Consequences
Her arms rose to encircle the man's waist, grabbing him as securely as she could before she began swimming towards the surface. The hand which had remained on the shore was pulled into the lake by her efforts, Soul's body all but folding in half at the waist. She drug him upward, her head breaking the water's surface shortly before she was able to hoist him above the waterline.
His reaction was immediate; eyes snapping open with a large inhalation of breath, as if the very life had been shoved back into his body. His head whipped around, taking in the visage of the black surface surrounding them, limbs thrashing as if he were trying to escape from a sinister outcome. Maka was alarmed, calling out his name to provide some vague testament to concern.
"Wha-What is this?" He panted, his chest heaving and his alabaster bangs clinging to his face and neck. His eyes pinned the shore, quickly swimming over towards it with Maka in tow. It was difficult to climb out, the lake being more of a cylindrical, indefinitely deep pit which had been filled with what Maka was still unable to identify. There was no solid footing for them to utilize, merely upper arm strength and flexibility.
Once Maka had maneuvered herself onto shore, she turned over to her knees and offered to help pull Soul out. His hands latched around her wrists, and hers mirrored his actions, before she rocked back and pulled him from the waters. His clothing sagged from his body, hanging off loosely, as Maka's clung to her like a second skin. He allowed a particularly hoarse cough to escape him, forcing the phlegm free from the grasp of his throat.
"Are you okay?" She asked, steadying her breathing as she watched him struggle to maintain his own. Air left them in clouds of transparent white, a visible sign of the temperature.
It was cold. It hadn't been cold when she entered the lake; it was the end of summer, but still summer no less. The sudden cold front seemed unusual, even in a place like this. She huddled down into her knees, attempting to generate some warmth from the contact. With sopping wet clothes, she wasn't seeing much luck. She began to tremble.
"I'm fine." He assured, running a hand through his hair to push it back, keeping the water from running into his eyes and mouth.
White locks were slicked back and clung like a second scalp, water dripping down the back and sides of his neck in rivulets. Amaranth washed over her, taking in the image of her sopping wet and shaking, quickly deciding that he needed to get her somewhere warm and dry. Soon. "We should get going." He suggested, worry poorly concealed in his shaking voice. "It's really cold here."
Maka could only nod, watching as Soul heaved himself to his feet. He closed what little space resided between them and thrust out his hand for her to take. Her palm laid across his, fingers encircling the appendage and pulling to hoist herself upward. Luckily, there was no wind, for it would have cut directly through the pair of them and struck bone. They stood, each seeming rather hesitant to advance from here. They hardly knew each other; would they simply return to their lives from here? Leave the anomaly behind in the dust?
"Do you… Have somewhere to stay?" Maka began, her hands tightly gripping her arms as she strove to retain heat.
Soul's brows furrowed - it seemed he had yet to think of that. "I-I'm not sure how long I was down there." He admitted. Maka frowned. "Maybe." He decided.
"Let's warm up at my place first, in that case." She couldn't simply leave him to wander in the cold in such heavy, wet clothing. It would be cruel. It wasn't too dark out quite yet, the sky holding a greyish overlay rather than a darkening black. Her father would likely be out when she returned home.
He nodded his thanks, gesturing for her to lead the way. Her feet carried her, water-filled boots squishing and squeaking with each step. Her cloth socks were rubbing her feet raw, but she wasn't sure she could bear to remove them at that point. Soul's hands were shoved into his pockets, though his arms remained tight against his sides as a result of the temperature.
The edge of town was steadily coming closer. Maka had never noticed how run-down and dilapidated the buildings were - pieces were breaking away and falling off, piles of rubble sitting on the still grounds. Had it always been like this? She couldn't remember, and the incessant chattering of her teeth wasn't doing much to help her think.
