Thrashing. I felt my rage as if from far away, like it almost didn't belong to me. I could faintly hear the sounds of slaughter in the background, but I was causing death at the same time. The heat in my veins was familiar. The smell of sulfur was almost welcoming. My victim stepped into my ring of fire, and I tore into him, smirking at his violent scream, signaling his death. He gurgled slightly, then went limp. Blood dripped down my chin, and I felt bloated with power. Everything was tinged a strange sort of red from the massive fires, the ones that got slowly bigger with every demon I drank from. I was losing control of my power, but I didn't care. Everything was searingly bright except for the black clouds encircling us from all sides. We'd suffocate soon if we didn't get out of here-the roof above us was slowly blurring, my eyes watering from the pricking sting. The realization made me look around frantically, searching for Rus, or Stu, or Noodle-
Oh God. Noodle. If anything happened to her-
-a blur of events flew by so fast, I lost track of what was happening, until-
-I dimly heard myself yelling her name, felt moisture on my face. Sweat or blood or molten tears, I didn't know anymore. They left a burning track in my skin, probably hot ash mixing with a bead of sweat. Worry and concern gnawed at my insides, and fear was seizing my heart, dimming my anger, and, consequently, the fires surrounding us. That was when I saw her.
Her silhouette was so, so close. But so far. Close enough to see her shape clearly, but far enough that her features were blurred. She was running toward me, panting and calling my name in a moment of clear vision. A gust of smoke washed over her, concealing her details once again. Which, I guess was for the best, because now, they were everywhere, surrounding her-it happened so fast-
I woke up gasping. The smells of my own personal hell were still surrounding me, choking off everything. I could hear the blood rushing through my ears, could see the ceiling above me. That wasn't good. I'd fallen asleep on my stomach, to make sure this didn't happen. I lurched onto my side, and the horrible smells and sounds vanished, leaving just a half-formed memory of something distant, something long gone, that I couldn't change. I pulled my alarm clock off its face, its digital green light filling the room. A flash of relief flooded through me, relief that I hadn't set the color to red before I'd gone to sleep. The clock read 2:30.
I groaned in my throat, putting it back down, the light disappearing. Everything was dark again, and I felt myself slipping back into sleep. The only thing I remembered before I went back under was the image of her being ripped in half. The end of the dream that I had avoided this time, but that I knew would come back before I woke up again.
(*)(*)(*)
I was at the table before anyone else woke up. Two cups of coffee in, some half-assed meditation attempts, and I had almost forgotten my most recent night of restless sleep. Currently I was having fun peeling off my glamours, my skin changing from a pale white to a sickly green, all at my command. Scars, a light, mint green, were semi-transparent on my skin. Scars of a life I'd left behind. Scars of a life that seemed to be haunting me in my nightmares.
I looked around the airy kitchen, taking in the sky blue wallpaper, the fridge against the wall, right of the laundry room door. The counter that enclosed the space broke into three segments; the segment after the fridge and before the stove, the smallest segment between the stove and the sink/dishwasher, and the segment that ended at the far wall, next to the back door, the segment with the little shelves underneath it for canned goods.
My gaze ended at the table I was sitting at, shoved into the little corner on the other side of the back door. Only three spaces were available to sit at-but then, we only needed three. The table was rectangular, one of the long ends shoved up against the wall, the short ends parallel to the side walls of the kitchen.
My back was to the right wall; well, if you were facing the back door, it would be to the right. To my immediate left and behind was the living room, dim in the shadows, octagonal in shape. If I stood and faced the living room doorwell (the door had gotten ripped off its hinges ages ago-long story), to the right of that was the small, black, spiraling staircase that led upstairs, to our consecutive bedrooms and bathrooms. My attention drifted back to the fading wallpaper, so I didn't hear when somebody clanked their way down the rickety metal stairs, stairs that reminded me of a fire escape.
"Muds?"
