be killed. It was all or nothing, win or lose; in one sudden, desperate, furious attack. He could ponder his lack of thinking, or feeling much, later. Or the fact a code term they used gaming was about to be implemented in reality.


    ¡­ *CRACK* ¡­ no¡­*CRAAAAAACK~* ¡­


    he¡­ hehehe¡­


    ¡­¡­guess¡­¡­*snip*.*ping*.*pop*¡­ go¡­


    The clouds cleared, and there was more light remaining in the day than Caleb had expected. Ally smiled at Frank, causing him to grit his teeth, lip rings quivering, veins visible on his shaved and shiny head as he looked about ready to explode. Frank shoved the gun directly into Ally¡¯s face, hard, him and the others waiting for their leader to give an order. ¡°Kill the bitch!¡± Lyle growled from behind Frank. ¡°Both of them.¡±


    The veins in Frank¡¯s head seemed to calm now, he grinned back at the girl, and squeezed the trigger.


    Pssh, like Ally would get shot with all those signs, signals, and delays!


    Soon as he began to squeeze, Ally, faster than should be possible, rolled inside his thrusting gun arm -the shot deafening, but missed; Caleb rushing past behind her. She ended her roll by grabbing Franks¡¯s wrist with her left hand. Right hand palm up, she shaped it like a shovel and uppercut directly under his sternum. He toppled over.


    Caleb had reached a random biker, (had the look going on, so Caleb was assuming) jumping in a spinning back kick, missing his intended target of the man¡¯s chest and hitting him in the face, knocking him flat and unmoving. Whirling to his right, left forearm in a downward sweep, he deflected the thrust of a knife, from one of Lyle¡¯s younger gang members. Right hand in a fist, windmilling it up over his head, and hitting the assailant with a hard downward swing. Caleb was then flying tackled by the third man.


    Fuck everything! Kill these fucking cunts!¡± Lyle screamed at his remaining men. This tall, skinny giant, and bitchy blonde; always so fucking passive and goody-goody. Now they¡¯re taking them out? Who the fuck do they think they are?! How in the fuck could they fight like that?! Was it anger from what Lyle and his men had done? Adrenaline? With her body still lying there near Ally, did those two have revenge fueling them? Oh well, nerdy Christian faggot boy will be out of the picture soon. There¡¯s no way he could outfight Phil on the ground. Revenge-fueled or not. Then, Frank would get up and destroy that twat, Ally.


    Caleb, about to be pinned, and possibly killed, hadn¡¯t yet noticed the body of the small girl near Ally.


    Ally picked up the gun dropped by the blood-coughing Frank, aimed it at the man¡¯s head, and pulled the trigger without hesitation. He never saw it coming. Raising her arm, she turned, now looking behind her, where Lyle stood at the top of the old wooden staircase she was at the foot of. Her first shot missed when he rolled to the side, behind the remainder of a wall of this ruined house. She fired a second time, hitting the no more than thirteen-year-old boy -that had been standing at his side-, in the left eye.


    The three gunshots had startled the college jock-looking (Wait, why is this guy half-naked?) pretty boy that had taken Caleb to the ground. On his back, Caleb got one leg up and in front of his assailant¡¯s throat, forcing him back. He rolled, starting to lock his ankles together and pin the muscular guy¡¯s neck between his legs.


    Caleb glanced up to see if Ally was okay, and froze. The hell?


    In the center of this small area, stood the remains of an ancient house. It appeared to have been two stories, and the downstairs walls were mostly gone. Hell, all of the place was mostly gone. Except for what seemed to be a single room on the second story. Lyle had been standing outside the room on what appeared to be a balcony, but was actually part of the inside staircase and landing, outside walls long since gone.


    The jock the chance to remove himself from the lock, a stunned Caleb still froze in place, staring at the house ruins, which had apparently been covered in underbrush, briers, and more. How else had he never seen it before?


    Ally pointed the gun over the sprawled Caleb and fired once, missing the young man that had escaped from Caleb¡¯s grasp, running into the trees.


    Hah.. hahaha! *SnipsnapPop* Oh no¡­


    Ears ringing, Caleb got to his knees. ¡®W-w-w-what am I d-d-d-doing? W-wh-what are w-w-we doing?¡¯


    There was a young male, maybe a middle schooler, cowering near the corner of the building, and someone that he hadn¡¯t seen earlier, just as small, lying on the ground near Ally. From here, all he could see was a foot and part of a leg. A tiny, naked foot and leg, obscured by the corpse of Frank.


    What had they done?! Dear God, what had he and Ally just DONE?!


    Calm and casual, Ally, half-naked and letting cold wind and adrenaline keep her focused, began to walk up the stairs. Reaching the top, and stepping over the boy she had killed, Ally looked to her left and glared at Lyle, where he cowered. This close, the tears could be seen streaming down her face.


    You¡¯ve just killed everyone in my fucking life!¡± Lyle roared at her, not looking so imposing from where he crouched, numerous piercings making him appear like a torture victim. ¡°Why are you crying? You just lost ONE!¡± he was screaming at her now. ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill that fucking bitch that put us up to this?!¡± he screamed again, starting to stand. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, we were just hired! Blame that pigtailed blonde skank!¡± On his feet, fists clenched tightly, Lyle would be damned if he was going to cower as she shot him!


    His fury changed to fear quickly when Ally pointed the gun at his face. ¡°Dammit Ally, she was just there! We were hired to get you, but the stupid little bitch was all alone outside!¡± his voice was shaking, eyes and tone pleading. ¡°We were just going to scare her. As a message. Maybe trade her for you, I fucking swear!¡± he was almost babbling. ¡°How was I supposed to know that Phil was some fucking pedophile?¡± Lyle was giggling like a madman now. ¡°Everyone else just went with mood. They wouldn¡¯t listen to me! I tried to stop them!¡± His pleading tone changed to fury once more, ¡°That fucking whore Suzie destroyed my life!¡± Lyle began to cry. ¡°She caused this situation! She caused all of it!¡±


    Ally didn¡¯t blink. She had no idea what Lyle was talking about, and didn¡¯t care.


    We should go kill her together, huh? Team up, and take her out? C¡¯mon, what good would killing me really do, huh?¡± At that, Ally smiled. Her tears had stopped. ¡°It would do a lot of good, actually. You being a piece of shit, and all,¡± her reply was calm. ¡°Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth, tit for tat.¡± Her voice was smooth, dangerous, and mocking. Lyle laughed nervously at the terrifying teen girl. ¡°Tits? She didn¡¯t even have those, but I did get some tat.¡± Lyle spat at her.


    Ally shot him in the groin.


    *POP* Yesssssss *CR~~~~ACK*


    Oh, how he screamed, as he fell on his side. Ally pulled the trigger again, and again, and again, though the gun was empty after the groin shot. From the way he screamed and bled, Ally figured he would be dead soon enough. She lifted her eyes and looked down to where Caleb sat, staring at her woth a look of bewildered horror.


    In one sob, loud enough to be heard over the screaming Lyle, Ally yelled, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Caleb!¡±


    Mr. Goldy was lying on his back, giggling uncontrollably. Dramatic quakes or not, he couldn¡¯t quit giggling. Well, he couldn¡¯t until the sharp stabbing pain on his right ear. ¡°YOUCH!¡± he shouted, scrambling to a sitting position, struggling to not smack the shit out of his invisible friend. Two more sharp, biting, pains, and his mind refocused on reality.


    On his feet quickly, Goldy removed his sunglasses and threw them off to the side. He watched a bloody-faced Gigi on her hands and knees near some large mounds of dirt and gravel from the quakes, crawling around looking for something. She must have taken a decent fall. There was a young girl next to her, presumably a friend, helping look for the something.


    The police officer was helping a fat old man to his feet. His mind attempted to betray him again, and he growled, shaking his head. Had Pazely truly drugged him? His pondering of the situation halted, when Pazely herself ran out of the studio, (now wearing a thin, black, Jester¡¯s Edge jacket) face dire, followed by Bryan. The later turned and sprinted around the side of the building, and into the woods.


    In the direction of the seal. In the direction Ally had gone. The realization finally dawned on him. He hadn¡¯t worried too much about the seal, figuring he would be long gone before it mattered.


    Feeling a chill of dread, the supposed dance instructor swallowed his fear. Caleb had gone that way too. If Caleb died, if the seal was released and he were to be killed, then all this was for nothing!


    A gunshot rang out.


    Goldy was sprinting after Bryan before he knew it. Running right at Gigi and her friend -Trixie- who helped search for something on hands and knees. Pazely standing near them looking off towards the sound of the gunshot. Goldy hopped, spinning a flipping, twirling axle up and over the two girls, landing as if weightless. His wig falling off during the flip. ''Whoops, forgot I was wearin¡¯ that ridiculous thing!'' His long pointed ears poked through his golden-yellow blond, almost shoulder-length hair.


    More gunshots.


    It wasn¡¯t hard to catch up with Bryan. The boy was fast, but not as fast as Caleb. Bryan was where Caleb had fallen off the cliff -he easily avoided it- when he felt someone behind him and turned, starting when he saw this stranger charging him. ¡°Who are you?!¡± Bryan demanded, taking a defensive pose, the blond-haired man ignored him and sprinted past. What the¡­ was he wearing elf ears? It was dark and hard to see in these trees, but¡­ had the man been wearing the clothes that ridiculous dance teacher had been wearing? ¡°Mr. Goldy?¡± Bryan called after the man he could no longer see. ¡°¡®Tis not my name!¡± came the hollered reply from the dark.


    The gunshot was worrisome. Mr. Goldy jumping over them like that, without even bending his knees (No plie at all! Pazely marveled at the fierceness) was shocking. He seemed to just flick his toes to reach that height. Paze had stopped by Gigi and Trixie, when she had heard the gunshot, then the weirdo went flipping over them. Shaking her head, Paze dismissed it. Just a gunshot, and an acro nut.


    Totally normal, right?


    More gunshots, and she looked to the two little girls. Gigi didn¡¯t seem concerned, which had Pazely questioning her own. Should she be concerned? Was just a few bullets, no big deal! Trixie at least looked properly freaked out. ¡°Gigi, c¡¯mon, we gotta go!¡± Pazely chirped at the little girl, who ignored her. ¡°Gigi!¡± she snapped. ¡°I can¡¯t fwind eet!¡± was said in reply, without looking up. Pazely frowned. ¡°Find what?¡±


    She lost a tooth,¡± Trix explained, trying to appear calm. She was anything but. ¡°Maybe a couple.¡±


    Stryker jogged over to their side. ¡°What is she doing?¡± he asked Pazely, not fazed by the bloody child, but eyes urgent nonetheless, rifle in one hand, shotgun in the other. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she look kinda like a little, dirty, homeless boy?¡± Paze asked him, ignoring his question. Stryker wondered what kind of boy she knew that wore panties¡­ then shook his head. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the gunshots?!¡± he asked in return, tone implying she was insane.


    </a>


    Eeph I can¡¯t phind it, dad won¡¯t let me get candy!¡± Gigi whimpered, still looking around, and spitting some blood. ¡°Why the hell are you talking weird? You already don¡¯t have any teeth!¡± Pazely accused.


    Another gunshot rang through the air.


    Pazely¡¯s eyes were huge as she looked up at Stryker. ¡°Okay, that was bad, right?¡± she asked. Not even bothering to answer, Stryker tossed her the shotgun. Why he was giving a department-issued firearm to a thirteen year old girl, he wasn¡¯t sure, and didn¡¯t waste time thinking it over. Rifle in both hands, he ran off the way all the others had. Pazely followed without needing to be told.


    Gigi looked up. ¡°Are they going to be okay?¡± Trixie asked. ¡°They are in trouble,¡± Gigi stated, matter of fact, all trace of odd speech gone.


    Ay!¡± Gigi yelled at them, even though they were out of sight now. Standing, she spit (more like drooled) blood, and made one last quick visual sweep for her knocked-out tooth. Dad won¡¯t give me quarters if I lose it! But if they all died¡­ that would be worse than no candy. She would be bored, and alone.


    Accepting her loss, she ran as quickly as her small legs could, after her -annoyingly- endangered friends.


    Just now limping out the door, Reba saw the tiny, bloody kid sprint by. ¡°Hey!¡± Reba she said in fading urgency, for the speedy little critter was gone before she could even finish the word. Reba had so many concerns at the moment, now Gigi was adding more!


    Looking out at the lot, Reba was shocked at the destruction. Cars were overturned, trees were down everywhere, the earth was heaved up and broken all about.


    This... shouldn¡¯t be happening.


    Noticing Trixie, and her demonic jerk of a grandfather who had just gotten to her side, she called out before Horrence could cart her away, ¡°Where was Gigi going?¡±


    She was chasing after Caleb and everyone. They ran off into the woods and there were gunshots.¡± Trixie winced as her grampa glared at her furiously. ¡°We are leaving, now!¡± Horrence snapped at his granddaughter, and grabbed her arm painfully, forcing her back towards the limo, and their own miraculously untouched car, faster than before.


    Have you seen Jessie?¡± Reba called loudly to the retreating Trixie. The slender girl glanced back just long enough to shake her head no. Well, that answer could have been worse¡­ But still, where the hell is that child? Please, God, let her be okay. The gunshots were probably just some crazy rednecks or meth addicts or something¡­ These storms did coax out the loonies.


    Reba had picked Jessie and Sally up hours ago for the classes, and they insisted on hiding and making some type of dramatic entrance once the class started. Well, Jessie did, Sally simply went along with her twin, like usual. The girls were supposed to be grounded, so perhaps Jessie had just wanted to surprise Caleb that she finally got to come back to class. She sure loved that boy. Even if he had been a royal ass lately.


    Reba looked back over her shoulder, through the unbroken glass doors at Sally, who was sitting in a chair, unmoving, looking at the ground, eyes wide in some unseen terror¡­. Sally was quiet a lot. But when Reba found her in the hall holding her head, silently screaming, and refusing to say a word or look at her.. She thought to find Jessie to see if the sister could help her.


    The storms¡­ The gunshots¡­ No Jessie¡­ The kinds running off into the woods¡­


    And the lukewarm rain that had begun to fall from the cloudless sky, on this chilly evening.


    Warm rain?


    No longer caring about keeping up appearances, Reba put her full weight on the already healed ankle, starting out around the building.


    There was a flashing storm accompanied by loud crashing sounds and shouts from the woods the way the kids had gone. And screams. Horrible screams.


    And Reba knew, if the kids were out there, it was too late. Those kids she loved so much¡­ she knew¡­


    They were already dead.


    I¡¯m sorry for all of this!¡± Ally cried over the still sobbing Lyle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you don¡¯t remember any of it! I¡¯m sorry we listened to Feldyn! If we hadn¡¯t, maybe she wouldn¡¯t be dead!¡± Looking at the people she had killed, Ally wondered if she was evil as her mother accused. They deserved it¡­ Oh, they deserved it¡­ But¡­ She had murder so readily in her heart? Truly? ¡°It¡¯s all that stupid fucking elf!¡± she slurred the last word. ¡°If he hadn¡¯t shown up, she wouldn¡¯t have had to die!!!"


    Hur.. t.e f..k up!


    SHE WOULDN¡¯T HAVE HAD TO DIE LIKE THAT!¡± Ally screamed in hysteria.


    Caleb had no idea what she was talking about. He didn¡¯t know what was happening. He didn¡¯t know what he was thinking. All he knew was that he wanted to be sick, and the notion sounded quite pleasant. Vomiting in bliss until all of this confusion and vile was gone¡­ Deep, wracking heaves, expelling the horror-like nausea, removing it from his body completely.


    Taking a deep breath to compose herself, still panting like she had just finished a marathon, body shaking as if freezing, Ally heard something. A humming¡­ She looked behind her, puzzled, at the door that still held closed the single intact room of this building. The humming¡­ It felt¡­ It¡­ was¡­ pleasant. The feeling of it, of embracing it, would make her forgot everything.


    And it began to rain.


    Caleb, for half a moment, thought someone had turned on the shower, as the rain was warm, in contrast to the chilly air.


    Ally never even noticed the rain, for all she felt when she approached the door¡­ When she touched that doorknob¡­ was power. A power that made her more full of lust and desire than she had ever known.


    Somehow, Caleb knew he had to stop her, but he couldn¡¯t find his voice, his breath, or his legs. It was like being paralyzed. He had to stop her! Something horrible was behind that door! Ally, no! Ally, don¡¯t open the door! ALLY N-


    NO!¡± came the shout from the blond-haired male, in the ugly green pants and tie-dyed shirt that had just burst into the clearing.


    Hearing nothing but the desire and lust for that sensation, that delicious all-consuming desire, she never heard the shout from Feldyn. She even forgot the tiny girl¡¯s body that lie at the base of the stairs. She couldn¡¯t deny herself this! This feeling! This pleasure! THIS POWER!


    Ally turned the doorknob.

 Chapter 3: The Dog Lady

    Chapter 3: The Dog Lady


    Just a dog?


    Tis not just a dog! ¡®Tis a lycanthropeire!


    Aye, a lycanthropeire!


    You think that be your pet dog out there, in the brush?


    Perhaps. Perhaps not.


    Perhaps, I would think. For a lycanthropeire minds not the light of a fire.


    It would not stay outside of the light.


    And you would already be dead.


    What is a lycanthropeire, you ask?


    Foolish child, have you learned not at all of this world?


    A lycanthropeire is a demonic animal spirit.


    Body of a beast, oversized from demonic strength.


    A purity of spirit, aye a very paradox, it took in the evil.


    For the demonic spirit needs a willing vessel.


    Then on fours, out there in the woods, it lurks!


    A soul of chaos.


    Hunger in her eyes.


    What is left of who once was inside?


    Dark soul of the demon, gray soul of the living.


    Though at times, a true coupling takes place.


    A true surrender of the gray soul to feed the demon.


    The demon does not consume the soul, however, but becomes one with it.


    Listen closely, and gather round!


    For a true coupling can be recognized!


    If it has eyes of fire, and her very blood were to boil...


    Then, oh then, my wee children,


    ye would all be dead.


    So let us hypothesize!


    Your pup, ¡®tis a female.


    Have you treated her well, young man?


    Any female scorned, man, elf, or canine,


    nothing against any of you young ladies, but what can be more demonic?


    A scorned woman that is, not you children. Who fears a child¡¯s wrath?


    Back to our speculation, aye?


    Hypothesis? Synonyms, children, synonyms!


    Has your teacher taught you not even the game of words?


    But I digress! And the beast hungers in the night!


    Alone the foul heart stalks, until one of weak will is found.


    Manipulation, or promises, your demonic little pup will find a woman to own.


    To control.


    And the true combining of a lady and dog, well, that would create a true dog lady.


    And, all of ye wee little cute things would be but her toys,


    to maim and devour at her whim.


    Call for guards, and hide in your rooms!


    Protect your body from harm!


    But worry not about the spirit itself.


    For the soul of a child is innocent and protected. Weak.


    Should the demon own a child, they would both be destroyed.


    Hell their judgment.


    And no innocent may be judged thus!


    I would say your best bet, would be to hope and pray and hide.


    Me? Well, I would stay and fight of course!


    And would not stop praying. Because fight or flee¡­


    I would probably be dead too!


    ~A campfire tale, XXII


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    SHATTER*


    About fucking time!


    This is bad timing!


    The door ripped open, the gigantic black shape that shot out, exited so fast it was not discernible, despite the bright flash of burning blue lightning.


    Ally was violently thrown into -and through- the railing opposite where she stood, landing flat on her back, wind knocked from her lungs.


    Trees behind Caleb seemed to explode as the huge mass shot straight over his head, and into the night. That was way too big to have fit through that door!


    Better duck, bitch!


    Careful Caleb, she is fast!


    Looking over his shoulder, wondering who was yelling to him, a black mass of heat and stench rushed by above, knocking him down. It crashed into the balcony that Lyle and Ally had been on, destroying it as effectively as an explosive. That¡¯s when Caleb got his first look at the creature. It crouched for a moment in the rubble, with Lyle in its large jaws. Eyes red and bright, though with no light of their own, fur a deep, oily-looking brown. A giant dog. A monster. It was large enough to fit Caleb inside of its mouth. This is impossible!


    Flinging back its monstrous head, Lyle was tossed into the air. The beast jumped, and snapped him into its mouth. Lyle¡¯s screams had changed completely, the sound was now of the deepest mind wracking horror and pain. The monster dropped him to the ground. Holding him in place with one massive paw on his torso, the giant beast-dog-monster delicately opening its muzzle, as if to take a tiny nibble, and bit him in half from the waist down, swallowing legs and hips in one, obvious, gulp.


    Hell yeah!


    My God¡­


    Lyle, bottom half gone, was screaming a sound that made all who could hear it feel sick. As soon as the beast swallowed, it turned, and looked directly into Caleb¡¯s eyes. He was hit with a sudden driving, crushing force, before being flung airborn by a flick of the monsters snout. He hit the ground (or was it a wall?) with a grunt, and the beast pounced at him.


    You soooo gonna die.


    DODGE!


    Praying, and not thinking, he jumped (pushed off whatever was under his feet) and hoped it was the right direction. Spinning in an axle, Caleb was barely missed by the giant dog that smelled of old onions and vinegar. Stumbling, trying to turn, and falling, he was grateful that the middle school-looking boy that had been hiding near the house, got grabbed by a leg in the creature¡¯s snapping jaws. It bound away in a flash, dragging the boy off into the darkness of the trees, and ever-growing nightfall. The boy¡¯s screams took the place of Lyle¡¯s, who had stopped, the difference was that this boy was screaming for his grandpa to save him.


    Mmm, that sound turns you on, doesn¡¯t it?


    Ignore him, Caleb! This horrifies you!


    The confusion hit him sudden and intense, stumbling backwards, tripping on the remains of the stairs; falling back and onto his side, Caleb suddenly realized that the two voices that were speaking in unison- were in his head.


    Then he saw her.


    Mere feet from where he lie, he stared into the lifeless blue eyes of the pretty child. She looked older than when he had seen her last. Her blonde hair was longer too. She was even wearing makeup. Which was marred by tears and blood. Jessie¡¯s lip was slip, eyes blood shot, bruises marked her delicate skin, thickest on her neck. And there was blood. Not so much on her face, no, most of it was¡­ was on her legs¡­ the ground¡­ her¡­ naked bottom area¡­


    Jessica, one of Ally¡¯s younger cousins, and Sally¡¯s twin, was dead.


    Ally¡¯s anger, and Lyle¡¯s words hit him at once. Covering his mouth, he began to shiver violently, heart feeling like it was vomiting. ¡®Jessie, no! No, no, no, no! Oh God, no! No!¡¯ And like, that he was numb.


    What were they doing? Why were they here again?


    The boy the beast tossed into the woods had quit screaming.


    A shout from Ally pulled him back to reality just as the big beast crashed through the trees, knocking them down like bowling pins, and taking out the remainder of the ruined house.


    ''Where is it?!'' Caleb thought, panic tickling his mind; looking all about, the giant dog seemed to have vanished. It must still be behind me in the rubble.


    ''But where¡­ Dammit, what do I do?!¡¯ His mind then blanked out concern for himself, a terror level worry for Ally overtaking. Stupidly standing straight up, he was looking around everywhere for a sign of the blonde teen. ''I need to find her! I need a weapon, but fuck that bitch, right? Wait, huh? No, why think that? It was(WAS)n¡¯t her fault. Was (was not!) it? Of course it wasn¡¯t!''


    Shaking his head and feeling dizzy, why couldn¡¯t he think? ¡°Ally! Where are you?!¡± he croaked, voice randomly hoarse, like had been screaming. Coughing, Caleb stumbled, and fell back to one knee. Every time he tried to gather his thoughts his head spun so violently even sounds were lost in the whir.


    * * *


    Feldyn felt like a helpless fool. What in all the hells was a female (he assumed, due to its lack of testicles) lycanthropeire of such strength doing sealed in such a random location?! The half-elf had assumed it to be a much lesser creature, one dangerous, yet something he could handle. It wasn¡¯t that he was afraid, it was that here on Earth, he had almost no power. He didn¡¯t even have a weapon!


    Feldyn just hoped the Dragonheart and Ally could survive until backup arrived. They sure seemed to be taking forever to traverse the woods¡­ Surely the police officer heard the gunshots, and was coming to help! And Bryan couldn¡¯t be far behind the half-elf, though would likely be a liability himself, unarmed as he was.


    The lycanthropeire returned to the clearing, diving into the rubble, before flinging someone out of it with such extreme abruptness, they barely had a chance to scream, as they were tossed into the trees. Ally. It was Ally!


    Feeling helpless as the beast crouched to jump in pursuit of the girl, Feldyn began throwing rocks at it. He needed to distract it! The half-elf was cursing his lack of throwing ability, as Caleb speared the crouching beast in the flank.


    Yelping, blood spilling from the wound, it still jumped, but sideways. Landing on its shoulder, it stumbled, rolled, and skid into some trees, before crashing back to its feet.


    Then it pounced at the Caleb faster than one could blink ¨C right into a crackling, blue, flaming lightning peel of a manastorm.


    Yes!¡± Feldyn cheered, almost in a scream, as the beast yowled and thrashed. Fur and skin burnt, bubbling blood pouring from large, gaping, scar-like wounds across its face and shoulders. Stumbling, the lycanthropeire rolled on the ground, and drug its face in the dirt, moving out of sight, trying to extinguish its pain.


    The fact the breaking of the seal (he assumed) triggered more manastorms, seemed to be advantageous for them. Luckily, as well, the storms were not strong enough to be accompanied by quakes. At least Feldyn hoped no quakes were to follow.


    In the rubble, Caleb cried out when his bare right foot stepped into a puddle of steaming blood, that looked (and felt) like it was boiling. More weirdness, but he couldn¡¯t stop to think about it! He had to get to Ally! If he thought, those voices may confuse him again. Whether it be giant monster dogs, boiling blood, or random blond guys popping from the woods to shout things or cheer, he had to just keep moving!


    Feldyn watched Caleb sprint into the woods in the direction Ally had been thrown. The beast could still be heard thrashing and whining, though it was staying in the same general area from the sound of things.


    He knew he had to buy the Dragonheart some time. But how? Looking about the clearing, he saw for the first time the body of little Jessie. What had happened sank in fast. Clenching his jaw, Feldyn continued scanning the area. A bit off in the trees to his left, there was a half-naked young man, who apparently had demonic dog survival skills.


    Excuse me!¡± Feldyn sang loudly to the young man, hiding some yards away, and waved a hand, kind and pleasant smile on his face. When the young man looked at him in horror and started making shushing sounds, Feldyn lowered his hand, but kept his smile. ¡°Do you know who it was that caused the death of that girl?¡± he asked, sounding eager and excited, though quieter. ¡°Why?¡± the young guy called back, suspicion tinting his terror stricken voice. Feldyn decided to gamble, ¡°I was promised the blonde bitch that monster tossed into the trees.¡± He then tilted his head to the dead girl, ¡°And a little one. Sad I missed the fun.¡± He closed he eyes and smiled, hoping his shudder of revulsion looked like a shiver of pleasure.


    You¡¯re a sick fuck,¡± the shirtless young man grinned at him. ¡°Too bad, too. You should have heard her screaming. I mean, she screamed for everyone, but¡­¡± he smiled, and leaned down some as if he was telling a secret, and not calling out to someone in the woods that his human eyes could barely even see. ¡°I was the one that got to feel her die on my fucking cock!¡± He began to laugh quietly, with more than a little bit of madness. ¡°How fucking epic is that? Huh?¡±


    The lycanthropeire had quit making noise, but all Feldyn could have heard anyway was the sound of his own pulse pounding in rage. ¡°How big is your penis?¡± was all the half-elf replied.


    Laughing, ¡°What the fuck, you a faggot?¡± the male asked, not sounding in the least offended, fellow psychopath to chat with had distracted him from the fact a literal monster was nearby. ¡°It¡¯s nine inches of pain and pleasure. My pleasure.¡± Feldyn leaned down and picked something up. With a smile and nod, ¡°Then this should do it!¡± Suddenly, he was behind the boy in a rush of wind, too fast for the rapist to even see.


    Roughly nine-inch stick in two hands, Feldyn bent his knees and thrust it up, through the young man''s pants and into his ass. Lifting the breathless rapist to his tip toes, Feldyn straightened his knees, and grabbed the boy¡¯s short hair with his left hand. Yanking him off-balance, stick still held in his right hand, he pivoted the man to the side, so he had a straight shot at the clearing. And with a shove and a kick, he released the stick and sent the impaled man stumbling into the clearing and onto his knees with a loud wail.


    I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± he sobbed at Feldyn, trying to reach the stick in his ass. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Bryan snapped, as he ran up next to the half-elf, looking out at the sobbing, half-naked man, with a stick in his ass. ¡°Long story,¡± Feldyn snarled, eyes not leaving the clearing. With a whimper and a lot of blood, the rapist pulled the stick out.


    Feels great, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Feldyn snarled, then took a deep breath. ¡°Here, puppy, puppy-¡±


    The beast smashed straight into the ground from above the bleeding male, taking him completely into her mouth. Feldyn and Bryan both cried out in surprise, the latter falling to the ground from the shock of what he saw.


    The rapist was now screaming in pure terror as he was tossed into the air. Jumping, the beast caught him in her mouth, chewed a little, then tossed him in the air again. Listening to the screams, Feldyn couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bad. Though he was positive, after what that wicked man had done, that he deserved worse.


    Yelling for his mother to save him, he was swallowed whole, and very much alive.


    Well, that would be worse, wouldn¡¯t it?


    What¡¯s going on?¡± Bryan asked from the ground, panic under control now, but barely. Feldyn wasn¡¯t sure what to say, or what to do. But since the beast had just swallowed its last visible victim, he and Bryan were probably about to be next.


    There was a flash as a manastorm arced in the clearing, giving them a momentary distraction. ¡°Run!¡± Was all Feldyn said, and Bryan didn''t hesitate, running back the way he had come. So did Feldyn, only angling his flight a bit to the side, so they were not going exactly the same way. Stealing a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw the beast¡¯s eyes coming at him (Why pick me?!) and fell to his belly, letting the creature pass overhead. Dammit all to bloody hell! No weapons, and no magic! He tumbled as it crashed by a second time. ¡°Lance, do something or we both die!¡± Feldyn yelled, and he heard a sort of pop.


    Suddenly falling, he hit a branch with his leg, flipping him upside down, taking another branch wickedly across his throat.


    * * *


    Not far away, but too far for it to be of any help, Caleb crashed through the underbrush of the woods, hoping to blindly stumble across Ally, without getting eaten in the process.


    ''This was a stupid plan, should just leave the bitch.''


    Why was he hearing voices!? Why were his own fucking thoughts sounding like them!? What the actual fuck was happening?!?! Pazely just got back, but she really got back months ago and he just forgot! Then lightning stars arcing through the air, earthquakes, warm rain -which had stopped- on a clear sky, and a giant dinosaur sized monster dog coming out of a door in a barely standing building in the woods, that Ally opened! And here he was, running through those woods, trying to find Ally so they could escape, while trying to not about Jessie being raped and fucking murdered!


    His throat tightened and he clenched his jaw. Jessie...


    Jessica and Sally, Ally''s almost identical twin cousins. The only difference being Jessie¡¯s eyes were faded blue, while her twin¡¯s were a faded green. Jessie had been so outgoing and silly, and her hair was long and wild, clothing style similar to Ally¡¯s. The complete opposite of her twin sister. Jessie never acted scared. Sally, on the other hand, had always been the anxious type. That changed after her abduction a few years ago, when she was around Gigi''s age.


    Right out of their dance studio in southern California, Sally vanished and was gone for weeks. No trace, just gone. Then one day, she just returned. Wearing different clothing, unharmed and intact, in every way. With no memory of what had happened. Just that she had fond feelings for whoever she had been with, and that he wasn¡¯t a bad man. Nothing else. The shrinks and law enforcement involved just deemed it some type of brainwashing. Yet, everyone was happy, that regardless, she seemed good, unhurt, and happy.


    Sally, while still quiet, had been gaining confidence since her kidnapping. Doing more things solo, and independently. Also started to wear less clothing, and dress more like a dancer. Her family were nudists, after all. But like Ally always pointed out, being naked around nudists was like being fully dressed around normies. You could be comfortable nude at resorts, yet shy to show your belly in public.


    In many ways, it had seemed Sally was improving. Getting over her weaknesses. Jessie supporting her completely, always her sisters cheerleader.


    And now Jessie was dead; gang-raped and strangled to death. At least the ones that did it were now all dead. Hopefully. Murdered by Ally, himself, and that giant dog beast. Because that¡¯s what is was, right? Murder.


    The dog howled loudly, and the moon seemed bright, even under the tree cover. There was no more screaming. When had it stopped?


    With a surge of adrenaline, Caleb threw himself painfully to the ground, the impossibly fast monster shot over him a fraction of a second later. Staying on his face, he belly-crawled and rolled through undergrowth, trying to use it as a barrier; the creature crashing and thrashing almost everywhere but where Caleb seemed to be, as he kept moving.


    * * *


    Reaching the ruins of the old house, Stryker, Pazely, and Bryan (who they had encountered in the woods), paused at the sound of the trees snapping, and the snarling and horrible barking. Bryan was telling the truth¡­


    Stryker handed the rifle to the boy, preferring his side arm anyway. Pazely, shotgun in hand, was shaking violently at the sounds coming from the trees. Bryan was practically in a state of shock. He was so rattled at what he had seen, coming back here actually made sense to his panic numbed mind. Friends in danger, monster bad.


    Stryker flicked on a small flashlight he had in his jacket pocket, and ran into the woods, leading the way. Why? He didn''t think about the why. Or much at all. Ally and Caleb needed saved, that was all.


    The swath of destruction had cleared them a pretty decent path. The trio never noticed the body of the little girl, that was now partially obstructed by debris.


    All three thought they were being brave and open-minded. All three were very, very wrong, as they ran ever closer to the sounds of nightmare.


    There was one, however, who was about to be much braver than any of them could imagine.


    * * *


    Oblivious to the nearby help, Caleb was rolling and crawling desperately, without even a moment to catch his breath. Realizing he had rolled free of undergrowth, he quickly got to his feet and turned, seeing Ally, blood all over her, laying against a tree. Meaning to run or duck towards cover, he didn¡¯t even get the chance to begin moving- the giant beast hit him head-on.


    Ally watched in horror as the creature flung Caleb with its muzzle, sending him spinning high into the air, above the field she sat near the edge of. The beast crouched to leap after him, and a rifle rang out the moment it jumped. Hurt or startled, it faltered its jump, yet still managed to slam into Caleb in the air, knocking him back towards Ally.


    Falling even more out of control, Caleb landed on his shoulder and hip, right side of his head cracking into something. A feeling of dizzying sleepiness overtook him, though with it he struggle enough, aware he was going to pass out, and what that meant.


    Run,¡± he croaked, with a gag of blood. So sleepy¡­  Ally was calling to him nearby, but he didn¡¯t hear her. He heard nothing but the sound of the ocean in his ears¡­ Was he lying on a shell? ¡°Please..¡± he managed in a tiny pleading voice, before slipping into the blank void of unconsciousness.


    The creature was shaking its head furiously from where it had retreated across the large clearing. The would-be heroes arrived at the opposite side of the field, finally got a decent look at this monster. They had begun firing instinctively at the large before being able to quite make out what kind of creature it was. Freezing instead of reloading, Stryker, Pazely, and Bryan -whom had been trying to convince himself his eyes had been paying tricks- stared dumbfounded.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The beast now looked across at them, giving a deep guttural growl. ¡°Kids, you need to go,¡± Stryker said in a voice that felt like ice. This beast¡­ was big as a house! It looked like a gigantic, roided out house pet! Was this¡­ real? It boggled the mind. Something like this shouldn¡¯t exist!


    Bryan and Pazely ignored him. Go where? Where could they run, from that¡­ thing? That¡­ real life monster?


    Ally, leg mangled badly enough that she was sure she was going to lose it, if she even lived.


    Caleb, unconscious.


    Stryker, Bryan, and Pazely frozen in terrified awe, all guns empty.


    And Feldyn knew he had to get them to keep trying!


    The sight of the Dragonheart unconscious worried him immensely. Ally looked terrible, but unfortunately, everyone else was expendable as long as Caleb survived. Shirtless, scratched, with a decent bruise growing across his throat, Feldyn ripped the rifle from Bryan''s hands as he ran out among them. How does one use this bloody thing? He didn¡¯t have time to figure it out, it would seem, as the guttural snarl rose to sound like dozens of engines revving at once.


    Gigi, bloody mouth, covered in dirt, no pants and silly hair, reached the ruins of the house in the tiny clearing.


    Of course, she had known what had happened. Kinda. It made her mad. It was Jessie''s fault, for being dumb, and going off, and leaving her! If she had stayed than she wouldn''t have had to die. Gigi told her, but no one listened to Gigi. When she saw her cousin, lying there, but she just wasn¡¯t there anymore. Jessie was lying there but¡­ she was gone. This wasn''t like with bugs, or animals. This... was...


    Gigi''s tummy felt tight, and her chest felt sick. It made no sense, and was annoying. The frustration made her want to cry and get a cheeseburger with lotta pickles (and no onions or mustard!). First Jessie died and left her, and now she was upsetting her still! Stomping over to her cousins corpse, Gigi kicked her in the ribs. But her leg barely moved. It was more of a tap than a kick.


    Jessie went to Jesus. Jesus... would be mad of Gigi for this. Because.... because.... Tears were in her eyes now. Tears not from the usual frustration. These felt... terrible. "Why did you leave me alone?" Gigi asked her dead cousin. The only one that understood her. That helped her. That taught her about Jesus, and how to be a good guy. ''Jesus, tell Jessie I''m mad at her!'' Gigi prayed in her mind. Jesus heard everything. Jesus was why she was one of the good guys. A hero!


    Looking out to where her other friends were, the reason she had come here, Geeg was more determined now than ever. Her friends were going to live, because she was a hero and would save them. After that, they would want her to live with them forever. She wouldn''t be alone and bored ever again.


    Moving to retrieve the empty handgun Ally had discarded nearby, she ran towards the sounds of hell.


    As she left the small clearing¡­ This brave little sacrifice¡­ He was watching. If she had taken any other course of action¡­ If she had not gone after her friends¡­ If he had not seen her eyes...


    They were all going to die¡­ Every last one of them¡­ He hadn¡¯t cared¡­ They were the fools that released it. He just watched. As always. As was his job. His punishment.


    So he told himself. So he always told himself.


    His orders could not be ignored. He was to watch and report. And report he had done, to no answer. There was never an answer.


    Watching the child approach her dead relation, the way she reacted... Then she retrieved the weapon before proceeding on.


    He knew her intention. He knew her fate. He knew the gun was empty. He knew it would not have mattered.


    To watch, and not to intervene. That was his job. His punishment.


    Only this time¡­ Could it be? He had not felt such about a life since¡­ Was it finally time, oh great Revelator? Was this truly the time? He had risked the curse to protect those in need before, and each time he had been forced into slumber, where he dreamed of loneliness; the pains of hunger never ceasing. Each time the slumber grew longer. Each time he awoke weaker, and less able to help. Each time he was forced to watch as more suffered and died before his eyes.


    Perhaps this time¡­ God would allow it. Maybe that child, which stirred something deep within him¡­ Could be saved.


    Fully shrouded in his silken black cloths which clung to him like an ebon skin, he stood. Black mist seemed to roll from him, so fine was the weave that wisped and blew about his body. Eyes of the deepest blue ice shone brightly; the only part of him the sun would not burn, and the only part of his body exposed. For possibly the last time in the two thousand years since he had been cursed... sentenced to wait¡­ to watch¡­ to suffer...


    Masque headed out to battle.


    The beast sprang at them. Shit! Almost as fast as the beast herself, Feldyn dropped the rifle, and felt the air rush past him as he quickstepped under the creature, sliding hard on his back. Another quickstep and he was back in the tree cover; the lycanthropeire stumbled and rolled almost right over the top of Bryan.


    Hiding behind a large rock, shotgun in shaking hands, Pazely tried to calm herself. ¡°Thanks Paze,¡± Ally smiled, confusing her for a moment. ¡°For coming to help us,¡± she smiled calmly. Then added, ¡°This hurts pretty bad, y¡¯know?¡± Ally was closer to breaking that fake smile than Pazely had ever seen. And then she noticed her friends injuries. There was a lot of blood, so hard to tell how bad she was actually hurt, other than her leg. Her leg...


    Hmph!¡± Pazely managed to squeak, intending to say something rude in encouragement. But the beast suddenly took her and the large rock into its mouth. The rock exploded as the dog crunched down, and hopped out into the field.


    Seeing Pazely taken out in one bite, Ally screamed; then sighed in relief and embarrassment as the beast turned, and she saw Pazely still alive; the boulder preventing the jaws from closing. Pazely jumped out, hitting the ground and rolling. ¡°Good girl,¡± Ally said, ¡°now you run like hell,¡± she added, breathless.


    Running like hell, convinced she was gonna trip on her damn long twintails, Pazely didn¡¯t even look over her shoulder as she sprinted back towards her friends. Lord only knew where the shotgun went.


    Bryan and Stryker were running towards her; Bryan shooting. His expression¡­ Oh God. It was about to get her, wasn¡¯t it? Pazely was determined not to scream, feeling the monsters breath on her an instant before Stryker reached her, and shoved her violently out of the way, taking the impact himself. Luckily, no teeth were involved, the officer knocked off to the side, landing limp and unmoving.


    Bryan didn¡¯t know what to do, and he was out of bullets. Pazely was having trouble standing (her ankle hurt like hell), and the beast turned towards her once again. Then that blond-haired guy appeared in a blur on the monster¡¯s head; unloaded the rest of the bullets from Stryer''s sidearm into it, distracting the big dog long enough for Bryan to run (This is suicide!) underneath, getting to Pazely, as the creature tried to buck the man from from atop it.


    This sucks so freaking bad!¡± Pazely half whimpered and half bitched as he scooped her into his arms. That was an understatement. Running over by Ally, he set Pazely down, then turned to go get Stryker, and noticed the officer was already stumble-running their way, just as Feldyn crashed unceremoniously into a tree next to Caleb, landing him atop the unconscious boy on the ground.


    The lycanthropeire smiled at them as it paced back and forth. It''s eyes glimmered with a wicked intelligence. It was enjoying this. Their fear. Wanting them to know they were doomed, and nothing but corned mice.


    A black-garbed figure burst from the woods, slamming into the lycanthropeire, shoulder-rushing it across the field, and into the trees.


    Yay!¡± Pazely chirped, the others remaining silent, listening to sounds going on in an apparent battle that they couldn¡¯t see. The giant dog was actually sounding like it was in pain off and on. No one moved, as they waited the endless few seconds, wondering who would win. Feldyn hoped the enemy of your enemy applied to whoever had just rescued them. If that is truly what he happened.


    The battle then crashed back out onto the field. Clothed in a way to seem to be wearing a ninja costume, their rescuer fought. And he fought fast. His eyes shone like solid blocks of rich blue ice, as he blurred and sped. Black wisps of a thick, misty substance flowed and moved around his large muscular form while he fought.


    The black substance around him, Ally had thought was smoke at first. Then, as her eyes began to adjust to the speed of combat, she saw it was actually some type of material. But¡­ nothing she had ever heard of had those properties. Nothing solid, anyway.


    Hitting the dog, knocking it back, the beast would bite, ninja dude would dodge. The cycle repeated, crashing and tearing up the field, as all watched in a silent mix of awe and fear. Pazely, who could keep up from the beginning, noticed neither seemed to be doing much of anything fantastic in their duel. Ninja dude was just¡­ moving. Not flipping, tucking, being all badass. Nothing. Just quickly forward and back. He didn¡¯t actually dodge shit. He just moved faster. Like, as the big ugly coyote-looking thing would snap at him, he just increased his speed either forward or back, to not get bitten. It was not what you would expect from someone dressed like a ninja.


    The fight was not going like Masque had anticipated either. This was quite a powerful beast. Her very blood boiled, as he managed with his weakened body to finally make the bitch bleed. Masque was grateful she was either too young to have battle experience, or simply lacked in skill.


    Her blood was causing him quite a good deal of pain, the heat enough to burn the flesh beneath his shadowcloths. It had been quite a long time he had felt physical pain, and was glad he could still tolerate it.


    Masque smelled her nearby before the beast had. Seconds, then it would be too late. Should he draw his blade? Was that child worth such violation of Law? The she-beast, learning, faked a lunge and back-stepped, catching the attacking Masque in her jaws. Crushing into him, with a few good shakes of her head, she threw him off, away from the group that foolishly remained.


    First¡­ first she would make sure they were dead.


    This nightmare looked upon them, again. They had no way to fight, again. They had nowhere to run, again. Their would-be rescuer failed. Weren¡¯t they heroes? Why, then? Wasn¡¯t that enough? Isn¡¯t that what it took to save everyone? Heroics? Or was it¡­ sacrifice?


    For who ran out of the trees and onto the open field, was not a hero. The tiny little form that the lycanthropeire noticed as it turned towards the others, wasn¡¯t supposed to be there. Some may call tragedies inevitable. Some may blame God. Some blame man. For what ran onto that field of demons and nightmares¡­ was a child. Children die as hideously as any adult. Sin and death don¡¯t discriminate in who suffers. Though some sufferings tear at our heart worse than others.


    Stryker himself had been to many a scene with dead children, some so bad that to this day his mind tries to forget. And fails. But when he saw her standing out there¡­ so far from them¡­ And this, this monster looking at her¡­ His blood turned to ice water in his veins.


    Oh my God!¡± Ally gasped, when she noticed the tiny girl. Drawing the attention of all of the others, there seemed to be a collective paralysis of true horror, reality setting in for her, as it still fully hadn''t for themselves.


    And little Gigi couldn¡¯t help but start crying. She now understood she did something dumb. Her body shook, and she felt like barfing. Gigi didn''t know what was happening, but she knew (even if she had known) there was a monster. And for the first time in her life, she was truly terrified.


    Pazely made a choking sound of horror, and Stryker was unable to find his legs. What good would it have done? Bryan knew none of them could reach her, nor could they close their eyes. Oh God, please let this be quick! Poor Feldyn had been screaming as loud as he could for her to run, before the others had even seen her; his voice was still too hoarse from the branch-inflicted-injury to his throat. Even quickstepping, he wouldn¡¯t get there before the beast!


    Gigi was sobbing, and yelling for her mom, pointing the gun, held in her two tiny hands. She was going to die. What was going to happen to her, she finally understood now what Jessie had been talking about. Why Jessie had been so mad at her! GIG DIDN''T WANT TO DIE LIKE THAT!


    Then she heard Ally scream, as the big dog that made her more scared than anything, jumped.


    Gigi!¡­¡­


    In a split second¡­ In the moment Ally screamed¡­ In the moment it took for the demon to clear the distance to her¡­ In the moment it took her tiny hands to squeeze the trigger of the empty gun¡­ In that moment¡­ her life flashed before her eyes.


    She didn¡¯t know why she was crying for her mom. Her mom wouldn¡¯t have come anyway. She would have said monsters weren¡¯t real. Would have said this thing about to kill her, couldn¡¯t be here. What had her life meant? Being bored. Until she got to come be with Ally in Castle Rock! And she got to be good friends with everyone! Life was finally not boring! And it was all because Jessie had told her about Jesus, and heroes, and not to be the bad guy.


    And now¡­ Jessie¡­ was dead. Jessie was... hurt... for a long time, maybe... Jessie was scared, probably worse than Gigi was now. Gig had never really known fear until now. She didn''t want to be scared, she didn''t want to hurt!


    Only the bad guys should be hurt! Only the bad guys should scream and cry!


    Ally had screamed.


    That scream was frozen in her mind, like everything else. Ally was scared. Ally was scared because the monster was going to kill them! But Gigi wasn''t gonna die! Because Jesus had forgiven her, and she was a hero!


    GIGI DODGE!!¡­


    She stepped to the left, feeling the monstrous paw crash centimeters from her face.


    MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! ¡­


    Rolling forward as the monster¡¯s chin brushed over her, drool splashing across her body. Still rolling, the lycanthropeire kicked at her with a hind leg. Turning, it jumped and gnashed empty air. Moving slower than Masque, slower than them all, Gigi just kept dodging the damned thing!


    Keep it up little one, keep going, do not stop, do not give up! ¡­


    Even with the weird voice¡¯s encouragement in her head, Gigi was still terrified. Her heart was beating so hard it hurt. She was so afraid! Why would no one help her?! Why were they just watching?! Her terror got stronger, as she felt abandoned.


    And the dog got her.


    ''Mommy, help!'' She screamed in her head, as she was lifted by her shirt the beast had snagged. ''Ally, Caleb, please!'' She slid out of the shirt, onto the dog¡¯s head as it whipped her upwards, and grabbed its fur in her two tiny hands. Shaking its head, Gigi was small enough to hold on until it quit. ''I¡¯m so scared!'' Without thinking, as soon as it quit shaking, Gigi stood and ran down its big back, and got bucked flying. ''No, no, no, Pazely help!!!'' Bounding in a quick circle, the lycanthropeire hit the child with the side of its snout, knocking her across the field from the others, and into a tree. She was uninjured due to staying limp like she knew to do if she fell.


    On hands and knees now, shaking, she felt like she was breathing air that made her sick. The big dog smiled at her. Her friends couldn''t help her, and she couldn''t help them. She was going to die. Was it because she hadn''t saved Jessie? Hadn''t told anyone when Jessie stupidly went with those guys? Did she deserve to die too now?


    Yes. Yes she did. A pain like she had never felt before crushed her chest when she thought of Jessie. A horrible, rending feeling that made her want to die. The moment, the emotions, the feelings, she was sobbing so hard words wouldn''t form on her lips, not even a scream in her throat.


    ''JESUS, HELP!'' she screamed in her mind with everything she was capable of feeling. And Masque slammed hard into the creature¡¯s flank with everything he was capable of giving. Missing its mark, the beast still crashed into the trees above where dirtied and bloodied Gigi was on hands and knees.


    Fight Gigi, it is not yet over, you can do it! ¡­


    Face stained in tears, Gigi rolled under the monster, and away from the battle between the Jesus Ninja that just appeared to save her from this mean stupid dog! Standing and confused, the pain and fear fading, again, that hollow frustration returned, and she looked to the others very far across the not so big field field, and clenched her fists. For just a moment, looking at them, all the big people just watching; just watching! ¡­ For a moment¡­ she wanted the monster to kill them all. She wanted them all to die.


    Now Gigi¡­ They do not fight because they are too afraid, it is because they cannot.


    Misunderstanding or not, the child was sure she understood. She saw how hurt they were then. How afraid. And she translated the voice in her head¡¯s meaning the best a five-year-old could.


    They could not fight. But she could. Just like she could have saved Jessie. No, Gigi was a hero. She would save her friends, and they would praise her for it! Love her even more for it!


    Then, little Gigi. Poor, terrified, powerless little Gigi¡­ At urging and calls from her friends to come to them... Turned and charged back to the monster, fighting alongside the ninja that Jesus sent to save her. Or so was the child¡¯s logic. It was impeccable timing, after all, one had to give her that.


    Feldyn was speechless. Had¡­ she just gone back to fight? That look. For just a moment¡­ That look she gave him. Them. For some damn reason¡­ instilled confidence. In a small whisper, ¡°Lance¡­¡± Feldyn began and barely contained a whimper of thanks as he felt the presence leave his shoulder. They could not just abandon her!


    Feldyn was aware there was not much Lance could do, but he had the best chance of them all to get close without dying¡­ Feldyn¡¯s mind spun from the influence of whatever substance he had drank earlier. He refused to give back in to the temporary madness and used his dread to stay focused on the reality at hand. If any of this was even truly happening. It was so hard to tell at the moment!


    As bloody-faced Gigi continued to dodge and roll, and the assassin-garbed man blurred about, Feldyn noticed something. This tiny little girl, hair unbound and matted with blood and dirt, was crying. She was so utterly terrified that she was sobbing. She was terrified to the point of hysterics, yet there she was jumping, rolling, and dodging; he even saw her try to kick it a couple times. If Feldyn was stunned before, now he was truly speechless.


    Masque was perplexed. The child who he had risked his soul for moments ago, was now assisting him in the fighting of the very monster he intended to save her from. Weakened as he was, the tiny human was allowing him attacks of opportunity. Her speed was not on par with the demon, but she somehow seemed to know exactly when and how to move, to barely avoid contact. As in, millimeters away at times from snapping teeth, or a raking claw.


    She reeked of such fear, he did not know how she kept going. He had seen grown men¡¯s hearts fail from less. Her fear was mixed with the smells of vomit and urine, as well as blood. This child had urinated herself in fear, and filled her mouth with bile from horror. Yet, here she fought. Here she stayed. And if she died here, so would he. If he failed her, then here he too would end.


    My Christ,¡¯ Masque prayed, as he fought, ¡®please save this one. Just this one.¡¯ It had dawned on him why she was fighting so hard. ¡®If by my death, she can live, then so be it.¡¯ She was fighting for them. For those he would have let die. Those standing to the side of the clearing.


    Ending his prayer, Masque pushed the assault. Like always, he felt no reply. No answer. No presence. He didn¡¯t hear His precious Voice. For this new world His blood bought went on faith. And one thing Masque would never ever, ever lose...


    Was his faith.


    Pazely was astonished at what she was seeing. ¡°She¡¯s tanking it,¡± the twintailed girl observed. ¡°Hell yeah, she is,¡± a weak-voiced Ally agreed. ¡°That¡¯s my Gigi,¡± her voice cracked, and she prayed to get the chance to tell her how amazing she was.


    Stryker wasn¡¯t sure what they were referring to, but if tanking meant she was the bait, then it sure seemed to fit. It was like watching some type of macabre bullfight, where the matador must endure not just any bull, but a mutant nightmare bull from Hell.


    I ain¡¯t gonna just watch this!¡± Stryker declared from beside Feldyn, who''s throat was feeling good enough to finally speak. ¡°And just what do ye plan to do, officer? Can you explain how she is avoiding that thing?¡± Feldyn honestly had no idea how her reflexes were able to keep up. ¡°We must put our faith in those two.¡± Stryker didn¡¯t seem like he was going to accept that. ¡°You will die, officer! You will make her sacrifice for naught!¡± Bad choice of words. ¡°She isn¡¯t going to sacrifice herself for me!¡± Stryker snapped, and started to run out to help. Feldyn was suddenly standing in front of him, knocking him to the ground with one well-placed punch.


    What is wrong with you?!¡± Ally yelled at Feldyn. He didn¡¯t get a chance to answer as Pazely screamed. Gigi had tripped, and the ninja guy had missed a flying kick. That was all the opening needed for the beast to snap Gigi up, fully into its mouth.


    Gigi opened her mouth, again in a panic, trying shout for help, but coughed and gagged instead. Giant tongue thrashing beneath her, the horrid smell, saliva everywhere, no grip, she was barely able to breathe. Kicking, clawing, and gagging, Geeg was holding the most fierce straddle of her life, struggling to not slide down the beast¡¯s throat.


    But it wasn¡¯t her legs that were keeping her from being swallowed. She was far too small for that. When the beast grabbed her up in its mouth, Masque had gone insane. The moment Pazely screamed, he began a furious assault. Leaping at the creature¡¯s throat, and hitting with a rapid series of punches and kicks; landing, rebounding right back to continue the assault; keeping the creature from being able to swallow.


    Gigi dug her tiny nails into the roof of the creature¡¯s mouth in desperation, and they suddenly burned with the worst pain she had yet to feel in her life, as its boiling blood dripped across her fingers. She gurgled a cry of pain, knees finally buckling. At that exact moment, Masque kicked harder than he thought possible in his weakened state, and the lycanthropeire retched out a screaming Gigi. Keeping up his assault, Masque drove the stumbling beast back into the trees.


    Regaining her footing, the little girl, in only her soiled and torn panties, stood there¡­ Then, she slowly turned to look into the trees where the battle continued. ''I can¡¯t believe she intends to keep fighting!'' Feldyn thought to himself. Then he felt the weight of Lance return. Apparently, there was nothing his tiny friend could do. What could any of them do, really? Feldyn didn¡¯t ponder long as he saw two shotgun shells on the ground near him. Ammunition? Did someone drop it? Looking all around, he noticed the discarded shotgun not far from where Gigi stood. He was confident the girl was intelligent enough to operate the weapon...


    Suddenly an idea crossed his drug-addled mind. A way to hopefully wound the beast severely enough for the black-garbed warrior to finish it off.


    ''My God, please let me be right, and please let her know my intent! And¡­ forgive me! Forgive me for putting a child in such a situation!''


    Standing, ¡°Gigi!¡± Feldyn cried out to her as loud as he could, voice strong. She turned, and looked at him with the look of a child you woke from bed too early, that still didn¡¯t quite know what was going on. He choked back a sob, which surprised him, and he held the shells up for her to see and threw them. They landed perfectly at the discarded shotgun. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ally snapped at Feldyn.


    Gigi understood. Gigi was so tired. She was so cold. Her fingers hurt so bad that she couldn¡¯t cry. No one called her to them. No one said to run. The voice in her head was gone. But¡­ the dumb guy wanted her to do something really scary.


    He was an adult, so he was right, right? No. Adults were wrong all the time. This adult though, was a hero, like her. What he was thinking in his head, was the right thing for her to do. ... Right?


    She began to run fast on her tiny, frightened, little legs that should have long gone weak. And miraculously rolled as the creature -boiling blood splashing everywhere- burst from the trees to her left, snapping the air where Geeg had been a heartbeat ago.


    Kicking the bitch demon from behind, Masque caused it to roll safely past the child. He also was not sure what the half-blood was wanting.


    If he had understood what the half-elf had planned¡­ How Feldyn overlooked it, is a mystery. Was it the influence of whatever hallucinogen was in his system? Or just an honest oversight? A mistake? If time could be reversed¡­ And they changed it¡­ Would they live? Even if what was about to happen to poor little Gigi could have been changed¡­


    Was there really any other way?


    Allowing the creature to keep almost reaching the child, in order to keep it in weapon range, Masque was running more risks than he cared for. The girl was fumbling with the weapon, dropping things, but she kept moving. So would he. There! She was standing now, holding it and- What is she doing?!


    Once loaded, she hugged it tightly to her body, barrel facing towards the sky, and turned towards where Masque was managing to -more or less- keep the monster at bay. ¡°Hey, ugly!¡± Gigi screeched ¡°Come and get this!¡± and turned to start shaking her butt at it, voice sounding like a sobbing child screaming for help more than a warrior yelling at their enemy.


    The fuck?¡± Pazely asked to no one in particular as she watched the scene. What is she doing?! Ally was holding her breath, and actually feeling some hope. Could whatever it was they were planning work? Then what is this horrible feeling? Ally didn¡¯t know, but oh, she braced herself. Just don¡¯t die on us Gigi. Please not here, not like this. Certainly death was the worst that could happen.


    Right?


    Confused at what the kid was doing, Masque accidentally allowed the creature to slip past him, and he cursed as it once again snapped Gigi up into its mouth. The beast was stubborn and repeatedly tried the same thing, even after failing. Keeping up his attacks like before, he kept the monster from swallowing.


    Masque then heard the shot reverberate; the lycanthropeire¡¯s eyes crossed and it stumbled, causing Masque to hit it in the neck, producing boiling blood.


    Boiling. Blood.


    Oh my God,¡± Feldyn said with such horror that the girls¡¯ spines went cold. ¡°Oh my Holy God, what have I done?¡± Feldyn choked and fell back to his knees. Masque suddenly understood why she had not shot; she had intended to let it get her in its mouth first! Did the half-elf know nothing?!


    Masque roared a deep guttural cry of anguish and rage, forgetting his restraint; manastorm crackling its burning blue lightning brightly, as he pulled a large black katana from the very air. Weapon in two hands, he slashed once, twice, five times! Blood splashed and sprayed, hitting him everywhere, the netherweave that wisped and whipped about his body diminishing to near nothing. With another roar, as if to summon new energy from nothing, Masque plunged his nightblade deep into the creature¡¯s left jaw. It howled, and Masque got ahold of the jawbone; ripping it almost clean off.


    Dismissing his nightblade, Masque caught Gigi as she fell. She screamed as no being should be made to scream. Most of the left side of her face was gone, and the smell of poached meat caused Masque to retch, though he no longer had the reflex to even do so. She still lived! She suffered! With no options, no thought, and no time to second guess or finish the beast before him, he chose. The same second he landed, with this sweet little one boiling alive in his arms, Masque crushed her tightly to his icy body, and leapt. Faster than he should have. Fast enough that her bones might shatter, her organs may rupture, but she had only moments. The girl had to be there! She had to be!


    Ceasing his crushing speed, Gigi was still screaming. ''Hang on, my precious little warrior.'' Masque feared for her in his long dead heart in such a way, his mind could not understand. ''Almost there, hang on little one! Fight like you fought that demon!''


    But Masque didn''t know how much worse this was than anything ever! So worse, that she wasn¡¯t even fighting! So worse, she didn¡¯t know her words were only screams! So worse, Gigi couldn¡¯t understand why they were ignoring her! It was so worse!! SO WORSE!! SO WHY WOULDN¡¯T THEY KILL HER?!


    * * *


    After Masque rushed away with the hell-screaming innocent, the giant dog staggered violently across the field, splashing, pouring, and spraying the boiling, reeking, fetid blood everywhere. And it was shrinking. Fast. By the time Gigi¡¯s screaming had faded, the creature had shrunk to about half its original size. Which wasn¡¯t good, but much, better than previous. Even better, it fled. Gagging and whimpering, jaw bone hanging, it ran away from all of them, and away from the direction Gigi had been taken.


    Feldyn stood. ¡°Well, shall we get going?¡± he asked, breaking the seconds long silence. ¡°Get going where?!¡± Bryan was incredulous. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see her?¡± he followed up, voice deep with horror. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Pazely spoke soft and quiet. ¡°Did you guys notice?¡± she made a nervous sounding heh. ¡°She was like, being b-b-burned. Y-y-you don¡¯t live through those kinda burns.¡± Ally hit her with a rock. ¡°Ow, you dumb bitch!¡± Pazely screeched, then froze wide-eyed as the severely injured Ally stood.


    You don¡¯t know she¡¯s dead,¡± Ally growled through clenched teeth. ¡°And I¡¯m not gonna leave her after she just saved us!¡±


    Well spoken!¡± Feldyn congratulated. Wincing from the searing pain in her leg and lower back, Ally hissed at him ¡°Fuck you! You caused this! All of this! It¡¯s your fault Jessie¡¯s dead, and-¡±


    Jessie who?!¡± Pazely squeaked. Ally ignored her, and continued, ¡°The memory loss and the injuries, all of it is your fault!


    Did you know, Feldyn?¡± she asked him, hatred in her eyes, ¡°Did you know what would happen to Gigi?¡±


    For a moment, at the accusation, the bard felt a surge of anger. ¡°I am a fool, Ally. Not a monster.¡± He honestly hoped his words were truth.


    Jessie who?¡± Pazely squeaked again, much quieter and with a tone of dread in her voice. ¡°We need to get moving,¡± Feldyn reiterated. ¡°Where are we moving to?¡± Stryker asked, voice uncharacteristically deep and somber. He felt like Hell itself had swallowed his soul. He wanted to go drink and sob himself into unconsciousness. ¡°And who even are you, anyway?¡± Pazely mumbled-interrupted.


    I will explain everything, but we need to get moving. You have my word, as soon as we are safe, I will inform you of every detail, leaving out none.¡± Stryker and Bryan were already shaking their heads, ¡°Not good enough,¡± Stryker stated. ¡°After all this, I¡¯m not leading these kids off with¡­¡± he looked the curious man over, ¡°¡­whatever you are. You aren¡¯t normal either, I¡¯m guessing?¡±


    We can trust him enough to follow him,¡± Ally volunteered, startling the half-elf. ¡°But you said this is his fault!¡± Pazely shouted at her friend.


    Enough!¡± Feldyn roared. "I do not know about the rest of ye, but I am concerned over the well being of the child that fought while we cowered! ¡°I know this is all very hard for you, and I will explain what I can on the way! If we do not leave now, we may very well not pick up the trail, if that man left one at all!¡± He indeed had not, though Lance was already on it.


    The matter settled for the moment, Ally accepted the assistance of Stryker, and let him tie a makeshift splint to her leg, and apply some bandages torn from shirts. Her injuries did not seem to be as bad as they appeared at a glance, but she still had numerous deep gashes on her legs. Caleb, for whatever reason, would not wake up, which was the greatest concern. Choosing to move him versus the danger of leaving him here alone, or someone waiting with him for help, Feldyn hefted the boy into a fireman''s carry.


    With that, they headed out to discover the fortune of their cherished Gigi.


    </a>

 Chapter 4: It鈥檚 Never What You Think

    The eyes which pierce break the lock on the hidden door of your soul.


    A door to guard shadows and secrets, deeply away.


    Secrets best left untold, as some would say.


    Shadows best not seen by the light of day.


    Revealing the end of an age, potential of forever.


    Torture is there to hold, pain to release.


    Will these secrets and shadows thicken to coal?


    For the dark truth, will hold sway.


    Away.


    Never at bay.


    Shall this lock break? Shall the pain of the watcher be released?


    Shadow failed and darkened, even is the coal to be victim?


    Break, combine, and shatter.


    Make many as one, and lay out the soul to be alone.


    To forever be imprisoned, watching their freedom.


    To rend asunder an atom is not so unlike splitting one¡¯s soul to coal.


    Take that reaction, inverse to the condensed density.


    A diamond in the night it is not.


    The unveiling of your dark secret had to be held.


    And that coal¡¯s density became a powder.


    A powder of shadow, carried away¡­


    And the shadow winds to lay¡­


    Forever the veil of terrors you have caused!


    Images of naught, burnt into the very walls of your being!


    A shadow burned and dusted into the dark walls of your spirit.


    Lurking and watching, waiting to be¡­


    Waiting for a me.


    I, not can they be.


    Neither you.


    Never they.


    Those eyes which pierce.


    In those dark shadowy secrets...


    In that powder-destroyed soul of the one.


    Those eyes should never have been.


    Piercing the shadow, they see all, never blinking.


    Ever drying.


    Never crying.


    Make ye not dark secrets to lock away.


    Bare the dark to light, and set not to curse.


    Fear holding back the dark.


    Lest ye lose your soul.


    Or another soul be lost to guard it.


    ~Eyes Which Pierce


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    She was still screaming when Masque reached the hidden door in the side of the cliff-face. It almost appeared to be planks boarding up a cave entrance.


    The door flew open as Masque approached; an old man with fully white hair and a well trimmed short, white beard stood before him. He held a wooden staff in two hands, and thin brown robes. ¡°Has the Order resorted to torturing children?¡± the old man asked calmly, standing firm. Without slowing, Masque kept approaching the priest that blocked the doorway. ¡°She is dying! Where is the girl?¡± The old priest didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°She needs healing, now!¡± Masque snapped, but the priest wouldn¡¯t listen. ¡°It won¡¯t work-¡± the old man began; Masque moved the small distance between them almost instantaneously - and knocked the old priest flat with a headbutt.


    Girl!¡± Masque called loudly, entering the doorway. No longer did his weave mist and wisp around his body. No longer did his eyes glow and shine. He now appeared but a large man, in skintight black clothes covering every inch of skin. ¡°GIRL!¡± He was beginning to despair. So loud was her screaming, Masque feared it would drown out all sound until nothing was left.


    Not knowing his way around inside this dwelling, built into the mountainside, he just stood there, and was about to call out again when the girl rounded the corner from the end of the hallway to the right.


    Her thick brown hair was wet, and Masque could smell the scents and chemicals from bathing soaps. Her eyes were wide and startled, legs and feet bare, wearing only a black t-shirt with the word ¡®FREAK¡¯ written across the front.


    She had thrown on panties and a shirt, hurrying from her shower at the sounds of these most horrible, bloodcurdling screams. Her gaze froze on the large man, who almost appeared to be one giant shadow, save for his brilliant ice blue eyes. ¡°Please!¡± was all he said, voice so pleading her heart skipped, and her eyes fell to the source of the screams. The tiny thing looked like something from a horror movie, yet, even that maimed and disfigured¡­ ¡°Oh my God, Gigi!¡± the girl breathed, all other thoughts leaving her.


    Beginning to run to the large man, she stopped and turned instead. ¡°Follow me. Hurry!¡± It¡¯s been like thirty minutes! What happened out there?! How did Gigi survive so long?! Did the others¡­ The girl didn¡¯t have much time for contemplation, or other actions. She was assuming this man was sent from the Order to kill them, and had stumbled across the child. He must be risking his mission to try and save her. Or it was simply a convenient ruse for him to get close to them. Did this mean all the others really were¡­ She couldn¡¯t think that way now! They could deal with everything else after she saved Gigi! They. Wait, where was dad?


    They ran down a small flight of stairs and a few rooms down to their right. ¡°The bed,¡± she directed the man, and hurried across the room to a glass-doored cabinet. the injuries were absolutely hideous! What had been behind that seal?! Out of all the items on the many shelves, she knew she had to use it. Anything else was too risky. It didn¡¯t matter how rare it was; this was Gigi, for heaven¡¯s sake! She could make more later!


    Returning to the child¡¯s side, vial of clear liquid in hand, she grabbed the needle and syringe sitting on the stainless steel tray on the table next to the bed. Popping the cork off the thin vial, the girl quickly filled the syringe. Discarding the vial with the remaining liquid on the table uncorked, she reached for Gigi¡¯s little arm. When she picked up her arm, her skin sloughed off in one sleeve, bloody arm falling back to the bed.


    If Masque could have vomited, he would have. Was the substance that the young woman was using truly powerful enough to fix this level of damage? And his eyes widened in shock when he noticed the mark. the child''s soul clearly displayed the mark of Christ. Had it been there this whole time? She was too young! An innocent! However, the mark could not be denied. This child was not innocent, was aware f her sin, and believed upon the Lord Jesus, Christ.


    The young woman stabbed the needle into the tiny blondes destroyed left eye; far and deep into her brain, injecting all of the fluid.


    Gigi, in less than two seconds, quit screaming. Masque looked upon her now calm form, she seemed to be in a deep, painless sleep. ¡°Will she survive?¡± he asked the pretty girl, who sat slumped on a nearby chair. The tone of true worry in Masque¡¯s voice intrigued her, the confusion mixed with it went unnoticed. ¡°Yes. The stuff I used will restore everything. Will even grow all of her teeth back, if still baby, and cause her adult teeth to grow faster.¡± Then, with a thoughtful frown, ¡°Might cause her entire body to mature faster, actually.¡± She didn¡¯t sound like she was positive of the side effects.


    Thank you,¡± Masque said, and meant it. When turning to leave, the girl didn¡¯t stop him nor object. After reached the stairs, the priest, however, did. Back-stepping to miss a down-swinging staff from the stairwell, Masque snarled. He didn¡¯t want to hurt the old man! Coming into the hallway, the priest turned to face him. Plain wooden staff in two hands, his stance was wide and tall as the two locked gazes. ¡°Who are you?¡± the old priest asked, calm and stern. ¡°You are not human, nor do you seem to be from the Order.¡±


    Step aside,¡± was the only reply. Reaching into a fold in his robe that appeared solid, the old priest nimbly, and blindingly fast, pulled and threw a dagger at the large man in black.


    Catching the blade, Masque growled, ¡°I have no quarrel with you, priest, and I must rest.¡± The look of complete shock on the old man¡¯s face said things were probably not going to stay as calm as they already were. ¡°You burn,¡± the priest observed. Masque didn¡¯t need an explanation. The muted pain he could hide, but he could not conceal the smoke that seeped from between his fingers.


    In the name of Jesus Christ, what is your name, demon?¡± the priest almost growled, composure regained. Now Masque was angry. Not only did this man think he was something as lowly as a possessor, but he dare use his master¡¯s name to try and compel him? About to reply, he instead decided action may be better than words.


    Faster than the priest could react, the large man in black was suddenly upon him, and forcing him backwards, off his feet, and slamming him hard (but not too hard) into the far wall. Holding the old man to the wall by his throat with one hand, Masque leaned in close, snarling in the priest¡¯s face. ¡°You dare use the Lords name to try to compel me? We are on the same side, you and I!¡±


    Dad!¡± the girl yelled from behind the large man in black, taking his attention for but a moment. That moment was all the old man needed. ¡°Koh-luhn!¡± the priest cried in one utterance, and Masque was hit by an unseen force that knocked him violently off his feet, and past the girl, who had stepped back through the doorway of her infirmary.


    Shoulder-rolling, Masque stopped his momentum in a kneel. ¡°Teri¡¯kre!¡± the priest commanded, and Masque felt like he was being pushed from all sides. He could barely move! But he could still move against it some. This priest was more than he appeared! ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not¡­ your¡­ enemy!¡± Masque forced out through clenched teeth. ¡°I think he might be telling the truth,¡± the girl said, stepping back into the hallway.


    The old man approached Masque quickly, ¡°Time to end this,¡± he mumbled, and touched the end to Masque¡¯s forehead. As soon as it connected, Masque screamed.


    Hate. Hurt. Alone¡­ A child abandoned. The pain of a woman, finding her man as he beds another. A betrayer¡¯s burning guilt. Fear, agony, the loss of the murdered. Victims. Forsaken. The abandoned.


    Taken, unable to resist, Masque screamed.


    PAIN! FEAR! SADNESS! SUFFERING!


    The paralysis effect ended, or was released, and Masque stumbled into the nearby wall. He gasped for breath he didn¡¯t need. His knees trembled.


    The old priest stood, eyes wide, expression shocked. ¡°What? How? You are not¡­ Why are you okay?¡±


    Do I seem okay to you, priest?¡± Masque rumbled in his deep, dry voice. ¡°I am not a priest,¡± the old man stated absentmindedly. ¡°But more importantly; you are not a possessed man, are you?¡± He punctuated the last by holding the staff out, and Masque flinched despite himself, but recovered quickly. ¡°What type of cursed object is that?¡±


    Why should I answer?¡±


    Why should I not I rip out your throat?"


    Enough of this!¡± the girl shouted, and both men stood glaring at one another. ¡°Are they alive?¡± she asked. Masque, a bit perplexed, turned his head enough to look at her. ¡°You saved Gigi, and say you''re not our enemy.¡± She walked out between the two, ignoring the protests of the old man. Standing before the powerfully built, black-garbed man (''He looks like a ninja on steroids¡­''), he was at least six foot, though seemed much larger.


    There were others,¡± she clarified, and he nodded. ¡°A police officer, a very tall young man, one with glasses, a blonde, and an Asian girl,¡± Masque described.  Dread began to fill the girl¡¯s heart. So, they were out there¡­ Then he added, ¡°And a half-elf.¡± That last caused a look of confusion from her and the old man. ¡°They live,¡± Masque said flatly. The girl didn¡¯t smile.


    Was there another¡­ a very young girl, not much older than Gigi?¡± she asked hesitantly. Masque knew of whom she spoke. He was not sure what proper etiquette was regarding this type of thing, so decided on the blunt truth. ¡°She is dead. She was... assaulted. Succumbing to blood loss and strangulation.¡± The girl didn¡¯t blink. ¡°The ones responsible are dead; killed by the tall boy, the blonde, and the lycanthropeire.¡± He left out that he had allowed her to die.


    Where are they?¡± the girl asked, ignoring the mention of the monster. ¡°Heading this way,¡± Masque answered, unsure why he answered such.  She sighed heavily and turned, walking past the priest and down a side hallway. ¡°Where are you going?¡± the white haired man snapped at her, reluctant to take his eyes off of the powerfully built ninja. ¡°You heard him. Let your old brain process for a bit. I need to go get things ready.¡± Turning to look around the corner at them both, eyes full of tears, ¡°I think we are all going to have a lot to talk about.¡±


    With one severely gimped member, one with a twisted ankle, and one unconscious, Feldyn and the others marched through mostly untraveled thick woods. He had not expected Caleb to remain unconscious, and had to have assistance from the other two men several times. Feldyn was very worried moving Caleb had done him more harm than good. In truth, what they were doing was moronic. The wise decision would have been to get Caleb help. The others could have then organized a search party or found the proper authorities to hunt down Gigi. Yet here they were, marching blindly through a dense evergreen rain-forest near pitch blackness, in the general direction the large man had whisked Gigi.


    They didn¡¯t talk much at all, nor did the others assault him with questions as he had expected. Instead they seemed focused and determined on the task at hand.


    After what felt like hours, they arrived at a tiny clearing. It was narrow, the width of a single-lane road. To the right, the path ended in the side of a cliff, and what appeared to be a wooden door, overgrown with vines and moss. ¡°Here,¡± Feldyn wheezed, adjusting the large young man he was once again carrying over his shoulders, ¡°is where they stopped.¡± At least he was hoping this was where.


    Before anyone else could say a word, the door opened. An old man stood in the doorway. He held a staff in one hand, the dim candlelight from inside illuminating him well enough for their night-adjusted eyes to see him fairly clearly. ¡°Who are you?¡± Stryker demanded, shining his small flashlight in the mans face, while supporting a barely conscious Ally with one arm.


    The brown-robed, bearded, old man ignored the question.¡°Been expecting you all for some time,¡± was all he gave, then turned to head further inside. ¡°Come now, hurry it up. Need to get this over with.¡± His voice, despite the harsh words, sounded kind. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem to have experienced too hideous a trauma, aye?¡± Feldyn was starting to feel some hope, ¡°Looks like it may be good news after all!¡± With earnest new vigor, the half-elf briskly carried the comatose oaf after the old man.


    The others were mostly feeling pretty grim, as they didn¡¯t share in his positive feelings. None of them had ever before experienced the kind of shit they had on this day. Who the hell ever had?! Following and limping her way after Feldyn, the twintailed little firecracker was about at the limit of her silence. So when they stopped suddenly, not far into the candlelit building, and she ran into the elf¡¯s back, Paze couldn¡¯t stay silent any longer.


    Oh! Well, this is a plot twist, ain¡¯t it, m¡¯lady?¡± Feldyn asked someone in front of him, and Pazely began bitching at him to keep walking while punching him in the butt cheek. Dammit, this hallway is too narrow to go around! For half a moment, Pazely considered biting him, then worried he might like it. She was right behind him, but couldn¡¯t see! Who was he talking to?! Damn little freaking hallways!! And why were there no lights in here but candles!!


    Feldyn beamed at John¡¯s granddaughter, who had stopped him, hands on hips, frowning from a stairwell. Walking up to examine Caleb, she flipped him off. ¡°I know you¡¯re not a dance instructor, but more importantly, is everyone else okay?¡± She appeared unconcerned over the huge teenager with nothing more then a glance and touching him a little. Trying to look past Feldyn, she leaned down and looked Pazely right in the eyes from under the half-elf¡¯s arm. ¡°What the hell?!¡± Pazely screamed in her face. Sometimes things were just too random! Why in the world was Miss Reba here?!


    After a mild start, she ignored the little Asian, who was huffling behind the supposed half-elf. Reba turned towards the stairs. ¡°Follow me,¡± she told them, and decended. ¡°Was that Miss Reba¡¯s voice?¡± Bryan asked. Stryker, on the other hand¡­ ¡°After everything that¡¯s happened tonight, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Santa and the Easter Bunny are waiting with anal probes.¡±


    Yuck!¡± Pazely squarked, Feldyn hurrying after the pretty young woman. Not sure of Stryker¡¯s reference, though knowing the fictional characters he mentioned, he got the point. Even if probing one¡¯s anus seemed a bit of a random thing to say. At the bottom stairs, in a much wider -normal sized- hallway, Feldyn followed after Reba.


    Walking into the same room that Masque had carried Gigi into earlier, Feldyn brought Caleb over to a bed on the far wall and laid him down. Then he heard Stryker start repeatedly saying Ally¡¯s name with more and more urgency. Apparently, the girl he lost consciousness. And from the reaction of the dance teacher, her heart had stopped.


    His world seemed to have no sound while they put Ally in the bed by the door. Reality went into slow motion as Reba cut Ally¡¯s shirt off. The lighting felt gray; Reba yelling to Stryker to grab various items and containers, in an odd, hollow, echoing voice. Feldyn couldn¡¯t feel. He¡­ Ally can¡¯t just die like this. He wasn''t supposed to care. He couldn''t care! Yet he did. The Lord knew he did!


    Then, something took his attention. He wasn¡¯t sure what, but his eyes drifted to the back corner. In the shadows, a curtain was drawn, completely concealing what appeared to be another small bed of some type of other. The chaos around Ally seemed faded to the back of his mind. Pazely and Bryan walked over by him to let Reba work. Feldyn didn¡¯t notice them. For next to that bed in the darkest of shadows, stood a stainless steel table with a torn and bloodied pair of panties¡­ The ones Gigi had been wearing.


    ''If that child truly died¡­ For me¡­ For us¡­'' Time moved even slower as he looked back to where Ally lie, oblivious to Pazely talking to him. Reba filled a syringe, and injected the girl¡¯s arm. Then quickly filled it again and injected the same arm. Then she grabbed a very large needle and syringe, filling it with a green fluid, and stabbed Ally in the heart. Feldyn didn¡¯t hear the cries of relief when Ally gasped and started to cough.


    For as soon as he saw that she lived, his dread came to a head, propelling him to the shadows in the back; pulling away the curtain so violently that he tore part of it down. Prepared for the worst, for the pain, the guilt, for his mind to finally snap- his eyes fell upon the sleeping, undamaged form of Gigi, laying on her back, mouth wide, breathing silently, blanket pulled up to her belly.


    Covered his mouth with a hand, Feldyn began to softly cry. ''My God, she¡¯s okay! She¡¯s okay! Praise you Jesus, she is okay!'' Eyes closed, one hand on the rail of the gurney, he hung his head and wept silently as possible. He was soon joined by Pazely, Bryan, and Stryker at Gigi¡¯s bedside. Pazely cried as hard as Feldyn, though less quiet.


    How?¡± Stryker asked, turning to Reba, who was smiling softly near an alive, but unconscious, Ally. ¡°I mean, shit, I¡¯m glad, more than glad, but... well, how?¡± Stryker struggled for words. Reba noticed his own eyes were more than a little moist. ¡°It¡¯s complicated. But she¡¯s going to be fine,¡± Reba answered him, voice sounding exhausted. ¡°So will Ally, and Caleb," she added, and could feel the remaining tensions leave the room.


    What is wrong with him?¡± Feldyn asked, and Pazely turned to see him talking to the old dude that looked kinda like a priest with monk vibes, that had come in the room at some point. He had thick short white hair, and a white neatly trimmed beard, and was seated in a chair next to - ¡°CALEB!¡± Pazely screeched, scaring the living crap out of the old guy. ¡°Do you have no manners at all?¡± he scolded, on the verge of shouting. ¡°Apparently not,¡± the tween snipped. ¡°Please forgive her, sir,¡± Stryker said, not sounding too happy himself. ¡°We¡¯ve had a¡­ bad night.¡± That was an understatement.


    The white-haired youthful old man looked over his shoulder at Stryker, who had a chunk of scalp missing, was covered in dirt and his fair share of blood, though much less than one would expect given the head wound. He stood with a sigh, extending a hand to the officer, ¡°Where are my manners, it¡¯s been a while since I have had to interact with other people.¡± Stryker took his surprisingly strong hand in a firm shake, expecting an introduction, but not getting one. ¡°Stryker,¡± the cop finally introduced, ending the shake, flushing a bit after realizing he just introduced himself by his nickname. The older man smiled, ¡°John,¡± was all he gave, as he sat back down by Caleb, where Feldyn and Bryan were now standing, not paying much attention to the interaction.


    He is only sleeping,¡± John reassured them. ¡°Then why won¡¯t he wake?¡± Feldyn asked, more himself, eyes lost deep in thought. ¡°I do not know,¡± John admitted. ¡°But perhaps... he simply does not want to.¡±


    Reba stabbed a needle into Pazely¡¯s ankle, who gave an ear splitting screech. No one had noticed Reba kneel next to the girl, and when she grabbed Pazely leg in a death grip, to keep her from dodging as she injected her, gave the child a start. The scream was pure drama, and everyone knew it.


    Is anyone ever gonna even attempt to explain what¡¯s been goin¡¯ on here?¡± Stryker drawled deeply, as if the speech center in his brain was going home for the day. Giant demon dogs and listening to Pazely, had that effect. ¡°Yeah,¡± the noisy girl sniffled in agreement, oblivious to the glares leveled her way. ¡°I know something weird is happening,¡± she continued, ¡°and I know I feel all fucked up.¡± That got her smacked by Reba, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°I feel like I might go crazy if someone won¡¯t please explain this shit!¡±


    "First," Reba said, moving to put her medical supplies away, ¡°let¡¯s get you cleaned up, rested, and fed.¡± Before Pazely could protest, Reba continued, ¡°We''ll all get the chance to explain things, but should we at least wait until Caleb and Ally wake up?¡±


    Pazely seemed to accept that. Mostly. ¡°Just one thing,¡± she sniffled, turned, and punched Feldyn in the balls.


    There was water¡­ and a lot of sadness. Or¡­ perhaps it was fear? The water seemed to engulf everything. Caleb didn¡¯t know where or why, just that she was drowning.


    She?


    Thrashing in a daze, at once and yet after forever, she was floating.


    There were two men.


    Faces¡­ not¡­ there¡­


    Danger! That was all Caleb could think, just danger! So much water, ink black as the world around them, feeling as if to pull her down into the deepest of depth, yet somehow she remained afloat.


    Darkness. Nothing.


    Then the two men again. Faceless men. Caleb didn¡¯t know why, but she began to cry. The second man faced away as the first turned towards her. And the man who was still facing away began to get farther from her. Reaching for him, she couldn¡¯t run, yet some part of her knew they must leave. Leave him here in this void of nothingness.


    The darkness engulfed, and with her last breath, Caleb screamed in a delicate, soft voice, so nostalgic, yet so alien. And so full of pain.


    I won¡¯t leave you!!!¡±


    Caleb awoke, sitting straight up with a gasp so intense, he grasped his own throat and chest. Startled, the old man sitting next to him on a chair authentically mirrored his reaction.


    The old man, having recovered from his start, cleared his throat softly, ¡°I see you have awakened.¡± Caleb all but ignored him, trying to take in the dark room. After a moment, he turned to look into the older man¡¯s confident blue eyes. "Did... my friend, Ally, she was with me in the woods." John smiled softly, ¡°she is quite fine. They all are. You were the last to awaken.¡± He stood and crossed the small distance behind him to a nightstand, where he got an old-fashioned candlestick holder with a ring on the side to carry it.


    Caleb was now sitting on the side of his bed, bare feet on the floor. All? ¡°Where-¡± he had to stop and cradle his head as it felt heavy. The dream he woke from still echoing in his mind. Can a memory echo? Err, dream. Can a dream echo? ¡°The mountains, as the crow flies- not far from your dance studio. Much farther on foot, if you were to hike it,¡± the old man answered. Shaking his head to clear the crashing waves, ¡°My friends,¡± Caleb started again, then took a deep breath to steady himself before continuing, ¡°where are they at?¡±


    John nodded, as if confirming his understanding to no one, ¡°They have their own rooms. Aside from the little one, and her,¡± ending the last with a motion to the ground near the foot of the bed Caleb rested on. Curled up in a ball, under a blanket, was a small figure. The mass of black here that could not be concealed, gave away who it was. Caleb smiled. Then, was royally confused. Then terrified. But¡­ somehow he seemed good. Random intense emotional swing notwithstanding.


    You were attacked by a lycanthropeire. A demonic animal spirit, more or less,¡± John explained, guessing at Caleb''s concern. ¡°I am not sure of the details, but you were all saved with minimal injury, due mostly to the little one, it would seem.¡± That confused the teen even more. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but the only other person I knew for sure was there when we were attacked by the... lycanther-whatever,¡± Caleb was reluctant to say monster or demon, as if that would confirm his crazy, ¡°was Ally. I see Pazely must have helped, but who else was there? Ally is okay though? Are you sure? How long have I been here?¡±


    John was patting the air, as the boys started asking his rapid questions. ¡°Calm down. Yes, Ally is fine. Everyone is.¡± John stopped then, frowning in thought. "...Stryker, Bryan, Feldyn, and Pazely, there. And the little one... Gigi; was the only one to suffer. If he had not of brought her here, she would not have survived.¡±


    Gigi?


    His entire body froze when he noticed the curtained off bed in the far corner, and the destroyed pair of pantsu still on a table near it. Gasping, he stumbled towards the gurney. ¡°Easy, I told you, all were okay,¡± John urged as the teen almost faceplanted in his haste. "She is sleeping, that is all!"


    Ripping the curtain back more successfully than Feldyn had before him, regardless of the old man''s words, his unbelieving terror urged him not to look. Not to accept it. Yet look he did look. At a slumbering Gigi, toothless mouth agape in a silent snore. She seemed content. And healthy.


    Perfectly fine,¡± John was starting to lose some of his patience. He sighed, trying to empathize, ¡°but why should you believe someone whose name you do not even know?¡± Standing beside Caleb, John had to smile a little himself. Did she really fight that creature? Her and¡­ him. The self-proclaimed Christian demon.


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    The tall boy offered his hand, ¡°Caleb Kurserieth.¡± What an odd last name¡­ almost... familiar. Taking the teenagers hand in his, ¡°John.¡± He smiled, then added, ¡°Just John.¡± The teen accepted this and went back to staring at the deeply sleeping little girl.


    Gigi opened her eyes.


    John was surprised, not expecting her to wake so soon, while Caleb just smiled at the little girl. She stretched with a big, loud yawn. Then began to blink at his smiling face with a look of utter confusion. ¡°Well, good morning, blondie,¡± Caleb beamed and reached out and ruffled her hair. It was so fluffy! Gigi continued to blink, though she was now smiling a little. Caleb''s smile stuttered, and he blushed when the naked child peeled her blanket back and began inspecting her body.


    Why the heck do you go to her before me?¡± Pazely mumble-whined surprisingly quiet from behind him. Her hair was unbound, and in the dim light she seemed to be hidden in a shadow, as it hung about her body; only face, feet, and small hands victim to the visibility of the light. Rubbing her eyes with one fist, Pazely gave his ankle a good, weak kick as she stepped to the opposite side of him from John.


    Ew, gross. Why are you naked?¡± she whined, making a gagging face, as Gigi was getting into quite the awkward angles, determined to find God only knows what. Then, looking to John, ¡°And ewww, why do you seem so freaked out?¡± Paze squeaked. Caleb, grateful for any reason to not look at Geeg himself, turned his gaze from Pazely to the old man. Who had turned fully around, apparently to avoid looking at the naked child. ¡°PEDO PRIEST,¡± Pazely screeched loud enough to induce a migraine. Then added with another stabbing shout, ¡°HENTAI! LOLICON!¡± John did not appear happy at her unwarranted shrieks. ¡°Like he has any idea what that means,¡± Caleb sighed at her. John was about to tell them that he was fluent in quite a few languages, as well as popular media and terminology, when Gigi interrupted.