Feet finally met cemented grounds, leaving the sandy desert and entering the town. She could have sworn the temperature dropped yet another ten degrees at footfall, inwardly groaning. He didn't appear to be too enthused either. Maneuvering through barren streets without street lights, they managed to find their way towards the city's inner-workings.
The deeper they traveled through the streets, the darker it seemed to become. Strange, considering they should have reached active street lights by then. And yet, everything was dark. There wasn't a light to be seen. The temperature only seemed to drop, or perhaps their body temperatures were rapidly decreasing. It was difficult to distinguish a difference between the two, being that they were completely soaked and their bones were rattling within their skin.
Hazed coherence vaguely recognized Soul's abrupt halt, having taken a few extra steps before coming to her own stop. Viridian eyes swiveled as she slowly rounded to face him, arms secured in their position crossing her chest, shoulders hiked up to her neck. Her teeth clattered against each other as she muttered, "Soul?"
He merely nodded his head in a forward motion, holding himself in a position similar to Maka's, though his garnet gaze appeared to be locked in their place. Her head turned to accommodate his perspective, finding herself in a similar state of confusion. There was a figure ahead, standing in the center of the street, shrouded by black. The faintest glow of the moon graced the being's figure, giving the appearance that they were a blank slate; a humanoid pillar of ebony without face nor feature.
Fine blonde brows drew in evident confusion, emerald and rose alike attempting to make sense of the visage before them. They stood, staring, for a long moment. Breaths were held. One brave foot acted of its own accord, reaching outward and placing itself firmly upon the concrete. Water sloshed out of the still wet boot, being the only sound to be heard. A hand rose, fingers delicately reaching to grasp a thin wrist, the slightest amount of pressure applied to her flesh as a silent warning.
The wrist slipped out of the delicate grasp as another step was taken. Frigid air condensed and clung to the walls of her throat as the being's head snapped into place, having previously been bowed to face the ground.
"Maka." The word fell from his lips, somewhere between a warning and a plea. She understood, standing frozen in place.
Out of the corner of her eye, she was able to see what appeared to be another figure of the same stature. Soul turned to see a being on his own side, as well as one behind them. Only now did it occur to the pair that they stood in the center of a four way stop, each exit blocked by a pillar of ebony. The buildings encasing them were several stories high with flat surfaces. Four heads stared at them from all angles, though be they faceless.
"Yeah." Her response finally came, passing along her breath.
She shouldn't have blinked. Even the minuscule lapse of her lids allowed the creature to move-no, all of the creatures moved. Fast. She swallowed air, foot sliding back reflexively as the faceless being appeared directly in front of her face. Her arm reached out in a desperate attempt to catch Soul, yet she was met with air. Stumbling, nerves aflame, throat closed off in evident panic, she faltered. Her foot shifted, throwing her backward towards the ground. Her lower back slammed against the concrete, heart beating desperately within her chest as a fearful whimper managed to escape the clutches of her throat.
Soul was in no better position, eyes wide as finger-like appendages curled around the curve of his shoulders, latching onto his back and shoving him face first into the ground. Air escaped him in a whir as he fell, chest taking much of the blow and slamming against the pavement. Amaranth lit in fear, in anger, in outrage. "Agh!" He managed to release a gurgle, caught somewhere between pain and rage.
The other two beings stood, lurking off to the sides. They were rigid, standing tall without movement. Maka inched backward in retreat as the being advanced on her, appearing to take its time by languidly swooping to crouch above her lithe form. Previously sheathed jaws began to separate beneath a layer of black, what she could only assume to be skin stretching and ripping and tearing apart. Long strings of the still-connected flesh-like layer hung between widening jaws, providing the appearance of teeth.
She couldn't find her voice; couldn't scream. Every muscle felt taut to the point where movement would cause a snap, her heart attempting to free itself from her chest and escape on its own path. She could only watch in trepidation as the being continued its advance, mind somehow blank and yet full all at once.
"Yahoo!"
As per usual, please inform me of your opinion. Thank you for reading.
