|
|
I burst through the doors, and found myself in a giant lounge area. And there, at the other end of the room, in a balcony....was Soren, surrounded by five other men. And my boyfriend...tied to a chair with rope, masking tape covering the lips I longed to kiss. He had been hurt. A small trickle of blood ran down his forehead and over his cheek. Bruises on his untouchably smooth skin. His reddish brown mop, disheveled and dirty. I took one look at him...and the wrath that swelled up inside of me screamed with a level of outrage that rattled them all to their very core. I had never seen fear in Soren's eyes before...but this time, there was no hiding it from me. It was there. And I was coming to rip him apart and show it to the world!
There was an ache in my back as it felt as though something were trying to push through from the inside. My fingers curled up, the nails growing almost six inches long. And when I couldn't contain it any longer, a giant pair of jet black wings BURST out from my shoulderblades, and spread out into an eight foot wingspan! A muscular tail snaked its way down to the floor, as Comicality's shadows covered me in an ice cold prison of pain and rage! And I released a monsterous roar that burned in the bottom of my throat, shaking the walls around me on all sides as the heat from my body burned the carpet beneath my feet into a blazing ring of fire!!!
They were absolutely horrified! Bearing witness to the full power of a true DEMON for the first time in their miserable existence! They were never prepared to deal with the likes of someone like me. And feeling the fear in their hearts was like candy to my darkened senses. I saw Taryn slowly lift his head, his bright green eyes meeting mine for the first time since he disappeared two days ago. He seemed slightly disoriented, but he saw a familiar gaze in the eyes of the creature standing in the room. As he recognized me, and saw the destruction behind me...a single tear fell from his already swollen eyes. And that was all I needed to move forward.
The ground shook with my footsteps, and the energies within pushed the furniture out of my way as I walked forward. My eyes focused on the only thing that mattered in this world to me at this point. Guards poured out from every open door in the room, and I didn't even look at them. The charged forward, and with a single breath, I blazed them all with a fire hot enough to cause charred flesh to fall off of them in large chunks! The cried out in agony, and more attacked. I didn't stop moving. I never broke my stride. I caught one fighter's ankle, and lifted him high into the air above my head with both hands, bringing him down to bite a large section of his stomach out! Covering my face in blood as his intestine nearly slipped out of its pouch! And I tossed him to the side, breaking a nearby table with his body! Another soldier ended up wearing his head backwards, while another nearly had his jaw ripped off of his face. And yet, my eyes never looked in their direction. All I wanted was Taryn!
Four men jumped onto my back in a last desperate attempt to stop me...but my wings flung them off in every direction with ease! And as I reached the bottom of the balcony, I flapped my extended wings and floated gracefully up to the balcony where Soren and his final five men were standing. I landed softly on the ledge, and a low guttural growl pulsated in the pit of my stomach. I took in deep heaving breaths, my body almost overwhelmed by the muscled shape of my new physique, and I gritted my teeth as I waited for any one of them to move. Even an inch. The rage was burning so hot that I could hardly contain myself. And as a large smile spread out across my lips, Soren's protectors turned tail, and all five of them jumped off of the balcony...not caring where or how they landed! And they high tailed it out of there as fast as their feet could carry them.
I very carefully stepped down from the ledge of the balcony, my eyes locked onto Soren with a loathing that he could feel in the pit of his stomach...and I measured my every step until I was standing by Taryn's side. There were tracks on his angelic face where the salt from his dried tears had stained him. And burn marks on his neck from where they had sed a stun gun on him to hurt him. They had tainted the beauty of my most cherished possession...and for that....there was no excuse. My temper peaked, and my anger settled into n almost calm sense of psychosis...blocking out every rational thought as I imagined all that my lovely angel had been through for the past few hours. There would be no forgiveness for this blasphemy. No mercy for this defiance.
"Justin...I want you to know that what you did back there asbsolutely FANTASTIC!" Soren said with a fake look of confidence. He'd say anything to save his own life. "Do you have ANY idea how much people would pay to see you in action? Do you?"
I walked over to Taryn's chair, where he had been bound and gagged by force, and I let a long acid drip of liquid roll down the back of his restraints. It burned through the ropes, and set him free, the leftover twine falling to the floor at my feet.
"Justin...I guarantee you...as a fighter in my arena, you will be rich beyond your wildest DREAMS! Just fighting opponents one night a week, at an arena of your choosing, would put you in the fighting ring history books forever! Do you hear what I'm saying? This could be GLOBAL! A 'undefeated' halflife...from the windy city, who can easily take on all challengers, no matter what their previous record! We'll be unstoppable, you and me!" Soren babbled, secretly stepping backwards and keeping certain pieces of furniture between me and him as I circled Taryn's chair, and helped him to his feet.