    You¡¯re dead too?¡± she smiled peacefully at Pazely and Caleb. Then, eyes and a frown focused on John, ¡°Who¡¯s that? Moses?¡± Pazely exploded in laughter as John huffled. ¡°M-m-moses?¡± he stammered. Gigi then stood and punched the cackling Pazely in the face, good and solid, making a thwunk sound and causing the girl to stumble. ¡°The fuck, Gigi?!¡± Caleb snapped, surprised. ¡°We¡¯re all dead, so I can finally hit her!¡± The tiny blonde announced with a triumphant, satisfied grin. ¡°Right, Moses?¡± she asked the adult for confirmation, and Pazely dove atop her in the gurney with a roar. Caleb was laughing now at the entire thing. Paze was making hissing and spitting sounds as she politely kicked the crap out of the cackling little kid.


    John just could not figure out these children. ¡°You are not dead,¡± he informed, as she wiggled and squirmed trying to escape from her older friend. ¡°I¡¯m not?¡± She asked, and Pazely twisted one of the her nipples and she let out a startled scream. ¡°See? Not dead!¡± Paze smirked, before getting bitchslapped by a pouty-faced Gigi, free hand covering the offended body part.


    Why do you think we¡¯re all dead?¡± Caleb asked in a voice totally different than the current mood. The girls quit catfighting -they were tangled up horribly in Pazely¡¯s hair at the moment anyway- to look up at him, confused. ¡°Why are you even here, Geeg? What happened?¡± Both girls dropped their eyes and seemed to wilt. ¡°Was it because of that¡­¡± Caleb trailed off. He hesitated again to say ¡®monster¡¯.


    Next to him, John was more than a little curious. He had already heard the tale. Yet, with Gigi now awake¡­ would it differ? ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Pazely started, ¡°you like, got knocked out as soon as we got there.¡± She gave a humorless little laugh. Caleb winced a little at the blunt statement, but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Well, uh, we were fighting the dog demon thing and, uh, losing¡­¡± Pazely¡¯s head had dropped so she was looking at her lap.


    Another pause, and Caleb was growing horribly curious. No one said a word, as Pazely messed with her tangled hair, seemingly lost in thought. She suddenly giggled, awkward and a bit crazy sounding. ¡°Ally totally screamed when she thought it ate me, but I was all cool even when it was chasing me!¡± The fuck is she talking about? ¡°I wouldn¡¯t scream seeing it eat-¡± stopping, her head seemed to dip even lower.


    Caleb was totally lost. Even more so as she began to cry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gigi,¡± she whimpered. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She was sobbing now. Caleb looked to John, hoping the adult had an answer. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Gigi told her with a haughty -and rather cold- expression, and Paze laughed amidst her sobs. Then, to Caleb¡¯s shock, Gigi snuggled against the older girl, who crushed her in a huge hug. Just what had happened while he was unconscious?! ¡°This little girl is the one that saved all of you,¡± John explained, trying not to tear up over the touching display of affection. Again, Caleb was (retarded) lost. Wait¡­ what- who said that?


    The Jesus ninja helped!¡± Gigi chirped up at John, from where she was almost completely hidden in Pazely¡¯s hair.


    The Jesus ninja thing took all of their attention. The fuck is a Jesus ninja? Was she referring to the dipshit that looked like a hippy? Caleb wasn¡¯t sure, but the stereotypical Jesus caricature was quite easily changed into the stereotypical hippy appearance. A rainbow here, a bloodshot eye there. Love, peace, and chicken grease! Cheese and marijuana for all! An adult could confuse the two, so why not a child?


    It was actually rather pathetic that anyone would confuse the two¡­


    He is a demon,¡± John grumbled. ¡°Then he is a good demon!¡± Gigi scolded him. ¡°I was gonna die!¡± Gigi didn¡¯t blink as she stared into his eyes. ¡°No one would help me! I screamed to Jesus in my brain, and the ninja appeared!¡± She leaned forward now, out of Pazely¡¯s hair, her eyes pleading, ¡°And when,¡± her voice broke into a quivering vowel of fear, as she tried to think, ¡°i-i-i-it killded me, Gigi hurt so bad!¡± Tears streamed so thick from those super serious eyes that John felt he would drown. ¡°But he helped me! Didn¡¯t he? Isn¡¯t Gigi alive? You said Gig was alive!¡±


    Yes,¡± John answered her, shaken that he needed to contain tears of his own. ¡°Yes, you and everyone, are all quite fine.¡± What was with this little girl? Her eyes¡­ they made him feel a sadness. Guilt. They also made him feel something else... Was it... dread?


    I think that¡¯s enough for now,¡± John said, clearing his throat. ¡°Tomorrow is close, and I have a feeling it''s going to be a long day. Since we are satisfied everyone is alive and well, shall we retire back to our beds?¡±


    Gigi started wailing.


    Looking horrified, John stammered, trying to figure out what he had said wrong. Gigi¡¯s wails were met by Pazely¡¯s shrieks as the little girl was yanking her hair, trying to get out. Caleb leaned in, grabbing both girls to hold them still as he untangled the sobbing blonde. Pazely¡¯s hair was so thick; he wanted to run his hands through it so badly¡­ No time for such thoughts as he freed the naked child.


    Naked. Great.


    Awkwardly he grabbed her blanket, trying to lift her with it, and partially succeeded, covering her bottom half. He began to walk around with her, much like a parent carrying a crying baby in the night, calming them back to sleep.


    Only Gigi was not a baby. In fact, John was all but positive she was far too old to be acting the way she was. The child was closer to being a young lady. Caleb had a slight blush in his cheeks, and John''s also flushed. In anger.


    Gigi turned her head, and looked him dead in the eyes. John''s heart skipped, his thoughts shuffled in a panic, feeling like she knew them. That his deepest darkest secrets clear to her eyes. And she was judging him. Warning him.


    It¡¯s her teeth,¡± Caleb said to John after spinning to face him, breaking Gigi''s eye contact. ¡°Ohhhhh!¡± Pazely exclaimed in understanding. Loudly. At John¡¯s puzzled expression, Caleb explained: ¡°Her parents are uptight about sugar, but she is allowed to get candy after the tooth fairy gives her quarters.¡± Caleb shrugged. ¡°She doesn¡¯t have the teeth she lost to get the quarters.¡± John did not understand. He had not heard the child speak a single word. Did the boy figure out her dramatic overreaction simply by listening to her tears?


    Well..." John started, chin in hand, "maybe if we all go back to bed, there is a chance the tooth fairy will still show up.¡± Gigi gave him a suspicious squint. He winked at her. "I swear on my own teeth, if he does not show, I''ll go find him myself." The little girl rolled her eyes, but failed to conceal her smile.


    The three kids were sure they would not be able to fall back asleep. All three did not even remain awake long enough for John to return with the warm milk.


    * * *


    Officer Stricksent rounded the corner, almost running into Feldyn. His uniform was clean and unwrinkled, injuries gone thanks to Reba, police radio back on his hip, mic secured to his shoulder. ¡°Sorry, I just got back from town,¡± he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head in a frustrated fidget. ¡°Get so turned around in this damn place¡­¡±


    Feldyn led to officer back to the infirmary he had walked past, entering the room at the same time there was a scream from the back corner where Gigi''s bed was. The two were at her bedside in an instant. She was sitting up, mouth open almost as wide as her eyes when she looked up at them. Her face was a mask of unbelieving shock. And¡­ was that happiness?


    Well, ain¡¯t we noisy this morning,¡± Feldyn grinned at the over excited child, who looked like she had just won some great prize. ¡°Holy crap,¡± Officer Stricksent commented when he saw her pillow. Apparently, her expression was fitting. For under the child¡¯s pillow was a mountain of coins!


    Caleb was awake now too, untangling himself from Pazely (and her hair), as the two had opted to sleep on the floor, and she had rolled too close in the night. Ally and Reba both hurried into the room, neither girl was wearing pants, both just in oversized t-shirts. They got the atmosphere quickly enough and relaxed. ¡°What in the world are you screaming about-¡± Reba started as she approached the Gigi, ending her statement with, ¡°holy crap!¡± as she saw the coins. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m sayin¡¯!¡± Stryker agreed. He was grinning.


    On his feet, Caleb was still wearing the same dirty clothes from yesterday. He loathed sleeping wearing a shirt, or clothes at all, really. But, well, with Pazely so close, he wasn''t comfortable with much -if any- nudity. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of loot,¡± he yawn, drawing the attention of everyone in the room, save the still  sleeping Asian. Then his eyes noticed Ally, not a scratch on her, and he smiled with relief. Mistaking his eyes and smile, Ally felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe he remembered after all?


    Reba grabbed a plain white t-shirt from a nearby drawer and walked over to Gigi. ¡°Loot?¡± the little girl asked Caleb. ¡°Yeah. You beat that boss, right? Gotta get some loot for that,¡± he explained. Geeg frowned, ¡°But it didn¡¯t die.¡± Then Bryan (who no one had noticed enter) sighed, ¡°They don¡¯t have to die. Think about it. Boss battles where they escape after you win; you still get loot. Then more when you fight them again.¡± Gigi frowned deeper, ¡°I don¡¯t wanna fight it again,¡± she whispered.


    Well, that was a mood changer. But before anyone could properly fall into an emo, Gigi perked back up. ¡°Can I get candy?!¡± she squealed in joy. ¡°If you quit shouting, I do not see why not,¡± John grumbled, as he too entered the room. Despite his gruffness, Caleb knew the man was trying not to smile. It was his idea, after all. Pulling the shirt over the child''s head (that was like a robe for her), Reba investigated the pile of coins. How did she not wake with all of this being put under her pillow? ¡°There¡¯s hundreds here!¡± Reba turned to glare at John. There were quarters, half, and silver dollars. He looked a bit sheepish. ¡°Was it the loot fairy?¡± Gigi asked her dance instructor and Feldyn laughed, a sound filled with joy and calm. He had been on this world long enough to learn of their myths, and the changing of tooth to loot was quite clever!


    Caleb felt dizzy. None of this felt... right. Should he really be accepting this situation so easily? It felt like there were.... for lack of a better term, plot holes. Why was everyone awake at the same time? If Gigi''s scream made them come running, why had no one hurried to check when Pazely was being so loud in the night? Had it actually even been night? Was it still? Why had he accepted John''s words with so little question? ¡°What is going on?¡± Caleb abruptly asked, joy in his voice gone. When they looked to him, confused, he waved his hand. ¡°Sorry, I mean¡­ nothing makes any sense. Nothing has, but for some reason¡­ I dunno¡­¡± he trailed off. Did he or did he not care? Had all that really happened yesterday? Was this really happening right now? He felt cold. And nauseous.


    Perhaps,¡± Feldyn began, looking over the room in his plain white t-shirt (Reba sure had a lot of clothes of varying sizes) and drawstring sweats, "it is finally time to explain.¡± Despite his happy tone, he was not looking forward to the conversation. Trying to convince Caleb and his friends of the truth the first time had not gone well. Now there were even more involved.


    John agreed, retrieving a folding chair to sit in. ¡°Here? Right now?¡± Stryker was confused at the urgency. ¡°Dad likes to get things done and out of the way,¡± Reba told him, going a bit pale. Fear of telling her tale or not, she desperately wanted to flee and get some pants; Ally¡¯s own shirt was millimeters from showing butt cheek.


    Pazely made some mewling noises as she finally began waking. Reba couldn¡¯t help but smile at the sight. Pazely had so much hair, there was more of it than blanket! And she wasn¡¯t exactly wearing much either, just the small shirt and booty shorts Reba had provided her last night¡­ Leh sigh. There were so many males in this room, and so much female skin. Yet¡­ there really wasn''t any creeper. Or really all that awkward. It was as casual as being around dancers. Well, she guessed most here were. Sorta. Maybe. Kinda. She may be more nervous than she thought. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll set up chairs,¡± she announced, and walked out of the room to retrieve more chairs and clothing. Stryker and Bryan followed after her to help.


    After watching Reba leave, wishing her shirt would pull up a bit more, ¡°Okay, so, this whatever, everything, is going to be explained now?¡± Caleb asked, hoping he didn¡¯t look too (CRAM YOUR COCK IN HER!) anxious. What the hell was that? He shook his head to clear it. Damn OCD. The unwanted (LICK HER CUNT) thoughts (ignore it, Caleb!) were (SHIT) making it hard (pussy) to focus, Caleb!


    The boy stumbled, and Feldyn reached out and caught his arm. Looking at Feldyn, ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± he snarled, then began blinking rapidly, and frowned, obviously puzzled by his own outburst.


    Well, that seemed a little out of character. Feldyn smiled kindly. The moodiness is probably a side effect of the memory loss phenomena. Or his injuries from the previous night. ¡°Feldyn Goldchord,¡± the half-elf introduced, releasing Caleb''s arm. ¡°Though we have already met.¡± He extended his hand, and Caleb took it in a firm shake, expression unsure.


    What¡¯s with those fucking ears?


    You need to focus on Christ!


    What¡¯s with those fucking ears?¡± Caleb asked in a drunken type of slur, before finishing the handshake. His friends were horrified, and several rebukes were voiced. Ignoring the continued rudeness, Feldyn smiled, ¡°Ah, these?¡± he tucked fine golden strands of hair behind a long, thin, ear that ended in a point. ¡°They come with the blood. I¡¯m a half-breed. Half elf, half human.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Inherited the fair traits, as well as these ears, from my elven blood. Inherited things like the need to shave my face, and varying parts of my body, from the human side."


    Half-elf?¡± Caleb still sounded confused, but the belligerent tone was gone. ¡°Uh. Well, after the rest of this weird shi- er, uh, stuff, guess I can just wait for the story.¡± Shaking his head ''The fuck is going on with me?'' he asked the nothingness, and got no answer.


    As the chairs were being set out, Geeg, who had been playing with her coins, asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the ninja?¡±


    Tis a good question,¡± Feldyn backed her. John was glaring straight ahead furiously, Reba staring at him hard. ¡°No,¡± he said, firm and resolute. ¡°Don''t act like-¡± she started, then was startled when he stood from his chair with such dramatic suddenness it fell. ¡°No!¡± John shouted this time, his same brown robes he was in the previous night flowing around him, staff nowhere to be seen. ¡°I won¡¯t share this room with that infernal creature! Is it not bad enough we allowed him to live? Should we also break bread with that man?!¡± John yelled. Ally had moved over to Gigi and lifted the frightened girl into her arms. ¡°That DEMON?!¡± The older man spoke the question with such fury, spittle flew. His eyes never left Reba.


    Caleb was stupefied. Gigi was crying. Pazely was blinking. ¡°Wait, that ninja dude is here?¡± Paze mumbled from the floor where she sat. ¡°WHAT THE HELL, OLD GUY!?¡± she screamed, not in the least affected by the pissy, grumpy, old fuckface!


    John didn¡¯t seem to hear her in his furious huffing. However, he, and everyone else, heard the voice of Gigi. ¡°Jesus sent him.¡± They all turned to look at her. ¡°You are a child-¡± John started, but Gigi interrupted, ¡°He saved me!¡± she lectured the old man. The level of intensity from the kid gave her the floor. ¡°He saved everyone! He could have killed you, Moses!¡± Ally and Reba both raised an eyebrow at the Moses comment. ¡°He could have killed everyone!¡± Tears were streaming from her emotionless eyes. ¡°But Jesus sent him!¡± she shouted now at the adult. ¡°He told you he was a Christian, but you don¡¯t believe him!¡± Reba and John looked like they had been slapped. How in the world did she know what they had talked about? She wasn¡¯t even conscious when that took place! ¡°MAYBE YOU AREN¡¯T THE CHRISTIAN!¡± she screamed her accusation loud enough that Pazely nodded her approval, and Ally set her down.


    John may as well have been hit in the face with a cannonball, the impact those words had on him. She wasn¡¯t the first to dispute his claims of Christianity. And there was a time when such an accusation would have been correct. Though he would have denied it.


    John hung his head, wrestling with feelings of shame. ¡°Old people are wimps!¡± Geeg continued, voice quieter now. ¡°They hurt people, and make everyone cry, and they act like dumb little kids! What about the real wittle kids?!¡± she slurred, like the -front- toothless child she was. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough, Gigi,¡± Reba said to her, calm and stern.


    Release him.¡± Everyone turned to John, who still stood looking at the floor. ¡°Dad?¡± Reba asked, sounding a bit confused. ¡°Release that man and bring him among us. He too... is a part of this. We should... hear his words as well.¡± Then, in a weak voice, John said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Gigi. Forgive an old man.¡±


    I shall retrieve him,¡± the half-elf volunteered with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll go too,¡± Ally included. The look she threw at Feldyn let him know that contesting it would be pointless. He sighed and nodded. She had been so very quiet this morning. That was about to change, and he really didn¡¯t need to be bitched at by a teenager. Regardless, he did owe her at least some courtesy. He had made quite a mess of -some- things.


    Go down, past the bedrooms, take a right, then the second left,¡± Reba directed. ¡°There¡¯s an old wooden door with iron bands at the end. It¡¯s unlocked. He¡¯s down there.¡± Feldyn nodded, as Ally walked past him out of the room.


    After a few moments, they reached the door Reba mentioned and Ally broke the silence. ¡°Do you even know what you¡¯re doing?¡± she made sure to sound bitchy. ¡°If I didn¡¯t,¡± he began, and grabbed the large iron ring that served as the door handle, ¡°I would be pretty foolish now, wouldn¡¯t I?¡± He didn¡¯t need to explain himself to her.


    You sure didn¡¯t know what you were doing with the ritual.¡± Feldyn, door open, looked into the dark stairwell beyond the door. The steps were stone, and the damp air felt like a cellar. Or a dungeon. Ally didn¡¯t relent, ¡°What does that make you, if not a fool?¡± she posed, arms crossed. ¡°A moron? Or just a failure?¡± she continued. ¡°The ritual ¡®twas not even real,¡± he mumbled, and she either did not hear him or did not care.


    Everything that¡¯s gone wrong, you swore would never happen! You want us to keep trusting you? You want me to trust you?¡± her voice cracked ever so slightly. ¡°All that blood is on your hands! You killed my cousin! Jessie is dead because of you!¡± That was the last straw. Feldyn turned and charged her, slamming the slender blonde against the wall. She let out a yelp of surprise, as he put his face inches from hers.


    Her death is not my fault!¡± he hissed in a barely controlled rage. ¡°I did everything right! Every BLOODY thing!¡± He felt Lance¡¯s tiny claws dig into his right shoulder. ''My God, what am I doing?!'' Releasing her shoulders, he stepped back. ¡°Ally, I am so sorry! Are ye alright?¡± His voice was filled with horror at his actions.


    Determined to not look as terrified as she felt, with more anger than she expected to be able to summon, she clenched her fists and stepped away from the wall. ¡°Then whose fault is it? You did all of that fucking shit in order to stop a tragedy!¡± Feldyn winced. How could he explain his error without revealing also his deception? ¡°You were wrong! You were wrong! Now she''s dead! She was raped and murdered, because you were wrong!¡± Her entire body was trembling. Meeting her eyes, Feldyn didn¡¯t blink. And in a flat, very un-singsong voice, ¡°You opened the door.¡±


    Ally slapped him hard across the mouth. Very hard. With blood trickling from his lip, Feldyn''s thoughts focused. His rage once more abated. And in that one moment, his loathing redirected itself inwards.


    Why was he letting her get to him so? She was just a child herself! He was the adult, yet here he was, resisting the impulse to punch -punch!- this young girl in the face! Apparently, he had not completely defeated his own inner rage. Or had that odd drink reawakened his old self he believed dead, after his coming to Christ? Regardless, Ally had reason to be angry. To hate him. To be furious. Her words were justified. His own words, and actions, were not. Once again, his choices had cost lives. And the suffering of children. Once again, he had failed to learn from his mistakes.


    It was his turn for agony deep within his soul. Memories. Her face swollen and beaten¡­ Blood everywhere. Her stuffed bunny, lying on the ground, painted with her blood... ¡°I¡¯m-¡± he began and had to clear his throat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said, and truly meant it. He wanted to say more, but for some reason, couldn¡¯t think of the words to express himself. That didn¡¯t happen to him easily.


    Ally scoffed at him in such a way that he once again felt the need to respond like a child. Shaking her head, she laughed, which caught him off guard. And then she began to cry. It quickly built to sobs so hard, she sat on the ground, before moving to hands and knees, in struggle to halt her sobs, body tensing to keep them silent.


    It was bad enough this MORON had to see her this way! No one saw her this way. Not even¡­ Regardless, it was too late to hide it now. She could break down later, in private, for now she had to suck it up! To quit thinking about Jessie! To ignore the guilt she felt, because of...


    Waiting until she regained some control, Feldyn remained quiet. Ally¡¯s shirt had pulled up to the small of her back, revealing black lingerie. Feeling it was a bit inappropriate, given the situation, he tried to not pay attention. Lingerie is always appropriate, but staring at Ally¡¯s as she wept seemed a bit crude, if not rude, given the context.


    You think, at least, he¡¯ll remember?¡± Ally asked softly, breaking him from his thoughts. ¡°Probably not,¡± Feldyn answered without hesitation. In truth, he had no idea why any of them had lost their memories, but Caleb would not be remaining on Earth; instilling hope in her would be cruel. Ally sat on her butt now, wiping her eyes.


    After another minute, she stood back up, and Feldyn gave her a minute to find something to blow her nose. She resisted at first, but he knew better. You couldn''t cry like that and simply not blow your nose after. The second door, after the first corner, was some type of small storage closet, with a roll of paper towels. Good enough.


    Feldyn gave her a faint smile when she returned, and with a nod that she was ready, lead the way down the staircase.


    Reaching the bottom, he immediately knew it was not a cellar, but a dungeon. ¡°I can¡¯t see anything,¡± Ally complained. He had forgotten her human eyes had nowhere near his low light vision. Looking around, he saw a switch near the base of the stairs, and flipped it on.


    What the hell?¡± Ally said softly. There were two light fixtures, apparently jury-rigged; a long orange cord went from the light switch to the ceiling, then along the ceiling to the two old, metal, single bulb light fixtures. The room wasn¡¯t much bigger than the room the others waited in. Cracked stone walls and floor. A featureless wooden table sat in the middle of the room, with no chairs. Along the left was a row of four cells, thick bars making up the doors.


    As the young teen marveled at her first dungeon, Feldyn walked into the room, looking in each cell until he reached the last one. In the middle stood the large man in black. His wisps of netherweave once again flowing and rolling about his form. His eyes actually shone in the dim light, and seemed to emit a light blue mist themselves.


    His garbing appeared skintight, covering everything, even his eyelids. Ally wondered if he painted the skin there or something, because nothing could fit that good. Then there was that strange, foggy material floating around him at the same time.


    Masque met her studying gaze without blinking or moving, causing her to flush. She stepped behind Feldyn to hide from his eyes, then stormed off after realizing what she had done. The half-elf ignored her, so transfixed was he with the demon before him. Who was he? What was he? Feldyn was not well versed in demonology, thought form his understanding, all were the enemies of God. This man could not be a full denizen of the Hells. If he was truly Saved, there had to have been a loophole. Could he be...


    Greetings friend!¡± Feldyn hailed with a toothy grin. ¡°Apologize for the accommodations, but seems our host was a bit concerned about your¡­¡± he feigned searching for the right word ¡°uniqueness.¡± Feldyn took a key from his pocket (The hell did he get that? Ally wondered from the bottom of the stairs where she waited), and proceeded to unlock the oversized iron lock. He noticed the bars were runed. ¡°Are they not concerned with your uniqueness, half-breed?¡± Masque asked, voice flat and cold, inciting an involuntary shiver from Ally.


    Turning the lock and pausing, eyes looking to the heavens as if pondering some great question, ¡°Now how would you know I was a half-breed?¡± With an exaggerated sigh and shrug, ¡°Yes. They do seem quite fine with it.¡± Masque knew the half-elf had to have some idea what he himself was. For no elves still resided on this planet, and Masque¡¯s own existence shouldn''t be a myth on Aethra. Opening the cell door, and pocketing the key, the half-elf extended a hand. ¡°Feldyn Goldchord,¡± he introduced in an infuriatingly happy voice.


    Masque didn¡¯t flinch.


    Feldyn felt awkward.


    I have not smelled elven blood in quite some time,¡± Masque droned. ¡°Not since Babel.¡± The half-elf¡¯s heart skipped. ''Babel?'' Feldyn thought, more than a little shaken. He¡¯s been around since the Sealing? Who the hell is he? Trying to appear calm, his mind raced. That is not possible. If he were truly as old as he claims, he would be a greater demon, the lycanthropeire would have fallen like a dead sapling before him! He must be trying to test me. Feldyn smiled. ¡°I pray you will indulge our curiosity.¡± With that, Feldyn turned his back to him. "Well, shall we?¡± he asked, and walked to the stairs, passing a frowning Ally.


    She didn¡¯t understand what they were talking about, but why won¡¯t that guy come out of his cell? She glanced back towards the cell, and started violently, the large ninja was standing a couple of feet from her. ¡°Masque,¡± was all he said, and Feldyn paused in his ascent long enough to nod. Masque walked past the stunned blonde, eyes no longer shining, wispy cloth no longer present, and followed the elf up the stairs. Ally stood frozen for many moments, then turned and hurried after the two odd individuals. Could things even get any weirder?


    Not a word was shared between the three as they made their way back to the others waiting in the infirmary. Upon their return, the scene was a bit more calm and organized. Chairs were set around one of the end tables, which had been moved to the center of the room. On it rested a plate of food (crackers, cheeses, and fruits, Feldyn saw) and a pitcher of orange liquid.


    Pazely was now wearing a huge pink t-shirt that would not have fit anyone there. Her hair was inside the shirt, a means of keeping the ridiculous mass in check. She still had no pants on, but it did not matter. Where she sat next to Caleb, leaning over out of her chair to hang on him, the shirt still covered a good amount. Reba was now wearing yoga pants, Gigi sitting between her legs on the same chair.


    Caleb wasn¡¯t sure if John was scowling at the way Feldyn was looking at Reba, or the large (Holy crap, now I see the ninja thing) man that followed him into the room.


    Before any could say a word, and before John could protest her actions, Gigi squealed and jumped from between Reba¡¯s legs, zooming over to Masque. John prayed they were not being deceived as the child stopped a foot from the demon, looking straight up at him. Though, Masque, was the one having the most trouble staying composed. This many mortals near him at once was unsettling. Let alone... her. This bright, shiny innocent, whose soul now bore the Mark of Christ. Despite himself, he felt a brief pang of sadness, at the loss of an innocence so young.


    Gigi¡¯s large eyes met his own, unblinking. What was this expression? What could she want from him? ¡°Thank you!¡± she yelled, and wrapped his leg in a hug as she giggled loudly.


    She didn¡¯t fear him? Masque felt¡­ strange. Warm. He didn¡¯t like it. Grumbling lightly, he patted her on the head. She quit giggling, and looked up at him from her hug. Then, with a serious expression, she hopped back, left hand extended. ¡°I is Gigi Handlund!¡± Then giggling, ¡°I mean, I am Gigi! Gigi Marie Handlund!¡± hand held out farther. ¡°Nice ta meetcha.¡±


    Masque really didn¡¯t like all these feelings.


    Masque,¡± he stated flatly, taking her hand (more like allowing her to grab his fingers) in a weak grip, surprised as she tried to squeeze as hard as she could. Feldyn pouted (So my hand wasn¡¯t good enough¡­) as he made his way towards the food. Of course he didn¡¯t really mind. In fact¡­ seeing the interactions between Gigi and Masque, the bard felt he could truly come to care for these people.


    And that scared the hell out of him.


    What else is there to do after such a realization but eat! Feldyn suppressed his epiphany and began eating crackers and cheese, feeling they were the two best foods he had ever tasted. Until the (Oh, holy yes!) freshly squeezed orange juice!


    Bryan and Stryker looked at Feldyn in horror. The former repairing Paze¡¯s hair barrettes, Stryker with a small plate (Of course Feldyn was eating from the serving plate¡­) of food. Both cringed at the half-elf standing right in front of where they sat, for Feldyn had his eyes tightly closed and was wiggling around, mouth full of food, large glass in hand, smiling and seeming to be having some type of creepy physical pleasure going on. ¡°Right when I was starting to think this guy wasn¡¯t actually a dipshit.¡± Stryker whispered to Bryan, getting a light chuckle from the teen.


    Fortunately, Feldyn had good ears and realized how he was acting. Whoops! Got a bit carried away there! ¡°Good orange juice!¡± he explained to them, and held his cup in toast gesture, before moving off to the seat next to Caleb. It was slightly offset from the circle. The head seat. The storyteller¡¯s seat. The bard¡¯s seat.


    Just Masque?¡± A squinty Gigi had asked the big man, while Feldyn was doing his lusty food dance.. Masque wasn¡¯t quite sure what to say, but that fierce gaze warranted some type of response. All he could think of¡­ ¡°I have been called something more.¡± Gigi¡¯s eyes widened in curiosity. Even Ally came out of her trance, realizing she had been standing there next to the chill-inducing ninja, just staring at Caleb, lost in thought. She needed to hold it together! First, by trying not to be unnerved at being near this¡­ person.


    Continuing, ¡°John did brand me as the Forever Shadowed,¡± Masque said, his voice seeming to carry a shrug with it. Gigi looked puzzled, and pointed a finger at the old man behind her, ¡°Moses?¡± she asked, not blinking or taking her gaze from the demon. ¡°The Revalator," Masque clarified, also not blinking.


    At that, Ally decided to finally take a seat, moving to the one next to Pazely. Shit had gotten weirder¡­


    Not sure who that was, Geeg shrugged and moved off to go sit on Caleb¡¯s lap this time, shoving Pazely¡¯s face away with her palm. ''Masque the Forever Shadowed,'' John thought, ''as branded on him by John the Revelator¡­ Do you speak the truth, shadowed one? And did I truly see eyes that should be incapable of such, glisten with an extra moisture at the thanks from that child?''


    At his seat now, Feldyn had was assessing the groups mood, and atmosphere. Masque walked to the back corner, where Gigi¡¯s gurney had been. Stryker and Bryan seemed to be lost in their own little worlds. Reba was¡­ Well, Reba wasn''t doing much more than looking cute, focus drifting between individuals. John appeared to be contemplating some great truth. Pazely and Gigi were pulling each other¡¯s hair, Caleb and Ally trying to get them to settle down. This was going to be complicated.


    Okay,¡± the bard began in his singsong voice, making sure to be just loud enough, but not too loud. ¡°everyone here, and ready? I believe we should begin, for I¡¯m sure we all have quite a lot of questions!¡± They seemed to agree, as every one of them stopped what they were doing, and gave him their full attention.


    It was time for some answers.

 Chapter 5: The Explanation

    For as long as I can remember¡­


    Things have grown and changed, but in some form¡­ remained the same.


    Great things happened for us,


    as did sorrow.


    At times¡­ great sorrow.


    You forgot who you were, and remembered.


    I remembered who I was, and forgot.


    Was it that we had always known?


    Or was to forget an inevitability of life?


    Of death?


    Our death.


    Though in everyone¡¯s life, there comes a time.


    A time to decide.


    A time to choose.


    Not just the decisions you make to get to the present, something more.


    A choice with no options.


    A choice with many wrong answers.


    Though choose we must.


    Just one. One pick. One choice.


    And unfortunately, it is each of ours alone to make.


    There is not a soul to recognize or give advice.


    For you see, God has blessed us with free will.


    Which at times may have been our curse.


    For how many of us truly chose correctly?


    Any? All?


    This choice cannot be recorded, for it is so sudden, not a one of us remembers.


    Most pass it by, thinking it no more than another crossroad.


    Not for us.


    Alas, I was then presented with that point of my own existence.


    So I chose a road, and headed on.


    I then froze. Doubt. I thought¡­ and realized something was amiss.


    I turned, returning to the crossroads, and reflected.


    What was this path? Was it the road I had picked?


    Something did not feel right. The road had changed.


    So much had happened in so little time.


    So many changes! So many blessings!


    But this¡­ was a new blessing.


    God had given me the choice. The one all seemed to miss.


    Raising my head to the heavens, I cried out;


    God! I need not change, but to be anew! Refresh my soul and being!


    Make me new as a color with no name!


    For this is the awakening, and my choice has now been made!"


    I looked back to my path; again it had changed.


    The road felt safe under my feet.


    My steps were sure.


    My heart was strong as I marched along my new path!


    Now I see; my foolish oath shining bright.


    I did not notice. I was afraid. I had failed.


    I was unaware ¡­


    My friends, my loves.


    The horrors I caused you in my foolish pride.


    The horrors we caused ourselves was unseen¡­


    Along that path I held my head high; in my ignorant mind I cheered!


    I was here to save us all!


    You were here to save us all!


    For the point in one¡¯s life¡­


    That we all seem to miss.


    For better or worse¡­


    I knew!


    I had found it!


    I had chosen correctly!


    What fools we were. So arrogant¡­


    And here I say and witness before my Christ and you all:


    It was worth it.


    ~the Missed Awakening


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    * * *


    I feel it best if I begin without any introduction,¡± Feldyn began, soon as people gave him their attention. ¡°When and if it comes time or is appropriate, our own personal pasts can be shared, if desired.¡± He looked around at the gathering of faces, ¡°Agreed?¡± He saw no objections and smiled. Well, so far, so good! ¡°That said, for me to explain recent events, a rather long tale is needed. I beg thee, no interrupting, throwing, hitting, tantrums, fits, et cetera.¡±


    Gigi¡¯s expression was blank as she silently mouthed, ¡°Et cetera.¡± Everyone seemed eager for the rules to quit, and the show to start.


    In order to properly tell this tale, I must start at the beginning.¡± Feldyn took a large swig of orange juice, and let it wash away his anxiety. ¡°In the beginning, there was God-¡± Pazely hit him in the face with a thrown hairbrush. Feldyn held his pose, gritting his teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t be a dumbass!¡± Pazely snipped at him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t, dear child,¡± he sighed, trying to ignore the stinging pain, and the heat of his anger. First the punch to the groin, which he had to admit was deserved, now she was striking him in the face with objects.


    Why was he so anger? To an extent such feeling were normal when being struck, but not to the extent he was experiencing it. Feldyn had always had a rage problem, although it was based on emotion not physical, and was rarely acute. My God, had you truly not taking this from me? Is it now worse?


    This is a very long, very complicated tale," Feldyn continued, "I need to start at the beginning. The beginning. As in, where our entire existence started. Do ye understand?¡± The last was said kindly, but like a teacher that was teaching. A teacher on the verge of sending you to a very long detention. None of the other students even risked a snicker. Pazely looked down sheepishly, and to the surprise of most, muttered an apology.


    His anger already abated, he chose to ignore the problem for the moment, having more pressing matters than his emotional instability. ¡°An understandable objection, Pazely. I didn¡¯t really explain too well, and you did meet me while I was acting like a fool,¡± Feldyn smiled, pouring as much charisma into his words as he could. ¡°Yeah,¡± Pazely mumbled, eyes widening in curiosity, ¡°what was with that?¡± She looked sheepish again from beside Caleb, as she realized she had yet again interrupted, jumping the gun on her questioning. This time, she made a pouty face, and hid in Caleb¡¯s hugging arm as he laughed.


    Feldyn was starting to see why they put up with this mean, aggressive, little turd of a tween. It was appearing more and more to him that the rough exterior was fake. Pazely was adorable, kind, fierce, and brave. But above all, still a child. That was a knowledge he would keep to himself, lest -he feared- a retaliation worse than a hairbrush would be aimed his way.


    Another drink of orange juice, and he restarted, ¡°In the beginning, there was God. And as ye know, He created the heavens and the Earth. He brought all into existence by His will alone. What ye do not know is that your planet only has the knowledge of the, shall we say, abridged version of creation?¡±


    Wait, our planet?¡± Stryker asked, then clasped both hands over his mouth, looking honestly horrified that he had interrupted. The girls and Caleb all laughed, and Stryker waved for Feldyn to ignore him and continue. So he did!


    What God created were the heavens and the earths. God, in essence, is the Holy Trinity. Three beings, yet one and the same; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: God. As God is, so is He with creation! For God created in threes, and brought all into being with the trinity elements, with which all reality is created, based, and held together. Magic, force, and science.¡±


    He had their attention now! ¡°With these trinity elements, all reality was and is formed and manipulated into being. Force is the skeleton of creation. You would call it matter. In this case, solid matter. True solid matter cannot exist on our side of the Creation Veil, for it is too heavy. Pure mass. It is what creation is built upon. Outside of science it exists, and unable to be manipulated by magic, holds all reality. Force just is. Not a one in existence can wield or shape it. For its very essence is unmovable and infinite.¡±


    Science is the base with which all creation works. It¡¯s the how and why. Everything you can learn, see, touch, or feel, happens because of this element.¡± Feldyn was impressed with his audience. They were listening attentively, despite concepts that should at a minimum, ruffle a few feathers. Aside from some concerned or contemplative gazes (or Bryan¡¯s scowls), they were good listeners. Better than how it had gone for him before. He hoped it held.


    Magic is where things get hairy. And where so many things went wrong!¡± Masque made an unhappy sound in the back corner, drawing a few concerned glances. ¡°Magic is the element used to manipulate things in creation. A lot like your fictional concepts of it in this world. It¡¯s a¡­¡± Feldyn hoped this reference was worded correctly, ¡°programmer¡¯s back door. Cheat codes. Magic was put into place for God to adjust, alter, and manipulate reality as needed without his creation crumbling down around him.¡± Feldyn smiled, quickly eating a piece of cheese, giving his audience a chance to let his words sink in.


    Another sip of juice, and he gave them a wry grin. ¡°A world with magic has magical things. Creatures, plants, items... You see, God brought many things into existence that were magic by nature. Many of your legends and mythical monsters once resided here on Earth.¡± It was Gigi¡¯s turn to interrupt. ¡°Like unicorns?¡± she asked in a breathless wonder. Feldyn nodded, and she squealed, clapping her hands. Pazely barely kept from smacking her in the head. Did she have to act like she was two AND retarded?!


    More than a few of his students were now starting to look speculative. He prayed they continued to listen. ¡°All of this said, God¡¯s greatest creation, the embodiment of all God¡¯s amazing glory, blessed with free will and the ability to create, was man.¡± Feldyn smiled sadly. ¡°But two of them messed it up. You all know Adam and Eve. What you do not know is that they were but two of millions of men on Earth at that time. Eve was not the first woman. She was just created specifically for Adam. The first true soulmate, if you will.¡± The half-elf was surprised none of the Christians seemed to have ruffled feathers yet. Curious¡­ ¡°God had chosen Adam to tend His own garden, Eden. That story you should know well, so I shan¡¯t get into it.¡±


    He drained his glass of orange juice. ¡°What you humans don¡¯t know is what that caused. What it really caused. You see, God is good, so what is bad? Technically, nothing. God has no counterpart, no equal; antithesis or otherwise. But there is an existence that is a¡­ well, a necessary evil, as it were. A counterbalance to keep reality from tipping out of control. It is the sentient embodiment of what you call sin. It is a negative trinity. Zen. Think of Zen as an... intentional computer virus in God¡¯s video game of reality!¡± Feldyn flourished his arms and beamed at his creativity! ¡°Necessary glitches, for if man were to rebel, the glitch must already exist, or reality would unravel, becoming unreality. Impossibility. Nothingness. And the Alpha would be faced with the Omega, once again alone in the void.¡±


    As he spoke, Gigi grabbed his cup, hopping off Caleb¡¯s lap to refill it, and handed him another plate she piled cheese on, with some crackers, and fruit as well! Bless this child! She knew the way to his heart! He mentally made a note to spoil her later. Quickly eating some food, to more than a few eye rolls, he washed it down with juice and continued.


    The Fall of man at Eden,¡± he said as he set his cup down, ¡°caused the release of Zen from its quarantined area, and the creation of the currupsin. The currupsin is basically what happens when sin taints magical creatures. Well, magical anything really. Even magic itself. God may have cursed the land, but in many ways¡­ magic cursed itself.¡± He let his voice start to sound heavy, ¡°And as man and magic fell¡­ there inevitably came a man of magic, with a very foolish idea.¡± This time, Masque growled.


    He wanted to build a tower to God!¡± Feldyn let his voice raise, filling it with the sound of exasperation. ¡°To reach such a height, that was something he wanted to prove. To prove to God Himself that His creations were not such feeble creatures as to be destroyed by the currupsin! To prove he was better than Adam! That he would not betray the commands of the Holy One, and deserved to be glorified by the Creator! To prove man were worthy of His personal attention! To build a tower to the Kingdom of Heaven! Showing the Holy One that even His throne was not out of reach of His own creation! How incredibly ironic.¡± Feldyn let that sink in for several silent seconds.


    This man¡¯s name¡­ was Antioch.¡± Masque snarled loudly this time. The sound was not human. Once Feldyn was content that he was not about to be eaten, he continued his tale.


    Now you see, in the beginning, man was whole. Their entire minds were accessible to them. Man also wasn¡¯t divided into race. There was no black or white. No Asian or Hispanic. Everyone was just¡­ man.¡±


    Everyone was gay?¡± a wide-eyed Gigi asked, eating a cracker. Feldyn laughed and leaned over to ruffle her hair. ¡°Not males, child: Man. You know how they call humans man or men sometimes without meaning boys? Like when someone says, ¡®Hey guys!¡¯ to address a group?¡± Having leaned back to his seat, her look of complete understanding (though still pretty vacant, if such things could combine) amused him to no end. She nodded and said, "uh huh."


    In this context, I mean it as the name of a different type of people. Like the pretend-¡± he smirked the word ¡°-races of your world; Elves, dwarves, gnomes? They are different than humans, right?¡± Again she nodded. ¡°Well I mean man like a different race, like elves and dwarves. They are not human.¡±


    As much as Ally disliked the bard, she couldn¡¯t deny his ability to explain things. Gigi never got anything. She either understood, or you just didn¡¯t bother. Yet he can explain things to her. At least he¡¯s good for something¡­ That said, what the hell?! He¡¯s saying humans didn¡¯t used to be human? He is crazy. A good story though. After telling Gigi how smart she was (to an eye roll from Pazely) he went back to his tale.


    As man were whole, their bodies and appearance were much more, how should I put it¡­ creative than today. According to the old texts, they had features that would be currently impossible. They were as if you took the colors of skin, hair, and eyes, skeletal structures, racial traits, everything you can think of; from your current day human, and fictional, races and, well, randomized the outcome.¡± He shrugged, as if it was hard for him to comprehend as well, and had just accepted. ¡°Man was whole, beautiful, and unique. God¡¯s ultimate creation.¡±


    His juice was empty again. No one moved to fill it. At least the mountain of cheese Gigi had fetched him was lasting. ¡°Because of this, man was a serious force to be reckoned with. They were not actually so foolish as to think the physical height of a tower could reach God. Antioch was a genius of genius. He had the greatest knowledge of magics any had ever seen, and his knowledge of science would have put your current day scientists to shame. But he did not have today¡¯s understanding.


    Under his command, the entire world united together to build the Tower of Babel.¡± To this, Masque once again emitted a deep, guttural, demonic snarl. This time no one seemed to care. Feldyn, however, was paying almost as much attention to this demon¡¯s reactions as he was the words to his tale. Perhaps he had truly experienced the sealing? Was that even possible? Could he really have been around since almost the dawn of time? If so, it currently made no sense, and would take a good deal more information for Feldyn to be convinced.


    This tower had all the technology and knowledge of man put into it. You see, Antioch¡¯s great strategy, were the angel gates.¡± Juice pitcher empty, most food items now eaten¡­ yet no one complained, or moved, so interested were they at his words. ¡°The angel gates are what the angels themselves used to travel from their heavenly realm to here and back. These gates were high above the ground. So high there would be no oxygen, almost in space itself. Far too high for man to reach.¡± The half-elf winked. ¡°But Antioch, like current day humans, always had to reach too high.¡±


    What occurred next is known as the Sealing. God sanctioned an all-out angelic siege on Babel. To knock it down and destroy it, and to destroy every single man involved in its creation. The heavenly host attacked the tower in the greatest force of angelic might the Earth had seen.¡± Masque, who had so much anger a moment ago, now seemed to shrink, as if remembering a horrific memory¡­ or a great guilt. Curious.


    But, to the surprise of the angels, they were halted by the combined forces under Antioch¡¯s banner. They repelled the angelic assault! Even worse, they were not just repelled, but met with a counter attack. And the angels were losing.¡±


    Feldyn gave that a moment to sink in, and was surprised no one objected. ¡°Needless to say, God was pissed.¡± At that sentence, Masque sunk completely back into the shadows. ¡°That¡¯s when it happened. The very sky, the very reality of the sky, was torn open, and the Hand of God, as in God¡¯s actual Hand -not a metaphor- struck down the tower!¡± Feldyn realized he was shaking, and started to reach for his empty glass, before remembering nothing was in it. ¡°The minds of no creature can fathom what is God. So, that moment, they -all sentient beings present- were destroyed completely as Babel. And God chose to... make some adjustments to his creation.


    He took all the traits of man, and split them into different peoples. Each new race was given a different curse, and then their minds were sealed. God severed the gift of word, scrambling their tongues, and removed the knowledge of magic from their minds, whilst banning it, and, well, encrypting it, creation-wide.


    But what of the magical creatures of existence? Of Earth? Should he destroy them to extinction? Just to protect his planet which now had magic forbade, and locked away? What kind of awesome God would do that?¡± Feldyn finally smiled a smile of peace. ¡°God is good. He took mercy on the mystics and currupsin. He severed what was one mass of land, and in the great west, where we are now, void of people, he allowed at least one of each currupsin to live, then sealed them away; to forever sleep until the day of judgment. And he took a few of the races of man, and placed them on the new land to watch over and guard the seals.


    The mystics, however, were sent to another world entirely. My world: Aethra.¡± Bryan sighed and rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to fixing Pazely¡¯s hair barrettes. Feldyn ignored him; the look John and Reba shared had him far more interested.


    Aethra is one of three main planets in creation. The third is Erthern. Erthern is sort of... natures ark. It houses every plant, animal, insect, you name it, in all of creation, and is tended to by the angels."


    Aethra, on the other hand, is much... more. See, Aethra and all its natural laws and rules, while still bound to reality, are governed by magic. If Erthern was the backup, Aethra was the testing site. For example, my world is many times the size of Earth, yet things like gravity work exactly as they do here, even the day and night cycles. In fact, it feels very natural and mundane in most aspects.¡±


    That¡¯s impossible!¡± Bryan interrupted. ¡°I¡¯ve stayed quiet during this bullshit so far-¡± Pazely hopped from her chair and left the circle as Bryan began bitching, ¡°-but this is too much. If a planet was that big, it would cause huge and drastic differences and changes to, well, everything, regardless of your type of science fiction or magic.¡± His voice was judgmental and rude, as if he was speaking to a complete moron. ¡°Bryan, what the fuck?¡± Ally asked, stunned. He was never rude like this!


    And because of such, no one warned the pissy nerd about Pazely. Instead, Feldyn answered the know-it-all shithead, ¡°I told ye, it is based around magics. Normal rules of science do exist, but they do not always apply. Have you listened not to a word I¡¯ve spoken?¡± Bryan was already shaking his head in exasperation before Feldyn had finished speaking. ¡°This is stupid,¡± the teenager lectured, adjusting his glasses on his nose with one finger. ¡°If you want us to even pretend to believe this crap, at least make up someth-¡±


    And Bryan screamed like a little girl when Pazely grabbed him from behind and yelled, ¡°Uba duba do!¡± in his ear.


    Everyone, save Masque, exploded into raucous laughter at such an unexpected shriek from the super serious teenager. Bryan, red as a tomato, got up and stormed out of the room in a fit. Poor John felt horrible. He meant to stop the boy and chasten the little Asian, but he could hardly even breath at the moment. He had not thought such an expression or scream could occur like that in life, unscripted! God, his face! John continued laughing so hard, he was worried he may actually wet himself.


    Masque remained unflinching. He did not find the situation amusing. Then he noticed Gigi, her laughter no less than any of theirs. And he remembered her screams. Masque supposed levity was not such a bad thing... The one with the glasses was being an idiotic brat, as it were. All he had wanted to see Gigi again. He wanted to see the only human he had ever known to fight alongside him, alive and well. Unwittingly, he smiled. Maybe he had made the right choice. If so¡­ What does it all mean? Where is this all leading?


    Feldyn, almost composed, still giving little gasping giggles, wiped his laughter-induced tears on his short sleeve. He honestly had thought Bryan might jump or get angry (and he sorta deserved it), but that reaction was so out of place extreme! The humor was unbelievable! Bryan¡¯s friends were evil to allow her to do that!


    Once everyone was more or less quiet and just snickering Feldyn began to continue, or started to as he was stopped by John. ¡°Wait for the boy,¡± he said, and to his own horror, squeaked ¡®boy¡¯ and had to clear his throat, ¡°to return.¡± John finished his sentence, to a few more snickers. Feldyn rolled his eyes, and gave a crooked grin. ¡°Aye, that would be polite. Though, what if he were to have stopped just outside the doorway, in order to not miss anything?¡± At that, they heard Bryan scoff from the hall, before walking away.


    Now then,¡± Feldyn smiled, ¡°shall we? Bryan expressed no interest, and if he is as smart as he likes to think, figuring it out on his own shouldn¡¯t prove to be difficult.¡± Then with a shrug, ¡°He is more than welcome to return if he wishes, and we will allow him to enter, and sit unmolested.¡± Feldyn then pointed a finger at Pazely and gave her a playful, lecturing sort of stare. She smiled back sheepishly as he wagged his finger. Reluctantly, she conceded, saying ¡°Fine,¡± in a whiny voice, though her blue eyes twinkled mischievously.


    Gigi hopped off of Caleb¡¯s lap to go take Bryan¡¯s vacant seat and Pazely didn¡¯t miss the opportunity to take her place. As she was climbing in Caleb¡¯s lap, Ally grabbed her, causing a squeal, and Caleb assisted in putting the girl in a dual head and leg lock, playfully pretending to be punishing her for being naughty. She pretended to be irritated at the attention from her two friends.


    God had the host move the mystics to Aethra through some very specials portals,¡± Feldyn abruptly spoke, startling everyone into trying to refocus on the tale. ¡°Portals are volatile and hazardous, though they were the only option to travel the staggering distance between worlds.


    God then made one final change to man. He took the remnants of their magic, and instilled it in the elves!¡± Feldyn flourished his arms around and grinned in joy. ¡°The elves were the least of the mystic races, closer to being mundane. But with that final piece of man, they became equal to what man had become. Some believe it made the elves more than what man became. For by taking that last piece, it changed what was left of the glory of man that remained. Turning man into what we now call human. Hu is of the Angelic language, meaning, ¡®lesser than.¡¯ The elves were then appointed as the caretakers of Aethra, before too being sent through the portals.


    "However, no creature is without sin, and just like man, the elves had a fall of their own.¡± His voice sounded ashamed. He had the blood of both human and elf. He had twice the reason to feel such as anyone here about the topic. ¡°Where the humans wanted the knowledge of God, to be equal and like Him, the elves wanted to be different and separate.¡± John finally looked intense and thoughtful. Feldyn found that odd. Did that mean everything up until now, he had already known? Just who was he?


    An environment God could not reach to, nor intervene. Which, of course, is impossible. Yet, God gave them, in a sense, what they wanted; their actions caused Zen to formally enter Aethra.


    "And God? God turned away from my world. He abandoned the planet, refusing to intervene.¡± Feldyn clapped his hands, startling everyone. ¡°But God isn¡¯t just going to leave his creation to be doomed! He extended the gift of Salvation to Aethra, the Gospel and stories of Christ making their way to my world. Many a Christian exist there, and the knowledge of the truth is available.¡± He sighed. ¡°Sadly, about as many believe there as they do here. And Aethra has many more people, of many different races.


    Some of these races," he topic changed, hoping it wasn''t too rough, "no one knows when they had ever not existed, others have creation stories of their own. Gnomes, dwarves, pixies, fae of many types actually, the rah¡¯kit¡¯karr cat people, the tikirin and kinender as well.¡± Those last two lowered his mood. ¡°Well, some stories are best left for later due to length.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Taking a deep breath, ¡°Aethra has several Earth¡¯s worth of cultures on one planet. It is a planet as rich and deep as yours, just with¡­ more. More countries, more races, more histories, more problems. But above all, less favored by God. Christ, His very Son, walked this earth!¡± He seemed completely amazed. ¡°An angel -which is still up for debate- had to deliver the word to Aethra. Can you imagine? Here, where Christ walked, people still do not believe. If the gospel was preached about Christ being an alien?¡± That raised a few eyebrows.


    Yes, many believe Earth to be fictitious. Little knowledge exists on Aethra about your world. Most on Aethra have forgotten as much, and are as dead on the inside spiritually as you humans are here on Earth. Or the ones on Aethra. Did I forget to mention we have humans?¡± Then he sheepishly added, ¡°Though I suppose ye figured that out already, being as how I am half-human, no?¡± Their looks said no. Maybe they weren¡¯t as smart as he thought¡­


    Disappointed, he kept his tale going, ¡°And just like here, Aethra has an end times prophecy. Only ours is¡­ problematic. Yours affects all of creation. Its outcome already written, known, and revealed. However, on Aethra, the outcome is unknown and undecided. God will not involve himself directly, hence no guarantee. Aethra also has its very own devil of sorts. And that devil... is Antioch.¡±


    Masque was on his feet in an instant, ¡°That is impossible!¡± he roared. ¡°We saw the tower fall! We saw it smote to ruin!¡± The fear Masque was currently feeling¡­ ¡°HE DID NOT GO THROUGH THE PORTAL! HE COULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED THE WRATH OF GOD!!¡± Turning in her chair, Gigi held one finger to her lips in a ¡®shh¡¯ motion at the ninja. So surprised was he, that it actually seemed to work.


    The specifics are unknown, but somehow Antioch ended up on Aethra. And supposedly has a... deal, for lack of a better word, with God,¡± Feldyn spoke, looking right into the demon¡¯s eyes. The others, shaken at Masque''s outburst, did a good job of pretending they weren''t. ¡°The deal is thus: Antioch got to write a prophecy; if he can make it happen, he will rule all of Aethra for two thousand years, after which, the end times or close to them will start. So, basically, torment until the end of creation for Aethra. Until Christ throws the enemy into the Pit.¡± Feldyn moved his eyes from the motionless Masque, back to the group. ¡°Antioch¡¯s catch to this entire deal was that God could not intervene. At all. Anyone and anything could try to stop him, but God himself could not. Period. Ever.


    Of course God wasn¡¯t going to just let this madman run freely amok, destroy, curse, and maim his creation, regardless of what world it may be. Conditions were given, allowing the angels to find someone on Aethra to deliver a counter prophecy. This prophecy, whatever it may be, God would not guarantee its success. And if fulfilled, Antioch would be thwarted, the good guys winning the day! Two prophecies, one good, one bad. Both sides of the coin trying to fulfill their end, and stop the other. All without God¡¯s direct intervention.¡±


    Feldyn looked around the room, and clapped his hands, ¡°Anyone need a restroom break? I fear this tale may still have some telling left.¡±


    Gigi and Stryker, led by Reba (who apparently needed to go bad), hurried from the room. Paze, who was lying on her belly across Caleb and Ally¡¯s laps, gave a mock sigh, ¡°Guess I can just pee here since I¡¯m lazy.¡± Her lower half was residing in Ally¡¯s lap. ¡°You wish!¡± Ally teased, and spanked her. Pazely yelped out a, ¡°GROSS!¡± that turned into a laugh. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s funny, huh?¡± Ally smirked and gave her another spank, this one harder and louder. ¡°Jeez,¡± Caleb remarked at the impact. Pazely remained unflinching. ¡°What was that? I didn¡¯t feel anything,¡± Paze tried to sound confused, as she looked at Feldyn, then John, who was not seeming as amused at the situation.


    Lifting up Pazely¡¯s shirt to her shoulders, fully exposing her booty short-clad butt, Ally gave an evil smirk as she gave spank that sounded terribly painful. Even John grimaced, trying to avert his eyes. Pazely yelped in earnest, and Ally did it again, harder. When Pazely got her arms under her on Caleb¡¯s leg, good enough for leverage so she could escape, Ally said, ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t!¡± and gave her butt a good double-handed grab and squeeze. The sudden butt grope made Pazely fall back on her stomach and screech, trying to reach one hand back to stop Ally.


    Ally didn''t stop, and Paze kicked and squirmed, surprisingly quiet now.


    John cleared his throat loudly, getting the creepy-faced Ally to look up at him. ¡°Um¡­ I believe she needs to¡­ use the facilities,¡± he struggled to say. Sighing dramatically, ¡°I s¡¯pose she should,¡± and Ally let go, leaning back with a pout. Pazely rolled to the ground and looked up, horrified, at Ally. Caleb had no idea why she had been doing that, but he sure hadn¡¯t minded watching.


    Pazely stood now, blushing, and glaring at the beautiful blonde. Without a word, eyes suspicious, Paze slowly turned to leave. ¡°Well, you gotta pee or what? Hurry up,¡± Ally punctuated by leaning over to give her another good, hard, spank. Pazely fled from the room, giving a whimpering, crying, whine as she ran down the hall - the wrong way.


    Looking calmly at the three males near her, and ignoring the silent Masque (who hadn¡¯t moved nor opened his eyes since the rest break started), Ally tried to act like the entire event was casual teasing. ¡°Least now I know her weakness,¡± was the shrugging explanation.


    Once everyone returned, Pazely displaced Gigi, taking the seat by Stryker. Gigi didn¡¯t mind too much, crawling into Caleb¡¯s lap. ¡°The hell happened?¡± Stryker asked, as Pazely was uncharacteristically quiet and motionless next to him. ¡°A genre outside my current tale, I fear,¡± Feldyn sighed, rubbing his forehead with the back of a hand. That caused a double eyebrow raise from and frown Reba.


    Feldyn decided to reel things back in. ¡°Shall we?¡± he asked softly, mixing in the right amount of eagerness, and increasing his volume to subtly fill the room. He was a bard, after all; people paid him to manipulate them into paying attention! ¡°We are drawing to what is most pertinent, as well as how I came to be, well, here,¡± he motioned to his surroundings. No one objected, and Masque finally opened his eyes. He would take that as good a sign as any to continue!


    Therein is where the problem began! The writing of the prophecy, that is, if ye remember. You see, a prophecy that God himself is not the one to give... well, it isn¡¯t truly much of a prophecy,¡± Feldyn picked back up so fast, everyone tried to not look confused as they listened. ¡°What is a prophecy but not the cryptic future as shown by God himself? Some clue, or hint, or sign of things to take place, that would prove he was absolute. Indisputable proof, that it was not luck, but the will of God taking place. The Messianic Prophecies themselves are so astronomically impossible to pull off, even the most cynical has to admit Jesus is the Christ in their fulfillment. Or just be good with looking ignorant.¡± Feldyn gave a, ¡®what can ya do?¡¯ shrug, to a few smiles.


    A group of angels, led by an archangel, whose name has never been revealed, had to find someone upon Aethra that was a Christian, a genius, and their mind and soul had to be compatible with receiving prophecy without destroying itself. They eventually found a human, of all races, on Aethra, that was capable of receiving prophecy. After many convoluted events, he began to receive them.


    What happened was both quite unfortunate, and terribly interesting. The angels lost control of the prophecy immediately. Meaning, they were no longer in control of the plan to thwart Antioch!¡± Feldyn seemed about to leap from his chair in excitement.


    Ally wished he had explained things like this the first time. Before, he had seemed like a lunatic, but now he seemed¡­ like a teacher. Like one whose belief in their own words was a passion for them. Maybe it was just easier for her because of the ritual he had them perform?


    His visions,¡± Feldyn continued, barely skipping a beat, ¡°were also of things on Earth.¡± He almost got distracted again, as John leaned closer, the old man''s entire demeanor changing to one of fascination, if not borderline disagreement. Reba leaned back, taking her chin in one hand in a cute thinking stance.  ¡°From random places and random times seemed to come his visions. And quite infuriatingly, he wrote the prophecy in a gibberish tongue no one could even began to fathom for ages.¡±


    Feldyn had to stop to clear his throat. He was skipping so much¡­ As well as including some, err, more personal views and opinions. At the same time, he could not justify his eagerness. Was this all for Caleb''s benefit? ¡°I know there is a lot I am abridging, and trust me, there are libraries worth of detail to all of this. That can be filled in later; for now, I need to explain the important parts, if I may?¡± This was asked mostly for Reba and John¡¯s benefit. And it seemed beneficial for them, as they both relaxed a good deal in their postures.


    This prophecy has been collected into one big book, its title in common: the Esseff Codex ala Saints. Codex, it is shortened to. Over time, scholars figured out it was written in random languages from random times across our two worlds.¡± Another half truth. ¡°One sentence could be written in a combination of more than one language, from two worlds, from different times. It was madness! But a good deal of it was translatable, even if it took¡­ some time, to figure out its meanings. You see¡­ not everyone agrees.


    The Codex speaks of one leader. A king. Mostly referred to as the Dragonheart. This Dragonheart¡¯s power will be so great, his soul was broken into numerous shards. Each shard becoming their own individual life, powerful and capable enough to fight alongside the Dragonheart. And they together, the Dragonheart and shards, will find links. Links are those who are... special. They have a uniqueness to them, a power, that allows them -once awakened- to be powerful enough to join the fight. Though on a vastly lower power tier than the shards, mind you. Still, their own prowess is not exactly lesser of being considered mythical heroes themselves.¡±


    The entire room, astonishingly, was transfixed! This was the part of the Codex that caused so many nonbelievers. This ridiculous child¡¯s fiction scenario. A bunch of heroes to save the world! These were games children played, not real life happenings!


    In essence, these links and shards band together under the Dragonheart, go kick Antioch¡¯s ass, and save us all! HOWEVER¡­ it¡¯s never that simple, is it?¡± His demeanor change didn¡¯t cause one flinch. His shout, not a single start. ¡°You see¡­ the links and shards are all mentioned in the Codex. In riddles, and clues, and obscure passages throughout. The links can exist in different times and different places. They are who they are, when and where they are. And if a link were to die without being awakened, it is said the gift passes to another; that way effectively keeping their existence intact till the day of their awakening.¡± Not exactly true, but he had to fill in the blanks with something.


    Now, the shards are different. You see, they can only exist once.¡± Some believe¡­ ¡°Their ability does not pass to others. They are specific souls. It is written that they shall only be when the Dragonheart himself is. So you find a shard, you know the others must be around somewhere. As would the Dragonheart. Unfortunately, a shard has never been identified.¡± And technically, only two links. Confirmed by faith, and a few cryptic passages¡­


    If locating all these would-be heroes ¡®twas not bad enough, the Codex writes of things that must be done. Events that must happen. Sometimes in ridiculously obscure ways. All of them, lest the prophecy fail!" False. Nothing in the Codex says they are to fulfill the prophecies or fail. Yet it made sense that would be the case, and makes for a more rallying tale.


    "There are several Codex sects. The largest -Codexens- claim the Codex will fulfill itself, being a written manifestation of the Christ. They are passionate enough about their beliefs, they are willing to slaughter everyone that doesn¡¯t agree. The oldest, and most volatile of them are the Gelgtuh. They swear their dead King Gelgtuh is the Dragonheart, and will rise again to save them all. Their noble families are all supposed to have links in their bloodlines.¡± Feldyn couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes.


    The smallest of the groups, call themselves the Esseff. Yes, like the Codex. This group is the most¡­ influential. They are also the ones that smuggled copies of both the Codex and the Bible across Aethra, and the only Codex sect that preaches Christianity.


    "The Codex sects caused many wars, and were also the cause of the one hundred year war. However, there was another war, more of a battle, really, related to the Esseff prophecy, that shook Aethra to its core. Antioch, the prophesied villain whom had fallen to tales and legend¡­ re appeared.


    All over Aethra, he went tracking down the powerful and bending them to his will. Those who did not submit, or were simply in his way, he destroyed. So powerful was he, so unstoppable, the one-hundred-seventeen nations of known Aethra banded together for the first time, to destroy their common enemy. Over a billion soldiers, history writes, the greatest force Aethra has ever known! Antioch wiped out the lot of them.¡±


    Where the events were not a lie, Feldyn literally pulled those numbers out of his ass. He was pretty sure there were over one hundred countries on Aethra... Far as the soldier count, a billion wasn''t so unbelievable for that many nations?


    It may not have been quite that simple,¡± Feldyn admitted, feeling guilty, ¡°but regardless, Antioch leveled the allied forces. The only ones who survived were those who had fled."


    And when all seemed hopeless and lost, Antioch having destroyed the armies of the world¡­ he, and his accumulated forced.... vanished. Sort of. They were not long after located in a vastly unexplored region called Akur. Akur is a desert region, with many small countries. Antioch devastated it with such power that he turned entire regions of Akur to glass. Appointing himself the ruler, he made Akur into a unified empire.. Over the years since, Antioch crowned several generals to champion his cause.¡±


    Gigi had to interrupt that. ¡°What are their names?¡± Then added, ¡°What?¡± at the disapproving looks from the others at her interruption. ¡°Don¡¯t yell at me! He¡¯s not gonna say, and it¡¯s no fun when the bad guys don¡¯t have names!¡± Her hair, now bound at the top of her head again, seemed to thrash wildly as she made her point. Feldyn was beginning to love the little diva, so he conceded. ¡°Fine child, I will name them, but I am not going to give you their life stories, agreed?¡± She nodded and grinned. Feldyn could not help but smile back. ¡°We have Goldiez Cerulienstah, Darlothz Tch¡¯tlegion, Terkin Lamphrent, and Cryx. Only four with the rank of general. Good enough?¡± he asked the very confused-looking Gigi. Shaking her head, ¡°Nope. But you can tell me later; it¡¯s okay to keep going!¡± Yup, he was definitely beginning to love this girl.


    As Antioch settled into his new nesting ground, every nation set to rebuilding and fortifying, at first in a panic. Then, after time and with Antioch staying where he was, people once again began to get lax. And forget. Eventually telling themselves, after so many years, Antioch must be dead and was no longer a threat; even if Akur, lead by the immortal generals, very much was."


    Which brings us to more¡­ current times. Not long ago, one of the Ruling Kingdoms, Reveira, made an announcement. The type of announcement they should never have made. They claimed to have an individual which fit the criteria, beyond a doubt, for one of the links. The link who is written to seek out the Dragonheart.¡± Here it comes. ¡°That link¡­ is me.¡±


    Absolutely no reactions. The disappointment he felt inside was of epic proportions.


    I am the link prophesied to find the Dragonheart.¡± No one said a word. Finally, Reba, softly and sounding confused, asked ¡°Do you¡­ want us to interrupt this time?¡±


    Yup, epic disappointment. He hid it well with a smile, and shake of the head. Whilst continuing was the best course of action, he was needing to now remember some hard memories. ¡°My friends, this is where I think the story shall change in its telling. Why? Because this is where it gets¡­ personal.¡±


    Feldyn¡¯s entire demeanor had changed. The energetic storyteller of a teacher from a moment ago, now looked¡­ defeated. And far less happy. Like someone home from a hard days work, sitting back to drink a beer, while they bitched and whined.


    No one believed Reveira. Why would they? It was a ridiculous claim to make. Let alone for one such as I. For I am a-,¡± he almost slipping a truth he did not want to say, and barely caught himself, ¡°-half-blood. And let¡¯s just say we, in the elven worlds, are not exactly regarded¡­ of high pedigree,¡± he sneered that last. ¡°But I swear to ye, I am not lying!" About being a link... "Not long into becoming a young man, I¡­ Ye have to understand, such views as I am sharin¡¯ with ye would be regarded as insane to others on my world! For truth be told I did not believe it myself¡­¡±


    Ally was not pleased she was about to say this, but with everything else going on, why the hell not? ¡°I believe you.¡± The half-elf looked at, stunned into momentary silence. ¡°What reason do I have not to? You may be an overzealous douche, but you have been proven at least partly truthful. We got attacked by a gigantic monster dog, and were saved by a ninja, then my dance teacher ends up being a mad scientist. Why doubt the weird anymore?" Besides, focusing on the weird was one of the only things keeping her mind off the fact Jessie was fucking murdered.


    I believe you!¡± Gigi announced. ¡°Me too, I guess,¡± Pazely told him, Stryker following with a consenting shrug of his own. ¡°As do I,¡± Masque added. ¡°We have no reason to doubt you either,¡± Reba spoke for herself and John, though she was scowling at Ally for the mad scientist comment. ¡°After yesterday,¡± Caleb started, ¡°and the fact you risked your life to help us,¡± now he smiled, ¡°I think I can give you the benefit of the doubt. Demon dogs and all that.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t so much that they all believed his tale, so much as they just didn¡¯t believe he was lying. Which, oddly enough, is not the same thing. Feldyn failed to see this, only hearing their words of acceptance.


    Feldyn¡­ who had been ridiculed, betrayed, and tormented because of his beliefs. Feldyn, who had lost so many, and suffered so greatly... was close to breaking into sobs of happiness. That Feldyn¡­ was also feeling shame and guilt. He wasn¡¯t supposed to care, dammit! None of them, not a one, could go back through the portal besides Caleb, Lance, and himself! It wasn¡¯t choice, it just was. Their bodies would be torn asunder! Yet this was his cross to bear. And bear it he would. Too much had already been lost, been sacrificed, for him not to. And if it come down to it... he would... let every one of them die to get Caleb back to Aethra safely...


    Thank you,¡± he managed to say to the group, and was more than happy his voice was calm and strong. With a deep breath, nerve regained, ¡°When I was barely more than a child, I began to have dreams. One specific dream really. But it was long, and confusing, and full of words and phrases I did not understand. Images, sounds¡­ It was vivid as any experiences in the waking world! Though they were still dreams, vivid or not, much was... cloudy. Forgotten, or hidden in the shadows of my mind. One thing, that was always clear, and never faded... were the emotions.¡±


    A violent chill ran up his spine, and seemed to stretch fingers of ice across his rib cage. ''What was that?'' He let his pondering thoughts run in the back of his mind, and kept talking, ¡°These¡­ future memories, were of the best friends I had ever known.¡± Feldyn¡¯s eyes were now full of tears, and he was struggling desperately to not let his voice crack, shiver up his spine forgotten. ¡°Although I had never before met them,¡± his voice cracked, and he took a brief moment to wipe his eyes on his short sleeve. No one interrupted as he composed himself. ¡°But whenever I woke, I could never remember their faces.¡±


    ''And I lie,'' Feldyn thought. There was one face he could always see, and would never forget¡­ Her face.


    What I could remember caused enough of a stir. Turned out they were things of Earth. Mostly. The words and sounds I did not recognize, I now know were mostly Japanese.¡± Again, partial truths. Not that it should matter. Yet the more he emitted, or lied, the more it was eating at him. Why? These people were basically strangers, and his words, true or false, would not bring them any harm. ¡°An amazing language, though I fear I only have a rudimentary understanding of it.¡± He gave an exaggerated wince at Pazely and mouthed ¡®sorry¡¯ to which she just rolled her eyes. (The fuck did she care what languages he spoke?) He smiled at how easy it was to tease her, and moved on.


    He took a deep breath, and abridged. Heavily. ¡°A lot happened, and I started to remember one of those I dreamed of. Or more like one moment. Before a red painted sky, it appeared a sunset, a man stood facing away. Behind him, and before me, were nine other individuals, whom I still cannot remember.¡± Feldyn resisted the urge to gulp. It was a bit awkward explaining this part, having Caleb sitting right next to him. ¡°And then he turned, to face me. Donned in what appeared to be a variety of a dragon armor,¡± Feldyn failed to realize they had no clue what dragon armor was, ¡°and in each hand, he wielded a separate blade; one was a brilliant longsword, much resembling his armor, the other was a small curved blade that was colored like a rainbow."


    Feldyn closed his eyes only long enough to take a breath, then opened them and turned to Caleb, ¡°That man I saw there before me, was you. Though, admittedly, you were a bit older than now.¡±


    Caleb just stared at him. ¡°Me?¡± he finally asked, with a smile that made him look like he was eight-years-old. Then snickered. ¡°Sounds cool and all, but really?¡± He paused as Feldyn¡¯s face fell, ¡°Y-you said ye believed me¡­¡± Oh holy crap, he looks emo enough to color his hair! The entire idea of what Feldyn was preaching sounded awesome. And where Caleb didn''t exactly think he was lying, it was a bit much to just believe. Other worlds? Mythical heroes? Magic and monsters? That stuff just isn''t (So lycanthropeire are commonplace for you?) real. You play it, read (FUCK) it, watch it, you don''t live (Imagine yourself dead, you worthless cunt!) it. Do you?


    Do you?¡± Caleb said, and Feldyn furrowed his brow. The teenager closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think. All these unwanted thoughts were confusing as fuck.


    I mean,¡± Caleb restarted, eyes still closed, ¡°do you see how someone you just met telling you that you are this legendary hero could be¡­¡± With a sigh, Caleb opened his eyes and smiled at his new friend, ¡°How it can be a lot of crap to take in?¡± His eyes widened and he held his hands out defensively, ¡°I meant not bad or fake crap! The believable kind, you know, the good¡­ crap?¡± Reba facepalmed and Feldyn -not for the first time- wondered if this boy had any hope.


    Caleb started laughing at his own stupidity. Eventually, the others joined in with some smiles and laughs of their own. Stryker wasn¡¯t sure why, he just went with it. He desperately needed to stretch, and wished this story would hurry up. It reminded him of the time he sat in on one of those pencil and paper games the kids were playing. He had been so freaking lost it was humiliating. Francis took a little extra time to get the creative crapola flowin¡¯, but he was more than above average intelligence. And knew it would make sense to him eventually, so why stress the small stuff?


    It wasn¡¯t the easiest for me to accept at first either,¡± Feldyn admitted, taking back the lead. ¡°Remember, on my world, your planet is a myth to most. Then, there I was, saying the Dragonheart was an alien, and I was the one destined to locate him!¡± From their expressions when he put it like that, he saw they were finally starting to get his dilemma.


    "How I came to traverse a portal to Earth... was anything but pleasant.¡± He shuddered. ¡°But I made it. The locals were not exactly welcoming when I arrived, but after fleeing them, thinking I had lost my mind, having trouble accepting I was not still on Aethra, I found a friendly town. Which only reinforced the belief I was still on my world. Why? Because I encountered humans who spoke the Trade Tongue.¡±


    John raised his hand. ¡°Trade Tongue?¡± the old man asked when Feldyn motioned to him. This part was about to sound hard to believe¡­ It even had been for him. ¡°On Aethra, after the first great war, when the countries were trying to form a peace, they decided to make a language. A language that belonged to no people. It was designed to be so convoluted, so ridiculously complex and full of rules, that no sane individual would learn it without a reason. By learning it, you showed you took world trade, peace, or politics, seriously. It, to this day, is taught in every developed country, and is considered the common tongue. Near everyone speaks it to a certain degree. And it just so happens to be near identical to your English.¡±


    Common?¡± Pazely sneered. ¡°Seriously? English is freaking common?!¡± She was beginning to come back from the Ally groping, it seemed! ¡°Are you trying to be a retarded stereotype?¡± Feldyn had no idea what she was so angry about. It did seem quite a hard to believe coincidence. How could one country on one planet, happen to have an identical language to another planet, neither having any connection to each other when they were formed? The names of plants, spices, foods, and even a good deal of (but not all) slang was identical! But what storyteller would use such a blatantly stupid excuse to explain why a completely alien world spoke his own native tongue? It was amateur! If not lacking a great deal of creativity. Surely he could weave a tale better than that! Only the truth could ever be so¡­ unbelievable.


    I assure you Pazely, I am telling you the truth. I am not sure what is so stereotypical though. It seems quite hard to believe myself, nor have I ever heard of such a thing.¡± He eyed her cautiously as he kept talking, totally missing the similar looks of disbelief on the faces of Caleb, Ally, and Reba.


    Not delaying long, I immediately proceeded to gather information and the explore Earth, searching for the Dragonheart. I experienced amazing cultures, and walked amazing lands! I even went to the Holy Land itself!¡± Humans were so diverse across this planet, and their cuisines were amazing! Thinking of food, he briefly forgot what he was saying.


    Um, where was¡­ Oh! To sum it up, I eventually ended up in Russia, briefly staying with a family of nudists.¡± Gigi snickered. She was a nudist in Russia! Well, she was when she traveled with her cousins. Her own parents rarely ever left the town they lived in. ¡°I had met them because, as I had been walking naked down a beach (after a bad encounter with some wildlife), a family with two daughters were picnicking. I panicked at first, being naked and all. Then, I noticed the entire family was also nude. And there were other people farther down the beach, also without clothing. But that first family stood out. Instead of old, ugly, and hairy: they were youthful, in good shape."


    Oh no,¡± Ally groaned loudly, as it just dawned on her who he was talking about. Who else could he be describing? ¡°You can¡¯t be fucking serious.¡± Everyone looked curious. Feldyn nodded sheepishly, ¡°Aye, ¡®tis afraid I am.¡± Ally felt a bit sick. ¡°WHAT IS IT?!¡± Pazely screeched, tired of no one explaining. Ally looked out from between two fingers as she now hid her face in her hands. ¡°Uncle and Aunt Jacobson.¡± Saying those words tasted bad in her mouth. Sally and Jessie¡¯s parents. That explains why he had been so damn intent on being in disguise when he came to the studio! She knew there had been more to it! ¡°You met Sally and Jessie before coming here.¡±


    Luckily, the name Jessie managed to slide by without causing any disturbances. Though the bard noticed and quickly continued, before someone thought of the poor girl¡¯s recent, and horrible, departure from this world. ¡°Aye, I had. Your aunt and uncle were both quite generous in their hospitality, despite me crashing their family vacation.¡±


    That¡¯s because my aunt¡¯s a slut,¡± Ally groaned, still hiding her face. The half-elf ignored the comment, unsure what her aunt¡¯s promiscuity had to do with anything.


    Three full days with them, before I noticed a picture that had been on a shelf in their little cabin.¡± He sighed. ¡°I had seen it each day for three days, and didn¡¯t notice. In the picture stood the Dragonheart!¡± Caleb knew the exact photo. Sally and Jessie¡¯s mom had taken it. Him, Ally, Jessie, Sally, Pazely and Gigi were all in it. ¡°You can imagine my surprise! I could hardly believe what I was seeing!¡± Feldyn laughed, and shook his head. He had been leaving that day too, and almost missed it entirely!


    Of course, I inquired about the boy in the photo. It didn¡¯t take long for me to learn who you were, and where you resided. When I finally left them, I made my way to America for the first time. Yes, I said the first time. I had not¡­ heard many good things about your country. How surprised I was, however, that law enforcement didn¡¯t shoot me on sight, and not every citizen was grossly obese.¡± Feldyn couldn¡¯t believe he had avoided this country! It has held so many pieces of so many unanswered questions! What could he say? Everyone knows when you go to a new land (world?), you avoid the empire that everyone is afraid of! Honestly though, he truly wished he had come here sooner. Despite the ignorance, there was a freedom unlike any he had encountered on Earth!


    And did he mention food? This country had so much food!


    Feldyn occasionally worried he thought of food too much...


    I eventually made it here, meeting up with Caleb, Ally, and Pazely at Caleb¡¯s girlfriend¡¯s property.¡± Caleb blinked rapidly at that last. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t have a girlfriend,¡± he interrupted the bard. Pazely clapped her hands and started cackling. ¡°Did you seriously forget her?¡± she snorted more than once in her giggles. ¡°This is freaking awesome!¡± Ally and Reba couldn¡¯t help but smirk themselves.


    Caleb looked horrified. He felt horrified. He had a girlfriend?! That sounded more unbelievable than anything he''d heard yet! ¡°Well, who is it?¡± If his eyes were any wider they would have fallen out. Pazely was almost in hysterics now. Stryker even had to grin at the terror on the boy¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s Rashelle Clausington,¡± Ally informed him, matter-of-fact and with a sigh. May as well get this over with. ¡°Who the hell is that?¡± Caleb asked, voice quavering in fear, and Ally laughed despite herself. Caleb frowned, ¡°This is bullshit. I¡¯m dating someone and I don¡¯t even know who. Why is it so funny? Is she ugly or something?¡±


    Ally sighed a bit dramatically ¡°You should still remember her, even with the holes in your head. You can remember school?¡± She made sure her words sounded as condescending as possible. ¡°Rashelle''s skinny, pale, thin, black hair, about to here,¡± Ally held her hand an inch below her shoulder to show. ¡°No ass, tiny boobs, so polite and charming you want to light her on fire and see if she smells like marshmallows? Yet when you do, you realize it¡¯s all fake, and smells like the horseshit that it is?¡± Pazely fell out of her chair, gasping for breath between breathless laughter. No one paid her much heed. Completely missing the venom and super bitch in Ally, it dawned on Caleb whom she meant.


    Rashelle was kinda hot. And older than him. Which seemed odd. How the hell did he get an older girl¡¯s attention? They never give younger guys the time of day! And Caleb wasn¡¯t exactly popular. He guessed Rashelle did stare at him a lot, and was rumored to be a slut.


    Did we have sex?¡± Caleb asked Ally without blinking. Feldyn¡¯s winced. Ally felt like she had a mini-stroke, but was thinking better now, so it was much easier to keep her usual control. Giving him a confused look, ¡°How would I know, you creepy dumbass,¡± she laughed. ¡°Cuz I tell you everything, don¡¯t I?¡± he answered with a teasing smile.


    Anyway,¡± Feldyn continued, wanting to wrap things up. Now he needed to pee, ¡°I met you two, and Pazely, who may be unconscious beside the chair¡­ Oh, she moves! Good. I then explained more or less what I just did. Only with much less detail. None of you believed me. Then the manastorms started.¡± He saw that was going to take at least a mild explanation.


    Manastorms are those flaming arcs of electricity in the air, occasionally accompanied by earthquakes. They are like¡­ God¡¯s countermeasure to magic use. When magic takes place in your world, it creates a manastorm to burn away the residual mana. Like cauterizing a wound, in a way. Though it¡¯s best to just know that -on Earth- magic causes manastorms. The stronger the magic, the stronger the storm.


    Being worried at their appearance, I did some¡­ research and discovered manastorms had been being reported all over Earth the last few years, yet none had ever been officially recognized by any government. Even with the appearance of the storms, I still could not get you to believe me."


    Time for his first bold faced lie. "A couple of days ago, while I was... walking near the studio, I discovered the presence of what I presumed to be a weakening seal. Yes, the very one broken yesterday." He intentionally did not make eye contact with Ally. "I then knew that to be the cause of local storms." Masque didn''t flinch. Was he choosing to go along with the lie? Give the bard enough rope to hang himself? "I knew if I fixed the seal, the storms would stop. I thought, if I gave ye all... a bit of a placebo, I might gain some trust." Ally aimed at him a deathly stare he couldn''t avoid. ¡°The ritual,¡± she stated, and he nodded sheepishly.


    Real rituals do exist, though I would never intentionally use magics on Earth! Instead, I simply wanted to convince you all, so made up a story about how the ritual would stop the manastorms. After, I had intended to hurry and repair the seal, proving the... lie.¡± He felt ashamed of himself, and his voice showed it.


    Feldyn had not known about the seal, and had minimal knowledge on how they functioned. Though he did know what was causing the storms. Or so he thought.


    What caused the memory loss then, and the weird way we¡¯ve been feeling?¡± Ally asked, looking unconvinced. ¡°As I have stated, many times, I have not the slightest of notion what caused it.¡± Feldyn answered, pouring truth into his eyes and voice. After a moment, Ally looked away with an eye-roll.


    That last was the honest truth. He hadn¡¯t the foggiest what caused the severe storming, nor the effect on their memories.


    I fear this brings me to current,¡± Feldyn concluded abruptly. He never was good at ending tales.


    Pazely (sitting back in her chair) didn¡¯t look happy. ¡°What about that dumb wig and stuff? And you being at the dance studio?¡± Her expression looked deathly cute. Feldyn couldn¡¯t say no to that face! ¡°The studio, well I had planned that before I ever met you all in case I could not find a chance to approach Caleb. A little research turned up information about the master classes, and that master instructors were always wanted. So I, uh, forged my credentials, and contacted the studio.¡± He gave Reba an apologetic smile, though she seemed too lost in thought to notice.


    Which reminds me,¡± Feldyn turned a sudden and suspicious look to Pazely, ¡°after the ritual, and before class, you were the one who gave me the disguise. Yes, you. Though you also gave me an incredibly foul-tasting drink you claimed was for energy, which I now believe was drugged.¡±


    Pazely¡¯s eyes grew huge, her expression still cute, just with a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes. "Wait¡­ was it in a rainbow-colored water bottle and tasted like dirt?¡± She already knew he would nod. For some reason, she had helped him to dress like a hippy, and gave him a bottle of shroom tea. She didn¡¯t eat psychedelic mushrooms herself, but had recently¡­ errr¡­ acquired a good deal of old nasty ones she had been trying to get rid of. She traded stuff to people in town for other stuff she wanted, and had ended up with a ton from one of her last trades.


    Wow, to do that to Feldyn, she must have really thought he was retarded. It explained why he was acting so dumb. She actually felt a little ashamed of herself. ¡°Sorry,¡± she mumbled.


    Hallucinogenic mushrooms, made into a tea,¡± Caleb assumed. Pazely blushed in confirmation. Ah! That would explain it! Feldyn should have been irritated, but in a different situation he would have probably drank the foul tasting tea willingly, so he let it slide.


    John stood suddenly. ¡°After such a story, I would say we are in need of a good meal.¡± He looked back to Reba, who didn¡¯t share his eagerness. ¡°We¡­ also should tell you our own.¡± John appeared to almost grow older, his expression apologetic as he looked to his granddaughter. ¡°I fear we may have been meant to cross paths with you.¡± John smiled weakly at Feldyn. ¡°For you though, that is a good thing.¡± As John was leaving the room, Reba asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± sounding irritated. ¡°Everyone get freshened up,¡± John said, turning back to the group, ¡°and we will gather in the dining hall. Reba will show you the way.¡± And he once again turned, and left uninterrupted.


    Looks like there were more tales to be told! Feldyn stood and stretched. Everything was going so well! Now to find a portal, open it, and return home. And figure out a way to get Caleb to leave the others behind. That last would probably be the only hard part left. The lycanthropeire? Feldyn was sure this world¡¯s modern security forces, once the beast became known, would easily dispatch it. Big and deadly it was, but it could be destroyed like anything else of flesh and blood, given enough firepower. Surely that was the last and only danger they would face.


    Or so he thought. If he knew of the real danger lurking near, or the events soon to take place¡­


    He would not have been smiling.

 Chapter 6: The Worm-Eaten Eye

    Enveloping¡­ Darkness holds tight¡­


    The dampness is what she could feel¡­


    Cold.


    The blinding lack of light, all she could see¡­


    Silent.


    Reaching to the greatest of depths¡­


    No one.


    Her fingers find no point to stop.


    No walls, or chains. No bars or groping touch.


    Nothing.


    Evil lurks near, observing its prey.


    Flesh of the dark, pure putrid in self.


    For a self can be putrid.


    And one can be evil.


    But can the darkness truly be infinite?


    Alone, she knows nothing.


    For nothing is what it shall give.


    Not even a name does she hold.


    Never has she seen a face.


    Ears ignorant to the voice of another.


    Yet she knows her own screams.


    For in the dark they cry, their voices her own.


    She hears herself beg for mercy.


    It is not her lips speaking.


    From the suffering darkness, she listens to the future.


    Her future of torment.


    And evil¡­


    It shall watch. It shall wait. It shall lust to taste.


    Eventually, she too will cry. She will scream. She will bleed.


    And it will laugh. It will feel pleasure.


    For it will please itself.


    Alone, it will bathe in her torment and gore.


    Fear is the only love she shall know.


    For he shall feed. He shall breed. And she. Shall. Bleed.


    Her own delicious torment,


    is all he shall have her know.


    Alone in the darkness, the innocent smiles,


    into the very thing she will wish was not.


    For the darkness will rip the smile from her, and make her forget.


    In the darkness, she was not the first nor the last.


    But the pain, for her, was just as important.


    This moment, this smile she will stubbornly make,


    taken or left,


    shall forever be!


    Is it faith? Does she believe her smile to stay?


    The evil laughs.


    ...


    No longer there to smile,


    the darkness is now void of life.


    No hands to push into its depths.


    No hope to fill its suffocating embrace.


    Her faith had been in vain.


    And the evil, made itself another.


    The darkness once again had company.


    And once again¡­ she smiled.


    Maybe this time¡­ that smile will survive.


    ~The Consumed Smiles


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    The day was beginning to get worse for him; this morning it was just a toenail or two, now he could smell the exposed bowel, as it finally began to push though his rotting abdomen. This was really getting annoying; he seriously needed to eat more. And soon. It was so hard to eat properly in this country without causing a shit-storm. Xal would just have to learn some patience! He needed some fucking food before an arm fell off. Fuck driving big rigs while missing appendages. Why was it his responsibility to haul everything, anyway?


    The large ugly man driving the semi, pulled off the highway. He had been heading northbound on I-5, and had crossed into Oregon not long ago. Turning wide, he swung the large, unmarked trailer as he took a left into town, running a red light at the empty intersection. Normally, he would be more careful, and definitely would not be stopping at a convenience store this close to the highway. But things weren¡¯t really normal, he told himself as he parked his smog-farting vehicle along the side of the building.


    He sneezed, and his tongue detached. Barely caught it in his lips before it fell all the way out of his fetid mouth. Grumbling, he wiped the saliva and pus from the sores on his lip and shoved his tongue back in with his meaty hand. Holding the base in place with sausage-like fingers, his large jaw was open so wide that it should have been hideously uncomfortable. Not to mention, difficult to breathe. But who had time for breathing? Such a wasteful function. Finally removing his hand, he slowly began wiggling his tongue in the rear view mirror that he had readjusted to see himself in. Good, it reattached! Meat was also such a bothersome, wasteful necessity. He would have preferred something more¡­ ethereal. Yet you could never give up physical pleasure! Really was quite a conundrum.


    Larry belched, and he¡¯d be damned if he didn¡¯t burp out a faint green cloud of something nasty! He would have laughed that such a thing were even possible, if not for fear of something falling off or rupturing¡­ or outright exploding. Motherfucking, cocksucking, fucking MEAT! Just to rot and die like all of God¡¯s other bullshit failures!


    With a sigh, and a bubbling, sputtering fart (he ignored whatever just shot out of his ass, but hoped it wasn¡¯t important), Larry got out of the large vehicle. His size fourteen steel-toed boots thumped hard on the foot-step. His jeans soiled from many substances that should not be on -nor in- one¡¯s clothing. Woo lord, he smelled! Before stepping to the ground, he glanced into the side view mirror, taking a better look at his shit-ugly mug. Bloodshot brown eyes, horrible acne and sores dotting his face, lips housing pus-dripping blisters, smile showing teeth of varying colors of decay.