A blur of movement, a crash of a breaking coffe cup. My nerves were tighter than a wire this morning, because when I looked up, I saw 2D's throat in my hand, his empty eye sockets neutral. His feet were off the ground; I didn't realize just how much my control had snapped until I saw the empty space where his legs should have been. I dropped him-he straightened his brown jacket, his sailor stripes still wrinkled-and looked at me, one thick eyebrow rising above the other.
"Bad night, huh?" he asked, his English accent washing over me and making the strength in my legs melt. I nearly collapsed into a chair; I didn't use my strength often, and he knew I had an almost iron control over myself. His hand gripped my forearm firmly. "Was it her?"
My calf twitched. I didn't answer him. Even though he probably could have seen the answer in my face. He sighed, opening his mouth, revealing the places where I'd knocked out his two front teeth. "Muds, that was over fi-"
"What the HELL is goin' on down here?"
I groaned as the rough, Jersey-accented voice grated my eardrums to shreds. I tilted my head back, letting my limbs go limp. "Mornin' Rus," I sighed. I looked over at the stairs, seeing his big, muscly bulk descending. The entire metal structure shook with each step he took, his hulking frame almost too much for them to handle. His white eyes shone in stark contrast to his dark skin.
"Was that you?" he barked. I nodded, closing my eyes against their matching accusatory glares. I heard Russel thump into the chair farthest from me at the table-the one closest to the door-could feel his gaze piercing me. "You've gotta get it together, Murdoc," he whispered, his gruff tones turning soft, yet forceful. A wave of anger crashed over me, and I repressed the demonic urge, knowing it would be disastrous if I let it rampage through my body. These two were just trying to help, misguided as their attempts were.
My alarm clock upstairs went off, and I stood without having answered or looked at him, passing the door to the living room and putting my feet on the stairs. "I'm taking a shower," I grumbled, "don't bother me." I took the stairs two at a time, emerging into the long hallway that had four doors; only three of the rooms were occupied. I went to the one farthest down the hallway on the right side, nearly slamming the door behind me in my desperation to get away from all the memories.
Her door was right across from mine.
(*)(*)(*)
I nearly spit out my beverage. Choking, I forced my next question out of my throat, feeling nearly suffocated by my still-wet hair clinging to the back of my neck and temples. "What the hell did you just say?" My voice sounded like I'd gargled nails, not sipped the red blood that was occupying half my cup. My focus had been completely shattered; my glamours were down. I tried not to glance to my left and failed-the mirror on the living room wall had the reflection that I'd been avoiding for years. Black hair, green skin, one eye red, one eye black; but the worst was my mouth. My sharp, shark-like teeth were still pink-tinged. I looked away, swallowing my nausea.
"High school, is what I said," Russel continued, oblivious to my stirring stomach (I was going to kill him for glamouring the blood he'd given me) but not ignorant of my shattered illusions that I'd had for so many years. All three of us knew that it took a lot of focus for me to keep them up, more focus than it took them, and it took me longer than them to put them up, if they went down. Which is why I wore them 24/7. Slowly at first, I controlled my breathing, stretching the pale skin, blue eyes, and charcoal hair back over myself. "I think it's time we went back out into the world. Time we started interacting with people again. Murdoc's little episode this morning proved to me that we've been cooped up in this dimension way too long."
2D nodded his agreement. I almost slapped him. "Oh," I said, sarcastically, "and what if there's something so utterly shocking to me that my glamours fail and everybody sees a demon in the middle of their cafeteria, huh? What then, genius?"
I honestly thought I had them on that one. But I was wrong. Russel continued, making it obvious he'd thought of everything. "Nothing any humans could do would shock you that much, if you were in your right mind and had enough of your power at your disposal. Which is why I slipped you the blood. Even so, we'll put glamours the on you. It doesn't take us a lot of concentration to keep them up-barely any at all. It would be easy."
"And what if I decide I don't want to go? What if I decide I don't want the blood, don't want the power?"
"I'll make you go. I'll make you drink it. You're getting self destructive, Murdoc."