I didn't say a word. I stared at Soren in silence, my eyes brning with hatred. Taryn pulled the tape from his lips and hugged me tight around the neck. It felt as though it had been an eternity since I had felt his warm embrace. "I'm sorry, Justin! I'm so so sorry!" He sobbed, as though he could take responsibility for being kidnapped by this worthless son of a bitch!
Even with Taryn's arms contricted tightly around my shoulders, his tears wetting the collar of my shirt, I never once took my eyes off of Soren. Taryn's hands felt the wings on my back, and he was confused slightly by their appearance. I folded them back behind me as his touch succeeded in soothing some of the rage inside. But the comfort was temporary...the peace....fleeting. It was only controlled enough to hold my lover in my arms, and no more. Bottom line, the darkness had spread, the storm had won, and after a few moments of him holding me, I gently pulled away from Taryn's touch. I kissed him on the cheek, and used a hand to push him back for a moment. "Justin?" He asked. "What are you doing?"
"This isn't finished yet." I told him, and I moved closer to Soren, who was now sweating from the nervous jitter rushing through him.
"I know you're a little bit upset, 'Renegade', and who wouldn't be? But you've got to put all that aside and look at the financial possibilities here, kid!" He said, still moving back. I slowly moved around a nearby table, which he was very careful to keep between us the entire time. "This isn't just about ME, you know? It's about the both of us. Taryn too! You don't have to live in some crappy old junkyard for the next one hundred years! You can buy an apartment! Het, air conditioning, running water, television, you name it, you've got it. You could live better than ALL of us in just a couple of months! You cn build yourself a paradise!" I still didn't speak. Just kept walking around that table, my finger tips dragging across the surface, slowly 'chasing' Soren as he attempted desperately to stay away from my reach. "What you did back there.....what you did in HERE...is a talent and a gift that vampires will PAY to see! Top dollar! Do you understand? You're a monster! You're a STAR! You, my friend, are an act of God! And with your skills and my business savvy, we can make a KILLING in this circuit!"
My mind was already lost. And it fell deeper and deeper into darkness as I watched him try to worm his way out of the situation. Taryn stood back, not knowing what to even think about what was taking place here. I couldn't let him leave. I couldn't. Soren crossed the line, and he has to be punished. Vengence must be taken for his actions. There's no stopping the chain of events now. It has to be done.
With one blow, I slammed my fist down on the table and it shattered to fragments of splintered wood right in front of us! Soren's only protection from me was gone, and he gasped in terror. Pathetic. I expected more. And then, just as I stepped forward...I sensed something flying in my direction at top speed. I swiftly swiveled my body to the left, and caught the flying object between my fingertips! It was a long metal spike. A shiv. Aimed at my head. When I turned to look towards the edge of the balcony, I saw a very worn out and injured Natpea crawl over the side. Still loyal to his employer, even after all he had endured from my pummeling. He took a deep breath, and then, without further hesitation, he attacked again. My wings spread out to their full extension once again, and a demon's roar leapt out of my throat as our battle continued on!
But this wasn't an extended conflict this time. Not at all. He tried to strike out at me, but even when he landed a blow, it did no damage. My claws ripped into him, my fangs bit down into his shoulder, and rapidly drained some of his precious fluids for my own suffering supply! And even though he battled me with every last bit of strength that he had in him, he was simply no match for the vampire Mimic. No one was. No one.
Our deadly dance lasted only a few minutes before I found my opening. And as I stood there, Jun's focus creating a prime opportunity to focus through its perfection...I delivered my final attack. With a flick of my wrist, I touched a certain spot on his collarbone with three of my fingers, there at the base of his neck....and then struck him in the chest with an open palm. Natpea staggered back helplessly, and I saw fear flood into his eyes as his lungs collapsed, and his heart came to a complete stop.
It was the same technique that Comicality had used on me during my training, and I had executed it flawlessly without even thinking about it. I allowed him to stand there, helpless, breathless, unable to move...and he suffered greatly as I stared him down. He gasped more, he wheezed, he pounded on his own chest to get his lungs to reinflate, but there was no hope. Only I had the key to unlock him from his airless prison. And I wasn't going to give it to him now.