    Brushing greasy and matted brown hair back from his forehead with one large hand, Larry deemed himself nasty! But this should work until he got some food. Even if that food was going to come from a bag, or a can. Better than nothing, he supposed. He could eat something real, soon enough.


    Halfway to the front door of the mini-mart, his abdomen ruptured, spilling horribly decayed entrails, and feces that looked like the black tar in a smoker¡¯s lungs. ¡°Son of a bitch,¡± the cesspool of a man muttered, frantically trying to catch them through his shirt. How in the fuck was he going to buy food like this without causing a scene? He didn¡¯t really want to have to kill the entire town, just to cover one sloppy shopping trip. Yet, he would at least get some real food if that ended up being the case¡­


    So now the fuck what? Then, looking around as the station annoyingly began to get customers, entrails loosely held inside with two hands, he saw them. A ways down the road near a giant propane tank and a sign advertising assholes and mustard, or something like that. Two girls. Teenagers, by the looks of them. And the one in the skirt was extending her thumb to passing cars, even showing some thigh. Stupid cunt. But thanks to her stupidity¡­ Larry may get to eat after all.


    He scooped out as much of the exposed innards from under his shirt as seemed necessary, and flung the filth off to the side. No one was looking, of course. Pinching the rupture closed with one hand as he got back in the truck, Larry settled into his seat with a grunt. Feeling less fluids oozing between his fingers, he relaxed and released his hand slowly, and was pleased to feel the skin fusing.


    Wiping his hand on the seat, he grabbed a bottle of pump air fresheners and began dousing everything, himself included. He then drank the remainder of the bottle. Might as well leak it out from the inside to help with the stench! Even the flies were dead, he mused at the decent layer accumulating on the broad dash. With a mental note to buy (or just take) more air freshener, Larry had the truck started and moving around the building, before pulling out to stop on the other side of the road from the two girls.


    Need a ride?¡± he asked out his window. The one showing thigh was in a cheerleader skirt. She turned to stick her tongue out at the meeker, nerdier looking girl. Bimbo legs ran across the street, and around to climb in the passenger¡¯s side. ¡°Thanks, we are going north!¡± she announced, seemingly oblivious to the smell as she climbed in the back, squeezing behind the passenger¡¯s seat as the back cabin area was packed with garbage and boxes. Which forced the bookworm-looking creature to sit in the front. Her expression showed that at least she had an olfactory.


    Sorry about the smell,¡± Larry apologized, sounding friendly. ¡°There was a mishap at a stop a few states back, can¡¯t exactly just go home and clean up the problem. Head north, you said? Will take you as far as I can.¡± Getting the rig moving, he looked for a good turnaround to get back on the highway.


    The girl next to him sat with hands in lap, looking straight ahead. Polite, proper, and afraid. Larry guessed she was fourteen? Maybe even fifteen or sixteen? Fuck, could be twenty. It was so hard for him to tell, since he didn¡¯t really care much about such things. What he did care about was flavor, and Miss Boring here probably had no seasoning to her meat at all. The one in the back -that wouldn¡¯t shut the fuck up!- looked tastier. More meat, and probably a slut. Looked about as good to him as bacon, and Larry loved his fucking bacon!


    Americans were so unhealthy. But at least they had some calories and variety to them. Larry hated being in the deeper Asian countries. It was like eating one food, no matter where you went. Not enough calories to sustain him, and the meat was so god-awfully dry! Had to go to Korea to find any flavor, yet still nothing of any real substance. Don''t even get him started on North Korea! He guessed Japan was getting more fatty these days¡­ His last trip there actually gave him some heartburn. China though, whew, China did a thing or two, if you knew where to look... But the Americas? Like down in Mexico? Hah! Now they had some butt rippling good flavor! If the food makes you shart, it¡¯s the way to your heart! Bua ha ha! Good times.


    Right now, that was all trivial! He was starving, and the reminiscing was making it worse. Miss chubby-cheeks in the back would be the junk food. Skinny-hips here can be the fiber. It amused him how the popular ones were always more out of shape, where the quiet nerds that were teased, had the better bodies. The pretty ones were always fucking hated though. Maybe cuz they tasted like crap? Beauty is only good with your dick in it, not on a fucking plate.


    Though humans don¡¯t generally eat each other, do they? Fuckers are missing out.


    He couldn¡¯t wait any more. He was beyond hungry and it seemed a kidney had just come loose. Damn. Normally he avoided eating on main roads (let alone an interstate¡­), but this was an emergency! Larry reached over and casually ripped the arm off of the bookworm next to him. He was thankful that the whore in the back shut up finally. Biting a few fingers off the severed arm, he made a face. ''Aw blech, a virgin alright!'' The hype about virgins never made any sense to him. No fun and no flavor!


    The virgin bitch (who was in a state of shock, having had an arm ripped off) began whimpering and whining loudly. Why do people do that? He didn¡¯t get it. She looked like a smart girl. Had to know she was going to die, given the situation. Why be all afraid and whiny? She should be trying to kill him, am I right? WRONG! Humans are complete, pathetic pieces of shit.


    She then began to cry to Jesus to save her. HE HATED WHEN THEY DID THAT! Ugh, of all people, why Him? Why not one of the many wannabes like Zeus or Buddha? It just had to be Captain Pacifism. Rolling up his window, Larry set the arm down on his lap, frowning at the blood-spray obscured windshield, and the girl began to cry louder for the Christ to save her.


    Larry caved in the side of her head with a single punch. ¡°There,¡± he said, ripping part of her shirt off to use to wipe the windshield, ¡°he answered. Your suffering ended quickly.¡± Taking another bite of the arm, Larry accidentally let some of the meat fall from his mouth. Dammit, not like this girl had a lot on her to begin with¡­ Great, now the remaining girl was screaming; having wiped some of the blood from her face, staring at her red hands triggered the drama.


    He didn¡¯t care; he was famished. And the cab was designed to be soundproof with the windows up. Let the bitch scream.


    When he didn¡¯t have much left besides some elbow -wasn¡¯t sure if his teeth could take all this crunch right now- he needed something that didn¡¯t taste like boiled grass.


    The whore in the back was still screaming. Just screaming. How retarded. Can¡¯t she even try to escape? He hoped she tasted better than fiber bitch up here.


    Larry reached back and ripped off her left ear, and popped it in his mouth like a potato chip. She tasted amazing! And the pain made her retch, so she shut the fuck up for a moment. Mmmmm¡­ This one had worse luck in life¡­ been raped a few times too. He also tasted a bit of suicidal depression. Fucking mouthwatering. He figured he could take one more taste now. Reaching back again, he grabbed her wrist, dug his fingers into it, and snapped it back and forth a couple times, then twisted and yanked her hand off. She was, of course, screaming again. Taking a bite, Larry almost jumped out of his seat!


    She was terrified to die! Of going to Hell! His quasi-demon status was a bit new, and his ability to see the Christ Mark not really developed; Larry could taste the Chains of Sin. Bitch is going to Hell for sure. She knows this, yet doesn¡¯t cry out to Christ¡­ Dumb little piggy.


    That wasn¡¯t why he had been startled. Her terror was so great, it was essentially basting her meat to an extraordinary juiciness! And the pain, oh the delicious pain, was giving her the best gamey taste.


    Still having an entire state to cross before getting to Castle Rock, he reached into a compartment for something to keep her from bleeding out. Had to make sure the dumb bitch stayed alive and screaming. Best to let that shit simmer!


    * * *


    The meeting hall was not what they had been expecting. Following Reba through a pair of swinging wooden doors, they walked into what was probably once a small cafeteria. Dead center in the room was a long, slender banquet table. It appeared to be stainless steel. One solid piece of stainless steel. So long was this one piece of metal, it had like twelve or something armchair recliners set around it, with plenty of space between them. They were in varying stages of repair, making the setup look almost like some sci-fi hillbilly¡¯s d¨¦cor. ''No way in hell that¡¯s one piece of metal,'' Caleb thought. If so, what did they do, make it in here? It was huge.


    The left wall was almost all kitchen counter, and cooking or food-related devices. Caleb noticed four vending machines and a fountain soda dispenser at the far end that Gigi was running to, coins spilling from her hands. Was a miracle she still had any when she got to them¡­ Her squeal told Caleb that at least something had candy. There were a total of six sinks in the black marble counter top. Sure, make the table ugly stainless, and get a cool kitchen counter. Caleb never got the interior designing skills of some people.


    Casually making his own way past the many cooking appliances, Feldyn picked up most of the dropped coins as he stepped next to Gigi. Looking at all the options in these clear-paneled food vending machines, he was lost. The blonde critter did not appear to be. She had a rather large pile of wrapped objects next to her and was frowning at a smaller machine. It appeared to hold loose candies, dispensing though a chute, which was held shut with a metal flap. Looking up at him, her wide green eyes were thoughtful to the point of being comedic. ¡°I think I need a bucket.¡± She threw her arms out in a sigh too big for her size, and asked, ¡°Who has buckets these days?¡± When she wasn¡¯t fighting demons, she was busy slaying the hearts of those around her! Feldyn couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°I¡¯m sure we can find something.¡±


    Hands on hips, he made a thoughtful face of his own, as he looked into the machine next to him. ¡°Any recommendations?¡± He truly did not know what most of the items were. ¡°Try them all, I¡¯m rich!¡± Gigi announced, sweeping her hands at the pile of things on the floor, then back at the trail of coins. She paused to blink, as they had magically seemed to vanish. ¡°I¡¯ve been stolen¡­¡± she breathed without moving. Feldyn almost laughed again. ¡°I retrieved them for you,¡± he showed her the coins in his hands. ¡°Oh!¡± she chirped, and giggle-snorted once. ¡°Keep them, my peasant!¡± She picked up a wrapped candy bar, and handed it to him. With a smirk at this silly human child, he opened the¡­ chocolate coated candy bar. Biting into it¡­ he decided he would start by buying these!


    When Pazely screamed, Stryker spilled his large soda all over the counter as he was putting a lid on it. Reba rolled her eyes and got him a towel. You think he would be used to her outbursts by now¡­ ¡°REBA!¡± Pazely screeched, her whine loud enough that Ally threw an apple at her from the table. Pazely caught it without paying much attention. ¡°Why is the wall covered in weapons?¡± She pointed over her shoulder. She never meant to be so loud, it just happened! It was pretty embarrassing though, and she got tired of being made fun of or in trouble for it. At least Caleb seemed to like it when she was all noisy¡­ A dirty thought drifted through her imagination briefly.


    Where did you get all of these¡­?¡± Caleb¡¯s question trailed off, staring at the wall. Displaying weapons of many forms on a wall wasn¡¯t unheard of. Nor were the kids so ignorant as to be easily impressed with firearms or blades. It was what was on this wall! Under a coat of arms display he didn¡¯t pay much attention to, hung dozens of individual weapons. There were swords and knives, maces, axes, and flails, bazookas, a rocket launcher, some grenades in cases to better display, and military grade assault weapons, handguns, and fancy-looking revolvers. There had to be millions of dollars worth! And more than a few felonies¡­


    Maybe you should kill everyone here? Cram some blades up some pussies!


    They can help you; you can trust them!


    Okay, so it wasn¡¯t a good idea to let his thoughts wander. But still, these thoughts¡­ seemed to have increased in volume. Not thoughts. Voices. But it was just his own head, so hearing voices in his head, was just thoughts, with chemical imbalances or something. Right?  Or sas he (yes)(no) actually going (remain calm) crazy (crazy crazy crazy crazy)? Caleb stood, un-blinking, trying not to think. Not to panic. To stay calm. ''The hell is happening to me?!''


    That was here when we arrived,¡± John explained, as he had just walked into the room, followed by Bryan, who was acting as a pack mule. Bryan didn¡¯t make eye contact, going straight to the counter to set down the boxes he carried, and take the plastic bags of food off his arms. ¡°We did add a few items of import to us. If we have time, I am more than willing to tell you the stories behind them.¡± Caleb saw a twinkle in the old man¡¯s eye as he sipped his coffee.


    And for the first time, Caleb noticed this old man had an odd youth to him, and wasn''t as old as he had thought. With the white hair, robe, staff, and shuffling gate, their was an illusion of elderly for a man that could be maybe in his fiftys. Only that didn''t seem right either...


    Reba sighed from the table, ¡°isn¡¯t what you are already going to tell them enough?¡± Reba¡­ did not look happy. ¡°I mean, really? Why are you so excited about this?¡± The sadness in her voice took the attention of the room. John knew her fears, and truly felt terrible for her. And he knew that she understood the importance of this.


    Then his heart sped up a bit when he noticed Officer Stricksent looking at the wall of felonies, and reflexively gripped his staff tighter. Stryker noticed the concerned look, and rolled his eyes. ¡°I gotta keep an eye on these four,¡± he motioned to the teens. ¡°If a bazooka or two was going to ruffle my feathers, I would¡¯ve been plucked and fucked a long time ago.¡± Gigi cackled, and the cop flushed at his inappropriate choice of words.


    John was just growing all the more positive that the horrible story he was about to tell would be believed by these outsiders. The truth could replace the lie, at last. And his Reba could finally have friends. He knew she loved him, and was content with that. But a girl needed more in her life than a -probably- not far from dying old man. For what crueler fate could he imagine than dying and leaving her alone? It¡¯s not like she was of his own blood, yet his kin she was, beyond a doubt in his heart. And that was more than enough. Adoption, marriage, even family, is all but something written upon paper. Love and acceptance is written on the soul, penned in the blood of sacrifice. The territory of God, from the ink of Christ. How could that not be enough?


    Shutting her eyes, and taking a deep breath, Reba opened them to notice Feldyn looking at her. She tried to ignore him. ¡°Do you care about my feeling at all?¡± the words directed at John shook him. Not her anger, he had gotten used to that over the years. It was how afraid she was.


    I¡¯ll get food going, you sit down,¡± Ally said to her teacher, trying to be nice. The food stores they had in this place were impressive. There was plenty of fruit, beverages, cheeses, and the like already out now, but Ally wanted to cook. It relaxed her, and she could really use some relaxation. ¡°No, Ally. I want you to pay attention to this.¡± Reba''s eyes were locked with John''s. He really could be an insensitive fool. Breaking eye contact, the old man quickly shuffled over to a brown leather recliner at the apparent head of the table, on the end farthest from the doors.


    Standing near said doorway, Masque was torn. Part of him wanted to find where the lycanthropeire currently resides, slay it, and continue watching. To not get involved. Yet¡­ had his decision not been made? Was this fate? If so, did such fate will him to remain here, or did it call for him to leave, his role already played?


    Looking over the group as they prepared to hear the old man¡¯s tale, Masque had to admit he was curious. And something more. He was not sure what it was, but the thought of leaving them¡­ the thought of going back out, on his own, to watch and wait¡­ it caused him... emotional discomfort. When he realized that, when he thought about it, he knew. He knew these people were important. That they were special.


    So, without a word, Masque -awkwardly- sat at the far end of the table from John, glare strong in his eyes. His gaze was focused on no one, however. It just was. ¡°So ye choose to continue to bless us with your presence?¡± Feldyn beamed at him. His glare now focused on the half-elf, who was trying not to smirk.


    I¡¯m sorry, Reba, but I¡¯m going to go crazy if I don¡¯t ask,¡± with a deep breath Ally looked to Masque. ¡°You aren¡¯t human, right? You''re a... demon?¡±


    I am,¡± Masque confirmed, turning to look at her. When he didn¡¯t volunteer more, ¡°What kind are you then? I mean, there''s more than one type, right?¡± she asked. He looked at her for a moment, but still did not speak. Everyone was silent, eager and curious. Even Reba didn¡¯t mind. She wanted to get her tale out of the way, but she also wanted to know just what type of demon shared their table. ¡°Are you going tell me?¡± Ally pushed. ¡°No,¡± Masque answered in a deep voice.


    Oh c¡¯mon, don¡¯t be that way,¡± Ally playfully lectured. ¡°I¡¯m Ally,¡± she introduced. ¡°Allyssia Nanastasia Thompson.¡± Caleb was shocked. Ally never used her full name. She hated it. Her first name was pretty, as was her middle name. Tons of chances for cute nicknames in there too. Her problem was with her last name. For one, it was just so very boring in comparison. Another problem were the initials. Growing up in public school as a skinny blonde, with the initials A.N.T. just wasn¡¯t cool.


    Masque made no move to respond to her, so Feldyn, who was sitting next to Caleb and Pazely, leaned over and grabbed an apple from the table. ¡°He¡¯s vamp¡¯yiour¡¯ae.¡± Feldyn took a bite. ¡°A vampire.¡± From the black-garbed man¡¯s reinvigorated glare of doom, Feldyn saw his guess had been correct. He had been guessing, after all. Not that he had much knowledge of demonology, it was simply the only being of demonic origin he could think of that resided full time outside of Hell.


    Everyone was silent. Masque had had no intention of revealing what he was. The stereotypes and ridiculous lore and myth about his demonic blood were so asinine that he didn¡¯t even want to hear such things spoken.


    Well, okay then,¡± Ally finally said, wide-eyed. Why the fuck not, right? Elves, magic, other worlds, demons. Vampires were a bit of a boring clich¨¦ these days anyway. She was actually hoping for something cool. Like a fallen angel that turned back to God, and resided in a mortal body a punishment.


    Aside from a few curious glances, and an annoying wink from the elf, the others accepted his truth as well. Not even a single question. This time, the expression on the vampire¡¯s face was one of pure disbelief. Not that his face could be seen.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Bryan, the only one appearing irritated, got up silently to retrieve some trays of food (cheese, fruits, and breads) that Ally had put together and left on the counter. He knew he was being punished for his little outburst earlier, and didn¡¯t care. He should have kept his mouth shut. So what if the half-elf was a fool, teaching nonsense? Bryan had to listen to teachers do it all day long in school, and that never bothered him. Why should this?


    Snacks set out, and drinks passed around, the confused group waited for an explanation that wouldn¡¯t answer most of their questions. That is the way it generally works, is it not?


    I used to be a member of an organization,¡± John started with no warning, Reba seated to his right. He needed to not think about there being a vampire, a Christian vampire, seated at the other end of his table. ¡°It has no official name, because they technically do not exist; therefore unofficially dubbed the Order.¡±


    Like the Mafia?¡± Pazely and Gigi asked in unison. Neither seemed thrilled, as both started screaming jinx at each other from across the table, with Caleb and Ally doing their respective part on their own sides to keep the two girls from starting a food fight.


    Ignoring the Mafia comment, figuring it already lost to them by now in their random, noisy argument, John moved along with his tale. Raising his voice to a near shout, ¡°The Order exists to keep tabs on the currupsin, mystics, and the seals. Just because God locked them away and said not to open the seals, did not mean man would listen. No one ever listens. Nor ever is anything simple as history would have us believe.¡± He lowered his voice now, as the girls argument abated when speaking over them.


    When I was a very young man, I was recruited by the Vatican to join this Order. Yes, the Vatican. No, the Catholic Church is not a secret, world-dominating organization. It just happened to be where the bulk of the Order was at that time. And to my knowledge, still is. The Order consider themselves the first true religion of God, so hiding amongst religious communities is easy.


    As I said, they were mostly working out of the Vatican at the time. I had a¡­ complicated life, and caught their eye in my youth. They recruited me to be a reclaimer.¡± John took a large nervous gulp of coffee he hadn¡¯t noticed Reba refill, and it burnt like hell, though he swallowed it casually, accepting any blisters. They were deserved. ¡°A reclaimer finds and returns things to the Order. They are infiltration experts. Stealth ops.¡± He felt about as stealthy as a garbage truck at the moment, with his scalded mouth and throat. ¡°After a few missions, they decided to promote me, for I was a bit¡­ special.


    I had always had an uncanny luck and ability to fight. Supernaturally so. After being exposed to Catholicism, my curiosity to understand myself led me to secretly begin talking to God at night in prayers. I became good friends with a nun, who eventually led me to Christ¡± John did his best to not make eye contact with Reba. He had every intent of telling his past in detail. Only when he began to speak did he realize he could not, instead, he lied without hesitation or drop of sweat. What a hypocrite he was!


    Taking a moment to clear his throat, John couldn''t remember what details he had given. "If I had not said, what made me so special was I had innate psionic abilities. What you would probably call a psychic. No, Pazely, I cannot read minds. I can... forcefully effect things with my mind, for lack of a better description. Quite potently, I might add.


    This ability sped me to an early promotion. They were to make me a priest. Not an actual Christian priest, but the highest rank of special operational soldier you could achieve in the Order. Ironically enough, that promotion and training led me to discover another gift. God extended to me the gift of weaving white magic.


    White magic come from God himself, powered by the Spirit and guarded by the Son, Through the caster, it channels, manifesting in reality. Generally speaking, it tends to... not be a good idea. I have myself seen Christian men, and even Christian priests, explode when attempting white magic. I, however¡­ uh, a murderer," he managed to choke out, ", a horrible, terrible man, yet God saw fit to bless me, of all people, with white magic.¡±


    So that was why. Masque had wondered why the Mark of a Priest was so obvious on the old man¡¯s soul, yet he denied being one. However... did John understand that the priesthood was etched onto his soul? That the mark plus white magic almost certainly makes him a Levite? Or... No. More likely he did not know at all, and had assumed Masque referred to his once title of priest within the Order.


    But the point of this tale, I suppose, is why I left the Order.¡± John was leaving out huge pieces of history, that made him feel like he was blatantly lying to them. The guilt you feel at hiding a secret from a friend, should be no lesser if the friend comes before or after the secret. If it is bad enough to feel guilt, then guilt you will always have. For the judgment from those we care about, hurts far worse than the crime. He would tell them all of himself one day. If Feldyn was right... these new people in his life were not simply passing through. And they would one day know the monster that slept within.


    A mission came up. One that needed their best. At that time, I was their best. The mission was to retrieve an ancient relic, and kill the one who possessed it. That relic was the Philosopher¡¯s Stone.¡± Pazely laughed, ¡°Seriously? Get real! That sounds so¡­¡± she trailed off as she noticed the look on Reba¡¯s face. Was she¡­ crying?


    John didn¡¯t feel that reprimanding the girl was needed; her expression showed she understood he was quite serious.¡°The target in possession of the stone, was hailed as the greatest alchemist to ever live. He was known by many names. At the time, his name was Ted. Ted the Alchemist.¡± No one laughed this time. Reba¡¯s silent grief had stolen the mirth from the environment.


    Deep in a foggy mountain range, I found his place of dwelling. The¡­ the complex was not what was anticipated. Huge. Dark and dreary, like a cave, with stone floors and walls. Or maybe a tomb?¡± John was obviously rattled, as he tried to keep from babbling. ¡°In all my years of experience and training¡­ I had, um¡­ never seen anything, had uh¡­ never¡­ I was not prepared for what I found.¡± Reba reached over and set her hand on his, and handed him the box of tissues she had been using. ¡°Pardon me,¡± John said, and blew his nose a couple times. Everyone was respectfully quiet while he composed himself.


    What I found,¡± John was still wiping his nose from the last blow while he spoke ¡°was a scene from Hell. There were failed¡­ experiments, everywhere. Mutilated corpses of both human and animal strewn about¡­ I saw no sign of Ted, or anything living, and searched deeper, until stumbling into his trap. Ted had not been just experimenting, that fool had learned to successfully animate flesh without magic! Hundreds of alchemically animated zombies behind me, and in corridors and rooms, in every direction!¡± The memory made the old man visibly angry. The kids (and Stryker) were still registering the word ¡®zombie¡¯.


    Ted had assumed they would kill me. He did not know who I was, apparently. It did, however, force me deeper into his complex than either of us had intended. And that is where I found the true hellscape. A dungeon. Not a single source of light existed down within, save what I carried. Without going far, I soon located a... torture chamber, full of mangled corpses and body parts. And quickly realized¡­ every single one¡­ was the same girl. They all looked identical!


    I panicked. It was different than with the zombies. This- that place¡­ terrified me. I began to destroy it all, everything, anything, I wanted it gone, reduced to rubble, to ashes; when I discovered one of the girls was still alive! She begged me to save them. Her children. The poor girl kept repeating he was deleting the current batch. I had no idea what she was going on about, but I could not ignore her pleas.


    She was injured badly, but still able to walk, so I took her with me, being guided to where it was insisted my help was needed. Deeper into the dungeon, we located Ted¡­ Amidst piles of naked young girls, corpses, that looked identical to the one at my side. Only¡­ younger.


    One died right as we entered, eyes gouged out, choking on her own blood.¡± John paused for almost a minute before continuing, ¡°I barely got him off of and away from the only survivor. I¡­ I fought him as hard as I could!¡± His voice broke, ¡°I, we.. h-h-he would have killed them both! Somehow he could alter his own body, probably using alchemy. There was no fear as he ignored me, focusing his full assault on... I-I had to get them out!¡± He was struggling to speak through the sobs. Had he ever cried like this in front of stranger? Or at all? What was happening to him? ¡°But I c-couldn¡¯t save the first one! My God, I tried! I tried so hard to get them both out! But her last request, her last w-w-words-¡± John was crying so hard now he had to stop speaking.


    Save my Reba,¡± Reba concluded for him with a smile, looking to the group, her own eyes moist with tears. ¡°My¡­ mother, who looked just like me and all the rest of us; with her last words named and saved me. None of us had ever been named. Or met one another. We just sat alone in the darkness until he would take us. And she, my mother¡­ was smiling in that last moment. Just like I always would, alone in the dark. It looked how it always felt to me, weak and afraid. And so very stubborn. She named me with that smile¡­ and she died with that smile.¡± Reba was smiling that stubborn smile, as she too began to cry, albeit softly, turning her face away from them.


    The moment had most of them tearing up, if not crying themselves. Most. Stryker just felt awkward, and Masque had his eyes closed, still as a statue.


    Gigi climbed on the table. She didn¡¯t know why exactly, or care, that everyone was sad, but she knew Reba¡¯s mom died. Ted killed her! And John saved Miss Reba! What else was there to understand? Oh - there were zombies too! They lived, the others didn''t, oh well, sounded cool! Running to the head of the table, she stopped in front of Reba and John. ¡°Gigi is sorry Miss Reba, that your mom died. Gigi is sorry you¡¯re sad cause you couldn¡¯t save her, Moses.¡± Despite himself, ¡°I¡¯m not Moses!¡± John snapped, eliciting a laugh from his daughter, which quickly infected the old man as well.


    Gigi was satisfied that her mission was a success! She, the hero, made the dumb adults smile! Giving a goofy, earnest grin (she did like miss Reba, and John had gave her money!), the kid returned to where she sat near Ally.


    He took me back to the Vatican,¡± Reba continued the tale for John. He didn¡¯t object. ¡°They were quite nice to me, to his surprise. Because, at that time, he did not know who I was. I didn¡¯t either, actually.¡± She sighed once, sharp and short. ¡°Ted had been trying to create the Philosopher¡¯s Stone¡­ by breeding it.¡± Reba was dreading this part. Time to become a freak!


    Ted had found a way to basically put his knowledge into another organic being. Then by¡­ breeding with us, and through mass cloning, and alchemy, he would produce a smarter offspring, that grew upon the knowledge placed in the mother; the one before¡­ Sometimes, anyway. It wasn¡¯t exactly a perfect science. He killed and experimented on hundreds, maybe thousands¡­¡±


    I seriously hate to interrupt¡­¡± Feldyn had to raise his hand, and tried his best to look sheepish. ¡°You said he made you? All of you?¡± Feldyn was hoping she got what he was asking, without him needing to use the word ¡®what¡¯ in asking, well, what she was. Luckily for him, she did. ¡°I¡¯m a homunculus. Or at least a clone of one,¡± Reba said, in one expressionless breath. ¡°A what?¡± Stryker asked, and got a fork thrown at him by Ally. ¡°I¡¯m an artificial, man-made life form,¡± Reba elaborated, looking at Stryker, then added, ¡°More or less.¡± Stryker looked puzzled, ¡°¡­ Mechanical or biological?¡± Reba couldn''t help the withering stare she replied with.


    She was made with alchemy, Stryker,¡± Bryan sighed, rescuing the man. ¡°She should be more or less like us though.¡± Bryan still found all of this retarded, but he understood what a homunculus was. And provided this wasn¡¯t some very late April Fool¡¯s joke, his dance teacher was saying she was of artificial flesh and blood, created and given life through alchemy. Quite the blasphemous concept. Yet, new understandings in science normally were.


    Everyone more or less nodded at Bryan¡¯s words, and Reba felt like her heart had stopped. Wait¡­ they just accepted it? Like that? No telling me I¡¯m crazy or a freak? Did they really accept her words, or were they just being kind? Was it because of whatever happened to them? Part of their weird behavior?


    Thinking face a bit too intense, Stryker nodded his head a few times. Gigi looked at Ally, trying to mimic Stryker¡¯s expression, and Ally laughed, causing coffee to shoot out of her nose. This coffee was bad enough on her poor, refined palate; she didn¡¯t need it in her nose too! Setting the horrible mug of coffee down, she reached for some nearby tissues, as Pazely joined in Gigi¡¯s laughter. Even Bryan''s grumpy butt was trying not to laugh.


    Waiting until everyone was ready, John took back the telling, and promptly realized he didn¡¯t remember where they had left off. With a reminder from his daughter, and some snickers, "I did not forget, I simply got off track, with all the interruptions," he huffled. "Upon returning to the Vatican, I was shocked at their response to her. I feared they would hold her as a blasphemy, and have her killed. I had been planning our escape the entire journey back. Instead, they were kind, taught her, treated her like royalty.


    I did not trust them for a second! And my mistrust was quickly proven to be warranted. You see, Ted had long succeeded in his experiment. The Philosopher¡¯s Stone perfected, and he was not even aware! Somehow, that girl kept the knowledge hidden within herself, passing it along in her... children. Until that knowledge become more. Essentially, Reba here is not just a homunculus with the knowledge of the Stone¡­ she is the Philosopher¡¯s Stone itself!¡± John said that like the proudest dad in the world, announcing his daughter¡¯s greatest achievement!


    It¡¯s not that special,¡± Reba blushed furiously. ¡°All my sisters were probably the same. I¡¯m just the one that lived.¡± Stryker was confused as fuck. So she¡¯s made out of rock? Obviously he knew she wasn''t, but seriously, what the hell? The cop was relieved when Feldyn rose his hand.


    Pardon my continued ignorance, but on my world, the Philosopher¡¯s Stone is a literal, well, stone.¡± He had tried to figure out what their meaning, but alas, he was lost! Once again, was Bryan that answered. ¡°The Philosopher¡¯s Stone is a concept. An idea, a meaning, not a literal object. It is basically the knowledge of what all matter breaks down into. Knowing how to take somehting, and break it down to its core components, then rebuilding it into something else. Turning lead into gold, as it were.¡± So this boy never had anything to contribute but snide comments, and random info about obscure myths? Good to know.


    Thank you, Bryan.¡± Reba was trying not to groan. Being spoken of like that, was a bit awkward. ¡°And yes, I can turn lead into gold. It¡¯s so ridiculously easy, I¡¯m not sure why no one has figured it out.¡± Now she looked self-satisfied. ¡°But I¡¯m not anything special, really. I just¡­ understand things. And, for the record, everything doesn''t break down into one core substance. Well... I guess technically it can...¡±


    Do you have any special¡­ powers?¡± Pazely asked, impishly looking at her hands, as if the question horribly embarrassed her. ¡°Not exactly," Reba answered, unconvincingly, before adding, "I guess I''m sometimes stronger than I should be, and heal pretty easy." She wasn''t sure if that counted. Reba never saw herself as having powers, more like oddities and weirdness. "And I can¡¯t seem to get any older than I look right now. We only stay in an area for a few years, so people don''t realize I¡¯m not aging. Didn¡¯t any of you guys notice I¡¯ve looked the exact same since you''ve known me?¡± Their look said they didn¡¯t. Wow, they could be a collectively dense bunch. She decided to let it slide, as she tried to think what else about her was different, that may or may not count.


    My hair grows weird..." she said out loud without meaning too. Now that was a topic she had no intention of sharing in mixed company! Panicking a bit, trying to stay on topic while both avoiding it, "If I cut it, it grows back in a day or two. Itches like crazy. And for some reason, I don¡¯t seem to grow body hair,¡± she admitted all of that in one breath; matter of fact and kind of smug in the delivery. It was all panic, embarrassing herself with one topic to avoid the shame of another. She did not blush.


    The admission made Ally want to strangle her. ¡°That is so not fair!¡± she bitched. Not needing to shave, ever?! A lifetime of wondrous smoothness, and not stubbly and prickly? No razor burn, itching, red marks or bumps? That sounded like a pretty amazing superpower to her!


    Ally shaves more than her legs,¡± Gigi informed the group. Ally tried to look casual. ¡°Eeeeeeeeverywhere,¡± Geeg stressed, obviously trying to embarrass her cousin. Ally finally blushed a little, as she sipped some coffee. ¡°Her girl parts-¡± Gigi finally got smacked upside the head by the fiercely blushing blonde. She wasn¡¯t playing either, that had really hurt!


    Feldyn laughed at the exchange. He was a worldly bard, and knew human girls sprouted annoying hair all about. The taboo of such a topic, was generally a human phenomenon; other races allowed hair to grow, or not, out of choice, not some bizarre moral or social implication. Take dwarves, they just preferred to be hairy beasts, although there was no shame for those who chose not to be.


    The half-elf vividly recalled a dwarven female exotic dancer, who had shaved all traces of hair from her entire body, head to toe. That was an image he wished would permanently leave his mind.


    The odd glances he got from Stryker and John caused him wonder if they could read his mind, and were sharing in the horrors of Butinda the Polished...


    John, gripping his staff tight enough his knuckles hurt, continued the story through gritted teeth. Reba noticed immediately, shooting him a fearful, yet warning, glance. He was fine, and in control, so ignored her, continuing to speak, ¡°I feared what they would do with her, and like my concerns before, my fears were soon justified. One evening I heard talk they were to try and extract the knowledge in her mind, the process of which would have likely resulted in her death. I knew then that we had to leave. To escape.


    "In the years that followed, I taught and trained her in all that I knew, and could. The Order pursued us with a dogged persistence for quite some time, though it eventually grew lax. Probably due to the passing of their last leader. His grandson inherited the rule, and doesn¡¯t seem to care as much about the two of us as the old hierarchy did. Or perhaps he fears us, growing up on tales of our exploits.¡± John resisted the urge to go ¡®mua ha ha!¡® for he felt it would be a bit too corny. ¡°In any case, we continued doing what we do best, moving from place to place, hunting down monsters and other such threats.¡±


    You guys are¡­ monster hunters?¡± Pazely asked. ¡°I guess,¡± Reba answered her, and John nodded with a doofy grin on his face. ¡°Cool,¡± Pazely squeaked. Everyone basically agreed. Masque was still sitting stationary. He so rarely moved, it was easy to forget he was there; motionless and lifeless.


    There is one last thing of importance,¡± John added, as the group was falling to chitchat. ¡°We took many things with us when we fled. One I think our good elven friend here would find most interesting.¡± John got up and went over to a filing cabinet behind where he sat. After a moment, he found what he was looking for. Walking back to the table, he tossed a thick folder to Feldyn. ¡°It is just a portion, but I am going to go out on a limb and say you have yet to translate this.¡± John remained standing, but took his staff that was leaning against his chair.


    Opening the folder, and reading the pages within, Feldyn didn''t know what to feel. The wording... this read like the Codex. Why would the Codex be on Earth? The holy bible coming to Aethra made sense, but this? Was it because the Dragonheart was here? Without looking up from the pages, ¡°Are you one hundred percent sure of the accuracy of these translations?¡± Feldyn didn''t want the old man to see his doubt, so he did his best to feign amazement. Even if this was the Codex, Feldyn himself did not know enough to confirm. His invisible friend, however... John laughed. ¡°I better be. I re-translated a good deal of it myself.¡±


    Authentic or not, the half-elf was impressed, and finally took his eyes away from the pages. ¡°How many languages?¡±


    Four. I speak five, so it was not much of a challenge, to be quite honest. This is only what I could translate from the small amount I took when we fled.¡±


    Only four languages?! This much from just four bloody Earth languages?! Feldyn could only hope this was authentic!


    Looking at his wristwatch, Stryker got up from the table. ¡°I need to check back in. Radios and cells don¡¯t work for shit down here.¡±


    Oh yeah," Stryker remembered, "and don¡¯t worry¡­ I already talked to your parents,¡± he told the kids, who all seemed to realize at once that their parents were going to murder them. ¡°Don¡¯t make that face, I said I talked to them already! They think you are helping me at a relief shelter set up outside of town. That you were all needing some time to... process what happened."


    In any other circumstance, that would make no sense after a death of someone so close and in such a way. It didn''t make much sense, now. Stryker knew their families, and the only ones effected by what happened to Jessie would be Ally''s. And they would just be happy their daughter was out of their hair, while they handled the situation; however pieces of shit like them did.


    Stryker tried not to clench a fist. To not show emotion. To not upset to kids. Hell, to not upset himself. There wasn''t... time. There was never time. You sucked it up, thought of the here and now, whatever left that was good, and kept moving.


    He was the one to retrieve Jessie''s body. He was the one that made the phone call to have her parents notified. He was the one to look Mister and Misses Thompson in the eye and see their feigned emotions. He was the one to hold a sobbing Sally in his arms, and lie to her about why her cousins and friends weren''t there, and why she couldn''t be brought to them.


    "School¡¯s closed from the last storming too; bought you all a few days, at least,¡± he concluded. Pazely walked to the end of the table, near the door where Stryker stood, and gave him a hug. Ally was about to join in, when Masque turned around in the seat next to them and started to speak.


    Both Stryker and Pazely screamed bloody murder.


    The burly vampire did not look amused, the two screamers holding their chests and panting. ¡°Shit, man, don¡¯t do that! I could have shot you!¡± Stryker lectured, as he readjusted his uniform collar. ¡°That would have served only to irritate me more,¡± Masque deadpanned. ¡°You are around people now, Mr. Silent,¡± Ally informed him. She had been shit-startled herself when he spoke, let alone moved. ¡°The way you just don''t move at all, for so long, we¡­ You know.¡± He did not appear to know. ¡°It''s easy to forget you are there,¡± Caleb explained for her.


    ''They¡­ forget I am here?'' Turning to look at Caleb, ¡°Am I¡­ truly so forgettable?¡± Masque¡¯s voice honestly sounded hurt. ¡°You are just too good at being unseen, my new friend,¡± Feldyn took the time to look up from his reading. ¡°That is all. With some practice, it will come to you, if you so choose. Or they will grow used to your presence enough, to expect you to be there when they look for you, only then noticing you are gone, and miss you, truly and profoundly.¡± Masque glowered, ¡°I will kill you, elf.¡±


    Miss Reba, can I take a nap, please?¡± Gigi asked with a big yawn. Caleb had to admit, a hot shower, getting into clean clothes, and a deep, long sleep, sounded amazing. He stood up and stretched, ¡°Sleep sounds good to me too. Guess I ate too much already¡­¡± There had been so much fruit, cheese, drinks, and snacks; he was stuffed. ¡°You can have my room from last night. Hardly used it, and I ain¡¯t gonna be needing it,¡± Stryker said to Caleb, as the boy walked over to Pazely and lifted her in a princess carry.


    Looking startled, ¡°T-t-the fuck are you doing?¡± Paze stammered. Caleb blinked at her, cradled in his arms. ¡°I just thought¡­ well, I mean, it¡¯s been a long time and you slept by me last night¡­¡± The way people were looking at him, he felt confused and embarrassed. Pazely always slept near him when they were together. He was so used to it, that this past year she had been gone he-


    Oh yeah. She had been back a while, hadn¡¯t she? Though he didn¡¯t remember the entire summer¡­ more, actually. And now he had a girlfriend¡­ He was guessing that sleeping next to, or even in the same room with, another girl was a no-no.


    Uh¡­ yeah, sorry. I keep forgetting I forgot.¡± Caleb started to set her back down. ¡°NO!¡± Pazely screamed so loud that he almost dropped her. ¡°I mean no, i-i-it¡¯s o-o-okay you forgot! I won¡¯t tell, promise!¡± Pazely felt like she was going into heart failure. Holy crap, she was happy he forgot! Whatever had made him so weird these last months, it was like she finally had Caleb back!


    Caleb was looking at her while she stared back intensely. ¡°So¡­ you do want to take a nap with me?¡± he asked, and she kept staring, now turning red. ¡°Shower," Pazely said, not breaking eye contact. Well, that would explain why she was blushing. ¡°You¡­ want me to shower with you?¡± Caleb was seriously confused, and he wasn¡¯t even hearing voices currently. Pazely made so many expressions and gasping sounds, he thought she might be dying.


    If I may?¡± Ally volunteered from nearby. ¡°I believe she is saying she wants to take a shower first. And by her reaction, I would say she definitely wants to sleep with you.¡± The use of words went over Pazely and Caleb¡¯s heads completely. Pazely was cursing the interloper for ruining what may have been the best shower of her freaking life! ¡°Oh,¡± the clueless teenage male grinned. He guessed he should bathe as well.


    The cop turned to head out the door. ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll show ya. The shower in there is tricky,¡± Stryker said, leaving the room, with Caleb following, a hyperventilating Pazely still in his arms. ¡°I¡¯ll take Gigi to bed,¡± Reba told the room. ¡°And Bryan will do the dishes!¡± she informed the boy without looking back, as she led the yawning sleepy child from the room. Bryan didn¡¯t mind the chores. He needed time to think. Ally too left to go shower.


    You do not find the behavior of these children¡­ Odd?¡± John asked Feldyn, ignoring Bryan was still in the room. ¡°Perhaps even a tad¡­ immoral?¡± Looking up from the documents he read, Feldyn was puzzled at the mans words. ¡°No¡­ why? Did I miss something?¡±


    As John was struggling with his own inner demons, Masque stood up and both mortal men at the table jumped. ¡°I am going to search the area for signs of the lycanthropeire,¡± he stated, startling Bryan when he heard the voice behind him. At least he didn¡¯t scream. ¡°I¡¯ll try to return loudly."


    * * *


    ''Ah, that felt amazing!'' Ally thought to herself as she walked out of the tiny shower attached to her room. She was naked, save for the small towel she was drying her hair with. The feel of the air on her bare skin always felt refreshing to her. Like a form of clarity, helping to focus her mind and feelings.


    Letting the small towel drape over the sides of her head, she turned and walked the few feet to look in the dresser next to the bathroom door. What the hell was with Reba and her freaky, kinky underwear? Ally wondered, as she peered into a drawer of the... exotic. Taking out the most normal-looking pair -bright pink panties- she returned to the bed. Tossing the towel to the side, her thoughts went back to current events.


    With the irritation of needing to even think about all the stupid, and lies, and horrible, Ally stepped into the tiny panties she took from the dresser, and pulled them up to the worst wedgie sensation of her life. No way in hell these fit Reba. Deciding she would rather be naked, Ally tossed them in a corner, then froze facing the bed. It dawned on her that she had probably advertised those ridiculous black panties to Feldyn earlier. Was it not bad enough she had cried in front of him?! Did she have to give him a free show too?!


    Jeeeeez, what¡¯s with the creepy power-clenching?¡± Pazely asked from behind her. She had entered the small room unheard by the distracted and irritated teen. Ally had apparently been clenching her butt cheeks as well as her fists, in anger. The sound of Pazely¡¯s voice made her feel terribly exposed. Which she sorta was¡­


    Grinning wickedly, Ally turned to Pazely, both arms to the side in a large shrug, before relaxing. This was the first time Pazely had gotten such a blatant full frontal of her friend. Sure, they had changed around each other, even showered, but was always facing away. Sure, Paze had been curious, and stolen a glance. Nothing wrong with that!


    Weirdo slut!¡± Paze snipped, determined to not be flustered this time. This was just a new tactic for Ally to terrorize her with! So what if Ally had a nice looking body! She liked to look at herself too! Probably more than she should, but that wasn''t the point! ¡°I need to hurry, you bathed for-freaking-ever!¡± the smaller girl whined. ¡°Caleb is finally acting normal again, and wants me to spend time with him, and you''re messing everything up, like usual!"


    Rolling her eyes to cover the sting of negative emotions, Ally fell backwards onto the bed, and motioned to the bathroom. With a triumphant squeak, she heard Paze close the door, water running soon after.


    Ally, not thinking, embracing the numbness, ending up laying on her stomach, legs half off the side of the single bed.


    The bathroom door opened. Either Pazely was seriously rushing, or Ally had dozed off. ¡°Ugh, why are you still naked?¡± Paze groaned, holding a towel in front of herself; Ally leaning up to look over her shoulder.


    And Ally had an evil, naughty idea. If she couldn''t have fun, knowing Pazely was...


    Isn¡¯t Caleb waiting?¡± Ally purred, as she rolled over and slunk like a cat from the bed. ¡°Or did you really want to stay here with me?¡± Her purr became a growl as she suddenly closed the distance to Pazely. Before the younger girl could react, Ally embraced her, hands lifting up the back of her towel for a good squeeze.


    The scream from Pazely turned into a wail as she fled the room.


    And with that, Ally locked the door and tossed the towel she had taken from Pazely, over by the discarded pink underwear, and her own towel.


    Knowing Pazely was now good and nude in Caleb¡¯s room (''with a screaming announcement,'' Ally giggled to herself), and everyone else basically safe, Ally¡¯s mind took that moment to decide to let the weight of Jessie¡¯s death fully hit her.


    She muffled her screaming wails of anguish with a pillow, and when the screams died down, the sobs took over.


    Ally cried herself to sleep.

 Chapter 7: And Warriors We Shall Be!

    Can one ever be lonely?


    For that matter, can two?


    How can what is, need what never was?


    But this single, amidst many.


    This one¡­


    This lone¡­


    Knew what it was to be lonely,


    for they knew what it is to be lone.


    Watching¡­


    Lone thinks and feels,


    as does not the wind?


    The ocean?


    The moon?


    Are they not complete?


    For to be lone, means to never need more.


    The sufficiency to remove the alone.


    Competence to overpower the lonely.


    For so filled with passion, they are (a)Lone(ly)


    Though, this one aLone¡­


    can they truly be blinded to the paradox?


    Overwhelming confidence,


    has it led the a, to be left with the ly?


    How can that ever even be?


    Lone¡¯ can stand, and ¡®a¡¯ can exist,


    though ¡®ly¡¯, solitaire, it simply is not.


    Wind, ocean, and moon,


    glorious in their solitude.


    Does not the moon affect the tide?


    Does the ebb and flow, not affect the wind?


    No currents, water, or air¡­


    The moon¡­ would it still be there?


    Would one exist to be alone?


    Waiting¡­


    This Lone.


    Was truly lonely.


    Was desperately, painfully, alone.


    Could complete not be whole?


    Blasphemy!


    Insolence!


    Deception!


    Not the fool, the Lone did know.


    The lone could feel the ¡®a¡¯.


    The Lone knew of the ¡®ly¡¯.


    This one knew that they were Alone.


    That they were Lonely.


    And these feelings were things One did not need.


    So she tried to cast them away.


    ~ The One Who Did Not Need


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    She was bored.


    How long were those fucks going to stay in that shithole? They had been sitting here waiting forever! Since the half-elf and the others arrived last night, no one had left except that cop, but who cared about that douchebag? Their orders (for now) were to keep an eye on the half-blood bitch-elf and the oldest teenage boy. The skinny fuckwad that got his ass kicked in like point two seconds by that lycanthropeire.


    GAWD! Why did her aunt care so much? This was dumb¡­ Watch. Sitting here FUCKING WATCHING! Seriously? With her prowess? She never got to do anything worthy of her skills. Ever. She wanted to get to show off for once while on Earth. Her abilities were completely wasted as a sex demon! Anyone could get laid in this cesspool of a world, didn¡¯t exactly need to specialize in it. Her passion and prowess lie in combat. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea could fight like no other imp. In fact, she was one of the most powerful demons in the Earth realm of Hell. Possibly in all of Hell.


    This is so fucking boring,¡± she complained in her tiny, overly childish voice, from where she sat in a tree on the hillside, quite a ways from the door in the cliffside. ''Great,'' Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi - one of the other two imps in the tree- thought. ''Every time sister gets bored, things always get derailed.'' It was true. Her older (yet shorter) sister was a chaotic hazard when she got bored.


    A branch burst into flames as the third and youngest sister started to speak, and Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea kicked her in the face. ¡°Speak English, you stupid bitch,¡± the bored older sister instructed, voice not in the least intimidating. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nini,¡± Ki¡¯yi¡¯xyit apologized.


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea winced at the use of ¡®Nini¡¯. She loathed cutesy sounding nicknames, but her little sister had all the intelligence of a thumbtack, so she let it slide. She did frequently shorten Ki¡¯yi¡¯xyit¡¯s own name to an affectionate, if not condescending, ¡®Zit¡¯. ¡°I know this is your first time soil-side,¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea said calmly, ¡°but if you speak Hell tongues, shit¡¯s gonna go sideways. Things start bursting into flames and melting, it kinda causes a scene. Chaos has a time and a place, and that time and place needs to not be a fucking accident.¡±


    Little, adorable Zit, was not so content to be quiet. She frowned, puffing out her cheeks, like a cute, demonic chipmunk, ¡°Are we gonna get to even fuck anyone?¡± Jenta -Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi- finally had to reply to her brain-dead sister, ¡°You know it''s not that kind of mission. And I¡¯ve told you a million times, we are imps. You can¡¯t taste or feel pleasure. Sex, food, doesn''t matter.¡± It was true. The life of an imp sucked. Sometimes literally.


    And we look like human children,¡± Nini added, not taking her eyes from the church door. ¡°True, sexy, little Asian children, but that look ain''t as popular as you''d think." Find a man, get him to screw ya a few times till you get a nice dose of soul venom in him, then leave. He later goes mad, and either dies, or becomes some child raping, serial killing, overall evil, ¡®The devil made me do it¡¯ psychopath. That was her sole purpose for existing: seducing men to poison their soles. Boring. As. Fuck.


    She never preyed on pedos, instead focusing on those with tastes as far from little girls as possible. Had to add some challenge.


    This current soil-side mission was at least different, if not a bit retarded. It also wasn¡¯t some small, two-bit demon strike. This little undertaking was so against the rules, success or failure, it would go down in the history books. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea wasn¡¯t afraid of dying. Fat fucking chance of that happening, so why fear? If need be, she would just flee, and leave the others (except her sisters) to die and burn.


    Point was, she wasn¡¯t gonna spend her time babysitting some faggot elf, and a fucking teenage toothpick! So when the black-clad, pathetic excuse for a vampire exited the church? Heh. That¡¯s when she decided to spice up this boring downtime. One way or another, shit was gonna be fun, even if she had to piss off Auntie Xal to achieve it.


    The vampire was obviously trying to catch a scent. Not theirs, as the imps were far too hidden for his weak ass to sense in any way. They were almost on top of him during his fight with the lycanthropeire yesterday, and he never noticed. The black-clad vampire zipped away, going the opposite direction of the lycanthropeire, Iiyni''jeari''eea had assumed he was trying to detect. Was he seriously so weak to not notice the faint sent in the air? Fucking loser.


    Maybe he was the one that had caused the problems? Because, in all honesty, they hadn''t even known he was here until yesterday. He may be pathetic and weak, yet his ability to stay concealed? Nini wasn¡¯t too proud to admit when she was impressed. And it just made her want to kill him more. Out of respect for his pathetic ass, of course. Though, before she killed him, Iiyni had to find out- No. She didn''t need to know, and it didn''t fucking matter. Why should she care if some barely-a-demon found a way to be saved? Was probably because vampires began as human, and this one a thrall. One of those loopholes God loved to use.


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea suppressed that infuriating empty ache in her chest, instead grinning wickedly, ¡°Jenta, follow him. If you get the chance to let him stumble across a ritual site or two, do it. I¡¯m curious if he was the one that''s been messing with them. And find out who he is. Call in some favors if ya have to. Just don''t let auntie know; not yet.¡± Jenta knew better than to argue. There was zero chance auntie didn''t know there was one of her''s running around with the Mark. Then again, if she did know, why was she letting him, well, run around? With a nod she was gone, and following Masque.


    Zit, just stay here. Even if they come out, don¡¯t follow, murder anyone, or start any cocksucking. Capiche?¡± Zit frowned, but nodded her acceptance. The older sister resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks. Zit was adorable, even for an imp.


    Without giving a donkey dong about her orders, Iiyni''jeari''eea bounded away after the stinky bitch puppy, who was hiding in the woods, healing its wounds. At least the smell wasn''t as bad as that self-titled zombie king. Just because she was an imp, and smells affected her differently (no taste, no pleasure, equals smells being more like raw data than a sensation), didn¡¯t mean she wanted to smell rotten scrotum all day!


    It didn¡¯t take the small demon much time to clear the distance deep into the forest, arriving in a tiny grove, where the lycanthropeire lie on its side, tongue lolled out, sleeping deeply. The imp rolled her eyes at the slumbering, stinky mound. Looked like it was almost healed, and would soon fully regain its size.


    ''Ugh, why couldn¡¯t it have been something cute like a squid?'' She guessed a squid would be a bit useless in the woods, huh? But still!


    Sup, bitch,¡± the imp announced matter-of-fact, crooked grin, hands on hips. The beast flew to its feet in surprise. Even more was the surprise to see another child before it! The lycanthropeire didn¡¯t take the time to size up the situation, or she would have realized this wasn¡¯t a child.


    Snapping and lunging at the Asian in the black bikini-looking outfit, hair pulled into a tight braid; she wasn¡¯t going to let it escape like the others! At least that infuriating blonde bitch died screaming, even if she had gotten away. No human could live through that. And the way she died, was almost better than Belle¡¯anne eating her herself.


    With an eye roll and dropping her grin, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea casually stepped to the side and jumped, kicking the beast in the shoulder ¨C sending her tumbling and rolling into a nearby cliff-side; impact crushing in stone and dirt.


    Is that any way to treat your new master?¡± the terrifying creature asked, looking into the lycanthropeire¡¯s eyes. Belle¡¯anne Haileyandra Lacuice was not just any lycanthropeire! None should be able to stand before her! NONE! Just what was with these infuriating super children since her release?! Some form of karmic justice?!


    The imp watched the beast thrash around in what appeared to be fury. Was the stupid bitch still going to fight her? Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea had to admit, she was a little impressed. ¡°Guess I haven¡¯t done enough damage to make you my pet yet,¡± was the casual statement. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea was gaining more interest in the mutt. Maybe she was more powerful than she had thought?


    Hearing her words, Belle¡¯anne was pissed. She was no one¡¯s fucking PET! Leaping, Belle¡¯anne closed the distance, and was on top of the- Oh shit. It was too late to stop her lunge. Too late to run as far as she could. Why hadn¡¯t the inhuman strength registered as inhuman? Why hadn¡¯t she noticed the skimpy pointless outfit for what it was? Why hadn¡¯t she noticed those shark-like teeth in this imp''s mouth?!


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea stopped the beast¡¯s momentum with one hand, catching it by a tooth. Fingers puncturing into it, with a tug and spin, the imp ripped out the beast¡¯s fang, and embedded it into the same shoulder she had kicked, before grabbing the lycanthropeire¡¯s leg, intending to throw the beast. Accidentally using too much yank, and not enough pull, the creature¡¯s entire leg was ripped off. This time, the beast wailed.


    Covered in boiling blood, the imp didn¡¯t look happy. ¡°You see what you made me do?¡± she accentuated with a shake of the beast¡¯s leg, most of it dragging on the ground, as it was much longer than the imp was tall. ¡°Now I gotta put you back together before I can make you stronger.¡± Belle¡¯anne whimpered all the louder, struggling to gain her footing. ¡°Bad¡­ bad¡­ bad¡­¡± The imp walked closer, slowly shaking her head.


    Belle¡¯anne finally got her balance, but it was too late! She couldn''t control herself, and looked into the imps gaze; immediately feeling a horrible sensation like worms crawling from the imps eyes into her own. The all-encompassing nausea in her brain, as the imp forced her will on the lesser demon. ¡°...baaaaaaad doggy.¡± The imp stopped walking, cruel, crooked grin on her face, and the lycanthropeire, completely dominated, submit to her new master.


    * * *


    Feldyn was tired of waiting for these children to awaken. They had been sleeping for almost an entire day now! He stopped at Caleb¡¯s room first. Feldyn was not exactly relishing the thought of telling Ally what he had to tell her, so this room seemed like a good first choice! Knocking loudly, he opened the door and wasn¡¯t surprised that it was unlocked.


    Time to awaken! We have an important day, and you two-¡± Feldyn was still holding the doorknob as he saw Pazely; seeming quite nude, asleep on her back, blanket barely covering, well, anything. Caleb sat up quickly at the sound of a voice. ¡°Well, aren¡¯t we naughty,¡± Feldyn teased, and hit the light switch by the door. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Caleb snapped angrily, as he pulled the blanket off the foot of the bed and threw it over Pazely. At least Caleb was wearing sweats.


    Looking at the now exposed foot of the bed, Feldyn¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°What the fuck, indeed.¡± At the foot of the bed, was a naked, stretching, Gigi. She had woke from the blanket being yanked off her. After a good stretch, she sat up. Geeg had one eye closed, hair puffing wildly about her head. ¡°Turn off the lights¡­¡± Gigi mumbled, batting a hand Feldyn¡¯s way. ¡°What the hell, Gigi?!¡± Caleb exclaimed. His voice had more horror to it than Feldyn would have expected. Guilty conscious?


    What¡­ the hell, Gigi?¡± Caleb asked again, this time his voice had changed. Gigi had stood up, and had arms high above her head in another big stretch. One eye still open, she didn''t know why Caleb was looking at her funny. ¡°Your¡­ abs¡­¡± Caleb told her, and the little girl looked at her belly. Feldyn had also just noticed. ¡°That¡¯s not mine¡­¡± Geeg mumbled at the defined abdominal muscles she was sporting. Anyone in the dance or gymnastics world know there are a lot of little girls with some insane abs. Yet they don¡¯t exactly appear overnight! Pazely and Ally didn¡¯t even have abs like that!


    Pazely finally woke up, and rubbed her eyes with her fists, before opening them to see a naked Gigi standing over, and screeched bloody murder. She gave a second screech when she noticed Feldyn in the doorway, and the blanket that was covering her quite poorly. ¡°GET OUT!¡± Pazely screamed so loud that her face changed color. Feldyn had enough common sense to flee. As soon as the door closed, Paze quit screaming, though Caleb did feel like she was about to shoot steam out of her ears¡­


    Why¡­ do you have teeth?¡± Caleb thought Pazely''s question directing at him, before noticing she was looking at Gigi. ¡°Wow!¡± the little fluffball exclaimed, as she inspected her mouth, finding she had a full set of teeth almost grown in. ¡°Did Reba cause all... this?¡± Caleb asked to no one in particular.


    She was turning around now and looking at herself all over, seeming equally as confused. Still the same height, yet her body no longer had that dis-proportioned look of a child younger than she was. The shock wearing off a bit, Caleb didn''t think he would be comfortable with her being naked anymore...


    Gigi jumped from the bed and ran out the door, squealing in joy. ¡°Where is she going?¡± Pazely asked, voice groggy. She wasn¡¯t even quite sure where she was. Trying not to think too hard about it, she got out of bed. First, a mutant naked Gigi was standing there when she opened her eyes, then that creepy Feldyn was in the doorway! Yurk! ''Where are my clothes?'' Looking around, still in a brain fog from waking to such creepiness, it dawned on her she was naked. Paze turned slowly to see Caleb grinning at her, and because no one ever locks anything, the door swung open; Gigi running back in, Ally in tow.


    Gigi was now wearing (That was fast...) blue booty shorts and a black tank top. Ally''s herself was in hip-hugger jeans, and a white short-sleeved shirt that had tiny frills on the shoulders and a big pink heart on the front. Her hair was in a high ponytail and she wore no accessories save for a delicate bracelet watch. Pazely¡¯s naked butt dove to hide behind Caleb. ¡°Jeez, I bring you clothes, and I don¡¯t even get a show?¡± Ally threw the clothes and hair barrettes she was holding, over Caleb¡¯s head.


    You were already up?¡± Caleb asked, as he tried not to think of the fact that Pazely was naked behind him, getting dressed. ¡°Yeah. Heard Feldyn knock on your door, then banshee girl started screaming shortly after. Assumed it was the naked thing, so got her clothes. Gigi''s too, since I figured she would come out of her room hearing Pazely screaming. Of course she wasn''t in her room.


    "Anything to say about why my baby cousin came running out of your room with no clothes on?¡± Ally sounded like she was actually suspicious. Pazely smacked him in the back of the head with a, ¡°Yeah? That was nasty to wake up to!¡± Ally rose her eyebrows. Just what nasty thing did she wake up to? Caleb chose to ignore them both. Gigi herself didn''t appear interested in the topic, now trying to get to Pazely on the bed, inciting a lot of screeches.


    Ally wasn''t actually suspecting Caleb of anything. If she could, why would she be around him? She knew it was Geeg being Geeg. She loved Caleb, and had a bit of an infatuation with Pazely, always going out of her way to be near the girl. Give Gigi a choice, and she would end up with Caleb or Pazely. If the two were together, you can guarantee she would find a way to be with them. The way her and Jessie would-


    Any idea what¡¯s going on? Are we staying longer?¡± Caleb asked, interrupting Ally''s unfortunate train of thought. It also derailed her emotions towards irritation. She hated that he always expected her to have the answer to everything. Maybe, for a change, he could have some freaking answers! ¡°No idea,¡± she answered pleasantly. The toils of womanhood!


    Thought we were gone, muthfuckAAAAAH?!


    So sorry, I am doing my best to keep him back!


    Caleb started at the sudden voices. Dammit fucking dammit! He really (never)(eventually!) thought that (poodle, puddle, strudel! TURD!) they were (Praying always helps, Caleb¡­) go(BITE THAT BITCH¡¯S TITS OFF!)ne. Okay, that made him almost vomit. Felt like he was spinning violently as he had thought that. Because they were his thoughts after all, right? Crazy just made you think it was something. At least he wasn''t hallucinating. Yet.


    Not looking amused as Caleb shivered, then froze stiff, ¡°Just what are those two doing back there?¡± Ally asked in an accusatory tone. Pazely wasn''t even screaming anymore...


    On queue, Gigi, and a dressed Pazely, moved from behind Caleb. ¡°We need to huuuurrrrry!¡± Gigi urged, bouncing and hopping over to her cousin. Pazely was wearing black leggings under a pair of cut offs, and a deep purple spaghetti-string tank top, that was super short and loose, the orange sports bra under it easy to catch glimpses of. She had also managed to bind her hair back in twintails with the flower barrettes.


    Who the hell picked out these clothes?¡± Pazely looked about to cry. It was sorta cute. ¡°I¡¯m going!¡± Gigi informed them, and left the room so fast that no one could have replied if they wanted to. ¡°Um,¡± Ally started, distracted by it all, ¡°Stryker. He got them for us yesterday, but we all passed out before he could give them to us. In other words, he forgot.¡± Pazely sighed. ¡°Figures,¡± she mumbled, and frowned at her shorts and leggings.


    What time is it?¡± Caleb asked, and Ally turned a smile his way. ¡°Oh, he returns to us,¡± she smirked. ¡°Sorry, my head is all kinds of messed up since the other day¡± Caleb was being more literal than they knew, as he looked for his shirt.


    He had been all types of messed up longer than that, both the girls thought, neither knowing about the voices.


    Looking at her small watch she wore often, ¡°Jeez, it¡¯s like noon,¡± Ally said. She loved this tiny bracelet watch Caleb had bought her when they were little! At least Stryker knew enough to grab it. She wondered if Caleb ever noticed she wore it? She wondered if he cared? Of course he must! Caleb thanked her, and shirt now on, led the way out of the room, not quite sure where they were going. He hadn¡¯t thought twice about the watch. In fact, he didn¡¯t even remember he had bought it for her. It had been so random, and at a yard sale; it never really stuck in his memory.


    Not talking about much, the three arrived in the meeting hall, and were greeted by Feldyn and Gigi. ¡°Where is everyone?¡± Caleb asked. ¡°Masque is still resting. I fear he may have overexerted himself,¡± Feldyn answered. ¡°Stryker is taking care of some business in town, while Reba, John, and Bryan, grew tired of waiting.¡± Almost skipping from the room, past the three teens, ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll explain on the way!¡± Feldyn said enthusiastically in that singsong voice of his. ¡°Yeah!¡± Gigi encouraged, as she tried to mimic Feldyn¡¯s walk. The other three gave a collective sigh, but didn¡¯t dally in following.


    Feldyn, explaining absolutely nothing, kept a fast pace. After many turns, and down a flight of stairs, they stood before a door. "Any questions?¡± Feldyn asked with a smile, as he took the doorknob, then quickly opened it, dodging inside as Pazely lunged at him.


    The room was pretty big, about the size of the largest at the studio. There were practice mats strewn about the hardwood floor, and the far wall from the door was covered in mirrors, the one opposite, they saw in the mirror, held weapons. There were displays off to the sides too, and stands with armor litters about.


    Swords, spears, knives, axes, guns; hell, even grenades and land mines! Other than the weapons, were shelves holding bottles, books, sciency looking gear, towels, medical supplies, all kinds of stuff! As for the armor, Caleb saw everything from full plate mail, to military -looking- grade body armor.


    Pazely ran over to examine the handguns. John looked more than tense, from where he stood with Bryan near the center of the room. ¡°I¡¯ve told you, they know what they are doing,¡± Reba scolded him. She swore no one ever listened to her! Stryker insisted on making sure the kids could shoot, and Reba knew they often went out to the woods with him to practice. He said it was dangerous to be outdoors and not know how to handle a gun. Reba figured he just enjoyed teaching them.


    I¡¯m hungry!¡± Gigi announced. The little blonde was the only one didn''t have any interest in the unbelievable armory around her. ¡°Sometimes in real life, you do not get the chance to eat. Guess you should have woke sooner, aye?¡± Feldyn¡¯s voice was kind, though his singsong tone seemed laced with a bitter note. A bitterness directed inwardly from what he was about to do.


    Aye, better to get this over with. ¡°In fact, Gigi, ye and Ally do not even need to be here at all. For neither of ye shall be stayin''." He really blundered that little revelation, didn¡¯t he? Seduction of a crowd before him, through lyric, music, or even a smile, was an easy thing. Yet, the simple manipulation and lies he needed to do as of late, were of the hardest actions he could imagine.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Just why did he bloody care so much for these kids? He had to harden his heart! Had to see them as expendable! Even so, Feldyn was honestly trying to keep them from being expended! Was he not already doing more than his duty called for?


    A memory he wished he didn¡¯t have flashed in his mind. A memory of rage. A memory of blood¡­ on his hands¡­ on the ground¡­ on his sister¡¯s innocent face¡­


    The blonde teenager, who had been looking at some knives, turned her pretty blue eyes to look at Feldyn. ¡°And where exactly are we going?¡± Ally asked. Her voice held a playful note. Feldyn shook off the hideous memory. Just when she may have been starting to like me¡­ ¡°Stryker is going to take you and Gigi home. Then you are leaving with your aunt and uncle.¡± The kids all turned with a shocked expression. ¡°To another state. Minna-something, I believe it was called.¡±


    With a disbelieving smirk, ¡°Minnesota?¡± Ally asked. Gigi¡¯s family owned land with a big old house in Minnesota. More than large enough for Ally and her cousins. All of which were from her mom¡¯s side. She couldn¡¯t even think of one relation of her father¡¯s, or uncle''s. Which was weird. Just her mom¡¯s two sisters. They didn¡¯t even have grandparents. She just assumed there was some massive family drama, since the adults refused to speak of it. ¡°What the hell are you talking about? I¡¯m not going anywhere. Especially not to Minnesota,¡± she laughed.


    The others were silent. Feldyn looked her in the eyes, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ally. This is for the best, I promise.¡± Feldyn looked¡­ sad? Ally hardly cared. Just who the hell did he think he was? Nothing was going to make her leave now! Not now, as her life was finally getting some meaning!


    Fuck you, you fairy bitch!¡± Ally hissed with pure defiance. ¡°After all of this, I¡¯m not leaving.¡± The chill in the room was deep. Whatever Ally said or did here, Reba would not lecture or admonish her. For if it was her being told this, she would have murdered the fucker. ¡°Ally, when you opened the door in the woods, what did you feel?¡± was the direct and sudden question Feldyn aimed at the teen. Her faced twisted in confusion. ¡°What are you talking about now?¡± she asked, on the verge of throwing the knife she was holding at his face.


    Think, Ally. When you touched that doorknob, even before, what did you feel?¡± Feldyn¡¯s words were emotionless, direct, and leading. Leading her straight to that moment¡­ The rain falling on her skin¡­ The ripping feeling in her chest¡­ The¡­ power. The raw lust, and desire.


    The bard noticed her expression change as she remembered. ¡°Yes. That is why. I saw your eyes when you felt the power of that seal. I have seen it before. You are extremely mana sensitive.¡± Feldyn¡¯s voice was softer. The way one spoke to a child. ¡°On Aethra, you would have academies and colleges vying for you to take a seat in their schools. Here on Earth, you can never know such. And if we are around more mana, Ally, I have no way to keep you under control. The urge for you to be in tune with it would be too great. I cannot even teach you to wield it on this world!¡±


    Did he think saying that would break her resolve? If he did, he was more foolish than she thought. Talking about the things of her dreams only strengthened her resolve. Ally accepted her faults when she became aware of them. Then she fought, and struggled, and fixed herself. She didn¡¯t run and hide from her weaknesses. She defeated them! And besides, what did he mean about being around more mana? What did he know?


    Before she could voice another thought, John stepped forward, clearing his throat loudly. ¡°Allow me to explain our current situation. There are prophecies that seem to be speaking of an event here on Earth, involving the Dragonheart.¡± Reba sigh-groaned at John''s words. He ignored her. ¡°When Masque was out yesterday, he sensed someone, or something, following. In an attempt to get them to reveal themselves, he discovered... ritual sites. It may have been luck, but Masque did not want to rule out being intentionally led to them.


    There was not one or two sites, but many, circling the town. Not of the magical variety, but of witchcraft," he went on, unsure why he was explaining this to them. What did it matter, in this instance? "Witchcraft is very real, and triggers no storms, for it channels demonic energies, not mana. Witchcraft is far less dangerous than traditional magic, especially without it being infused with mana. It is still dangerous, mind you, just more manageable.


    The prophecy that has us concerned, speaks of three earthly terrors: the queen of the witches, the king of the zombies, and the queen of the vampires,¡± John continued. ¡°These three, well, they are going to cause some problems. We do not know what their plan is, just that if they succeed it would be catastrophic.¡± That was a partial lie. They did know what their plan was. However, John, similar to Feldyn, had no intention of keeping these children in the path of what was coming. At least, not the girls.


    Caleb was -possibly- the Dragonheart, he had a duty. Even if the bard was wrong, the boy was more than old enough to fight. Bryan could decide for himself, for prophecy or no, he too was old enough to be a soldier. The girls could perhaps be of prophecy themselves; right now, they were children, and girls. He would not sacrifice them on a hunch; sexist or not, John did not care. If given no choice, any and all should fight. If given the choice, it should fall first to men, young men, before the rest.


    Reba didn¡¯t bother to point out his withholding of the enemies¡¯ supposed endgame. It wasn¡¯t real anyway, as far as she was concerned, so why bother arguing any of it? Just the odds of them all so randomly happening to be in the same place, at exactly the same time, as these supposed Terrors? It was astronomically stupid! It wouldn¡¯t even be believable in fiction! There was coincidence, then there was bullshit. And Reba was not calling coincidence.


    They were not even sure what the damn ritual sites were for, only that they were top tier witchcraft, with signs of alchemic science mixed in! She was sure that her dad was being a drama queen, and believing what he wanted because of Feldyn showing up and spouting his Aethra nonsense. Caleb? A mythical hero? A mythical dumbass maybe. As for Aethra, that was possible, and portals were real. Supposedly. If you believed the ''real'' history of the world. which she, more or less, did.


    Still¡­ something weird was going on. And it was probably going to get deadly. Reba knew the signs of disaster and tragedy, and right now they were numerous. The storms? Seals being broken? Ritual sites? Something bad bad was going to happen. She just wasn¡¯t foolish enough to think it had to do with comic book caliber villains. Nor was she paranoid enough to think that her nightmare of a creator was one of them.


    So,¡± Ally said, setting the knife back in its place on the wall, ¡°a bunch of once in a lifetime events are about to happen, and all my friends may die. And I have to leave?¡±


    Please understand, Ally,¡± Feldyn pleaded. ¡°Caleb is the Dragonheart, therefore he must stay. Stryker is one of your city guards, so staying and fighting is his duty. Bryan is a male, fighting is also his duty. Reba and John are both warriors already. And where Pazely is concerned, I assure you, she will not be involved."


    But I beat the monster!¡± Gigi interrupted. She had been staring at the floor this entire time, and now looked up to Feldyn¡¯s disagreeing headshake. ¡°Masque defeated it,¡± he informed the girl. Tears began to stream from her confused eyes. ¡°No, Gigi did! Masque helped!¡± Her lip was quivering violently now, and she held out a shaking palm, several quarters residing in it. ¡°See! Gigi got the loot for it!¡± She looked around to all the big people in the room, to all of their eyes.


    Why were they looking at her so sadly? Like she was stupid? They were the ones that were stupid for not understanding! She could kill them if she wanted to! Cut their throats open while they slept! But she didn''t, cuz she was a good guy, and Jesus said killing is bad unless it''s a war. And they were her friends! You don''t hurt your friends, even if you really want to when they piss you off!


    Yes you did, Gigi. And they are both staying,¡± Caleb smiled and informed Feldyn, as Gigi¡¯s eyes came to rest on his. How dare this guy just show up and start ordering them around! These were his friends, his girls. Not this damn elf, or half-elf, or whatever!


    Gigi burst into sobs that surprised her. There was a strong weird feeling when Caleb cared. It hurt, and made her.. sad and... happy?


    Before Feldyn could reply, Caleb stepped towards him, ¡°No. They stay. You cannot force me to do what you want, and if you try, I promise it will not go good for you. Ally stays. Gigi stays. And don¡¯t you dare try to take her credit from her!¡± Caleb was furious, and the gaze he looked deeply into Feldyn¡¯s eyes with¡­ frightened the half-elf.


    Yeah! Gigi is staying! And fighting!¡± Despite her words, Gigi was having doubts. Didn¡¯t she save them? Had all that pain been for no reason? She could still feel it¡­ Not really, but in her head. Like, remembering the burning. The cold feeling of doom in her chest. She never wanted to feel that again. But they were heroes, right? They would beat the bad guys, right?


    Jessie. Jessie didn''t beat the bad guys. Jessie was dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. And it was her fault. ''It wasn''t my fault! Jessie did it on her own, it wasn''t my fault brain, it wasn''t my fault! She died because she was dumb, she left me because she was dumb! IT WASN''T MY FAULT!''


    Without another word, Gigi turned and ran from the room, dropping her quarters. The last expression on her face was heart wrenching.


    Feldyn didn¡¯t take his eyes from Caleb the entire time. ¡°Ally, I believe you also have funeral arrangements that your mother demands you back for. I was trying not to mention it with Gigi in the room.¡± Finally looking away from Caleb, his eyes fell to the teenage blonde that was facing away from him, looking at the knife display on the wall. ¡°More like you were just waiting for an unobstructed kill shot,¡± she accused. He could have his way. They would leave. Heh¡­ But she would be back, whether he liked it or not.


    She was not quite sure how yet, but she was already rapidly formulating plans in her mind. Several ideas had promise, but she needed to spend more time thinking them over. Whatever she came up with, had to work, as there likely would be no second chance or backup plans.


    Fine,¡± Ally consented, ¡°I¡¯ll do my duty.¡± Caleb turned from Feldyn to walk towards her. ¡°No you won¡¯t! Ally, we will wait for you, I promise! Just sneak out, and meet us at the studio.¡± She appreciated his kindness (even if his eyes looked a tad psychotic at the moment), and standing up for both her and her little cousin. But... Feldyn was at least partially right. The tears Ally had shed last night were so strong she thought she would die. Poor Sally, her twin taken from her; what were her tears like? Would they not be so much more than Ally¡¯s own? Ally went to sleep near friends, and woke near friends. Sally was alone, surrounded by adults that didn¡¯t get it, or didn¡¯t care, actually. Which is even worse than being alone.


    Then there was Gigi. Sooner or later, things would hit her too. Ally wanted her to be out of here, and safe; preferably with Sally, so neither of them had to be alone.


    Feldyn is right, Caleb.¡± The strength it took her to act like nothing was wrong was more than she had expected. If she said anything else at all, she was going to break. With a reassuring smile, Ally turned and left.


    The group was now in one of those awkward silences where no one knew what to say or do next. Caleb was having more problems than any of them, as his mind had been screaming at him to kill Feldyn, while performing vulgar acts on him, the entire time. At least the other voice in his head had kept itself in a normal, none-deafening decibel range as it advised him why murdering someone wasn¡¯t a good idea, which occasionally quoting scripture. Which Caleb had no idea the accuracy of, as he was never good at memorizing...


    We should begin,¡± Feldyn took up a stance in the center of the room. No better way to break an awkward silence than with some good old sanctioned violence! ¡°Well then? Let¡¯s see if we can keep from dying, and furthering the suffering of those two.¡± They looked angry. Good. Maybe they wouldn¡¯t hold back. They had to hate him by now. He didn¡¯t care. It didn¡¯t matter. One day soon, the bard would leave their life, and they will only be hating a memory.


    Surprising the half-elf, Bryan walked over to stand in front of him, eyes determined and calm. ¡°What are the rules, Miss Reba?¡± Bryan asked. ¡°Drop the miss, Bryan,¡± Reba answered, walking over by the mirrors to sit on the floor. ¡°You see me half-naked most days, we are complicit in God only knows how many felonies together now, and we are about to train together to fight evil.¡± Her voice was happy, her smile radiant. ¡°Let¡¯s not make things sound even sillier by including ¡®miss¡¯ on my name, okay?¡± She closed her eyes and tilted her head, giving an adorable forced grin.


    Bryan felt a chill. They had always called her that. Her irritation was a little terrifying, however, so he would respect her wishes. He did agree after all. Things sounded more than silly. And he hated to think any of it may be real.


    He had spent his entire life looking for this exact type of thing. Why didn¡¯t he want to accept it? Why did his own new reality, feel so cheesy to him? B-movie? The others -most of them- seemed fairly good with having magic and monsters dumped on their heads. THIS WAS REAL LIFE! Those things were supposed to be fake! And they wouldn''t happen like this! Jessie was dead, and no body seemed to care! Even he didn''t seem to. not once, not even with that giant animal (that did not have to be supernatural to exist. It was simply a gigantic dog) trying to kill them, he had not felt those familiar pangs of panic. Nope, just a numbing dread, that felt more hollow than fear filled.


    Every hypothetical question had a theory. Every theory a hypothesis. And every story had a first word and a last. Each journey starts with a single step. And Bryan¡¯s first part of accepting all of this, would be getting to kick this infuriating half-elf in the face.


    Appearing to sigh without the actual sigh, Reba gave the rules. ¡°I used my best supplies on your injuries when you arrived. I don¡¯t normally keep more on hand than that, as I¡¯ve never needed so much in one day. I do still have a lot of lesser¡­¡± Reba really needed to give her concoctions proper names. Sure, she roughly had words for everything, but sometimes the words she used overlapped. Several things were tonics and elixirs, for instance. And for what she had left... it was so¡­ dorky and unscientific. ¡°... healing potions. Break a few bones, we should be good. But try to refrain from kill shots, please? And no chokes, or things that fuck with the airway or lungs, alright?¡± Pazely was not comfortable with Reba dropping the F bomb. ¡°I am not prepared to treat severe brain damage right now either. Other than that, no rules. Below the belt is fair game. So do the world a favor, Bryan, and make sure he can¡¯t breed.¡±


    Taking off his glasses, Bryan laughed. Feldyn was a bit taken aback. The bloody hell did he do to deserve such an injury? Maybe he should care a bit more if they hate him after all... The females around here were a bit frightening.


    John sat on a stool in the corner, directly across from the door, leaning on his staff with two hands. Could that rude, academic-looking young man even fight? The half-elf may appear unimposing, but he was a link; a bard, trained on Aethra. If Bryan wasn¡¯t careful, this fight may be over before it start-


    John¡¯s thoughts went blank when Bryan removed his shirt, tossing it to the side.


    Where he had no visible bulk with his shirt on, with it removed, his torso was muscular and toned to the point of almost being grotesque. Perhaps this fight wouldn¡¯t end as easily as the old man had thought. He noticed a tiny self-satisfied grin from Reba. Obviously, she knew. She confidently and staunchly defended these kids¡¯ ability to defend themselves. John began to get suspicious at just what she had been teaching them. Surely, she hadn¡¯t been teaching her students martial arts?


    Bryan liked the shocked expressions from both Feldyn and John, as he stood with his torso bare. He learned early on that if you were smart, you needed to be able to take on a field full of jocks at once, or face the consequences. Bryan was never one to just stand around and receive an ass-kicking. His body toned so naturally that it had been easy for him. And being a dancer already, training his body further seemed par for the course. Training his mind, however...


    Begin,¡± John instructed, and Bryan quickly took a stance, hands in fists, forearms high, head low. He began to sway and bob around. Feldyn got the tactic fast. A boxer. The way he was moving, Bryan likely didn''t use his legs. Arms held straight down, fingers pointing towards the ground, Feldyn crouched in an odd stance, hoping to unsettle the boy.


    The two began to circle each other. Bryan shuffled his feet to approach quickly, and then Feldyn was gone! Gust of wind, ''behind me!'' Bryan shoulder-rolled, barely missing the kick from the half-elf.


    Feldyn was impressed the boy dodged it. He was more impressed as Bryan came out of his roll, and jumped straight backwards off his heels, directly at him! Lifting his right arm, Bryan put his full weight behind the elbow drop. The elf was gone, unfortunately, as Bryan twisted down to the right with his elbow, spinning into a kneel, and letting himself roll again. He then made a gamble, and stood with an uppercut, all his momentum and leg strength behind it, catching Feldyn square under the chin as he rushed right into it with that inhuman speed thing he did.


    No novice to taking a multitude of different blows, this one was no different, even if it had made his world turn black for a moment. Nonetheless, soon as Feldyn felt the lifting impact under his chin, he scissor-kicked hard. His bare foot caught Bryan on the inner thigh, then raked over his groin. Feldyn landed on his back. Bryan landed almost equally as hard on his knees, ending the cheers of his friends (and Reba) that had just begun.


    That bastard¡¯s kick had hit him perfectly, his entire leg felt like one giant cramp, and his groin was numb! The numbness didn¡¯t stop his lower belly from aching and feeling like it would pop. No time to think, as Feldyn had landed flat, barely keeping his breath, rolled to the side, and was on his feet. Blood streaming from his mouth.


    Bryan willed himself to stand; the half-elf, in a rush of wind, was in front of him. Feldyn hit the teen with a sweeping kick, spinning in a full circle. Bryan made a loud grunt, his head snapping to the side and body eventually following, tumbling violent and uncontrolled.


    Holy shit!¡± Pazely said, not sounding as mortified as Caleb figured she should. He couldn¡¯t judge though. He had never seen anyone fight this way. Even the voices in his head were silent. How was Feldyn moving so fast? He wasn¡¯t teleporting, but moving at impossible speeds... Could the rest of them learn to do that too? Caleb wasn¡¯t the only one to wondering how the half elf was doing it.


    Seeing Bryan overwhelmed was also shocking to Caleb and Pazely. Bryan always kicked their asses. They had never beaten him before. Caleb always swore though, that if there were no rules, and it was a real fight, that he would win. Granted, Pazely said similar, but Caleb knew that if kill shots were allowed, he would be the one walking away. Though he rather preferred the not so lonely outcomes of losing. Now, seeing his friend fight so desperately right out the gate, well¡­ Caleb had changed his mind on who he now wanted to knock the fuck out in a fair fight. Nothing personal to Bryan. On the contrary, he respected his friend even more for managing to hold his own even this long.


    Somehow, Bryan was still conscious, but knew not for long. Pushing quickly to his hands and knees, letting his face stay as retarded-looking as he felt, he planted one last bait, feigning to be more stunned than he was. Feldyn took it, and quickstepped in for another sweeping kick. He regretted still going easy on the boy, as Bryan had pushed up into a spinning, windmilling handstand. It had only one purpose, with which it succeeded grandly.


    Kicking Feldyn in the fucking face.


    The half-elf¡¯s kick also landed, and his had the greater effect. Bryan¡¯s knocked the half-elf stumbling backwards. Feldyn''s own faltered kick to Bryan¡¯s face, had knocked the teen boy totally out. Feldyn, bleeding profusely form his mouth and nose, was the winner.


    A little over the top, don¡¯t you think?¡± Reba bitched, as she marched past Feldyn to the unconscious teenager. She was holding a tiny carrying case. ¡°Maybe you should give up on the whole instructor thing.¡± Reba crouched down, checking to see if Bryan was even alive.


    Feldyn watched as the beautiful and angry young woman checked the boy¡¯s vitals. Bryan had almost taken him down. True, he hadn''t really been trying, but still- Bryan had accepted almost instantly the reality of Feldyn¡¯s quickstep. He didn¡¯t flinch or shock, and reflexively went into some risky, yet powerful ¡®in a pinch¡¯ type of attacks, relying on a good bit of calculated luck. It was impressive. Novice and foolhardy, but impressive, none the less.


    I held back my blows, Reba. I did not come out unscathed, ye can see?¡± At least no one else seemed angry at him. Pazely looked amused, where Caleb looked ready to brawl. ¡°Father!¡± Reba snapped without looking up, opening the small case she held, and taking out a hypodermic needle and syringe. ¡°This type of training is foolish!¡± She filled the syringe from a tiny vial. ¡°Let¡¯s knock them out, then wait a while as they recover, and do it all over again! Maybe in a week, they will start to improve!¡± She injected Bryan in the shoulder, and turned a scowl towards Feldyn, ¡°If we are in a hurry, maybe we can find a productive way to accomplish this.¡± There was no question in her voice.


    Rudeness aside, the girl was right. Feldyn had intended to test them, then move on to teaching what they lacked the most, and could not accomplish. All of them, not just the kids. His hopes were to show how impossible it was to fight on the level needed, causing despair, and getting them to leave the area before the prophecy, if true, came to pass.


    Caleb, being who he was, would surely improve faster and achieve what the others could not. Then Feldyn could convince him even easier to leave his friends; they would obviously not be able to keep up, and he would fear for their safety.


    Feldyn gave a resigning and deep bow to the brunette. There was no way he would scare off Bryan, and if tiny Pazely could truly spar with Bryan on equal footing, no amount of physical intimidation would frighten her away either.


    As he dipped low in his bow, his head spun and caused him to half swoon; falling to a knee, then stumbling to the floor.


    Why did he always have to appear so bloody foolish around these people?!


    Stryker and Ally walked into the room, while Reba and Pazely began to insult Feldyn. ¡°Well, that was quick,¡± John said, still seated. The comment was directed at Ally. The teenager looked mildly -and rightly- offended at his words. ¡°I ran into Stryker upstairs,¡± she shrugged. Ally had her ponytail bound at the side of her head now, with a purple hair scrunchy. She also had changed into a near skintight, yellow, long-sleeved V-neck, jeans replaced with a black miniskirt. The smallest one she owned, actually, and was surprised Stryker brought it. Changing clothes always made her feel like she was resetting her day, and she had needed a good reset.


    How did you change?¡± Pazely whined loudly from across the room. ¡°Unfortunately, she changed in the hallway,¡± Stryker droned, causing Ally to spin around. Unfortunately?! Paze hadn¡¯t meant where had she changed, she meant how had she gotten more clothes! Did Stryker need to be retarded and insulting in one sentence? Then he -obliviously- walked around her, past Pazely, and made a beeline for the gun display. ''Oh yeah, he told me he had never seen the ¡®training room¡¯'' Ally thought to herself. Boys will be boys!


    Reba left Bryan¡¯s side (who had begun to rouse already) and walked over to Stryker, where he stood with jaw agape, staring at the wall of wonder before him. ¡°Go ahead and take what you want.¡±


    Reba!¡± John snapped, aghast. ¡°Shut up,¡± Reba told him, so he did. Almost every weapon had either already been here, or was looted from nearby Order stashes. Might as well put them to good use. God knew her and John were not going to use them. ¡°In fact, everyone choose some weapons,¡± Reba turned to John, challenge in her eyes, ¡°Unless you don''t really believe danger is lurking at our door?¡±


    Groaning his resignation, John waved a hand at her, ¡°Do as you will, let everyone equip themselves.¡± With that, the room erupted into chaos, as every single one of them, Feldyn included, started going over things; swinging weapons, looking at armors... So fast was the mood change, John wasn¡¯t sure if he hadn¡¯t just skipped hours in some spurt of random senility.


    Walking over to Ally, Paze looked flustered. ¡°I know you¡¯re a stubborn bitch,¡± Pazely opened with, ¡°so you probably won¡¯t take anything, right?¡± Ally nodded. A girl had to accept her own bitchy existence at times, didn¡¯t she? ¡°Well, here then. Don¡¯t be stupid, okay? You can at least keep these, right?¡± Pazely handed her a soft, folded case, bound shut with two sturdy cords.


    Taking and unbinding the cords, Ally unrolled it to display a set of silver throwing knives, shiny and delicately beautiful. Admittedly, she wasn¡¯t much of a fighter, but she did have good accuracy with throwing things, like knives and darts. It never occurred to her to use them as actual weapons.


    Ally thought of that giant dog. Somehow, throwing little pointy pieces of metal still didn¡¯t really sound like an effective method of assault... Didn''t change the fact these knives were pretty sexy.


    Pazely read the expression on Ally¡¯s face. ¡°I thought they would get you all slutty,¡± Paze tried not to smile. Ally¡¯s subtle reaction had been the best thank you she could have given. Not that she would ever let her know that, of course. And of course, Ally knew this already, so it was the only thanks she gave. ¡°Do you want me to kill you?¡± were her only words. Both girls were now smiling. Ally was praying she didn¡¯t start to cry again.


    Making his way over to the law enforcement officer, Feldyn set a sheathed rapier on the counter near Stryker¡¯s pile of guns. ¡°Think you can carry all of that?¡± he grinned to the spaced-out looking cop. ¡°Nah,¡± Stryker answered, surprising Feldyn he was paying attention. ¡°But I figured I would ask Reba what some of them were before deciding what to take. Assuming they aren''t what they appear to be, and all.¡± He then flushed a bit, realizing he was going to ask a teenage dance instructor about weapons. Though she wasn¡¯t a teenager¡­ or a dance instructor. Wait, yeah she was. A dance instructor at least. She was just a man-made girl, a professor¡¯s rock, or¡­ something.