"You can't make me do anything," I said, smirking, letting my glamours drop so he'd get the point. "My magic is stronger than yours. You couldn't move me if you tried."
He looked at me, the challenge clear. The look in his eyes made it just as clear that the challenge was accepted. "You haven't used your magic in decades," he pointed out. "I doubt you even remember what it feels like to use it. And without blood, you don't have any magic. You haven't Hunted in two weeks."
My smile faltered. He was right. I didn't even light my cigarettes with magic anymore, the huge amounts it would take to fight him notwithstanding. And he was right on another account-my power was directly correlated to how much demon blood I consumed. The past week, I'd been too damn tired to Hunt any of them. And the last time I'd set anything on fire had been when Noodle-
No.
My shoulders sagged with grief. Russel took that as a sign that he'd won, which, I thought, let's face it, he has. "Fine. When will this little adventure start?" I asked, looking up again. He smiled; not a large smile, but a small one, which was a lot for him.
"I was thinking in two weeks."
(*)(*)(*)
A gentle breeze was caressing my skin.
That should have been the first indicator that I needed to wake up, but I couldn't bring myself to. These past few weeks had been the first times I'd seen her face in what felt like forever. Even if they were just dreams, I was still seeing her. Still feeling her with me, close to me. I opened my eyes, seeing the top of her head against my chest, her purple hair being pulled by the wind that I'd missed so much. My arms were around her. She felt so real. I held her tighter, and she looked up.
"What's wrong?" she asked, and her voice shattered my heart, but pieced it back together at the same time. It had been so long since I'd held her.
"Just a feeling," I said, without volition. I realized this was a memory. I wasn't in control here. I knew what happened next, but I couldn't stop it now. It was too late.
"What kind of feeling?" she asked, stepping away from me. Out of my arms. My heart shattered, looking at her beauty. Only her hands touched me now, her thin fingers gripping my biceps gently.
"Something's happening, I know it is-"
A disgusted look came over her face. I wanted to take back my words. But I wasn't in control. "Murdoc, if you're going to worry about this so much, don't do it when we're together. This has been taken too far. For the past five years, you've brought this up every time, ruining the happiness I know we can have. I can't take this anymore." She stepped away from me. Started walking away. I grabbed her thin wrist, gently, because I was afraid I would shatter it. I was always scared of hurting her. But I was so scared, suddenly.
"Noodle," I said, my voice nearly cracking. "Please. I love you."
She jerked out of my grasp. And walked away.
The next time I saw her, she was surrounded by smoke, running toward me.
Dying.
(*)(*)(*)
I swallowed deeply. The coppery taste of blood still coated my mouth, my throat. I felt too hot, like I was going to burn up from the inside. For the past week, Russel had made me go Hunting, making me gorge myself on two or three demons a night; way back when, this would have been a light night for Hunting, but now, it was almost too much for me to bear. Now my veins felt like they were going to melt.
Russel faced me in the enclosed space. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. The thousands of mirrors around us faded, becoming an empty meadow, the size of half an American football field. We'd gone to our basement; we could make it look however we wanted just by concentrating. It was much the same magic as glamours, which I wasn't very good at, so Russ got to pick the places, more often than not.
Russel snapped his eyes open, suddenly, and I put my guard up. It wasn't lost on me that he'd given himself the advantage, seeing as how we were surrounded by earth.
His fingers flicked.
Something hit me in the chest, something that felt like getting hit by an elephant. It knocked the wind out of me, but I didn't fall over, just dodged the next few boulders that flew my way. My instincts remembered how to dodge and defend. There were no openings for attack, no opportunities to incinerate this pesky enemy. Flames flickered at my fingertips, and my glamours dropped, my concentration shattered when a rock skimmed my cheek, drawing blood. Black droplets of it dripped onto my shirt.