Then....when I looked over his shoulder...Soren was gone. Crawled back into the shadows like the fucking roach that he is! I MISSED HIM!!! I lost my one opportunity to rip the bastard to SHREDS!!! He fucking got away from me....and that made me MAD AS HELL!!!! "AHHHHHH!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, the vibrations causing my whole body to quake with rage, and I ran forward to tackle Natpea to the ground! He DISTRACTED me!!! He helped him get away! You fucking ASSHOLE!!! I sat on his chest, and with my fists balled up tighter than they had ever been before, I slammed it into his face until I felt his jawbone crack! "You wanna play hero???" I shouted, and hit him again! "FINE WITH ME!!!" And I hit him again! "YOU CAN TAKE HIS PLACE....IN HELL!!!" And before I knew it, I was ramming my fists against him so hard that I could feel the impact all the way up in my shoulders! I just kept pounding away, again and again and again until he was almost unrecognizable! His neck had been broken, his jaw, his cheek bones, the bones around his eye sockets, his nose, his skull was cracked in more places than I could count, and blood was splashing up towards my face with every succeeding punch! I couldn't stop myself. The anger was so intense, the RAGE so severe!!!! I was screaming and shouting and pounding him to the point of exhaustion! Even when he ceased to move, except for the twitching and muscle contractions that come with such a brutal beating, did I want to stop. I couldn't stop! I REFUSED! He has to be PUNISHED!!! He has to DIE! They ALL do! ALL OF THEM!!!
I kept crashing into his face until there was almost no head left to hit...and I thought that I heard screaming in the background, but couldn't be sure. It was faint....distant. It couldn't have been Natpea. His face was no longer build for screaming in pain. No...this was something else. And as my mind tried to pinpoint its source, my punches slowed down a bit. And my mind tried to recapture some of the control that it had so willingly given up in the last twenty minutes.
It sounded so muffled at first. So soft. But....it wasn't he sound itself, it was my denial of it. My brain wouldn't accept it right away. Not until I struggled to receive its message. It was Taryn. My lovely Taryn. And he was calling out to me with tears in his eyes. It was only then, that my mind came back to the world, and I was aware of my surroundings again.
"JUSTIN!!!! STOP IT!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? STOP!!!" He sobbed.
My senses came exploding back into a logical stat of reality, and I suddenly looked down to see the battered slab of bleeding meat beneath me. The body still spasming from the trauma. Jesus....oh Jesus....what was I doing? I looked down at my hands...covered in blood and bruises...and they were shaking. They were trembling with a fired up blast of adrenaline that hadn't yet worked itself out of my system. The fog lifted from my eyes, and I was left to bear witness to the atrocities that I had just commited in the attempt to save my boyfriend from harm. I wasn't even aware. I wasn't even thinking.
"Justin?" Taryn whispered from behind me. "Baby....it's ok. Honey...?" He tried to calm me, but my mind was flooded with visions of what I had done. Vampires burned to a crisp. Necks broken, hearts punctured, stomachs bitten out, arms nearly torn off, bones shattered...I had caused enough pain and suffering to last me ten lifetimes. All in one fatal tantrum. I lost control. All of my conrol. And it felt good. I liked it. I loved every moment of it. It ws madness....and I had given into it completely. Oh my God....what had I done?
When I lookedback at Taryn, he was almost frightened of me. His eyes gazed upon me with such sympathy. It was a sobering experience that left me weak inside, and I tried to stand up again on shakey legs. "T-T-Taryn...I...I...was so scared that they would...that they had..." I began to breathe hard, as images of my actions finally took hold in my mind, and the reality of what I had done settled into place among my most horrible memories. I was babbling incoherrently, my body numb from head to toe, and yet...still quivering with fright and anger combined. "I didn't know that I was.... didn't mean to..." My panting picked up until I almost couldn't breathe, and had almost fell over before Taryn rushed in to hold me up. "Oh God....oh GOD...."
He just held me tight. Holding me as though his love could somehow reverse the tragic events that had just taken place. As though it could provide me salvation from whatever terrible karma that comes with slaughtering an entire army of men without compassion or mercy of any kind. When I looked into the emerald green splendor of my angel's eyes...I was ashamed. Ashamed and humiliated for my recklessness. The blood on my hands from the deeds I had taken part in would never be washed clean. Not for all eternity. And once my brain realized that fact...the tears came easy. And we both wept on each other's shoulders...among the dead and dying vampires around us, and the wreckage of what was once seen as a virtual 'palace' underground. Now...only a ruin.