    Not to mention all of these weapons and armor were quite illegal. Maybe. Depending on what they were.


    I¡¯m so confused, Feldyn,¡± Stryker sighed, and the half-elf laughed. He wasn¡¯t sure what the man had been thinking, but his expressions were comical. ¡°And ye have a right to be! Let me add, you are accepting all of this amazingly well.¡± Feldyn meant the compliment. Stryker gave a single laugh. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t even know if I am. But I mean, what can ya do? I¡¯ve learned to be open-minded, and just not think with some of the shit these kids bring to me.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Guess that skill is coming in handy.¡± His expression told the half-elf that he still wasn¡¯t so sure that he wasn¡¯t just going mad.


    Would this be a bad time to ask about that information I wanted you to gather?¡± Stryker slapped himself in the forehead before Feldyn had finished his question. ¡°Yeah, sorry. Me and guns¡­¡± he confessed, and took a piece of paper from the breast pocket of his uniform, handing it to Feldyn. ¡°Strange thing getting this information too,¡± Stryker said, to an inquisitive eyebrow raise from Feldyn, as he took the folded paper. ¡°The chief usually spends the end of most shifts so furious with me, he looks ready to explode. Only, the last couple weeks, he hasn¡¯t questioned a damn thing I¡¯ve told him.¡±


    Stryker remembered an incident a while back, when Pazely had tied the chief¡¯s shoelaces together at a crime scene. She had meant well, as they were trying to sneak away. The chief hadn¡¯t found it so harmless. In fact, after going into a ballistic rage and screaming at Pazely, Caleb, and Bryan in his office, he later that day had a massive heart attack. Not that the fat bastard didn¡¯t bring it on himself. Officer Stricksent always felt the chief to be complicit in¡­ something. He just didn¡¯t know what yet.


    Now that Stryker thought about it¡­ the chief hadn¡¯t been quite the same since. He got¡­ quieter. Stryker figured it was just him trying to not keel again. Yet, the way he acted when Pazely got sent away, all his ¡®medical¡¯ absences¡­ And what had they even been investigating that day?


    Oh yeah. Mrs. Clausington (Caleb¡¯s girlfriend¡¯s mom) had been involved in an animal attack. The kids had (ironically, now) found huge footprints, and thought it was a giant wolf, as they were exploring the area that led to the chief faceplanting in the gravel from his shoelaces tied together. Stryker, and the animal control officer had later tracked the bear prints to a very dead grizzly. Just why a grizzly was wandering around the outskirts of Castle Rock, they had no idea. To this day, Stryker still found the entire situation odd. Not only did Mrs. Clausington not have proper mauling wounds, the teeth marks were mostly smaller punctures. Like fangs. They had joked at the office about vampires. The chief accepted it as a bear mauling, and Mrs. Clausington confirmed. Case closed, problem solved!


    All this shit suddenly didn¡¯t seem so closed to Officer Stricksent.


    Even this information, I mean, he just told me everything when I asked! Having a hard time believing it''s even real, y¡¯know? This many disappearances in so many days? The feds should be all over it. There is no way they can not know, yet nothing. They must be keeping it quiet. So how did our little department''s chief know about it? I¡¯m going to look into it more later; just jotted the numbers I could confirm for now, since that is basically all you and John had been wanting.¡±


    The half-elf frowned as he looked at the paper. Well, this probably wasn¡¯t good. If this was true, maybe John was right. Even Stryker was concerned, and he didn''t even know about the prophecy. In this type of situation, Feldyn had learned that unless one was already paranoid, suspicion was normally accurate to some extent. Stryker did not seem paranoid to him in the least, so his instincts were probably correct.


    Something was seriously wrong.


    On a side note, I can¡¯t take Ally and Gigi home till tomorrow morning. Oh, and I should probably sleep here tonight,¡± Stryker explained. Feldyn didn¡¯t see how that would be bad. John may be closer to accuracy than Feldyn thought, but even if he was, these numbers showed the supposed Terrors were still quite a ways from reaching their goal. There should be plenty of time to disrupt whatever was going on. Maybe Feldyn would even assist in stopping things before it got out of hand. He did feel like he owed them all at least that. Surely he and Masque alone could take care of whatever these Terrors were really doing. He still doubted it was exactly what John thought, but the odds were... increasing. Either way, he would continue to play along with the old man for now.


    Everything okay?¡± Reba asked Stryker hesitantly. Feldyn hadn''t taken his eyes from the note, or shown he had even heard the officer¡¯s last words. Stryker looked over to Reba, who had walked over to them, and noticed Bryan sitting up in the background, talking to Caleb. ¡°The fuck happened to him?¡± Stryker asked, shocked by the blood. Then it dawned on him, and he snapped his head back to the half-elf, seeing he was covered in blood as well. ¡°Did I miss something?¡± there was a bit of horror in his voice. Rolling her eyes, ¡°You always miss something,¡± Reba scolded. ¡°But I¡¯m going to assume from your degree of spaciness, that everything is fine?¡±


    Yeah, I ¡®spose," he replied, flushing again. Reba was very pretty, making her lectures and jabs more embarrassing. "Was saying that Ally¡¯s dad didn¡¯t expect me to drive all night to go pick them up and bring them back. To just stay the night at the shelter they were helping at, and take them home in the morning. I¡¯ll just stay here to better enforce the lie.¡± Reba didn¡¯t know what to say to that. Just where the hell had he said this shelter was at, anyway?


    Pazely stabbed Stryker about a half inch into his left butt cheek with a small dagger. He screamed unflatteringly. ¡°What the holy donkey fuck, Pazely?!¡± Stryker yelled at her, trying to see his bleeding butt in the mirror. ¡°Did you bring me more clothes too?¡± she asked calmly. ¡°Yeah! Yeah, I did!¡± was his -rightfully- irritated-sounding answer. ¡°I left the bag just outside the door!¡± His face pouted epically, looking at the growing bloodstain in the mirror. ¡°Thank you,¡± Pazely nodded to him, with a frown. ¡°Carry on,¡± she said, and walked back over to Caleb and Bryan.


    Is it okay with you if we stay another night?¡± Ally asked Feldyn, startling him. He hadn¡¯t noticed her approach! Smiling as kindly as he could, ¡°Yes, it is. These numbers show we should have a lot more time than I feared. Enough time, we may be able to prevent the entire thing from taking place.¡± Now John was hurrying to Feldyn¡¯s side. ¡°Let me see,¡± he demanded, and took the paper from the half-elf¡¯s hand without waiting for consent.


    The Aetherian was right. The number of missing people reported in the state and neighboring one''s was staggering, yet far from the mark. What the Terrors were trying to pull off, and if he was right about the requirements, they were going to need six hundred sixty-six thousand nine hundred ninety-nine hearts. Fresh hearts. Human hearts. John expected the number of missing to increase rapidly, because it would surely draw national, then global attention, as over half a million people vanished. Meaning the Terror''s best bet for the remainder was hitting a big city. Though, just how many more did they need? Surely they had been collecting them for some time, likely across the country or countries?


    Anyone going to explain?¡± Caleb asked, finally joining the adults in their conversation. John and Feldyn both looked to Reba, who threw her hands in the air and groaned loudly. ¡°Oh, for God¡¯s sake- I don¡¯t even care anymore! If you want to tell them all more of your retarded theories, be my guest! But can we please eat some lunch?¡± Everyone¡¯s stomachs seemed to give a collective growl at the mention of food.


    Even little Gigi¡¯s tummy growled loudly, from where she was, upstairs in the meeting hall. She then began to put unneeded food items and condiments on the table from the fridge and cupboard. She wanted to help since they were going to come upstairs and cook! They might be jerks trying to send her away, and they deserved to die; but that wasn''t an excuse to not be helpful in the kitchen! That''s what Jesus would do, after all.


    Until she got to the big jar of pickles in the back of the fridge, and dismissed her intentions, opening it up. Gigi looooooooved pickles.

 Chapter 8: The Madam in Blue

    Twirling, savoring the summer air,


    her smile new and fresh.


    This morning is full of dew!


    Flowers bloomed in the cool air of a day to turn hot.


    Parasol in hand, she looks to the birds.


    They fly so grand, so high, no fear to fall.


    Could this life be real?


    Can this joy last forever?


    Or could it be that birds fear to fly?


    Flowers fear to bloom?


    Could a day so full of joy, end in tragedy?


    Could a great tragedy, end in true joy?


    Powder blue is her parasol.


    Powder blue is her dress.


    These questions she asks to herself with a smile.


    And chooses over these, to not fret.


    God may judge the birds from the sky.


    He may judge the petals from a plant.


    Will not a crow always be a crow?


    Parasol in hand, she too shall always be.


    For good and bad, could look either way.


    Could they not?


    A crow remembers a face.


    And a woman remembers her scorn.


    The birds soar on their wings.


    They circle the dead, awaiting their meal.


    The petals of the flowers open.


    The poisons of their pastel, waiting to kill.


    Is the bird evil for eating what it eats?


    Is the flower evil for poisoning whom it poisons?


    The sun in her hair, and breeze on her cheeks;


    her own pastel blues, not a poison.


    She did not circle to eat the dead.


    She did not plot to poison the unwary.


    A day of beauty.


    A day of death.


    The bird landed on her hand.


    The flower stood tall near her feet.


    The bird, she broke its wings.


    The flower, she crushed its stem.


    Now, the bird need not fear.


    The flower need not be judged.


    What a beautiful day, one not evil nor good.


    Not a day of neutral, nor a day of death.


    She was what she was.


    And she had much more to destroy.


    ~The Blue Lady, a poetic draft


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    The amount of food that these skinny children ate was astounding!


    Upon returning to the dining hall (and dealing with Gigi¡¯s disaster...), Reba had suggested an indoor barbecue of sorts, to unanimous approval. With a full spread planned: hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken breasts, and ears of corn (even a few steaks!); John had been certain there would be too much food. Then, Ally started making more! With Reba shooing her assistance away, John was flabbergasted as the girl began to make homemade BBQ sauce, sauteing onions and garlic, even a potato salad from scratch! All the while complaining there wasn''t time to let things marry overnight...


    And even with so much food, this group had almost cleared the table! Feldyn had eaten a ridiculous share, Stryker ate as much as any man, John had put away enough to think that he would explode. Yet, those kids -Reba being included is his mental grouping- had easily eaten enough that they should surely be dead. Even Gigi had eaten nearly as much as Feldyn. They were so skinny! John hadn¡¯t seen many thin healthy people in the last dozen years, aside from Reba. One of the reasons she became a dancer, he supposed. Her physique and voracious appetite seemed to be common in the dance world. But still¡­ that was a lot of food!


    Six year old Gigi, was so full that she thought she was going to fall over. She only ate two burgers! With cheese and pickles! Ughhhh¡­ she had eaten way too many pickles. And a hot dog¡­ Oh, that chicken looks good! Ally slid her plate away from the kids reach, giving her a ''Get your own!'' look.


    So, Feldyn, I¡¯ve been wondering¡­¡± Caleb started, finishing his unknown what number hot dog (with brown mustard, sweet relish, diced onion, and sauerkraut). It was time to quit being tiptoed around. ¡°What exactly is the enemy planning?¡± The laughter at the table began to die down. ¡°What is this research of yours? What views do you have that makes you so unique?¡± Caleb looked at John, then back to Feldyn. ¡°That make both of your views so unique?¡±


    Well, that was abrupt, and unexpectedly intuitive. Feldyn was caught completely off guard. Unfortunately for him, everyone seemed to join Caleb in their gazes of wanting specifics. Fuck. He guessed if he believed Caleb was the Dragonheart, he would be bending knee regardless, sooner or later.


    May as well lie as much as possible now!


    The Terrors seem to be wanting to summon a great deal of demons to Earth.¡± Reba nor John even looked startled at his truthful avoidance of a pretty key detail. ¡°They need many human hearts to achieve this ritual summoning. And according to the missing persons statistics Stryker brought back for us, they are indeed harvesting them in great quantity. Yet, even at this pace, it is going to take quite some time to get everything, everyone, they need.¡±


    We are just letting people die?¡± Ally was the one to voice the question, though they had all been thinking it. It was quite apparent on Feldyn¡¯s face that he meant his words as he spoke, ¡°Ally, it is a miracle in and of itself that we even know it is happening. All of us combined would have trouble with even one of the Terrors." He hoped that was a lie. "The absolute best we can do now is to prepare and try to find a way to put a kink in their works, if possible.¡± He left out the fact random people (let alone children) did not simply stop the evils of the world from being evil.


    It was Pazely¡¯s turn to inquire, ¡°Won¡¯t they just try again?¡± John shook his head as he answered, ¡°We doubt it child, no. for one, it is too great an undertaking. Second, we do not know why the angels have not intervened as it is. They would not risk attempting this twice.¡± Pazely wasn¡¯t satisfied, ¡°The angels? Like, real angels? We can¡¯t just wait for them to handle it?¡± Her eyes were huge and inquisitive.


    Feldyn sighed loudly. ¡°This ritual is powerful and magical. They shouldn¡¯t even be able to cast it without manastorms destroying them. Yes, angels should respond to prevent such things on Earth, and yet they have not. If these Terrors are foolish enough -and I do not believe they would be- to try this as is, then angels will likely appear at the last minute to prevent it.¡±


    Thank you, Feldyn,¡± Gigi smiled at him, ¡°for trying to help everyone!¡± Her words felt like a dagger in the heart. He would let them all die, if it meant getting Caleb to Aethra alive. And this child was thanking him¡­


    Looking deep into his eyes, Gigi suddenly frowned. ¡°Oh¡­¡± was all she said, as she slumped back in her large armchair. Feldyn felt a pang of dread. Had she¡­ understood his true intent somehow?


    There is, of course, more,¡± Feldyn concluded. ¡°But for now, we should enjoy those still at our sides.¡± Ally lost her smile, but no one objected or complained.


    So enjoy the company they did! The remainder of the day went quickly, with everyone chitchatting, laughter, and eating a dinner almost as large as the lunch. The topic of the Terrors was not brought up again.


    Night was deep as Feldyn and Reba walked through the dark woods, near the church. The dim, battery operated lantern that Reba carried, produced more light than either of them needed. Feldyn''s elven eyes took in enough light for his surroundings to be quite clear without the lantern; Reba''s homunculus eyes were healthy and strong, and she was quite accustomed to surviving in the dark.


    The tiny shack they walked to was where the bard had set things up in order to have a private place to do his research. And it was exactly that research that was the breaking point for Reba. ¡°Do you really believe this shit?¡± Reba stopped and asked in a pissy voice. She knew she sounded like an immature little girl, and didn¡¯t care. This was not a game, yet this stupid Aetherian was acting like the entire situation was a vacation gone awry.


    Feldyn knew what she referred to. ¡°Yes Reba, I do. And could we do without the rudeness?¡± His offhand rebuke made her want to hit him with the lantern. He was right though, so she spared him her wrath. ¡°So let me see if I understand then. Is that okay?¡±


    ''No, it is not okay,'' Feldyn thought, as he turned around to face the spontaneously confrontational female. ¡°I am guessing I don¡¯t truly have a choice,¡± was all he said, walking a few steps to lean against a large rock.


    You and dad believe those prophecies base their wordings off of things in fiction?¡± He nodded to her question. ¡°More specifically," she continued, "Earth nerd stuff?¡± He frowned at the way she stressed Earth, but again nodded. "Anime and role-playing games? Those kind of things?¡± Another nod. ¡°So, what? The links and shards are gonna run around, fight bad guys, gain experience, and level up, before tackling the big bad final boss battle?¡± With a loud, almost explosive sigh, and tossing his hands out to the side, ¡°Yes. More or less, but not quite as ridiculous as you make it sound,¡± Feldyn answered, and threw in a shrug for good measure.


    What I believe, dear Reba," he explained, trying not to sound condescending in his annoyance, "is that the prophet of the Codex, in all his chaotic visions, saw things in your lore and media on Earth, and sort of honed in on it. Do I believe any of this involves anything specific from your stories and games? No. But I do believe there are¡­ concepts, that apply. And so far this anime and the role-playing genre, seem to contain many of the unique concepts referred to in the Codex. Fiction must already exist, or how can it be? God created all things, are we arrogant enough to think we can imagine what never was, nor will ever be, on our own?


    The fantasy genre on this world, His world, is astounding! What you humans have created to live out in your imaginations, through so many different means and sensory inputs, is remarkable beyond words! My own race is but fictitious musings to you all. In many ways, my planet is your fantasy genre. That alone says volumes.


    When I discovered these Earth nerd things, as you call them, I could hardly believe it! The words and terms, the way it works, and is broken down? It all made so much sense, like a decoder for the Codex! And the more I delve into your fictional worlds, the more I find that they answer so very many questions!¡±


    His voice had been animated, his words fast and impassioned, yet his eyes had looked irritated. Insulted. Out of patience. He wasn¡¯t going to change his mind, she knew. John had come to almost the same conclusion, reading and translating the few Codex entries that they had, then discovering American comic books. It only spiraled to more stupidity from there. Reba loved anime, and manga, and the occasional (J)RPG too. However, Reba knew they were fiction, not some secret decoder for the end times prophecies on some other freaking planet!


    She motioned for Feldyn to move along. He hopped back to the trail, and gave her a bow that seemed a bit snotty. Falling into pace behind him, Reba guessed she had been a bit pissy herself. Everything, the last couple of days had happened so fast, and was still processing in her mind. The good, the bad, and the stupid.


    Yet¡­ the true horrors the Terrors were actually planning, if dad was correct, was enough to melt her brain if she thought too long on it. Even worse, her dad was convinced Ted was the zombie king; the alchemist was the only individual either of them knew of that could animate dead flesh. Provided the Terrors were real.


    Was her creator of nightmare truly lurking somewhere near? The thought made her want to vomit.


    Reba could wrap her mind around the truths and facts of what might be going on. That stupid video game, or whatever, idea crap Feldyn and her dad had? No matter how many times they explained it¡­


    It was still the stupidest shit she had ever heard.


    * * *


    The night and morning uneventful, the kids seemed to be in a mild state of denial as Reba looked at them. Reba, Stryker, Caleb, Ally, Bryan, Pazely, and Gigi all stood outside a small concrete building with an iron door. It was nestled in some trees with vines growing over it, not far from the only entrance to their base inside the mountain.


    No Feldyn?¡± Ally asked. She figured that jerk would chicken out. ¡°He¡¯s probably still sleeping,¡± Reba really didn¡¯t know what else to say. Stryker unlocked the large padlock on the door, and swung it open. He tossed his and Pazely¡¯s duffel bags down into the depths beneath the building, and started to descend the ladder, into the darkness below. Only looking mildly worried, Pazely followed after, grateful when he flicked on a flashlight.


    Just how far is it?¡± Bryan asked, as Caleb stepped past him to climbed down. ¡°I mean, how far to the studio?¡± Ally had just got done saying her -temporary- goodbyes to Reba, and walked over beside Bryan; peeking down into the darkness, trying to see as Stryker¡¯s light darted all over the place. ¡°A couple miles or so, I think,¡± Reba answered, still squeezing Gigi in her arms.


    So, on the night when everything happened,¡± Bryan began thoughtfully, ¡°after we left the studio, with an injured ankle, you made it back here before Masque and Gigi?¡± Reba set the little girl down, and looked at Bryan, a little puzzled. ¡°Yeah, why? Oh, the ankle injury. I always have some healing supplies stashed at the studio, just in case someone gets too injured,¡± she lied, out of reflexive habit. Bryan didn''t know that, and was mostly satisfied with the answer. A two mile jog isn''t far, but to sprint the distance as quickly as she had, that was, well, insane.


    Ally dropped her own duffel, and grinned as she heard Pazely cry out at the same time she heard the impact on the girl¡¯s head. She then tossed Gigi¡¯s backpack as well, hitting dumbass Paze in the face -as she looked up to glare- and mounted the ladder. Bryan let Gigi go next, as Ally stayed just a little lower than her, making sure she didn¡¯t slip.


    Guess I¡¯ll see you guys back here soon,¡± Reba smiled to her student. She had truly never wanted them to know any of this. As Bryan lowered himself over the edge, and onto the ladder, Reba got a bad feeling, ¡°Hey Bryan.¡± Her voice startled him. She sounded¡­ worried. ¡°Be careful, okay?¡± Looking into his instructor¡¯s eyes, Bryan knew something was wrong. Giving her the most confident smile he could, he descended the ladder, hearing Reba close the door above them.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Ally to take the only flashlight from Stryker¡¯s erratic control. The group progressed without much conversation, as they made their way through the odd tunnel. It very much wanted to be a sewer, with its slanted, curved ceiling made of brick. Yet the ground was one level, appearing concrete, with nowhere for water to conveniently run, nor grates or drains of any variety. Moss and fungi grew everywhere, and the atmosphere was wet and heavy. Despite all that, there were old-looking light fixtures on the ceiling, and lots of even older wiring, with daisy chained extension cords. Not a light bulb, switch, or pull chain in sight.


    Yes. The purpose of this tunnel was confusing. Unless it was just there to be a tunnel. Then that made perfect (um, no?) sense.


    When they reached an end that was nearly identical to where they began, Ally had a brief moment of panic that they had somehow turned around. Pazely was just glad to get out. It felt like they had been in there forever, and no one talking was creeping her the hell out!


    Careful, don¡¯t let nobody see you!¡± Stryker cautioned the little Japanese girl that had begun her ascent without warning. The boys strapped the bags over their shoulders as Ally followed after Twintails. Both girls were happy they had picked their jeans over the skirts, in the small options for outfits this morning.


    Go ahead, Gigi,¡± Caleb told her, after Bryan and Stryker started up the ladder. She shook her head and said, ¡°You first.¡±


    No-¡±


    You.¡±


    Gigi-¡±


    Uh uh!¡±


    Will you liste-¡±


    Noooo!¡±


    Frustrated, Caleb had to close his eyes and take a deep breath. Gigi began to sing the word ¡®no¡¯ and dance around him. ¡°Gigi, it¡¯s so you don¡¯t fall-¡± he cut himself short as Geeg climbed the bags he carried, perching herself on his shoulders. Stumbling a little, Caleb growled, then he realized she was actually balancing herself perfectly, imparting almost zero extra weight. ¡°Huh,¡± was all he said. ¡°See?¡± the kid answered answered, in voice dripping with adorable. She could go from obnoxious to cute so fast, it was a lot like Pazely.


    The look Ally was giving him as he climbed out of the tunnel with Gigi on his shoulders looked cute too. If you found that look a female gave you in the moment before they killed you cute. And he did. Apparently Gigi did too, as she squealed a fake scream at the sight of Ally, before giggling wildly.


    Shut up!¡± Stryker snapped, ending the situation before it got out of hand. Gigi still made some giggling sounds as she bounced up and down on Caleb¡¯s shoulders, almost knocking them backwards into the hole. ¡°We are close as fuck to the studio; this place is secret, remember?¡± Stryker was not amused where he stood in the open door of a building identical to the one they had entered. Bryan and Pazely were already outside.


    He¡¯s right, hurry up,¡± Bryan urged, leaning in the door. Removing Gigi from Caleb, Ally prodded her to go outside, with Caleb quickly behind them, Stryker locking the door. This building could be seen from the parking lot of the dance studio, and they had all been seeing it for years. It had a bunch of generic no trespassing signs; the official-looking ones that city or government used. Caleb had always assumed it was a utility building for electric or sewer or something.


    Stryker walked off quickly, in the direction of the parking lot. The kids followed, and saw his patrol car parked over by where he had slid the limo before. Caleb wondered why Stryker didn¡¯t worry anyone would question where he had been, with his cruiser just sitting there all night. The ground was flat and smooth again; nearby bulldozer probably borrowed from a friend of Miss Terra. Caleb had to smile, as he saw not only was the studio already open, but there were more than a few cars parked in the parked outside.


    Guess a dancer will always dance.


    A bird-like yell came from the window of the studio¡¯s office. The frizzy-haired lady that pointed an authoritative finger at them looked a bit like a bird as well. ¡°Oh shit,¡± Pazely mumbled as Miss Terra left the window, heading out to meet them in the parking lot.


    When Miss Terra left the window, Caleb noticed two people standing standing behind her in the room. One was a woman wearing an elaborate over the top blue frilly and lacy dress. What, did she have a parasol too? Next to the pretty brunette woman stood a small Asian girl, with braided hair. He didn¡¯t get a good look, but for the briefest of moments, they made eye contact, and he was overcome with the sensation that he knew her. And that she was sad, and... painfully lonely.


    The brunette in the pretty (if not out of era) dress quickly stepped in front of the window to draw the shades. But not before another little Asian girl peeked out, wide-eyes curious and intense, before the shades closed.


    Ally stood her ground as Miss Terra was now storming across the parking lot towards them; Gigi scurried into the back of the patrol cruiser; Stryker reflexively locking the driver¡¯s side door, where he was sitting. The studio owner wouldn¡¯t hurt a stray cat, but she sure scared them senseless anyway. Miss Terra whapped Pazely upside the head when she got to them. ¡°Watch your language!¡± she snapped, though her eyes were glaring at Caleb.


    Why didn¡¯t any of you tell me where you were?¡± she scolded the boy. ¡°Or if¡­ if you were even okay?¡± She started crying. Miss Terra was an awkward lady to begin with, she looked like some crazy cat lady gone homeless meth addict. Her long brown hair had an over-permed frizzed look, skin fake tanned and leathery. The huge dangling earrings and gawdy necklaces, helped the eccentric persona


    Bryan was suddenly at Miss Terra¡¯s side, to put an arm around her shoulders. He had been hiding in the background in case fleeing was needed. Seeing as how there was nowhere to run, comforting his teacher may save him a scolding. ¡°We didn¡¯t have a chance,¡± Ally answered for Caleb, as softly as she could. ¡°Stryker said he let you know we were okay as soon as he could,¡± she lied loudly.


    The officer clenched more than a little from the driver¡¯s seat, able to hear Ally¡¯s words even with the window up, and over cranked the key, trying to start the car. ¡°He most certainly did not!¡± Miss Terra snapped again, tears gone, and marched over to Stryker¡¯s window. He rolled it down before she got there, so she tapped on his forehead instead, ¡°What are you teaching these children, telling lies like that!¡±


    ''Ally is the one lying,'' Stryker thought, but kept it to himself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry ma¡¯am-¡±


    Terra, Stryker. Terra.¡±


    -Terra. I had to check in with the chief, to be put lead on... Well, you know. And after handling... things, I sorta forgot.¡± Miss Terra lost all her bluster at his words. Then she saw Gigi in the back, and her expression fell terribly, before turning back to Ally.


    Both teacher and student began to softly cry, and Terra held the teenage girl in a hug larger and stronger than her twiggy arms should have been able to do. Ally had known this woman¡­ jeez, seemed like forever. And she had always, always, been like a mom to them. She had even been known to ground them more than once. You didn¡¯t go against Miss Terra. Why? Because she wasn¡¯t the type you disrespected. She loved them, crazy lady or not. Would she let someone disrespect her? Of course. What good forgiving soul wouldn¡¯t? But these kids would never disrespect her! Good adults were beyond few in their lives.


    If you girls need anything, don¡¯t hesitate to call me, okay?¡± Miss Terra kissed Ally¡¯s head before pushing her back to an arm¡¯s length, to look in her eyes with a kind smile. ¡°They are shipping us to Minnesota,¡± Ally sniffled. Holding the teen by her shoulders, Miss Terra rolled her eyes, and leaned in to whisper, ¡°See ya when you get back.¡± She gave Ally a little wink, and the teenager laughed one more sob, and hugged this lady she wished was her mother, as tightly as she could.


    Bryan and Pazely said their goodbyes to the two girls, both assuming to be seeing Ally sooner opposed to later. Miss Terra made Gigi get out and give her a hug, knowing she likely wouldn¡¯t see the child for a long time.


    Caleb, however, was still thinking about that girl he had seen in the window. The one that made him feel painfully nostalgic. So entranced was he, the boy failed to tell either of his friends goodbye. Ally assumed it would hit him later and he would get all emo about it. But she wasn¡¯t expecting it to take her that long to return. Gigi wasn''t upset either. She knew Caleb was a self centered, girl crazy, asshole, and not worth the time to be upset over. She still liked him though. He was a nice asshole. Friendship was annoying at times. That, and she completely and totally believed her cousin would include her in the escape back to Castle Rock.


    Now get going before Francis here gets his panties in more of a twist,¡± Miss Terra said to the girls, before walking away from the cop car. Stryker frowned, feeling defensive at her comment. ¡°I¡¯m on a timetable, ma¡¯a- MISS TERRA!¡± he shouted that last in a panic, as she whirled to face him at the improper title. Everyone (not spaced out on little Asian girls...) got a good laugh out of it, and Stryker wisely took that moment to leave with Ally and Gigi; smiles still on everyone¡¯s faces.


    So you kids want a ride into town?¡± Miss Terra offered, soon as Stryker was out of sight. ¡°Uh,¡± Bryan started hesitantly, ¡°Stryker is coming back here to get us.¡± She was already waving a dismissive hand at Bryan before he finished. ¡°Officer Stricksent is slower than the seven-year itch. I¡¯ll drop you guys off so you can do something other than wait. He has a car, he can find ya.¡±


    As Miss Terra walked back to the studio to get her car keys, Caleb ran after her, ¡°Who was that in your office? That- those girls?¡±


    Hmm?¡± Terra asked without slowing. ¡°Oh, Miss Lacuice,¡± she explained, opening the door, with Caleb following her into the studio, his two friends staying outside. ¡°She and her girls just relocated here, and are looking for a studio.¡± Caleb assumed the girls were adopted, the woman in blue not exactly Asian. ¡°Can I meet them?¡± he asked Terra, nearing her office. ¡°Fine with me. You are one of our star dancers.¡±


    As he followed her into her small office, it was empty. ¡°Oh, guess they left¡­¡± Terra said, but Caleb didn¡¯t accept it as easily, and looked back down the hallway. Where had they gone? Picking up her large bundle of keys she called her personal key ring, Miss Terra didn''t look bothered. ¡°They¡¯ll be back. Not like they have any other options.¡±


    Caleb wasn¡¯t so sure. Yet, he was sure of one thing, and he couldn¡¯t explain why, and that was that he must find that girl. He had to help her! He had to find out why she was so sad!


    It never occurred to him that some people don¡¯t want to be saved. And that some were unsaveable.


    * * *


    Ally¡¯s place was outside of city limits on the other side of the Cowlitz River, into farmland and woods. Every time they pulled into the private road that would merge into her driveway, looking out at the cow field it paralleled, she could feel her heart sinking. That feeling of her freedom ending; the reality of the prison known as being a minor, forced by law to submit to wicked adults known as parents.


    This time was different.


    Ally truly had no idea of Feldyn was telling the truth, and it didn''t really matter. This last summer, Feldyn''s stories, Jessie''s murder, everything; she had made her choice. She was done, was going to leave this hell. No matter the consequences, Ally was leaving. Not just running away, she was leaving, and would never come back here, to this wicked house. She would choose juvie, or even death, before she let herself be brought back here.


    And that gave her a hope she hadn''t known since the first time she prayed to Jesus. Whom she had lately been questioning more and more, and hated herself for it. She believed, she tried not to sin, that was all it took to be saved, right? To... deny... herself... To not think... certain ways. Not to... feel... Even if you couldn''t help it....


    When they got close to her parent''s house, Ally immediately noticed her family''s creepy priest¡¯s creepier personal hearse, parked outside, next to aunt and uncle Jacobson''s SUV. ¡®Fuck¡¯ was about all that came to mind. Stryker put the cruiser in park near the front door.


    Do you want me to stay?¡± Stryker asked, knowing full well Ally¡¯s worries. ¡°I just want to get this over with,¡± she smiled, strong yet weak. ¡°He can be made to disappear,¡± Stryker told her, and she knew good and well what he meant. ¡°Thanks, but I can handle him.¡± It did mean a lot to the girl. ¡°Besides, he¡¯s old. No reason to start committing unclassified felonies. He¡¯ll die on his own soon enough.¡± Stryker knew Ally was right, but this priest deserved more than a natural death. Stryker knew he had done more to Ally than she would admit. Father Shiplin was around so many children in this county, yet no one would speak against him. Just one piece of evidence. One bit of proof. One witness testimony. That was all he would need to get rid of him for good, legally!


    Likely no one would believe, even with evidence, that this Father, an icon of the Catholic Church, beacon of goodness, would ever do a thing wrong. Sometimes, Stryker just believed people were ignorant as fuck, end of story. For no other explanation even came near to making sense. He never understood why the creepiest men in existence were always, always, trusted by mothers! The more creepy and rapey the vibe, the more mothers seemed to be willing to hand their children over. It made no fucking sense! Always, with the excuse that they ¡®seemed like such a nice man¡¯. Um, no lady, they seemed like a creepy-ass child molester.


    Standing on shaky legs, Ally closed her passenger¡¯s side door, and opened the back for Gigi, who just darted out and into the house without a word. ''Great, thanks a lot Gigi,'' Ally groaned in her head. Now she was forced to deal with everyone alone. She wouldn¡¯t have made Geeg confront the adults, but having her near would have been nice¡­ Willing herself not to look back, Ally walked up to and through her front door. Stryker didn¡¯t drive away until after it had been closed for many seconds.


    Her parents kept their large house open and vastly empty. The fake hardwood floors and near featureless walls, never echoed the way Ally expected. Instead, they almost absorbed sound, making it possible for her to sneak unnoticed up the stairs, avoiding the random laundry scattered about, and down the hall to her room. The fact she basically never wore shoes helped too. Though the sound-eating quality of the house also unfortunately allowed for others to be equally as silent. Ally never even heard the voice of Father Shiplin speaking, nor Sally crying, until she stepped in her room and right into their scene.


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    And where have you been?!¡± Ally¡¯s mom shouted at her, as if Stryker had never come by with his fake explanation. Sally sobbed, hugging Gigi, sitting on the edge of her room¡¯s small bed. The creepy priest had been seated in a chair, praying. This disgusting pig and his fake prayers! Ally hoped she was around to watch him die. The level of pure blasphemy from his fake piousness, she was sure it would be a fitting death. Shiplin ended his prayer to look back at the teen. His bald head always seemed greasy to her, even though his skeletal frame housed terribly dry and cracked skin.


    Ah, child, how are you?¡± His voice was pleasant. His eyes were on her crotch. Ally momentarily smelled that foul brandy and dog turd reek of his breath, deep in her memories. ¡°How is she?¡± Ally¡¯s mom laughed spitefully. ¡°What about the rest of us? Huh? Why is it always about her?¡± The look this beautiful young mother gave her daughter was one of hatred. ¡°This ungrateful failure?¡±


    Ally ignored her mother with a reflexive eye roll, and walked over to her bed, putting her and Gigi¡¯s bags down. ¡°I¡¯m just lucky, I guess,¡± she sighed and sat on the bed next to her cousins.


    Father Shiplin slapped Ally hard across the mouth when she turned her head towards him.


    Respect your mother, dear girl.¡± His voice was stern, as Ally held a hand to her cheek, stunned. And afraid. He was in one of his violent moods. And her mother stood there, with a satisfied grin on her evil face.


    ''Jesus, please help me to not kill them. Please? To not kill myself. To make it away from them. Please?''


    I¡¯m sorry, Mom,¡± Ally apologized, hanging her head. She clenched her toes instead of her fists, concealing her fury. And her pain. ¡°You will properly apologize and do penance for your sin later.¡± The sound in the old man¡¯s voice made Ally think she may actually need to end up killing him. ¡°I fear there won¡¯t be time today, Father,¡± Mrs. Thompson said, almost triumphantly. ¡°They need to be ready to leave in twenty minutes.¡± Now she smiled smugly. ¡°Your bags are already packed. Be out back in ten minutes, or I¡¯ll inform your father of your disobedience.¡±


    Ally did the only thing she could think of to end this situation; hanging her head, slap still burning on her cheek, she began to cry. To sob. To weep as hard and honestly as she could. She got so into her own tears, she hadn¡¯t noticed her mom and Shiplin left the room. It wasn¡¯t until she felt two sets of small arms hugging her that she came to her senses.


    It¡¯s okay, I was just trying to get them to leave!¡± Ally sniffled, and fought to stop her tears the best she could. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you little crapheads console me, jeez!¡± her faked irritation got a sheepish smile from Sally, who leaned back on the bed. Gigi was expressionless as she did the same.


    Sally was so pretty. She shared the fair skin gene of her mom and aunts, that all the girls had luckily inherited. Her eyes were green, blonde hair was bright, and the texture of Ally''s, cut in a bob that accentuated her pretty face. A face identical to Jessie''s.


    A pain stabbed the teen girl in her nostalgic heart, and she almost cried out. This was all too much, How could this be real? Poor Sally had been all alone, going through all of the agony of losing her sister, all alone!


    How did she die?¡± Sally asked, as tears ran again from her older cousins eyes; eyes now filled with a pained sympathy. ¡°They won¡¯t tell me¡­¡± the younger girl lowered her own green eyes to the floor, face contorting in an expression silent of horror.


    Not so unlike the expression frozen on the face of Jessie, when Ally had found her.


    What should Ally do? Respect the adults and lie? Or respect her nine-year-old cousin, and tell the truth?


    She was taken by Lyle¡¯s group, and they, uh¡­" Ally had to tightly close her eyes and take a deep breath, before she could continue. "... raped her, and strangled her.¡± Ally couldn¡¯t believe she managed to say that. It took everything to not think about it. The look on the surviving twin¡¯s face was unflinching. ¡°It was too late when I got there,¡± Ally admitted. Sally looked up into her older cousin¡¯s eyes, ¡°I want them to die. I want them dead, Allyssia.¡±


    Ally wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. Gigi interrupted her chance to think it over, ¡°They are dead!¡± Geeg announced with a smile. ¡°They made her die, but now they died!¡± Her innocent smile changed slightly. It almost looked like a satisfied grin. ¡°Now they went to Hell.¡± The out-of-character words from the little girl, only surprised the teen. Sally knew better. ¡°They''re dead? Did you¡­ Did they...?¡± Sally asked, ignoring the younger, an eager, almost pleasure, in her eyes.


    With a satisfied, smile of her own, Ally stood, ¡°Yes, they are all dead. And most died screaming.¡±


    * * *


    I¡¯m hungry,¡± Caleb grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re always hungry,¡± Pazely lectured, ¡°no one wants to hear you whine!¡± Caleb made a pouting face. ¡°I¡¯m not whining,¡± he whined. ¡°I¡¯m just hungry. Lets go to C&D and get burritos.¡± He loved cheap mini-mart hot-case food. Get a few free packets of taco sauce, and it went amazing on those overcooked burritos he loved so much.


    Rolling his eyes, Bryan knew arguing was pointless. When Caleb wanted food, it was like the only thing on his mind until he acquired it. Bryan¡¯s stomach growled loudly at the thought. It was getting late, after all.


    Stryker had gone back to the studio looking for them, and they, of course, had not been there. It took him a good bit to find the trio wandering a random side street. At that point, he had several calls holding, being one of only two officers on duty. Asked the kids if they would please wait to go home until he could take them, to make sure his story held about bringing them back. They had agreed, and not a one of them bothered to point out that he was going on calls, while they walked around town. It wasn¡¯t really a secret any of them were back.


    Oh well, Stryker was Stryker. And we all had our blond moments.


    See, you¡¯re hungry too,¡± Caleb pointed at Bryan, grinning like an idiot. Bryan¡¯s stomach had been quite loud¡­ ¡°And with what money are we going to buy food?¡± Bryan took his turn lecturing his taller friend. They stood along the side of Main Street, a one-way road, and not even the main street people used. It had a decent line of random businesses, including the post office, and the hardware store, so the name worked as good as any. ¡°We spent the twenty miss Terra gave us.¡± Three drinks for each of them earlier, plus chips, and candy for Pazely. Twenty bucks really didn''t go that far.


    Pazely hopped around for no apparent reason and Caleb kept grinning like a dipshit as they walked. Bryan''s stomach growled again, his irritation growing. ¡°Okay, fine!¡± Bryan consented and Pazely jumped to give Caleb a high five.


    Bryan was the only one of them to ever have money. He had a checking account, and filtered almost every penny into it that he could. His parents agreed to things easily, so getting their names on it was a cinch, the boy handling all the effort of the account himself. His parents were never motivated to do anything they had to be directly involved in. They also gave him an allowance. Also known as: he asked for money each month, and they said yes. Stryker had brought Bryan¡¯s wallet along with his change of clothes earlier, unfortunately.


    Why do you always make us ask?¡± Pazely complained, as they turned down a side street to head to the mini-mart gas station. ¡°Why do you always gotta ask?¡± he answered, and she kicked him in the ankle, which he ignored. He couldn''t tell Pazely no if he wanted to...


    After buying food, they stood beside the small gas station eating. Bryan sighed again at the total on the receipt. Not that he would complain too much, for he too liked the food here, especially the chicken. Bryan had no idea how any of them were going to keep from getting fat when they were older. Caleb with his burritos slathered in taco sauce, and Pazely with her pizza sticks she scooped (not dipped, scooped) into ranch.


    They all, of course, also shared with each other. None were picky eaters, they just had their preferences. Like how Bryan preferred ranch on burritos over pizza, Pazely preferred ranch on just about everything. Caleb? He just liked to eat.


    A lone motorcycle pulled up and parked, near where the three stood eating. The man riding it was wearing a leather jacket with a large machete emblazoned on the back. The Cutters. They were a small, local biker gang, and were total trash. Assholes and criminals all, they never passed up a chance to be dicks whenever and wherever they could.


    And Pazely never passed up the chance to annoy them whenever and however possible. This time, it manifested in pegging the dude in the chest with a near empty dip container of ranch while he was ignoring them. He wasn¡¯t ignoring them now! ¡°Do you want me to fucking kill you?!¡± the big hairy dude growled, turning on Pazely. She responded by hitting him in the chest with a full container. It splattered quite magnificently. Bryan had to admit to himself, he was relieved Stryker pulled into the lot, driving past the gas pumps, coming to a stop by the cheap motorcycle the douchebag was riding.


    Flashing the lights for a second, biker boy froze in place when the red and blues washed over him from behind. ¡°Got a problem here?¡± Stryker asked, rolling down his window. When the big bastard turned around and had ranch all over his chest, Stryker laughed out loud. He didn¡¯t feel bad, nor was he concerned a problem would start. In fact, he hoped this piece of shit would come at him. Why? Because after what happened to that sweet little girl Jessica, any known scumbags that even hinted at being a threat, was getting shot in the head.


    No problem. Was just leaving,¡± was the reply to the officer. And that was exactly what he did! Without hesitation or another word, the hairy dude got on his bike and left. ¡°Really?¡± Stryker asked Pazely disapprovingly. ¡°What? You laughed, didn¡¯t you?¡± she grinned, as she headed over to get in the cop car. Bryan picked up the garbage she had left on the ground from her ranch assault, and Caleb frowned when Paze got in the front instead of letting him. The out-stuck tongue let him know she wouldn¡¯t be moving.


    After throwing the garbage away in the trash can near the front door, Bryan got in the back with Caleb, and Stryker got them driving back up towards the dance studio. Towards Pazely¡¯s. As they neared her house, it started to register more with them that things were changing. That things had irreversibly changed. Walking around town doing their normal stuff, let them not think about it. Now, they were all going back to their private prisons, where there would be no way to avoid being confronted by the horrors of what had happened.


    No sooner than when they pulled in front of Pazely¡¯s near mansion of a house, Stryker got a call from dispatch. The kids got out and closed the doors quietly, but listened in as Stryker grabbed the mic from the dash, keyed it, and responded. ¡°One charlie seventeen, go ahead dispatch.¡± The dumbass call signs irritated Officer Stricksent to no end. The council decided A -Alpha- to go with medical, since it was a priority, and life came first. B -Bravo- went to near everything else that was secondary or ¡®backup¡¯. The cops got the third, and last assignment (C- charlie) because they just were. Stryker was also one four officers, not the seventeenth, or even seventh.


    We have a disturbance report on the south side of town, near the dike access road. It appears to be storm unrelated this time. We have gotten several calls involving this same thing, actually.¡± Did Martha have to talk so awkwardly on the radio? He waited several seconds, and when she didn¡¯t say anything else he keyed his mic, ¡°One charlie seventeen, dispatch¡­ What is the call, exactly?¡±


    Oh, guess I forgot to say. Reports are of a woman in a big blue dress banging on doors, begging people to save her. Callers stated said she didn¡¯t appear hurt, and ran off not long after they answered their doors.¡±


    Stryker sighed. ¡°Dispatch, did she say what she needed saving from, and what was her last known location?¡± He resisted the urge to punch something, waiting the infinite seconds as the well-meaning, middle-aged lady tried to find the information that she should already know. ¡°One charlie seventeen, she said a giant dog was trying to kill her, and was last seen running up the dike access.¡±


    The already chilly evening, rapidly approaching night, suddenly felt much colder. The nightmarish memory¡­ The reality of it all came back. Could it be a coincidence? Stryker barely registered telling dispatch he was responding. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.


    I shall head to that location,¡± Masque stated flatly. Pazely screamed bloody murder, and Stryker flapped around like a bird in a cage. Bryan and Caleb would have screamed like girls, had they not had the wind taken completely from them. ¡°What the fuck, man?!¡± Stryker gasped, gripping the steering wheel tightly. ¡°Announce your fucking self!¡± Masque actually blinked as he looked at Stryker, unflinching, standing near the drivers side window, next to the teenagers. ¡°I have been standing here for quite some time. Is it not all of you that need to improve awareness of your surroundings?¡±


    Pazely Rin!¡± came the angry shout from the Japanese woman on the front porch of the three story house. The bloodcurdling scream of terror Pazely had just sent into the night was probably heard throughout the entire neighborhood. Her mother did not like scenes.


    Masque did not like to be seen.


    I go,¡± he informed the group, in case his sudden departure would startle them as well. With that, Masque turned and bound straight towards the southern part of town. He ignored the wind, slicing through and around it. Pushing off from rooftops and power poles, his toes barely touching them. In seconds, he was at the presumed location.


    And Masque smelled nothing. The only thing capable of hiding their own scent, were very powerful beings. Greater demons would fit the role. One like the vampire queen X¡¯al¡¯antra, for instance. If she was here, and did not want Masque to sense her, then he would not have been able to. So it made the argument if she was a Terror, then those other Terrors should be of equal power, correct? The lycanthropeire was far from being one of these ''Three Terrors''.


    Not that Masque believed X¡¯al¡¯antra was one of them, if they existed at all.


    Without even knowing it, Masque agreed with Feldyn more than John. He believed something was amiss, something terrible and powerful was lurking in this town. But to think one such as the vampire queen herself, here? There was naught here that X¡¯al¡¯antra would trouble herself with! And if, even for a moment, Masque had thought she was near, he would have fled, fast and far. Odds were high that whatever these Terrors were, they were not the authentic queens and king, but pretenders. The witches have a queen, but zombies did not exist (aside from the alchemical) on a planet where magic was banned. Where Masque did agree, if John was right at all, was the odds of the alchemist, Ted, being the zombie king. But the queens X¡¯al¡¯antra and Shuzariel? Preposterous!


    Masque heard a woman scream from ahead of him, over one of the mountains of sand and silt (some could average over a mile long, and multiple stories high), towards the river. He not only could still could no demon, he also did not detect the scent of any living creature. Should he wait for the police officer? No, that human would be of no help. Curiosity overruling caution, Masque quickly rushed towards the screams; over the mountainous dune, through scrub brush, and sparse trees, to the low ground on the other side, nearest to the river.


    Now he knew what was going on. He should have done more than wait for the officer. He should have taken him and fled. Taken all of them and fled.


    Speaking of the power of a greater demon was one thing. Knowing the power of one was something else entirely. Looking at the demon before him, one that was likely not even a Terror; the power she radiated; it may even exceeded X¡¯al¡¯antra herself! Masque knew in his un-beating heart he was doomed. They were all most certainly doomed; unless he could find a way to escape.


    The imp was small. Her posture relaxed, and confident. The tiny two-piece outfit she wore, revealed a flat, smooth, childlike belly. Upon it, a layer of muscle that didn¡¯t exist in this world, teased the subconscious; playing with your eyes to tell you it was there, yet the more you looked, the less you could see it. And it wasn''t only on her abdomen, but arms and legs as well.


    Her hair was a rich black, pulled into a tight, elaborate, braid. The thin veins that ran along the hairline on her forehead, from temple to temple, squirmed and moved visibly, like so many little worms. In her crooked open-mouthed smile, he saw jagged teeth, resembling those of a shark, designed to be more cruel than to kill.


    Imps looked like prepubescent Asian girls, roughly eight to ten years of age. Though their height and build -always slender and athletic- varied as much as any human child could in that range. And in the case of imps, they would usually be indistinguishable from humans while on Earth.


    No demon fully appeared on Earth as they did within Hell itself. Every true demon outside of Hell, had an obligatory seal placed upon them, keeping their power in check, and muting their physical demonic traits. The more human a humanoid demon looked when in the mortal realm, the weaker they were. Any visible manifestation of your demonic self on Earth was a sign of a power so great, it pushed at the limits of the seal. Though demons could push the appearance limits of the seal, if willing, though doing such came with the risk of garnering attention they did not want.


    Imps were not known for their strength, being demons of subterfuge, seduction, and manipulation. Looking at the one before him, her muscles, veins, teeth¡­ Who was she?! Why was she here?!


    The great thrall, Masque,¡± The imp mocked, holding out her hands in a ¡®behold¡¯ sort of fashion. He tensed even more. She knows of me?! ¡°You don¡¯t seem so great to me. I mean, c¡¯mon, you look about ready to piss. If you could.¡± Deciding he had escape from here immediately, no matter the personal tax on his own energies, or risk of storms, Masque let his netherweave billow out in all directions, he did what he had not done in ages: shadowstepped.


    Vanishing in a puff of black smoke, Masque entered the nothingness between dimensions, the empty space between this and that, and reappeared instantaneously near the far end of the large sand dune - and right into a jumping Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea¡¯s fist.


    He stumbled to the ground, consciousness swirling. ¡°Calm down, fuckwad. Let¡¯s play a little before you die, ¡®aight?¡± the imp stood with hand on hips inches from where he lay. She moved so fast, she managed to jump in front of him, and punch him in the face, as he exited his shadowstep?! How did she know where he would reappear? Was she fast enough to dart to his location the instant she sensed him begin to exit?! That was impossible!


    As he lifted himself to his knees, his eyes crossed the child demons hips, and the small brief type bottoms she wore. They were barely more than enough to cover her vaginal area. Human leathers. Forged in Hell, and very well seasoned, it would appear. No doubt her small strapless bra-like top was of the same material.


    Demoness wore the skimpy leathers as a way to arrogantly display their strength. Their lack of a need for armor. Masque also noticed her toenails were wickedly pointed, no doubt with fingernails that matched.


    What do you want?¡± he hissed. ¡°Finally, he calms the fuck down,¡± she replied in a tone of irritated relief. The imps voice was odd to him. It was exaggeratedly childish. High pitched, and out of place. Unnatural, like an impediment in vocal development. But not altogether unpleasant. She turned and walked off, hands on hips the entire time. ¡°What I want is to kill some time during this bullshit night of drama. It''s still pretty early though, so you can''t die for awhile, got it? And no trying to escape! The two of you will stay back here by the river while you fight, no romping through town destroying shit."


    The imp turned back around, eyes on something behind him. Masque was quickly to his feet, and turned to see the woman in the blue dress, standing on the other side of a large mud puddle. Her hair was up and elegant. Her dress was unblemished.


    Sic ¡®em, bitch!¡± the imp called. A manastorm flash-cracked as the woman¡¯s dress shredded, flesh bursting out in all directions; meat and innards raining everywhere, as a huge, mostly black canine lycanthropeire exploded from the faux body that contained it.


    Masque dodged, rolling far to the side; the beast rushing passed him. Jumping straight up when she nimbly turned and lunged, Masque, netherweave again billowing, used it to propel himself fist first into the lycanthropeire''s spine.


    Barely knocking the wind from this powered up version of the same lycanthropeire Ally had released, Masque dodged backwards. Once he cleared some distance, Masque could see how much the bitch demon had changed. She was roughly a third smaller than when first released. Her fur looked more wolfish, and was a deep, oily, fetid black, with some brown mixed in, eyes were so deeply red they too almost looked black.


    Her blood no longer boiled, instead acting like an acid. An acid that caused enough damage, it could dissolve his shadowcloth, and burn into the tissues beneath. It was quite possible that if he were to be splashed with this lycanthropeire¡¯s blood, he may literally dissolve.


    At least the imp was staying off to the side.


    The lycanthropeire was back on her feet and charging him. Masque stood his ground, jumping at the last possible second to avoid the jaws- the imp suddenly beside him in the air, spiking him like a volleyball into the sandy ground. Apparently, the imp was not committed to being sidelined...


    Rolling as soon as he hit, even tumbling he was still faster than this beast dog. Getting a knee under him, Masque sprung to the side, behind both imp and beast. He forced himself to look panicked, which wasn¡¯t all that difficult given the situation. His netherweave was still strong, though he allowed its billowing mass to shrink, appearing more depleted than it was. Masque said a silent prayer his ploy would work, and shadowstepping he went, into the rich, paper thin cut of shadow, feeling wind, yet no wind, as he slid through its solid abyss, to exit in the place of his choosing in the single bat of an eyelash.


    The moment he had stepped within, Masque had dawn his nightblade. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea hadn¡¯t hesitated, and casually jumped in front of him the moment she sensed him begin to step out ¨C right into his blade, embedding it to the hilt in her chest.


    ''Well, this is embarrassing'', the imp grudgingly admitted to herself as a manastorm flashed overhead. Fighting at such a boringly low level of combat on this world was harder than it seemed!


    When the sword pulled from her chest and this costumed idiot attempted a spinning slash to remove her head, she casually stepped beside him, his expression shocked when he sliced open air. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea chakra-punched the thrall in the ribs, a weeee bit more powerful than intended. The force of the concussive blow launched him across the battlefield and into the sand-dune-mountain-thing.


    Oops! She had to be careful not to kill him! The doggy could live, or die, or whatever, but if she killed off the ninja vamp too soon, what would she do the rest of the night? If her sisters followed their aunt''s  instructions, they would probably be too busy to keep her company. Iiyni''jeari''eea had decided to shirk her own duty. Why not? Why cared if the tall skinny kid died? Fuck X''al''antra! They could still pull off the bullshit without him.


    Groaning, the imp ordered the mutt to go find the thrall, before he got away.


    Fortunately (or unfortunately) for the imp, Masque no longer had any intention of escaping. He would fight, and he would either win or¡­ or he would be saved. He refused to accept that he would die here. He would not give up! And the only way out that he could think of, no matter how hopeless¡­ no matter how¡­ absurd¡­ were those people.


    * * *


    Have fun! Don¡¯t get eaten by anything!¡± Pazely cautioned, as he turned the car around. Stryker looked out the passenger¡¯s side window, past the three kids to the angry Mrs. Nakajima on the porch. ¡°You too,¡± he returned the advice. ¡°Dad¡¯s not home, Mom¡¯s all bark,¡± Pazely assured, then winced at the unintended pun, before mouthing, ''thank you.'' Stryker looked at the boys now, ¡°You two sure you don¡¯t want dropped off in town? Lord only knows how long it might be, and it''s almost dark.¡± They just shook their heads no. ¡°Alright, your parents won¡¯t care or know anyway, I ¡®spose. And y¡¯know what? I¡¯m getting you kids some damn cellphones! Hell with your parents, I¡¯ll keep them in my name, and you can keep them at the studio or something, this shit¡¯s ridiculous.¡±


    He was tired of needing to hunt for them instead of sending a simple damn text! Occasionally, Caleb had a pay-by-the-minute phone, but his dad always found and tossed it. And Bryan¡¯s parents, usually very agreeable, said no to him having a cell, probably because they didn¡¯t feel like having the responsibility of it in their name. Ally¡¯s mom was convinced the girl only wanted one to take and distribute pornography of herself, and Pazely¡¯s parents, God only knew!


    I want a studded, pink, princess-looking case!¡± Pazely gasped, only by the sheer grace of God, not squealing. Then she scowled as her mother shouted again. ¡°You can pick your own cases online or something," the cop promised, ignoring the angry lady. "I¡¯ll go all out on phones, so decide what you want, and tell me tomorrow. Choose nice ones, don¡¯t worry about price.¡± All three grinned and looked about to cheer. Stryker was freaking awesome!


    See ya in the morning, ¡± with that, Stryker headed out down the road. He didn¡¯t bother rolling up either window, even if it was freezing him to the point of shivering. His adrenaline had come down, and was feeling sleeping. The cold would keep him alert. Not that he was expecting to fight anything. Even if that monster dog was on the dike, the strange ninja guy could kill it easily, since there wasn¡¯t gonna be a little girl to protect. The memory made Stryker angry. The shame of being saved by child, while he watched impotently, was bad. What happened to her, oh, he wished the one to kill that damn dog could be him.


    Crossing the train tracks at the base of the hill, shaking now from more than just the cold, he had a horrible feeling, and pressed harder on the gas, speeding through stop signs. The guy in black, Masque, he was in danger. Stryker was sure of it. How, didn''t matter, he just knew it in his gut.


    It was silent when Stryker reached the dike access.


    He stopped the car in the middle of the road, and listened. After a couple of seconds, he heard commotion on the dike. No explosions, or screams, but something was going on, and it sounded dramatic. Popping the trunk, he hurried to get the rifle and the bandolier of grenades taken from Reba''s place. Doing a once over on the rifle, making sure it was loaded, tossed them both on the passenger¡¯s seat, and peeled the tires out.


    What was he doing? Simple- a little blonde girl and someone in a ninja suit (a vampire or some damn thing) had saved his life, and for reasons unknown to him, Stryker felt that the favor needed to be returned. And fast. Stryker wasn¡¯t one to abandon a comrade, even at his own loss of life. And this¡­ person, was more than currently worthy of being considered a comrade-in-arms. Even if this whole pile of shit still didn¡¯t make any sense!


    Masque crashed hard onto the passenger¡¯s side of the hood, left arm breaking through the windshield.


    FUCK!¡± Stryker shouted, slamming the brakes. Masque weakly looked into the officer''s eyes, without moving an inch ¡°¡­. Help¡­.¡± he said in a rasp, as his unblinking eyes, no longer glowing their icy blue, glazed over.


    The large man in black didn¡¯t move.


    Numerous holes dotted his large frame, some looked like tears or rips. Not a spec of his skin could be seen, only the raw, bloodless meat, within the wounds.


    Oh hell no, you are not dead!¡± Stryker shouted into the blank eyes. ¡°You are not fucking dead!¡± Then it occurred to him, if this man was a vampire¡­ could he die? How does one even kill a vampire? Had one of the puncture wounds gotten his heart? That killed vampires, right? Or maybe-


    His thoughts were interrupted when the giant dog from the other night (different color, but must be the same one, right?) landed silently on the road a ways in front of him. It snarled viciously, and Stryker didn¡¯t hesitate a second: putting the car in park, then grabbing the rifle, he jumped out of the car and knelt (more like stumbled to a knee); shouldering it, and opened fire. His kneel unstable, going with reflex and momentum, Officer Stricksent rolled, continuing to fire.


    The demon yowled in pain, as it leapt directly into the assault, the bullets piercing it''s body with ease, flesh burning. Doing obvious damage to the monster, Stryker, was on his feet, strafing the enemy that was now on the other side of his car.


    Belle''anne, shocked by the assault, had hit the ground, stumbled, and skid on her side, and howled, thrashing to regain her footing under the barrage of bullets.


    Then Stryker ran out of ammo.


    Aw, fuck me!¡± He should have been concentrating his fire on her head! Clearing the distance back to his cruiser quickly, deciding he had no time to reload with the mags on the other side of the vehicle, he instead tossed the assault rifle inside, and grabbed the bandoleer of grenades.


    Almost panicking, he took just one grenade out and dropped the rest, needing to throw himself across the road again to avoid getting eaten. Stryker was surprised that the beast, failing another leaping dash, again stumbled a good ways along the road. It was seriously injured! You really could kill one of these things!


    When the blood that was every where caught his attention, he remembered what happened to Gigi, and did a brief freakout look-over of himself. The road was fucking melting from it, and as luck would have it, there was none on his person.


    The beast finally turned to him, not exactly planning to give up the fight. Stryker ripped the pin out of the grenade with his teeth (and made a note that if he survived, to never do that again. Looked cool in movies, but was uncomfortable as fuck), and threw it as hard as he could at the creature, hoping it would land near. Instead, it hit the monster in the right shoulder- and stuck there.


    It exploded with a small pop into many tiny objects, and a half second after, all popped again, into small purple clouds. And oh, did the demon howl! For all over its body, it bubbled and boiled and melted where the cloud touched it. Worse pain than Belle¡¯anne had ever before experienced, she thrashed and cried loudly, trying to extinguish her own agony though the release of sound.


    That¡¯s for Gigi, you fuck!¡± Stryker yelled at the staggering, melting, and maimed monster. The beast that not so long ago had caused a very similar thing to a little girl he loved very much.


    Knowing he had to make sure it actually died, Stryker returned to the cruiser, retrieved the rifle and ammo, and sat in the drivers seat to reload. He would toss another grenade, then unload the rifle into the thing, before calling in every form of backup possible.


    Then someone else landed on his hood, with no impact. For a split second, he thought it was Pazely. A thought that fled immediately. The small girl was wearing a bikini even Ally wouldn''t risk, had sharp pointed evil monster teeth, squiggly veins on her forehead, and her naked toes, and fingers, were punctured through the hood of the car.


    The assault rifle he never paused in loading, he quickly started unloading into the new assailant¡¯s (another vampire?) face. She quickly looked down, so the bullets hit her in the forehead. They were obviously tearing up her skin, but ricocheted off her skull, like it was made of steel. Even though the bullet''s weren''t piercing, they were doing something, and the monster kid let go of the hood to shield her head with an arm, then let go with the other hand to to do the same. Stryker quit shooting and rifle butted the obviously evil little thing in the face, leaning as far out the shattered windshield as he could, to give a good shove. Falling back onto the seat, he and unloaded the remainder of the clip, finally knocking her backwards off the hood.


    Not remembering if the car was even running, he cranked the engine hard and put it in reverse. Slamming on the gas without looking behind him, Stryker grabbed Masque¡¯s left arm so he wouldn¡¯t fall off, and was not expecting it when the child jumped back on the hood. He was even more startled when the little bitch was suddenly leaning through windshield, holding his throat.


    Slamming on the breaks, Stryker caused her to lose balance, toppling inside, which made her release his throat. Masque also slid farther into the passenger¡¯s side. Grabbing blindly for something with his right hand, it landed on a grenade, which he took, and started bashing the insanely strong little monster in the side of the head with, trying to knock her out the still open driver¡¯s side door. When she looked into his eyes and grinned, Stryker didn''t bother with another hit, shoved her instead, finally knocking her out of the car.


    She was on her feet almost as soon as she hit, so Officer Stricksent pegged her in the face with the grenade (after ripping the pin out for the second time today with his teeth), threw the car into gear, and floored it. The child monster just stood there and sighed, letting him speed away.


    He yanked the e-brake and turned into a hard skid, intending to do a one-eighty, instead the cop car side-pitched to a halt near where the giant, injured dog should have been. In its place was a severely burned and maimed woman on her knees, naked and screaming. And from the look of her, she wasn¡¯t screaming loud enough¡­


    The cute little Asian monster, could no longer be seen, as a cloud of purple concealed the area she had been standing. Grateful Masque hadn¡¯t fallen out of the car yet, Stryker again peeled-out, as he sped directly at the purple cloud. At the last second, unsure what effect the cloud would have on the vehicle, he angled to go around, and back down the dike access.


    * * *


    As the cloud dissipated, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea stood where she had been when the grenade went off. Her leathers weren¡¯t even scratched, and not a hair on her head was damaged. That shit had stung! Those bullets had burned like a mother too! Sex demons were soft and squishy to replicate humans during sex, but their bones were practically impervious to damage, and their organs were shift-able, and coated in a thick membrane almost as strong as their bones. Then there was the healing factor, that repaired wounds at a speed based off the individuals strength.


    Nothing had gone her way. In fact, she had almost flat failed her personal role in her own scheme. Yet, the fact Masque escaped and a random cop did so much damage (she was giving him credit for inflicting pain) to her and the worthless mutt¡­ was kinda exciting. A man with the chains of sin, using holy runed weapons, and wasn''t Order.


    She grinned.


    Maybe, just maybe, sitting back and watching what these people did this night would be a teensy bit entertaining after all.


    Belle¡¯anne tried to stifle her whimpers and cries, because when Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea began to cackle with laughter¡­ Belle¡¯anne remembered there were much worse things in this world than pain.


    RIN!¡± Pazely¡¯s mother practically screamed. "Has your mother always called you Rin when mad?" Caleb asked her. None of them knew each others parents well, and Pazely''s the least. Even being allowed inside the front door was super rare. ¡°Since my entire life, whenever I¡¯m in trouble. But lately she¡¯s been acting like a possessed psycho! Standing outside AND SCREAMING!!!¡± Paze showed her dominance as she out-screeched her mother.


    She hated this crap! Her mom became like an entirely different person a few months ago. But of course, it isn¡¯t the adult, it¡¯s the kid that¡¯s changed because it¡¯s just ¡®that age¡¯, and the adult has always been the same. She groaned. This was going to be a long night! ¡°Meet you guys at the studio in the morning, k?¡± Paze smiled to the boys, before running off to her mother.


    Caleb reached for her instinctively, words dying in his throat, and she hurried away. Despite all of his stupidity, and apparent calm, he wasn''t handling things well. Was still obsessing on the girl he saw at the studio, mind spinning with the dispatch Stryker received, voices in his head causing confusion, and now to top it all off, the last time he had seen Pazely go in that house¡­


    Why did he care about that girl at the studio?! He had just gotten Pazely back, that''s where he should be focusing! Well, technically he had had her back and just forgot or something¡­ But still! Why were his priorities so royally fucked up right now? Like, it actually just fucking now dawned on him the last time he saw Ally, may be the last time he saw her! What the fuck, wasn¡¯t she getting shipped off somewhere?! Gigi too!


    You already had this revalation, numbnuts.


    Wait, had he? No, he was thinking about... Hadn''t thought of Ally at all until... now. Right?


    She¡¯s been fine since she got back,¡± Bryan reassured what he assumed his friend was stressing over. ¡°Those two do that constantly, but she¡¯s been okay. Her dad is hardly ever home anymore. Not that he ever was much to begin with.¡± Bryan turned to start walking back to town, and Caleb followed, though he kept looking back at the lights of Pazely''s house.


    You believe that I forgot?" Caleb asked, and Bryan shrugged. "Why not. You''ve never been much of a liar. And, I don''t know... you seem more like yourself." They walked a moment before Caleb asked another question, "Did we ever find out what happened?¡± Bryan shrugged again, and they walked in silence, all the way to the road that led back down to the train tracks, and began downhill. ¡°She won¡¯t talk about it,¡± Bryan spoke, breaking the silence. He sounded a bit defeated. Taking a deep breath, ¡°Honestly man, what had been worrisome, was you.¡±


    Me?¡±


    Screeching brakes caught their attention, and they both froze, directing their gazes downhill into town. It was pretty much a straight shot to the train tracks from where they were, and headlights were racing towards them, but it was too dark and far to make out more than that, despite their being streetlights on the other side of the tracks. As the vehicle got closer, they could see the light bar on the roof. Stryker! Why did he have no lights or sirens? Especially since he was speeding like crazy! Where the hell was he going?!


    Caleb and Bryan stepped to the side, watching in silence as the cruiser jumped the tracks, speeding up the hill and rocketing past. Stryker didn¡¯t seem to notice them, Masque hanging halfway through the completely gone windshield, vehicle steaming and smoking.


    The two boys stood in shocked silence, as the taillights quickly disappeared around the bend. ¡°You think he was going to the studio, maybe? Going to go through the tunnel and get Reba?¡± Caleb asked, sounding rightly confused. Bryan didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Maybe we should head that way too?¡± was Caleb¡¯s third question, which Bryan also did not answer.


    Abruptly, there came a loud whooshing sound, and both teens ducked, the noise similar to having a jet fly over your head.


    The stars in the sky vanished, and everything tinted with a ruby glare, presumably from the bright, blood-red moon.


    The boys looked around in stunned silence for a few moments, and when Caleb finally tried to voice words, they caught in his throat; a maddening din of noises had erupted throughout the night air.

 Chapter 9: Night of the Blood Moon

    Come one, come all, gather ¡®round, bring the town!


    The circus has come, and will not let you down!


    The vile circus,


    the blood,


    the fear.


    But above all¡­ quite queer.


    The peanuts are poo,


    the donkey a tree.


    But between you and me,


    oh please, try to agree!


    Can¡¯t you see?


    Don¡¯t you know?


    They¡¯ll put on a show!


    Can¡¯t you hear? They will jeer, and they¡¯ll shoo!


    At you - they will boo, and will run.


    For destroying a show, is more than you know.


    Killer or hun - they resent you.


    They present you:


    as the crown of their show!


    Chasing, biting, and clawing!


    Just joking! Only poking.


    For fun, my little hun, they pegged you with an apple! Oranges, and some fruit!


    Limes? Not a one for their stupid crimes,


    the show I must watch, as should you.


    Painted, the clown''s butt lies.


    Crying, the child¡¯s eyes,


    has seen sights fit, not for the hitting of pies.


    For this circus of madness, and filth and dirt,


    can still be fun, to watch all get hurt!


    The bearded lady has shaved her face.


    The elephant man, is not such a disgrace.


    Pass those poo peanuts!


    Some caramel!


    Not caramel?


    Who cares?


    Not as should be,


    not peanuts, nor lemonade.


    What was made, not an aid¡­


    I see fizzy pee, and you would probably agree


    NOT-


    to drink fizzy pee with me!


    At this crazy circus we so hated,


    that which made this drink, and gyrated¡­


    by the looks of it all¡­ was dehydrated!


    ~Ramblings of a Drunken Fool, XXI


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    The cacophony of noises that assaulted the two boys, confused them more than the loud whooshing sound had, or the bright red moon, with its subsequent ruby glare that flooded everything beneath. It had been near silent, but now, in this sudden red darkness, the noises from every direction were hard to take in, let alone make sense of.


    There was beeping and thumps of heavy machinery - like a large construction yard in a city. Someone was yodeling on a loud speaker. Random animal noises from all around them: elephants, tigers, monkeys, birds; and to Bryan¡¯s horror, what sounded like dinosaurs. There were glass shattering sounds, gunshots, the breaking of waves on a shore, engines being revved, and instruments of all types being played.


    And each sound seemed to be coming from a specific place. Like all of these things weren¡¯t just randoms sounds, but were actually happening somewhere. Just so much was happening all at once, picking out the different sounds was mind-boggling. Not a deafening din, but a confusing one.


    Bryan and Caleb were still standing speechless when they heard, then saw, a group of motorcycles heading towards them from down the hill. And the riders were... yipping?


    Both teens hurried across the grassy shoulder of the road they were standing on, easily making it to the tree line in time to conceal themselves. Watching from the trees, both wished they had not looked. The men on the bikes were not men at all, but reality-defying caricatures of canine cartoon characters: big goofy eyes, long faces, tongues lolling, ranging from poodle, to wolf, to coyote. They weren¡¯t cutesy-looking either.


    No shadows,¡± Caleb said as soon as they passed. It took Bryan a moment, then he noticed it too. He was so unsettled by the furries from hell, it didn¡¯t even irritate him that Caleb noticed it first. Not to mention, Caleb was wrong. Or partially. This eerie red glow illuminated objects good as daylight. Better, actually. Yet nothing was casting shadows from it. The street light farther down the hill, and the lights on the motorcycles, were creating shadows. The red light was not.


    Were those¡­ the Cutters?¡± Caleb asked, eyes still trained on the empty road in front of them. Bryan had seen the image on the back of their jackets. It was modern day obnoxious kids cartoon art of a dog holding cutting sheers, under the name ¡®The Clippers¡¯. ¡°I have no fucking idea,¡± Bryan answered, a bit miffed his own voice sounded spacey and distant, though relieved there was no panic in it. Or in him. Yet.


    There was a huge explosion from off to their left, in the hills, past Pazely''s and the dance studio.


    ... Pazely!


    We gotta go back!¡± Caleb was out of the trees and in the road, running up the hill before Bryan had a chance to respond. ¡°Get Pazely, then to the studio?¡± Bryan asked, easily at Caleb¡¯s side in their uphill run. ¡°Ally and them are too far to get to. Maybe they were lucky and already left,¡± Caleb hoped (Pointless)(Pray Caleb, ask for guidance and protection!) that for once the blonde had listened and was out of the area.


    Imagine Ally¡¯s entrails covering her walls!


    They got out. If you refuse to pray, then focus on the here and now.


    He also trusted Ally to be able to take care of herself. Didn¡¯t stop him from being horribly worried about her. Pazely? She wasn¡¯t exactly helpless, but was still such a little girl (Make her pussy bleed!)(Must you be so vile?!) at heart, she didn¡¯t have the everyday survival skills to be alone. Would Pazely die? Never! Would she get caught, arrested, beaten (Bacon!), raped (RAPE!)(sigh), etcetera? Probably. Though she would take quite a few out before they got her. Caleb had no intention of putting her (penis) in any (assholes)(Caleb, for all our sakes, focus!) such situation. Memories and mind be damned, he just got her back!


    Ream that little asshole till it creams!


    ¡®Shut up!¡¯ Caleb shouted in his mind.


    Thank you. Promise I¡¯ll find a way to get him out. Again, prayer, requesting the Spirit...


    We can run by Pazely¡¯s since it¡¯s not-¡± Caleb stopped mid-sentence. In front of them, as they rounded a bend, were what appeared to be naked, pink, hairless (like no eyebrows, or hair on their heads even) men, cartwheeling across the road. Not even cartwheeling exactly, arms and legs were held out in an X shape, wheeling along stiff and smooth as an actual wheel.


    Ooo, shiny! Lick one.


    Be careful, Caleb!


    They would come out of the trees on both sides of the street, cartwheeling across until they vanished from sight into the opposite tree line. Caleb wasn¡¯t sure if it was an endless stream of these individuals, or the same people going back and forth. ¡°The fuck?¡± both boys mumbled, standing there staring. What else could you really say?


    Just like when they both screamed ¡°FUCK!¡± as two T. rex looking dinosaur things crashed from the trees to their right. Luckily, these giant lizard creatures that resembled a Tyrannosaurus (but with ram horns, Stegosaurus fins on their backs, and no arms at all) didn¡¯t seem to even notice the scared shitless teenagers, making a beeline for the endlessly cartwheeling line of pink dudes.


    Caleb and Bryan began to slowly walk backwards, hearts pounding a freezing acid fear, minds hardly able to take in what was happening.


    When the giant lizard things reached the line of pink albinos, they began snapping them up and ripping them apart.


    The stream of cartwheelers didn¡¯t stop from either direction, yet the ones caught opened their mouths, shrieking the sounds of a dying rabbit, their blood yellow in the moonlight. One of the lizards leaned down, and extended a long snake tongue, to lap at some of the blood on the ground.


    W-w-w-w-w-w-we h-h-have to g-g-get to Pazely!¡± Caleb¡¯s teeth were chattering so hard he sounded retarded. It wasn¡¯t even cold anymore, in fact, it seemed to be quite warm.


    You may want to run, numbnuts.


    Pay attention!


    The lizard licking up the blood had turned to consider the two when it heard Caleb¡¯s voice. Opening its mouth to screech like a house cat. ¡°Run,¡± Bryan said calmly, neither of the boys moving. The gigantic lizard started to walk towards them. ¡°Run. Run. RUN!¡± That last ¡®run¡¯ kocking them both out of their fear paralysis. They turned and sprinted, quickly losing control in their downhill momentum.


    Tripping, rolling and tumbling; their panicked downhill sprint more than a little foolish. Caleb¡¯s heart was slamming, the cuts and bruises he was acquiring went unnoticed; expecting at any moment to feel hideous pain from being eaten alive.


    Instead, he heard howling, hissing, and spitting. Caleb got to a knee, fell, then got his feet back under him. Terrified to look back, he did anyway, and saw yet another unexplainable sight. A pink saber-toothed tiger was attacking the dinosaur thing that was chasing him and Bryan.


    Only a quick glance at his friend, and the two resumed their run downhill. Dammit! They had to get to Pazely! What other choice did they have right now other than retreat?!


    Reaching the train tracks at the bottom of the hill without incident, the two males sprinted across. As they reached the other side, a train suddenly began to rush past behind them. Both cried out in surprise. The train (which had come out of literal nowhere) blared a horn that emanated a wail from a beyond the grave.


    The jet black train was speeding faster than any train they had seen through here. It was also covered in unreal man-shaped creatures of nightmare.


    Without a word to each other, they turned and continued their run into town. Their immediate intentions were simple: steal a car and get back to their friends. There was no ¡®die trying¡¯. They had to live. They had to get to Pazely. They had to find Reba, John, and Feldyn. Had to locate Stryker and Masque. Surely, whatever was happening, the others were still alive!


    About a block from the intersection before C&D, an unfamiliar voice called out, ¡°Caleb! Caleb, over here!¡± He had almost not registered it, his noisy mind distracted, pulse pounding in his ears. Stopping and looking around, Bryan also stopped, gasping, confusion on his face. ¡°Caleb! Bryan!¡± the female voice called out again, and this time Bryan heard it.


    Looking off to their right, next to a building in the town¡¯s lumber yard, Caleb saw a pretty teenage female leaning around the corner. Her straight black hair was loose as it hung just past her shoulders; eyes concerned, but not showing the fear you would expect.


    Hurry up you two, c¡¯mon!¡± Rashelle urged. Despite it all, Caleb was flummoxed. Faced with the girl he was supposedly dating, the near and present horrible death all over the fuck, was momentarily overridden.


    Dude, move!¡± Bryan snapped, from where he now stood, next to Rashelle, on the other side of the chain link fence.


    Trying to refocus his thoughts (yeah right), Caleb hurried over to the twelve foot fence, easily locating the broken part of it, and slid through. This was his hometown, after all. Rashelle and Bryan had run ahead some, alongside a building deeper into the lumber yard.


    Over here,¡± she said when he caught up to them, motioning to a large pile of wooden planks. Caleb was surprised to see some kind of tiny structure within the large pile of planks.


    Rashelle ducked inside the short doorway, followed by the other two, and quickly closed the door behind them. She slid a huge board across it, effectively locking it from the inside. The only light was from the red glow, peaking in from outside. Neither Caleb nor Bryan had known this was here. How many times had they cut through the lumber yard, going right past this exact spot. never once noticing it?


    Oh, I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay,¡± the pale skinny girl said in a relieved whisper, throwing herself in Caleb¡¯s arms and kissing him fiercely. His first kiss.


    And he was epically disappointed.


    He lightly pushed her back, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay too.¡± He was also glad he sounded unshaken, and sincere. Bryan was probably loving this... ¡°Why are you here, Rashelle? We need to get Pazely and get somewhere safe.¡± The unremembered girlfriend frowned in the red gloom, giving him a bemused expression. ¡°You and your Pazely obsession. I thought you were over that, hon. Or was Ally the most recent?" She waved a hand, dismissing her musing, "doesn''t matter. Pazely''s fine. It''s me you should worry about." Rashelle had a fake pouty tone in her voice. It was really obnoxious.


    We need to make sure she is okay,¡± Caleb urged, quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t abandon those I care about!¡± Rashelle didn¡¯t flinch, ¡°You abandoned me.¡± Caleb didn¡¯t really know what to say to that. More so as she leaned in and put a hand on his groin and lightly squeezed. He assumed it was intended to be sexual, but he wasn¡¯t really one that liked to be fondled. He wanted to do the fondling. Not to mention what she was doing was horribly uncomfortable.


    Shit in her mouth!


    ''She¡¯s my girlfriend, and doesn¡¯t even know I hate this?''


    Do not trust her.


    Taking her hand and removing it, he resisted the urge to growl, ¡°I am going back to get Pazely, like it or not. You can come with us, or you can stay here, and we will come back for you.¡± Releasing her wrist, Caleb moved towards the door. ¡°What is wrong with you?¡± she pouted, moving to be in front of him.


    All the crazy shit going on, and now he had this annoying girl (Punch the bitch in the face!) (I might agree for a change¡­) trying to tell him what to do? Fuck these damn voices! Was any of this even happening, or was it all in his head?


    You ain¡¯t ever gonna find out.


    Focus on Christ, let him be your constant!


    I don¡¯t even know you,¡± he said, louder than he meant to, at the girl blocking his way. Bryan put a hand on his shoulder, ¡°Dude, calm yourse-¡± Caleb slapped his hand away. ¡°People are in trouble! My friends, everyone!¡± He was seething. ¡°Get over your stupid female jealousy, and get the fuck out of my way! NOW!¡± Without waiting for a response, he pushed Rashelle to the side, lifted the plank, and opening the door, he rushed out into the lumber yard.


    * * *


    Pazely grabbed a change of clothes, hurrying out of her room, where her mother had randomly come in and started chewing her out for no reason, going from Japanese to English so fast and random, the teen was having a hell of a time keeping up. Locking herself in the main upstairs bathroom, giving a sigh of relief when her mother¡¯s bitching stopped. Jeeeeeeez! What was her freaking problem tonight?! Early menopause or something?!


    Dimming the lights, and turning on the ceiling vent, Pazely began to strip off her clothes. She absolutely loved this bathroom! It was huge! The floor was tiled, and had several drains. The counter had four sinks, and a huge mirror on the wall, which went past the counter, and down to the floor in a full sized body mirror. One large shower stall, curtained off, and a bathtub large enough for at least five people. There were no toilets, however. She also loved that it had no windows, just vents. Being able to turn off all the lights and bathe with it pitch black was just one of those random quirky things Pazely loved to do.


    She had no clue why her parents insisted on such a large bathroom. They may be of Japanese descent, but they were Americans. Meaning that bathing together never happened. Can you imagine how bad the legal system would flip out, a dad bathing with his teenage daughter? In fact, Pazely¡¯s dad was insanely uptight about nudity. She wore a slightly too short of skirt, and from his reaction, you would think that the FBI was about to arrest them all at any moment.


    Not that it ever stopped her from running around half-naked. Fuck her dad! That abusive, worthless DICK!


    Pazely also had no siblings. Which she was both happy and sad about. Though she would never admit it -hardly even had to herself, a little sister would have been nice. As long as she was cute and not obnoxious.


    Standing there naked, hair still up in twintails, looking in the mirror, she wondered if she could ever sneak Caleb in here with her. Her smile turned to a frown, remember running into Caleb''s room. The most humiliating moment of her life. Caleb''s dumb ass didn''t make it much better. He got all weird, and wouldn''t look at her, eventually explaining he thought he was hearing voices or something, and they were saying bad things about her. Yeah right. She swore, the excuses he came up with to avoid sexual situations... at least he didn''t start talking about Jesus.


    Guilt made her look away from the mirror -she had been posing quite lewdly- and mumble an apology to God. He understood. Caleb was right, after all, but good grief, everything else they did to no judgment, yet Caleb got all weird over sex. Her and Bryan had been positive Caleb and Ally were doing it for months. Neither said anything, because it didn''t matter. Better Ally than Rashelle. Pazely wasn''t even all that jealous. It wasn''t like she was in love with him or anything. He was a good friend, and he was cute, and, well... why not do stuff with him, if he ever wanted to? Not sex, just... kissing and stuff. Voices in his head... pffft. It''s called hormones. At least he liked her body enough to be cursed with the evil voices, when he saw it.


    For a moment, she thought of Ally, and wondered if kissing her would be fun.


    Shaking that last thought, cursing herself violently about how that was gross, and would never think it again, she stomped over to start filling the huge tub, and was taken completely off guard from a massive BOOM.


    Pazely stood in silence, not wanting to go back out and deal with her mom to find out what happened, and figured if it was important there would be pounding on the bathroom door any moment. Probably a gas line blew up a neighbor or something. That happens, right? Far as she knew though, everyone in town was electric. Random crazy thunder? Or maybe...


    Dammit, no way to relax without knowing for sure! Grabbing a towel, she went to the door- it was locked. From the outside.


    The hell!? Pazely called for her mom. There was no reply. Yelling for her again, beginning to feel the first waves of panic, she heard something. Not even sure what, or if anything, her body still went cold.


    Holding her breath, she listened... Was that... giggling? ... It was. And it sounded like her mother. ¡°Mom?¡± Pazely whispered. With her ear almost against the door now, there was another sound.... definitely giggles, but... was that gagging? Choking? Like someone... drowning.


    The giggling, drowning noises, got closer.


    Backing away, Paze dropped her towel without realizing it. What was going on?! Now the giggling was right outside, broken by choking gurgles.


    Something began scratching at the door.


    And Pazely¡¯s heart went cold when she heard the voice of her mother, father, the director at the asylum, and someone speaking in Latin, all in unison speak from the other side: ¡°WhAt¡¯S wRoNg My prEtTy DaughtEr? Are we¡­ SICK!?¡± That last word surged adrenaline in her, like being startled awake in a nightmare. That disorienting moment of terror, when you wake with a start and a gasp.


    Only, Pazely wasn¡¯t dreaming. This was real.


    She vomited on the floor


    * * *


    This evening was going from spectacularly bad to a lot worse for Officer Stricksent. He had seen Caleb and Bryan as he had sped past them, but couldn¡¯t stop. Masque was dying, and carrying him through the tunnel to Reba would take too long, even with help. Instead, he was heading to a safe house John had told him about.


    It was across the freeway, and into some logging roads. The location had weird instructions to get inside, but was supposed to be safe, contain weapons and medical supplies, and a way to contact John or Reba.


    Not that it probably mattered anymore. Shortly after he had passed the boys, the night sky lit up bright red. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the weirdest or worst of his current situation.


    Stryker''s concern and frustration were interrupted as Masque¡¯s limp form fluidly slid into the passenger seat, and into an upright seated position.


    He was proud he didn¡¯t scream.


    You have my thanks,¡± Masque droned. ¡°Glad you¡¯re okay!¡± Stryker replied in a near shout, then laughed unintentionally. The madness begins! ¡°Okay is not the word I would use,¡± Masque grumbled. ¡°Our problems seem to have complicated even more while I was unconscious,¡± he observed, looking out into the red night. They did not need the added complications of a blood moon. Masque now turned to look at Stryker, who was still staring straight ahead. ¡°There is a demon on Earth worse than we had feared.¡±


    When Stryker didn¡¯t answer, or even acknowledge he had spoken, Masque continued, ¡°An imp whose strength defied reason, and almost killed me before you arrived.¡± Now Stryker replied, ¡°That was an imp, huh? Didn¡¯t seem so strong.¡±


    Masque¡¯s usually expressionless eyes looked quite obviously puzzled, ¡°You¡­ saw her?¡± Stryker nodded. ¡°How did you escape? How did you even manage to avoid the lycanthropeire?¡± The cop grinned, ¡°I kicked their asses, and got your ass out, that¡¯s how!¡±


    Like Masque would accept such lies! ¡°You, an average human, would be dead in but a moment when faced with a demon great as that imp! Do not waste my time with your useless sense of humor!¡±


    The blond man simply replied with a pointed thumb towards the backseat. Following it to look in the back, Masque partially understood. A large gun with angelic symbols carved into its side lie on the seat, next to some grenades.


    The officer had fought, and escaped after all. Still, it was inconceivable he could damage, let alone defeat that imp, even with such weaponry. She had let them escape. But¡­ to what end? Masque chose to keep that information to himself. Stryker had saved his life, and risked his own to do such. Which was something Masque could hardly fathom. A human had risked their life to save him. He would let Stryker have his victory for now. And he would also have his honest thanks. Later, when they regrouped with the others, they could discuss the reality of the situation.


    Besides, Masque had his own shame, and more, to deal with.


    Impressive,¡± the shadowed one honestly complimented. Masque¡¯s look surveyed the destruction of the (surprisingly still running) vehicle, ¡°it must have been quite difficult. You have my deepest thanks.¡± The cop seemed awkward at the praise, saying nothing, with a casual shrug and smile.


    Masque was the one whom should feel uncomfortable. When on the brink of death, of defeat, this human he even now judged unworthy in combat, Masque had begged his help. With the last of his strength before the darkness took him, he had ask Stryker for help. How... embarrassing. The terror of death had been so great in him, his feeble words may have been a cry, had he not been so beaten. Stryker had no way of knowing this, though that knowledge did not lessen the vampire''s shame.


    Why would he fear death? Had he not longed for it? Not Begged Christ to take him home, free him of the un-ending suffering? Of the starvation pains that felt to eat him alive?


    The questions that rose, helped Masque to not fall too deep into his self pity. His curse, which prevented feeding, as well as dying of starvation, slowly ate away at his strength, require slumber to sustain him. In his last two battles, Masque had somehow pulled power from within himself, greater each time, that should not have been possible. Even now, he could not explain why he was already conscious, and healed. His power was not fully restored, though he could feel it regening. All of which, without feeding, was... impossible.


    Breaking the silence, ¡°Where are we going? When did the blood moon start?¡± Masque asked, for once not enjoying being alone with his thoughts. The questions were important. That imp would not simply allow them to escape. And with a blood moon in effect, the witch queen must be near. Masque was no longer doubting the Terror theory, after confronting that imp, and now witchcraft of this magnitude... They needed to regroup and prepare, find a way to weather the event, ward and shield themselves somewhere safe, lest they all die.


    If this red light is the blood moon, not long ago. Bigger problem right now though is, well¡­ I don¡¯t know where we are.¡± That last made Masque pause. How was that a bigger problem? ¡°You¡­ do not know where we are?¡± The hesitation in the vampire¡¯s voice didn¡¯t really instill confidence. ¡°I was heading to a safe house John told me about. But¡­ we should have been there forever ago. And for some reason this road, well, it just keeps on going!¡±


    When Masque didn¡¯t comment, Stryker mistook it as as confusion. ¡°There¡¯ve been no side streets, and we just keep going on and on, straight through the woods. I would say it was impossible, but, well¡­¡±


    Witchcraft. Stryker, stop the vehicle now,¡± Masque commanded, concern bordering fear in his tone.


    The cop was about to comply, when he saw them in his rearview mirror. Motorcycles. A lot of them. ¡°Uh, we may have another problem,¡± Stryker warned. He was right. Especially so, as suddenly, the road they had been driving down, and the trees alongside them, were just gone; the cruiser flying out into open air.


    Well this was gonna suck!!!


    * * *


    Caleb hadn''t gone far from the shack before freezing in place.


    Off to his right, in the middle of the lumber yard, were five human skeletons. They were just standing there, each wearing a different colored jester¡¯s hat. Their bones pink as the creepy, naked, cartwheeling dudes. It suddenly dawned on him that they probably weren¡¯t pink, but just tinted from the red light. Or not.