I bent backwards slightly, predicting his next attack and seizing an opening. I flicked my fingers toward Russel, putting energy in my attack, intending a whip-like lash of fire to hit him and slice him open. The only thing that happened was a pathetic string of fire that stopped halfway to him. The brightness barely made me blink, but after it was gone, I doubled over, pain twisting in my abdomen. I curled up on the ground, hating myself for letting my power get this weak.
My vision was blurring around the edges, my breath and heartbeat whoosing and rushing through my ears, making me nauseous. Everything around me was swirling, then suddenly-
Hunger. Searing, burning, painful hunger, the likes of which I hadn't felt in ages. I shot up off the ground, so fast I saw a widening of eyes before I was on my prey, and-
I was flying across the meadow. I'd been tossed. But God, I was so, so hungry, I couldn't stand it. The shadows around me coalesced, and I was gone-
(*)(*)(*)
I woke up in my room. How I'd gotten there, I didn't know. I did know, however, that I hadn't dreamt of Noodle. I hadn't dreamt at all, and I felt so energized, so healthy. I jumped out of bed, stretching and moaning in pleasure when I felt my muscles stretch. I walked in the bathroom, dropping my clothes in a trail behind me, turning on the water to my usual temperature and frowning. The water was still cold, but that wasn't right. Seeing as how the hot was already turned all the way, I turned the cold off slowly, waiting for the water to feel just right. Only when it was completely off did it even contain a semblance of warm.
I shrugged off my confusion and hopped in. Looking down, I saw green skin-and almost screamed. It was scar-less. And ripped. I had chiseled, strong, flawless muscles. I didn't remember anything from last night, except blacking out after the nausea and pain dragged me under. I still felt ashamed after my pathetic attempts at magic had failed.
Twenty minutes later, and I was wearing something I hadn't in a long time-leather. Normally I wore ratty sweaters and sweatpants, but today I felt like mixing it up a little. Ripped jeans, AC/DC t-shirt, and my favorite leather jacket. My Cuban heels were on my feet for the first time in a long time, and I felt like-
I felt like myself. For the first time since Noodle died (I found myself being able to think the word without flinching away from it) I was...well, maybe not happy, but not as depressed as I usually was.
And I'll be honest...I was horny as hell.
The only question was, why was I feeling so spectacular, all of a sudden?
(*)(*)(*)
"I what?"
"You went on a demon-slaying rampage. I've never seen anything like it, Muds, it was horrifying but awe-inspiring at the same time. Russel wanted to stop you but I told him no, you needed this, as long as we made sure you didn't kill any people it was ok-"
"Stu, please," I said, putting my head in my hands. "Slow down."
His eyes widened. "Sorry, Muds, I just got excited, is all."
"S'alright, Faceache."
He smiled so wide I thought he'd split his lip. "Mudsy! You're back!" I saw him about to lunge forward and hug me, so I reacted on instinct. I held him back forcibly with my index finger. The squirt wasn't that strong, or maybe I just had my freakish strength back, I wasn't sure. Surely it took longer than one night to get my full set of demon powers back?
Russel's large footsteps clunked down the stairs, sending nails through my head. Everything was so enhanced now, like my senses had been turned up all the way. The slightest smells were so interesting, the smallest sounds so much louder. The feel of my fingers touching each other was sensual and rough, and I remembered my last dream about Noodle. How I'd had her in my arms, but it wasn't even close to this. Not even close. And now I'd never feel her again.
Russel stopped walking, and I looked up at him, smirking, knowing my teeth were sharp and menacing. Russel's eyes twinkled. "You know you killed ten demons last night? And drained every last one of them?"
I feigned nonchalance. "Not surprising."
Russel's eyebrows curved downward into a V. "I forgot how much of an ass you used to be."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw 2D hide a smile behind his coffee cup.
(*)(*)(*)
Originally, this was just a teaser. Now, it's a story. Because one person reviewed and told me they'd read it, and one person's enough for me right now, considering I abandoned my other stories for years. (Sorry, btw.) This was on my old computer, and I remembered the plotline for it so I figured I'd re-write it and add to it 'n junk.
Reviews are much appreciated.
~Psyke