I don't know how long we stayed there, but it was Taryn that helped me to my feet when it was time for us to go home. My body was tingling from overexertion, but not a single muscle cramped up on me. I wiped as much blood off of me as a dry rag would allow, and we stumbled our way outside. I was afraid to let go of his hand. Even as the night air hit us, and the peaceful silence surrounded us...I was scared of letting him go. I would never let go. Not for any prophecy, or any other reason. He was my soulmate. My other half. And life would mean so little without his kiss. So little.
I vaguely remember traveling to the church for a brief moment or two, where Taryn and I took a shower together. I didn't say a word the whole time. I couldn't even bear to look him in the eye, really. But as he undressed down to nothing, and he assisted me in doing the same...I found the courage to stare at his beauty again. It hurt to look at him. It was a lessed sight mean for kings and poets alike. I hardly felt worthy of being in its presence. But Taryn tried to coax me out of my numbness and amazement. I felt him turn on the shower, the warm water cascading down the back of my neck, and was hardly able to move. Even after Taryn's soothing smile graced my vision, it was hard to stop trembling inside. How sick had I become? How far had my anger taken me? I didn't know. But when Taryn's soft fingers interlocked with mine, and our eyes connected under that shower spray...it almost felt as though everything was going to be ok. And the sudden comfort in that caused my emotions to overflow, and I couldn't help but cry. Taryn hugged me tight, our naked bodies clutching onto each other for an answer...a purpose...and I prayed that the waters would cleanse me of my sins. If only for enough peaceful moments for me to sleep tonight.
Taryn raised his head silently, and his fingers softly brushed my blond hair out of my eyes...before he granted me the sweetest of kisses on my lips. A kiss to say thank you. A kiss to say I forgive you. A kiss to say I understand. Never had I known a love so pure. One that kept growing, impressing me more and more every day of my life. Thank God I didn't lose him. I could never lose him.
We had to put our same clothes on, but managed to make our way back to a familiar area before dawn. Bryson was pacng back and forth, agonizing over the approaching sunlight. Jenna was crying by herself on a nearby table, Rain had been cutting small slits o the back of her arm with a knife. Even Kid and Max had been looking sad and depressed in their little corner of the lot. The gloom that had washed over the lot was visible from a mile away, and it seemed to darken the very air around it. No one went to sleep. Not until we were all accounted for. And they were waiting for a sign. ny sign.
Then...
Gyro looked up...and he saw two dark figures approaching from the distance. Two boys. Exhausted. Drained. Almost limping, but still moving forward. His eyes widened to TRIPLE their size, and he was the first to jump up and aert the others!!! Justin and Taryn.....were home.
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!! HE DID IT!!!!" Gyro shouted out loud, almost crying from the burst of joy he felt! Everyone else looked up, and stood to see if it could possibly be true!
Dion approached the gate, Dylan under his shoulder, and they looked at me with a certain level of....amazement. I don't think they really expected me to ever return. Even when they were desperately hoping that I would. Everyone watched us as we hobbled our way through the front gate and into the center of he lot. Doc had to lift his glasses to wipe a stray tear rom his eye, and he patted me on the arm. "Good boy, Justin....sniffle...good boy..." He said, and rolled back to his habitat. The dawn was approaching fast, and none of us would be able to stay awake for muh longer. We only had minutes to spare.
Bryson was probably happier to see us han anyone else...but as the emotion got choked up in the back of his throat...he simply gave me a proud nod, and silently thanked me for coming back in one piece. "We're not losing anyone else. Remember?" I said to him, and his eyes watered up as he nodded again.
"Ok, you guys..." Bryson said. "Let's get to bed. Tomorrow's another day."
I don't know if anyone knew what to say or not say to us...but I did feel Gyro give me a suffocating hug before he went to bed. "I knew you could do it, Superman. I just knew it." He mummured, and then let me go to get some sleep. The only person left was Dion and Dylan, who hugged Taryn tightly before looking over at me.
"Told ya I'd be back." I said.
"Yeah....you did." Dion gave me a kiss on the forehead, and looked me in the eye. "I'm never gonna get tired of hearing how you pulled THIS one off, dude! But for what it's worth...thank you." Don and Dylan went of to bed too, and Taryn and I were left alone. The dawn was already taking effect, and we'd have to hurry. I didn't do all of that fighting just to burn up in the sunlight.
So off we went. To lie side by side once again. Two hearts connected as one. As it is. As it was. As it should be. Forever.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
|
Forum timezone: GMT-6 VF Version: 2.94, ConfDB: Before posting please read our privacy policy. VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems. Copyright © 1998-2008 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved. |