    With everything that had happened recently, skeletons weren''t as frightening as they probably should have been. The fear welling up inside of him was from the chainsaws they held. When they all looked his way and started their chainsaws in one pull of the cord, Rashelle began to scream; her and Bryan had followed him out of the shack.


    Rashelle, where is your car?¡± Bryan asked her, taking her shoulders and ceasing her screaming. His eyes were harsh. He was pissed at Caleb for shoving her. You don¡¯t show aggression levels like that with a female. The two exceptions being if it¡¯s something like martial arts sparring, or defending someone¡¯s -or your own- life. Bryan wasn¡¯t a fool, a girl could kill you as easily as a man, and a woman could be as psychotic and homicidal as any male could. There were still distinct lines, and Caleb had crossed one.


    Bryan was also irritated at feeling defensive of this self-entitled, stuck up, evil bitch. The only thing that frightened her was not being her. Meaning, she was only screaming to try to get Caleb¡¯s sympathy. She was that much of a cunt. A word Brian did not use lightly.


    To his further irritation, he suddenly understood why Caleb shoved her. It was a lot less dramatic than his own urge to punch her in the face... Judge not, he supposed.


    Over by C&D. I had parked there before everything turned red and those¡­ bikers appeared,¡± she choked the word ¡®bikers.¡¯ Caleb heard her answer Bryan, where he stood, ready to fight. The skeletons were now swaggering infuriatingly slow and elaborately, towards them.


    We need to get to your car,¡± Bryan said to the girl they all hated, and Caleb looked around, seeing a potential to slow down the enemies. ¡°Go back through the fence,¡± he told them. ¡°Now!¡± Running a few steps to the side, without waiting for an answer, Caleb grabbed low on a huge pile of lumber and yanked out a piece, causing the entire stack to tumble down, making an effective barrier between them and the¡­ monsters. Such a generic term, but what else should he call them? Bad guys? Things? Mobile objects?


    BOO!


    The sudden shout in his head caused him to start badly enough he tripped while turning to follow Bryan (who was already leading Rashelle back to the fence), and hit his shin (Hahahaha!) on a board. FUCK! That hurt like hell!


    Reaching the fence, he heard what sounded like the skeletons taking their chainsaws to the wooden barrier he had created. Well, that wasn''t very efficient. Never knew though, not a lot was making sense these days. For fuck sake, there were chainsaw-wielding skeletons in jester¡¯s hats! Think about that for a moment. Or better yet, as Caleb decided, don¡¯t. It was too stupid of a concept to ponder long.


    Running down the sidewalk to the right, easily catching up to Bryan and Rashelle just before the four-way light, Caleb wondered where the people were. All this noise would wake the dead. And, apparently, shine their bones, arm them, and give them hats¡­ What does that? Who does that?!


    All three of them picked up their pace, as they ran down the road to C&D, and to Rashelle¡¯s car. Her red, shiny sports car. Caleb knew next to nothing about cars, but he did know what he liked. ''I hate these types of cars'', he thought as they reached the gas pumps, wondering again why he was dating this girl.


    As Rashelle hurried to her car, Caleb noticed for the first time that she was wearing yoga pants, and had a nice butt. No, he would probably never stop getting distracted by girls, even in moments where he may be on the verge of dying any second, or losing his mind.


    Caleb had stalled a bit to look at his girlfriend¡¯s rear as she jogged ahead of him, and was just passing the front door of the mart, when the trash can (the kind with the ashtray on top, with four open sides under the canopy of butts, to toss your garbage) suddenly stood up on two stubby legs and slammed itself into the boy. The force was enough to send Caleb flailing backwards to the ground.


    Um¡­ what the hell?


    Back on his own feet, Caleb tried to kick the advancing enemy (He also decided mobile object definitely fit this situation, but so did monster), and it countered by spinning viciously like a top. Caleb¡¯s leg deflected off, sending him to the ground again. At least he was getting practice standing up quickly.


    The little bastard continued to increase its spin, fast enough now to be drilling a rut in the asphalt. Bryan ran behind Caleb to flank the¡­ trash can. Blindly backpedaling, trying to think of something, Caleb got quite close to the car, and Rashelle slammed her driver¡¯s side door into the spinning enemy, sending it twirling off erratically, falling, then rolling under the covered gas pump area. Its tiny feet still kicked helplessly as Bryan tried to find a way to keep it down.


    Leave it and c¡¯mon!¡± Caleb called, about to climb in the backseat of the car that Rashelle had now started. Then he saw it, too late to warn his friend. One of the gas nozzles, hose and all, was moving!


    Like some monster snake, it struck at Bryan, hitting him hard in the back of the head with the nozzle. He let out a loud grunt and fell face down across the enemy that was no longer kicking, like it had given up trying to right itself.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Caleb ran towards him, and the other pumps also came to life, and attacked. Rolling under a lashing hose, Caleb had to flatten himself to miss one twirling like you would twirl a grappling hook before throwing it, almost getting clipped in the head. He rolled along the ground as flat as he could, hearing the pumps chip and crack off the pavement they struck, over and over.


    Still alive, Bryan had been lifted off the ground by the first gas hose, having wrapped itself around his right leg. Conscious but dazed, he hung upside down, and got a glimpse of more enemies approaching. ¡°The skeletons are coming!¡± Bryan warned, and the hose slapped him into the underside of the canopy.


    Having rolled free of the pump area, Caleb stood and turned to see all five of the skeletons in the street, spinning and pirouetted their way to him. Great, dancing jester skeletons with chainsaws, incoming.


    Bryan had grabbed a support beam on the underside of the canopy when the hose tried to slap him into it again. With these impacts, the spinning, and being snapped around, his consciousness was barely holding on, and it was a miracle that he had yet to break his neck, or anything else. Even managing to get his legs around into between on the the hoses yanks. Let¡¯s hear it for a dancer¡¯s legs!


    As the skeletons reached a crouched Caleb (who basically was just gritting his teeth and intending to keep dodging and magically survive), the living trash can was thrown like a bowling ball by one of the hoses, sailing through three of the skeletons, blasting them to pieces. The two remaining macabre jesters quit dancing and charged; chainsaws wielded in two hands, they power slashed at the teenager.


    Continuing on with all he ever really got to do during fights, Caleb shoulder rolled under a chainsaw, smoothly back to his feet, and ran to one of the discarded -and still running- chainsaw dropped when the trashcan destroyed its wielder. Ignoring the jesters, he dodged past them and to the hose tugging Bryan¡¯s leg- and severed it. Following up his first slash, and never stopping his stride, Caleb cut the other hoses on the same side, running out of reach of those remaining.


    The two jesters ran after him, and the hoses not able to reach Caleb began to lash at the two skeletons, giving him all the time he needed to approach the pumps, and sever the remaining hoses; bone jesters too damaged to be a threat.


    Can we go now?¡± Rashelle asked, irritation on her face, and bitchiness in her voice. Bryan let go of the beam he held, and fell to the ground, hitting harder than expected, biting back a cry as pain shot through his leg, he allowed himself an extra few moments on the ground to remove the -dead?- hose pieced still tangled on it.


    One of the T. rex type of creatures turned the corner at the four-way light and hissed at them loudly. It had no injuries, so it must be the one the pink (or white?) tiger hadn''t been been fighting. Or was this yet another one? Pain or not, Bryan was up and in Rashelle¡¯s car, unassisted, in a metaphorical flash. Caleb discarded the chainsaw, panicking a little, and ran behind the car to get in the back passenger¡¯s side. ¡°Go!¡± Caleb and Bryan shouted at Rashelle, as she had motionless in the seat, staring at the dinosaur that was now jogging towards them, yowling and hissing and spitting.


    Rashelle!¡± Caleb snapped, and she put it into reverse, speeding backwards across the small parking lot, almost hitting the building behind them. Back in drive, she floored it straight ahead, cutting close enough to the meowing lizard, she may have left some paint on it. The giant monster tripped in the attempt to avoid the car charging at it, the boys watching it stumble and fall, Rashelle driving straight through the four-way stop, instead of going left back towards the tracks


    Turn around, we need to head to Pazely¡¯s!¡± Caleb ordered. ¡°She¡¯ll live, we need to hide,¡± was his girlfriend¡¯s all too calm reply. That was not the answer Caleb wanted. Bryan should have seen it coming. When his friend made a decision, he didn¡¯t argue or debate, one way or another he was going to do it.


    Without another word, or a second of hesitation: Caleb opened the car door and jumped out. A brief tumble and then he was sprinting down a side road before Rashelle had even hit the breaks.


    Stryker wanted to just go to sleep. If all this wasn¡¯t unbelievable enough, now they were fucking flying?! The road may be completely gone, but the vehicle kept going straight ahead, some thousand plus feet from the valley floor.


    They still follow,¡± Masque informed, looking behind them. Well, that¡¯s great. Apparently the motorcycles could fly too! And from the way they zigged and zagged and zoomed in Stryker¡¯s rearview mirror, they could also maneuver well.


    Will this vehicle steer?¡± Masque asked, not a trace of his injuries remained. Turning the wheel a little to the left, the cruiser began to violently barrel roll, while still retaining its same forward trajectory. The spinning was so violent that Stryker was almost thrown from his seat. Thank God for seatbelts!


    Trying to right them, they spun the other direction just as violent, then left again, his neck feeling like it broke on that last spin, and Stryker hoped he hadn¡¯t just given himself whiplash. Instinctively, he hit the brake and the car quit rolling; diving straight down. ¡°SHIT!¡± Stryker cried, and Masque had to agree. ¡°The gas,¡± Masque suggested, calmly as he could, and even his world seemed to turn upside down as the car abruptly tipped its nose straight up, climbing fast as it had been falling. Kinetics intact, physics not so much.


    Masque hated witchcraft.


    Nice call,¡± Francis gasped. ¡°I got no clue how to right this thing,¡± he complained through clenched teeth, as they rocketed towards the red sky. He was afraid to even move. ¡°Release the pedal,¡± Masque suggested. So the cop did, and the cruiser once again began to fly straight ahead, albeit crooked. ¡°Release the steering wheel,¡± was the second suggestion, and doing so leveled them out. Stryker was shocked. ¡°Hey, how¡¯d you know that?¡± he asked, impressed. The vampire was now crouching on the hood. ¡°Only so many control devices. It was process of elimination.¡±


    About to ask what he was doing on the hood, Stryker heard an odd sound, and turned enough to look behind them, to the see the (Holy shit, what the fucking fuck are those?!) nightmarish cartoon dog bikers, quite close now, and shooting lasers at them, from who knows where on their bikes. They were bad shots, thankfully!


    Masque, eyes again blazing, netherweave flourishing out from him in all directions, hopped from the hood to land on the closest speeding flying bike. Slashing with his left hand, netherweave wrapped around it like a blade, he severed the head from the dog-man driving (flying?) it. Quickly hopping to a second bike, he did the same. A black smoking pop, and he reappeared in the air between three other bikers, spinning a kick like a cyclone, knocking all three dog toons from their seats.


    Don¡¯t just kill people, man!¡± Stryker called from the car as he watched, ducking a red laser bolt that shot through the headrest of the passenger¡¯s seat. In a puff of black, Masque was again next to him in the vehicle, glaring. ¡°People? Do they look like people to you? Should we just let these people kill us?¡± More lasers punched through the car, one hitting black smoke; the vampire shadowstepped out and in front of another flying bike, knocking the rider off with a kick to the chest, before shadowstepping back to the car, this time into the backseat.


    I mean, I know how they look, but those¡¯re the Cutters, right? They got transformed somehow, didn''t they?¡± Masque was so shocked at the insight from the officer he almost got hit with a laser. Stryker was right, these were humans, for some reason altered to look how they looked. Masque knew it was due to the blood moon, and more, he just wasn¡¯t sure what the ¡®and more¡¯ was yet. Most humans would be terrified at experiencing something like this. Even Masque was concerned.


    People or not, would you shoot back in war? Or self-defense? Because I assure you, officer, they intend your death.¡± Stryker had to see the logic in that. ¡°Will normal weapons work?¡± he asked, reaching for his untouched sidearm on his hip. ¡°Indeed,¡± was the only answer given, as Masque shadowstepped back out of the vehicle.


    This time he was aided by Stryker, unbuckled and leaning out the window, gun in both hands, having no need to steer. Four shots, but he dropped one furry with two bullets, hitting the big black poodle in the chest. The final biker shot one last laser through the car before Masque beheaded him. In another black puff, the ninja returned to the backseat of the vehicle.


    Which was now plummeting in a plume of green smoke.


    Masque grabbed the weapons in the back, and secured the officer in his other arm in almost one fluid motion. ¡°Ah, hell no,¡± Stryker had time to complain, as Masque punched out the back window, and jumped (Not shadowstepped. No human could be taken through such, without being obliterated), cop under one arm, assault rifle and bandoleer in his other hand.


    Slowing their descent as much as possible using his netherweave, Masque was glad Stryker was going with this, and not screaming or struggling. Dropping him would be¡­ messy. Not knowing if his weave could hold long enough to lower them the entire distance, Masque had been descending fast. Almost too fast, he realized, when they hit the ground.


    Having had the foresight to release -toss- the law enforcement officer before impact, just in case; Stryker managed to roll decently enough to not break anything. Masque¡¯s own impact caused him no pain, though he did land with a bit of a thud, and needed to bend his knees. Another shame to add to his list.


    "Are you alright, Stryker?" Masque asked, glow to his eyes fading, netherweave almost gone. ¡°I¡¯m okay," the cop answered, testing his movements, and wincing. "Hurts like a motherfuck, but I can walk.¡± He winced again. ¡°Mostly.¡± Then, Stryker noticed something, ¡°Hey, why ain¡¯t anything red anymore?¡±


    The moon was still blood red, as was the starless sky, yet the tint to the surroundings was gone. It was obvious it should be dark out, yet everything was easy to see. To Stryker, it felt like he was gifted with the ability to see in the dark, rather than there actually being enough light.


    You truly are handling this well, Stryker,¡± Masque complimented. The officer gave a humorless laugh, ¡°Thanks, but truth be told, I plan on getting shitfaced and sleeping for a week when this is over. And quit including my name at the end of your sentences. It sounds weird.¡± Distracted, Masque gave a small nod of understanding, as he surveyed their surroundings on the valley floor.


    Do you believe we will survive?¡± he asked the blond man. ¡°I don¡¯t believe anything, I just know I¡¯m not gonna roll over and die,¡± Stryker¡¯s answer was good enough for the vampire. ¡°Then you better run. I will do my best to keep them off of you. Find us shelter, or a place to fortify.¡±


    Stryker stood there, looking stupid.


    Now! There are too many for me to fight all at once!¡± Still confused, he looked past Masque. And saw some right weird shit - mushrooms, big mushrooms you find in the woods, with little legs and tiny arms, and they were holding sticks. Pointy sticks. There had to be hundreds hundreds!


    Then he noticed the rest. The area they stood on the valley floor was only lightly wooded. Which made it easy for the trees to be walking towards them unobstructed. Yup, full freaking trees, their trunks split apart to form large legs, branches connected and wrapped to make arms; quickly closing the distance. There were also large stones and boulders, ranging in size from basketball to you crushed my car, with legs kinda like a crab or spider, scurrying among the ocean of walking fungi.


    He yelped and jumped to the side, a large purple mushroom had approached him, and stabbed him in the calf with basically a toothpick.


    Deciding to take the advice given, Stryker turned (after kicking the stabbing little bastard into the distance!) and ran like hell back the way they had been coming from, before they bailed from the plummeting cop car, hopefully back towards town.


    It scratched and giggled at the door. It, because that wasn¡¯t her mom. Had it ever been her mom? Holding her breath, Pazely strained to listen, the sounds getting quieter, before going completely silent. Finding herself slowly approaching the door, Pazely didn''t remember making the decision to move. Stopping where she was, this was when the noises from outside finally reached her ears. Her home was insulated too well to hear things clearly, but she didn''t need to. Didn''t want to.


    This was one of those moments where something scary was supposed to happen, right? With a sense of dread, heart hammering, Pazely slowly turned to look behind her. As her eyes passed over the large mirror on the wall, she saw her mother¡¯s bloated corpse reflected in it; rotten jaw fell open, and screamed in the voice of an infant. Dark water geysered from the sinks with enough force to reach the ceiling.


    Pazely let out a scream of her own- the door burst inwards, the unseen force behind it, knocking her to the ground. The Asian woman stood in the doorway, smiling, looking exactly the same as when Paze had seen her last.


    Then her mom threw her head back, and dozens of swampy-colored tentacles began pouring from her mouth, piling up like a mound of putrid spaghetti. Pazely couldn¡¯t scream if she wanted to, no sound could describe the wrongness she felt inside. The pile of spaghetacles reached her mom''s knees, then stopped coiling out. From her mother¡¯s gaping mouth (held open still by the many tentacle strands, like the guide wires of a tent) two long, knobby-fingered hands began to emerge. Reaching out several feet before the knobby elbow joints appeared.


    Pazely was frozen in place where was on the ground. She never just froze. ''What do I do?!''


    Elbows bending, the thing rested its long-fingered orange-hands palms down on the floor, and began to push, trying to lift itself out of the woman, like she was a giant sausage skin tunnel from the abyss to Earth.


    ''Wh-wh-wh-why? What? ¡­ Monster? No weapons¡­ H-h-h-how to¡­ fight? I-I-I have to fight!''


    A largely bulbous and hairy shoulder pushed free. Then the next one, before the head crowned, her mothers mouth gaping to an impossible extent. Entrails wrapped the monsters face, bowels boiling from its large eyes, writing plainly visible on s forehead. The words and symbols Pazely did not know, but the upside down crosses, she did. In that horrible moment, she clarified on what this thing was.


    Demon!


    Now she knew what to do. She knew how to defend herself. For someone that fought their fear by literally fighting, the overwhelming terror faded into a purposeful confidence.


    In Jesus¡¯ name, GET OUT!¡± Pazely commanded in a shout that hurt her throat. The demon paused, smirk on its face. Keeping eye contact, she got to her feet, saying, "In Jesus name, get out of my house!" The demon, smirk growing into a grin, moved an arm, leaning closer to her.


    And stopped. It''s grin fading, a look of concern coming over it. Pazely, standing her ground, felt something. A chill through her body, and a presence. It was inside of her, but also, behind her, and beside her. Without any conscious choice of her own, she opened her mouth, and loudly ordered: "leave this place immediately, and do not return!"


    Complete and utter terror came over the nightmare''s face, and Pazely watched as it quickly panic-rewound back into her mother (whose head snapped around in a blur while she screamed in a male¡¯s voice), and then few straight backwards off her feet, like she had been hit by a giant''s fist, going through walls, and out of the house, vanishing into the trees.


    Pazely could clearly see the red night beyond. The noises from outside were much clearer now, and were so weird, they made her feel like crying.


    Everything right now made her feel like crying. The weight of it all. Of who had been with her. God had listened to her. Jesus had been there in that moment. Well, the Spirit. That meant he did still love her. That... her doubt... the things she had said.... he hadn''t left her. Jesus had never left her. Not during any of it.


    Emotions overwhelming, Pazely stood there naked, staring out the distant hole in her house. Was her mom dead? How long was it not her mom? She needed to pray. To thank God. And get dressed. She needed to find Caleb. Find her friends. Miss Reba.


    So why was she just laughing and crying, legs shaking so bad it made her angry, the urge to pee so strong it hurt?


    Bailing out of a car and running a couple blocks into a monster-infested town was bad enough, and the vile voice in his head was making it worse. The fucking thing wouldn''t shut up, and was taking more focus to ignore it than before. If Caleb started to give it attention, he would be accepting it wasn''t just his own bat-shit, and would be a further step into crazy. He needed to ignore them. To get a grip. To focus.


    And it was just that lack of focus that failed to save the local dentist. Caleb saw the man run out on his front porch, gun in hand. He looked intoxicated, that much the boy had registered. What he (and the dentist) did not register, was the (WHOA!)(Oh dear.) hippopotamus next to the man¡¯s front door. Until it decided to eat him.


    Caleb would have warned him if he had the chance. But, confused or not, who just looks over to see someone coming out of their house, notices the hippo, and calls out a warning? When he thought of it, he guessed most people would have probably yelled something. He did croak out a moaned whimper of helpless despair, seeing a man he knew, being horrifically killed.


    The dentist was still screaming as Caleb ran on. He could hear a lot more screaming in general now. The night did not seem so brilliantly red anymore either. And there were gunshots. Lots and lots of gunshots.


    He needed a weapon. The dentist was no longer screaming. Caleb was not going back there to look for the discarded gun. A few blocks ahead of him, on Main Street, was a hardware store. It had some camping goods too. There had to be something there, right? They didn¡¯t sell guns, but a machete would make him feel a lot better. Or a sledgehammer¡­


    A toddler fell from a second story apartment window that he was jogging past, landing headfirst on the sidewalk. Neck twisted, one eye bulged, and her tongue lolled as she seized her traumatic death.


    Caleb was dry heaving, stumbling a sprint fast as he could, blindly clearing streets, and having to brace himself with his hands after crossing Main Street, and running into the hardware store to stop himself. He needed the support of the building anyway, his heart slamming, and lungs burning. Leaning on the wall, coughing and gagging, shuffling hand over hand, he made his way towards the front doors.


    When he reached them, it wasn¡¯t too hard to brute force his way in. They were old reinforced double glass doors, that were now quite broken. The security lock and chain on the inside forced Caleb to have to squeeze through. He stood still, trying to ignore his mind screaming obscenities, and listened. Nothing. At least not yet, but he should still be on his guard. The way this night was going, if a zombie mutant plumber attacked him with a wrench in one of the aisles, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised.


    Or the wrench by itself¡­


    The small hardware store remained deserted -and un-animated- as he got a backpack, camping supplies, two small camp axes, and a cheap machete. He hoped in the grand scheme of things that this wasn¡¯t stealing. He knew it was, but with everyone sorta dying and getting eaten, Caleb wasn¡¯t even sure if there was anyone left for it to belong to.


    He was about to leave the store, instead ducking back inside, behind the service counter near the doors. He slowly peeked up, and out the window. A group of knights in shiny full plate armor and wearing sombreros, were marching down Main Street with assault rifles. As Caleb watched them pass to the left, one opened fire on something, and they charged ahead. He could no longer see them, but when the loud meowing and hissing joined the sounds of the knights, Caleb knew what they were fighting.


    While the commando knights were distracted battling the meowing dinosaur, Caleb snuck out and to the right, hurrying to the little alley space between this building and the post office. Successfully cutting through the block, he came out in an ally across the street from C&D, facing towards Pazely¡¯s again, and monster battle circumvented!


    Machete in hand, Caleb was being cautious. His crazy brain on a rampage, his pulse almost as loud, he had to make sure not to run into something and get eaten!


    Wanting to avoid C&D, Caleb headed along the sidewalk nearest to him, heading left, about a block away from the mart. Being able to see or not, this was Washington, there were a lot of trees. So when he cleared a couple of streets, and turned to see the side streets inaccessible due to thick webbing, he was startled. (SPIDERS! Get them off, get them off!) Caleb slapped at himself and shuddered, being convinced he was covered in spiders, the voice in his head laughed hysterically.


    Calming down, and ignoring his cackling mind, he saw something move in the web. Oh shit. Knees slowly bending, blade at the ready, he braced for an assault. More movement¡­ A spider¡­ no¡­ a cocoon. A person-sized cocoon! Someone is in there!


    Fear forgotten, Caleb ran to the webbing, and the wriggling cocoon in front of him. Cutting into the top of it with his machete, he dropped the blade when he got a good crack (it was solid) and hand hold. Pulling it down and away, revealing gray hair, then a head. It was an old lady!


    Oh, thank Jesus!¡± she sobbed, when her face was freed. Caleb was pulling off the rest of the cocoon as fast as he could, quickly freeing her arms. ¡°Is this real? Is this really happening?¡± she asked, leaning on his shoulder for support, while he freed her legs. She was in a nightgown. Her voice sounded more like a frightened little girl than an elderly woman.


    Caleb didn¡¯t know what to say, so he kept up his effort of removing her while she wept. After freeing her feet and she fell out on him, he heard the skittering. That was never a good sign, even in normal situations. Not that he could think of any normal situations involving skittering.


    Easily lifting the frail old woman in his arms, Caleb ran with her, back across the street. ¡°No! Jimmy!¡± the old woman screamed. ¡°Jimmy is back there!¡± The way she was screaming, every monster in town was going to converge and eat them. Apparently, his only options were to go look for Jimmy, or kill this woman to shut her up. Those were the two options his noisy mind was giving him, anyway.


    So, being the pathetic oblivious hero that he is, Caleb set the screaming old woman down in the grass, and turned to run back towards the monstrous wall of webbing. The old woman quit screaming, understanding his intent.


    Approaching the web, he no longer heard the skittering. Great. Looking all over, he didn¡¯t see any other cocoons at first. Following the wall of webbing to theft, there was an opening. Right inside were three cocoons. One quite large, two small.


    Caleb cut into the biggest one first, hoping for an adult to assist with this mess. As he freed the man¡¯s head, he wished it could have been anyone else. ¡°Oh, please boy, you have to help me!¡± Horrence begged, his voice filled with panic. Caleb liked that sound in his voice. ¡°What do you think I¡¯m doing?¡± he growled at the old man. Freeing Horrence¡¯s arms, Caleb realized, ¡°Trixie! Where is Trixie?!¡± he looked at the two small cocoons. ¡°That¡¯s why I need your help!¡± Horrence almost wailed, beginning to rip free on his own.


    Caleb heard the old woman crying for ¡®Jimmy¡¯ again. Knowing he had to hurry with all this noise, he cut hard and fast into the top of the adjacent cocoon, ripping the top open. But the girl he exposed was not Trixie. She began to sob and wail the moment her head was free. Caleb had the dark skinned little girl he had never seen before, free of the cocoon in a couple tugs of the shell, and was on to the next one.


    Forgoing the blade altogether, he punched a hole in the top, ripping it open and revealing a very frightened, very quiet Trixie. ¡°Trixie!¡± her grandfather cried, getting clear of the cocoon and scooping her into his large arms, shedding tears of relief. ''Well, that¡¯s out of character,'' Caleb thought, and picked up the small Filipina. Or at least she looked like it to him. He didn¡¯t have time to make introductions, let alone ask nationality. He and Horrence ran out of this creepy spider pantry, carrying the girls, back towards where he had left the old woman. She again began screaming when Jimmy was not with them.


    Kill this bitch, already!


    ''You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­''


    She is afraid and confused, Caleb.


    Without warning or explanation after setting down the crying little girl, Caleb turned and ran back to the room he had just freed them from. He had left his machete in there like a dumbass. On his way, he noticed a small lump near where the old woman had been, which he hadn¡¯t seen before. Jimmy? Heading over there before returning to his blade, Caleb brujte-forced the top open to see a toddler blinking at him. At least Jimmy wasn¡¯t screaming.


    Watch out!¡± Horrence yelled from across the street, and Caleb looked up to see a spider the size of a bear crawling quickly down the webbing. It was Caleb¡¯s turn to scream (albeit manly), falling backwards, away from the long chitinous legs and black bulbous body. It didn¡¯t seem to notice him though, more interested in the snack already encased in its webbing.


    When the spider climbed down enough for the little boy to see it, he finally began screaming, in the way only a child can, when faced with the worst of fears. The old woman, knowing what was coming, joined in with wails of her own.


    Frozen in horror, Caleb wanted to close his eyes. He didn¡¯t. The spider extended a long needle-like tube from its dripping mouth, stabbing it into the boy¡¯s torso, who shrieked with hysterical horror and pain. ¡°JIMMY!¡± The old woman was filled with adrenaline when she saw the spider begin to eat her grandchild, his screams changing to those of pure agony. Agony no one should feel, let alone a little fucking kid! She sprinted across the street before any could stop her.


    This close, Caleb could also hear the awful slurping sounds, the insides sucked from the child¡¯s small frame.


    Crawling backwards on hands and butt, Caleb was dry heaving so hard that he couldn¡¯t breathe. What got him focused and on his feet, was a second spider that had approached from the side, unnoticed. It jumped in a blur over Caleb, landing on the old woman. Using its weight to hold her down, she too began to be drank by a spider. Her screams were no lesser than her grandson¡¯s.


    The toddler quit screaming, death releasing him from his torment.


    They had to get out of here! A car. They needed a car! Dammit, why hadn¡¯t he just taken Rashelle¡¯s? Scrambling to stay on his feet, but falling repeatedly, Caleb ran back to Horrence and the two little girls. Trixie and the other girl were holding each other. She must be a friend of Trixie''s staying the night or a new neighbor or something. They were found beside each other, and looked around the same age.


    We need a car,¡± Caleb said, looking panicked. He then noticed the trunk of a parked car on the other side of one of the town¡¯s many churches, half a block away from them and the webbing. Had that been there this entire time? He didn¡¯t remember seeing it when he had run by. Without thinking, he scooped up both girls -awkwardly- into his arms, and started for the vehicle. A shockingly quiet Horrence followed (albeit lagging behind) after them to the red four-doored, almost new-looking car.


    Caleb had no idea how to hot-wire something¡­


    Trixie finally screamed.


    Setting down both girls next to the vehicle, Caleb crouched, shielding them instinctively as he turned to see how many spiders were chasing them. The answer was none; what was coming after them wasn¡¯t any better. Wasps, each easily as big as a football, swarming from the sky, heading in their direction.


    Get in the car!¡± Caleb shouted to the girls, and they did so through a miraculously unlocked back door. If they could only stay so lucky. The driver¡¯s side was also unlocked, and Caleb got in fast. Horrence was gasping as he tried to hurry, struggling to make it the short disstance. ¡°Horrence come o-¡± Caleb''s words cut off when a wasp lanced down to land on the fat old man¡¯s back, stinging furiously. He fell.


    Grampa!¡± Trixie screeched, more landing on the large man, several others smashing into the car, right as Caleb slammed his door shut. ¡°You save my girl, Caleb! You save my girl!¡± Horrence wailed, covered completely by giant wasps. ¡°NO!¡± Trix was screaming over and over, though she made no attempt to exit the car. The other girl was quiet, and unmoving, eyes staring straight ahead and fixed. Why did Trix give a crap about that abusive old piece of shit? For that matter, why was selfish, self-centered Horrence begging for his granddaughter to be saved and not to save him? It was hard to believe, the way he treated Trix, that he cared at all. Or her for him. "I love you Trixie," Horrences''s final shout was almost unintelligible. Almost.


    Unbelievable as the old mans actions were, what Caleb found the most unbelievable was, as he reached for the ignition, it had a set of keys already in it. The engine turned over effortlessly, and the tank was full. And, for the first time since all of this had started¡­ for the first time in quite a while¡­. he began to thank Jesus, over and over again. Tears streamed from his eyes, listening to Trixie sob, he drove, zigzagging down open streets, taking them ever closer to the back way into Pazely¡¯s neighborhood.


    Stryker felt like he had been running forever, and still no shelter in sight. This was complete bullshit. All he had been doing was running like a motherfuck. There were a hell of a lot of rock crabs, mushrooms, and moving trees in this freaking valley! He felt useless and foolish. Yet he kept running.


    Fighting wasn''t an option, as he had no weapon. In fact, there was nothing left on his duty belt other than his cuffs, and some gloves. Where it all went, he hadn''t a clue. Even his radio had been long since discarded.


    And his nausea was getting horrible!


    In fact, it was horrible enough that when he saw his patrol cruiser sitting undamaged a few dozen yards away on a hill, he thought he was hallucinating.


    Stryker fell for no apparent reason. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Masque asked, beside him. ¡°I¡¯m okay, I¡¯m good.¡± Stryker pushed to shaky knees. He had a splitting headache now, and his joints felt like they were on fire. Masque glared into his eyes, ¡°You are not okay, Officer Stricksent.¡±


    An ancient evergreen made a racket, altering from it''s shambling jog to a sprint, forcing Masque to leave the officer, and the much nearer enemies, to deal with the -literal- larger threat charging them.  dodge, and sending the cop flying with a kick, that was more fling than impact.


    With a deep breath of determination, Stryker forced himself to his feet and ran for the cruiser. He felt like he had late stage cancer, and a hangover, without a hint as to why. Didn''t really matter, as he was dead for sure if he didn''t get to safety.


    By the time Stryker reached his vehicle, the loud sounds of a tree getting it''s ass kicked had quit. Not that he bothered to look back to confirm it was Masque who had won. Win or lose, his patrol car was the immediate goal. At least... he had thought this was his patrol car. How it fell that far without blowing up or some shit, should have been impossible enough, but it was totally undamaged. Like, totally. Ready to just go with it at this point, Stryker got in the unlocked driver¡¯s door. None of his shit was here, and the interior looked band new.


    Witchcraft,¡± Masque answered the unspoken question, after appearing in a silent puff of black smoke. The cop shrugged. Why not? ¡°Is that why I¡¯m fucking dying?¡± Stryker bitched, looking for keys. ¡°No. You are dying from poison, not directly from witchcraft.¡±


    Poison?¡± he found a set in the visor. ¡°Yes, poison. One of the animated fungi must have injured you. Remaining stationary, resting, would be best, until I can find help."


    Stryker saw a skinny tree start up the base of the hill, wielding a telephone pole like a staff. Where the hell did it find a phone pole down here? His nose and left eye started to bleed when he laughed. ¡°Nice to know, after running a marathon for my life!¡± He started up the vehicle. ¡°And who needs to use their fucking feet? This is America, bitches! We drive!¡± Then, both he and Masque, sat still and silent, the engine noise replaced with a voice casually stating: "Vroom vroom, put put put," and the like.


    So, witchcraft, huh?¡± Stryker asked, trying to pretend the car thing wasn¡¯t happening, driving down the hill as the talking car onomatopoeia¡¯d itself. ¡°Wait,¡± Stryker interrupted Masque before he could answer. He needed to ask a better phrased question, before something went to shit again, and he lost his chance. Or the car decided to take off for the fucking moon. At least they seemed to be in a clear enough area to drive without getting stuck.¡°Sum up as best as you can to me, the explanation of what the hell is currently happening.¡±


    Running over some evil mushrooms, Stryker felt better as he drove. Well, not better, but not walking was helping. It was almost like each step, ran or walked, had been sapping him of health. At least driving, he was maintaining his health as it was.


    For several seconds, Masque remained silent. Then he answered, ¡°A witch has a blood moon ritual in effect. It allows for witchcraft under it to be more powerful. However, this level is unheard of, even for the which queen, whom i presume is behind it. I know not why the stars are gone, or how many crafts are currently effecting us, or how large of an area is effected." The vampire did not feel satisfied with that explanation, but it was the best he could do.


    A witch cast some kinda spell, to bring this shit to life that''s trying to kill us?¡± Stryker asked calmly, navigating the bewitched car around a stack of inanimate rocks. ¡°Shit man, why didn¡¯t you say so? I grew up watching kid¡¯s movies like anyone else, think I can understand that.¡± calm or not, the sarcasm was loud.


    Across the valley floor they drove, dodging trees, and rocks, and boulders, Masque occasionally shadowstepping out to clear the way.


    Pazely didn¡¯t know how long she had been sitting in the corner of the shower. Still naked, she held her knees tightly to her chest, unwilling to hide her face; watching the curtain she had drawn. Expecting any second for some monster or demon to rip it down and kill her. Or worse. Having nothing else to do, she cried. As quietly as she could. And crying quietly was something this little Japanese girl was quite skilled at.


    Her current situation and feelings were making her remember. Remember the worst time of her life.


    Everyone was dead. They had to be. That is what she had thought, when her parents had shipped her away. Why else hadn¡¯t any of them come to save her?


    How she had cried and wailed. How she had shivered in fear. How she had silently begged God for Caleb to come break down that door with the dumb padding, and save her! She was terrified of being restrained like that. Even her mind had been tied down from those shots. The straps around her body held her immobile on her back in the tiny bed.


    No one cared about her fear. She couldn¡¯t MOVE! Why did no one care?! It was worse than death.


    ''Please, please, please let me move!!! Jesus, don''t let them do this! Please, Jesus, please make them let me go!''


    She had cried for so many nights¡­ Even when her mind was also strapped down, her un blinkable eyes would cry on their own. Jesus never answered. Caleb never came to save her.


    Eventually, after an eternity, she went¡­ calm. She had accepted her living hell. She had broken¡­ And it was bliss. Nothing mattered. Nothing. Why care, or fight, or struggle. If she just gave in, death would find her, and release her. But she didn''t die. Instead, they unstrapped her, and gave her clothing. She was moved to a room. A real room. With a window, no pads on things, even a bathroom with a small shower and toilet. A toilet instead of the diapers she hadn''t even known she had been in.


    And Pazely would hide in that shower every night and cry. She would sob muscle wrenching hysterics, leaving the night¡¯s silence undisturbed. If the people there ever knew she wasn¡¯t numb, she had been positive they would return her to that bed.


    Why she had been there, Pazely never figured out. The staff had never seemed to want anything from her. Well, anything except obedience, and lack of resistance. It was almost like their only goal was to leave her until her will broke, or she died.


    But what had really broken was her heart.


    One day, she thought she heard something, and looked out her window in the early morning hours. Nothing. Like how she would force herself to be and feel the rest of this day. Then she saw it. A hummingbird. Its wings buzzed fiercely, as it darted this way and then, watching her. It could hover, it could fly, always free to live it''s life as it chose, migrating from flower to flower, feeder to feeder, accross the county.


    That hummingbird was what had saved her life, deciding that day, no matter how silly it was, she too would fly! She would sprout wings that hummed like that tiny bird, and fly far, and free! No cage, no restraints, just the wind and the world! And if anyone tried to find her, she would hide deep in the forests, where no humans could go!


    Pazely survived that place. Released as inexplicably as she had been incarcerated. Some random unnamed staff member had drove her home in a van. She had not known where she was being taken, windows blacked out so she couldn''t see. It hadn''t mattered to her. She was going to escape the moment she could.


    When she recognized the area through the windshield, form where she sat in the back, Pazely knew then what was happening. why she was in her own clothes. They were taking her home.


    And the only emotion she felt at that moment was anger. Pazely had no intention of ever speaking to her friends again. No, she would make a new life, pretending to be the perfect kid, with perfect new friends, until she was of age and could escape for good.


    But then there was Stryker.


    When they pulled up to her house, Stryker had been parked out front, and demanded to speak with her alone. He explained to how hard they tried to find her, and asked about what happened to her at that boarding school. Boarding school. She told him nothing, and said she was fine. He said she was lying. Stryker then informed her parents he would be taking her to see her friends. She hadn''t wanted to. Wanted to object. Before she saw the tears in his eyes, and he hugged her tightly.


    Love. she had forgotten how that felt.


    He took her to his place first, where he had brand new clothes for her Miss Reba and Terra had given him, and let her clean up, before going to find the others. To find Caleb. And reawaken to herself.


    After that day, things quickly went back to normal. Life was once again good. Until summer. In summer¡­ everything started to get strange. Or more like¡­ Caleb began to get strange. And from that, from just him changing, it affected all of their lives, like a ripple in a pond. Only much shittier, and more depressing. And... darker. More sinful, she would now say. Like they were all, bit by bit, sliding into the darkness, away from God.


    Now, sitting in a shower, again crying silently... wasn''t she home? The home she had longed to return to? Would this be where she died? She willed herself to move! She begged herself to quit crying! She had the will! She wanted to fly like that hummingbird! Hadn''t she tried to fight that giant dog? Fear hadn''t stopped her then! Hadn''t she had the faith to stand when her demon mom was coming for her? Jesus had been with her and everything!


    She had sworn to herself to never leave her friends in danger, ever! Especially after what she had been through! Why couldn¡¯t she make herself help them!? Why couldn¡¯t she do ANYTHING?! She was trying so fucking hard!!! But she was so afraid! WHY?! WHY NOW?!


    A sound.


    She held her breath.


    There! Rattling. Oh no¡­ it¡¯s¡­ close. She wouldn''t freeze up again! She had to get up, and fight, no matter what she couldn''t die cowering on-


    Pazely?¡± the voice was soft, and her heart skipped a beat. Her tears came again, but were now broken by laughter. She couldn''t believe it. Caleb had come for her. He had actually come for her.


    Able to hear her, he ran into the giant bathroom. She didn''t even try to move, choking back her tears, a smile on her face, Pazely looked up at the friend she had waited so long for before. The boy, as much as she denied it to herself, she was in love with. Caleb quickly picked up her towel, draping it over her shoulders and wrapping her in a hug.


    Never again am I not coming for you, do you understand me? Never ever again!¡± At those words, she buried her face in his chest, clenching two fistfuls of his shirt, and wailed.


    Caleb held her tightly, and did his best to not start crying too. He was also trying to make sure nothing showed up to eat them, while listening for the girls in the car. He pet Pazely¡¯s hair, and kissed the top of her head occasionally, as she sobbed and sobbed.


    Had she really been that scared? He had no idea¡­


    I would say you failed amazingly.


    ''Had I failed to save her when she needed me?''


    Caleb¡­


    After a few minutes, she had calmed down, and Caleb was worried she lost consciousness. Screams from outside, close enough to be a concern, followed by a horrendously loud and exaggerated farting sound. That, um¡­ yeah, he wasn¡¯t going to even ponder that. The screams had not been the girls in the car, at least.


    What¡¯s going on?¡± the motionless Pazely asked, with her face still on his chest. Caleb wished he had an answer for her. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I¡¯m hoping when the sun comes up, this will all go away. I hate to say this since you¡¯re so scared-¡± Pazely pushed out of his arms and stood, closing her towel around herself. Legs shaking visibly, ¡°Wh-wh-who¡¯s scared? I was just happy you were alive!¡±


    Grinning larger than he meant to, from seeing what he was also not meant to, Caleb also stood up, ¡°Good. Because Trixie and one of her friends are outside, waiting, so we need to hurry.¡± He walked to the bathroom door and looked out, seeing nothing, turned back to look at Pazely again. ¡°Are you planning on going naked?¡±


    The joke was on him, as she just smirked, ¡°Maybe I am. Got a problem with that?¡± She then marched her past him and down the hall to her room. He was so dumping that obnoxious Rashelle.


    Walking out to look around more, and out the hole in the house, he wasn''t sure if he should ask about her parents or not. The fact she hadn''t brought it up, meant it was probably not a good idea.


    Pazely screeched, and Caleb was at her door before he registered it. Not worried about walking in on her changing, he was shocked at what he did see.


    Paze loved figurines of characters from her favorite anime and games. She had amassed dozens that she housed on shelves lining her room. More than all the rest of them combined could even dream of getting. Caleb had like five¡­ the damn things were hard to come by, especially when he had like zero funds ever. Though having a lot of figures was a bad thing right now, since they all had come to life, and were attacking her.


    Luckily, the toys had all the strength such a tiny object should. Didn¡¯t stop them from climbing in her hair, biting her ankles, and throwing knickknacks at her. Caleb swept most of them away with one kick. ¡°No!¡± Pazely yelled, looked horrified, barely managing to rip a magical girl figure from her hair. ¡°It was hard to collect these, don¡¯t hurt them!¡± Caleb batted away the angry action figures, trying to break as few as possible, while he and Paze made it out of her room, closing the door.


    She had managed to put on panties, black leggings, and a black sports bra, as well as putting her hair back in twintails, before getting jumped. Not exactly the perfect battle attire. At least she looked good. If not a bit inappropriate.


    Now where do we go?¡± she asked, the toys clacking against the wooden door. ¡°Reba''s,¡± Caleb answered calmly. ¡°Getting there may prove to be a bit of a bitch. Hope the dance studio is okay.¡± Pazely was confused for a moment, then remembered the only way he knew of to get to the church-like-base in the mountain involved going to the studio. Which was better than the hike through the woods that had originally taken them there. Pazely wasn''t sure she could find it that way again anyway. Or how they had in the first place. Was rather stupid, thinking about it now.


    Heading down the stairs, Pazely grabbed her thin windbreaker with their dance studio name and emblem on it, from where it hung by the front door, and stepped into a pair of sandals, before going outside. The teens hurried over to the car Caleb had parked near some shrubs by the road. Trix crushed Pazely in a hug as she climbed in the back with the two kids. ¡°Never leave us out here again,¡± the darker skinned girl (he really should ask her name...) told Caleb as he got in. In retrospect, leaving the kids in a locked car in the middle of hell night may have been a bit of a poor choice. But hey, they lived, so it worked out, right?


    You are fucking retarded.


    Your priority is to get all of you to safety!


    Sorry, I¡¯m kinda failing this whole being the adult thing,¡± he apologized, and suddenly stopped the car, staring at a monstrous pile of shit (literally) blocking the street the way they had come. The other way was blocked by vehicles, as it had been when they arrived. ¡°How did- OH!¡± Caleb cried out in surprise, when a tentacle from a giant octopus on top of Pazely¡¯s house, set a screaming, middle-aged man down in the road by the shit pile


    Two ponies and a zebra ran over to him, and ripped the man to pieces, consuming him bones and all. Immediately after, they starting power shitting, creating mounds of ejected turds, large as the equines themselves; reinforcing the wall of poo, that was blocking their only exit.


    Caleb and Pazely shouted, ¡°Holy shit!¡± no pun intended, at the entire scene. ¡°Never leave us out here again,¡± the girl who''s name he did not know, repeated. Caleb didn¡¯t delay further, putting the car in reverse and hitting the gas, only to be held in place by a large purple tentacle of the giant octopus.


    The girls screaming bloody murder, drowned out Caleb''s own verbalized terror. Where did that thing come from, anyway?! It wasn¡¯t there when he had gone in the house!


    The ponies and zebra, that had been leaving the road, turned to look at them. Everyone in the car went silent, but it was too late. More zebras -and a donkey- came from the yards along the street, and joined the group that was walking towards the immobilized automobile, yipping like a pack of hyenas.


    What was he supposed to do? The tentacle covered the doors, there was no way to get out in time! What to do, what to do?!


    A large bulldozer, covered in Christmas lights, glitter and sparkly things, blasted through the wall of shit. Racing at them head on, it knocked aside the freaky little ponies. Continuing directly at their car, it slammed into it, freeing them from the tentacle, and pushing them backwards down the street. Trixie and her friend screamed again, as the car was shoved until out of reach of the octopus.


    The bedazzled-bulldozer stopped, and faster than it should have been able to, backed up, then pulled alongside them. The tinted armored door opened, and Bryan leaned down far enough for them to see. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± he called, motioning to get in, and be quick about it.


    None of them hesitated, picking the tank on wheels instead of their pop-can, and climbed up into the cool bulldozer. The inside had three rows of leather seats, air conditioning and a mini bar. Um¡­ why not at this point, right?


    Quickly turning around, Bryan sped back the way they had come, barely missing getting grabbed by another tentacle. ¡°Do I even want to know?¡± Caleb asked him, referring to not only how this thing was defying physics, but why he was covered in dirt. ¡°Do I?¡± Bryan replied calmly, running down two bulls with snake tails, and some road cones with legs.


    Where are we going then?¡± Caleb asked next. ¡°Unfortunately, to Rashelle¡¯s.¡± Pazely groaned at Bryan''s answer. ¡°Why there?¡± she complained. Was a valid question. ¡°Because the studio is gone, and the shack was destroyed, the tunnel inaccessible,¡± Bryan told her. ¡°I convinced Rashelle I would get Caleb, and she let me use her mom''s van. I stopped at the studio first, and found it leveled. Miss Terra is alive, so I had her take the van I was driving back to Rashelle''s. She wanted to stay and help, but I, um, convinced her not to. The road was mostly clear going up the hill, I''m sure she''s fine. This bulldozer was parked at the studio. Seemed appropriate, so I headed here next, being closest.¡±


    Caleb was speechless. Was this all for real?


    Bryan cleared the suburbs, and turned towards the freeway overpass. ¡°Honestly, I don''t know where else we would go," he said unprompted. "I know I said I checked the tunnel, but that was only because I was already at the studio, and was hoping..." he stopped there, needing to twist some metal; slamming through cars parked in the road. Caleb didn¡¯t ask what he meant, for after clearing the parked cars, and onto the overpass, he was shocked at the sight of the freeway. It was completely packed, bumper to bumper as far as he could see, with abandoned vehicles.


    We can wait till morning and hike Reba''s like you guys did before,¡± Caleb suggested fin ally suggested, as they continued on, assuming Bryan¡¯s concern was navigating the woods during this insane night. ¡°It¡¯s not that, man. I think it was destroyed too.¡± Caleb nor Pazely even bothered to show surprise anymore. In fact, they didn¡¯t even inquire. They just sat in silence.


    After a while, and on the road going into the mountains to Rashelle''s property, they came to a clearing that overlooked Castle Rock, and the steep drop-off on their right. ¡°Remember that huge explosion we heard when this started?¡± Bryan asked Caleb. He nodded. ¡°I think it was Reba and John''s place,¡± Bryan pointed out Caleb¡¯s window, coming to a stop.


    In the woods, exactly where you would guess the hideout would be¡­ was billowing a large column of smoke. Too large for anything, or anyone, to still be there.


    Pazely began to softly cry, and Bryan continued driving, the group falling to their own thoughts.


    Their lives were gone. Their home destroyed, or soon to be. Surely there would be survivors. There had to be. But what of their friends? Had Ally and Gigi left before this started? Were Reba and John okay? What happened to Stryker and Masque? And what of the half-elf? What of Feldyn?


    Where the hell was everybody?!

 Chapter 10: Super Little Divas

    Why do you do what you do?


    Why do you care how you care?


    For that little girl


    Your once precious pearl


    She cries


    She dies


    She lies


    Oh, how your ways leave


    How your ways leave


    Those you say are yours


    For the jewel that you named is a treasure


    A treasure that hurts and feels


    A treasure once trove


    She cries and she cares


    This jewel that was once your own


    One you used to call your own


    Why did you carry, why did you name?


    What was once, is here again


    So you now maim, you cut, and you kill


    Oh, how you wished you had taken that pill


    Crying alone, she was once your prize


    Before it¡¯s too late, won¡¯t you realize, her eyes


    Are not reflections of your own lies


    For the jewel that you named is a treasure


    A treasure that hurts and feels


    A treasure once trove


    She cries and she cares


    This jewel that was once your own


    One you used to call your own


    Now she¡¯s broken, no more fear


    What once was yours, is now gone away


    A treasure you threw away


    But your garbage that you loved will rot


    Your treasure you cast out, shall not


    Not just a treasure


    That jewel that you named


    To hurt and feel, for her has been the same


    Not now


    But not now


    A treasure, she¡¯s always now cherished


    By those that would keep her near


    She won¡¯t cry and she will care


    For this jewel is no longer your treasure


    One no longer named your own


    For the jewel that you named is their treasure


    Their treasure that hurts and feels


    A treasure now trove


    Who cried and still cares


    This jewel that was once your own


    One you used to call your own


    Sorry, Mom


    For everything


    All the pain I¡¯ve caused you


    The hurt my life has brought you


    But now I¡¯m loved


    Now I¡¯m loved


    And I am no longer alone


    No longer is she your treasure


    Another''s now to own


    And never to be alone


    And never to be your own


    Goodbye¡­


    ~Always a Treasure, lyrics


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    * * *


    She sat on a boulder next to the smoldering crater, which was the remains of the hideout in the mountain. The blood moon had ended, and the sun risen, about forty minutes ago. Belle¡¯anne, back in another pastel blue dress, sat on a blackened log not far from her master¡¯s boulder. Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi, long hair straight and loose and wearing her black human leather leotard, paced silent and absentminded nearby, among the ruined trees. Ki¡¯yi¡¯xyit had still not returned, or reported back in.


    And Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea, legs dangling over the boulder, was bored. Again.


    Puffing air into one cheek, then moving it to the other, back and forth, made her look like a spaced out kid trying to amuse themselves in silence. Belle¡¯anne knew better. Any demon that saw her should know better.


    Hey, granny, you think this plan is going to work?¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea casually asked, without looking her way. ¡°I am afraid I do not know the entirety of the plan," Belle''anne replied, "only the desired endgame.¡± Answering her imp master without a choice, was one of the perks of being enslaved to a tyrant.


    Figuratively, not literally. The tyrants were myth. Or at least their powers were. Stories to strike fear into lesser demons. Regardless, the names of the mythical tyrants was something Belle¡¯anne did know, despite spending most of her existence sealed. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea was not one of them. Unless she came from somewhere other than the Earth region...


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea blinked. The emotion in her eyes, passively expressed to her pet, were of murder, cruelty, and evil. ¡°Oh yeah, forgot you sorta suck at everything. Couldn¡¯t have expected you to be smart enough to have, I dunno, figured things the fuck out on your own?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, her passive gaze changed to a deadly glare.


    Luckily for Belle, the cause of the glare was the figure that walked out of the trees. The imp had sensed her presence long ago, so wasn''t exactly surprised. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea just hated the fucking cunt. Neither sister nor pet could blame her, the witch queen was the type you hated more the longer you knew her. No one liked the preppy, snobby, bitch types, not even demons.


    Why are you still here?¡± the young blonde woman in short pigtails asked the imp. ¡°Xal is pissed enough at you right now, don¡¯t have to go out of your way to make it worse.¡± Her hands were on exposed hips, due to the low-cut miniskirt. Matching croptop, and their colors, weren''t worth mentioning. Neither was the fact she wore no bra, yet her perfectly-sized and perky boobs defied gravity, preferring their own physics. The very cropped top exposed underboob, yet somehow (as in witchcraft), it always stayed covering nipples, boobies never quite bouncing low enough.


    Not like the imp hated her for any of that, of course. Why would she? Jealousy? Puh-leez! What man would actually fall for the blonde bouncing bimbo type? And what demon gave a flying fuck what anyone fell for, anyway? Things like being wanted and being attractive weren¡¯t needs a demon had. Normally.


    Besiiiiiiides, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea knew she was hot. Bouncy ol¡¯ bimbo boobs over there wasn¡¯t exactly gonna rattle her self confidence. ''You can¡¯t fake true sexy,'' the imp smirked to herself. Not like Shuzariel actually looked like that.


    Going out of my way to make it worse is so much more fun, though!¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea chirped back, matching the bubbling hyper, to a much more adorable effect. Shuzariel glared the glare of an angry twenty-year-old gold digger. Sighing, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea got to her feet and stood on the rock. ¡°I was just waiting for Zit. She¡¯s late. Any idea where she might be?¡± The imp wasn¡¯t worried about her sister, not in the least. Little twit could handle herself.


    Shuzariel didn¡¯t look so cute anymore. Still sexy enough to lick till your tongue went raw, but her eyes were furious. ¡°Dammit, you little shit,¡± she hissed at the infuriating child-looking creature with the smirk plastered on her face, ¡°you know where the fuck she is, and I know you¡¯re the one that sabotaged me! Us!¡±


    With a simple nod, and hopping down from the rock, ¡°You¡¯re right on that first part,¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea said casually. She didn¡¯t know exactly where Zit was, but knew the general direction. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t say sabotaged. I only spiced up the difficulty a bit. Poor auntie Xal, having to get off her ass. And my condolences to your titty squad; kudos to you for not exploding, or immolating, or whatever the fuck else happened to them."


    Despite Shuzariel''s outward appearance and personalty, she was the queen of the witches for a reason. Keeping her temper in check, she choose to ignore the now clapping imp, and turned to Jenta. ¡°I¡¯m going to risk looking more of an ass than I already do, and assume you, at least, did your job?¡± By the look of the smoking remains, not to mention the explosion, Shuzariel was confident that at least this went like it was supposed to. She and Larry had retrieved what they had been sent for, and were gone before the serious demeanored imp had finished.


    Jenta nodded. ¡°The old priest and girl are dead. Auntie had warned me to be careful, though it was unneeded. The girl died by accident, the man wasn¡¯t much more difficult.¡± The bubbly witch grinned, ¡°Good! At least one sister can follows orders. Can¡¯t have Larry going all mental to recover his long lost doll.¡± She gave a fake sigh, and matching sad face, ¡°Poor Zit, though. X''al''antra is rather angry, you know. Out of all of your roles, her''s was probably the most important. I don¡¯t even want to imagine what type of punishment Xal has planned for her.¡±


    From the sound of her voice, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea knew punishment meant torture. Not that she cared. Zit had burned in the fires twice now. Once she had jumped in on her own. The little twit always had been a bit mental. There wasn¡¯t a damn thing they could do to her that amounted to more than a finger prick.


    Larry is demanding she bring back some type of gift. To¡­ err¡­ ensure her punishment isn¡¯t too bad.¡± Suzie continued. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea rolled her eyes dramatically. Of course Larry was the camp punisher. ¡°What is it with you fake-bloods and the asinine names? Larry and Suzie? Pshh!¡±


    Shuzariel -Suzie- was finally starting to lose her cool, the whites of her eyes becoming striped and swirled, a rainbow of colors that were not supposed to combine, fetid shades of putridity, and filth, and death. ¡°Do not compare me to that sack of rot!¡±


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea sighed loudly. Slutty Suzie was right. ¡°Yeah, I know. That self-appointed zombie kings a vile shit a sack.¡± Looking thoughtful, before adding, ¡°Almost literally, I ¡®spose. You¡¯re just¡­ well, you.¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea shuddered. Jenta was having a very hard time not smirking at the way Nini was terrorizing the witch queen.


    Go find your cunt of a sister. Now," Shuzariel ordered. "Oh, and we have guests, so mind your fucking manners when you return, and stay out of sight. All of you.¡± Shuzariel smiled impatiently, and waved bye to the two imps. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea gave an equally infuriating smile in return, and matching wave, then leapt away, Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi and Belle¡¯anne following.


    As they left, Belle''anne caught one more whiff of the copious amount of the half-elf''s blood, spilled nearby. Larry and Shuzariel sure tore him up, didn¡¯t they?


    Ally and Gigi had left long before the events of the blood moon. Ally had been planning to run away from home for almost as long as she could remember, but didn¡¯t want to leave her friends. Just in case though, she kept a small baggie with a fake ID and funds, safely sewed inside one of the plushies on her bed. Sometimes taking it out to hide elsewhere, since she found her mom essentially tossing her bed once looking for hidden God only knew what.


    Since she had no intention of ever seeing this room again, Ally gave a ton of her stuffed animals to Sally, including the one with the bag inside. When Sally started crying and hugging the duffel of plushies, the adults couldn¡¯t tell her to leave them here. Though, where Ally had felt no guilt in giving them to her, now she felt horrible. Not only was she lying to her poor cousin, but in a sense she was now also using her. End result, to abandon Sally and Gigi both.


    You see¡­ Ally had every intention of going through that portal to Aethra. If it wasn¡¯t real? Then she would have to basically go into hiding until eighteen. Maybe longer. For what her parents would do to her if they ever found her¡­ she didn¡¯t even want to imagine.


    As they went out to load up into the Jacobsons¡¯ SUVs, Ally had conveniently forgotten her shoes upstairs. Other than boots and flip flops, she didn¡¯t have many pairs of shoes that the adults even counted as nonspecialty footwear. Her dad had at first kept saying they needed to talk when she asked to go get them. He was also giving her strange looks at her replies. When her mom said there was no time, he had gotten furious, and insisted on getting her shoes for her. After she convolutedly explained where they were, he said she had three minutes, and started his watch.


    That was more than enough time. Ally had known the combination for her dad¡¯s wall safe for years now, and had practiced opening it time and time again. She only needed sixty seconds.


    Her time had just run out, as she had made it down the stairs, her dad coming in the front door. ¡°Sorry, had to change.¡± She held her pink tennis shoes in one hand with some balled up leggings stuffed into one. Now wearing a black, near micro miniskirt with pink trim, and a V-neck short sleeve black shirt with tiny pink hearts on it. She had also bound her hair in a high ponytail with a black and pink scrunchy. She spun in a circle, revealing a more than a proper lady -or any, really- should. Ally wasn¡¯t wearing a bra either, hoping it would fluster the prudish asshole. Instead, he stared at her unflinching.


    Need to search me? What? These shoes are pink, I had to change!¡± she tried her best pissy teenager mood, her dad looked furious again. ¡°We need to talk,¡± he said, in an odd sort of dry deliberate manner, looking directly into her eyes. She rose her eyebrows, ¡°Um, okay, what?¡± His reaction was like she had slapped him. ¡°Go to the bedroom, and remove your clothes,¡± he told her, again in that dry voice. The hell? Now he wants me to change? ¡°Why? I thought I had to hurry?¡± she asked, puzzled. ¡°How?¡± he asked in return, voice full of despair. ¡°Uh, how what?¡± Ally was so confused at his actions, she was feeling a bit of panic. One wrong word form her, and it was all over.


    While her dad stood there, stunned and unmoving, she cautiously side-stepped and walked past him. Opening the front door, she looked back. His shoulders had slumped visibly. ¡°Ally?¡± he suddenly said, as she was about to go out the door. She looked back again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± His words almost made her drop her shoes. ¡°It was because I love you,¡± he explained, still facing away. ¡°I¡­ uh¡­¡± Ally struggled for words. Why was her dad apologizing? She had never heard him say he was sorry in her life! He also never said he loved her! ¡°Was it¡­ Was any of it¡­¡± Now he seemed to struggle for words. ¡°Did you ever love me the same way?¡±


    Standing there in the open doorway, her mother bitching at her to hurry, Ally''s mind was spinning. What was he talking about? ¡°Oh course,¡± she said finally. He turned now, shocked. ¡°R-really? So you, on your own- How long have you known? How long ago did it quit working?¡±


    Dad, I¡¯m sorry, but I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. But, uh, I love you too?¡± She turned and hurried from the awkward situation out to the SUV. She was afraid he would get angry. Whatever he was talking about, he wasn¡¯t the type of man that ever felt sorry. Nor did he know the meaning of the word love. He was almost acting like some guy whose girlfriend had just dumped him. Either way, sooner or later he would get pissed, and that was something she did not want to deal with right now.


    Priest Creepo and her aunt had their eyes all over her as she got to the car. Her mom scowled at her like she was the Whore of Babylon. ¡°I grabbed leggings too!¡± she defended herself to her mom, showing the black leggings mostly stuffed into a shoe. ¡°Get in the car!¡± she seethed. Ally wasn¡¯t sure if her mom¡¯s eyes were full of hatred, judgment, or jealousy. Maybe a combination of all of them?


    Moving to get in the SUV, she froze. Gigi and Sally were on the other side, having got back out to move something it looked like. What shocked her, was through the open doors, the girls standing there, Gigi was much taller than she should be. Ally didn''t get to ponder about that long, when she made eye contact with Sally, who was staring at her intently, a look of profound confusion, before moving her eyes back to Gigi, like she was seeing the child for the first time. Ally''s mom snapped at her again, and she quickly got into her seat.


    Stashing her shoes (leggings concealing what she had stuffed inside of one) under the seat in front of her, where Sally was sitting. The SUV had two back rows, she had gotten into the far back. Her aunt Jacobson got in the front passenger¡¯s seat. Looking at Ally in the rearview mirror, the amount of lust she let pour visibly out of her eyes¡­ you didn¡¯t know if you should commend her self-restraint, or condemn her creepy mind. Aunt Jacobson was beautiful, and kind. And she loved looking at girls more than anyone Ally knew. She liked men too, but seemed to have a fondness for young females. Especially naked ones. She had never done anything inappropriate, but Ally was no fool, she knew good and well her aunt wanted to.


    Without much else to do, Ally leaned back and let out a long sigh of relief. ¡°Why are you wearing my pantsu?¡± Gigi asked from where she lie on the floorboard at Ally¡¯s feet. ¡°They aren''t yours. Shh,¡± Ally said, without a start. She was used to Gigi climbing around in vehicles and getting yelled at. True, these weren''t Ally''s undergarments, but they were with the clean clothes in a laundry basket to be folded outside the bathroom door in the hallway. Same basket Ally grabbed the skirt, top and leggings from. Probably belonged to one of the twins. Or... to Sally now, she guessed. They were extremely tight, not that it mattered to her, as Ally loved the feel of overly tight clothes. Long as they weren''t uncomfortable or something.


    Ally then gave a rare scream when Gigi sat up and grabbed her knees, pulling them apart and leaning in to get an up close and personal view of the panties she wore. ¡°Those are mine!¡± Gigi complained and poked them. ¡°Gigi, get in a seat!¡± her uncle snapped, looking in the rear-view mirror, unable to see her. He and his wife ignored the scream. Sally did look behind her though, that look of intense confusion still on her face, eyes moving subtle but twitchy, like she was searching her brain for understanding.


    Gigi took the seat next to Ally, as Sally returned to snuggling stuffed animals from the bag she had opened on the seat next to her, in silence. As Uncle Jacobson started driving, Ally, blushing furiously, was contemplating tossing Gigi out of a window. After a moment, when her embarrassment settled down, and Ally was staring out the window, her whole body tensed when Geeg put a hand on her inner thigh.


    Closing her eyes, and with a deep breath, ¡°Gigi, will you please quit touching me?¡± she growled to her little cousin. All the touching right now was making her uncomfortable. She felt way more physically sensitive than usual.


    What is your plan?¡± Gigi whispered back, removing her hand. Startled, Ally opened her eyes. Gigi looked¡­ a bit angry. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later, okay? Not right now,¡± Ally quietly lied. She felt bad enough at the lie, and worse, as Gigi nodded her agreement and settled back in her seat. Something in Ally¡¯s mind told her that Gigi might trust her, but her eyes didn¡¯t seem to believe her, as the child scowled into the seat in front of her. Does Gigi suspect I¡¯m going to sneak back?


    After a few moments, her little cousin said, "those are my pantsu. Jessie is dead, so they belong to me." Ally fell a cold chill, focusing on Gigi with horror and shame. "what is wrong with you!" she scolded, and the little blonde shrugged, still looking at the seat, glare gone, eyes wide. "they fit me now, and she doesn''t need them. Sally is too uptight to wear pink." Sally shifted in her seat, Ally''s mouth open in shock.


    So many harsh words went through her mind to say to the kid, but she bit them back. This was a terrible time for all of them. Ally was sure her own tears would precede sleep for weeks. How much worse it must be for Sally, and her parents. Gigi too young to really get it. Even if the girl was a mutant now, that had fought a demon dog monster, didn''t change she was the same borderline mentally challenged seven year old they all knew and loved.


    The trip continued basically silent. Her uncle didn¡¯t believe in the radio, calling it an, ¡®unneeded distraction while trying to concentrate¡¯ and people speaking also annoyed him while he was driving. In fact, everything annoyed him while driving. He acted a lot like Ally¡¯s dad, actually, and the two were not even related by blood.


    Ally was surprised when Sally shook her awake. She didn''t even remember feeling drowsy. ¡°Where are we?¡± a sleepy Ally mumbled as she sat up, looking out the side window, squinting into the bright light of early day. Morning¡­ ? ¡°We are at the airport. You need to get your stuff.¡±


    Looking around, Ally saw she was the only one still in the vehicle. Sally had just gotten back in and leaned over the seat in front to wake her up. Ugh, she hated sleeping in cars. So uncomfortable. And she hated waking feeling unrested. Ally was cute even without proper slumber, but extra beauty sleep hours didn¡¯t hurt. Waking all stiff sure seemed to though¡­


    Getting out, Ally stretched, and was a little confused when a group of old dudes in suits walked by, staring at her in a mix of joy and terror. ¡°Not in public, dear,¡± her aunt politely scolded. A quick inspection and Ally found her skirt had hiked almost totally up, and either herself or Gigi had apparently removed the too small panties as she slept. Pulling her skirt back down, she frowned. Probably just made those creepy old guys¡¯ lives. Ugh.


    I seriously need to change.¡± Ally whined to her aunt, feeling a bit violated. ¡°Well, you can either do so here in the car like Gigi did, or inside in the bathroom,¡± her aunt replied, motioning to Ally¡¯s single large suitcase in the back of the SUV. Of course her mom only packed her one bag¡­ Bag? Oh shit! ¡°I¡¯ll change in the bathroom,¡± Ally answered, trying to sound casual, gears in her head spinning. ¡°But I should probably put on some underwear, at least,¡± she added, gruffer than intended, and opened the suitcase while still in the back of the SUV, the back door already lifted high.


    Oh, shoes!¡± she smacked herself in the forehead, as if she was a silly ditz that forgot. Her uncle had walked over to them to see what the hold up was. Ally needed to distract them. Not like her uncle hadn¡¯t seen her naked a good deal, but even he wasn¡¯t used to naked teens purposely trying to be slutty and tantalizing. Without hesitation, Ally climbed into the back, across the suitcase, and leaned over the back seat to get her shoes, naked derri¨¨re (and consequently, a lot more) exposed for all near to see. Ally slid back on her stomach, depositing the items from her shoes stealthily into the suitcase.


    Looking over her shoulder now, she saw her uncle hadn¡¯t said a word because he had turned and fled. That was... he was... It was like... couldn''t be. She had intended him to panic over someone seeing her, moving to block views, not escape. Her aunt remained where she had been, eyes carnivorous.


    Never before had she noticed her aunts creepy side being this obvious. And her uncle? He was acting like any other straight guy. Holy crap, had her aunt and uncle always been this weird? They were nudists! Did they¡­ Or... naturists... or...


    Cold chills filled Ally''s head, before escaping down her spine, leaving in their place a disorienting nostalgia of wrongness. She had been around them naked, plenty of times. Hadn''t she? Sure, Ally hadn''t ever gone to Russia with them... but... she had. No she hadn''t! When had she ever gotten passport? Surely she had one...


    Oops!¡± Ally giggled, pulling her skirt back down, voice trembling a bit. Turning to dig in her suitcase, she forced the weirdness to the back of her mind, focusing on clothing. Not the time to get distracted! Wrinkling her nose at the horrible clothing her mom had packed, she found a some pair of black hipster dance briefs, which were much better than the granny-panties options. And there wasn¡¯t a single bra. What the fuck mother? Nor makeup or electronics. Bitch. Good thing Ally had planned for all of this. She guessed bras weren¡¯t really a requirement either, and hated wearing them anyway¡­ but a damn sports bra or two would have been nice!


    Pulling on her briefs, back to her aunt that was still staring at her, Ally put on her pink tennis shoes, laced them, then closed her suitcase. Her aunt finally moved to follow her husband, who was already at the far end of the parking lot from with the other two girls. Ally frowned, looking around her. She swore her cousins had been standing right here. Weird. Must have followed after uncle when he retreated.


    They walked forever to get to the main building, and once inside, the reality of where they were hit Ally like a freight train. Why the hell were they in Los Angeles?! Sure, they were flying out to Minnesota, but¡­ why from LAX? Portland was closer to Castle Rock. Hell, Seattle was closer than L.A. Weirder was how long it should have taken to get here. It was like a fifteen hour drive with good traffic. Even weirder: how had she slept the entire time, and why had no one woke her?!


    Feeling someone staring at her, Ally once again shook of the confusion, to find Sally, with that curious intense expression. Matching her younger cousin''s frown, Sally smiled hesitantly, and held out an ugly rhino plushy, offeringly. The teen felt her stomach drop. Oh, that woulda been bad to take through security! ¡°I put the ribbon on its neck. It was sister¡¯s. She loved it, so thought since you loved it too¡­¡± Sally averted her eyes towards the floor, holding the stuffed animal out farther.


    Ally almost burst into tears. She took the ugly thing (a blue ribbon now tied around its neck) with shaky hands. Jessie¡­ had loved this? That... The sensation to cry halted, confusion welling up inside of her again.


    Hurry up, girls!¡± Uncle Jacobson urged, several counters down from them now. The place was like a jungle of roped-off waiting lines. Only there was next to no one waiting. Who flew these days unless they had to? The two hurried over to the rest of their group. ¡°I need to change,¡± Ally whined alongside her aunt. Aunt Jacobson sighed and stopped walking, looked around, and located a restroom sign. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m going to take Ally to the restroom to change,¡± she told her husband. ¡°You two wait here,¡± she said to the two little girls. Gigi was the only one looking like she was about to object.


    Carrying the heavy, old-school suitcase her mom had packed for her, Ally was frustrated when her aunt followed her into the restroom. ¡°You gonna watch me pee too?¡± she half-joked as she went into an empty stall. All of them were empty. ¡°Only if you plan on watching me,¡± her aunt answered, only half-joking herself, as she went into a stall farther down. At least she was doing something else so Ally could get this stuff organized.


    Clumsily opening the big suitcase, she set it to the side. Then taking the plushie she had been carrying, ripped the stitched cut in it open, taking out the small sandwich bag. Inside it was her fake ID, credit card under her false identity, and five one hundred dollar bills. She then fished around inside the suitcase for the debit card of her dad¡¯s she had taken out of her shoe, as well as the nine hundred dollars she had also taken from his safe.


    Hearing a toilet flush, Ally quickly (and awkwardly. This stall was small) changed into a loose-fitting pair of jeans, pulling them over dance briefs. As well as a stupid looking purple t-shirt with ponies all over it. Ally fucking hated ponies. All those that loved bright, shiny, rainbow-colored ponies needed to be slapped, unless they were female and under the age of ten.


    Ally was quite opinionated about some things. Shouldering her aversion, and ignoring her opinions, it was the best fit, with the most breathing room. No bra, so she didn¡¯t want some skintight shirt on. Her boobies were tiny and perky, so it all worked nicely. Gravity? Not when you¡¯re fourteen! And small chested to begin with. She¡¯ll worry about sagging when she starts getting old, like in her twenties. If she looked like her mom and aunts, however, she should look like a teenager until she was well into her thirties or something.


    Hurrying, she put the contents of the sandwich bag into a small black zippered purse her mom had -random and conveniently- packed; then it, along with the plushy, went back in the suitcase, leaving the fake ID out for ease of access.


    Her aunt knocked on the stall. Ally had just finished lacing her shoes, which she had removed to put her pants on, and opened the door. ¡°All done!¡± she smiled to her aunt. She had left her hair in the ponytail, high on the back of her head. Her aunt was crazy for ponytails, and Ally hadn¡¯t felt like taking it down and dealing with the tangles from sleeping in it right now. ¡°Didn¡¯t you need to use the toilet?¡± her aunt asked. Was she listening for me to pee? Thinking it best not to overthink, she answered with the truth, ¡°I was being sarcastic when I said that. Thought you were following me to make sure I didn''t run off or something.¡± One hell of a wide dodge.


    Ally tried to look both ashamed and offended. It worked. And the look on her aunt¡¯s face also told her she had been right, they were expecting her to try to run. ¡°Now Allyssia, you know your uncle and I trust you.¡± She smiled and gave Ally a hug. Her aunt wasn¡¯t much taller, making it easy to place her face against Ally¡¯s neck and breath deeply. Creepy as it was, Ally kinda liked it. ''Focus, you perv! Fight your creeper genes!'' Ally encouraged herself. ¡°Thanks, aunt Jacobson,¡± she said, pulling away and picking the suitcase back up.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    You know you can¡¯t wear that through security,¡± her aunt spoke, stopping Ally dead in her tracks, mind spinning as to what she had done wrong. ¡°It will set off the metal detector.¡± Looking back at her aunt, Ally followed her eyes to the small golden bracelet watch on her wrist. Oh! She had forgotten she had still been wearing it! She would have been heartbroken if she had left that behind. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll take it off and put it in the little container,¡± Ally answered. I mean seriously, who would just walk through the metal detector still wearing metal? She didn¡¯t need to give creepy-fingered TSA an excuse to give her a pelvic. Ugh, why were security measures in America so fucking weird and passively sexual? Government sanctioned rape and molestation. Not high on her list of shit to deal with at the moment.


    Without another word, she left the restroom, escape plan piecing itself together in her mind, mixed with thoughts of how weird her aunt and uncle were acting. True, they had just lost a daughter, and how justifiable reason to be a bit off. However, they didn''t seem sad, or to be grieving in the slightest. Unlike Sally, who was obviously beyond traumatized.


    Uncle Jacobson was using his cellphone, and looked angry when they caught back up to him and the girls. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ally¡¯s aunt asked, concerned. ¡°It¡¯s Father Shiplin,¡± her uncle complained to his wife. ¡°He isn¡¯t here yet, and he isn¡¯t answering his cell.¡± Ally remembered overhearing them talking in the car. Apparently, Father Shiplin was driving his hearse with Jessica¡¯s body. He was following them to the airport, and they were flying the body back. So where was he? Not that Ally minded he wasn¡¯t here. His obsessively lecherous gaze would have made it even harder to slip away.


    They were standing near the baggage check counters; being the only ones in line, they hadn¡¯t worried about holding anyone up, allowing an agent to overhear their conversation. ¡°Sir, maybe he is stuck in traffic due to the emergency?¡± an uncommonly helpful female airline employee volunteered to him. At being spoken to, her uncle, aunt, and all the luggage and girls in tow, walked to the counter.


    What emergency?¡± he asked. ¡°Are you flying with us?¡± the agent, wearing a faked smile, answered the question. The process of checking luggage had begun! Ally tensed, totally forgetting they had to check her ID here, and she had handed over her false one. Nothing on it should be different other than her date of birth and address. It wouldn''t hold up under any proper checks or scans, but looked and felted completely real.


    When the agent was confirming Ally¡¯s information, she frowned, then looked up at the teenage girl for a frighteningly long second, before sighing and looking back to the monitor. Her fingers clacking an overly excessive amount of keys the entire time. ¡°Something wrong?¡± her uncle asked, and was again ignored. Ally acted as casual as she could. ''Please God, please let her not notice! Please, Jesus, let it work!''


    All of you for Missouri, then?¡± the agent abruptly asked. ¡°Missouri?!¡± Ally and Sally exclaimed in unison. Mr. Jacobson ignored the outburst, ¡°Yes. Is something wrong?¡± The agent shook her head. ¡°What emergency were you referring to?¡± he asked next. Clicking away on the keyboard, she ignored him for a moment, ¡°There was a huge electrical storm over Southwestern Washington last night. All flights to or near Washington, Idaho, and Oregon were temporarily grounded. The I-5 corridor is closed along most of Oregon and Washington, and highways across the state are jammed due to traffic. Looks like you all made it here just in time to avoid the chaos.¡±


    The adults took the news casually as the woman had explained it, accepting it was also the likely cause of the priest being late. ¡°Guess flights are going to be delayed,¡± her aunt said, to no confirmation from the lady at the counter. That was confirmation in itself. Airports were never on time when they weren¡¯t busy. Expecting an onslaught of customers? Yeah. They were going to be delayed.


    Ally was still reeling at the knowledge she was going to a different state than she had been told. Why Missouri? Minnesota was strange enough, but at least there was family property there. The hell was in Missouri?! Not that it mattered. The other part of what the lady told them was the important part.


    Did people die?¡± Ally asked over her uncle, receiving a scowl. ¡°They haven¡¯t said much,¡± the lady replied. ¡°Stand there and shut up,¡± her uncle commanded her quietly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gigi whispered to Ally. ¡°Something bad happened. Back home,¡± Ally whispered back without thinking, noticing for the first time the outfit Geeg had changed into at some point. A scarlet red spaghetti string tank top and black skirt. Red looked good on her, the kid should wear it more. Uncle Jacobson picked up Ally''s suitcase to weigh it. ¡°NO!¡± she exclaimed. Blushing honestly, ¡°All my stuff¡¯s in that. We might be waiting here for days if flights get grounded!¡±


    It will not fit in the overhead compartment,¡± the agent droned, with a bland smile. Eek! She hadn¡¯t thought about her bag getting checked! Shit, shit shit shit shit- ¡°Put my animals in there, and your stuff in here,¡± Sally said to the mentally panicking teenager, holding out her duffel full of plushies. ¡°That will fit on board,¡± the lady said without looking at them, still typing.


    With a begging gaze to her uncle, he consented. Ally quickly took the suitcase from him, and started emptying out the plushies from the duffel, stealthily moving her important items over with the shit that didn''t matter. ''That was close! Way to save my ass, cousin!''


    The adults refused to give an answer as to why they were going to Missouri, so the girls did the only thing a kid could do: what the adults told them. Finishing at the counter, they made their way over to and through security. Aside from someone that made a huge scene when they were selected for extra screening (Shut the fuck up and deal. Kids do it for years, you can do it for five minutes at airport security, dumbass!), they got through pretty quickly.


    Despite minimal to no lines, the area beyond security was fairly crowded. Most of the terminals were either almost full, or flat overflowing. With so many flight delays, people had just set up shop. When they had been at their terminal no more than thirty minutes, the large flat screen TV monitor near them announced the breaking news of all flights in the nation being indefinitely grounded, and a state of emergency being declared. There was a lot of groaning, booing, and curses from people as they watched the news announcement.


    The military was cordoning off over half of Washington, the story went on, and according to the news reporter, this storm (told to them by a source they won¡¯t name, since they were blabbing without permission) that caused all the drama, seemed to be centered over Cowlitz County.


    Ally had to get home, now! She trusted the survivability of her friends, old and new, and was positive they were still alive, whatever it was that was going on. She was going to fight with them no matter what! And when this was all done, the dust had settled¡­ Ally was going to Aethra. She didn¡¯t give a crap what Feldyn said, one way or another she would go through that portal, successfully running where her parents could never reach, and she would be free.


    Aethra sounded like the things she had only dreamed of! Magic? That alone was enough! Ally¡¯s desire for, and curiosity of, magic, had caused her to make some dumb choices in life. This world was so very dull. She had always wondered why the magic of fantasy couldn¡¯t exist. Not the evil ¡®magic¡¯ the Bible spoke of, just something she had no other word for but ¡®magic¡¯.


    Why didn¡¯t Christians ever believe in the supernatural? Why did they preach faith, and salvation, and miracles, but not believe in anything other then what they could see with their own eyes? Why did they preach forgiveness, yet judge everyone and everything around them like they were scum? It made no sense to the girl, and went completely against the teaching of Jesus. Luckily for her, the foolish narrow-mindedness of people didn¡¯t push her from Christ; it pushed her from organized religion. Was she a perfect Christian? Hell no! Who was? But her love for Christ was real, and God -literally- knew she tried. Even more lately, since realizing...


    I¡¯m hungry,¡± Ally told her uncle. He ignored her. ¡°Is it okay if I take the girls and get some food?¡± she smiled sadly at him. He eventually sighed, ¡°Right there, and right back. Leave your bags here.¡± She nodded in agreement, but kept staring at him. He didn¡¯t move. Shrugging, she opened her duffel and took out a small black zippered purse that she had put her her cash and cards in. ¡°I said to leave your bags here.¡± Ally rolled her eyes. ¡°So you prefer I steal the food? It¡¯s my purse. Unless you want to pay?¡± He scowled at her, ¡°Fine, take it. But come right back!¡± Giving her uncle a smile, nod, and a kiss on the cheek, Ally practically skipped away in faked happiness, Gigi and Sally following after her.


    They ended up getting burgers. And it took forever. Gigi and her damn pickles! The first place they went wouldn¡¯t give them extra, and Geeg started crying. Ally refused to pay, and moved on to some place she had never heard of. Their uncle stalked within sight once, but seeing them in the line from hell, he left, content Ally wasn¡¯t pulling something.


    Of course Ally was pulling something!


    Getting bacon cheeseburgers (Sally¡¯s with nothing but ketchup; Gigi usually added as many pickles as possible, so if she didn¡¯t like the toppings, the pickles sorta drowned them out¡­), drinks, fries, and onion rings (Gigi hated onions, but loved onion rings) for all three of them. She motioned the girls over to an empty table.


    Just a sec, let me condense the bags down,¡± Ally told them, as she discreetly unzipped her purse. Moving the food from three bags into one, it obviously would not fit, and needed to be in at least two. However, doing so gave Ally the chance to drop her purse, and retrieve it from one of the bags. And that bag ended up the lone empty one, nothing in it aside from the contents of her purse that she had emptied before taking it back out. ¡°Good enough,¡± Ally smiled, her cousins eyeing her suspiciously. Or judgmentally. Gigi was actually glaring...


    Balling up the extra bag with her stuff in it, she skipped a full trash can, and tossed it into one that was near empty, outside of the eating area, closer to the restrooms.


    When they got back to their terminal, uncle was pissy about them taking so long, but that was the only problem. So far, so good! Quickly drinking her gargantuan soda, Ally ate her food fast as she could while still appearing casual.


    When finished, Ally waited about ten minutes, then asked, ¡°Can I go use the restroom?¡± Wiggling around a little, trying to seem embarrassed, ¡°I sorta need to pee.¡± Her aunt''s eyes twinkled at that revelation. ¡°Of course,¡± her uncle answered, irritation gone from his voice. ¡°Leave your bag and purse this time.¡± Ally stood and smiled at him, ¡°I know,¡± she agreed, before doing her best I need to pee bad walk to the restroom.


    * * *


    Watching her older cousin quickly walk away, Gigi waited¡­ waited¡­ now! ¡°Uncle,¡± she squeaked, ¡°I gotta go, gotta go, gotta gooo!¡± Geeg grabbed her little girl parts -over her skirt, sickos- in two hands. Kicking her feet, the skirt hiked enough to reveal she had once again decided to forgo undergarments. Her own expression of needing to pee (and double-handed crotch grab) was not anywhere near discreet. ¡°I can catch Ally!¡± she squeaked again, and flopped over in her seat, to lean against Sally. ¡°Fine, hurry up!¡± Uncle Jacobson consented, highly uncomfortable. He didn¡¯t like noisy scenes, especially ones caused be a pantyless Gigi holding her hoohoo, squealing, wiggling, and whining.


    I love you Sally¡­¡± Gigi whispered quickly in her cousin¡¯s ear as she sat up.¡°But Gigi has to go get the bad guys so no one else gets hurt!¡± Sally blinked at her, puzzled, mouth opened like she wanted to say something. Gigi hopped off the bench, noticing Ally had left the yellow rhinoceros. ¡°I thought you had to pee?¡± her aunt asked. ¡°PEE!¡± Gigi squealed, grabbing the plushie and running off, hands in the air.


    Whew! Gigi had made her escape without needing to kill anyone! Ally wasn¡¯t very good at explaining stuff, but Gigi knew she had to be smart. Ally was going back, and Gigi was supposed to just understand, like spies do without saying it! She was in sight of the bathrooms now and-


    Where was Ally?


    Looking around, ''did she get captured?'' She should be by the garbage can to get her stuff she hid in it. Then Gigi saw her. She had the paper bag already, and was by the security gates. Ally¡­ was leaving her.


    Ally was leaving her? ¡­ Why? Why?! Ally¡¯s not like that! Ally wouldn¡¯t leave Gigi! Ally wasn¡¯t like the grown-ups! She didn¡¯t leave the kids alone! Why, Ally?! Why are you leaving me?!


    A surprising feeling welled up in her, tears filling her eyes. Before the annoying emotions could take hold, she saw them. The security soldier guys. They were looking and pointing at Ally. Oh no, they were following her! Ally was gonna get captured! Maybe Gigi should let her? The fucking bitch deserved it. No! Nooooo! Gigi was a good guy, and she had to help her friends, and fight the bad guys! What should she do?! How to make everyone forget Ally? How?! Find a gun and shoot people as a distraction? Stab the cops? Ugh, probablies not. What would Jesus do?!


    Jesus would remind her that sometimes being bad was good. Sin was sin, perception was... something something. Or, something.


    IIIIIEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡± Gigi screamed a wail of absolute gut wrenching terror, it even freaked her out a bit. Eyes open wide, holding her hands to her face, plushie still clenched by its leg in her left fist. Everyone -including Ally- turned to look at her. Staring straight at the guard-soldier-cop-idiots, Geeg pointed blindly off to the right. ¡°He has da bomb! KYAAAAA!¡± Her second scream was actually adorable. So she looped it. Scary and cute. Contrast was key, she heard someone say online before.


    The effect was magnificent! Eyes freakishly wide, hands on her cheeks, screaming ¡®kyaa!¡¯ over and over, as every single person in the area flipped the fuck out. Not ten seconds into the chaos, someone actually pulled a gun and started shooting. It was madness! It was awesome!


    Ally was grateful. She knew she would probably never see that precious face again. That wide-eyed vacant stare she cherished so much. She knew Gigi had been trying to catch her. That child was smarter than she looked; she had picked up on everything. ''I¡¯m so sorry, Gigi! I love you so much!'' With tears near blinding her, Ally turned and ran through security, using the chaos, and now throng of people, as a perfect cover.


    That was what Gigi knew Ally thought and did. And FUCK THAT! Like hell Gigi was gonna lose her now!


    Running straight for the exit near security, Gigi dodged and avoided people as they crashed and rushed all around her, making it through as they were closing some big gate thingy!


    Her tiny legs moving her faster than they should be able to, she made it outside and stopped, panting on the sidewalk. Cops, flashing lights, and people running and screaming; she didn¡¯t see Ally anywhere. Poor Gigi began to panic. No! No! Not nows!! Where is she?! Where???


    With no one to call to, she thought of the voice that had been in her head. It last spoke to her when they were leaving Castle Rock, telling her to stay away because it wasn''t safe. Angry at it telling her what to do, she ignored it. Now, maybe it could help her.


    Heeeeeey, where¡¯d she go???¡¯ When getting no response, she clenched her fists and eyes shut, and tried screaming it louder in her head. Nothing. No answer. ¡®Where¡®s my cousin?!'' she wailed in her mind, feeling that terrible sense again that made her start to cry.


    Hey, little girl! You okay? Come here!¡± Gigi looked to her right to see a fat cop, with a dumb beard thing, yelling to her. She pretended to not see him, and started to turn away. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t ignore me, look over here!¡± he called to her louder, walking closer. Oh no, oh crap! Oh poop! ¡°Look at me!¡± he sounded angry. Gigi looked at him, and was glad his eyes, full of urgency, were not angry.


    Then, behind him, way down on the other side of the road in front of the loading and drop off area, she saw Ally getting on a bus. A bus far away from where Gigi stood. And, as the little girl watched, the bus began to drive away from her. This¡­ wasn¡¯t happening!!!!


    Quickly child, hurry!¡± the annoying fat cop yelled to her again. He needed to shut up! Gigi was having a bad day! Ally¡¯s bus drove down a curvy ramp, making a directional u-turn, heading directly back towards Gigi, but on a lower level road.


    Directly back towards Gigi on a lower road? She looked across the street, as people ran everywhere, police-lights flashing all confusing, to the metal railing on the other side. It wasn¡¯t too high up, only a little taller than her¡­


    Hurry!¡± Grrrrr, why did this dumb cop keep shouting at her to hurry? She knew she had to hurry! ''Jesus, don¡¯t let Gigi go squish!'' With a determined squeak, she sprinted across the lanes, without looking either way. At the railing, she stepped on the concrete, grabbed the big metal rail, pulling herself up.


    And she jumped.


    Little Gigi leapt fierce and far, falling well over a story, still clutching onto the ugly yellow stuffed animal, landing uninjured on the roof of the bus, which had just turned under her to head down the road in the direction she had jumped.


    At first, disbelief filled her as she sat blinking on the roof of the big bus. Quickly realizing she needed to hide, Geeg got down on her belly, and kicked her feet in joy, containing a Pazely caliber screech of triumph. She did it! She really did it! Yes, yes, yes!


    Don¡¯t worry, everybody! Gigi¡¯s comin¡¯ back to save you!!!


    * * *


    Watching the bus drive away, the cop with the poorly sculpted facial hair, smiled. It had been quite a shock how loud and clear her cry had come across. The others currently assigned to this airport (a middle-aged janitor, old woman, a flight attendant, and the agent that had checked in Ally and her family) were quite occupied with assignments and responding to cries, to do anything to help the child themselves. When she ran outside, directly in front of him, he took on her request, answering those cries. However¡­ peculiar the answer had needed to be. Generally, one would not be led to jump atop a bus, let alone a child. Her plea had just been so very loud.


    It was almost as if she had been calling to one of them specifically, though if that had been the case, she would have been answered by the one in question. Or at least identified by such to the others. Not a one of them knew her name.


    She was too young to no longer be innocent, yet the Mark of Christ was apparent and bright on her young soul. That should not be possible. This needed to be looked into further, but to question was not their role. Their duty was to follow order, and follow orders they had. Although, one could not help feeling... curiosity.


    Age and innocence aside, how the blonde child could cry out so loudly to so many angels, was one of those things that tempted them to forget their assignments and follow her. However, free will was not an option for the Palaidisu, regardless of the reason.


    What kind of a moron follows orders blindly?! Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea sure didn¡¯t. She did currently wish that her little sister had at least listened to her enough to have returned by morning.


    Zit had apparently been stalking the priest that was transporting the corpse of that raped and murdered girl from the other day. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea, Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi, and Belle caught up to Zit at a rest area, on the highway near Vancouver. The roads all being closed, and everyone gone after last night; moving unnoticed was easy. Not that it mattered at this point.


    The hearse was parked off in a tree shaded part of the lot. Zit had sat pouting near the restrooms as her sisters arrived. Why had she stalked this priest? To try to have sex with the rotten old scrotum! Big sister Nini loved her as much as a sociopathic demon could, but did she have to be so damn retarded. Zit, being the retarded little pimple she was, blamed herself, and had been pouting.


    Her choice to seduce the priest was born of more than just curiosity. It was a well-known fact that her sister, the great Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea, had never managed to seduce a priest, and Zit just wanted to succeed where her sister never had. Not to show her up, but to impress her.


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea had tried to fuck a handful of priests and pastors -the real ones, not pretenders-, failing each time. A few sent her packing back to Hell. A few escaped. The rest she had killed. She had respect for priests. They were the most difficult challenge she had faced in her sexcapades. Maybe if she had a penis? All those nasty priests into their shota shit were generally nowhere near to being Christian. They just faked it for the pedo perks. Fucking Catholics¡­


    Leaving Zit with Jenta and Belle, as the stupid little turd was throwing a bit of a tantrum, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea headed over to the parked hearse. He had apparently slept here unmolested all night. Who or what would fuck with him, having Zit nearby? The imp marched across the lot. She was seething, and marching in anger felt sorta stress relieving. How dare he upset her sister!


    Reaching the hearse, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea ripped off the back loading door (fuck tact!), tossing it casually over her shoulder, and out of sight as it cleared the treetops. Father Shiplin woke with a start, sitting up and flailing around wildly, looking for danger. And Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea saw immediately why her sexy little slut of a sister couldn¡¯t get his limp dick nice and firm.


    Not only was he not a priest (The chains of sin were practically dripping off of him. Zit failed to mention that part¡­ Or she was too stupid to notice?), but he was also snuggled up, in nothing but his stained briefs, with the attractive blonde child¡¯s corpse. A lolicon necrophiliac? Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea honestly didn¡¯t care how someone got their rocks off, but she loathed fakes, phonies, and pretenders. And nothing was more fake and phony than a false priest.


    Yo, fuckwad, you touch my sister?¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea sneered; Father Shiplin seeming more afraid of his corpse snuggling at the moment, to register what the hell she was talking about. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea sighed, and yanked the man from the vehicle by his ankle in one tug. It sent him skidding across the parking lot to the grass on the far side, scraping off a good deal of his old leathery skin along the way.


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea casually hopped the distance to land in front of this near naked, bloody, and whimpering old fake. She had to say, she was surprised he wasn¡¯t screaming. The road rash he just got was sorta like being cheese-grated. She was fairly sure if he turned around he would have exposed spine and rib showing. Not that it would matter. ¡°I hate you false priests. Go around preaching Jesus, yet your soul belongs to Satan. The fuck is with your lot?¡± she sighed. His eyes focused, then filled with hysterical panic, as he took in the child before him. The demon before him. ¡°Oh my God,¡± the necrophiliac child molester whimpered. She felt a little surprised. He at least paid enough attention to his job to recognize a demon, even if he faked his beliefs.


    Ya know¡­ He doesn¡¯t know you for shit, right? You don¡¯t even like the guy. God to you is a concept, a symbol. What you like, what you love, is death. Cold, rotten, fetid death, rubbing all over your cock. Right? Bet you like to make young girls submit, and inflict pain and fear on them too. Probably while forcing them to be naked, and praying.¡± He was whimpering loudly now, as the imp rested her hands on her knees and crouched down to get closer to his face. ¡°You know what I like?¡± she smiled, cute and sweet. He whined loudly, snotty and teary-eyed.


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea ripped out one of Father Shiplin¡¯s ribs so fast that he hadn¡¯t even realized it happened, despite the fact she was now shaking it in his face. ¡°I like to murder people using their own bones! Wee!¡±


    As the others watched her stab the old man to death with his own rib, Jenta wasn¡¯t in the least surprised he didn¡¯t once call out for Christ. Zit was thrilled he didn¡¯t. It meant later, back home, she could punish him, over and over and over. She liked to peel people''s skin off like string cheese.


    The old man now more than dead, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea was still irritated, though her anger had mostly abated. Discarding the rib, she grabbed his head with both hands. Putting her right foot on his chest to hold the corpse down, in a twist and tug, she removed it, most of his spine coming out as well.


    Nini walked back over to the three watching, snapping the spine from the head and tossing it away. ¡°Take the head from the girl¡¯s corpse, and put limp dick¡¯s remains back in the vehicle and burn it. The heads of a false priest and the raped bitch should be enough of a gift to get Larry all wet, and forget about Zit¡¯s punishment. And if he doesn¡¯t like it, he can fuck himself in the ass. Auntie and Suzie too, for that matter.¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea grinned broadly, ¡°We are here for a job, and we will do it. More or less. But I ain¡¯t nobody¡¯s bitch. And neither are my sisters.¡±


    Ally had no idea where they were. She had been paying no attention at all, so lost was she in her own dark thoughts and guilt. She couldn¡¯t believe she just left Sally and Gigi like that. She regretted it almost to the point of going back. Only, doing such would accomplish nothing but her being put in juvie until she was eighteen. Then, probably adult jail¡­


    The bus eventually stopped at a gas station. Getting off and looking around, this was not L.A. She knew L.A. well, so where the fuck were they? Why wasn''t she paying attention while they were driving? No matter; Ally saw bus ticket signs on the station. Wherever here was, she would just get a ticket for where she needed to go.


    Walking beside the bus, Ally was stretching her legs, trying to think, when something landed on her shoulders quite hard. ¡°Allyyyyyyy,¡± it moaned, and she barely (barely) didn¡¯t scream. She did fall to her hands and knees, which let Gigi easily hop down. Ally¡¯s heart was still pounding too hard to even wonder why the hell Gigi had just fell out of the fucking sky.


    Gigi marched around, to stand in front of a kneeling, gasping Ally, who was clutching her chest. She glared hard into her older cousin¡¯s eyes, while she composed herself. ¡°Gigi-¡± Ally began, and her little cousin slapped her across the face. The shock of it, did something to that wall she had put up, immediately triggering that painful nostalgic wrongness.


    Her world spun. This was all wrong. But why? What? Eyes settling on Gigi, who was saying something- and that was the moment when Gigi''s appearance, her changed appearance, finally and truly sank in.


    Why had she accepted it so easily? Why had no one else mentioned it? Or freaked out?


    Gigi had always been gangly and undersized for a seven year old. She could have passed for four, and her weird way of talking and acting fit with it. Now? She had no gangly at all, was proportioned as she should be for her features, and looked older than her seven years. She was so much taller, about the same as Sally, who was ten. ... Wait. ... That didn''t feel right either. Time.. wasn''t timing.


    "How old are you?" Ally asked, Gigi freezing mid sentence, her glare sharpening. "I''m serious, I ... I can''t remember." For a long several seconds, the child said nothing. "Six," was he eventual answer. Six? That couldn''t be right. "And Sally is ten?"


    "Nine."


    "Are you sure?" No reply this time, just an intense stare. "And I''m..."


    "Fourteen." Ally nodded, relieved. Her own age did feel right.


    Fearing the answers, she was about to ask more, when Gigi closed her right fist, left fist holding the yellow rhino plushie Ally had left behind, and decked her in the face.


    Which had hurt like hell. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Ally snapped, now sitting on her butt. If she got a black eye from that... ¡°You left me,¡± Gigi stated, "and now you''re asking dumb questions about age! So what if Reba saved me, and now I''m bigger! Gigi saved you at the airport! Do you know why? Do you even care about anything other than if you were naked and, and, and how olds I is?¡±


    Ally looked into this child¡¯s eyes that scolded her, and was more confused. The kids words wording was strange as ever, but her eyes... were... dead.


    Cuz Gigi didn¡¯t want you to be sad!" the child explained, dead eye quickly filling with tears. "You cry all the time and you think no one knows! You act all brave! But you were too scared to even save me from that monster!¡± The six-year-old''s eyes were producing enough tears, for them to drip from her face to the asphalt.


    Then, something changed. Gigi twitched. Flinched. And her voice now quavered.


    So Gigi saved you! All of you!¡± Not exactly true, but true enough. And for reasons the kid didn''t understand; they hurt. In a weird way. Thinking about Ally, all her friends, not caring. About being sad. About them being sad; it made her feel terrible. Really terrible, in a way that made no sense, and she started bawling. ¡°It hurt so bad!¡± Falling to her own knees, Gigi wailed, ¡°Why did you leave me, Ally?! Why? Why did you leave me?!¡±


    Everything else forgotten, Ally cradled her favorite little girl in her arms. Gigi quickly got her loud wails under control, but kept crying. All Ally could do as she hugged her tight was say, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She did still have the presence of mind to realize they were causing a scene, so she took Gigi in her arms and carried her off to the side, around an outbuilding.


    When her crying had subsided, Ally set Gigi down. ¡°How did you get here?¡± she asked, as Geeg looked around for something to blow her nose in. ¡°On dah roof,¡± she answered nasally. The roof? Wait¡­ ¡°The roof of the bus?¡± Gigi nodded, and took off her top. ¡°You jumped on the roof of the bus, just to follow me?¡± Again, Gigi nodded, and blew her nose in garment.


    Fucking wonderful! Wasn¡¯t like Ally could just send her back. She also couldn¡¯t leave her here, or buy a kid with no ID a bus ticket! Geeg blew her nose a few more times, then tossed her shirt on the ground. And to complicate things, Gigi is now practically naked. Why do these things happen to me?


    Before she could think of anything else, the oddness of her little cousins appearance took the forefront yet again. She had abs! Not crazy abs, but abs! Standing there in only her small skirt, Gigi... was still Gigi. Skinny, big ears, freckles, floofy thin hair, but now she was muscularly toned, and her filled out face and body was, well, pretty. Not in a lewd way, but attractive enough Ally almost blushed at the realization.


    You gonna send me back?¡± Gigi sniffled at her older cousin. ''Would if I could,'' Ally thought. She had no idea how in the hell to make this journey back with a five- uh, seven, err, six-year-old. Even if that six-year-old was Gigi. Who knew what kind of problems or dangers she was going to encounter while trying to find everyone? Let alone once she found them.


    I couldn¡¯t if I wanted to,¡± Ally sighed, and turned to look behind her at a big bus pulling into the station. Wonderful. Looking back at Gigi, ¡°Stay here.¡± The little girl glared at her suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m not enough of a bitch to just leave you in a random parking lot. Stay here!¡± Ally raised her eyebrows, and held up a finger, in a ¡®just hold on¡¯ manner. Gigi smirked at the word ¡®bitch¡¯, but agreed.


    As she started to walk away, Ally looked at the discarded shirt. May as well blow her nose too ¨C Then she remembered her stuff. She still had it in the crumpled food bag! SHIT! About to really panic, she saw it on the ground near where the bus she rode here on was parked. The hell?


    Ally hurried to the bag, picking it up, she glanced inside, and looked like everything was still there. Hadn''t she forgotten it under the seat? Writing it off as she had just spaced carrying it off with her, and thanking God no one picked it up, she went into the gas station. Relieved they sold some clothes, traveling and tourist items, Ally grabbed a few random t-shirts, a pack of generic little girl¡¯s panties, a bunch of snacks, and the biggest duffel bag they had, and brought it to the counter.


    Need a bus ticket too, for that one there, if any seats are open,¡± Ally said, motioning to the big bus that had arrived. The female cashier laughed. ¡°It¡¯s going north and is almost empty.¡±


    That¡¯s perfect! Err, north I mean,¡± Ally smiled. The lady eyed her suspiciously, ¡°ID? And where north are you trying to go?¡± Ally casually handed her the fake ID, and credit card, praying it worked, having never used it. ¡°Castle Rock,¡± she answered.


    Castle Rock? Hate to burst your bubble, but the government won¡¯t even let anyone get as close to Washington as Portland.¡± The clerk set the ID and credit card down after examining them, and went about scanning the merchandise. ¡°Well, I have family back there. Can I just buy a ticket for as far as I can go? Would rather be close, than waiting down here.¡± The clerk seemed to ignore her.


    Instead, as she picked up the pack of panties to scan them, she again eyed her suspiciously. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a bit old for these, hun?¡± Condescending middle-aged bitch. ¡°Not all of us hit eighteen and blimp out,¡± Ally replied, with a smug grin. ¡°Can I buy a ticket or not?¡± Ally¡¯s voice was still pleasant and soft, but the clerk got the point.


    Hey, Henry, how far north can you guys get?¡± The bus driver wandering the store looked up at the call from the clerk. ¡°Not even sure. Halfway up Oregon, at least. Maybe farther.¡±


    Got ya a passenger here, not sure where to book her ticket for.¡± The driver frowned from where he was looking at cheap sunglasses, ¡°Just charge for Portland, and I¡¯ll get as close as I can.¡±


    That worked for Ally! She was glad she was going to Aethra, and wouldn¡¯t need money. Everything, including the ticket, was almost four hundred dollars! Holy crap! She never had that kind of money. This credit card only had a five hundred dollar limit on it. She would need to hit an ATM soon as possible. Her uncle probably hadn''t called her dad yet, not wanting to admit he let her escape, and he rarely shopped, so wouldn''t notice his missing debit card anytime soon. Still, better to be safe than sorry.


    Looking out the window as the clerk droned the instructions on how to get on a bus, Ally saw that the outbuilding Gigi was hiding behind had a restroom symbol. After the clerk shut up, Ally asked if she could use the restroom, and was handed a set of keys. The bus driver told her to hurry, she had five minutes. As if this wasn¡¯t stressful enough!


    Hurrying back to the outbuilding, when she got close, she said, ¡°Gigi, stay back there. I¡¯m going to open a window for you to climb in.¡± Gigi didn¡¯t answer, and Ally hoped the child was still there. Couldn¡¯t risk the nosy clerk seeing her go around back of the building and getting even more suspicious. At least she hadn¡¯t noticed her before entering the store, or she would have seen Ally with the little girl.


    Unlocking the single door, Ally got inside and quickly opened the small window, and was startled as Gigi climbed into view without warning. ¡°Now what?¡± the little monkey asked, wide-eyed. ¡°Now you climb in the bag, be quiet, and pray.¡± Luckily for Ally, Gigi was all too happy to climb inside the duffel bag full of snacks, and be zipped up.


    Okay Gigi, I¡¯m probably going to have to put this bag, and you, in the storage under the bus. You¡¯ll be fine with the food and drinks, but do not move or make a sound. If the guy putting this bag under the bus knows you are in there, we are both in huge trouble.¡± Gigi didn¡¯t say a word, but Ally heard a bag of chips open. ¡°And no eating until you are under the bus, and it¡¯s moving. Got it?¡±


    Mm hmm!¡± was the tiny response. Then a thought occurred to Ally. ¡°And if you start getting sleepy, do not fall asleep!¡± It wasn¡¯t full of carbon monoxide under there, right?


    With a deep breath, and a silent prayer to Jesus, Ally shouldered the bag and walked out of the bathroom, hurrying to the bus. The chubby old bus driver with the pornstache was waiting by the baggage storage area, looking at his watch as she hurried over to him. ¡°One minute,¡± was all he said. Ally stood staring at him. He ignored her. She shrugged and tossed her bag under the bus; farther than she meant, since there was near nothing down there. The bag thumped hard and Ally winced. Poor Gigi.


    Thirty seconds.¡± What was with this tool?! Handing him her ticket, he took it, marked it with a marker, then motioned for her to get on. Ally took one step up, remembered she had the restroom keys, and sprinted them back to the scowling clerk.


    It was empty on the large bus, save for two black guys in the back, and a fat old white lady sitting by the door.


    Taking a seat behind the driver, Ally sighed a sigh of relief. This was insane! What was she going to do with Gigi? She was taking her back to God only knew what chaos and danger! Yet¡­


    Yet no matter how worried she was, or how stupid it all seemed, it honestly felt like she was doing the right thing.

 Chapter 11: Behold the Terrors

    Just like before the dam was built.


    He could feel their trust.


    Water crashing forth, now held still.


    The waters of ice.


    The waters of life.


    Why must they be so foolish?


    Can such power be contained?


    A crack in the dam, and water appears.


    Do not worry, they condescend.


    Not more than a trickle.


    Not even a stream.


    No reason to fear.


    No reason to flee.


    No one ever understood why it was I had cried.


    All the times I begged, explained to them.


    And lied.


    All of it was for my peers.


    Those innocents living in the shadow.


    The shadow of a power they foolishly contain.


    No dam would damn them.


    What else would turn the water wheel?


    What else would churn their butter?


    Grind their wheat?


    Power their houses?


    People?


    People existed to enslave, not work!


    Not to sweat, and ache, and toil!


    But I knew¡­


    That one day¡­


    It would break.


    They would be covered in the freezing torrent!


    Everyone and all, swept away to their own liquid grave!


    All this I told them.


    All this I knew.


    All this I felt.


    But it was that power!


    That sheer destructive force!


    How it was held and weakened to such a state!


    That was what gave them their confidence!


    Their contentment!


    Their foolishness.


    A trickle, easily controlled by those ants it would crush.


    Easily bent and yoked.


    Now, not even a shadow of itself, it can do nothing but be.


    And wait.


    And weaken.


    Ever so weaken¡­


    That which keeps it enchained.


    One day it will break.


    Upon all those foolishly dwelling in its home.


    Its bed.


    Its land.


    I warned them of the leak.


    I warned them of its whisper.


    Too late.


    The day had come.


    It stormed and rained.


    People screamed and people cried.


    Thunder cracked.


    As did the dam.


    Like I had said, to no avail, this power would not be held.


    Now it is done.


    No more reason to fear or lie.


    I warned them.


    I told them.


    I had begged and I had cried.


    Truly, I tried to save them.


    Truly, this child begged to be heard!


    But there was not an ear to hear.


    No more tears, or fear, I had failed, but am now content.


    I mourn not the loss of home, my friends, or family.


    Nor a place to lay my head.


    Why is that?


    Because now, me and them¡­


    Beneath this river¡­


    On what is now our eternal bed¡­


    Are all quite dead.


    ~A Child and a Dam


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    * * *


    He was awake again. The pain was gone. Although, it was also gone while he was unconscious. Cautiously trying to move, he still hung by his chained wrists, feet tickling the ground. Wincing, he scratched the no pain thoughts. More like no excruciating agony. Regardless, he had survived, and, if his senses told truth, was once again whole.


    The way the zombie king used alchemy was truly satanic.


    Dismembering, cutting, ripping, sawed off... and then the body part removed or destroyed was either regrown or rebuilt. Feldyn was never conscious for that part, he just knew his appendages had been there upon regaining consciousness each time, and assumed his organs were in place as well, since he was alive. Feldyn truly prayed his parts had been repaired organically, and not replaced with something sinister or monstrous. So far the crazed alchemist had not messed with his legs. Or other things below the waist, leaving his torn and bloodied sweatpants.


    At least Lance was still with him¡­ Though it brought him little to no solace. Why was Lance letting him suffer so? He had sacrificed all to free Feldyn before, and get them here. He assumed his friend knew the futility of trying to escape. Even blinking him out, where would they go? Where would he run? What could he even do to defend himself and escape on this magicless world, when pursued by demons?


    Or¡­ did Lance know something Feldyn did not? Maybe he had been out doing reconnaissance while Feldyn was unconscious? Perhaps he knew help was on the way? Was it possible... that Caleb and the others... were alive? Would they¡­


    Would they come and save him?


    Feldyn laughed from where he hung in the darkness. Why would any of them come save him? He was the mad hurricane that had blown across their path, threatening to destroying all that they loved. If by some miracle the enemy had not found them, they were surely to flee. Perhaps they would fight back. Possibly even win... Heh, bloody fat chance of that happening. They were all insects in the face of their enemies.


    Friend was also a term loosely applied to this new people in his life. He had true friends before. Friends he trusted with his life. They were dead now. Because of her. The love of his life had made a deal with Darlothz, one of Antioch¡¯s generals. She betrayed them, which subsequently led to Feldyn falling into enemy hands. Into the hands of Darlothz Tch¡¯tlegion. And the worst torture, the worst physical agony, of his life. Nothing, no pain would ever compare to what Darlothz did to him. Not that he hadn''t deserved it. ... After... after the way... what he had done to...


    Regardless, ff not for Lance and the professor, he would not have survived to be here today.


    Feldyn wasn¡¯t so sure being here today was actually such a good thing. And when light washed into the tiny ramshackle shack turned torture chamber, the only door opening, he was pretty damn sure it wasn¡¯t such a good thing.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake already,¡± Larry observed, closing the door behind him. He flicked a switch, turning on a single overhead light bulb, illuminating things in a pale yellow glow.


    The so-called zombie king, and earthly queen of the witches, had assuaged the half-elf while he was conducting his ''research.'' What a complete bloody fool he had been. Sleeping in the outer building, simply to feel more isolated, and not part of the group, had been his downfall. He had been completely unprepared for opponents of such strength on Earth. How helpless he had felt, how naked and vulnerable.


    His separation from the others may have saved them. Feldyn knew they lived, from asking Lance, who dug his claws in to give the positive reply, when they were alone. But that was all Feldyn knew. When asking Lance if there was any hope, he received no answer. It not being a no did not help. Feldyn was done. It was over for him. Lance could still open the portal, and bring Caleb back to Aethra.


    The only goal now was to get the zombie fucker to end things quickly. Or, at the very least, render him unconscious again.


    ¡°So then, Mr. Larry," Feldyn addressed the large, oily, foul smelling man-thing, that had moved to the tables of torture devices, "is there anything ye would like to know perhaps, or even ask me this time? Or shall we get on to my limbs being torn from my body?¡± The greasy-haired head tilted back to look at the ceiling, ¡°Mr. Larry¡­ That sounds ridiculous. I like it.¡± He turned to the half-elf, holding what looked like a jailers key ring, housing hypodermic needles instead of keys.


    ¡°Was not sure if ye would prefer that, or Mr. Ted.¡± The master alchemist¡¯s expression froze. ¡°Nay? Aye, if ye ask me, it sounds more like a barnyard animal than a king.¡± Larry¡¯s mood quickly changed. ¡°Where¡­ how did you know that name?¡± the zombie king demanded steadily. Feldyn, disappointed with the current lack of rage, noticed something. Maybe he hadn¡¯t pressed the wrong button, he just needed to keep pressing it. The look on Larry¡¯s face was like a child looking for a long lost toy, that had just gotten a hint to its whereabouts. Unable to contain himself, Feldyn grinned wide and toothy. ¡°They didn¡¯t tell you. I guess it¡¯s possible they just truly do not know, but I would guess-¡±


    ¡°TELL ME WHAT?!¡± Larry shouted, and the half-elf almost flinched. Apparently, it was indeed the right button. Now to mash it.


    ¡°I heard it from Reba. Well, Reba and John.¡± Larry didn¡¯t move an inch, so Feldyn continued, ¡°They reside in that base, next to where you and Suzie found me-" his words cut off in a scream, when Larry lunged at him, stabbing a needle into his right eye.


    ¡°You better be fucking lying!¡± Larry seethed, and twisted the base of the needle, which caused it to suck out the eye it had penetrated, depositing its mass into one of a few small chambers on the needle ring. ¡°H-h-how else w-w-would I kn-know?¡± Feldyn stammered, body convulsing. The pure violation of whatever the zombie king had done to his eyes was almost as bad as the pain, which had not faded in the least.


    ¡°The fuck are you fucking doing?!¡± the blonde witch queen hissed, storming into the tiny torture shed. ''Ah, don¡¯t interrupt him now! I need to die! I need this to end!'' But Feldyn¡¯s mental pleas went unanswered. ¡°Piss off, Shuzariel,¡± Larry growled, as he went back to his small table and set the needle ring down. ¡°You know X¡¯al¡¯antra brought them here, so be fucking quiet!" the beautiful bitch snarled. "She gets forced out of the proverbial closet, and she¡¯s gonna go ballistic on all of us!¡±


    Hanging from the wall, infuriatingly more aware than he would like, Feldyn distinctly felt Lance dig his claws into his shoulder when Shuzariel mentioned them being brought here. ''Them? Could¡­ Caleb and the others truly be alive? Had they not been targeted? Why¡­ would the vampire queen bring them here?'' And from the sound of things, if it was them, they did not even know they were in the company of the Terrors.


    ¡°Is it true?¡± Larry asked, turning to the bitchy, airheaded-looking blonde, ¡°That my Philosopher¡¯s fucking Stone was in that cocksucking Order hideout?!¡± His teeth grit hard enough that Feldyn could hear it. The sound was quite¡­ grating. ¡°Is it true, the two inside, that the imp bitch killed, were my Philosopher¡¯s cunt and the Order priest THAT DESTROYED MY LIFE¡¯S WORK?!¡± he roared that last loud enough to shake the walls.


    That¡­ the imp killed?! Lance had said they were all alive? Why was he not digging in his claws now? Had they since died? Were Reba and John... the only two of his new friends- acquaintances- that could fight... dead?


    ¡°Yes,¡± a voice Feldyn couldn¡¯t quite place (as the horrible implications of what Larry said sank in) answered, opening the shack door. There was hardly enough room for the two standing before him to begin with, so this new girl remained in the doorway. Feldyn was reluctant to open his only good eye, but he did anyway, squinting to see in the harsh light shining in from the open door. ¡°Larry, keep your voice down, and minimize the screams. Now. Or I will permanently kill you, do you understand me?¡± Her voice was calm, quiet, and commanding.


    ¡°Fuck you, X¡¯al¡¯antra,¡± Larry answered, albeit much quieter. Feldyn squinted hard when he heard her name, and the voice he knew that he recognized, trying to see her features in the damn glare. Where had he heard her voice before? ¡°No, fuck you,¡± X¡¯al¡¯antra stated calmly, letting Suzie walk past her, outside, so she had room to step in front of Larry.


    Now Feldyn could see who it was. She¡¯s X¡¯al¡¯antra?! ¡°You?¡± Feldyn rasped, and then knew nothing. That wasn¡¯t when he had wanted to lose consciousness, but having half your skull caved in by a fist, tends to do that..


    Distraction now unconscious, X''al''antra kept her focus on Larry, whom gave s shocked grumble, and moved to keep the seizing half-elf alive. ¡°I killed them because I need you focused on the game. And nothing would have distracted you more than those two.¡±


    ¡°That was not your call to make, Xal!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I beg to differ. All the calls are mine to make.¡± She stared unflinching, looking into the eyes of the much taller terror. He didn¡¯t flinch either. ¡°You lost nothing but your revenge, Larry. You long since relearned, and exceeded, any knowledge you had in that homunculus.¡± Now Larry broke eye contact, his voice sounding whiny. ¡°That¡¯s not the point,¡± he complained, looking at his ¡®medical¡¯ tools.


    ¡°Discussion over,¡± Xal informed him, and turned to leave. ¡°Oh, Larry, remember that we need the Aetherian in one piece. He is important. And I need it quiet. If you must dissect him, use a paralytic to keep him quiet at least, would you?¡± She walked out, closing the shed door without waiting for an answer.


    The sun was bright as it rose ever higher in the sky. X¡¯al¡¯antra had waited a long time for this. For all of this. But the moment was not now. Right now, she had more carnal urges to sate. She was starving, and it had been a long, aggravating night. And a near equally as aggravating a morning.


    Walking back to her large house, Suzie bounced over to fall into stride with her. Could one look any lower on the intelligence scale than valley girl whore?


    ¡°Did you speak to my nieces?¡± the vampire queen asked, and Suzie nodded. ¡°Yeah, I told that little bitch to find Ki¡¯yi¡¯xyit, and get her ass back here.¡± X¡¯al¡¯antra knew Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea only listened because she chose to. She was looking so forward to watching her die. ¡°From Larry¡¯s little drama, I¡¯m going to assume Jenta succeeded.¡± Suzie grunted, ¡°So she says. Honestly, I have my doubts. Those two are far too loyal to their sister. You sure it was a good idea bringing them here?¡±


    A good idea? It was a fantastic idea. X¡¯al¡¯antra needed that¡­ anomaly of a niece dead. And killing Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea, in almost every instance, was impossible. However, with what she had planned, it was more than just possible, it would be easy; but the bitch had to be summoned for it to work.


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea was too powerful for a normal summoning, even with Shuzariel and Larry assisting. Which is why X¡¯al¡¯antra had commissioned Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi and Ki¡¯yi¡¯xyit. With the two powerful imps assisting, the five of them summoned Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea with minimal trouble. Larry had half exploded, and Shuzariel shit herself and lapsed into a brief coma. Still, it had succeeded.


    Suzie¡¯s swampy multi-colored eyes looked over to her leader. Apparently, she wasn¡¯t going to answer her. Suzie rightly decided to change the topic. Questioning Xal¡¯s judgment was probably not the brightest. ¡°Do you think I could have the half-elf? Just for one night? I want to feel what he feels like inside of me.¡± Xal ignored her and kept walking. ¡°Oh c¡¯mon, I like a good orgasm as much as the next girl.¡±


    ¡°You are not a girl,¡± X¡¯al¡¯antra answered, still walking.


    Jeez, Xal was always so pissy! ¡°Please, Xal? You¡¯re the one that made me have sex for days on end with the boy.¡± Now X¡¯al¡¯antra stopped, then spun on the pigtailed witch, grabbing her by the throat with one hand and lifting her off her feet. Suzie didn¡¯t bother to struggle. ¡°That is something you will never do again. He is mine, and that was a necessity.¡± After a few more seconds, Xal set her down.


    ¡°Does the bitch still live?¡± X¡¯al¡¯antra asked the witch queen, who didn¡¯t seemed fazed at all by the throat hold, was offended by the question. "Of course she does!" was the defensive reply. The two stood silent for a moment.


    ¡°Fine,¡± the Vampire Queen consented, Suzie jumped up and down and clapped her hands. ¡°Keep him quiet, Shuzariel!¡± The pretty witch nodded that she would. ¡°And keep your teeth retracted!¡± Xal demanded, and turned to continue walking to the house.


    Suzie fell into pace behind her, and followed silently and happy. Finally! This whole plan of Xal''s had cost her the most. She needed this to take her mind off it all. That boy had something about him, that made her feel... whatever. Now Xal won¡¯t let her touch him. Bitch.


    And for fuck¡¯s sake, Xal didn¡¯t have to tell her to retract! She wanted to fuck the elf, not eat his junk. So of course she would keep the teeth in her vaginal wall retracted. Gawd! A good consumed penis through her vagina was something she only did occasionally, anyway. Tended to give her diarrhea. The kind that lasted for hours, and made you moan and tremble. Still a hassle though; fun as it could be, girl had better things to do than get half off shitting her brains out.


    * * *


    Caleb¡¯s group had made it to Rashelle¡¯s property safely, and were sleeping soundly before the sun ever rose. Rashelle had insisted that Trixie and her friend (Caleb had learned her name was Sarah) stay in the main house, letting Caleb, Bryan, and Pazely stay in the guest house. Trixie had refused to leave Pazely, but Sarah left for the mansion-sized house a good way up the hill from where they were. Rashelle also left, saying her mom needed help with things.


    In less than ten minutes of the four being left in the large, cabin style guest house, they were soundly asleep, blood moon still in the sky. All were more tired and exhausted from the night¡¯s ordeals than they had realized.


    Pazely woke up starving. And soooo freaking confused. Blinking, she looked around bleary-eyed. She was on the floor, lying on and under some blankets next to Caleb and¡­ Trixie?! Oh yeah... They were at Rashelle¡¯s. Pazely wasn¡¯t sure how long they had been out, but it had to have been forever. She was confused, starving, and had to pee so bad that she was a little worried to move. Good thing there was a bathroom in here! Rashelle may be a bitch, but at least she was a rich one that liked nice accommodations!


    Moving ever so carefully, Pazely almost couldn¡¯t stand up all the way. Holy crap her legs were weak. It only took two steps before the urge to stretch overcame her. Arms in the air, she moan-groaned loud enough to wake Bryan. He sat up abruptly, on the bed that was almost directly in front of her, glasses still on and crooked.


    Pazely broke into giggle cries. She was glad her stretch released her around that time. She wailed a screech on her way to the bathroom. Caleb and Trixie about jumped through the roof at the sound. Trix mumbled some loud gibberish, and both boys looked at her, and she looked back intensely, like they were supposed to understand whatever she had said. Caleb still found it cute enough to laugh, even with the rude awakening.


    ¡°What the hell time is it?¡± Bryan grumbled, looking around for a clock. All that registered to Trix in that moment was she had been sleeping snuggled with Caleb, and currently wanted to crawl in a hole and hide for the rest of her life from embarrassment. Her -rather conservative- pajamas felt risqu¨¦ as underwear to her.


    ¡°Oh shit, the sun,¡± Bryan realized out loud. ¡°The red moon ended!¡± How long had they slept? He was starving, and needed Pazely to hurry up in the bathroom!


    Paze came out as Caleb stood to go to the door of the cabin. Bryan scurried in the restroom before Trix could move. They all needed to pee apparently, though Caleb and Trix didn''t feel on the verge of exploding.


    Opening the front -and only- door to the guest house, Caleb had to shield his eyes. They were high in the mountains, overlooking town to the west of them. The sun was almost directly overhead. Stumbling outside, he figured he would let the others use the restroom first. He needed to stretch his legs, and think. He didn¡¯t know, or really care, how long they had been asleep. They had friends and family out there still; they needed to work on a plan.


    Pazely walked over beside him. ¡°I know that look,¡± she said. ¡°Where are we going first? Reba''s?¡±


    ¡°That should be a good start,¡± he confirmed. ¡°Maybe we can find survivors somewhere¡­ I dunno, regroup or something. But we need to have more of a plan than that, or we¡¯ll just be running around, trying to not die, like last night.¡± He then realized his head was quiet. Caleb could still feel the crazy, it was just¡­ not talking.


    ¡°What about Trixie and her friend? And Miss Terra?¡± Pazely asked, turning to look up the hill. She couldn¡¯t see Rashelle¡¯s house from here, the guest cabin being a bit removed from the main part of the property. ¡°They¡¯re as safe here as anywhere,¡± Caleb told her. ¡°If there are rescue efforts underway, it would be better if they just stayed here and waited.¡± Pazely turned and squinted at him now. Her scrunched up face as she tried to adjust to the light made him want to hug her. ¡°I hope so,¡± was her somber reply.


    Trixie walked out of the guest cabin, still in the same aqua-colored button-up shirt and pant pajamas as last night, bare feet looking tiny. The large blue buttons were only half buttoned, the bottom half undone, showing a dancer¡¯s flat belly. ¡°You think¡­ maybe my grandma is alive?¡± she asked in almost a whisper, avoiding eye contact with her two older friends, who stood squinting in the sunlight.


    Caleb panicked a little. He wasn¡¯t used to dealing with people that had family that cared for them enough for them to care back; empathy was difficult in this situation. Though he was trying to empathize. ¡°I doubt it, Trixie,¡± he said as kindly as he could, still getting a viciously swift and painful kick to the calf from Pazely.


    The tiny girl in the aqua jammies started to cry; soft and delicate. ¡°Do you... think she died like Grampa?¡± She was sobbing more gently and quiet than anyone Caleb had ever seen. Pazely wondered if she herself looked that pained, that wretched, in her own tears.


    Caleb was also confused.


    Horrence was a prick. Just about everyone Caleb could think of wanted to beat the man senseless for the way he treated Trixie. Yet, here she was, sobbing for him. Why?! ¡°Trix I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± walking over to kneel in front of the girl that stood on the small porch, ¡°I don¡¯t really understand what the hell is happening, but we¡¯re going to take care of you, and everyone, okay? We will die trying. We won¡¯t give up!¡± She still wouldn¡¯t make eye contact, and Caleb grimaced at his poor phrasing. ¡°Bad choice of words. I mean, we will look for your grandma. Promise. We¡¯re going to try to save everyone.¡± He frowned, ¡°But I honestly don¡¯t know if there is even anyone left to save.¡±


    Hanging his own head now, he feared she would choose that moment to make eye contact. How did you tell a little girl the truth about something like this, not traumatize her, yet not lie to her? All while looking her in the eyes?


    So, of course he panicked, and changed to a horribly timed and worded topic. Looking back up, ¡°Trix¡­ did you¡­ love your grampa?¡± Caleb asked. Now she rose her head to meet his eyes, ¡°Of course! He was my grampa!".


    Bryan and Pazely both knew Caleb wasn¡¯t gonna drop this. He never dropped things, even if they were rude or flat ignorant; he just kept fucking talking. ¡°Dude, don¡¯t,¡± Bryan urged from behind Trixie. Caleb ignored him, ¡°I understand Trix. He was just so¡­ cruel to you.¡±


    Disgusting and appalled was her expression. Taking a step back from him, helped to sink the point of the guilt dagger in more. ¡°But, he was my grampa!¡± she answered in a tone that matched her eyes. ¡°He wasn¡¯t perfect, Caleb, and neither are you!¡± Trix was shaking visibly now, and Caleb couldn¡¯t tell from what emotion. ¡°He was¡­ he was just always scared. Yeah, he hit me. Everyone knows! But that¡¯s it! And he only did sometimes¡­ He never really hurt me or anything! Him and Grandma take care of me, and they don¡¯t even have to!¡±


    Now she was angry, ¡°If they are gone¡­ who is gonna raise me? Huh? Who is gonna raise me? You? You¡¯re a kid too y¡¯know! I have no family left! I¡¯m going to get put in an orphanage, and you are asking me if I loved my grampa?!¡± Everyone was silent and still as she lectured, and worked out her new reality.


    Pazely¡¯s heart felt sick and sad. Caleb¡¯s retarded questioning aside, she totally understood what Trix was feeling. What even was she, herself, anyway? A Japanese American, with no relatives to her knowledge whatsoever; dad was missing as far as she knew, and mom was¡­ Her mom was¡­


    ¡°Did you think I might be happy? Happy that my mean grampa is dead, so I can be free?! That I wanted him to die? Like that? Killed by giant bees? What is wrong with you?!¡± Now Trixie was furious.


    Caleb often forgot -no one else did, as it was obvious- she was several years older than Gigi. She was also the most grown-up acting of the little kids at the studio, and very intelligent. ¡°Let me ask you this then: what were his last words?¡± Trixie¡¯s question startled the kneeling boy, and his eyes went wide. ¡°Exactly! And who did he ask?¡± Caleb had to sit all the way down on the ground, the weight of the answer settling on him.


    ¡°What¡­ did he say?¡± Pazely softly, and hesitantly, asked; voice laced with an apology in the chance her question was inappropriate or accidentally rude. She did get bitched at for being inappropriate by people a lot. She didn¡¯t ever mean to be...


    The young girl (brown hair that Pazely normally only ever saw up; was loose, hanging just barely past her shoulders. It was thin, but healthy and pretty,) looked up at Pazely. The look was accusatory, though not intended for her Asian friend. ¡°He died being stung to death by giant bees. Giant wasps! And died begging Caleb to save me!¡± Even Bryan almost gasped at that revelation.


    Horrence hated Caleb. Horrence was a self-indulgent, self-righteous, abusive prick. Yet, he died begging for his granddaughter''s life to be saved? He completely and totally came across as despising the girl. Not once, however, did he ask for help. Now that Caleb thought of it, the old bastard¡¯s first thoughts when he was being freed from the cocoon were of Trixie. None of that made any sense to the boy!


    Why? Why did Horrence say those things in his final moments? Caleb was positive he was a bad man! the fucker hit Trixie! So why?! Had his own judgment been that wrong? ¡­ Then¡­ why was Horrence the way he was? Is it possible for someone to be both abusive, and able to love the one they abuse enough to be self-sacrificial? That was a contradiction! It was... disgusting! Evil! Victim mentality! It had to be!


    ¡°About time you all woke up!¡± Rashelle announced joyously, practically skipping around the building. When everyone turned to look at her, she stopped, noticing the looks on their faces. ¡°Oh¡­ sorry, bad timing. But seriously, you guys have been asleep forever,¡± she complained, in a whiny voice. Pazely wanted to punch her in the throat.


    ¡°How long have we been asleep?¡± Caleb asked with a resigned sigh, turning to look at his ''girlfriend''. The current mood and topic was going to be forced to a halt, it would seem.


    Bryan walked over and put a hand on Trixie¡¯s shoulder. Harsh words or not, she loved her friends, and was grateful. And guilty. She had more than once wished her grandfather would leave. Just leave and never come back. Was it¡­ her fault he died that way? Was it her fault her grandma probably died too? Why did bad things have to happen to the people in her life?You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°Like, a day and a half!¡± Rashelle answered Caleb, and Trixie felt Bryan¡¯s hand flinch. ¡°Wait, we¡¯ve been asleep for a whole day?¡± Caleb asked, confused, taking a step towards Rashelle. She frowned and nodded, ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s been boring just wai-¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake us? What happened? Where are the rescuers? Emergency responders?¡± Caleb interrupted, talking fast. Motioning to the view of Castle Rock in the distance, ¡°Last night, nothing weird happened?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think I would have woken you if something happened?¡± She stomped her foot a little, and Pazely scurried over by the door to the guest house to get clear of the incoming bitch mode. ¡°There¡¯s still no cell service, or TV, or anything. No one¡¯s shown up, no helicopters, nothing,¡± Rashelle further explained, with a frown. ¡°What about Miss Reba?¡± Trixie chimed in. ¡°Miss Terra is here, you said, but what about Miss Reba? Does anyone know if she''s okay?¡± Trixie looked quite concerned about the dance teacher they all loved.


    ¡°Yeah, what about Miss Reba?¡± a new voice, high pitched, childish voice, asked. ¡°Think she¡¯s alive, Shelly-poo?¡± Around the same corner of the guest house Rashelle had walked from, two little figures appeared.


    Caleb was stunned. The two young Asian girls he had seen at the studio! The girl that had briefly peeked out the window before it was closed, and the one with the eyes that were so lonely he hadn''t been able to get her out of his head; until all the drama started. Now here she was, standing in front of him.


    The one with the eyes was smaller than he had expected. She wore tiny jean booty shorts that would have made Ally ask where she bought them, top was a purple, snug-fit, sports bra. Her hair was pulled into a tight, intricately weaved braid, hanging a good length past her delicate white shoulders.


    Only... delicate didn¡¯t seem quite the right word. Her entire body was so small, yet so flawless. And Caleb could swear she was somehow insanely toned if you looked just right. Her lonely eyes were locked on Rashelle¡¯s, mockingly. But it wasn¡¯t her eyes, or clothes, or body, that Caleb noticed the most.


    It was her teeth. She grinned a large, crooked grin, teeth easily visible. They¡­ were all pointed, sharp and jagged, while also being perfect. How¡­ does one get teeth like that? They were so freaking cute!


    ¡°Oh, people!¡± the smaller one of the two girls chirped, trying way too hard to appear like she just noticed them. Rashelle did not look happy, ¡°Yes, people. Why are you two here? I said I needed to see my boyfriend, and to wait for me."


    That was it for Caleb. He had been sleeping here an entire fucking day! Not Reba, or Feldyn, or Stryker, or anyone had shown up! And he had no patience for this stupid girl! Why was she acting so casual? No, this girl was a problem. A problem that needed to be resolved. And Caleb being Caleb, his moronic logic said the right timing for said resolution was now.


    ¡°I¡¯m not your boyfriend anymore, Rashelle,¡± Caleb informed her from where he stood. ¡°If anything, I¡¯m Pazely¡¯s.¡± He shrugged a casual sorry. He looked way more of an asshole than intended. In fact, he actually thought he handled that quite well. He had wanted to be quick and polite, to minimize hurt feelings. Yup, males were retarded. This one especially so.


    Pazely looked a bit like she was choking, eyes moving, no sounds coming out. Bryan was trying desperately not to start laughing. Sometimes Caleb¡¯s ignorant stupidity was beneficial, he supposed.


    The Asian girl with the sad, lonely eyes, Caleb was so passively obsessed with, burst into cackling giggles.


    Caleb was trying to decide if he should admonish the stranger, when Rashelle practically growled: ¡°We will talk about this later! Alone!¡± and stormed off.


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea, quite enjoyed that little moment! After a couple involuntary snorts, she reined in her laughter. Where the feigned amusement was real as a demon could experience, she couldn''t help but wonder what it would feel like to laugh from actual emotion.


    And with that, her mind went blank, and her body tensed. The fuck did she just wonder what real joy felt like? Who gave a shit! Weird for her to think that way; probably just needed to feed.


    Refocusing, eyes going to Caleb first, sneering at Dragonfarts gangly form, their eyes met, and her heart skipped, a feeling of warmth in her chest and face.


    No, she felt nothing, because imps didn''t feel shit! Fuck this weird fucking fuck!


    Snapping her eyes away, they next landed on Pazely; the girl the OBNOXIOUSLY ANNOYING teenage male had chosen over her aunt.


    The bitch had impossibly long lustrous hair, with a midnight blue sheen. If that wasn''t weird enough, her eyes were blue! And she wasn''t wearing contacts! Was she some kind of mutant?! Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea was a sex demon, and a damn hot one! So why didn¡¯t her hair register on the thick and sexy scale to that degree? Whore needed to be taught a lesson, bring the arrogant bitch down a peg or twelve. Wannabe loli cunt.


    Tired of getting glared at, ¡°The hell is your problem?¡± Paze snipped, attitude abounding. ¡°The hell is my problem?¡± the pissy imp replied, decent attitude of her own flaring up, veins in her temples throbbing.


    ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Kiki!¡± Ki¡¯yi¡¯xyit introduced herself, suddenly standing in front of Pazely, eyes closed in a huge awkward smile, hand extended in greeting.


    Pazely unflattering thought of Gigi. ''At least this girl is cute. And her teeth look so cool!'' Both of these kids had some kind of weird demon-monster, delicate pointy teeth. They looked natural though, not costume. It really was pretty cute. She shook the hyper little shark-toothed girl¡¯s hand. ¡°I love your teeth,¡± Pazely stated in awe. ¡®What the fuck about MY teeth?!'' Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea bitched to herself.


    ¡°Tch, I¡¯m bored already,¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea slurred, and shrugged. Caleb wondered if she was trying to act like an anime character.


    Regardless, when she turned and walked briskly away, behind the cabin, he immediately noticed her butt. Surely she was a teenager, right? Just small, like Pazely. They were both Asians, and Asians tended to look a lot younger than they were. Had to be the case. Not like he was checking out a little kid, like Trixie, or something. Realizing that he hadn''t even had the chance to ask her name, Caleb hurried to catch up with her.


    Pazely sighed as Caleb ran off after the bitchy little girl. Zit frowned, watching him go. ¡°It¡¯s just Caleb being Caleb,¡± Bryan told the kid, as if that explained anything. ¡°Want to come in?¡± Trixie hesitantly offered. Whipping her head back around, giving a hyper nod, and clapping her hands, Zit skipped inside. Yippie! She was so excited! This would be her first time hanging out with humans! She hoped she got to learn something fun! Once she started killing them off, they probably wouldn''t want to be her friend anymore, so it was now or never!


    * * *


    Clearing the building quickly, the girl was nowhere to be seen. She hadn¡¯t been walking that fast; did she sprint somewhere to hide? He looked around the mostly empty hillside. Was a good distance until you could break line of sight...


    Running a little up the hill (the majority of the property was on a slope) to give himself a better vantage, he stopped to look around again, and saw her off a ways, at an old fashioned stone well. Damn, she was fast! No matter, he knew where she was now, and headed quickly over to the girl, whose name he insisted on knowing.


    The imp wasn¡¯t paying much attention, staring down into the fancy, old-style well. Equally deep in her own thoughts, she was more irritated than surprised when glancing up to see doofus approaching her. ¡°What ya doin?¡± he smiled, reaching the well. ''What am I doin?! What the hell are YOU doin?!'' Xal needed to keep her toys in better check, lest they get broken. And from the grin on Caleb¡¯s face, he was clueless how bad she wanted to hurt him. Eyes averting back to the well, ¡°I made a wish,¡± Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea answered truthfully, and blanched. ''The fuck did I tell him that?!''


    Dropping his retarded grin, the boy stepped closer, leaning over to peer down into the dark shaft between them. ¡°The fuck is your problem?¡± she snipped at him. ¡°Sorry. Just being an ass, and violating your privacy by looking for your wish,¡± he answered, continuing to gaze into the depths. ¡°Are you retarded?¡± she asked, voice so overfilled with irritation, the dipshit finally winced a little. ¡°Nope,¡± he replied, meeting her eyes. up now. ¡°Well, sometimes, I guess. I¡¯m Caleb,¡± the moron introduced, and leaned across the well, extending his right hand. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea wanted to grab it and pull him into the fucking thing! ¡°Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea,¡± she answered instead. ''Gya, what the fuck?!'' At least only offered him a glare instead of her hand The fuckshit did she give him her actual name for, though?!


    ¡°So,¡± he smiled at her, not minding getting rejected, ¡°Iiyni, then.¡±


    The level of red she turned, Caleb found adorable. He had no idea whatsoever just how badly Iiyni wanted to kill him. She was red from anger, not flushing in embarrassment. She had a name. If fuckers didn¡¯t like it, they could, well, go to Hell! And if already in Hell, then she would ensure their preoccupation with other things than her FUCKING name!


    It was bad enough Zit called her Nini. Even Jenta was doing it now! She only called Ki¡¯yi¡¯xyit ¡®Zit¡¯ out of retaliation, and Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi wanted to be called Jenta. Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea had a reputation to uphold! Sisters calling her something dumb was allowable. Some fucknut human nicknaming her?!


    And why Iiyni? Wasn¡¯t there enough douchey ¡®ee¡¯ sounding names around this faggot, already? Iiyni was sure there were tons, but couldn¡¯t be bothered to memorize all the names she heard. ''FUCK, I just thought of myself as Iiyni!''


    The girl he called Iiyni crushed a brick under her hand. That finally gave Caleb pause. Um¡­


    ¡°Oh shit, Rashelle¡¯s gonna kill me! Dammit!¡± The imp needed to remove herself from this situation, lest Dragonheart become Dragonstain. ¡°She warned me some of these were brittle, and needed replaced!¡± Time to leave. Easily jumping up on the bricks, Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea hopped over the well, landing on the edge in front of Caleb.


    Their eyes met again. Her heart thumped. Iiyni tripped. Caleb caught her.


    ¡°Whoa, easy. She¡¯s a bitch but I don¡¯t think she¡¯s homicidal,¡± Caleb teased, assuming she was panicking, and trying to go hide from Rashelle. Her confusion as to how the fuck she had lost her balance, or why she let herself be caught by this dumbass, was quickly forgotten when he lifted her from the edge of the well, and set her on the ground.


    The feeling of his hands on her was like nothing she had ever experienced.


    ¡°W-w-w-what the fucking shit was t-t-that?¡± Why the fuck am I stammering?! AND WHY DID I SAY THAT OUTLOUD?! ¡°All these dumbass, cutesy sounding ¡®ee¡¯ names all over the shitting hell in this cunt-hole of a fucking town!¡± Now I¡¯m rambling and making no sense! And this young Christian man hadn¡¯t even flinched. Like her nonsensical, stammering, profanity-laced tirade was easily understandable, and totally normal to him! Yargh!!!


    The rekindled desire to murder him helped Iiyni -''Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea, dammit! Your fucking name is Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea!!!''- to finally focus and think before speaking. Kinda. ¡°What the hell is your problem? You just go around touching little girls? I didn¡¯t ask for your attention, or your help! Now move, you¡¯re in my fucking way!¡± Caleb blinked, ¡°I¡¯m standing next to the well you just jumped over. How am I in your way?¡±


    Neither moved or said a word.


    Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea eventually turned and stomped off, up the hill and out of sight. Caleb wondered if he would see her again, after this was all over. The imp didn¡¯t have such thoughts, for she knew that he would be dead by the time this was over. If Xal liked it or not, she was going to kill this dick! Fucker! Asshole! Prick! Even her insults were lame right now!!! Rrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaa!


    Though neither clueless Caleb nor angry Iiyni, would have ever guessed the direction fate would lead them.


    * * *


    Masque had barely gotten Stryker out of there alive. Their odd speaking vehicle had gotten them far, but eventually high-centered in a low stream bed, forcing them to continue on foot.


    It had not taken long for Stryker to lose consciousnesses. Masque carried him up a mountain, and into a cliff-side cave the creatures pursuing them could not reach. The sun rose and the blood moon ended, before any flying enemies appeared to harass them.


    And Stryker managed to not die. Many times that following day, Masque had been sure the man¡¯s life was to end. So bad was he, Masque feared to move him. He also feared leaving his side, and in turn leaving the man to die alone. When the sun set once again, Stryker still clinging to life, Masque sat ready and waiting ¨C nothing happened. No blood moon. No enemies.


    That was when he decided. Stryker was surely going to die. Even if his body managed to beat the poison, he needed food and water. The latter being the most urgent. Optimally. an antidote could be administered. If this night was to remain a normal night, Stryker was safe in this cave, and the vampire needed to act to save his¡­ friend¡¯s life. Even if that meant risking a lonely death for his new friend.


    He knew the girl, Reba, was still alive, and could easily create an antidote. If the human cop could save him from a powerful demon, and survive such a perilous night, than Reba and her father most definitely still live.


    Leaving the cave, Masque jumped along the cliff, making it to the top. Shadowstepping wasn¡¯t inherently magical, but neither was it purely scientific. Same for his netherweave. Overuse of either, and it would drain energy, possibly even mana. Masque was fast and strong enough on his own to not risk draining an energy pool he did not even know the depth of. Only that with his inability to feed, it was most shallow. Reaching the top of the cliff and sensing nothing, he -carefully- cleared the many miles back to town in a manner of minutes.


    Masque was baffled. There was no one. Anywhere. Bolder than normal, he headed into downtown along the rooftops. There was indeed no human life. However, he did find plenty of unlife. Here and there, scattered about in pockets and groups, alchemically animated corpses of human and animals lingered.


    Buildings were mostly intact, and there were few visible traces of blood, yet the scent was everywhere. It was obvious that all the people here must have been killed, or taken away by force.


    The sweet putrid tang of the rotten meat that shuffled its way along the shadows, added to the ominous presence. This damage was not done by the dead. More than likely, the witch queen''s coven had used the blood moon to animate minions, as well manifesting other horrors to do their queen''s bidding.


    Which begged the question: had he and Stryker been targeted? Surely it could not have been a coincidence. Displacing them out over the valley as they had was not some random occurrence. Masque had not sensed any humans, nor other beings, besides the creatures attacking them in the valley. His assumption was they were animated beforehand, and he and the officer were sent there specifically. But... why? With the power these terrors have, why toy with them?


    Pondering returning to the current; where were the bodies? Were they taken? Had they perhaps been eaten? No¡­ There would still be some remains. Perhaps to harvest their hearts? Could they have not harvested the hearts in the field easier than taking entire bodies? And why the animated dead? Were they waiting for something? For someone?


    Then he looked closer at the zombies, and almost growled at his own foolish oversight. Among the many rotten shuffling corpses, were many fresh shuffling corpses. It appears at least some of the town, was now among the undead. He saw no children, fresh nor rot. Knowing X¡¯al¡¯antra, the ones whom lived were probably saved for her to later dine upon, the dead disposed of.


    Moving to the top of a nearby church''s steeple, Masque was still, letting his sense of smell try to catch something familiar on the wind. He needed to get closer to where the others may be, without rushing blindly to the obvious locations that had surely been targeted... The dance studio of the children, where Reba also taught? That was a hub for them, near the girl, Pazely''s, home, and the tunnel.


    Sliding through the shadows as he knifed his way through the air; his own ability to understand the nether allowed him, like most demons, to simply avoid disrupting much in their movements. The difference between holding your palms against the wind, or slicing your hand through it. Demons could knife their way through the currents, and more than a few could hide their own scent, and presence. It was no more magical than lift. Though some did use more than a mundane understanding of creation to conceal themselves.


    Masque now stood in the parking lot of the destroyed dance studio, with the feeling he was being followed. Yet there was... something else. He had intended to move farther into the woods for cover, but instinct had halted him in the open. Masque was sure he was not alone.


    Something moved.


    Over by the trees, behind him, away from the building¡­ Nothing. Yet, someone was there. Of that, Masque was sure. Then he heard it, merely a whisper to his senses - the sound, the presence, of a footfall.


    ¡°I know you are there. Come out!¡± Masque stood facing the trees from where he knew the presence concealed itself. ¡°So, you aren''t as oblivious as you appear,¡± a small, stern voice appraised from behind him. From the razed remains of the dance studio. From a location he hadn¡¯t even suspected someone to be. They¡­ were not what he had heard in the trees. This was someone else entirely. Something else. ¡°Confident enough to keep your back to me? Impressive...-ly stupid."


    Masque moved to face the black-haired child standing in the rubble. She wore a black human-leather leotard. Her long hair was unbound, hanging behind her shoulders. This imp was a slight taller than the one encountered previous. And for her physical presence; she was also weaker. Though Masque knew she could also kill him without much difficulty. This was not a good situation.


    ¡°Quite stupid, Masque the Forever Shadowed,¡± she condemned, begging to walk out of the rubble. ¡°Do I, too, get to know the name of my opponent?¡± the vampire asked, voice calm and dry; the question stopping the imp dead in her tracks.


    ¡°Opponent? Me? You intend to fight me?¡± When he didn¡¯t so much as blink, she gave a rare grin. ¡°Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi,¡± the pretty child-creature offered, continuing towards him. ¡°I respect your attempt at honor, though it is no use on a real demon.¡±


    ¡°So you say, though unlike your sister you appear to want a one on one.¡± She again stopped, having existed the rubble. Her half stalking stance relaxed, and she gave a quizzical smile, standing up straight. ¡°I can see the resemblance,¡± Masque clarified, and Jenta gave a rare laugh. She could see now why Nini kept getting distracted with these people.


    ¡°I like you,¡± Jenta complimented honestly, and began to circling him. It was true. Too bad she had no reason to leave him alive anymore. Was fun while it lasted. ¡°Goodbye,¡± she said, almost -not really- regretfully, and quickly closed the gap between the two of them. Masque was about to shadowstep, when Jen¡¯taa¡¯yi stopped, appearing to catch an unseen object in her hand, and scowled. She then ducked, and stepped away, spinning, looking about, confusion on her face as she avoided... something.


    ¡°Tek¡¯tiryin¡¯thu!¡± came a man''s commanding shout, and what looked like vines of glowing energy wrapped themselves around Jen''taa''yi''s body. "what the FUCK!" she roared anger, struggling against the tendril-like energy bindings. "Do you think this will stop-" there were loud clunks as something hit her in the head multiple times. "-I can see you now you fucking bitc-" the imp''s face contorted wildly, when a strip of paper appeared on her forehead. Back arching, eyes rolling back, several more of the tags appeared on her torso, as did sounds of more heavy blows.


    Still on her feet, the demon let out a horrible child like wail of agony, which shifted into a demonic howl, her body violently snapping back forward, a tag coming off her torso.


    Suddenly Masques sense of the child-demon was warped, like she was being erased, and her demonic howl of fury was cut off abruptly.


    ¡°KOH-LUHN!¡± John shouted, accompanied by a female''s grunt, and thud of an impact; dual attacks launching the bound demon into the air, over the ruins of the studio, into the darkness beyond.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Masque grunted, a knife was now pinned to his chest, securing a note in place. The avenger class weapon burned terribly, and had been stabbed into him with quite a good amount of force. Removing the blade, he glared at the paper. Why would someone stick a note to another individual using a dagger?! Granted, he was fine, but it was beyond rude and quite uncomfortable! He was going to have a talk with his favorite alchemist about using one¡¯s allies as pin cushions or message boards


    The note read: ¡®1318 W 5th Ave. RUN¡¯. Why would Masque know the street names or locations in this town?


    Though baffled he could not see, smell, nor hardly sense the duo, Masque trusted their judgment and abilities to meet him at the location indicated. If he himself could find it...


    Allowing both the note and the knife to be taken within his netherweave, he was moving; this time, taking extra measures to conceal his trail as he searched for the address. Masque did not want that imp to follow them. It would already be easy enough for her, he need not make it even more so. Address located, he knew it would take the duo some time to arrive, especially while concealing their own trail, and avoiding enemies. The vampire took that time to survey the immediate area.


    On many doors on the neighborhood blocks, were those tags that had been placed on the demoness. Inspecting them closer, Masque found them to be simple pieces of paper with demon wards hastily inscribed upon them. How very crude, though he could not deny the effect witnessed. Or that he could feel the repulsion from them even at his proximity. There were no such tags on the house of the property he to meet them at. Unknown if he was to wait inside or out, he chose inside.


    He had not waiting long, before the back door opened. ¡°I am sooo sorry, Masque!¡± Reba apologize, her voice clear, though he still could not see nor smell her. ¡°It was so sudden when you appeared, I wasn¡¯t sure what to do, and was curious if you could sense us! When that imp showed up, I sort of panicked. Imagine my surprise that she didn¡¯t seem to know we were there!¡± Her voice moved into the small kitchen. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to risk being overheard, and didn¡¯t want to risk you not noticing the note either. Again, I am so sorry!¡±


    Masque was confused.


    ¡°Why can I not see you, nor detect your scent?¡± he grumbled towards her voice, the back door was now closed, and a warding tag appeared upon it. ¡°Alchemy. But I would like to think I don¡¯t stink enough to stand out,¡± Reba joked, happier than she probably should be. ¡°Just a sec,¡± and a moment later he began to detect her scent. Though it was¡­ difficult. ¡°Better?¡± she asked close to him. ¡°Not¡­ really,¡± he answered honestly. She sighed. ¡°Guess just wiping it off doesn¡¯t help.¡± Then, her head appeared, facing away, long hair bound several times along the length in a tight ponytail. Her back was bare, as she leaned down and looked to be removing clothing, slowly appear as if climbing out of another dimension, until fully visible.


    And quite naked.


    ¡°REBA!¡± John shouted, horror in his voice. Masque had not even known he was standing nearby. ¡°Jeez, what? He can¡¯t see us! And not like he cares if I¡¯m¡­¡± her voice trailed off after she turned around, and Masque was looking at the ceiling. John, of course, had turned around himself. ¡°Good grief,¡± she said, trying not to sound as panicked as she was feeling, and hurried upstairs. Masque risked a glance when she turned his way to go up the staircase. ¡°I saw that!¡± John snapped, and the vampire quickly returned his gaze to the ceiling.


    Neither male said a word until she came back down, wearing a poorly-fitting bathrobe, though it covered her well enough. ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± she said with a smile.


    ¡°You are quite beautiful,¡± Masque stated awkwardly. ¡°Um, thanks?¡± Replied replied, with a brief involuntary giggle. Of course, John had to put in his two cents. ¡°That will be enough of that!¡± he huffed, off to Masque¡¯s side. Though Masque still saw no one there.


    ¡°Are either of you going to explain how you can become invisible?¡± the vampire asked. ¡°Alchemy, I told you!¡± Reba lectured. He didn¡¯t look like that answer would be good enough. Sighing, she explained, ¡°I have a mixture that essentially scrambles the senses of undead, rendering anything it¡¯s on basically invisible to them. After the imp let us go-¡±


    ¡°An imp let you go?¡± Masque interrupted. ¡°Hmm? Oh, yeah. Well, we assume she did. She basically ignored us while setting the explosives, so we fought our way through the zombies, and used an emergency one time only type of back exit.¡± He scowled at her over simplified answer. "Anyway, when we got to a safe place, I mixed up my little camouflage concoction, using some vampire blood I picked up along the way, and added a few other tweaks. Just, because, you know, couldn''t hurt, right? I had no idea it would actually work on vampires though, let alone a full-blood demon. And before you ask, the temple tags were dad''s idea,¡± Her last sentence held tone showing what she thought of it. "They worked, didn''t they?" John protested.


    ¡°Masque, are the others alright?¡± Reba changed the topic without missing a beat. Masque felt a sudden pang of dread remembering the officer left in the cave. "All I am sure of is Stryker has been poisoned, and needs your help immediately."


    ¡°You can carry me, right? Bring me to him.¡± Masque eyed her, leerily, as she gathered things into the backpack she had on the kitchen counter. ¡°I fear John may not take kindly to my hands being all over your body,¡± he answered. ¡°I most certainly would not!¡± John confirmed.


    Reba placed both hands on the counter, and hung her head, ¡°Well, for one, you don''t need to phrase it that way. And two, I don¡¯t care." stepping back into the loving room, Masque stared at her unflinching. She glanced down to find the front of her room had come open a bit. ¡°Uh, after I change into something else. Then, once Stryker is stabilized, we can worry about finding the others.¡±


    "Why?" Masque asked, and actually flinched at his own question. All three of them were survivors, and undoubtedly the two ex Order members had left many to die, when deemed the risk too great. The risk in this situation was too great to measure. Reba stopped, did not move for a moment, then looked over her shoulder at him, and said, with a bit a pain in her voice, "I don''t know."


    * * *


    Rashelle had managed to talk Caleb into staying for a good meal, taking the time to plan their little sojourn into town, and not run off hungry and half-cocked. Caleb reluctantly agreed, a part of the decision due to the damn voices in his head returning, complicating the ability to think and plan.


    They arranged a quick picnic down at the guest cabin, fatigue quickly overtaking them shortly after they began to eat; all worries forgotten, all the remained was the desire to sleep. Trixie, who did not seem to be as sleepy, went up to the main house to bathe. The rest of the kids promptly fell asleep.


    Caleb¡¯s body had not intended wake, nor had it been easy to rouse him. So when he was finally shaken out of a dream, and looking into the deep, icy-blue eyes that stared back, he had a bit of a panic seizure thing. At least he didn¡¯t scream. ¡°Wake up,¡± the cold presence said from above him. ¡°How do I not seem awake?¡± Caleb croaked, struggling to understand what was going on or why Masque was here. Where here was.


    There was still light coming in from outside. Why were they asleep? Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be doing something important?¡­  Pazely opened her eyes, the sound of talking rousing her, then also startled awake at the sight of the large vampire, making choking, strangling sound. Caleb totally understood; that giant ninja look was a freaky sight to open your eyes to! Bryan cursed loudly and did a flopping push-jump backwards a bit, when he lifted his head.


    ¡°Be silent!¡± Masque hissed at Bryan, who had apparently passed out on the floor in the middle of the room. At least Caleb and Pazely were in the corner where they slept before. Had they been drugged or something? Were they drugged the last time too? ¡°It is not safe here! We must leave, now!¡± Masque hissed again, urgently.


    ¡°But we CAN¡¯T!¡± Pazely chirped quite noisily, trying hard to keep her eyes open, mouth and lips felt dry as a concrete. ¡°She¡¯s right¡­ Masque.¡± Caleb had to hesitate a moment to remember the¡­ vampire¡¯s name. Vampire. That was still going to take some getting used to. ¡°We have friends up at the house- Oh, that¡¯s right! Last I saw, you were on the hood of Stryker¡¯s patrol car. What happened? Is Stryker okay?¡± Masque looked furious and worried, now standing next to Bryan, the black misty cloth substance rolling around him. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this!¡± he snapped, though quieter still than any of the others had been.


    ¡°Wait, what? Why?¡± Bryan asked in a slurred mumble, heart still pounding as he stood and almost fell, left leg and arm having apparently fallen asleep in the odd angle he had been lying, ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡± Bryan sat heavily on the couch to try to work out his arm and leg.


    Masque closed his eyes, and clenched his fists, trying to calm his escalating irritation.


    After bringing Reba to help Stryker, the four of them had regrouped. Masque had left alone to search for Caleb and the others, and realized something was wrong when he increased his search radius to the woods near the closest mountain range. Following the wrongness the pushed at him to flee, when he reached this property on the side of a mountain overlooking the small town; the scent of death and evil was so unbelievably strong, he was ashamed he hadn¡¯t noticed before. Although, it did appear contained to the property, and Masque never crossed this area, choosing the woods around it for pure stealth reasons. You didn¡¯t go through someone¡¯s yard, let alone over a mountain, when you could go around it. He had quickly returned to to the others, and quicker still, they decided the kids must be rescued immediately.


    Fools. They were fools for saving them. John justified it as prophecy. Stryker, because he truly loved the kids and his town; now destroyed. Reba, Masque felt, was a combination of care for her students, and the thrill of a fight. Masque? Masque had decided, no- he believed these people, he was fated to find. And to that end, would die to protect them. As noble as it may say, he also knew, deep in his un-beating heart, he had nothing else, and needed that belief. That hope.


    ¡°We are in the lair of the enemy,¡± Masque tried hard not to sound angry. ¡°We need to get clear, to safety, then we shall off all the time in the universe to chit-chat.¡± Opening his eyes, he stared deeply into Caleb¡¯s.


    The black-garbed man Caleb felt no life from, burned with intensity, the scalding blue ice from his gaze conveying their need to hurry. ¡°We will return and find your friends, safely, not haphazardly causing their deaths and our own. If they still live,¡± the demon promised him.


    Caleb had been no less brutal to Trixie. So he agreed without complaint. He may be an idiot, but he tried not to be a hypocrite. Fine, we¡¯ll go with you,¡± Caleb agreed. And Rashelle opened the front door of the guest house.


    ¡°And exactly where are you taking them?¡± she asked, stepping into the room. She was wearing very small pajama booty shorts, and a t-shirt. Bryan would have been liking the view, if it wasn¡¯t for the heavy presence of pure freaking evil, as Rashelle walked just past him. ¡°Well? Anything to say for yourself?¡±


    It dawned on Bryan that she was speaking to Masque, like the sight of a six foot tall slab of muscle dressed like a ninja, was totally normal. Then, Bryan saw Caleb¡¯s face. It looked¡­ confused. Concerned. Perhaps even a little afraid. That was because Caleb didn¡¯t know what to be feeling, watching the expression in the large vampires eyes change to fear.


    ¡°You have a lot of balls these days,¡± Rashelle said to his back, her tone changing to one of confidence superiority Bryan had never heard from her, all traces of high school girl gone. ¡°You¡¯ve come a long way from being my favorite thrall, haven¡¯t you, Masque?¡±


    Bryan was standing now, and moved quickly over to Pazely and Caleb, who were also on their feet. Caleb''s mind was reeling; Why was Masque so afraid of Rashelle? Why did she know his name? What was this feeling?


    Try not to die yet, bitch


    Get behind Masque!


    As Masque turned, Caleb heeded the advice in his head, and stood behind the large, yet slightly shorter than him, man. Bryan and Pazely followed suit. The vampire paid their positioning no heed, coming to terms with something inside of himself.


    When Rashelle had walked into the room, he recognized her presence immediately; no longer was she concealing it. The dread that welled in him at her voice, the fear that crashed through him - lasted but a moment. For he realized something. The one he had feared so greatly... was just another being. An evil being. A very strong evil being, but able to be defeated like anything else. Masque was done with the fear of his oppressor. Done with the fear of power greater than his. For the one who claimed him as their own, was the very creator of power itself. The Creator of everything.


    Facing her, he took in how different she looked from his memories of so long ago. Similar in many ways, though this body was obviously not the original. How that was possible, he could not say. It was known she could alter her appearance, as were there many other means in this world to do so, but no - this was a completely different body. A young body.


    His stance was strong, and he rose in height as much as he could, standing in defiance for the first time in his life, of the one he once called Queen.


    ¡°You have no idea how far I¡¯ve come,¡± Masque snarled, netherweave flaring in all directions, eyes blazing; their icy-blue mist boiling forth. ¡°And you have yet to see how far I shall continue, X¡¯al¡¯antra, you whore of a queen!¡± Masque may be one of deep self-control and emotional stability, but he was having a hard time not grinning. He had waited a long time for the confidence to utter such words.


    X¡¯al¡¯antra, Queen, Ancient Mother of all vampires, snarled. And her eyes began to blaze a pitch-black glowing haze, to match Masque¡¯s own ice blue.


    Caleb was almost certain she had not had those fangs before¡­

 Chapter 12: We Won鈥檛 Abandon Our Friends

    What are friends you ask?


    I¡¯ve¡­ always thought friends were like team members.


    In many ways, life is a game, and those who try to solo it,


    do not usually have the easiest of goings.


    Having a team, friends, makes things much easier. Ones to rely on. Ones to count on.


    It also makes things much more complicated.


    People always are.


    But there is one complication,


    one simple question, that can destroy many a friendship.


    A reflexive doubt.


    What is it? Why, ¡®Are they my friend?¡¯ of course!


    Now, you may think you would know if they were already a friend.


    And you would probably almost certainly be wrong!


    Family is family, because blood is blood. But what about friendship?


    What is its point? What is its meaning? Its purpose?


    Liking the company of another? Hanging out? Spending time together?


    These could be done with strangers! Enemies!


    Sometimes, I warn you - a friendly stranger can end up being your enemy.


    And sometimes a true friend¡­ can become a great villain.


    The worst kind, in fact. One able to injure where no blade can reach.


    Friend¡¯ is no more than a word.


    A casual commitment; easier to break than the ever breaking vows of marriage!


    Heh.


    How can you truly ever know you can trust them? These ¡®friends¡¯?


    How can you truly ever know if they are a friend,


    or a fake?


    Or simply an acquaintance?


    It¡¯s that subconscious pondering¡­


    That snowballs out of control, until you yourself must decide!


    Decide if you are ¡®their¡¯ friend.


    So¡­ I know my friends are true, simply because I choose to.


    Yes, I know because I choose to.


    Why?


    Because how can I expect to get, if I will not give?


    How can I expect a friend to be true, if I myself will not?


    How can they trust me¡­ if I won¡¯t first trust them?


    I know what it means to me, to be a friend.


    And I also know what it means to be betrayed.


    As a friend, I will not forget them. I will never abandon them.


    I will cry, and kick, and fight to the very bone!


    I would bleed all my blood and more.


    All this before they are even tested and tried!


    At least this is the man I have now become.


    My family? They would understand.


    For if they did not, how could I call them family?


    Through Christ, are we not all brothers and sisters?


    Do we not move beyond our own blood, as His washes us clean?


    Reality is weak! The soul is strong¡­ The Spirit is stronger.


    It even surpasses the simplicity of family.


    Making it yet more simple.


    In so many ways, the perfect family.


    Therefore, are not my friends also family?


    I will never betray! And I will always be there!


    My family!


    May God deal with me ever so harshly, should I not!


    And may He and they forgive, should I make a mistake!


    Again.


    Should I turn my back on a brother or sister, punish me!


    Or should I injure a sibling I love¡­


    Forgive me.


    Once more.


    Accident or not¡­ I am in a unique position to understand why Christ¡¯s forgiveness is so special.


    For some things I have done¡­ what friend could forgive? What family¡­ could still love?


    Alas, I fear none.


    For what I did to her¡­ I still cannot forgive.


    Then, on that day,


    in her eyes, she looked at me¡­


    Like the brother she had always loved.


    Now,


    if I am ever in need, I pray for my friends.


    I honestly pray that they see my heart! That God himself shows them who I am!


    And that they love me anyway.


    I will never ever betray, and I will never, ever again, give up on them.


    And if I harm by accident, or intentionally¡­


    I will devote all to making amends!


    To fixing them! Even if that means leaving them worlds away.


    And as I write this, and think over all that has happened¡­


    Everyone I have met since this all began.


    I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt within my soul¡­


    that I believe in my friends, who are now my family, and trust them more than words can say!


    Odd group that they are¡­


    Not that I exactly scream normalcy!


    And I believe that not a one of them, not a single one¡­


    Would ever abandon me.


    No matter how hard things ever get, I know they are fighting.


    I know they are hurting, as I would hurt for them.


    What is a friend? Well, if I ever manage to find a proper, simple answer, I¡¯ll share.


    Though for now, my answer:


    they are the people I love more than I can begin to explain!


    My friends, my brothers and sisters, I love you all so dearly!


    Each tear I shed, every drop of my blood-


    it was worth it all.


    If not for them! If not for the ones that had every reason to leave me,


    to hate me...


    Why, if not for them¡­


    I wouldn¡¯t be alive to write this today.


    Thank you, one and all, from beginning to end,


    every one of you that has been there, however random you may have seemed.


    Thank you.


    Now I understand¡­ what friends really are.


    ~What is a friend -a musing


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    * * *


    Reba and John crouched in the trees lining X¡¯al¡¯antra¡¯s property, in view of the guest house. When she saw Rashelle enter the building, Reba still wasn¡¯t sure if their suspicions were right. Though in full view of inside, seeing Masque¡¯s reaction, their suspicions were confirmed.


    ''Oh my God, Masque, get out of there!'' They didn¡¯t have much of a plan, but it should have worked! Get in, get them, get out. Had Rashelle- X''al''antra, been waiting nearby? Reba was quite skeptical that her (she really did need to name her potions) invisibility stuff would work on demons the level of the vampire queen, although it had worked on the imp until Reba attacked her.


    X¡¯al¡¯antra was still facing away. Hopefully she wasn''t simply ignoring them, since the two had to act or Masque was screwed. And without the element of surprise, they were probably dead. Without a word exchanged between them, they knew what to do. Rushing to the cabin open door, ¡°Teri¡¯kre!¡± John commanded once within range, and X¡¯al¡¯antra went tense. Not missing a beat, Reba pulled two avenger daggers from their sheaths in her leather body suit and jumped on the vampire queen, stabbing her in the shoulders, near her neck on either side- and failed to pierce her skin. Dropping the daggers, she let her full weight take the immobilized vampire queen to the ground.


    Reba rolled clear, coming to her feet as John yelled, ¡°Tek¡¯tiryin¡¯thu!¡± X''al''antra roared in fury, tendrils of electricity crackled around her body, burning thin lines into her flesh; momentarily held down by the dual restraining technique.


    Even still, there was no doubt the vampire queen would break free in short order. The electric restraints hold sis not last long, but were very painful; like being bound by both briers and an electric fence, while also sapping your energy. It was fully possible to force oneself through, just not exactly an easy feat, the pain increasing the more you struggled as did the drain effect. The first psychic spell-like ability, however, crushed weight in at the target from all sides, and immobilized fully, for at least the initial effect. If one wasn''t strong enough to force it off, it could last for some time. Combining the two was dramatic, and with both giving diminishing returns, John preferred to not stack them. When stacked however, the restraining power was, well, more than either of them had expected.


    Miss Reba?¡± Pazely whimpered, startled and confused. Not only was everything happening too fast for her to register, but now Reba was in a skintight, brown, bodysuit; covering feet, legs, torso, and arms, leaving hands partially bare. It had tiny pockets and pouches and straps all over it. The dance teachers hair was pulled back in a ponytail, bound several times along its length. She also had... red paint -wrong color to be blood- splatters on her torso, legs, neck, and face.


    Reba took a vial of red stuff from a pocket on her leather suit, quickly uncorked it, and splashed it in Pazely¡¯s face. Which caused her to flail her arms and gag loudly. Reba grabbed one of her flailing arms, and forcibly tugged the girl into Masque¡¯s side. ¡°Go!¡± Reba commanded him. He may not be able to see Reba or John (or now Pazely), but he could still hear and feel them.


    Taking Pazely in his arms, Masque almost swooned when some of the invisibility liquid touched him, his senses spinning and scrambled. Steeling himself and holding Pazely against his chest, knowing he was too disoriented temporarily to make it out the door, he shoulder rushed through the wall of the cabin to his left, in a loud crash, and was gone.


    Teri¡¯kre!¡± John commanded again, and Reba looked back to see the vampire queen in a kneel, the psychic electricity already fading. ¡°Follow me! Hurry!¡± Reba urged Caleb and Bryan, motioning them towards the hole Masque had made; not the doorway where John stood in his red-stained robes, plain brown staff in two hand. The boys¡¯ hearts were pounding and their confusion was through the roof. Having recently learned to not think and just go with things, they obeyed her command.


    X''al''antra lunged forward, landing on her stomach and grabbing Bryan''s ankle. ¡°Teri''kre!¡± John commanded urgently, stumbling at the rapid use of energy. The vampire queen kept hold of Bryan''s leg, though didn''t move further. He hurried to stand over X''al''antra, and rose his staff over his head, then thought better at the last moment. The effect it had on demons may cause her to break free of his psionic hold. He had to risk using more energy, and pray Masque could get him out before the terror could break free. ¡°Koh-luhn!¡± the impact was not enough to make her let go. Dammit!  "Koh-luhn! Koh-luhn! Koh-luhn! KOH-LUHN!" The repeated impacts blasted X''al''antra through the floorboard, her hand luckily coming loose of Bryan¡¯s ankle.


    Stumbling again, almost falling into the hole atop the vampire queen, Bryan caught the old man by an arm. ¡°I am alright,¡± John huffed, standing up stronger and steadier than he felt, and led the way out of the building.


    The moment they reached Reba and Caleb, Masque landed on the ground near Bryan, scooped him into his arms, and jumped away out of sight. Reba cursed. She wanted to apply the invisibility stuff to everyone to lower the risk of being followed. But she guessed Masque was doing the right thing by trying to get them out as fast as possible.


    What is going on?¡± Caleb panted to the old man in the stained robes. Then Reba splashed him with another vial of the red liquid. Caleb felt like he was turned inside, and the nausea he was hit with was so bad, he lost all sense and thought. But just for a moment. ¡°The fuck!?¡± he snapped at Reba.


    Masque landed nearby, momentarily looking around, confused. ¡°Here!¡± Reba called, and he hurried over. She grabbed Caleb¡¯s arms, as he coughed and gagged, and pushed him into the approaching Masque. The large vampire in black was trying hard as he could to get used to the substance, and beginning to feel it was impossible. Still, he managed to pick Caleb up and leap away with him in his arms.


    The velocity at which Masque moved was suffocating. It didn¡¯t last long however, and Caleb wasn¡¯t dumb enough to struggle. Their breakneck speeds ceased, and his knees felt weak as Masque set him on the ground, next to Bryan, Stryker, and Pazely. Stryker also had the red substance on him. Masque immediately bounded away to get the remaining two of their group.


    Welcome back,¡± Stryker said, leaning on a tree, appearing quite pale. Caleb blinked. ¡°Should I even bother to ask what is going on?¡± he mumbled. No one volunteered an answer. When Masque reappeared with Reba, and set her down, she took out a vial, and splashed Bryan even as the vampire leapt away again for John. Bryan gagged loudly, and stumbled, muttering some incoherent curses. ¡°I know, right?¡± Pazely grumbled.


    Why are you standing outside?¡± Reba lectured, quickly heading over to a tree stump near a large stone cliff-face (with the red paint-like substance splattered on it), trying not to look as shaken as she felt. Being carried like that was a bit nerve-wracking, let alone sneak attacking a demon queen!


    Cuz my dumb ass can¡¯t remember how you said to get in, and the fucking thing closed while I was out here!¡± Stryker bitched, and the dance teacher rolled her eyes. Dropping to her knees, Reba reached under the stump, and took out a small pouch. Masque arrived at this point with John. ¡°Why are you all still outside?!¡± John snapped, looking back the way they had come, and all about.


    Maybe you should give better fucking instructions next time!¡± Stryker snapped back, sounding more embarrassed than angry. Still, the kids noticed he was rather wound up compared to his usual. Reba opened the small pouch, took a generous pinch of the silver powder, and hurrying to the center of the stone cliff face behind her, rubbed the powder on it.


    Whoa!¡± all three kids exclaimed, as the boulder soundlessly split in half, revealing a staircase down.


    In the woods behind them came worrisome canine howls.


    Let''s go!¡± Reba said, letting them all run past her. She had splashed the red liquid all about before they had left to get the kids, and more than a little on the cliff face. She was hoping it would be enough to conceal their scent in the area.


    Masque was the last one in before Reba. He still could not see or smell any of them, and having so much direct contact with the red liquid had made him feel horrendously ill. Being careful not to run into anyone, he heard the stone close behind him, as well as Reba¡¯s footfalls.


    Reba began lighting candles as soon as she got down the stairs. The room was so small it was barely large enough for them all to fit. ¡°I still don¡¯t know how you expected me to find this place¡­¡± Stryker grumbled, sitting in an old, rickety-looking recliner. ¡°I have told you four times, this is not the same location,¡± John answered. ¡°That other is a simple shack, and far less hidden or secure than here.¡± Stryker did not appear to be paying attention.


    We have to go back for Trixie and Miss Terra!¡± Caleb declared abruptly, before anyone else had a chance to speak. ¡°Wait, Trixie and Terra are up there?¡± Reba asked, surprised, Masque hadn''t mentioned that. That was also when she finally got a good look at her students.


    Caleb and Bryan were in the same clothes as when she saw them last. Pazely was running around in a sports bra, as usual, and leggings that did not at all match the occasion. Did that girl ever get cold? Her eyes, all their eyes, looked so¡­ defeated. Scared. Confused. Yet, also¡­ determined. Resolute, even.


    Please tell me we are going back,¡± was all Caleb replied with. John could tell there would be no argument. Their demeanor and attitude, coupled with the fact they were not even asking the million questions that John knew they had to have, impressed him to no end.


    We are going back, and we will do it right. Otherwise, we all will die," John told him, sitting in a padded rocking chair that had no room to rock. ¡°What is the right way?¡± Pazely asked. Her voice was strong, eyes unblinking, from where she sat in a tiny metal folding chair. John noticed a strength of spirit in the young girl he had not seen in her before.


    We will wait till nightfall. Yes, we. At this point, all of us are involved.¡± John looked the kids over before continuing. ¡°X¡¯al¡¯antra is arrogant and prideful. As soon as the sun sets, she will send every minion she has into town to find us. To find you,¡± he said that last to Caleb. ¡°She and the other two terrors will no doubt stay behind, the lesser troops doing all the work. They will not expect us to strike where they are at their strongest, and that is exactly why they will also be at their weakest.¡±


    It was obvious the teens wanted to ask questions. John then realized they likely had no idea what had even happened in the last couple of days. "The girl you know as..."


    "Rashelle," Pazely helped, adding, "Caleb''s girlfriend." That got a wave of reactions; John keeping is complete shock to himself. Continuing with a nod, "Rashelle, is really X''al''antra, the mother of all vampires. An ancient demon, and one of the Three Terrors. Why she has been in Castle Rock in the guise of a teenage girl, is anyone''s guess. What she wants with any of you, we do not know. The fact she has been playing the role of Caleb''s... girlfriend, would say she has something more in mind than prophecy fulfillment. Though anything else on that topic would be conjecture at this point." Caleb''s eyes went to the floor, and the other two kids were somber and thoughtful. John was worried they would start asking details he still felt best they didn''t know.


    They also have Feldyn," Reba told them, temporarily ending any prophecy related questioning before it could start. Reba looked to Masque, wondering why she dreaded so much to know the status of the bard. She was fearing for his life, like a close friend she had known for years. ¡°He lives,¡± Masque said, sensing Reba''s eyes on him. ¡°Oh, thank Christ,¡± John sighed, bowing his head in a prayer of thanks.


    Masque had said he smelled the Aetherian¡¯s blood when first surveying the area, before making tactical retreat, but had not been sure if the elf was alive. John had honestly feared the worst. As had Reba. ¡°Did you sense, or smell, anyone else?¡± Bryan asked the vampire. ¡°There are other living humans on the grounds, though I am not sure the exact number. At least four. I also did not smell any blood, other than the half-elf''s,¡± he answered.


    So,¡± Paze started, ¡°I guess we got time for you guys to explain what¡¯s going on? If we are waiting for the sun to go down anyway¡­¡± Pazely, for some reason, right at that moment, broke down and began to cry.


    Sitting next to her in a folding chair of his own, and letting her snuggle in his arms, Caleb smiled weakly to John. ¡°It¡¯s been-¡± his voice cracked and a tear ran down his cheek. Restarting, ¡°It¡¯s been pretty crazy since we saw you last.¡±


    That¡¯s an understatement¡­¡± Bryan sighed, also sitting in an old folding chair. He did not feel the urge to cry, because right now he felt nothing. Which he knew was a bad sign. Bryan always went numb before an attack. Damn his cursed genetics! He didn''t have his pills on him, and only by the Grace of God had held it together so far!


    Reba dear, some rations and water for everyone, if you would?¡± Reba didn¡¯t object to John¡¯s request, and ducked through a low doorway, into a side cubby. ¡°The day you left, when the sky turned red; it was caused by a witchcraft called a blood moon.¡± John had jumped right into the explanation. No reason to set the mood- he wasn''t some flamboyant bard. There were stories, and then there were stories. ¡°This blood moon craft is a ritual that creates a field in the atmosphere which amplifies the effect of crafts cast under it. Essentially, it turns the near useless crafts of this world into something as potent as real magic, without the manastorms. However... something was wrong about this one. It was more powerful than I have ever heard of, than should have been possible, and the stars should not have vanished, nor should the entire sky have altered in color as it did.¡±


    Everyone was listening intently as Reba handed out the military style rations she retrieved. John hated those things, yet the teens seemed thrilled about them. These children were so very strange¡­ ¡°I am going to assume you all had to deal with some¡­ odd entities, and happenings.¡± Their expressions told him his assumption was spot on. ¡°Witchcraft is an abomination. It defiles, aborts, and corrupts. Witches are pure perversions of God¡¯s creation, and their craft is no different. From what I can tell, at least two main crafts were in effect that night, and somehow enhanced beyond rationality. One was a spell of animation; lifeless objects animated in a mockery of life.


    The second was a type of manifestation craft. Taking the dark thoughts and fears inside the minds and hearts of those under the spell¡¯s effect, and manifesting them into reality.¡± John sighed heavily. ¡°I am sorry I cannot give more detail, but witchcraft falls far from my field of expertise.¡± He understood enough, but he did not know specifically how it worked, nor the proper terminology.


    Witches were not a big threat generally, and easily killed, if need be. It was only the Lilith''s Luciferian Sisterhood Coven, or simple ''the Coven'' which caused concern. They were globally organized under the which queen Shuzariel. Witches were cowards by nature, and corrupted from the shadows, their main purpose was living to blaspheme, not destruction or power grabs, which made even the Coven a niche threat.


    What is this red stuff?¡± Caleb asked, when he realized John was done explaining the blood moon. The old man ended his tales so abruptly. ¡°Vile, offensive, and obnoxious,¡± Masque complained. Reba rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s something I came up with on the fly. Basically, with just one small vial of this on you, undead or demons can''t see or smell you!¡± Her expression and tone said she was quite proud of herself. Then she frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure the limitations, but it''s working for us so far. More or less.¡± She then grumbled something about wishing she had more tags, shooting her dad a quick scowl.


    How did you and John survive the explosion?¡± Bryan asked, and Reba scowled again. How dare her amazingness be so easily dismissed! Even Masque had been impressed! Hmph! ¡°The imp let us live,¡± John answered. ¡°The what?¡± Bryan adjusted his glasses on his nose with one finger. How did that boy always somehow retain his glasses? ¡°The imp,¡± John said again. ¡°An imp is basically a child-looking sex demon, who prey on pedophiles and the like.¡±


    Caleb suddenly felt a chill. ¡°What¡­ uh, what do imps look like?¡± he asked John. ¡°They look like very young Asian girls. Children, really. Weaker imps will have no defining characteristics to identify them, since unlike many demons, they appear almost completely human. Their most common visible demonic traits tend to be their teeth," John explained. ¡°They look like shark¡¯s teeth,¡± Caleb guessed, and John nodded. Pazely put both hands over her mouth in surprise. Bryan felt a chill of his own. Those two girls at the guest house¡­ Kiki, and the one Caleb chased after¡­ were demons?!


    Caleb seemed to deflate as he leaned back in his chair, eyes distant. Iiyni¡­ Iiyni was an actual demon from Hell? A sex demon? He was so taken aback by this news, the voices in his head were pushed to the side. They were loud and distinct, but he didn¡¯t care. What he did care about was the gut-wrenching feeling of emotion assaulting him. He wasn''t sure why, or what emotion it even was, only that it felt terrible.


    She didn''t look like a child...¡± he muttered under his breath. ¡°Who?¡± Bryan asked, confused. Caleb met his eyes a bit blankly, ¡°Those girls. I mean, Kiki was obviously older than Trixie, and Iiyni was twelve at the youngest.¡± Bryan, and now Pazely, just stared at him. Was he retarded? ¡°Um,¡± Bryan started a bit hesitant, ¡°Dude, I would have pegged Kiki at like eight, maybe? The other one, whatever you called her-¡±


    Iiyni.¡±


    -Iiyni, was obviously grade-school age too. I mean maybe ten or eleven at the oldest? But that''s a stretch.¡± It was Caleb¡¯s turn to stare at him like he was retarded. ¡°Um, no,¡± he told Bryan. ¡°Um, yes,¡± Bryan and Pazely rebutted in unison. Caleb gaped open-mouthed.


    John cleared his throat to get their attention. ¡°According to what we know, there appear to be at least two imps. Denizens of Hell, they very likely have as much power on Earth as the Vampire Queen. Meaning we have a second set of terrors, possibly more deadly than the first.¡±


    But, she, the imp, let you live, right?¡± Caleb asked John, a hopeful, pleading note in his voice. ¡°In a manner, yes," John answered. "She attacked our home alongside dozens of undead, and ignored while setting explosives. Perhaps she saw us as beneath her, or was truly allowing us a chance to escape; I can not be sure." Caleb looked more intensely at John. ¡°Did she say why?¡± he asked. Pazely looked at him curiously. The shit does he care? ¡°Dad just told you, she ignored us,¡± Reba answered instead of John.


    So, there''s a chance she maybe isn''t evil?¡± Caleb looked between John and Reba. ¡°No, Caleb, she is an imp. A demon,¡± John told him. ¡°She was more than likely under orders by the strongest of them to let us live. Why? I have no idea.¡± Caleb smiled confidently, ¡°I say it¡¯s because they''re on our side!¡± That caused more than a few eye rolls and scowls. ¡°Seriously!" he urged, "We talked with them at Rashelle¡¯s. One was¡­ Kiki. She was, uh, short hair, about to her shoulders I think? And had, uh..." he trailed off, realizing he hadn''t paid much attention to her. "The other one was Iiyni. Neither of them felt evil at all, I mean Iiyni obviously didn''t like Rashelle- or whatever her name really is.¡±


    "The one we encounter was arrogant, and had long straight hair," Reba joined in. "Was wearing a human leather leotard, both times."


    The leathers of the one I am confident leads them, is in two pieces, resembling... a bikini,¡± Masque said in a quiet rumble, feeling ridiculous saying ''bikini''. ¡°Her hair in a tight braid.¡± Caleb¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s Iiyni! The braid part, anyway.¡± Masque closed his eyes. ¡°You mean that creepy little bitch that tried to rip my throat out?" Stryker finally chimed in. "Yeah, she is not a friendly.¡±


    Caleb jumped to his feet in anger, hitting his head on the stone ceiling rather hard. He didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°If she is so strong, then she must have let you live!¡± Stryker laughed, ¡°I promise you, Caleb, she wanted to kill me. She may have been half-assing it, and didn''t give chase, but definitely didn¡¯t expect me to get away, let alone with Mister Gloomy here,¡± he motioned to a gloomy-looking Masque, who glowered at the description.


    What is with you? Sit down!¡± Pazely complained, tugging on one of Caleb¡¯s pant legs. She turned her attention to John when Caleb ignored her. ¡°If they are demons, can¡¯t we just, you know, cast them out?¡± Her voice seemed to fall a little. ¡°Like, in Jesus¡¯ name?¡± At her words, Caleb finally sat back down. He didn¡¯t give a crap what they said about Iiyni! He refused to accept that the girl he spoke to at the well was evil! But the topic Pazely just brought up, he remembered what she told him about her mother¡­


    It does not work that way, I am afraid," John explained, still dealing with the revelation there were three imps. "Only weaker demons, like possessors, can be cast out. Where invoking Christ has some effect on all demons, these would have no problem ignoring the commands. At least long enough to kill us before it could make any real difference.¡±


    Pazely hung her head silently while she thought. Her mom was just possessed? Was it the blood moon that made the demon seem so much¡­ scarier then?


    And Rashelle is the queen of the vampires?¡± Caleb asked, trying to change the subject, and get some clarity on another what the fuck topic. He suddenly felt very tired. John nodded. ¡°Her name is X¡¯al¡¯antra.¡± Masque growled quietly, Stryker raising an eyebrow at his newfound friend. ¡°But¡­ sorry if this is stupid, but she was outside in the sun?¡± This time Caleb sounded a little sheepish. ¡°I mean, can vampires do that? I figured that was why Masque dressed like a ninja, to avoid the sun.¡±


    You are correct,¡± Masque answered. ¡°The sunlight burns all but the eyes of a vampire. X¡¯al¡¯antra is not technically vampire insomuch as the demonic source of the Vamp''yiour''ae virus. Sunlight has no effect on her body. And yes, these shadowcloths do protect me from the sunlight. I am also not a ninja.¡± None paid much attention to the ninja¡¯s complaint.


    Okay,¡± John said loudly, clapping his hands together. ¡°We can talk about all of this later, right now we need to eat, and focus on the topic at hand. Because, if you will excuse the saying, this operation is going to be a bitch.¡± None of them laughed, since John did not seem to be choosing his words to create levity. Reba sighed in agreement. ¡°Dad''s right. Getting Feldyn out is going to be difficult enough. Now we have more to save¡­¡± Reba lowered her eyes. ¡°The risk''s involved¡­ It¡¯s such a dangerous gamble¡­¡±


    Doubt. Doubt rolled through the room. More than doubt. A question of why. If these demons were so powerful that they could not flee from them, what was the point of rescuing anyone? Every one of them in the room was thinking that same thing, while simultaneously puzzling their doubt as irrational.


    Well, everyone except for Caleb. He was distracted looking at Reba in her skintight bodysuit. This time, however, the seriousness of the moment knocked him out of his inappropriately timed, err, appreciation. Laughing unintentionally, they all looked at him, and he grasped at what was said last, trying to display he had not completely lost the topic. ¡°A dangerous gamble?¡± he grinned, cocky. ¡°What are we waiting for?" He popped his knuckles. "Let¡¯s roll those fucking dice.¡±


    John was wishing the proverbial dice were loaded.


    It was not long after nightfall, and they were now all in place. Reba had made as much of her invisibility potion as she could with her limited resources, which ended up being three more vials. She gave one to Masque, and sent him into town to find a vehicle near the outskirts of town, that ran and had keys, to use as a getaway vehicle, having the vial of red stuff spread on it.


    Upon their success, Masque would whisk the ones of them that survived back to the hideout, and when the coast was clear, to the truck, which they would use to get as far from town as possible. She gave the other two vials to Caleb for his role in the plan. What they already had smeared on themselves would hopefully still be enough to camouflage.


    Being dropped off a ways away in the woods, to avoid Masque being detected, Reba and John had made their way to the edge of the treeline at the base of the hillside the property was mostly focused upon. It was cold, and cloudy enough that there wasn¡¯t any starlight to help them see.


    John was not happy. This was by far the most foolish fight they had ever picked. Their plan was all guesswork and assumption. And it was about time to commence, by his count. He had learned long ago that one could not always rely on having a device to tell time. So in the total darkness he waited, as Reba went ahead, and he continued to count.


    Thirty more seconds¡­ twenty¡­ fifteen¡­ five...


    Panic and dread flooded him, a clarity of confusion shining brightly. What were they doing?! This was suicide! Why had he ever entertained the idea?!


    ... three...


    Too late.


    ''Please, Christ, let my daughter survive.''


    ... one.


    X¡¯al¡¯antra!¡± Reba called loudly, standing at the base of the steep hill, that would eventually lead up to the mansion. ¡°You want the Dragonheart? Well, I know where he is, you fucking bitch!¡± Reba was terrified. She held a silver-colored cylinder in her right hand, and thanked God for the eyes of a homunculus, allowing her to see in near total darkness.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    When the vampire queen was standing on the hillside without ever seeing her approach, Reba impressed herself by not starting. No longer a need to disguise her appearance, X¡¯al¡¯antra looked a bit different. Reba almost laughed when she felt a tinge of jealousy at the beautiful demon¡¯s newish appearance.


    The Queen''s hair was the same length and color, but unlike Rashelle, it was thick and wavy. Her eyes held no whites, or other color, but were pitch black, and radiated some type of mist or smoke, much like Masque¡¯s. (Reba made a mental note to ask Masque about the phenomena later...) The vampire queen skin was so white, it almost glowed in the darkness. Decorating that unnatural skin, was a skimpy -assumed human leather- outfit that showed off a slim and perfectly toned physique. Reba didn''t pay too much attention to the design, as it was obvious the vampire expected it.


    If it isn¡¯t Miss Reba,¡± X''al''antra said in a genderless voice that made her stomach turn, and the grass around the demon turned brown and died. ¡°How nice to see you again. My compliments on surprising me before. Even now, approaching so closely without detection¡­ That cursed chemical truly does distort you.¡± She grinned wickedly. ¡°I am curious though, so tell me, just how are you here when you are supposed to be DEAD?¡± The ground at her feet began to smolder at the outburst that crusted the air in wrongness. Reba didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°Rhetorical, of course. Don''t hurt yourself trying to form words. Unless those words will tell me where the FUCK you took my Dragonheart?!¡± Tiny fires now burned near her, as she began to walk towards Reba.


    You know, that voice really kills your sex appeal,¡± Reba judged defiantly, and pressed her thumb and index finger into the side of the cylinder in her right hand, which then extended both ways and into a silver staff.


    X''al''antra bared her fangs and growled. Reba rolled her eyes, and tried to appear calm. She had to keep the bitch queen''s attention! It had been a long time, after all, since John he had attempted white magic, let alone something so powerful. Who knows how long it will take him? If X''al''antra had detected his presence, she was ignoring it. ''Please God, let her keep underestimating us!''


    Must you make it worse?¡± X¡¯al¡¯antra asked, voice like a human female¡¯s again. ¡°How many of those that you love and protect must I slaughter until you get it? Have I not already killed enough? I promise I will kill you and those remaining quickly, if you tell me where the fuck my boyfriend is!¡± Her anger  changed to a look of puzzlement at the expression on the homunculus¡¯ face. Then it dawned on on the vampire queen that Reba had no idea what she was talking about. ¡°You don¡¯t know,¡± Xal said, her lips curled up in a grin, and she began to giggle. ¡°You really don¡¯t know! Wow, this is priceless! I thought for sure that was why you were here, being gutsy enough to confront me head on!¡± X¡¯al¡¯antra was laughing in earnest now.


    Reba was suspicious, though a sense of dread was growing in her. What was she talking about? Who had she slaughtered? Everyone was currently accounted for- Reba gasped, and went pale. There was no way. ¡°Now she gets it,¡± Xal said, stopping her laughter. ¡°I had my newbloods gather them for me. Some lived a good distance away. They really drove far for their favorite teacher.¡± Her mocking smile became one of carnal hunger. ¡°The blood of children has always been my favorite. And when they scream, it makes it oh so much better.¡±


    The look in the vampire queen¡¯s eyes¡­ Was X''al''antra lying? Please Jesus, let her be lying! The ice cold burn of emotional horror flared. The local kids, Reba had been praying survived, though she expected the worst. Trixie having survived, and Miss Terra, that knowledge almost broke her. How many people she cared for had she lost over the years? Left behind? Had she ever cared for any us much as those in her current life? The one hope that kept her from losing it, was almost none of the kids lived locally, and the ones who did were outside city limits. All but Trixie. Or, at least the kids she taught...


    No, no, no, no- Her vision began to turn white at the corners, until all she saw was this evil¡¯s laughing face. Her dread turned white hot. Her fear changed to an irradiating blaze of judgment -no, no, no, no! Her mind was forced to accept what her heart denied. Her soul focused on that compelled truth that her body rebelled against.


    Reba saw their faces. She saw them smiling. She saw them bleeding. She saw them crying. The vampire queen¡¯s wicked face. Her smile. Her darkness and cruelty. Reba¡¯s heart burned, and raged, and blanked out all things in her subconscious, her conscious mind still frozen on those smiling faces.


    Then, in her subconscious, a white fire overtook all, spreading to the conscious, engulfing it in an instant, and her body knew: X¡¯al¡¯antra must be judged.


    Something inside Reba, that no one, not her nor her creator knew was there, surfaced. As heart and mind broke from the agonizing pain of a truth accepted against her will, a new truth surfaced- in a blinding flash of pure white, illuminating the hillside.


    He had still been blissfully unconscious when Lance started clawing painfully at his shoulder. The little stabs and tearing pains were too much to remain unconscious to. Then his heart began to slam when he focused his eyes, and saw the zombie king in the dimly illuminated room, his situation and potion coming into full clarity. Why had Lance woken him?!


    How long had he even been here? By his count, it had been at least two cycles of daylight. But who knew if that light was from the sun rising or setting. He could not see much outside the door from this angle, though it very much appeared to open to the outside. The occasional light filtering in through cracks in this ramshackle building when he was conscious, also hinted to not being within an indoor facility nor underground. Though, that could all be a ruse. Feldyn was at his limit.


    The clawing and nipping at his shoulder -that quit once he regained consciousnesses- felt almost like Lance had been excited. A rescue, perchance? Hah! Bloody unlikely. Not here. Not in the middle of the Terrors. He may have discovered the Dragonheart, met two members of some secret Order, and sort of befriended an ancient vampire, but who were they, really?


    The Dragonheart was a teenage human male, not yet a hint of the power he was to come into.


    The two Order members were an old man, and an artificial human. True, Feldyn could tumble naked around this small planet with that artificial human, and never get bored ¨C but facts were facts. She wasn¡¯t even real. Reba was hardly more than a machine. A machine that he could accept, in this case, probably had a soul. God was not so cruel as to deny such a creature life. But how powerful could Reba be, when all was said and done?


    And the old man? Old fool, was more like it. Did John really think there could be links here on Earth? Or even shards? What a fool¡¯s fool! And his combat skills must be quite subpar; if, in his younger days, he could not kill this mad alchemist, what good was he now in his old age? If it wasn¡¯t for being surprised, and the help of the witch, Feldyn could rid the world of Larry the Zombie King himself! Without magic! Preferably with the aid of a weapon or two... And Lance...


    Then, there was Masque. The only one with any hope to succeed in a rescue attempt. Feldyn was sure he was lying about being there at Babel, he just didn¡¯t know why. Surely, if he was that old, his power would be¡­ would be as great as these infernal terrors! Not that it mattered either way, since Masque had not burst in here, killed the enemies, and spirited him to safety. Feldyn figured the vampire was long gone. As anyone with common sense would be.


    The situation was so hopeless, there was naught even Lance could do, or surely they would be even now fleeing through the woods. Though... after this torture session, Feldyn would plead with his friend to blink him out, and leave. The escape attempt may be fatal, but it was better to go out swinging. All that was left was to die. There would be no rescue. Not tonight, or ever. He didn¡¯t have that kind of luck. And as much as Lance may be willing to hold out hope, or be waiting for a window, Feldyn was done. It was over. He hoped God would grant him the Purgatory he deserved over Paradise.


    You''re a lucky guy tonight,¡± Larry said, startling him. That was an awkwardly coincidental choice of words. The big man stayed facing away, filling syringe after syringe and attaching them to the large ring he hung them on like keys. ¡°Well, depending on your perspective and personal taste, I ¡®spose.¡± The zombie king shrugged. ¡°Shuzariel convinced Xal to let her have some one-on-one fuckin¡¯ time. Horny bitch wants a good, solid humpin¡¯. Well, probably a riding as she can¡¯t unchain you.¡± Lance could be a bit of a perv, but somehow Feldyn doubted this was what he was excited about¡­ ¡°She was supposed to wait till I am all done with ya, but that will probably take a while still, and she is quite annoyingly inpatient. With Xal in an especially bad mood right now, I thought, what the hell? Good opportunity for me spend time in my lab. All I need is to cross paths with the bitch before she gets lover boy back. Can''t say I feel bad, after what they pulled on me."


    Feldyn was hardly listening to the lunatic. A witch was planning to rape him! Shuzariel was exceptionally attractive... Even the night they abducted him, he could remember being impressed by her appearance, nicely sculpted... assets. Oh, being a man was a wonderfully shameful thing! Looking was a far cry from actual intercourse, however.


    Shuzariel was a witch! Feldyn had ignored school as much as the next youth, but some things stuck with you. In reproductive studies, the witch stood out as a topic for jokes, quips, gibes, and all around bad taste for most boys. A true witch¡¯s girl parts were lined with rings of snake-like teeth, which would stay retracted until right as the male was to¡­ pull out. They would then extend in a passionate fury, ripping his masculinity from him. And, err, swallow it with same fanged orifice.


    Adding insult to injury, the nearby orifice could -or any orifice, according to textbooks- occasionally house a mass of tentacles, which had been known to rip off the remaining¡­ jewels. The tentacles have even been documented feeding them to the hungry fanged ¨C aye, ye get the point! The shit they teach children in school! Basically, having sex with a witch didn¡¯t ride high on most males¡¯ priority lists. If anywhere. Not to mention that a witches true form was arguable wore than the rotting alchemist before him. Or how researches acquired the information...


    Feldyn had to admit, if he was to die anyway, and she stayed in her human form¡­ No! He couldn¡¯t just go with it! Witches lived to blaspheme God by warping and corrupting Creation! Forced situation, and enjoyable or not, he had quite enough to account for Judgment Day! Once the zombie king left him alone with the witch, Feldyn would force Lance to blink them out of here!


    Perhaps... that was why Lance had been so excited? He saw this as an opportunity to escape? Was there hope after all? Had his friend truly been waiting for the right moment, trusting in his ability to endure?


    X¡¯al¡¯antra!¡± he heard a faint voice yell from outside the walls of the small torture shack, and his heart seemed to stop, adrenaline surging anyway.


    You want the Dragonheart? Well I know where he is, you fucking bitch!¡± The way Larry reacted to the voice was priceless; dropping what he was holding on the table, and looked all around at the walls, as if he was going mad. Feldyn began to laugh, and gave a little cheer; Reba may be about to die, but by God, he wasn¡¯t going to not at least cheer her on!


    The zombie king stormed out of the shack, flustered (Feldyn still laughing, unmolested), leaving the light on and not even closing the door. Lance started to claw at Feldyn¡¯s shoulder. Before Feldyn could be irritated, he heard some type of commotion outside the door, and his lingering laughter choked itself silent, when Pazely ran into the shack.


    Spattered in something too red to be blood, and definitely not dressed for the occasional, the small girls twintails flew wildly, as she took in the situation, visually searching the room. ¡°There is no key!¡± Feldyn said, guessing right in what she looked for. Without hesitation, she grabbed a hammer off the table, and a stool, setting it next to the hanging half-elf. ''Well, shit,'' Feldyn thought, and closed his eyes. ¡°Oh yeah!¡± Pazely remembered, and he opened his eyes in time to get splashed with something. His world turned upside down and rightside up more times than he could make sense of, though he still heard the crash over his head, which dropped him to his stiff and sore legs.


    C¡¯mon, dumbass!¡± Pazely urged him, already in the doorway. Feldyn¡¯s hands were still bound, and he struggled to not only stand but think. Dammit legs, MOVE!


    Pazely wasn''t paying attention, focusing on outside. When the fat guy they figured was the zombie king came outside, Caleb had charged doing some flying kick thing that wasn''t as cool as he probably thought, but it did make him trip and fall over. While Pazely was getting Feldyn, Caleb managed to get the red stuff on Ted''s face and chest.


    The fat bastards smell was so bad, both teens could hardly breath. It didn''t help that while he seized violently, liquid coming out of his eyes, mouth, and nose, he was also, somehow, shitting everywhere. Not sure why his reaction was so intense, Caleb was pretty sure the zombie king wasn¡¯t getting up anytime soon¡­


    Still, wanting to make sure the evil bastard that hurt Reba, John, and Feldyn, stayed down for good, Caleb kicked him in the head hard enough to cave it in. Twice. It instantly repaired both times! He then kicked the stinky fucker in the side, to no avail. It was like trying to destroyed a rotten pumpkin that kept regenerating! And things (as in unidentifiable organs, feces, and other organic materials) were leaking and falling out of the holes Caleb was rupturing with his blows. The smell! Oh God, the smell! Gagging, ¡°We need to go!¡± Caleb called, backing to Pazely that stared in horror at the mass of nasty having a fit on the ground.


    Leaning past her into the shed, he saw Feldyn was barely on his feet, and stumbled, falling to the table, grabbing the ring of syringes. ¡°Help!¡± he said to the tall boy. Pazely moved out of the way, Caleb quickly to Feldyn''s side, who leaned on him when he got close, without shame or hesitation, to help him get out the door.


    Feldyn did not know why, but this horrible red liquid had Larry disabled. Shoving away from Caleb, bard stumbled to the prone alchemist. Falling on his knees, he stabbed four of the needles into the left side of Larry¡¯s face, pushing the plungers all the way down.


    Larry squealed like a stuck pig, as his face, and even his left arm, began to bubble and warp. Feldyn had to dodge back since the zombie king¡¯s arm began flapping around so hard that it hummed, pounding a rut into the ground.


    Caleb grabbed Feldyn and manhandled the half-elf into moving forward. Feldyn was still in shock as they rushed towards a rise in the hill. They were heading downhill though, a large house up the hill to their right, the second story and balcony visible from here, the rest obscure from their vantage. Caleb turned on a small flashlight he had in a pocket. It definitely didn''t do much, but it was better than being completely blind for the two humans. They just needed to clear distance until Masque retrieved them anyway.


    When they cleared the tiny rise in their descent, the night sky lit up a bright white, and the three finally hesitated, shielding their eyes. Much farther down, at the base of the property near the treeline, Reba stood, eyes blazing pure white.


    * * *


    As soon as the light faded, X¡¯al¡¯antra, blinking and squinting, watching the alchemist, eyes illuminated as if they were light bulbs, spinning her staff with one hand, fast as a fan-blade. Common appliance comparisons, for a creature that was little more than. However, as her sight now fully cleared, X''al''antra could make out a mark. A soul mark. The Mark of Christ. Interesting...


    Yhi,¡± the homunculus with a soul spoke said, a burning white symbol appearing in the air before her - and she slashed it with her staff, sending a white ball of energy flying through the sky to slam into the the vampire queen.


    Foolish as it was of X''al''antra to not dodge, she had been curious. the attack inflicted a good amount of pain, but no real damage. Reba took a step forward, ¡°tyhm,¡± another symbol appeared, she slashed it, another burning ball of energy shot out, hitting the vampire queen. ¡°Fgo,¡± she said, continuing her advance and pattern. Xal grinned, leaning into the attacks. They were doing no real damage anyway, and this was an obvious trump card on the homunculus'' part. What better way to crush the bitch even more than taking everything she had to give head on, without even an attempt to avoid or guard?


    Ghti, nontu, kyembic,¡± Reba spoke faster, sometimes saying several words at a time, before slashing through them. The balls of energy were slamming into the vampire queen hard enough now that her grin had turned to a snarl, and she was needing to lean into the impacts.


    Each symbol written in the air didn¡¯t just vanish when struck; they shrank, and were forming -what appeared to be- a page of text in front of Reba¡¯s, as if a projector was emitting them the exact same distance from the girl, onto an invisible screen, regardless of how she moved. They burned white hot, and left blurred tracers in their wake.


    The assault continued until Reba was almost in melee range of the vampire queen. X''al''antra, furious and in great pain, kept eye contact, waiting until the artificial bitch was close enough to touch. Then she would rip out her heart, and see what the blood of this abomination tasted like!


    The page of text abruptly changed position to chest-height and grew in size. ¡°HEISTOREIACA!¡± Reba shouted, and spun, slashing her staff two-handed through the blazing wall of text before her. A beam, taller and wider around than the vampire queen shot straight into the demon, blasting a hole into the hillside behind her so cleanly, the ground didn¡¯t even rumble! And it continued to shoot in one steady beam from the air in front of the dance instructor, who held her staff before her in two hands, eyes white as the beam itself.


    Things were not going well for Masque. The moment X¡¯al¡¯antra answered Reba''s call, he had intercepted the witch queen, who was also responding. Just as predicted. Not as predicted, she was quite martially skilled. Witches, by nature, were rather weak. Unable to use true witchcraft due to the storms and angelic intervention. More powerful witchcraft had to rely on rituals, combinations of crafts, and demonic or spiritual assistance. Such options were not viable in combat, taking time, team work, and preparation.


    He was not to kill her, but to keep her distracted, unless an opening arose for a kill shot. Which he had been sure would. He did not even have his netherweave extended, fearing if pushed too hard she would imbue her crafts with mana, causing storms. That was an extra danger they did not need. This was a rescue mission, not an assault. Too many variables, too many unknowns.


    Like how they still were not sure where or what the hounds were they had heard howling. The hope was that whatever canines X¡¯al¡¯antra had were in the surrounding area trying to track them.


    Witch and vampire fought near the southern side of X¡¯al¡¯antra¡¯s large house on the top of the hill. And Shuzariel was worthy of being the current queen of the witches. Masque simply could not hit her!


    He was at least managing to keep her on her heels. Masque not not have much martial training, but he was fast enough, it shouldn''t have mattered. Shuzariel dodged and deflected his next round of punches - and backhanded him across the face. Ignoring the slap, Masque tried another quick jab ¨C blocked. Faster than he could dodge, she hit him with the heel of her left hand in his chest, hopped back, and sped into a leaping knee, which he also took to the chest. The blow was impressive, though not hard enough to stun the large vampire, which made how fast she dodged him trying to grab her leg all the more impressive.


    As Masque was distracting the witch queen, Stryker and Bryan were to sneak into the house, and get the¡­ hostages? Still splattered in the red crap Reba made, they hurried past the two combatants, unnoticed.


    The valley girl was kicking the vampire¡¯s ass like she was a born slayer or something. ''Good luck, man!'' Stryker wished him in his mind. Fight behind them now, Stryker and Bryan went inside the unlocked side door near the front patio.


    Going through a small utility room and down a hallway, before entering the living room. There were people sleeping all over the place. Bryan almost panicked, but no one jumped out to get them. In fact, no one even woke up. Stryker noticed Trixie and hurried over to her. Checking the pulse on her neck, he sighed with relief to feel it strong and steady. She opened her eyes, blinking up at him, and her face changed into one about to scream.


    Stryker quickly covered her mouth, shushing her, as he leaned in close. ¡°It¡¯s Stryker, Trixie. It¡¯s Stryker!¡± he urged, and felt her calm. A sudden brilliant white light illuminated the windows. Sarah, the other girl Caleb saved during the blood moon, chose that moment to wake, and screamed when she saw the two males. The other sleeping girls quickly roused.


    Miss Terra, Trixie, and Sara were there, as well as Rashelle¡¯s two teenage cousins.


    As Bryan surveyed the room, the fact they were all in pajamas like it was a big slumber party was odd. When he turned, and finally noticed the imps together near a large bay window at the front of the house, he froze. Two were sitting up, looking at him and Stryker, the third passed out on her back under the window, mouth open wide in a silent snore.


    He knew the one on her back was the one Caleb called Iiyni. Looking at her, he didn¡¯t know why the adults seemed to think she was so powerful. Caleb thought she was a good guy, but he was a moron of epic proportions, where girls were concerned especially. The naked one, with the short, almost bob cut hair, that was blinking, bleary-eyed and sleepy-looking, sitting on her butt, he remembered as Kiki.


    She had been hanging out with them¡­ yesterday? Today? Well, whenever it had been. She had seemed so¡­ clueless. So ditsy. Was she, also, really dangerous?


    The third, Bryan had never seen. He didn¡¯t know, nor remember her name being mentioned. She also seemed grade school age, but on the older side. Her hair was long, straight, and black as the other two imps. The leotard she wore looked like the same material as the small two-piece Iiyni had on.


    And now that he noticed, the top and bottom of Iiyni¡¯s bikini armor were more than small. They were so ridiculously skimpy, he hardly saw the point of them at all. The top was cut flatteringly, and so were the bottoms. But from this angle, he could tell the bottom barely covered her private area. It also didn''t look like a G-string or T-back or anything creepy, though it was so small, how was it not always all up in her butt?


    Bryan seriously needed to get some male friends, Caleb not exactly counting.


    Calm down, it¡¯s Stryker and Bryan! Calm DOWN!¡± Miss Terra commanded, and everyone complied. Only, Bryan was currently getting glared down by the leotard wearing imp, so panicked or calm, the girls behind him were not his immediate concern.


    Stryker might be a dipshit, but when he saw the imps, his mind went to full alert. And when he noticed the one that had landed on the hood of his car, he knew for sure these were the imps.


    You gonna just ignore us, ya big bad imp?¡± Stryker asked in a pissy voice to the fake-sleeping Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea. She knew the blond cop was talking to her. ¡°Tch,¡± she sneered, and without opening her eyes rolled over to face away from them. Bryan noticed that she did indeed have quite a wedgie, but didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°Roaches are roaches,¡± Iiyni mumbled, ¡°they¡¯ll still be there when you wanna squish ¡®em later.¡± She shooed him away with a hand.


    Stryker didn¡¯t relax, but was confused as to what was going on, and a bit taken aback by her voice. Was Caleb right about her bein¡¯ a good guy? Both of the other imps seemed to relax at their leader¡¯s words. ¡°Ziiiiiit¡­.¡± Iyni whined, reaching her arm back behind and above her. Kiki (or Zit) crawled over to her sister¡¯s call- and Iiyni grabbed her arm, yanking her over like a stuffed animal. It looked quite painful. Iiyni proceeded to snuggle her sister to fake fall back asleep.


    Jenta sighed. Sister Nini apparently wanted to let them cause their havoc for now. With a shrug, she lie back down, not truly sleeping either, but resting well enough.


    Kiki peeked over her sleeping sister momentarily to grin at the teen and wave, mouthing, ¡®Hi, Bryan!¡¯ before being tugged back out of sight, forced back into cuddle mode. Not that she actually minded.


    Befuddled, the teenage boy in glasses had started to raise his hand to wave back. These were¡­ evil demons?


    A white light again lit up the night sky outside the windows, only this time it remained steady.


    What is going on?¡± Miss Terra asked, standing in the center of the room, hesitation in her voice. Bryan finally turned, still confused by the imps, and light, to see she wore a negligee that completely traumatized him worse than anything else so far this night. More so for Stryker and Trixie, as they got quite a view of the teacher¡¯s butt cheeks from behind her; cheeks which should have remained covered. ¡°You are all in danger, and need to come with me, now!¡± Stryker informed the girls. ¡°Like hell, you creepy boomer!¡± Leslie bitched.


    Boomer?! Stryker wanted to point out the near-naked woman by him, to compare the fucking difference! Luckily, he realized that would have been more than a bit rude. Miss Terra was an amazing lady, after all ¨C she didn¡¯t need to know how badly she was scarring their psyches with that teddy thing.


    Kendra was crying loudly now. She had one of the saddest faces you could see on someone when they cried. Young teenage-girl (with the boobs of a porn star¡­) or not, Kendra cried a lot. Stryker was about to try and explain more when he heard the dogs, the white glow now gone. They sounded monstrous and big. His fear was confirmed as some things, he thought may be dogs, briefly ran into view of the front windows, and out of sight over the hill.


    Then he noticed something else, and finally started to feel panic. When had it started raining?! ''Holy shit, it was downpouring!'' This rain was going to wash the red stuff off of not only them, but the getaway vehicle and the entrance to the hideout! Why the fuck hadn¡¯t they factored rain into their plan?!


    When the sky lit in a bright flash of light, Masque had been concerned. When he felt the first raindrop he knew they had a problem. No longer could his battle with the witch continue to go on. He needed to end it. Drawing his blade would no doubt cause the witch to take even further measures to defend herself. And if he killed her, it could cause their fiercer enemies to engage. So far the imps were not involving themselves. Would it remain so if one of the terrors were killed? No, he needed to disable the witch queen quickly while things were still in their favor, and get the others out of here. Time was up, if they were ready or not.


    Going on a full defensive, he avoided all of the jabbing kicks and fists the witch queen was throwing at him. Trying to think of how Gigi had almost dodged everything by instinct, he shut his mind off best he could, and just moved. Trying to anticipate, instead of reacting. Instinct over incite.


    Suzie was hissing in irritation now, almost literally throwing her punches and kicks. Her fighting style relied mostly on speed, jumps, and thrusting strikes. Five jabbing fists and eight stabbing kicks, to every backhand, knee or elbow. The vampire¡¯s movements had changed so drastically, so suddenly, now she couldn¡¯t even graze him! Had the bastard been toying with her the entire time?!


    Feigning a stumble, Masque let himself fall and rolled, vanishing in a pop of black smoke, coming out of his roll in another pop directly behind the witch queen. Shuzariel, reflexes fast, spun in a backhand slice- and was surprised as Masque let it hit him- grabbing her arm, and vanishing in another pop of black smoke.


    Taking her right arm with him in a gory explosion.


    A human can not be taken through the nether, their body would explode as surely as hitting the propellers of a plane at a high speed; making it impossible to even attempt. Shuzariel only being part human, her soul corrupted by the demonic, Masque hadn''t been sure what would happen. It was possible it could have hindered him from stepping at all, or yanked her through it safely alongside him. Or something else entirely. He really had acted more on a whim than thought.


    As he reappeared to see the witch stumbling forward, bloody stump squirting dark blood ¨C he smiled. The resistance of trying to drag her in had been minimal, so another quick shadowstep and he was on her left. Grabbing her other arm, he left her with another bloody stump.


    A manastorm split the sky, and several (over two-foot-long) spikes erupted from her torso, staying extended and creating an effective shield to keep him from grabbing her, if he had so intended.


    Shuzariel was now beyond furious. She was done FUCKING PLAYING WITH THIS JESUS-COCKSUCKING JACKASS IN THE RETARDED NINJA SUIT!!! One of Xal¡¯s original thralls and a weave wielder or not, he was DEAD! Prophecy, and the fucking plan be damned! THIS VAMPIRE WAS GOING TO FUCKING DIE, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!


    A brilliant white steady glow was now vividly lighting the night sky, and the rain had become a downpour. Suzie whistled shrilly, and another manastorm split the sky. Masque suddenly sensed the dogs at the same moment he heard them. They had been concealed? The stench of rot and sulfur was almost overpowering.


    Masque barely dodged as several of the spikes in the witch¡¯s chest shot like projectiles at him. She smiled smugly, forcing him to keep dodging, firing spikes at all angles from her body in a three hundred and sixty degree directional spread, regrowing them as fast as they shot. When the large group of otherworldly and undead hounds ran into view and past them, going towards where their real master fought. Suzie¡¯s grin fell. She had expected them to help her, and Masque saw this brief distraction.


    With a flipping shadowstep, he was in the air above her, grabbing her hair, and with a roar, continued his flip, taking her with him, and spinning her a full 360, to slam violently into the ground. He stomped her head into the dirt for good measure, before retreating.


    John needed to calm himself! He couldn¡¯t risk trying to cast white magic this full of anxiety! If he failed, his death would be quick and painless, as he would quite literally explode. But it would also most certainly spell the doom of everyone else!


    When Reba suddenly flashed a blazing white, John had been stupefied! He had seen her go berserk before, her strength far surpassing any human, at times accompanied by a flash of light ¨C but this? He hadn¡¯t the slightest idea what this was! As she began to pummel the vampire queen with some type of energy bolts, he was even more baffled.


    There was no time to be anxious over his daughter! Reba was playing her role, and John needed to play his! However absurd it all was!


    With a deep breath, he exhaled, letting all worry and concern leave his body. Right hand gripping his staff, left held by his side, eyes closed. No doubt. No fear. John allowed his mind to drift, like one were preparing for slumber. Here goes. ¡®My Christ?¡¯ his single thought asked, and he pictured a black line in the depths of space, and plunged himself inside. Thoughts changing to inertia, inertia to vertigo ¨C yet his body did not move, his pulse did not speed as he was pulled deeply within the current of the channel.


    My Christ, here I request; by the Spirit ¨C cleanse this one before you that is so unclean, and seal whom it is requested. This defiler of your Will, this corrupter of your truth, may her power be bound!¡¯


    John felt as sin itself raked his soul. It pinged, and scraped, and tested, crashing with him in this river of the cosmos, everything and nothing; his all immersed deeply within the consuming tides.


    John''s robe and hair started to move. Time lost, meaning gone, awareness damned - madness consumed his everything. And he clung to that thread. The unbreakable bond he had to his Christ. His God. And his body rose to tiptoes, hair and robes moving as if caught in the some unseen waters.


    That thread grow thicker than the trunk of a redwood tree. The darkness was gone in an instant, and all was light. Bright. Everything. Open. ¡®IT IS SO GRANTED.¡® The answer boomed in John''s mind, and his eyes snapped open.


    * * *


    The energy beam Reba had been blasting subsided, bright white light vanishing. Standing where she had been previously, X''al''antra fell to a knee. Her leathers burnt completely away. Much of her skin was gone, or had charred black - though the injuries were rapidly healing.


    Rising back to her feet, X''al''antra was no longer playing. It was her own arrogance that brought her to this point. She should have simply killed this homunculus cunt immediately.


    FROM THIS WORLD, WE REJECT AND BIND THEE!¡± a male''s voice commanded from the treeline, his tone adding a heavy weight to the air. The homunculus was back-peddling from the witch queen, looking up the hill at the sound of the approaching hounds. X¡¯al¡¯antra, overcome with rage, had at first ignored the old man''s words ¨C then she saw it. Several yellow and white gleaming shards of light now spun around her midsection, circling her body like a hoop, preventing her from moving.


    Realization dawned on the vampire, her gaze moving in horror to the old man she had been ignoring all this time. The mark of a priest blazing on his soul, he levitated several feet off the ground, staff floating in front of him, hands to his sides, eyes locked on hers. No! Impossible!


    And in that moment, her focus snapped back to the homunculus, the mark of the priest triggering something in X''al''antra''s mind she only now realized. There was another mark on the white eyed-bitches soul other than the mark of Christ. And X¡¯al¡¯antra had no idea what it was.


    John¡¯s entire body suddenly flared a bright yellow, ¡°SEAL!¡± John shouted, this time sounding like a normal, exhausted old man, and feebly clapped his hands together. His hallowing glow and buoyancy were gone at once, and he fell rather ungracefully to the dirt.


    X¡¯al¡¯antra screamed, the circling light constricting closed in an instant, knifing into her from all sides, multiple waves of a dim yellow appeared in its wake, crashing into her, over and over. When the sealing spell finished, her eyes, no longer a smoking black, stared straight ahead blankly, and she fell face down into the dirt.


    At the same time, the hounds reached Reba.


    Reba set her feet and swung her staff two-handed, catching one pony-sized undead hound -(created from the parts of several rotting four legged beasts) in the head, knocking it to the side, tumbling it yards away. With her staff¡¯s momentum from the two-handed swing, she continued it around and cut upwards in a swipe, under a leaping hellhound under the jaw, knocking it into violent spinning backflips.


    John got to shaky legs, gasping, watching his daughter fight beasts that should be tearing her to shreds, batting them aside like nothing. Before every great impact, there was another flash of white light; she shouted, snarled and growled fierce as the creatures assaulting her.


    During one such flash he saw something approaching to his right, and gave a groaned sigh of relief when he could make out the forms of Caleb, Pazely, and- and Feldyn! Praise God, he was still alive! ¡°We need another way out of here!¡± John shouted over the rain to Caleb when he was close enough. ¡°What about the plan?¡± the boy called back. ¡°Time for a new plan!¡± was the reply. ¡°They park guest vehicles down here,¡± Caleb yelled, almost to him now. ¡°That way! Down farther!¡±


    Let''s go!¡± John replied, and turned to run into the darkness, the way he hoped Caleb had been implying.


    The three hurried after the old man, as Reba flashed and fought behind them. Feldyn was hardly needing Caleb¡¯s assistance to move anymore, his strength having all but totally returned. Adrenaline so strong, he was not even cold in the frigid rain!


    John, much faster than most teenagers, got to where several vehicles (including the now normal looking bulldozer Bryan had driven the other night) were parked. Choosing a nice extended cab pickup, he knocked out the driver¡¯s side window with his staff. Unneeded, as it the door was unlocked, as well as having the keys in the ignition already. That was¡­ Never mind. Not wanting to doubt his blessings, John climbed into the driver¡¯s seat, starting the vehicle. Pazely got in the passenger¡¯s side, while Caleb and Feldyn jumped into the bed of the truck. Were they really going to try and escape this way?


    It was so dark now that they couldn¡¯t see at all, and Reba¡¯s flashes were diminishing rapidly. John turned on the headlights, and floored the gas, racing out of the grass they were parked in and onto the mud and gravel of the long driveway, which would lead through the woods, zigging and zagging, out of X¡¯al¡¯antra¡¯s property. Not even questioning the plan, Pazely put on her seat belt and prayed. This was going to be a hell of a ride.


    >?>?


    Reba cried out in rage again, her staff thudding against the spiked head of a hellhound. Then she stumbled, dizzy, and confused. What am I doing? Startled when one of the large, fetid, demonic beasts came out of nowhere, she reflexively swung her staff, and it did about as much good as hitting a charging bull with a stick. She barely dodged, the monster skidding past.


    Suddenly, Masque was behind her, catching a leaping red and black hellhound by the mouth, two-handed. The black tongue inside its bulldog-like spiked head had small, sharp, barbs all over it, and its breath reeked of infected mucus. He tore the beast¡¯s jaw off, then kicked a leaping undead hound in the side, crippling it.


    Masque had been eliminating the beasts Reba was knocking around, when he noticed the girl stumble, super strength appearing to vanish. "The fuck is going on?!" Reba asked him, her voice was controlled, though Masque heard the tiniest bit of panic.


    What was going on was the others were improvising an escape plan. Masque agreed they had little other choice. With the rain washing away their only option for concealment, defending a single vehicle, and fleeing the town all together, was their best chance at survival. Slim as it was.


    Their priority now was to put distance between themselves at the terrors. With X¡¯al¡¯antra face down near them, Masque knew the old man had miraculously succeeded. To what extent she was now sealed was yet to be seen. But with her currently unconscious, and Shuzariel at a minimum slowed ¨C an escape may still be possible.


    However... X''al''antra, prone, unmoving, weakened... this may be the only chance he had to kill her. A fear outside himself forced its way into his mind. What if she was faking? What if his blade could not cut her? What if he succeeded, and inadvertently killed the being keeping the imps in check?


    Reba gave a surprised squeak as Masque made his choice, and scooped her up in his arms, speed away and into the back of the pickup.


    Oh, holy fucking shit!¡± Reba cursed loudly, bouncing hard in the truck bed, dropping her staff, which retracted as she lost contact with it. ¡°Welcome back, sailor!¡± Feldyn greeted her with a smile, from where he sat, holding on to the side of the speeding vehicle. They hit a bump and Reba was tossed into the air. Caleb and Masque both grabbed her so she didn¡¯t fly out.


    Thunder rolled loudly, and the alchemist reflexively caught her retracted staff as it bounced past her in the dark of night, putting it back in its sheath pocket on her torso. ¡°Right back at¡¯cha,¡± she casually shouted back, louder than necessary. ¡°Well, this wasn¡¯t part of the plan,¡± she observed, ¡°where¡¯s everyone else?¡±


    Before anyone could answer, the lycanthropeire howled in the distance.


    Great.


    Stryker and Bryan were having their own issues. ¡°Stryker, what is going on?¡± Miss Terra demanded, turning on him, as this entire situation was freaking them out. Stryker scooped Trixie up in his arms without explanation. She yelped in protest, as she only had on a t-shirt. Her mermaid panties were plainly visible, and she kept futilely trying to pull her shirt down to cover them. Not that anyone noticed, or cared.


    You want to know?¡± Stryker wasn''t happy with this set of circumstances, and he couldn¡¯t just tell them nothing, yet they didn¡¯t have time for anything less than crazy! So crazy is what they are going to get! ¡°Okay, fine. Them over there? Those are sex demons from Hell that want to kill us,¡± he motioned with his head to the sleeping imps. Zit rose an arm from where she lie out of sight, as if to agree, and it was quickly pulled back down by Iiyni. ¡°Rashelle is really a vampire queen, and there¡¯s also a zombie and witch queen or king or something here too.¡± Miss Terra didn''t budge. He sighed.


    I don¡¯t quite understand all the details either, but just understand this ¨C we need to get out of here. Now!¡± Stryker¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t lying. And from the look Bryan gave her as well... Miss Terra was thinking hard. The other night when everything had turned red and those¡­ things were everywhere, she had been trying to convince herself it wasn¡¯t real. That it had never happened. But this current atmosphere, the white lights, those things running by the front bay windows... It had been real, hadn¡¯t it? Those odd lightning storms had something to do with all of this, didn¡¯t they? And crazy was happening again, wasn¡¯t it? But what finally sold Miss Terra ¨C was the look in Trixie¡¯s eyes as she listened to Stryker.  She believed him too.


    Trix didn¡¯t believe in anything easily. She always reprimanded the other young kids for foolishly believing everything they heard. Yet, right now, her eyes said she believed Stryker one hundred percent. Terra had done exactly what she had never wanted to do, acted exactly like what she had never wanted to be. She was one of those adults that couldn¡¯t fathom or imagine the unimaginable. How, when did she became that way? Honestly, she still fully didn¡¯t even believe it now. Not even close. But she decided she was going to anyway!


    Looking into Stryker¡¯s eyes, Miss Terra simply asked, ¡°What do we do?¡± Unfortunately, all Stryker could think of was to trust his friends and hope they came up with something. And that trust was seriously tested, as several of the hounds were now outside the front windows, glaring in at them. The screams from the other girls said they finally understood the gravity of the situation. When the dogs of nightmare starting barking and snarling, Trix and Terra joined the screaming.


    ''God, if you exist, don¡¯t let me get this girl eaten, okay?'' Stryker prayed, making a split second decision, running up the nearby staircase, Trixie still in his arms, containing her terror well, biting back furthing screams and not struggling. Bryan ran after him, the females following suit.


    What are you doing?!¡± the teenager asked the adult who didn¡¯t bother to explain dick. ¡°Follow!¡± was all a panic-stricken Stryker could manage as he got to the top of the stairs.


    And follow Bryan did, all the way outside, into the rain and onto the balcony, immediately soaked. ¡°Stryker, what are we-¡± Bryan was half shouting to be heard over the dogs and rain, when suddenly Masque appeared beside Stryker and Trixie, picked them both up in his arms, and jumped away. Oh! Use the rain to wash away the invisibility stuff so Masque can find them! Genius!


    Turning to see if Miss Terra and the others had followed, his heart skipped and stuttered. In the doorway of the sliding glass door and in front of Miss Terra and the girls¡­ was a woman with no arms, and covered in what Bryan was guessing was dark colored blood. It was the blonde in the pigtails Masque had been fighting! She grinned at Bryan, and one whole arm suddenly burst from the bloody stump. The girls inside screamed anew at the sight. Even Bryan was startled. Spontaneously regrowing her other arm, and stepping out the door, Masque was there and scooped up Bryan. The mind-bending roller coaster sensation overcame the boy, as Masque moved at inhuman speed.


    The sensation was soon followed by a hard impact to his ribs, and hands grabbing him to keeping him from bouncing out of the -he assumed- fleeing pickup.


    Let me drive!¡± he could hear Stryker shouting over and over, again in the darkness, tossing in some curses here and there. Trixie near him too, and crying. Bryan felt like he couldn¡¯t breathe, he couldn¡¯t think! No light, rain crashing around, thunder rolling, and -normal- lightning flashing; he wanted to scream like the girls had back at the house!


    As John seemed to hit every pothole, Masque agreed with Stryker. Shadowstepping into the backseat, ¡°Driver change, or I throw you out of the vehicle,¡± he informed, and the priest didn¡¯t say a word as he skidded to a halt. ''Fine, let the cop drive. Not like I wanted to, anyway¡­'' John complained to himself, exiting the vehicle.


    Stryker was quickly in the driver¡¯s seat, John climbing in the passenger¡¯s side, and Pazely scurrying into the back of the cab. Reba had quickly hopped out of the bed with the sobbing Trixie, and was handing her to Pazely. ¡°Where is everyone else?¡± The Asian girl asked Reba, while she cradled Trixie. Reba shrugged, slamming the door and hopping back in the bed of the truck.


    Pazely opened the window partition behind her to talk to the ones in the back. ¡°Miss Terra?¡± she said loudly, though quiet for Pazely. ¡°The witch showed up right before Masque got me,¡± Bryan answered through the window. ¡°We can¡¯t leave her here!¡± Pazely exclaimed, while Stryker managed to have already reached a speed higher than John had, and with less bumps ¨C but still more than enough to make riding in the bed beyond hazardous.


    I¡¯m afraid we have bigger concerns,¡± Masque informed them, still in the backseat by Trixie and Pazely. Trix shrieked when she noticed him, having never seen him before, and not getting a good look when he picked up her and Stryker. Ignoring the scream, Masque shadowstepped into the bed of the truck, and handed Bryan a large flashlight that had been in the cab. The headlights may be illuminating things in front, but the rain still made it hard to see. Behind them? The red from the taillights were all but useless. In fact, Caleb had long since closed his eyes, for they were doing nothing but complicating the situation, his other senses much more helpful.


    We are being pursued, and about to be forced into combat. Most of you need light,¡± was the only explanation Masque offered.


    The vehicle sped and bounced down the driveway and through the deep woods; the rain and wind freezing them, thunder and lightning fraying their nerves. The ones in the bed were barely managing to not fly out as it was, and now they were going to have to fight? Impossible! Bryan turned on the powerful fog light, and when they saw what was chasing them, they shared one collective curse.


    Yup. They were going to have to fight.


    Stryker,¡± Feldyn called, wishing he had a weapon, ¡°you need to drive faster!¡±

 Chapter 13: Don鈥檛 Delay My Climax!

    Feeling the beginning


    of the fire


    Those first licks of smoldering smoke


    I¡¯ve started this all for the lie of the tale


    For I write the lies


    to fuel the fires


    The heat, it never fails


    I write, I learn, I wait to burn


    For my endgame is no more pages to turn!


    The ending, the ending, the ending


    Don¡¯t, don¡¯t bring it to a close


    The story, the feel


    This shit that ain¡¯t real


    It must go on, I don¡¯t know how


    That ending, don¡¯t don¡¯t lose it now!


    The ending, the ending, the know and the how


    Don¡¯t, don¡¯t, oh please, don¡¯t stop it now!


    Sticks like plots,


    coals like the liars


    My fake friends shall burn


    to feed the pyres


    Fueling this tale of once begotten


    I shall fucking burn to be forgotten


    Did I walk, did I talk, did I fight for no reason?


    I burn, a heathen,


    for it¡¯s in season


    Fuck this, I fought this


    I know this, I¡¯ll do this!


    I lived it, I¡¯ll light it


    This ending, I¡¯ll fight it!


    The ending, the ending, the ending


    Don¡¯t, don¡¯t bring it to a close


    The story, the feel


    This shit that ain¡¯t real


    It must go on, I don¡¯t know how


    That ending, don¡¯t don¡¯t lose it now!


    The ending, the ending, the know and the how


    Don¡¯t, don¡¯t, oh please, don¡¯t stop it now!


    Light a match


    and throw it in


    Oh shit yes, let it begin!


    This damn cold rain, the wind, it stings


    The pain in my heart, it fucking sings!


    Though someday, I¡¯ll light afire


    This tale I¡¯ll tell, all heart and no liars!


    The ending, the ending, the ending


    Don¡¯t, don¡¯t bring it to a close


    The story, the feel


    This shit that ain¡¯t real


    It must go on, I don¡¯t know how


    That ending, don¡¯t don¡¯t lose it now!


    The ending, the ending, the ending


    The know and the how


    Don¡¯t stop it


    The know and the how


    Don¡¯t stop it


    Oh don¡¯t, oh don¡¯t you fucking stop it now


    I¡¯ll wait, you¡¯ll learn


    Wonderful flames¡­ Glorious smoke¡­


    Don¡¯t make me wait


    Don¡¯t make me wait


    Please


    don¡¯t


    make


    me


    wait


    ~Tired of Smoke, a song of festering rage


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    * * *


    Four males were sprinting after them at uncanny valley level speed, the three hellhounds keeping pace. They were older teenagers, pale in the light of the flashlight, and in amazingly good shape. Which was obvious, as they were wearing only blue jeans. They were grinning, fangs quite evident.


    ¡°Incoming vampires and hellhounds!¡± Reba called to the group, mostly for the benefit of those up front in the cab. She had no idea why none of the vamps had shirts on. Unless they were going for the asinine pop culture image of vampires. If that is what they were going for, they were succeeding. She swore, the shit teenage girls got all hot and bothered over. ¡°Let Masque and I deal with this, you guys just use your legs and don¡¯t let the dogs in the truck!¡± Reba instructed. Caleb and Bryan didn¡¯t exactly give her a confident look, but she had no further time to explain. They were almost on top of them now!


    Standing, Reba bashed one of the leaping vampires in the face with her -now extended- staff, knocking it and herself from the vehicle, as it hit a pothole and bounced. Masque was gone in one rocketed leap that sent him through one of the other pursuing vampires.


    ¡°Like this!¡± Feldyn shouted to Caleb, lying on his back in the bed of the truck. Caleb followed suit just as a hound leapt over the tailgate. Feldyn caught it with his feet, and with a roaring grunt, continued the dog¡¯s momentum to send it over the side of the truck. Caleb caught the second, very heavy demon dog, and sent it flying out as well.


    Lightning -and a manastorm- flashed as Masque pulled his nightblade and shadowstepped into the bed of the truck. He sliced a hellhound in half that was leaping straight at Bryan, who was frozen in panic, flashlight in hand. Then Masque jumped, spinning somersaults, hitting another vamp like a giant buzzsaw ¨C causing another gory mess. He then immediately shadowstepped to Reba, someways back down the road.


    She had already dispatched her opponent, who lay with its head smashed in, and some two dozen holes punched through its body from her staff. Destroy enough organs, and lets see these baby bloodsuckers come back from that!


    The remaining vampire had slowed down some, but was still chasing the truck. Apparently, he was not as eager to dive headfirst into his death like the other three. The two hellhounds tossed over the side, had caught back up.


    Masque scooped Reba up in his arms, and bound away with her back to the truck. As soon as they were in the bed, the lycanthropeire crashed from the trees near the vehicle. Masque turned and -manastorm flash-banging- sliced it with his blade that was once again in hand, barely keeping it from flipping the vehicle. Stryker, not wanting to slow, skid the truck into a barely controlled drift around a corner.


    ¡°Shiiit!¡± Reba cursed, as she was once again sent flying. Bracing for impact, she was shocked as Masque caught her, and in more confusing, spinning, blurring inertia, had her back in the bed of the truck. Then he was gone again, after the giant black oily dog that had crashed into the trees on the neighboring side of the driveway. ¡°Perhaps you should remain seated,¡± Feldyn said, only half joking, holding the flashlight now instead of Bryan, who sat frozen and wide-eyed, back still to the cab.


    ¡°RrraRARCK!¡± was her shouted reply, throwing herself to the side as she hit a leaping hellhound with a great swing of her staff, barely keeping it from taking Feldyn¡¯s head off. ¡°Maybe you should pay better attention,¡± Reba said, and Feldyn noticed she was smiling.


    ¡°Teri¡¯kre!¡± John shouted, hanging out the passenger¡¯s window, the hellhound Reba had knocked over the side going rigid, then getting stepped on and crushed by the lycanthropeire as she burst back out of the woods.


    Turning and trying to catch Masque in her open jaws, she got only black smoke; reappearing in front of the last vampire, severing the head from its body. Masque¡¯s netherweave was greatly diminished, but he had more than enough energy left to stop the giant mutt that he owed a serious payback to. And from the look in the beast¡¯s eyes, she knew it.


    The vehicle suddenly hit the traction of paved road, and Stryker hooted a cry of triumph. Masque was out of sight now, but could still be heard, crashing and fighting.


    Street lights farther down the road, closer to the main streets, were actually still working, and quite welcome in the dark raining night; so was Masque¡¯s return to the bed of the speeding truck. ¡°The beast will not be following us,¡± he stated, and Caleb swore he was grinning under that mask. He had never seen Masque fight, and was stunned stupid. ¡°That was fucking awesome!¡± Caleb honestly complimented. ¡°I try,¡± was the dry reply, and even Reba (a little jealous at not being told how awesome she was) had to laugh.


    No one noticed that Bryan hadn¡¯t laughed, or even joined in the cheers of triumph from those in the cab. Tears of shame ran down his face with the rain. Everything they had been through, and he hadn¡¯t panicked once. They had seen much worse, and he had managed to keep his cool. But when he shined the light on those¡­ things, that was when his panic decided to attack. He didn¡¯t know why it chose that moment. Maybe it was seeing the vampires run? It was so damn unnatural! Or maybe he had finally gone too long without his medication? Perhaps it was the sight and smell of the infernal, red, spiked bulldog-looking canines; the reek of infection so strong you could drown in it, that crashed over him as they tried to jump in the truck?


    Not that the reason mattered. If there even was one. It wasn¡¯t normal fear he was feeling anyway, he knew that. It was panic. Raw, sheer, pointless, panic. Though that was something he did not want to admit. For anyone who has ever had a panic attack knows the shame and guilt that follows is almost as great as the panic itself. Bryan had successfully hidden the condition with a combination of medication and timely exits. No more.


    So he let the tears stream freely down his face, hidden by the rain. And tried to accept the fact he may soon become completely useless to those that needed him.


    * * *


    Iiyni was both amused and pissed the fuck off!


    She could hardly believe the band of idiots she had been allowing to survive, had caused such a ridiculous amount of damage. And all just by bumbling along.


    It was fucking awesome!


    Truthfully, Iiyni had figured they would have died by now. They were nothing. The Dragonbitch and crew would explode like gnats on a windshield before her. Everyone and everything here was pathetic. Fuck, she could even destroy Auntie Xal like she was nothing, before that old cuss had sealed her.


    And just how the fuck did she let herself get sealed anyway? That was a pretty epic fail on her part. It¡¯s not like a human can just walk on up and say, ¡®Well, hiyuck, be sealed an¡¯ all that!¡¯ and poof, it was done! They had to channel that shit. Everything holy was such a righteous pain. Pun intended! She would have loved to let the priest try to seal her. She would have even allowed it, just to see how big the explosion would have been when the spell failed to contain any of her power.


    Shuzariel was about the only one who had come away from the night¡¯s events unscathed. She was pissed, but no real harm done to her. Belle¡¯anne had almost been torn to ribbons by that (admittedly more and more interesting) thrall in the cheap ninja costume. He would have killed her, if he had not abruptly left when she fled back towards the house.


    The death of the new bloods was no big deal; Auntie had a small army of them. They were just busy harassing the military, to keep them out of the immediate area.


    All of the hellhounds on the immediate property had been destroyed, and all of the undead chimera dogs of Larry¡¯s had been obliterated.


    Speaking of Larry¡­ What happened to him was by far the best fucking part of the entire thing! Half of his head had shrunken horribly, and his left arm looked like some tiny baby arm now. And no matter what he did, he could not restore his head OR his arm! BUAHAHAHA! He was also dead set adamant that he would have the homunculus or would not cooperate further. He didn¡¯t even care if she was alive or dead, though he preferred alive.


    But now, with Auntie Xal sealed (was only a partial seal, but a seal was a seal), Larry even uglier, and Suzie scorned, they were fighting with each other like a group of bratty children.


    The problem was all this convoluted bullshit drama of her aunt¡¯s. That shit doesn¡¯t work in real life! In reality, you needed to get it done. Efficiently, no delays. Unless one just wanted to take their time and have fun, like Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea liked to do. Yet Xal had been making it so boring. Regardless, there was no more time to be wasting. Well, there was enough left to have fun, but they needed to speed things up.


    Word was the Order would soon be here, and with almost their entire state-side force. They needed to get that gate open, and go back home, now. Iiyni would be damned if she was going to die here, and burn like some human pig, for fuck knows how long. She could take out dozens of colors by herself, but when there was an army of humans trained to vanquish you, moving in from all sides, and you¡¯re on Earth and gimped as fuck¡­ Yeeeeeah, that shit sucked.


    Plus if any of her summoners got taken out, the hits to her power would not be good. And she was starving. Very close to literally. Fuck, why the hell did it have to be a summoning? At least she could count on her sisters to stay alive and kicking.


    So, standing before the three terrors sitting on one couch, all arguing loudly, Iiyni''jeari''eea gave an honest sigh. Her sisters were standing behind and to either side of her. Belle¡¯anne was wisely stalking the property, to avoid her master¡¯s punishment, while her wounds healed.


    She hated taking charge. But enough was enough, time to wrap this little chapter of her life up. Taking a deep breath, ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡± Iiyni shouted, in her almost squeaky little voice.


    The terrors quit bickering and looked at the imp, shocked, annoyed, and a bit concerned.


    ¡°Quit bitching and get ready for the ritual,¡± Iiyni began. ¡°We are heading into town to start this shit going tomorrow. Aunt X¡¯al¡¯antra¡¯s plan remains unchanged, and we will continue as she has already laid out, no more fucking delaying.¡± Iiyni spoke calmly. ¡°Is that so?¡± Suzie asked with a wry grin. ¡°Yup. It is. And if any of you don¡¯t like it, then I¡¯ll just pop your heads off, and be done with this retardation.¡±


    It was Larry¡¯s turn to voice a comment. ¡°Have you forgotten that you were summoned? You couldn¡¯t harm us even if ya wanted to.¡± He didn¡¯t sound so sure. Iiyni feigned surprise, ¡°Y¡¯know, you''re fucking right! But guess what? See my two sisters here? They are not bound to you, and if I tell them, they will pop your heads off for me! I can deal with the loss of power from a few summoners, so let¡¯s just shut the fuck up, listen, and do as told. Kay?¡± She gave them a huge adorable grin.


    Larry felt fear rush through his body. He farted loudly. ¡°I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!¡± Shuzariel screeched at him.


    Waiting a moment, to make sure there wasn¡¯t going to be a flatulence induced brawl, Iiyni continued, ¡°The Dragonheart,¡± she almost gagged on the title, ¡°will return if humans remain alive. He¡¯s one of the pathetic wannabe hero types. The whole ¡®I won¡¯t leave anyone behind¡® bullshit. If they do recon, and they should, the thrall will detect the humans still hiding out, and no doubt bring the entire fucking fag squad to their rescue. Especially the ones we have up here. So make sure they can still get inside the barrier-shield-thing, in case they actually flee outside of its radius.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have some¡­ fun planned for them, to keep ''um worn down. They have been troublesome so far, and since we need two of them alive, wearing them down would be best,¡± Iiyni''jeari''eea explained. Jenta knew that was just Nini making an excuse so she could make things entertaining. ¡°Then, I will retrieve the Dragonheart myself. My sisters will get the elf and the homunculus. We ain¡¯t fucking playing this time, so it will get done.¡±


    Standing with hands on hips, Iiyni¡¯s eyes suddenly opened wide. ¡°Oh yeah, the soldiers!" Or mercenaries. Whatever the fuck the Order is calling them these days. "Me, Belle, and my sisters will rout them from the area. We''ll make it brutal and flashy style. Should butt-fuck their morale pretty good, giving us plenty of wiggle room. We will also keep an eye on ritual sites, making sure everything is accurate and unmolested. Which also means we can''t wait for Titties, or whatever the fuck her name is, and your reinforcements," The last was directed at the witch queen, who rolled her eyes, before saying, "I''ll make it work."


    "You''re right," Iiyni threatened, "you will." She looked over the terrors. "The Any questions? No? Good! Plan starts now.¡±


    As Iiyni¡¯jeari¡¯eea and the other two imps turned to leave, X¡¯al¡¯antra was having a hard time not smirking. That had worked out perfect! She hadn¡¯t had a clue how she was going to get that little bitch to listen to her after what happened, let alone Larry. Suzie was loyal. With her niece taking charge like she just did, it couldn¡¯t have worked out better. Everything was still on track, and now even the most defiant of the group was on board. She had been waiting for this for a very, very long time. Soon¡­


    Prophecy would be fulfilled, and she could return to Aethra to help usher in Antioch''s eternal paradise. He may even let her keep the Dragonheart. Once properly tamed, Caleb would make an excellent toy.


    While X''al''antra fantasized over future pleasures, Iiyni was angrily marching off the property, sisters and sliced up stupid pet in tow, preferring to stomp her feet over leaping and zooming about. The talk had went well, and the fact things were finally about to get fun, should have put her in a pretty decent mood. Instead, she was still pissed the fuck off! Why? Because ever since that douchebag Dragoncunt had given her that ridiculous nickname, SHE COULDN¡¯T QUIT THINKING OF HERSELF AS IIYNI!


    * * *


    The ¡®heroes¡¯ had made it out of Castle Rock, though it wasn''t easy. The bad guys hadn¡¯t chased after them, but there was now a new problem. All the roads in and out of town had military blockades. At least they looked like the military, none had a chance to inquire, the soldiers opening fire almost immediately. Thankfully, normal roads, highways, and bridges are not the only way in or out of towns.


    With the help of Masque, they ripped open a gated access to some logging roads. Once past the gate, navigating the dirt roads was a simple thing, until they hit an area that appeared to have suffered some recent catastrophic disaster. Upheaved, broken, and scorched land. Whatever had happened it had been extensive, as it went as far as they could see in either direction. After a couple of hours of zigging and zagging, they finally found a place to cross the field of destruction, and stopped to rest, and figure out what to do next.


    It was no longer raining, but still dark. The night was deep, though none knew the time. Bryan, Stryker, and Caleb were currently trying to build a fire with the wood Masque had collected. The vampire had assured them that they were well away from Castle Rock, and in the mountains not far from the city of Longview. He also informed them the scorched earth appeared to go all the way around Castle Rock, and into the mountains behind X''al''antra''s property. Apparently, his firewood searching covered a broad area¡­


    John, Pazely, and Trixie were in the cab of the still running truck, heaters blasting, trying to stay warm and dry, despite no driver¡¯s side window and the passenger¡¯s window being rolled down. John had fallen asleep some time ago, exhausted from the white spell casting, and all the expended psionic energy. Pazely wasn¡¯t even cold, but Trixie had been shivering horribly, and was still pretty shaken up.


    Outside, near the tailgate, Feldyn and Reba stood talking. The shackles, sans chains, still on the half-elf¡¯s wrists. Reba had lacked what she needed to break down the metal properly, so Masque had simply sliced the chains free. ¡°Well, we can not stay here,¡± Feldyn stated the obvious to her comment of not knowing where to go next. She sighed. ¡°Since when did I become the one in charge?¡±


    ¡°I was only pondering aloud. I meant no offense,¡± Feldyn answered. ¡°Mmm hmm,¡± was the reply, rolling her eyes, and smiling a little. She walked away some now, stretching, her arms high in the air, and standing on her tiptoes. Feldyn had to admire the way that bodysuit fit¡­


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, startling the girl, and he laughed at her jumpiness. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± she mumbled, looking over her shoulder. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like you wouldn¡¯t have done the same for us.¡± He winced, and she noticed, so he decided to just go with it. ¡°Actually Reba¡­ I do not believe I would have.¡± She turned to face him fully now, a deep confused frown adorning her pretty face. ¡°For Caleb, yes. The rest of you?¡± Feldyn closed his eyes, and sighed, hanging his head. ¡°Yet, you all came. Every one of you came and risked your lives in order to save... me.¡±


    ¡°Well, not just you,¡± Reba corrected, and he looked up, surprised to see her smirking. ¡°I actually thought you were dead. We found out by accident you were still alive. We came back to get you, and the others that were there.¡± She shrugged. Close enough to the truth. He didn''t need to know how inexplicably worried they were. ¡°But other than you, we only managed to save Trixie.¡±


    After a moment, he nodded. ¡°I understand.¡± Feldyn walked towards her now, his face serious. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she said, taking a step back, looking at him suspiciously. When he was mere feet from her, and she was preparing to have to slap him, he suddenly flourished an elaborate bow. ¡°Thank you,¡± he repeated. Then, his face still facing the ground, ¡°I am truly sorry, Reba.¡±


    Before Reba could ponder that long, John said something out the window of the truck, but it was drowned out by the dual screams from Pazely and Trixie, who had almost fallen asleep before the old man startled them half to death. So use to screeches from this group, everyone outside the vehicle hardly even looked up.


    Trixie and Pazely were now giggling hysterically, and John turned around in his seat to give them a ¡®do you mind?¡¯ expression. Despite his scowl, it was obvious he was trying not to smile. The sound of laughter was quite welcome after all the chaos and doom.


    When the giggles (and occasional snorts, which reinvigorated the giggles) had died down, John leaned out the window some, and cleared his throat loudly to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°I have an old friend in the area, and he owes me. We should head there, eat, rest, and get cleaned up. Come, get back in the truck, these hills are not going to stay safe forever.¡± With only a moment of hesitation, they began to filter back to the vehicle, Bryan kicking the fire out. Reba didn¡¯t move.


    An old friend... Was he referring to Jeff? Reba stood in the darkness, thinking. This¡­ was not going to go over well. She supposed Jeff did owe him- owe them. Yet they had not helped him with the expectation of having the favor returned. And Jeff wasn¡¯t the type to return favors to begin with. Oh well, she guessed they didn¡¯t have much of a choice.


    * * *


    They got to the turnoff for Jeff¡¯s property around sunrise, after a great deal more zigzagging through trees. He lived in the back mountain roads, just outside the city limits of Longview. Stryker had the truck parked in front of a large gate (almost identical to those blocking the logging roads) that would presumably lead to his home.


    Masque was staring at the gate in the headlights, arms crossed as he thought in silence. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just kick it or something?¡± Pazely asked from the bed of the truck, where she had been riding for a bit. The vampire had been unmoving for minutes now, ignoring questions as to what was wrong. Hopping out of the truck, Pazely walked over next to him. He paid her no heed. ¡°Jeez! What is so interesting?¡± He continued to ignore her, so she got closer to the gate, to try and open it. ¡°It has a barrier of some variety,¡± he finally spoke. ¡°I am trying to think of a way to remove it safely.¡±


    A barrier? Pazely looked around, but didn¡¯t see anything. Was it safe to touch? Leaning in to look closer, she still saw nothing. Masque didn¡¯t tell her to be careful, so it must not be dangerous. She reached out and touched the air over the gate to see what the invisible barrier felt like. ¡°No!¡± Masque tried to warn. Too late. There was a brief zap, boom, pop -like a transformer blowing- and poor little Pazely was blasted off her feet and into a startled Caleb. He wasn¡¯t far behind her, coming to see what the delay was as well. Both of them were knocked down into the dirt and gravel, Caleb skidding a good distance on his back, Pazely atop him.


    ¡°Pazely!¡± Reba gasped, and hurried out of the cab, where she had been with Trixie. Caleb got out from under Paze easily enough, though his heart was slamming in fear. Lifting her in his arms, he saw she was a bit singed, and epically frowning, but appeared to be okay. ¡°Ouch,¡± she squeaked, Reba kneeling down to check her.


    Masque sighed, sounding more irritated than relieved, despite the contrary being the truth. ¡°It is dangerous; we should not touch it,¡± he lectured the girl. ¡°WELL, MAYBE THE GROWNUPS CAN EXPLAIN THAT SHIT SOMETIMES!¡± Pazely shrieked back at the masked man. ¡°She has a point,¡± Bryan defended her from the bed of the truck. ¡°Most of the time, you guys just stand around silent, ignoring us, in some infinite thought loop. Reality check people- the kids are currently your teammates! Quit doing the old people thing, and talk to us!¡±


    ¡°Bryan is right,¡± John mumbled, hating saying those words. This boy still irked him for reasons he could not explain. ¡°This is a simple barrier fence,¡± John explained, out of the car now and walking over to the gate. He had assumed it to be the case, and Masque was trying to understand the energies, and if it was safe to break through. Even if it was taking some some time. ¡°The technology is rare, and requires a tremendous amount of power to sustain. It''s highly unpractical. Such fences are usually lethal...¡±


    ¡°Sure felt lethal¡­¡± Pazely bitched, back on her feet now, with Caleb brushing the gravel off of her. ''Because it was,'' Masque thought to himself. The electrical current running through this should have killed the girl as soon as she touched it, cooking her through in the blink of an eye. Masque himself would have been gravely injured if he had touched it. Again, these children displayed another feat of the impossible and -so far- unexplainable.


    ¡°I assume there is some reason we can¡¯t just go around it?¡± Bryan asked. ¡°Your assumption would be right,¡± John answered, not looking back at him, as he leaned in close to look at a fence post. ¡°Probably stretches up high enough to take down a low flying plane. I¡¯m guessing quite far to the sides as well. It would be difficult to tell where exactly it ended.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s ram it!¡± Trix suggested eagerly, still in the backseat, having trouble hearing the conversation outside. Stryker grinned, ¡°Now that¡¯s the spirit! Keep that up and you¡¯ll fit right in with all this crazy shit in no time!¡± Reba, standing near the driver¡¯s busted window, smacked him upside the head. ¡°Language,¡± she scolded. ¡°Dad was just saying that it would take down a plane, so I doubt we could just ram into it.¡± Trixie looked a little disappointed, Stryker even more so.


    ¡°What about a shadowstep?¡± Feldyn finally chimed in from the bed of the truck. ¡°Can ye not just switch it off or destroy the mechanism powering it from the other side?¡± Masque was already shaking his head before the half-elf had even finished talking. ¡°The objects that appear to be powering it, are actually within the barrier, not on the other side.¡±


    ¡°Masque,¡± John casually called, a little ways down from the gate. ¡°Can you destroy this post please?¡± John stepped back, pointing at a fence post he had been looking at. ¡°It is within the barrier still, but you should be able to penetrate it here easily enough. If you destroy this post, it should short out the generators, killing the field.¡± Masque moved to the post, flared his netherweave, and tensed for a kick. ¡°I think,¡± John clarified, stepping even farther back. ¡°Wonderful,¡± the vampire grumbled, and kicked. Another zapping pop, and the post broke, the air in front of them flickering. The stench of burning hair was overpowering.


    ¡°Ye God, that smell!¡± Feldyn bitched, covering his mouth and nose with a hand. John, pinching his nose, got back in the passenger¡¯s seat. This was an old version of a barrier fence to smell like that from being shorted out. They were notoriously unstable. Though if he was right, it was impossible for Pazely to have survived touching it, let alone come away uninjured. ¡°Thanks, Masque!¡± Trix called out the window, as a smoking and steaming Masque made his way on foot back to the bed of the truck.


    With everyone back in, Stryker looked at John, ¡°Anything else to worry about? Lasers? Bombs? Samurai giraffes?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± was all John said in reply. The concern on Stryker¡¯s face was quite real.


    The road was basically like on Rashelle¡¯s property, dirt and gravel, just a lot shorter. They drove through some woods, and past a small overgrown field, before rounding a bend and coming into sight of an average sized cabin. And in front of said cabin stood a tall, very skinny man, who was maybe in his late forties or early fifties. His hair was thin and black, cut short, with no traces of gray. He wore a dark blue, buttoned up shirt, which was tucked into his belted tan slacks. Thick framed glasses with large lenses were pushed high up his nose, adorning the clean shaven face. And the combat rifle he held was aimed at Stryker¡¯s face.


    ¡°Shit!¡± the cop cursed, ducking into the center console, and hitting the brakes, as the man opened fire. Everyone in the cab ducked down, Trixie screaming; the deafening roar of the rifle hammered bullets into and through the cab of the vehicle. Masque quickly shadowstepped in front of the truck, flaring his netherweave out greatly in all directions, letting the bullets strike his body. Momentarily shocked at the sight before him, the man quit firing, and Masque shadowstepped behind him, grabbing his shoulder with one powerful crushing grip, causing him to drop the rifle and cry out in pain.


    ¡°Jeff, it¡¯s me! John!¡± the priest called, as he hurriedly got out of the passengers seat. Reba and Feldyn crouched behind the vehicle, Bryan flat on his belly with Caleb and Pazely in the bed of the truck. Stryker staying in the cab, telling Trixie to stay down until it was safe. ¡°I know!¡± Jeff called back, and stabbed Masque in the face with a knife, which he apparently had hidden in his belt. The vampire still held him by the crushing grip on his right shoulder, so when he got stabbed in the face with the human¡¯s other hand, his response was to promptly turn the man around and punch him in his face, knocking him the fuck out, and breaking his glasses.


    As the others peeked to see if it was safe, Masque casually picked up the dagger that had fallen to the ground, his hand smoking. Avenger class. Explains why it cut him. No matter, the superficial wound had already closed and healed.


    John and Reba hurried over to the unconscious man when they saw he was down. The others regrouped, a bit confused. ¡°Did you kill him?!¡± John asked in horror, and knelt next to his friend. ¡°He stabbed me,¡± the vampire growled in defense, still standing in the same spot. He decided to keep this knife as well. He was getting tired of people stabbing him as of late.


    Kneeling on the other side of Jeff, Reba wondered just what had elicited his homicidal reaction to them. ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Reba told her dad. ¡°Shattered most of the bones in his face. Nothing I can¡¯t fix. You, carry him,¡± Reba directed Masque, as she calmly stood. ¡°I need to get him into his lab, or whatever medical facilities he may have here.¡± The vampire didn¡¯t complain, though he felt the attitude in her voice was a bit uncalled for. This man tried to kill them! Masque felt a single punch was quite appropriate. It wasn¡¯t like he had put much force behind it.


    Reba couldn¡¯t help but smirk a little when Masque gave an audible sigh and hoisted the skinny man into his arms. ¡°Gather your stuff, and hurry along!¡± John called to the rest of them back at the vehicle, Reba walking to the door of the cabin.


    The headlights from the truck were on and shining more light than was helpful, while she checked for things like wires, springs, anything flashing; y¡¯know, the usual ways one would trap a door. Stryker pulled the vehicle to the side to park it, without asking if she needed the light. She hadn¡¯t, so didn¡¯t voice a complaint. Reba was double-checking things now¡­ One thing was concerning here in the locking mechanism. Probably nothing, but she couldn''t quite see what it- John obliviously grabbed and turned the doorknob; Reba barely stifling a shouted warning. Nothing happened. Oh, thank God¡­


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Bryan said in absolute shock when he reached the group near the door, taking John¡¯s attention just as he had been wondering why Reba was making weird faces. ¡°Uncle¡­ Jeff?¡± Bryan stared in disbelief at the unconscious -bloody and bruised- man in Masque¡¯s arms. ¡°That''s impossible. He died. I went to his funeral. I saw his body.¡± John walked a few paces towards the boy before stopping. He was frowning deeply. ¡°Bryan, you¡­ know him?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± he snapped hatefully at the old man. ¡°That¡¯s my fucking dead uncle! And don''t even try and tell me I might be mistaken because his face is messed up!¡± Caleb and Pazely had stopped near, but kept quiet.


    ¡°He was in the Order,¡± Reba answered casually. ¡°He wanted out, so we helped him fake his death.¡± She looked strongly into Bryan¡¯s eyes. ¡°I did not know he was related to you Bryan, I swear. The reason Dad and I came to Castle Rock, was because we were familiar with it, after helping Jeff set up out here. I promise, neither of us-¡±


    ¡°Golston,¡± Bryan interrupted, ¡°the same last name as mine. How could you not know?¡±


    ¡°I never knew his last name. Dad probably did, but it isn''t like he-"


    ¡°Would you have even told me?¡± Bryan interrupted again. ¡°If I had known, and things remained normal, no," Reba replied honestly, "I would have respected his wishes. But once Dad decided to come here, then yes, I would have told you. Do you really think I would let you be blindsided like this?¡± Her voice was a mix of commanding and sympathetic.


    Bryan took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. ¡°I¡¯m very mad right now, but, I - I''m sorry I doubted you.¡±


    ¡°Always drama with this group,¡± Trixie said to Feldyn, still in the truck. He laughed at her dry, snarky tone. ¡°This gravel is a bit sharp, would m¡¯lady like her servant to carry her?¡± Feldyn asked the small girl, who was clothed only in a shirt and underwear.


    She blushed, and tried hard not to grin. ¡°If you must!¡± she said, trying to sound hoity, but her voice squeaked partway, her blush deepening. Feldyn hoisted her easily into his arms. He had noticed that she kept stealing glances at him, so thought he would give her some attention. She had been dragged into all of this against her will, and was more a victim to the situation than the rest of them.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    As he hurried after the others, Trixie started jabbering to him about music. He did his best to follow, but she was talking a mile a minute, and he had no idea who the musicians were she spoke of. Entering the small cabin, no one was in the main room. Instead they had gone down a staircase, which apparently was hidden under a trap door covered by a large rug. How unimaginative!


    True to form for these Order individuals, Jeff¡¯s actual complex was underground. Though the complex was more than a bit¡­ unusual. After going down the stairs, which changed material from wood, to stone, to metal, Feldyn and Trixie entered a moderately lit hallway, stretching to their left and a good ways straight ahead. Many doors, and what appeared to be other hallways, could be seen along their lengths. The entire complex (at least as far as he could see), appeared to be one giant piece of silver metal. There were no visible seams, or breaks, or ridges. The ceiling had random light fixtures, no cords visibly present, and there were a few throw rugs on the ground. It was also freezing. Much colder than outside, and to the half-elf, it felt like a refrigeration unit.


    Trixie had quit talking, transfixed by her surroundings, as Feldyn walked slowly down the hallway, taking it all in. No door closing off the side rooms was the same. When he reached the room the others were in, it too appeared seamlessly connected to the hallway.


    Insider and to the right was a kitchen area. It contained a curved counter with a deep double sink, a fridge that looked fairly new, and a huge chest freezer. There were also many cabinets without doors, brimming with food, yet not a single chair or table.


    ¡°Dammit, this stupid... Where the hell is it?¡± Reba bitched, off to the left of the half-elf. He looked over to see her near the far side of the room, crawling around, looking for something on a wall that was identical to everywhere else. Masque stood near her, still holding Jeff in his arms. The others were expressing their own awe and confusion. The fact they had not started raiding all the food said volumes. They were starving, yet too transfixed to care. That was just how very weird this place was! ¡°Oh? ¡­ Ugh¡­ There, finally!¡± Reba exclaimed after locating whatever it was she was searching for.


    The entire group gave one collective gasp, as things started to rise out of the floor. In the center of the area near the alchemist, a large circular platform rose, creating a raised portion of the room about a foot higher than the rest of the floor. All around the platform, what seemed to be blobs of silver, in varying shapes and sizes. Several more blobs rising out of the floor closer to the group by the door. Then, all at once, the silver liquid metal melted back into the floor, leaving objects behind that had apparently been housed within.


    Around the platform, the blobs had housed many shelves, cases, and tables, containing everything from books, to surgical equipment, to scientific gadgets you only see on TV. One large glass-door cabinet caught Stryker¡¯s eye. It had rows and rows of multi-colored vials and was back-lit. It just looked really darn cool!


    The blobs closer to the main group held an assortment of recliners, and a couple of love seats. They looked brand new, and expensive. John wasted no time in moving to sit in one of the chairs.


    Pazely, and Trixie were more fixated on the several fish tanks. A few were on tables, others had fancy wooden cases designed to hold and display them. Pazely counted five: two fish bowls, two twenty-ish gallon tanks, and one that had to be at least a hundred gallons!


    Trixie forgot how horribly cold she was when she saw them! She loved aquariums, and had always wanted something like even one of these! She struggled to be set down, and a spaced out Feldyn obliged. When her feet touched the cold ground, it suddenly dawned on her how she was dressed. Quickly looking around horrified, she was both relieved and offended that none of the guys were paying any attention to her.


    You weren¡¯t supposed to be surrounded by so many cute guys when you looked like this! Stryker was old, and Bryan was boring, but they weren¡¯t exactly unattractive¡­ Then, she also remembered where she was, and what had happened. Trix was as close to a breakdown as any of them, her mind trying desperately to make sense of things, while denying the bad. For now, she would keep trying to push it back! She had embarrassed herself enough for a lifetime, with all the crying, and screaming, and... no pants.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should feel impressed or ashamed,¡± Bryan stated in all honesty, and Caleb assumed he was probably referring to Pazely. She had her face inches from the glass of the largest aquarium, and for some reason kept rubbing her hands on her butt, which she was happily wiggling. ¡°I would say probably a bit of both,¡± Caleb answered.


    What Bryan was -obviously- referring to was this place.


    Reba, who had again been searching for something, finally found it under one of the tables. Another silver blob rose in the middle of the circular platform, then melted away to reveal a fancy-looking gurney. ¡°Put him here,¡± she told Masque who was trying to not appear as stunned as everyone else. At Reba¡¯s further instruction, he helped her secure the man, with straps that were a bit too readily available.


    Everyone, save Pazely, Masque, and Bryan, sat down while Reba went over bottles and vials. Finding what she wanted, she injected injecting him in the cheek. His face began to heal before her eyes. Looks like he had improved on the rudimentary healing potion she taught him.


    Dramatic arrival over, Reba felt like she was about to pass out. Still, she took a pair of spare glasses he had on a shelf, and put them on his face. Waking up strapped down and blind wasn¡¯t very cool. The others in the room looked like a bunch of half-drowned rats right now. Reba was content that they were probably at least temporarily safe. Now they needed food, baths, and private places to have a meltdown.


    Unfortunately, Jeff didn¡¯t stay unconscious long. ¡°Wha?¡± he said loudly in a slurred voice, before Reba even made it back to one of the tables. Fuck, they didn¡¯t need this now! Everyone was tired, and needed rest, not the drama this was sure to bring.


    ¡°Did they send you to torture me?¡± Jeff abruptly snarled at Masque, recovering quicker, and sounding braver than the poindexter exterior would have you believe. ¡°What in the blazes are you talking about?¡± John asked, honestly wondering what had gotten into his old friend. ¡°Quit the damn act, John!¡± he snapped, eyes still locked on the large vampire. ¡°Like the Order had nothing to do with that barrier the other night!¡± Jeff shouted, puzzling everyone in the room.


    ¡°Barrier? What barrier?¡± Feldyn asked, ignoring the situation and interrupting John as he was starting to speak. Feldyn decided to just walk in front of the old man, so Jeff could actually see him when he looked over. ¡°What shield?¡± Feldyn stressed, this time getting the black-haired male to look his way briefly, then do a double take.


    ¡°You¡­ Your ears¡­ Who are you? Are you one of those things too?¡± Jeff finally was starting to sound a bit shaken. ''So my ears are more disturbing to him than our black-garbed friend, aye?'' Feldyn was actually mildly insulted. ¡°He¡¯s a friend. Which is more than I can say about you, Uncle,¡± Bryan explained, walking up beside Feldyn and into Jeff¡¯s view. All the anger and bluster the black-haired man had shown since they pulled up, washed away in an instant, his features falling to dread.


    ¡°Oh, God.¡± Jeff looked like he may possibly vomit. It had been many years since he had spoken to his nephew, and he would have died screaming to never have had to confront the boy. The boy he had betrayed and abandoned.


    ¡°Oh God, Bryan,¡± Jeff gave a single sob ¡°Why? Why are you with them?¡± That last sounded like a plea, and it was. He was begging his nephew to recognize how wrong the Order was! Their darkness! Their evil! Was this because of him? If he had just stayed their slave, would Bryan have never joined their ranks? Jeff never got to ask.


    Walking up to his uncle¡¯s side, Bryan punched the man in the groin hard enough that Reba went for some more potions. His uncle¡¯s mouth opened, face contorting in a silent shout of agony.


    ¡°Why am I with them?¡± Bryan seethed, fists clenched. Masque stayed standing near, smiling slightly under his shadowcloths. ¡°Why am I with THEM?!¡± Bryan screamed in such a fury that spit flew from his mouth and his eyes became bloodshot. Masque¡¯s smile vanished at the dramatic escalation. ¡°Who else was there? My family?! You?! NO! My friends! And these people that you are being so rude to, YOU PIECE OF SHIT, have done more for me in just a few days, than you could have hoped to in your LIFE!¡±


    Bryan was sobbing as he yelled. Feldyn and Reba both had to resist the urge to interrupt him and explain that he was misunderstanding his uncle¡¯s words, but both kinda sorta understood his rage -even if he seemed on the verge of a stroke- and Jeff had just tried to kill them all, after all. More than a few in the room were enjoying his ruptured testicles. Reba was delaying the injection, giving Bryan time to vent, and Jeff time to hurt like a sonuvabitch.


    ¡°Do you know what we¡¯ve went through just to live, and end up here?! What I¡¯ve went through?! And where were you? All these years? Hiding like a fucking COWARD!¡± the last word a barely intelligible scream. So great was Bryan¡¯s rage, that Jeff forgot his own pain in the face of it. ¡°Bryan, I-¡± he started, and Bryan slapped him hard across the mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t say you could speak!¡± the normally calm and controlled boy hissed. Pulling back his fist to punch the bound man- Masque caught his arm.


    ¡°Enough,¡± the vampire stressed calmly, and Bryan resisted for a moment, before giving in, arm going limp. Jeff opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it, turning his head away instead. Bryan turned to walk from the room, but stumbled, and sat near a wall behind a chair, then curled into a ball on his side, silently sobbing.


    Overreaction and overall breakdown from Bryan or not, how could any of them rightfully judge him? They were all under some serious psychological (and a fair share of physical) strain. No, they would not judge his anger, nor would they judge his tears.


    And these people that called Bryan friend, allowed him his moment. Never did they look down on him for a second, and did their best to provide him his privacy as he wept.


    * * *


    ¡°Yes, a barrier. Or shield, dome, force-field, all semantics in this case,¡± Jeff said, over his cup of steaming coffee. He sat in a large, almost throne-like, red, cushioned chair in the odd ¡®study¡¯ with a brick fireplace, and bookcases lining the walls. There were also large fancy carpets on the floor.


    After being healed -again-, Jeff had insisted they go somewhere more comfortable to speak. This room was definitely more cozy, at least. Besides the fancy chair, their were three large sofas, equally as ornate as anything else fancy they had seen.


    Insisting Reba make coffee in the nearby -out of place- white coffee pot, Jeff had also demanded Stryker start a fire. As Stryker and Reba grumbled about their tasks, the others had settled into the sofas.


    Jeff adamantly refused to answer any questions without his coffee. Even turning his nose up at cute little Trixie, who was wondering what the odd silver metal was that made up this place. John whispered a promise to explain it later, if Jeff still wouldn''t. Upon getting his coffee, and the fire burning strong, he had finally answered Feldyn¡¯s original question from earlier.


    ¡°What type of barrier?¡± Feldyn inquired, trying to appear casual at the sudden answer. ¡°What type?¡± Jeff laughed, taking a sip of coffee, and burnt his lip, starting a little. ¡°As in scientific or magical?¡± he asked unblinking, eyes locked on the half-elf. Feldyn didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°Or force?¡± the still shirtless (but shackles now removed) bard added with a smile to the rude human. ¡°Might as well name all three of them, aye?¡±


    ¡°I knew it!¡± Jeff said, and grinned, slapping his knee with a self-satisfied head shake. ¡°I knew there was more than the Order let me in on! And you bastards didn¡¯t tell me,¡± he pointed an accusatory finger at John, then Reba, who sat on a separate couch. John sat next to the half-elf, and Reba was next to Stryker and Bryan. He then suddenly squinted thoughtfully at Reba, ¡°You haven¡¯t aged a day! What type of creature are you?¡± She flinched like she had been slapped, and averted her eyes to look at the floor.


    Pazely took a heavy candlestick from the solid black coffee table in front of the sofa that she, Trix, and Caleb sat on, and threw it at Jeff, sending his coffee mug flying. ¡°You are such an ASS!¡± she shouted, and everyone had to agree. Even John. Although¡­ ¡°It is not quite that simple,¡± the bearded old man sighed to Pazely.


    Jeff scowled now, covered in hot coffee. ¡°I think you should all explain what is going on,¡± he told them, standing and adjusting his glasses with one finger, much like Bryan. ¡°Then, and only then, will I explain what I know.¡± He walked across the room, ignoring the spilled coffee and dropped mug, retrieving another mug from the black cabinet attached to the wall above the coffee pot.


    ¡°You sure he isn¡¯t just an ass?¡± Pazely asked John, to more than a few snickers. As Jeff was returning to the chair, Feldyn clapped his hands, almost causing the man to spill this cup of coffee as well. ¡°Since we have little time for games, yet ye insist on playing them, we shall oblige you,¡± Feldyn¡¯s kind smile did not seem so sincere.


    ¡°Can I at least get Trixie a shower, some food, and a bed?¡± Reba asked. Trixie had fallen asleep rather abruptly with the warm fire going, leaning on Caleb. Jeff ignored her. She guessed Jeff would be Jeff¡­ Even if these years in seclusion made him even more rude. ¡°Aye, ye know my tale Reba. You don¡¯t need to hear it again,¡± Feldyn told her. ¡°John can fill in your side of things, if ye too would like to freshen up,¡± Feldyn smiled, his accent thick again. ¡°And me!¡± Pazely announced, ¡°I feel super gross, and I¡¯m starving.¡± She blushed a little.


    Continuing to ignore them, Jeff sipped his coffee while the girls left the room. Feldyn began his tale, starting with his arrival on Earth, skimming things to do with the Dragonheart and prophecy. This man was already on Feldyn¡¯s bad side. If he didn¡¯t understand how things were, he could be lost, for all the bard cared.


    Once Feldyn¡¯s tale caught up to current, John provided a heavily abridged account of his and Reba¡¯s past. Finally telling his friend -who had almost no knowledge of the supernatural- the truth. Caleb joined in to explain his side of things after. When Stryker (and to a lesser extent Masque, who stood off to the side brooding as usual) added in their story, Feldyn was floored. And once it all culminated in his rescue, and them being here, Feldyn found a tear in his eye.


    Just one tear. He knew not why it was there, nor what it meant. Bryan had not said a word the entire time, nor had his uncle. After the lengthy story time, Caleb and Stryker had to pee, despite their lack of being offered coffee. Caleb was about to excuse himself, when Jeff began to speak, and Bryan finally looked up from the floor.


    ¡°I was -and probably still am- the most brilliant scientific mind the Order has ever had.¡± There was no arrogance in his voice. ¡°And that¡¯s all I was. A scientist. I knew the Order did something with religious and fringe mumbo jumbo, but I did not care. My research had unlimited funding, and they let me focus on some of the most amazing theories, and projects that my brilliant mind could fathom. Some hardly so!¡± He laughed, and shook his head, closing his eyes.


    ¡°But I was a fool. I began to realize the Order was much more the sinister operation than I had believed it to be. Around that time, I made a breakthrough. More of a flat success, really. A new metal- alloy- neither really, but that is not the point. For the purpose of conversation, I shall refer to it as I do in my head: a smart metal. It could be be programmed, and reshaped into whatever form the programmer desired. It never degrades, is stronger than steel, and, usually, lighter. I call it quicksilver.¡± The name garnered more than a few eye rolls. ¡°If you had not figured it out, quicksilver is what I have formed my home out of.¡±


    He took a large drink of coffee. ¡°I hid my discovery from the Order. I feared that if they knew, they would simply kill me and take it. You see, they view intellect as replaceable. Can you believe that? Their researches and scientists had a tendency to¡­ vanish," he waved some fingers around. "Also, around that time, my older brother had his first child. Bryan. I used that as an excuse for a leave of absence. They agreed quite easily. Probably due to them seeing me as a failure, intending to disappear me when I returned. Due to that very concern, I not only stole my research, but looked up information on anyone who may be¡­ should we say, not so friendly to the Order?


    ¡°That information led me to John and Reba. The top fugitives from the Order. I am not so foolish as to believe they had really done something wrong! Who would think those two anything dangerous or special? It took me only minutes of going over the databases to discover they were vigilantes. Tracking down, and killing, what seemed unreal to me. Supernatural. Monsters. Rubbish, I would have said. Regardless, I used that information to get their attention. It is quite the unexplainable miracle how the Order has not already caught them, to be quite honest with you.


    ¡°Though it did take me some time to gain their trust. Once they agreed to help me, we began planning my death. The leave of absence I took turned into several years, due to a manufactured illness, Reba was kind enough to inflict upon me. Officials from the Order even came to verify my condition, and allowed me to stay here while I recovered. If I recovered. We wanted it to seem as believable as possible, the eventual car wreck, that is. But the unexplainable happened.


    "During my stay with my brother and sister-in-law, I grew quite close to their son. You, Bryan. I spent most of the early years of your life with you, and grew to care for you like my own. Which is quite unusual for me. I was trying to think of a way out of my rapidly approaching fake death, when the Order discovered I had taken research.


    ¡°Contacting John, we quickly put the plan into motion earlier than expected. I called the Order, swearing to them I had taken nothing and was on my way back! For why would a guilty man come back on their own? And on the way back, I conveniently lost consciousness due to my illness, and ran off the road, dying in the accident.¡± The way he sat there, silently drinking coffee, the others assumed he was done with his awkwardly told story.


    ¡°But your body,¡± Bryan finally spoke, ¡°I went to your funeral. I saw it.¡± His voice was quiet, but there wasn¡¯t a trace of anger. Jeff nodded at the boy¡¯s words. ¡°That was Reba, again. She made an almost identical clone of me. All artificial, nothing living about it. Quite astounding work.¡±


    ¡°Of course it was astounding.¡± Reba said, as she returned to the room, hair in a towel on her head, another towel tightly wrapping her body, barely long enough.


    Not answering her, Jeff at least nodded as she sat down next to Caleb, and the boy¡¯s heart began racing and slamming. She smelled so good, and was only in a towel! Bad time to need to pee!


    ¡°I could not risk coming out of hiding, nor having any contact. So I remained here¡­ in Cowlitz, because, well, hiding in plain sight.¡± Jeff smiled weakly now. ¡°That, I believe, is all.¡± At those words, Stryker excused himself for the restroom, and hurried out. Caleb quickly followed, lest he pee his pants.


    Bryan also rose to his feet. ¡°Is there somewhere I can rest, Uncle?¡± he asked quietly, his eyes again falling to the floor. ¡°Bryan, I-¡± Jeff started, but his nephew cut him off. ¡°I get it. I understand. I need to be alone.¡± Jeff still seemed a bit hesitant to accept that it was okay. He wanted to tell him he had kept track of everything he had done via the internet! That he never quit thinking about him! Instead, he just gave him general direction to where the rooms were with beds. As Bryan was about to leave, he stopped, and without looking back said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alive, Uncle.¡± Still not turning around, ¡°I''m sorry for... hitting you. I forgive you¡­ and¡­ thank you.¡± He left the room now, hoping no one noticed his voice crack. They did.


    Jeff began to cry. A cry becoming a sob. Masque rolled his eyes from the corner of the room near the fireplace. The priest smiled as Jeff took his glasses off to wipe his eyes with a sleeve. Looks like the man he had quickly felt a friendship with was finally coming back to himself.


    ¡°Hate to rush, truly I do,¡± Feldyn started, ¡°but as you know, the situation is quite urgent. Not to mention, I highly doubt we are safe here for long.¡± He would also like a nap! How long since he had actually slept?


    Returning with a small hop in his step, and whistling a happy tune, the look Stryker got from Reba said it all. ¡°What the hell did I do?¡± he asked defensively, then saw Jeff¡¯s red eyes. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry for the bad timing, but do y¡¯all really have to be so dramatic about it?¡± Stryker mumbled, and chose to help himself to some damn coffee! He was tired of waiting for it to be offered!


    ¡°I believe we actually are safe for the time being. Even though you all are the ones to bring danger to my home in the first place,¡± Jeff said in reply to Feldyn¡¯s concerns, like the interruption never happened. ¡°Y¡¯know, I¡¯m done with this!¡± Stryker snapped, turning with his coffee in hand, to look at Jeff. ¡°I get that we just crashed your home, but you trying to kill us was more than enough to get your point across! We have just explained everything, and for some reason, you are still being a royal prick!


    ¡°Stryker!¡±


    ¡°No, Reba, you need to sit there and be quiet for a moment!¡± He reprimanded the girl that had snapped at him, and took a drink of his coffee, not seeming to care about the scald, or the foul bitter taste; took several steps to look down at the girl, who had one hand holding the towel on her head. ¡°I don¡¯t care how old you''re supposed to be, you are still a teenage dance instructor at my town¡¯s dance studio. And I¡¯m still a cop. So sit there, and be quiet."


    Stryker¡¯s words were harsh, but his eyes and tone were kind. Someone had to put their foot down with this girl sometimes, y¡¯know? She got a bit¡­ feisty, if she wasn¡¯t reined in from time to time. It¡¯s just who she was! He hoped he hadn¡¯t hurt her feelings. Then she smiled at him. Not just any smile either, she grinned like some happy little girl that just got the gift of her life. In the light of this unexpected smile, he blushed fiercely. He had never seen Reba look so damn cute before. He also became painfully aware that the towel on her torso revealed a good amount of cleavage.


    ¡°Was there more to your verbal assault, officer?¡± Jeff uncharacteristically addressed Stryker. Feldyn sighed at the same time as John, both for the same reason. There were important matters at hand, and people kept causing unneeded distractions! ¡°I believed you were all here to kill me, and I doubt you would have responded any less drastic in the same situation. Or could the way I interact be what¡¯s upsetting you?¡± Jeff smiled to the cop.


    ¡°You see, I have horrendous anxiety disorder. Terrible to the point of madness. So bad, when there are all these strangers, my mind actually, more or less, becomes akin to that of a sociopath¡¯s. Hence the rational of confronting a truck of men here to kill me, alone, with a rifle. Over the years, I have learned to control it slightly, talking minimally amidst the madness, until I can medicate properly, or keeping myself distant from what may become dangerous interactions.¡± Jeff held his cup up for Officer Stricksent to see, ¡°By medication, I refer to this coffee. Took a while, but I finally created a medicinal formula I lace into the grounds. Works wonders for me, and also why I didn¡¯t offer all of you any. The lack medication in my system, was the reason I did not explain.¡±


    Stryker looked more than a little horrified now. Feldyn was so taken aback by the random change of situation, he forgot his irritation. Not John. He already knew all of this. Well, not the coffee aspect, but he suspected it was something like that. They may not have known each other long, but they truly had been friends. Still, Jeff really had been more of a manic ass than usual at their arrival.


    ¡°Do not worry, it won¡¯t harm you in such small doses, though you may want to quit drinking it,¡± Bryan¡¯s uncle cautioned, and Stryker hurried to set the cup back by the pot. ¡°However, from the amount you did consume, there may be some involuntary bowel movements for the next few hours.¡± So seriously Jeff said that, Feldyn couldn¡¯t take it, and exploded into intense enough laughter he was clenching his sides, irritating John who sat next to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Caleb asked, just now getting back. Stryker looked like he was about to cry, and Feldyn was practically having a seizure.


    Jeff sighed, and abruptly returned to the previous topic, ¡°The enemy hasn¡¯t ventured outside of Castle Rock since the Order sealed things off.¡±


    ¡°The Order?!¡± John stood from his seat with the shouted question. ¡°Yes, the Order,¡± Jeff snipped back. ¡°When the barrier appeared the other night, everything went to hell. And by the sound of things, you do not even know about it.¡± The mood was somber now, even with the occasional stifled giggle from the bard. ¡°My central system is tapped into security cameras all over the county, so I witnessed a good deal of this myself, as it occurred.


    ¡°That night, not long after sundown, a purple-colored solid barrier appeared out of nowhere. Far as I could tell, it curved in towards the top, like a dome. However, the line it drew was... odd. I do not know if it surrounded Castle Rock, though from the data I was able to collect, it did encompass the town and some surrounding county, before cutting into mountains where I could no longer follow.


    "What truly was a reason for concern, were the electrical storms; the ones that have been reported recently, manastorms you called them, I believe, were racing up and down the shield, as well as the area near it. It was like nothing I have ever witnessed, destroying houses and killing anyone near, scorching and tearing up the earth, and starting fires."


    Jeff paused for a good minute before continuing. ¡°The storming eventually stabilized, though the... the horrors were not over. Dozens of mostly young men, were running all over Longview and Kelso that night, killing people by the hundreds. They were not human. Too fast, and strong. They could jump atop a single story building! It was... unsettling. Then, right before the sun rose and the barrier vanished, so did they. At least from my cameras. What remained of them.¡±


    ¡°Vampires,¡± Masque rumbled. ¡°Truly?¡± Jeff asked. ¡°Truly,¡± Masque answered. ¡°How very curious,¡± Jeff accepted.


    Reba blinked. The hell¡­ ¡°What are you saying? That a shield or something, erected itself around the town the other night, manastorms caused that destruction we saw, and an army of vampires was going around the county killing everyone?¡± Jeff thought for a moment, then nodded. ¡°And the Order?¡± John asked. ¡°To be honest, John, I am only assuming it is the Order. When hundreds of un-uniform soldiers seal off most of southwestern Washington, and northwestern Oregon, it isn''t the normal military.¡±


    John knew he was right. The Order had their own army, with no few mercenary companies. Their appearance might pass for a Hollywood version of the U.S. Military, but anyone with a brain would know better.


    They must know of the Terrors, and what it is they plan. It wouldn¡¯t be long now until the colors arrived en masse. Or possibly even angels. Things just kept getting worse and worse. This was going to be a long day.


    * * *


    The day had been long. Or at least for some of them. The adults spoke of barriers, demons, rituals, and time frames; while the kids ate, bathed, and were deeply asleep shortly after noon. Jeff had plenty of extra empty rooms and blankets, some even with mattresses. Many of the rooms had bathrooms of varying size, and there was even a single large multi person shower room. That was just what the kids had found in the rooms they checked! There were at least a dozen more doors left un-opened! Just why he set this place up like a small army would be living here, none of them knew. Not even Jeff seemed to know why he had designed it so.


    Caleb, Pazely, and Trixie all slept on the floor in one of the bed-less rooms, filling it with tons of blankets. Trixie had crawled over to snuggle next to Pazely (and secretly be near Caleb) where they slept in a corner. Everyone had their clothing washed. Trix was only wearing a large white t-shirt now, which was much longer than what she had on before, and was practically a nightgown. Pazely fell asleep in a towel.


    When the red light started flashing in the room and a klaxon began to go off, Trix woke with such a bloodcurdling wail of terror (shortly accompanied by Pazely¡¯s), that she feared she had peed herself in fright! Caleb was looking around wildly, though at least hadn''t screamed.


    Stryker opened the door to their room, standing just in jeans, shirt in his hands. The lights and alarm seemed to be in the hallways as well.


    ¡°Well, looks like it¡¯s time to wake up,¡± Stryker said, far too casually. ¡°The fuck is THAT?!¡± Pazely yelled at the officer, who shrugged. ¡°No idea, but no one¡¯s screaming- other than you, and nothing¡¯s trying to eat us yet, so assuming it isn¡¯t an intruder alert.¡±


    The alarm stopped. John went sprinting (wearing his brown robes and a matching brown nightcap) past Stryker, heading down the hall without slowing. ¡°I say we follow him,¡± Stryker said, and headed after John at a brisk walk, putting his shirt on.


    ¡°I am getting so tired of wearing the same clothes!¡± Pazely bitched, as she hurriedly got out from under the blankets, and the few steps to where she had put her clothes. All of her clothes. Trixie blushed furiously, as butt naked Pazely quickly dressed in the now blaring white lights from the overheads Stryker had flipped on.


    She was up and dressed too fast for Caleb to even tell her. She had slept with her hair up too, so not much concealment. He guessed it was just him and Trixie. Actually, from the look on Trixie''s face, maybe Paze should be embarrassed after all.


    ¡°The barrier reappeared,¡± they heard John telling Stryker as they entered the new room everyone had been hurrying to. ¡°Only, this time it¡¯s different.¡± This new room was small and circular, with one entire side filled to the ceiling with a bank of monitors. A station of keyboards, a couple small monitors, and other things overlooked them from the center of the room, where Jeff stood facing away from the door.


    ¡°What¡¯s different?¡± Feldyn asked, having just gotten to the room, as Caleb was comforting an embarrassed Pazely who finally realized she had given him and Trixie a free show. He was wearing a pair of Jeff¡¯s jeans (which were almost too tight) and a white t-shirt. ¡°This time, the shield is blue, smaller, and the, what did you call them?¡± Jeff both answered and asked. ¡°Imps? They are nowhere in sight. One of them finally discovered a camera, and took it upon herself to smash every other one she came across, so I can''t be sure they are not still there, only out of sight.¡±


    There were more than a few puzzled and angry questions. ¡°Calm down!¡± John snapped to the group. ¡°The imp and the lycanthropeire showed up on surveillance yesterday, after most everyone had gone to bed; wreaking havoc on the soldiers in the county. You all needed rest, and it didn¡¯t directly involve us, so I chose not to wake you. I had Jeff promise to tell me if the shield reappeared, or if any of the demons got too close.¡± He glared at Jeff now. ¡°Though something less heart attack-inducing would have been preferable.¡±


    Without looking to the old man, ¡°I chose to turn my alarms back on,¡± Jeff explained. ¡°They are an important part of my process. I shut them off after you all arrived, and we nearly did not even notice those imps were out there. We may have even missed the barriers reappearance if I had kept them off.¡±


    Caleb sighed heavily. ¡°Guess our break is over.¡± The looks from the others were mostly puzzled frowns. ¡°What?¡± he asked to their stares. ¡°Has our goal changed? Stop the bad guys, save our friends, and anyone else still alive?¡±


    No one said a word for a while, all pondering if that is what their goal had even been.


    ¡°We need weapons,¡± Feldyn said. He could hardly believe he was going along with this. ¡°And a vehicle!¡± Stryker added, then smacked himself in the forehead, remembering they had one. ¡°Food and supplies this time would be nice,¡± Pazely mumbled, face still hidden against Caleb. ¡°I¡¯ll try to get some supplies from the lab!¡± Reba offered from the doorway, and hurried down the hall.


    The nerdy man with black hair and glasses looked at the group like they were insane. ¡°You are all actually going out there?¡± he scoffed. ¡°Indeed,¡± Masque confirmed from beside him, causing Jeff to gasp violently.


    ¡°We are the type to go down in flames,¡± Caleb said with a grin. ¡°But we are all praying that we don¡¯t. We have friends out there, sir. To get them out, I think any of us would die or suffer,¡± Caleb looked to Feldyn. ¡°Some of us already have.¡±


    Feldyn didn¡¯t fully agree with the Dragonheart¡¯s views. In fact, he still wanted to hide Caleb; to let everyone die if need be, until the coast was clear, then whisk him away to Aethra. But recently¡­ After what they did to rescue him¡­ After they succeeded in rescuing him, he was trying to convince himself that these people were worth saving; worth helping. That they could win. Yet, if Caleb died, a number higher than the population of Earth, many times over, would be doomed.


    Right or wrong choice, just sitting here doing nothing was foolish. At least, out there, they had somewhere to run. Also, the Terrors appeared to want Caleb alive. So putting him in harm¡¯s way may actually make him, and those around him, safer. The enemy would have to hold back on the entire group, if they were truly trying to not harm the Dragonheart.


    Feldyn hoped he was right. If he wasn¡¯t, they would all be dead soon, regardless of if they stayed here or went out there. No, they needed to end this. Even delaying to see if the Order could handle it, wasn''t worth the risk. Not with what the enemy was planning. And with their current information, flight appeared quite unlikely.


    The group then descended pretty much into chaos; running this way and that, getting food, packing bags, finding clothes. Luckily for them (unluckily for Jeff), he had a decent stock of things. They packed three backpacks full of food and survival gear. Reba managed to mix a nice little pharmacy of fun things to stuff in her bag, and was quickly dressed again in her brown leathers. Stryker, Caleb, Pazely, and Feldyn also took (with approval) large camo jackets. Jeff had another -combat- rifle, which he grudgingly gave to Stryker, as well as extra ammo. Plus two revolvers, giving one to Caleb and one to Bryan.


    All were now gathered at the base of the stairs leading up to the cabin. Bryan sighed and tried handing his revolver to John. ¡°You need this more than me, since I¡¯m staying here.¡± Everyone looked shocked. ¡°We can¡¯t leave Trix alone. Uncle can barely care for himself, let alone a little girl.¡± Trixie was offended at the word ¡®little¡¯. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, thank you! John smiled, and declined the gun. ¡°I do not need it, for I too am staying.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± was the collective question. ¡°Dad, we need you out there!¡± Reba said, in total shock at his words. He never avoided danger! Ever! ¡°You do not need anything, because you are staying as well,¡± John informed her. ¡°LIKE HELL I AM!¡± Reba roared loudly enough to rival Pazely, just with more authority and far less squeak. ¡°Yes, you are. With the Order no doubt to be arriving soon, not just their mercenary army, it¡¯s too risky for either of us to be out there. We should wait here and only get involved as a last result. What can we do that the Order can not? No, we are not needed. Technically none of you are either, though I have no authority over your actions.¡±


    ¡°John, please,¡± Caleb begged, as Reba huffed and growled. ¡°We can''t trust some evil organization to be the heroes, that''s insane! They are villains too, aren''t they? Wouldn''t it be best to resolve it before they get more involved? I believe we can win, but we''re seriously outgunned, and you and Reba have powers that we don''t!¡± John scoffed at the Dragonheart¡¯s words. ¡°Powers? You are judging this on terms of powers?¡± When Caleb didn¡¯t immediately defend himself, Feldyn took the opportunity. Besides, he was fucking angry.


    ¡°Is he not right? This is war, my friend. Combat. We must judge it in terms of combat prowess if we are to win, let alone have a glimmer of a chance to survive!¡± Staring right into John¡¯s eyes, Feldyn could tell the old man was pained. He knew what they were up against! ¡°Please, John, come with us!¡± Regardless of his reasoning, the old man had to see things their way!


    ¡°No,¡± John stated, emotionless and without hesitation. Feldyn felt as if he had been slapped, taking a step back. John¡¯s eyes¡­ he had not even blinked! So... so very cold! Who was this ruthless man now looking back at him? ¡°You will all return once you find no way to penetrate the barrier,¡± John stated flatly. ¡°That is the only reason I am not hindering your departure. It should be safe enough for you to scout the area. There are not even storms accompanying this barrier.¡± Now Feldyn understood why he was telling Reba to stay. For, undoubtedly, she could get them through. ¡°We need to hurry,¡± Feldyn said as he turned, snarling through clenched teeth, ¡°Try not to die, you old fool.¡± He would not let John get to him! Calm. He needed to stay calm.


    Then he saw Reba. The look on her face was heart-wrenching, and familiar. She was still wrestling with the decision to obey or betray her father. Feldyn decided to help her along. He turned back around, walking the few steps to John, and punched him in the face.


    Trixie covered her mouth and shouted in surprise, as John reeled back and into the wall, blood streaming from a broken nose. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Feldyn snapped to the stunned group, storming past them and up the stairs. There! Now Reba would be mad at him, feel sorry for her dad, and stay here, where it was safe.


    Feldyn was more determined then ever now! No more doubt! They were getting through that barrier, and they were going to win. Or they would die fighting. There was a reason this was happening, and he was here, it must be possible to stop what the Terrors had planned!


    Caleb followed suit up the stairs, before he too started throwing punches at the friends abandoning them. He didn¡¯t blame Reba, though he was pissed at John and Bryan. Pazely quickly followed behind him, after she took the gun from Bryan, Stryker in the rear, closing the doors behind them. Masque was already outside, avoiding the drama. Caleb squinted as he exited the cabin, surprised that the sun was so bright to him. Jeez, what time was it? What day was it?!


    Masque, Pazely, and Caleb got in the bed of the truck. Paze had her hair back in twintails again, since any other way she did it up was even less manageable. Keeping it up to sleep was nice, but too heavy to practically wear. Ponytails worked well, but the ties always broke. Braids were not even an option, as -for some annoying reason- they always came undone. ¡°You are going to freeze, even in that coat,¡± Caleb pointed out to her. She had a large t-shirt on over the sports bra, and the camo jacket she wore swam on her. She also wasn''t wearing any shoes. It was really quite cold out on this frosty but clear morning, but she didn¡¯t seem to care. She rarely cared about the cold.


    As Stryker started up the truck, Feldyn didn¡¯t say a word in the passenger¡¯s seat. Pazely was staring at the door of the shack the entire time. ¡°They¡­ Are they really not coming?¡± She looked about ready to cry ¡°Why? There¡¯s barely any of us! What do we do if they don¡¯t come too? Why would Bryan abandon us?¡± Pazely sniffled. Caleb hugged her tightly. ¡°Bryan has issues, and John is a grumpy old ass,¡± he said, kissing her on the forehead. ¡°Reba will sneak out as soon as she can. I¡¯m confident Bryan will come help too. Maybe even John.¡± He smiled. ¡°We just gotta make sure to live long enough for them to meet up with us!¡±


    ¡°I wish Ally was here,¡± Pazely said, surprising Caleb. ¡°Tell her that and I¡¯ll kill you.¡± He laughed. ¡°Honestly Paze, wouldn¡¯t surprise me if her and Gigi showed up. They are probably already back in town, waiting for us, raging at how slow we are.¡± This time Pazely laughed. She could honestly see that too!


    Stryker finally began driving into the trees, along the curving road. ¡°Get us as close to the barrier as you can,¡± Feldyn told him. ¡°Somewhere we can park without being seen or drawing attention. Can you do that?¡± Stryker, who was wearing ridiculous large black visor-style sunglasses he had found in the glove box, nodded without a word. He seemed pretty sullen too. How could he not be, having almost half their team just abandon them at a time like this?


    Slowing the truck to a stop when they got to the busted gate, Stryker frowned. ¡°Should we at least try to close this better, since we did break it and all?¡± Before anyone could give any input, they heard something.


    Someone was running, fast, from the way they had come. Caleb and Pazely tensed as the sound got closer¡­ And Reba rounded the bend, sprinting faster than Caleb had ever seen someone (non-demon or monster) run. Clearing the distance from the corner to the truck, in her leathers, backpack over shoulder, she slowed just enough to jump into the bed. No one more shocked than Feldyn.


    They heard John shouting her name. Loudly.


    ¡°Go!¡± she gasped, and Stryker didn¡¯t object or hesitate; flooring the gas. The arrival of Reba somehow seemed to lighten everyone¡¯s mood. Even Masque was grinning, having heard her coming well before the others had. One extra party member secured, the group sped away, hope once again in their faltering hearts.


    * * *


    Stryker finally pulled the truck to a stop in front of the large solid blue barrier, which went as far up and to the sides as they could see. Having driven through some roundabout dirt trails and through a few properties and yards, he had finally gotten them close, as promised. Closer than Feldyn had hoped for, and unseen too. If there was even anyone left to notice.


    The barrier must be quite a lot smaller than the previous one, as the destruction Jeff said was caused due to storming, was quite a ways behind them.


    ¡°Now, we get inside,¡± Stryker contemplated, looking at the strange blue wall before them. ¡°No, you can¡¯t ram it,¡± Caleb teased the cop, who made a pouty face. Reba walked up to the barrier-wall; Caleb, Stryker, and Feldyn¡¯s eyes went directly to her butt; those leathers making it hard not to.


    Reluctantly, she placed a hand on the wall, and felt that it was solid¡­ Definitely alchemical, but¡­ ¡°This is¡­ odd,¡± she mumbled. Watching her, it was like Reba was listening to something none of the others could hear. ¡°I¡­ can understand it. But¡­ it¡¯s¡­ not much more than a simple barrier. Well, not simple,¡± she said, her voice seeming to trail away. ¡°Mind elaborating?¡± Feldyn asked, and she refocused quickly. ¡°Oh, uh, it''s an alchemically made shield. Not totally sure of its purpose, but I am sure that it is climate controlling, at a minimum.¡± She sighed and shrugged, taking her hand from the barrier.


    ¡°Can you get us inside?¡± Stryker asked, and Reba nodded, going to the truck to retrieve her bag. ¡°I can make a hole in it large enough for us to get through, but we will need to hurry. The hole will close fast to keep the entire structure from destabilizing. ¡°Won¡¯t take long,¡± Reba continued, returning to the barrier. ¡°And I¡¯ve been thinking about what our next step should be once inside.¡± She knelt, and began to mix chemicals. ¡°Oh, have you now?¡± Feldyn asked, curious. Nodding, not looking up from the liquids she mixed, ¡°Dad and I have several hidden caches of supplies in town. Some are not far from here. I think we should hit those first, and try to get as many weapons and supplies as fast as possible. Then try to get to one of our hideouts, where we can do some recon and come up with a proper plan.¡±


    ¡°Why was this not mentioned before?¡± Masque grumbled from the shade of a nearby tree. Reba shrugged, ¡°Dad didn¡¯t mention it, and I was trying to be respectful, and not go against his judgment on the matter. Besides, none were close enough to have been of help to us earlier anyway.¡± She stood now, holding one large open vial.


    ¡°You all might want to be ready, because I''m not sure how long this hole will stay open, and I don''t have the materials to make more.¡± Without waiting for a single word of confirmation from the others, she splashed the liquid on the blue wall, covering as much of an area as she could. A hole easily large enough to fit the truck through opened. Then immediately, and rapidly, began to close.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Reba cursed, and ran through. Feldyn was through quickly, as was Masque. Caleb and Pazely dashed inside, accidentally leaving their bags, with Caleb needing to duck to get in. Stryker grabbed a random backpack, and the assault rifle, before running to the rapidly closing hole. ¡°Hurry the fuck up!¡± Caleb yelled, and Stryker barely rolled through in time, grabbing Reba¡¯s bag she had left outside the opening as he rolled, though he accidentally dropped the rifle in the process.


    * * *


    The zombie king wheezed, walking past the pickup to the now closed hole in the wall of solid blue, looking at the gun where Reba had crouched moments before. So far, that imp was more or less right-on with her predictions. They were even ahead of schedule.


    Larry was more than pleased at the sight of the homunculus he had lost, even though he only had one eye left to see her with, the one on the left side of his head more of a raisin. Damn that elf for injecting him with so much at once! Was taking forever to work out of his cells! He was at least thankful for that red shit splashed on him during the rescue. After replicating it, and fixing the imperfections, he adjusted it to apply on himself. It didn¡¯t exactly make him invisible, but it did hide his odor, making him close enough to invisible. Despite his appearance, Larry was rather stealthy.


    Even that thrall vampire in black had not sensed him approach for a closer look at the girl he had lost, in her deliciously tight leathers... Too bad he didn''t have hormones, or he was be hard as a rock right now, in drippy anticipation.


    Damn it all to cocksucking shit, checking the perimeter of this barrier was going to take forever like this, especially if he kept daydreaming! He needed to get it done, and back inside, so they could erect the rest of it. Perhaps he could find a way to adjust his form to both cover more ground and sate himself properly... For it wouldn¡¯t be long now until he had his Philosopher¡¯s Stone back. And he was going to bathe in the ecstasy, as his pleasure ripped her apart. Hormones or not.


    Looking around, he caught the whiff of some cows a ways away, and smiled. Leave it to cows to be the only animals stupid enough to not have fled. First, he would eat his fill of their meat. After that, there should be plenty left for a mutation or two¡­ Or twelve.


    As Larry charged with the speed and agility of a cheetah through the trees, his mind was awash with all the creative things he could grow to help him get this done faster. And then use to rape that bitch, while maybe flavoring her meat while he was at it.


    Homunculi tasted like dry dog biscuits and cow shit.

 Chapter 14: Nothing鈥檚 Complete Without an Onion

    So many things in this creation God has blessed us with.


    Many things are taken for granted as we live our days.


    So much of so little, we quickly lose our view.


    Wind.


    Grass.


    Friend.


    Love.


    Water.


    Kindness.


    To not lose my view, in these things I search. I keep.


    A black rose.


    So beautiful it was, and in so many ways unique.


    Soft.


    Pure.


    Silent.


    Bright.


    Frail.


    Although others may exist, not a one such as this graces our world.


    For its petals are of pure feathers!


    Odd and precious and perplexing!


    In its own elegant extravagance¡­


    Brightly shining frailty¡­


    It shows us the more.


    Precious and pure, as the snow from which it grows.


    And as the young girl that kneels before it, and beside me.


    Smiles.


    Frailty.


    Strength.


    Youth.


    She asks to pick it, yet I cannot reply.


    For what this is. This moment.


    Is not for one such as I to place voice.


    As she smiles¡­ so does the essence of the rose.


    A blessing?


    Blessings!


    Gifts!


    Hopes!


    Joys!


    She kneels before this flower of darkness,


    as it grows from the purity.


    And I saw in her, this rose.


    One that should not exist.


    A flower of darkness.


    A darkness turned light.


    As this rose, she too managed to keep her light.


    All the blood, the pain, and the death.


    And this beautiful child survived.


    These moments we are to cherish!


    To give thanks!


    And to weep¡­


    We bled.


    We cried.


    We suffered.


    We died.


    Now she giggles and lays next to the rose¡­


    And I know it was worth it.


    This flower of the dark.


    Amidst the snow.


    ~A Black Rose of Feathers


    ~Feldyn Goldchord, the Endless Bard


    * * *


    Getting back to Washington from California was going to prove to be a much more¡­ unique experience than before. With a hyper six-year-old girl, that rarely did what she was told and refused to wear proper clothing -if any at all-, it was easy to understand why. Especially when one wasn¡¯t exactly traveling conventionally.


    The bus had made it almost to the Portland area before they hit a military roadblock. The bus wasn¡¯t even allowed to stop there; diverted a good deal east, then south until they could stop. Ally was horribly concerned for Gigi- she had been under the bus all day! It was warmer down south, but was much colder up here. Ally and Gigi had the whole Russian cold tolerance thing going on, but being cold still happened! Occasionally.


    When the driver stopped in a gravel lot without even knowing what town they were near, or in, and wouldn¡¯t let anyone get off, Ally pitched a bitch fit that would have made Pazely look like a church mouse. The driver -and other passengers- were more than happy to boot her off, which was exactly what she had wanted.


    It was already after dark when the bus drove away, the driver having tossed the bag containing Gigi rather rudely -and roughly- on the ground. Ally stood, acting casual and glaring after the bus until it was out of sight. ¡°Gigi!¡± she gasped in a panic after the bus turned, dropping painfully to her knees and zipping the bag open quickly.


    The little blonde popped out of the bag so quickly, she smashed the top of her head into Ally¡¯s forehead. ¡°Fuck!¡± Ally snapped, falling back on her ass. Geeg was on her feet, stumbling around like a drunk, shaking her head from side to side, and making stupid noises. At least she had on one of the shirts Ally had bought.


    This was going to be a long trip.


    I gotta pee,¡± the little girl squeaked, heading off towards some trees on the far side of the gravel lot, but stumbled and wiped out. She began to cry. Ally sighed, then hurried over to her. ¡°You okay, Gigi?¡± she asked, not sounding as caring as she had intended. Gigi was whimpering enough now that Ally felt guilty. ¡°I gotta pee so bad, Ally!¡± she cried. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna pee myself if I move!" Quiet sobs wracked her tiny body.


    Oh, poor Gigi! Ally quickly and carefully scooped her into her arms, grateful she didn¡¯t get peed on, and hurried towards the nearby trees at the edge of the lot. Ally seriously needed to think a little. Gigi was six, even if she was a bit of a mutated six-year-old at the moment. Not only did she recently save them all -and almost die- from some giant demonic canine, she had also snuck out of an airport and jumped onto the roof of a moving bus to return to her friends. Had jumped! Only then to be stuffed into a bag, and tossed under a bus, where she had to remain for somewhere in the realm of twelve plus hours, Ally was guessing. Maybe less. She had no time-telling device handy.


    Ally froze, luckily having already set Gigi down and walked away. Time-telling device. Her watch! Looking at her wrist, she no longer had it on. Oh my God, did she bring it?! Did she leave it?! Did she lose it?! ¡°Don¡¯t listen!¡± Gigi yelled at her. Ally hardly noticed, so very panicked was she about the golden bracelet watch Caleb had given her.


    I need toilet paper!¡± Gigi whined, as Ally looked to the duffel bag sitting in the lot. ¡°Use a leaf!¡± she called to her, and hurried to the duffel. Reaching the bag, Ally looked into the chaos. The shirts and panties she bought were scattered everywhere, as were empty snacks. Not caring too much about that at the moment, she dug through it for the crumpled fast food bag with her ID, money, etcetera¡­ Horror began to overtake her. Had she left the bracelet at the airport? Was it still at home? When had she even taken it off? Hadn¡¯t she been wearing it on the bus?!


    Then she saw the yellow rhino plushie, her thoughts were melted back to a more somber reality. ¡°Are you okay, Ally?¡± Gigi¡¯s tiny voice asked from beside her. Ally hadn¡¯t even heard the child walking over. She smiled to her wide-eyed little cousin, just noticing the blue shirt she wore had a picture of some ugly bearded guy¡¯s face on it. Blugh. Ally should have looked at the things before buying them.


    I¡¯m okay,¡± she answered, untruthfully. She could not believe she had lost her watch! If Gigi wasn¡¯t here right now, she would be curled in a ball in the gravel, crying. She still might¡­ No, she had to stay strong. Time to change the topic.


    Your shirt is uuuuugly,¡± she said to her cousin, trying to sound judgmental. ¡°Wanna wear this one?¡± Ally pointed to the purple pony monstrosity she wore. ¡°Ew, no!¡± Geeg scrunched her nose, somehow keeping her eyes wide. Ally laughed. The ugly hairy guy was better than ponies, apparently. She couldn¡¯t blame her. But Ally had to admit, she would still pick the purple pony shirt over what Gigi was wearing.


    We need to find food,¡± Ally said, as she removed her shoes and shirt in the poorly lit lot. ¡°And somewhere to sleep,¡± she added, removing her jeans now as well.


    Gigi giggled and clapped, ¡°Naked?!¡± she squealed, and Ally shushed her. ¡°No. Calm down, I¡¯m just changing!¡± And so she changed. Tie-dyed shirt on, and tied in a knot at her hip, hipster briefs only, without pants, and no shoes. It was freezing, but she felt so¡­ rebellious, walking this way in the open! She would put on pants if they found a mini-mart or open store. Provocatively-garbed young girls tended to frighten people. And draw attention they didn''t need or want.


    Ally packed the duffel back up, zipped it, and slung it over a shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± she said to her little cousin, and starting walking. ¡°You look like a hooker,¡± Gigi informed her. ¡°A good hooker, or a bad one?¡± Ally joked. Gigi ignored the question, ¡°Can we steal a car?¡± she asked instead. Ally sighed. ¡°No, we are not going to steal a car.¡±


    After two more hours of walking, every place they found closed, and not a single other person encountered, Ally stole a car. It was shitty looking, and parked behind an abandoned building in... wherever this was... They still hadn¡¯t found any town signs. To Ally, they seemed to be in county and not a town. It was hard to tell, wandering random roads in the night.


    They didn¡¯t drive for long until needing to blindly drive across fields and farms, no headlights. Why? Because the military was randomly patrolling the roads. After crossing through a small field, something dawned on her: T\they still had to cross the Columbia River! There were not exactly many spots to do so, and the bridge was sure to be blocked. Fuck.


    Not long after her realization, and still wondering exactly where they were, Ally had to stop, as they reached the river itself. She had not expected them to be so close! Getting out of the car, and walking a bit, she looked around and sighed. It was so dark you couldn¡¯t see anything. She had almost driven over an embankment, actually. They wouldn¡¯t have gone into the river, with it still a ways in front of them, but the car would have easily been flipped.


    When the headlights turned on behind her, she felt panic, thinking they had been discovered. Instead it was just the unhelpfully helpful Gigi. Ally was about to go bitch at the little girl to keep them off, when something caught her eye, down by the water. There was no way¡­


    Tied to a tree, on the steep riverbank, was a boat. A speedboat, not some crappy little rowboat. This area of the Columbia wasn¡¯t as wide as farther west, but she still would not have been comfortable rowing across it. Still¡­ What are the odds? A bright purple and red, shiny, almost new speedboat,  happening to be exactly in front of where she stopped the car? This was one of the only spots in sight it could have even been tied as well. Those odds were¡­ well, impossible.


    Impossible or not, they needed a way across, and if this damn boat worked, and had the keys in it, she would use it. Getting Gigi and their bag, the girls carefully hurried down to the water. The keys were sitting out, easy to find. Creepy as this was, Ally figured someone had stolen it, or it was for trafficking. Meaning someone would be returning for it soon.


    Her Aunt and Uncle Jacobson had a boat, and she had watched her uncle drive it quite a few times. Doing her best to memorize everything just in case she ever had to¡­ err¡­ borrow it.


    Ally easily figured it out, and was quickly rocketing across to the other side of the river in the inky dark of night. Slowing down? That she hadn¡¯t really paid as much attention to. Nor the need for a light. So she had just aimed them at what she assumed was a street light in the distance. When they suddenly hit the other bank hard and fast, launching a good ways up onto shore, Ally shouted one long surprised curse, Gigi squealing joyfully. Luckily, it was sandy here, and they came to a not too sudden stop, with no injuries other than to Ally¡¯s pride.


    Thankful they didn¡¯t die, or get shot, Ally and Gigi were out of the boat as fast as she could get the child to move, and hurried across the small dark beach, and to the road. This area had much better street lighting, so they walked on the far side, paralleling it west, until they came in sight of a small house, off a ways from the road. They were starving and exhausted.


    Fairly content no one was home, the two girls broke in (there was indeed no one inside), and promptly fell asleep hiding in the attic, too tired to go back down to look for food.


    The moment she woke up, Ally roused her little cousin, and fled the house. She hadn¡¯t meant to fall asleep! After hiding a bit, and watching the house, it became clear no one was around. Doing a more thorough search, the property really did feel abandoned. It was odd though, like people had been here not long ago, but left abruptly.


    Quickly making them some bologna -yuck- sandwiches, they headed to a much larger house that was even farther from the main road, on some farmland. It too appeared recently abandoned.


    In a big garage, Ally discovered four dirt bikes, and one was even a child''s bike. Convenient¡­ Yet more believable than the boat, she supposed. Trying not to be overly paranoid, Ally made sure they worked, picked one for herself, then told Geeg they would be riding instead of driving or walking. The little girl had been ecstatic!


    Then, Gigi tried to ride it.


    No matter what Ally did to coach her, she would go blazing off at mach ten somehow, and smash into something. Or worse ¨C launch herself off the bike in some epic crash. Of course, the little blonde absolutely refused to give up and ride on the back of Ally¡¯s. She was too stubborn to admit that she couldn¡¯t do it, and too determined to just give up, especially since she wanted to ride it. Informing Ally how she had, ¡°Wanted to ride one of these my whole life!¡±


    To the teenager¡¯s knowledge, Gigi had never even spent any time around dirt bikes¡­


    Ally eventually gave in -for now-, and decided to go find them food, while the kid practiced crashing.


    It was eerie how everything felt like people had been here moments ago, yet there was no one anywhere. Like they were just gone. There were even several cars and trucks parked outside. Every key peg by the kitchen door had a set of keys. Where had these people gone? Where had everyone besides the army dudes gone? And why was there still power?


    TV service seemed to be down, and she couldn¡¯t find a radio, or anything that could connect to the internet. Not even a cell phone!


    Opening the fridge, Ally¡¯s stomach growled. Good lord, how long has it been since they ate? That bologna sandwich hardly counted as food. Not that the previous house had much in there to work with. Unfortunately, this fridge too was almost empty, aside from some condiments and beer. Mmmm, beer.


    Taking out a bottled beer, she closed the fridge and checked the freezer. Her disappointment turned into a squeal of joy to see it stocked to bursting with frozen foods, including a strawberry cheesecake! Ally loved strawberries. And pastries. And cheesecakes. And Ice cream. Not that she got to have sweets that often. Her mom said such foods led to sin. Sure didn''t stop the bitch from stuffing her own face.


    Her moms hypocrisy extended to non sweet frozen food, and pretty much any snack. Basically anything that wasn''t organic and flavorless, she wouldn''t let Ally eat. At least she wasn''t vegan. Not that it stopped Ally form eating what she wanted, she just never got to enjoy junk food at home, so had to take what she could get when she could get it.


    That said, Ally would usually scoff and mock frozen foods, comparing them to her much superior cooking. Seriously though, she wasn''t anti junk food, she just didn''t want to get fat, and liked to show off her culinary skills. But after what she had gone through in the last few days, pizza rolls, chicken nuggets, and TV dinners sounded like paradise! The beer in the fridge was the cherry on top.


    Under age? Oh, please! Age doesn¡¯t exactly mean much at this point, does it? With all the crimes she had recently committed (was currently still committing), drinking a damn beer was silly to think of as a big deal. She was fourteen, not four!


    Starting the oven preheating, and looking for a cookie sheet or something to cook things on, Ally pondered what it would be like if there were no age requirements, dumb rules, or debilitating laws.


    Ally stopped for a moment to close her eyes and rub her temples. She was ranting about everything in her head, and it was annoying. She was worn out, and grumpy, and wanted to rage against the machine. That was an old person saying, wasn''t it? Must have been a long time ago, since every adult she knew was part of the ''machine''.


    Finishing her beer, Ally realized how filthy her clothes were. She was pretty dirty herself... Well, God intended for us to be naked, right? Or at least it wasn¡¯t supposed to be a big deal. So stripping nude in a stranger¡¯s house, drinking their beer, cooking their food, and using their facilities to bathe, wasn¡¯t a sin! And with that ridiculous logic, Ally removed her clothes, and walked naked to the bathroom.


    This house was large, and by all the vehicles, it felt like a family should live here. Yet there were no female effects anywhere. Actually, far as things like food and toiletries went, it seemed like a single man lived here.


    Taking a quick shower, she used the obviously male toiletries to clean up. At least he had a bunch of cheap razors. Stubble made her feel soiled and angry. Towel drying her hair, Ally let it hang damp, walking naked back to the kitchen. The cool air made her shiver a little. How she loved the thrill of being nude in the cold!


    She let that thought linger in her mind as she put the food in the oven. Her relatives were nudists, sure¡­ and she was nude around them quite a good deal¡­ but... why couldn''t she remember it? She was having trouble remember a lot recently. There were things she was positive about, but couldn''t conjure up detail memory. Like, she didn''t want to think of her aunt and uncle naked, but at the same time, why couldn''t she remember seeing them that way even once, when she knew she had? Many times.


    Deciding it didn''t matter, her mind changed course to her own feelings on the topic. Ally could never be a true nudist. She loved being naked. To her, being naked was a thrill. She didn¡¯t think nudity was casual, and fully believed if one wasn¡¯t attractive enough and in good shape, they should remain clothed. Nudity made her heart race, and breath catch. Until she saw some ugly naked person. Then she felt a bit queasy. She hated nudist resorts. Old, fat, ugly, hairy people. Ugh¡­


    Ally realized her views on nudity probably negated the non-sinful nature of no clothing. Not putting too much more thought into it, and grabbing another beer, the teenage girl walked to the kitchen door and opened it, stepping out on the porch. She was going to call Gigi in to eat and bathe, but where was she?


    Then she saw a sight that made her smile: Gigi rocketing out of the trees on the far side of a field on her dirt bike; angling towards a small grassy knoll, she used it as a jump, and landed it perfectly, after getting an impressive amount of air.


    ''Well, I¡¯ll be damned,'' Ally thought. Gigi slowed, coming to a stop not far from her naked, beer drinking, cousin. ¡°I did it, Ally! I did it!¡± Gigi squealed, hopping free of the tipping bike that she failed to support. Her eyes were wide in surprise, but she didn¡¯t seem to care too much that it fell over.


    Yes, you did! You make me proud all the time, you know that?¡± Ally honestly praised, inciting a gigantic grin from Gigi, and triumphant giggle. Then her expression froze, still wide-eyed, looking clueless and derpy as her stomach growled loud enough for Ally to hear. ¡°And there¡¯s some really good food in here too. I got it cooking already,¡± Ally informed, getting a squeaky, ¡°Yay!¡± from Gigi, before she ran past her and into the house. She made a beeline for the fridge, opened it, and frowned at how empty it was.


    I got nuggets cooking, then gonna make some pizza rolls,¡± Ally said. ¡°Look in the freezer and see which TV dinner you want. I¡¯ll make those in the microwave, and we can take the extra nuggets and rolls with us when we leave. There¡¯s even a cheesecake for dessert!¡± Gigi didn¡¯t say anything to confirm she heard, but she did close the fridge and open the freezer, promptly dropping stuff on her head. She didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    Shortly after, Ally stripped Gigi down, and got their laundry going, while the last of the food heated. Gigi was still so hyper that Ally knew trying to get her to focus and take a quick shower, before food, would be impossible. So she let her bounce around the house while the food finished. When they sat down to eat, she tried to ignore Gigi¡¯s whining that there was no pickles, nor ranch for her nuggets and pizza rolls. Not exactly like this place had a decent spice rack¡­ There was mayo in the fridge, but that was a far cry from ranch.


    Once they finished eating, Ally had a hard time keeping the child from falling asleep, having to not only carry her to the tub, but also bathe her. Which was awkward with this new older looking Gigi, so decided to use some cold water to wake the kid up to clean herself. When washed and dried, the little blonde zonked out completely. Ally took that time to finish the laundry, all the while expecting someone to show up at any moment and discover them.


    Deciding to add more to her crimes, Ally stole a backpack from a closet, a nice hunting knife, and two foil emergency blankets. They would be back in Castle Rock soon, she didn¡¯t need to fill their carrying capacity to the max. Over-encumbrance was not a good thing with a six-year-old.


    She did take a small first aid kit she found in a cupboard, along with some sandwich bags to pack their food. Laundry done, she decided jeans over panties instead of the dance briefs was probably the best. She even put her shoes on, as well as redonning the tie-dye shirt. Only this time, she didn¡¯t knot it at the side. She did her hair once again back up in a high ponytail.


    Waking up Gigi to get her dressed, she of course wanted to wear the same thing she had already been wearing. Not that she really had much for options... But why the ugly bearded man shirt, Ally had no idea. She did manage to actually get some undergarments on the child for a change.


    When Gigi asked her where she got her pants, Ally started to answer her, and stopped. Where had she got these jeans? Hadn''t she been wearing them before changing to something else in that lot? Gigi followed up by asking why she had been naked earlier, and that it was weird, but Ally looked pretty either way. Also, odd. She had been naked around her little cousin plenty.


    Outside, bags packed (Ally carrying both), and standing next to their new transportation, she double checked that Gigi was good, then got on her own bike. It was freezing out, but it felt more invigorating than uncomfortable, which was good, as Ally wasn''t totally sure she wasn''t coming down with Alzheimer''s or something, and anything to help clear her head was welcomed.


    Right before they left, when Ally was turned away, Gigi removed the pantsu she was wearing, tossing them to the side.


    They were then riding away, the terrain allowing for some pretty decent speeds.


    They had been heading northwest, yet were still not in sight of I-5. At this point, Ally had to admit she didn''t have a clue where they were. The duo had crossed several smaller rivers, but if they had names, or were actually just big streams or creeks, she also didn''t know. The only reason she was fairly certain they had to be close was because of the ridiculous amount of helicopters in the area!


    It was getting late, and they had needed to take cover numerous times when helicopters flew by, normally quite low. They all looked like military attack choppers. Not that Ally really knew what that looked like outside of the movies, but you could still generally tell if a helicopter was meant to kill you, spy on you, or film you with a news crew on board. So, logic said they must be close! Right?


    Now, with it getting late, and quite dark, they needed somewhere to shelter. Moving at night might be generally easier to hide, but she had to assume the military was using night vision or something. That and having Gigi along generally made everything more difficult. God only knew what would happen if they got caught!


    Looking at her fuel gauge, she was painfully low, and knew Gigi must be too. They had stopped once at someone¡¯s garage, siphoning gas to fuel up. Ally had been glad the fuel worked in the bikes. She had no idea about things like fuel, and mixes, and what to use in what, she just knew how to ride. Stopping her bike, she got off and told Gigi (to a LOT of complaints) that they needed to walk them from here.


    Making it to a -also eerily abandoned- residential neighborhood, it didn¡¯t take long for Ally to find a small wooden tool shed, behind a house, out of sight of the street. As good a place as any to shelter and sleep for the night! Telling Gigi to wait there, she went out with the two small red gas tanks they had picked up earlier in the day, and quickly filled them via siphoning from parked vehicles.


    When she returned, she went ahead and filled up Gigi¡¯s dirt bike, but was just too damn exhausted (she could hardly stand!) to fill hers right now, so opted to have a cold dinner of their remaining nuggets first. After eating, Ally stripped down naked, and fell asleep using the duffel as a pillow, and a large tarp as a blanket.


    Completely forgetting to fill up her own bike.


    Hey, wake up!¡± was the harsh sounding command that scared the hell out of her. She was used to being rudely awakened, but this was a bit of a different. Ally and her friends had been awakened by the authorities more than once, like when camping where you weren''t allowed, that sorta thing. The military waking her? That was a new one. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    What?¡± Ally grumbled, with one eye open to the scowling black man in the generic green army-looking clothes, like she had seen in various media. In person, they seemed¡­ cheaper somehow. She was determined not to panic. If she played it cool, maybe they would still have a chance to get away. ¡°Don¡¯t you ¡®what¡¯ me,¡± he scowled, his rifle lowered, but held in two tense hands. He eyed them suspiciously. Cautiously. And to Ally, fearfully. ¡°You two shouldn¡¯t be here. C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll take you to a shelter. Somewhere safe.¡±


    Gigi jumped naked from under the tarp, and bit his boot. It wasn¡¯t very effective. That didn¡¯t stop him from shouting, and aiming his rifle at the child. ¡°NO!¡± Ally shrieked, and to her relief, he didn¡¯t fire. Instead, he looked almost as relieved as Ally. The fuck was going on? ¡°Please don¡¯t make this troublesome, alright?¡± he asked the naked child chewing on his boot. His voice sounded¡­ calmer. ¡°It¡¯s my job to get you two somewhere safe.¡± Ally looked at his name tag; it read ¡®WHITE¡¯. Seriously? ¡°Mr. White, what is going on around here?¡± she asked, throwing a whimper into her voice.


    The day was bright outside the door. Not the bright of early morning, but the deeper brightness of noon. Shit, how long had they slept?!


    Relaxing his stance completely, he sighed, ¡°Just come with me, okay? We are the good guys. Promise.¡± Yeah, like Ally would believe that. Only clueless government types called themselves the ¡®good guys.¡¯ And more often than not, they were as bad as anyone else. Gigi crawled away from his boot now, back over by the tarp and into a corner. Sergeant White looked a bit awkward. ¡°Why is she naked? Does she have¡­ problems?¡± he asked, averting his eyes from the child''s naked butt. It was a valid question.


    His reaction gave Ally an idea. Sighing loudly, ¡°What''s wrong with being naked?¡± and she stood, giving him quite a good look at her own naked body. His eyes grew wider than Gigi¡¯s, and he whipped his head away so fast that he ended up turning all the way around, his back to the two girls. Ally grinned. Unlike Gigi¡¯s assault, hers had been super effective!


    Um, whoa! Uh, okay, I¡¯ll get you girls some clothes or something!¡± he offered, sounding uncomfortable. Okay Ally, now to think! There has to be a way to- ¡°Hey Adam, I found them!¡± White called off to someone that Ally couldn¡¯t see. ¡°It¡¯s just two little girls! Bring a blanket or something, they don¡¯t have any clothes on!¡± Ally was fuming at being called a little girl. And you''re an old man, you thirty-somethings jerk!


    If there were more of them, they had to act fast, or they really were caught ¡°Gigi, we need to-¡± Ally started quietly, and was cut short as flames went up behind her in a whooosh; Gigi using a lighter to light the gasoline she had dumped in a corner. There were paint cans and other chemicals in here! ¡°Shit!" Ally cursed, and grabbed the child by an arm, jumped out the door and ran, leaving all their gear -and clothes- in the shed.


    Hey!¡± the black man in the military fatigues exclaimed, when the two naked girls ran past him. And the shed exploded. Well, more like it flared, whooshed, then went blam! The explosion wasn¡¯t really too impressive, but the man had been feet from it, so easily got knocked over, hopefully unharmed.


    Startled, since she had not exactly been expecting an explosion, Ally tripped and fell, then got back up, running fast. Gigi jumped on her dirt bike, and it suddenly dawned on Ally what she had forgotten to do last night. ¡°Gigi, no! I don¡¯t have any gas!¡± She yelled, to no avail. That damn gas Gigi had lit was supposed to go in her tank! ¡°FUCK!¡± Ally screeched, after the naked kid bolted away on the bike, a moment before she could grab her.


    At least she was going in the right FUCKING DIRECTION! Ally raged silently, though not too secretly.


    Several more men in uniform had come running over to check on White, who was on his feet again. ''Shit, crap, fuck'' Ally lamented, dodging towards a small stream (or drainage ditch) near where they had parked the bikes. At least one soldier began shooting at her the same moment she hit the downslope. Tumbling into the ditch and splashing painfully at the bottom, she swore to kill Gigi if she ever saw her again.


    Freezing cold, naked, her feet getting cut up, she ran. Ally heard someone yelling to cease fire. Thank God for small miracles, and decent people! She continued running, taking the drainage ditch as far as she could, coming out of it near something that looked like a school with a playground.


    No one was following her, but there were about five men in uniform with guns near the school, looking over at the direction she had come. And they noticed the naked teenage girl. Ally whimpered, and turned, running towards some houses, as these men too aimed their guns at her. Why the fuck were they shooting at her?! She was quite obviously not carrying any weapons!


    Sprinting across lawns, and hopping fences, Ally could not believe she was running from the military, naked, while they were trying to kill her! After cutting through about four yards, she saw a decent-looking bicycle. No one had shot at her since she had hopped that first fence, and she didn''t see or hear anyone chasing her.


    Jumping on the bike and missing the pedals, she hit the seat hard enough to double over in pain. Righting herself with a grimace, Ally took off like a bat out of Hell. Her feet hurt bad enough, punching herself in the freaking vagina sure didn''t help! The peddles were destroying her feet, and completely fuck sitting down! Legs so tired that she didn¡¯t know how she was still going, Ally rode on. Zooming down streets in this small community, and cutting through yards and walkways between houses faster than was safe, but never crashing.


    After what seemed like forever, she stopped near bridge that crossed over another creek. Gigi was gone, and Ally was pretty sure she had hypothermia. If she didn¡¯t get somewhere to dry off and warm up, she was going to die.


    There were plenty of houses, and there was still no sign of people, so Ally figured it was going to be simple as picking a house to break into. So pick a house she did, a large one with an ugly green minivan outside. It had a ¡®Dance Mom on board¡¯ bumper sticker, and she saw a Girl Scout uniform tossed in the backseat. Looked like it might fit her. Good, this house should have clothes she can wear.


    Shivering violently, Ally stumbled into the house from the unlocked back door. Some people¡­ First thing she did was start a hot shower and sit down in the large tub. Holding her knees to her chest, the water washing over her, she shivered, and cried.


    Ally had no idea what time it was when she woke, just that the water was cold, and there was hardly any light coming in the window. Crawling out of the tub, she stood weakly. Okay, her muscles were good, the water must have just gotten cold. There was no time to delay, she had to hurry! Gigi was out there alone, and the army guys could be anywhere! They could have even caught the little turd by now! Maybe that¡¯s why they had quit chasing Ally?


    Without giving herself time to be afraid, she checked the other rooms on the second floor of the house. one of them was a girl¡¯s room. And it was awkward. Everything was pink, and there were little kid¡¯s toys and pre-school type posters and decorations. The closet had clothes that should fit Ally, but the room suggested either a handicapped child, or a mind immature for its age resided here. Or some type of psycho freak parent.


    Luckily, the girl was a dancer, so there were some normal (by Ally¡¯s standards) clothes in the drawers and closet. Dressing in a slightly too small black leotard, Ally also pulled on some gray dance sweats that were a little too short, and a yellow shirt that just said ¡®meow¡¯ in faded silver glitter across the front. She also decided to braid her hair. The ponytail wouldn¡¯t stay up, and with it loose, it was getting in her face.


    Exploring the rest of the house (damn her feet hurt!) for things like food, equipment, and first aid supplies, she heard it: a motor bike! Running to a window overlooking the road, the sound was gone. Had she been imagining things?


    Getting paranoid, and being this (assumed) close to Castle Rock, she decided finding Gigi and her friends was more important than packing for a journey. Ally was sore, cold, scared, and hungry. If she took her time here¡­ If Gigi needed her¡­ Hurrying downstairs and out the back door, she grabbed the bike, and heard the motor in the distance again.


    She listened as it grew closer, and closer, then the sound obviously flew along the street in front of the house. ¡°There¡¯s no way in hell,¡± she said in disbelief, and ran around the building. Looking left and right, she saw nothing. Heard nothing. Was she actually starting to go crazy? Then she heard it again. At the far end of the street to her left, several blocks down, she saw the tiny dirt bike round the corner, and start driving her way.


    Ally began crying as she jumped up and down, waving her arms in the air. Her sobs quickly changed to laughs, Gigi skidding to a stop in front of her. Ally grabbed her off the bike in a huge twirling hug, letting it fall, laughing amidst her tears at this astounding little naked creature. ¡°We need to get in the back,¡± Ally said, setting Geeg down, and lifting the bike back up, quickly rolling it around the back of the house.


    How had the military not heard or seen the child riding around? Were they following her? Did they have stealth drones or something? Probably... It was the U.S. Army, or Marines, or something. She was so stupid only worrying about freaking helicopters! Too late now.


    Carrying the naked and shivering Gigi upstairs to run her a hot bath, paranoia aside, Ally was still a bit overcome with emotion. ¡°How did you find me?¡± Ally asked, the hot water running. ¡°I h-h-h-heard y-y-you,¡± Gigi shivered, and Ally had no idea what she was talking about. Heard her what?


    Y-y-y-you l-left Gigi before, b-b-but Gigi won¡¯t leave y-you! E-e-even if I want to, because y-y-you deserve it!¡± the little girl said in a determined voice, but a look that said she was about to cry. Ally beat her to it; the little girl¡¯s words shattering her heart. Grabbing her tiny cousin in a bear hug, once again, she cried. ¡°Dammit Gigi, I thought I lost you,¡± Ally sobbed. Then the horrible memories of that giant dog came back to her. ¡°Again! I can''t lose you too, Gigi, I just cant!¡±


    And with that, Gigi was crying too. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ally! I was trying to make a distraction, and went fast!¡± she sobbed. ¡°Then you weren¡¯t back there when I looked! Gigi was so scared she was alone! She thought they got you when they started shooting!¡± Ally composed herself through sheer will, letting the child cry. She needed to be the adult here.


    Once Gigi cried herself out, and was only sniffling, Ally set her in the warm tub. ¡°Awwwww,¡± Geeg moaned with a smile, and despite it all, Ally snickered an unintentional laugh. Oh, how she loved this girl! Her little onion head.


    Ally smiled, memories flooding her mind. Back when Gigi was little(er), Ally was making some food while they were out camping with Sally and Jessie. Geeg had seen Ally slicing onions, and started throughout a total fit about not wanting them on her burger. Jessie had, of course, made the loud comparison to the child looking like one of the onions. She of course did not look like an onion, but she got so pressed over the stupidest stuff. Sally had then started mocking Gigi by calling her an onion head. Sally was so sweet, but her and Gigi never really got along. Though these days it had seemed better... Anyway, during a visit to Ally''s, somehow the onion head thing came up when Caleb was around. Of course, he had found it adorable, and playfully teased Geeg with it during that trip.


    Now that Ally thought about it... No one had referred to Gigi as an onion in a while. It was almost like Caleb cured her of the curse by explaining how important onion were in the culinary world, and that she should be proud to be called one.


    As much as she wished to sit here thinking of good times, there were more pressing matters at the moment. ¡°Hey, Gigi¡­ did you happen to see anything you recognized? Like maybe where we are?¡± The wide-eyed girl looked up at her with that vacant stare of hers, ¡°Gigi saw the burger K, but there was nobody anywhere!¡±


    The burger K was what Gigi called a big wooden letter K on a hillside in Kelso. It was situated to be seen when northbound on I-5. She called it such because whenever they came to town to get fast food, the places they went were within sight of that giant K.


    Kelso was the sister city to Longview on its east side of the Cowlitz River, and only about twenty miles south of Castle Rock!


    Take your time in the bath, Geeg. I¡¯m going to look round the house for stuff,¡± Ally said, standing and turning to leave the room. ¡°But we have to hurry!¡± Gigi sniffled in urgency that didn¡¯t seem so urgent. Turning back with a soft smile, ¡°And we will hurry,¡± Ally told her. ¡°But you need to warm up, and I need to get us supplies, and find you some clothes.¡± Ally smiled big. ¡°We are almost there, I think it would be safer if we walked.¡±


    It only took a second for Gigi to figure out her cousin¡¯s meaning. ¡°Oh! So the army men don¡¯t hear us!¡± she nodded in confirmation to herself, and changed her attention to splashing her hands around in the water, acting more like a toddler than a six-year-old.


    After finding a backpack, Ally started looking around for old kid¡¯s clothes. The parents definitely gave off obsessive weird, odds they hoarded everything from their daughter¡¯s entire life were high. And when Ally climbed into the attic, her suspicions proved accurate. They had indeed kept everything from their daughter¡¯s life. The attic was stuffed to the ceiling so tightly, that maneuvering through would be impossible. Luckily there were plenty of bags of clothing near the attic entrance.


    She took a big black garbage sack of kid¡¯s clothes down to let Gigi look through it. After setting it down in the living room, she raided the pantry and fridge, which were fairly stocked. Ally grabbed a can of green beans, a can of chili, and a can of corn. She also took a few warm cans of soda, and some packs of crackers. The fridge didn¡¯t house much worth carrying, but there was a huge jar of pickles, and a fresh sealed mini block of cheddar cheese, both of which she took.


    Going back upstairs to a pruny Gigi, she got her out of the tub, then brought her out to where she had left the supplies. Gigi screamed in joy at the sight of the pickles, and quickly had pickle juice all over the floor, and the sack of clothes scattered everywhere. ¡°Y¡¯know what?¡± Ally said, standing from the recliner she sat in. ¡°I¡¯m going to try to cook us some real food!¡±


    Yay!¡± Gigi cheered, mouth full of a pickle she was crunching. ¡°Slow down on those, or they are going to hurt your tummy,¡± Ally lectured, as she left for the kitchen.


    The real food ended up being a couple small cans of stew. This house also had a lot of store-brand dry mix packets, allowing Alley to whip up a thing of ranch for the child, that wasted no time scooping her pickles in it. GROSS!


    Fed, bathed, and spirits back up, Ally shouldered her backpack. ¡°You sure you want to wear that?¡± she asked Gigi, since she had chosen to don a child¡¯s cow costume. It wasn¡¯t much more than a one-piece white and black spotted footy that zipped up the front, with an attached cow-eared hood. The outfit even had a tail. On closer inspection, it may have been pajamas¡­


    You sure you wanna wear those?¡± Gigi said in a snotty voice, looking at the hot pink hiking boots Ally was wearing, which were too small for her feet. They were ugly as sin, but the only pair here that came close to fitting. ¡°Touch¨¦,¡± she answered, receiving a puzzled look in return.


    Once again, they set out for Castle Rock; Ally in her ugly pink boots and Gigi in her cow pajamas. Ally carried all the supplies. She didn''t want Gigi getting tired, and needing to stop. They had many miles to cover.


    Which was going to take forever, with how slow the child walked! It was dark now, and the cow-onion was getting grumpy. Not that Ally could blame her. She herself was exhausted, and her feet were in so much pain that a tantrum just for tantrum¡¯s sake sounded like a pretty good idea!


    Are you sure you saw the burger K?¡± Ally asked her cousin for the millionth time. Gigi ignored her for the thousandth time. This wasn¡¯t going to work. She knew they were close, but out here, east of the highway, she couldn¡¯t judge their progress. Ally would kill for GPS right about now¡­


    When they were stumbling blindly through some fields, and Geeg kept falling over, Ally decided they needed somewhere to sleep. Again. And, like usual, there were houses in the area with enough property to be mini-farms. Also, there was still was no sign of people.


    This time though, as they looked for a place to sleep, Ally chose to be more picky. She didn''t want to be in a house, or a shack with only one door. It needed to provide shelter, but be easy to get in and out of without getting trapped. Without too much searching, she found a rundown barn with a loft, that was perfect. It was breezy and cold, but she could also see in almost every direction due to holes in the walls.


    After eating a fairly unappetizing meal of cold food, the two girls went to bed; needing to snuggle together since it was freezing and they had no blankets. Still, they stayed warm enough, and managed to get some sleep.


    * * *


    A horse whinnied.


    Startled out of sleep, the sun wasn¡¯t even up yet, but she could hear birds already beginning their morning song. What was that noise? Had she heard¡­ Then she heard it again. A horse! Grinning, and forgetting how cold she was, Ally gently shook her cousin. ¡°Gigi, wake up. We gotta go.¡± Gigi mumbled something incoherent. ¡°Wake up. I think I found us a ride.¡± Without waiting for the child to respond, Ally grabbed their bag, climbed down the old wooden ladder, and went outside, into the cold misty morning. Not far away, eating grass or something, was a big beautiful brown horse.


    So happy that she could cry, Ally was thrilled that the horse was friendly, and obviously a riding horse. She loved horses so much, and now they could ride. So much quieter than a motor vehicle, and way faster than walking. The area they were in should be getting to more farm and less wooded hills too, so could probably ride almost the entire rest of the way!


    When Gigi came outside, to Ally¡¯s surprise, she seemed afraid of the horse. Curious.


    Ally didn¡¯t have time to deal with the child¡¯s fears, and forced her to suck it up and mount up, bareback behind her. Trying to coax the kids pride, she teased her about being a chicken.


    It wasn¡¯t that she was a chicken¡­ Gigi just didn¡¯t want to be around whatever was going to do that to the horse! Not that she shared that with the teenager, instead remaining quiet while they rode.


    Not wasting time, Ally had them at a good trot, resisting the urge to start galloping. The sun was starting to light up the sky now, so she wasn''t too worried about running into a ditch or something... Ally wasn''t new to being on the back of a horse, but she wasn''t exactly experienced either.


    It ended up being a good thing she wasn''t galloping; when they cleared a small hill, she barely kept from going over a cliff. The horse, acting nervous now, and fidgeted under them; Ally staring at what lay before her in both parts shock and horror. As far as she could see ahead, and to the sides, the ground was either black or brown. Dirt, and earth was upturned everywhere, all vegetation was dead or simply gone, including what little trees there had been in these fields.


    What¡­ the hell? Gigi still didn¡¯t say anything behind her, and Ally had the horse moving again, this time to their right, as she tried to find a way down onto the destroyed land. More than once, she had to stop and calm the horse. He was seriously freaked out. Ally had never had to deal with a horse this freaked out before, and it was making her nervous. When they finally crossed out onto the burnt earth, the horse was so tense, she kept expecting to get thrown at any moment.


    Eventually they did.


    It had been taking them forever to make their way through the obstacles of this destroyed area, finally coming in sight of a treeline. Thrilled that the devastation didn¡¯t actually seem to go on forever, Ally had relaxed, letting her guard down. When a huge blue wall shot into the sky from within the trees, going up and out as far as they could see with a loud whoosh, she -and Gigi- easily got bucked flying.


    Neither of them were hurt, though the landing was rough. The horse ran off a ways, then stopped, snorting and neighing loudly. But both Ally and Gigi were temporarily too distracted by the giant blue wall to register much of anything else.


    It was several minutes as the two sat there on the ground, staring at it in silence, until Ally finally stood. Shaking off her shock, she started walking over to the horse. Remembering what the news had said, if the devastation she stood in was from manastorms, and if that wall had something to do with it, then her and Gigi needed to get the hell out of this area, now.


    The treeline was way too far to run to, especially in this terrain, meaning they still needed the horse. If it didn''t take too long to get it.


    It took a good ten minutes until it quick dodging her approach, then another ten until it had calmed enough to mount. Ally figured if manastorms were about to kill them, it would have happened by now.


    Going back would take as long as forward, and after coming this far, the girl was committed. Gigi continued to remain silent during their painfully slow ride to the treeline. Once reaching them, they had been easy to clear, not being dense, and didn''t take long to clear them on the other side; some forty or so yards in front of the big blue wall.


    They were in a clearing, going as far left and right as the wall. The treeline was so sharp, this had to be the edge of someones property.


    We should let mr. horse run away,¡± Gigi suggested in a deadpan, startling Ally. ¡°We might need him still, but we can let him graze a bit,¡± She answered, swung her leg over and hopped down. ¡°He¡¯s in dangerous though,¡± Gigi complained, as Ally helped her down. ¡°Danger, not dangerous,¡± the teen corrected, then added ¡°What kind of danger?¡±


    Of a monster!¡± was the chirped reply, that finally had some emotion. Despite the words, Gigi didn¡¯t seem too concerned, so Ally wrote it off as her just being Gigi. ¡°Well he can run a lot faster than us, so if a monster shows up, he can run away to freedom!¡± she coddled, turning to look at the barrier before them. ¡°I guess¡­¡± Gigi mumbled, looking back at the horse as it walked away, nervous.


    So, it really is a big blue wall,¡± Ally said to herself, walking over to it, stopping feet from its surface; this close, it looked kinda like steel. Slowly and cautiously (and she kept telling herself stupidly), Ally reached out a hand and touched it. It sort of felt like steel too¡­ weird, creepy, blue steel.


    Looking back and forth the length of this thing, she didn¡¯t see any differences, seams, or breaks in it. How the hell were they going to get through this? Stepping back, Ally looked up, squinting at it trying to see farther, noticing it appeared to maybe curve a bit. Is it dome shaped? Is this thing totally covering Castle Rock, or just a tall barrier?


    Ally wasn¡¯t sure what they should do. If there was a way in, which direction was it? Would it be guarded? And if so, by what? And what put it here? Some magic monster terror thing? The military? She had no way of knowing, deciding all that could be done at this point was to walk and search. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can find a door or something,¡± she said to Gigi. ¡°Not gonna ride?¡± the girl in the cow pajamas asked. The horse looked spooked beyond all spookiness, and Ally didn¡¯t exactly feel like getting thrown again. ¡°Nah, let¡¯s just walk. We¡¯ll go down this way for a while, then turn around and check the other way. Kay?¡± Getting a nod, she starting walking, the wall on her left. She wasn¡¯t moving too fast, so Gigi could easily keep up.


    Some time later, having gone both ways a decent stretch, they were now almost back to where the horse was. Ally hadn¡¯t seen even a single scratch, or bump, or anything different. Walking was going to get them nowhere. Unfortunately that left riding. Luckily the horse had remained in the area they dismounted, He even seemed to have calmed down, eating grass and flicking his tail. If they horse did freak out, or they found nothing riding, Ally figured they would try digging. With no destruction this close to it, if it was the cause of the storms from before, they should be safe. Unless the military or some demon showed up...


    Kicking at a rock, Gigi had forgotten her worries. She hadn''t want to be near the horse when the bad stuff happened to it, so she wouldn''t get hurt too. But now she just wanted something to happen, even if it was bad, because this was boring! Not that Gigi wanted the horse to die, she just wanted something exciting; sometimes animals die really bad, it was nature, no one cared unless a human did it. So she guessed it really didn''t matter that much.


    ''Gigi? Is that you? Why did you come back?!''


    The sudden voice in the little girl¡¯s head shocked her enough to cry out, startling the horse, causing it to run a good ways farther down. ¡°Dammit, Gigi!¡± Ally snapped, running ahead to catch up to their mount.


    You scared me!¡¯ Gigi lectured the nameless voice. ¡®You should be afraid! Do you have any idea the danger you are in?¡¯


    Is it because of the horse? I knew we should have stayed away from it!¡¯


    I have no idea what you are-''


    ''It''s gonna die! I think a monster is gonna eat it!''


    ''That could very well be true. There are monsters here much worse than the lycanthropeire you faced before.''


    That caused her to frown. She didn''t want to be killed by monsters... But she did come back here knowing it was dangerous, right? Being a hero meant you had to fight monsters. Even if that meant you might die. That you might die... really bad... like the horse was going to...


    Please Gigi, you need to leave.¡¯


    Namey, is everyones alive still?¡¯


    You listen about as well as Caleb¡­¡¯


    Caleb is alive?!¡¯ Gigi swore the voice sighed at her. Rude! ¡®Yes, they are. For now. Regardless, you need to ¨C will you pay attention!¡¯


    Gigi ignored the voice she now called Namey (short for Nameless) that was lecturing her like an old person, running to Ally with a big grin on her face. When she got close, she started yelling, ¡°They¡¯re alive, they¡¯re alive!¡± Once again scaring the horse, only this time it just trotted a little ways from an irritated-looking Ally.


    Seriously, Gigi?¡± Ally growled, as the goofy girl hopped around happily. ¡°What is your problem?¡±


    They are aliiiiiiiiiiive!¡±


    Who?¡±


    Caleb and everyones!¡±


    Everyone,¡± she corrected. ¡°And how do you know that?¡±


    Namey told me!¡±


    Who¡¯s Namey?¡±


    The voice in my head!¡±


    Oh, well, that¡¯s wonderful.¡±


    Resisting the urge to strangle her cousin, ¡°Can you ask this voice of yours how to get through this wall?¡± she grumbled. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want us to; he says we are in danger.¡± And again with the danger thing. Then, looking at Gigi more closely, she didn¡¯t seem to be making this up. ¡°What danger? The monster you were talking about?¡± Gigi was already shaking her head, ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe! Maybe the monster that is gonna eat mr. horse wants to eat us too!¡± Despite the weirdness of the moment, Ally was beginning to get a bad feeling. ¡°Well, tell the voice in your head he can kiss my ass, and see if he can send someone to open a door for us or something,¡± Ally replied sarcastically. ¡°Just did," Gigi said immediately. "He said that was not very polite!¡±


    Rolling her eyes Ally walked back towards the wall a bit, Geeg running past her to go knock on it. Wasn¡¯t there enough to worry about without Gigi going mental? Putting hands on her hips, Ally was visually examining the thing, again. There must be some way¡­ Walking backwards and squinting upwards, she stopped. There! Way up on the curve! There was something... Maybe a door? A vent? But how the hell were they going to get up to¡­


    Oh, God.


    Her heart slammed, blood running cold. Whatever that thing was, it was moving. And fast, coming right at them!


    She stood, frozen in place frozen, as the thing raced closer and closer, until she could see it more clearly.


    It had the grotesque, hideous torso of a large ugly man, left side of his head shriveled, left arm like a baby¡¯s. And if that was not bad enough, his lower body had numerous huge spider-looking legs that it used to rush down the wall- directly over the top of a clueless Gigi!


    GIGI, RUN!!!¡± Ally screamed like an actress in a B horror movie, though she currently felt it was warranted. Gigi looked up and jumped back with a surprised shriek. It didn¡¯t matter, as the man-creature (Were pieces of him rotting?) looked out towards Ally, and without slowing, launched straight out from the wall, directly at her.


    This time, a bloodcurdling, shrill scream of pure terror escaped Ally as she hit the ground, the monster rocketing over her (It stinks! It stinks so bad!), flipping, and smashing legs first into the horse, that had already begun running away when Ally first screamed.


    The horse cried out in agonized panic, and Ally retched; the man-creature ripping the horse to pieces, consuming all it tore off. Ally noticed its legs weren¡¯t actually legs, and had mouths at their ends, aiding in the consumption, and moved more like snakes or tentacles.


    Ally scrambled backwards on her butt, trying hard to think, to reason, to get herself under control! The huge gaping holes in this thing¡¯s rotting body began to heal before her eyes, while it devoured their large mount, bones and all.


    Faring much better emotionally than her older cousin -though she had peed herself- Gigi was frantically searching the wall now. There had to be a door! They could not die here! She now remembered the fear she had felt before now. Clearly. And this horror wasn¡¯t any better, and it was in the light, not a monster in the dark.


    No! She knew this! She knew monsters could eat her! She came back anyway! She needed a weapon! Or powers! Where was the damn door?! Where were her team members?!


    ''Survive, Gigi! I will get Caleb to listen to me! You fight, and you live! Help will come!''


    Terrified, punching the wall hard enough that her knuckles bled, all Gigi really registered was that Nameless didn¡¯t sound like he believed what he was saying. He sounded sad. Like¡­ like she was going to die!


    Looking over his greasy shoulder, horse completely gone now, Larry studied the terrified teen that still sat staring at him, reeking of fear. ¡°You. You¡¯re one of her students, aren¡¯t ya? I smell her on you. And the child that pissed herself is too, huh?¡± At hearing him speak, and as he casually turned to walk towards her on those tentacles; somehow, Ally could again think. She was on her feet, fast.


    The fuck wants to know?¡± she asked with an unwavering defiance that startled her. The man-thing¡¯s one good eye grew large in what appeared honest shock, then he threw his head back in a deep phlegmy chuckle, good arm across his chest. That was when Ally realized that his legs were not just mouthed tentacles. Somehow, horrifyingly -Oh no. Oh fuck no, oh holy shit- they were each a giant¡­ penis.


    His laughter ending, he looked back to the girl that stood in front of him so defiantly. The tiny one looking all about the barrier, flipping out, he ignored. She could be the after dinner mint. This mouthy little bitch had his current focus. He sure was meeting a lot of cheeky little shit fucks recently.


    Name¡¯s Larry. Or perhaps you know me as¡­ hell, what was it...¡± Larry looked down to the side with a deep thoughtful expression, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right! Ted,¡± and smiled, this time getting a proper reaction of respect from the pretty skank. ¡°Ah, so you have heard of me!¡± The expression of fear on the girl¡¯s face was glorious! He hadn¡¯t been this complimented by a reaction to his name in ages!


    Y¡¯know, a moment ago I had thought to try these new, err¡­ tools,¡± he wiggled one monstrous penis leg at her. It dripped something purple, and had a huge fingernail on it, like a hat. In fact, each of them did. Not to mention the rows of pointed teeth in their -urethra?- mouths. ¡°-on you. And maybe the little one too,¡± Larry continued. ¡°But since you¡¯ve shown me a proper response to one of my names¡­¡± he grinned wickedly, green snot running from a nostril. ¡°I¡¯ll rip ya to shreds, reanimate your corpse, and fuck that raw instead. Ain¡¯t I a nice guy?¡± Then he frowned. ¡°I supposed these are a bit big... Really would rip you to shreds if crammed in your cunt... Ah well, no matter, always time for adjustments later.¡±


    Gigi was about at her wit¡¯s end, not needing to look behind her to hear the words he spoke to Ally. She had seen what his legs were. She knew what sex was, and she knew what bad words meant. ''What to do, what to do? No, no, no¡­ Namey? Nameless?! Nameless, you gotta help me! Please, please, please!'' There was no answer. The voice in her head had again abandoned her.


    In her panic, thoughts almost gibberish, someone crossed her mind. Someone she hadn¡¯t even thought of in days. ''Masque! Masque, help me! Please!'' She frantically kept banging on the wall, while screaming in her head. She was here to help them, not fight alone! Not just die! The Jesus Ninja saved her before! And he would again! He had to!!


    Ally stood her ground, fists clenched, knees shaking, bile in her mouth. She wasn¡¯t going to fucking scream again! She wasn¡¯t going to die screaming and pleading!!! She would endure! She would find a way to live! To fight him! She had to- Larry suddenly hopped in front of her, one of his appendages lashing out before she could think, throwing her back at an angle, away from Gigi and into the blue wall. From the force she hit it with, Ally figured that impact must have killed her. That she was dead. But, unfortunately for her, she wasn¡¯t. And was still conscious, lying on her stomach.


    ''He¡¯s gonna kill us!'' Gigi screamed in her head, legs feeling weak. Her subconscious remembering the story from the church. ''It¡¯s the zombie guy! The one that hurt Miss Reba!'' she pleaded to the ninja in her mind.


    There was no answer. There was no reply.


    Larry was on Ally as soon as she got to her hands and knees, one giant leg smashing her face down into the short grass by the back of her neck. Ally felt her nose bust, and laughed when she realized the irony of hoping she at least still had her teeth. Larry bashed her into the ground once more for good measure, then lifted her with the same appendage off of her feet, holding her so she was facing him. He held another horse-lipped, penis-headed tentacle close to the girl¡¯s face, as she grimaced in pain. Barely controlling herself, Ally reached one hand back to grab the giant penis-stalk that was biting into the back of her neck, holding her agonizingly aloft, blood running down her back.


    You still ain¡¯t screaming again, despite it all.¡± Larry was amused, and impressed. ¡°You haven¡¯t even begged. Everyone begs!¡± he grinned and cackled that last; Ally gagged and retched at the stench that came out of his face. ¡°That¡¯s fantastically marvelous for you, since I¡¯m going to continue to reward you by not cramming a tentacle in your cunt! Or maybe you want some tentacle rape, huh? Maybe stick it in your ass instead?¡± he beamed his rotten-toothed grin at her, and this time the huge horse-lipped, fingernail-capped tentacle in her face grinned, gurgling a laugh; a nasty gassy stench coming from its mouth that almost made the teen lose consciousness, her world turning sour as spoiled milk. ¡°Guess my deodorant shit¡¯s all warn off,¡± Larry chuckled. He actually liked the reactions to his stench. There was something complimentary about it.


    Gigi had fallen to her knees, bloody fists no longer beating the wall. Head hung, tears wouldn¡¯t even come. ''Please, please, please, please, please,'' she continued to beg, though even her mental stamina was drained from the fear ''Maaaaasque¡­ Nameless¡­ Caleb¡­'' her mind softly cried. Giving in to despair, she knew no one could hear her. No one was listening... So she had to be loud! Had to make them listen out loud! Gigi took a deep breath.


    Larry sighed now. ¡°Almost a shame to just kill ya so quick, but I¡¯m on a timetable.¡± He snorted, look of contempt on his face. ¡°And you didn¡¯t cry out for Jesus, not even once,¡± Larry sneered the Savior¡¯s name. ¡°I hate when fake little Christian bitches like you do that. You might be marked, but your blood tastes of rape, adultery, bestiality, and incest, amongst other things. I bet Jesus changes his-" he froze, startled, "what... how is that possible?"


    Despite her pain, her fear¡­ Something in Larry¡¯s words hurt her deeper than anything else he could have done. Not calling her a whore, or making absurd accusations about her sex life. It was when he mentioned she wasn¡¯t calling out to Jesus. That stinging realization caused her thoughts to clarify. Not one time, not in all of this¡­


    did she even think to cry out to Christ. To her God.


    Her Christ they all accused her of not loving. Her Christ they all blamed her of pretending to follow.


    Locking her eyes with Larry¡¯s, his expression of bafflement froze when smiled. ¡°Jesus,¡± Ally said weakly, yet somehow full of strength, ¡°help¡­ us.¡± And Larry watched as two -for some reason terrifying to him- tears fell from her eyes.


    With all her strength, with her mind, and all her voice, with all the power that little Gigi could muster in one last breath; she screamed to any and all. Everyone in her mind, or in her world. To the heavens and to the earth. Every bit of emotion, fear, hope, and faith she put into her shout.


    HELP US!!!¡±


    Hanging her head, trying to be strong, to not die begging, to be a hero, Gigi thought of Jesus, how he was God, and brave, and faced death. Stealing herself, she tried to stand, and couldn''t, legs shaking. She was... too afraid. Too afraid to even look over. Too afraid to watch Ally die. ''Namey, Masquie... bye bye now."