Benedictions of the City
Chapter 6: Blood in the Beautiful Streets
They sort out the plan after much bickering and conversations about friends and family and all sorts of other such nonsense. I don't have these worries, because my only worry is The City, and She shall always provide. Eventually an agreement is reached and it appears that old Ed has gotten his way, it is he who shall pull the switch to reseal the doors. I approach him companionably and pat him on the shoulder as we make our final preparations.
"I do like you, dearest friend Ed, perhaps more then I should."
"Thanks…I think."
"Allow me to impart on you some final wisdom, then. I would, personally, strongly suggest that after you pull the lever you retreat back into The City. Accept Her as your true guiding path and She will rain down Her gifts upon you. Perhaps you could meet up with me again at the Brick Building That is Tall and we could share the wondrous tales of the events that will transpire here."
"Yeah, just what I was hoping for in my retirement," he notes with a slight sidelong glance at me. I sigh.
"Though, judging by your apparent use of sarcasm you still hold onto some mistaken belief that leaving this glorious place will somehow better you." I shake my head sadly. "If you simply must insist upon such a strange choice, then I offer a second piece of advice." I motion up at the soaring heights of the factory, festooned with crawling shapes of Pattern Spiders hard at work on their thick webbing. "The portal does lie at the apex of the roof. Perhaps, if you are spry and able enough, you perhaps could climb the building. Then, if the spiders simply don't swarm you and flense the flesh from your bones I suppose it would be possible for you to rendezvous with us upon the rooftop. Though I feel it is my duty to note it seems an odd Purgatory to put yourself through with a plan of moving away from salvation." I laugh. "Quite silly, really."
"Yeah, silly." Ed eyes the towering edifice carefully before he gets a small smile on his face and turns to clap a hand on my shoulder. "Ah well, nothing for it but the trying, I guess. Thanks for the advice, Preacher."
"Poor misguided fool," I sigh as I walk over to Ice and take a moment to admire her before she notes my approach.
"Yes?"
"All is in readiness," I happily announce, "now we have but to await the guard change and be ready to move swiftly and surely at that point."
"Agreed, good luck to us all on that score."
"Yes…I was wondering, perhaps, if you would be interested to allow me to say a brief blessing prayer for you all. It would be a simple benediction of The City that I am sure would cleanse your soul and focus your minds to the task. All it would require would be my prayers as I lay my hands upon y-"
My words are cut off by a quite inconveniently timed ringing bell. Quite rude of The City, but apropos, I suppose, I have been becoming quite distracted of late and am not even sure if I remembered all the proper prayers during our trek through the sewers. I have only myself to blame, I suppose.
"This is it!" Ice-for-Eyes rises up like some legendary Valkyrie come to storm the gates of Hela. Ah, but shall she choose me to drag up to a strange and frightening heaven of eternal battle, or shall I be as unto Helgi in Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar and convince the fair valkyrie to tarry a while with a mere mortal? "For glory and Gaia!"
"For glory and Gaia," comes the echoing howl of her pack mates as they charge along with her towards the rumbling gates that even now open swiftly upward.
"For The City and her beauteous streets we shall profane with blood," I manage in what I feel is a fairly clever battle cry to have come up with on the spur of the moment.
The now eight massive metal spiders shift and spin about as they see us charge in. The others are already shifting up into their towering crinos forms as they sprint towards the now open gates and the mass of metal arachnids that await them there. Ed cuts off to the side, knowing well his part is to be ready to seal the door the instant we make it through.
Ice-for-Eyes is the first to reach the spiders. She lets loose an elegant howl as she springs into the air and catches hold of the thrashing beast's head. With a snarl of satisfaction she strikes downward with her archaic spear. I would have well expected the poor thing to shatter upon impacting the beaten bronze metal of the head, instead the spear seems to thrum with an inner power as it punctures through the metal with sickening ease. The arachnid wails in a garbled sound of gears grinding upon gears as it thrashes about in its death throes. Ice is hurled from its back, the spear torn from her grasp to remain in the gaping wound as she cartwheels away to crash upon the ground.
Rends Steel's claws skitter and spark along the side of another spider, leaving deep furrows but causing no other damage. Probably his own fault, since I am fairly certain it is rather a heavy brass, as opposed to steel. The spider reacts with blinding quickness, one if it's metal forelimbs slashing out to slit across his thigh, splitting the soft meat as though a hot knife slid through butter. He bellowed, an inarticulate expression of rage, as he lashed out again and again, beating and pounding at the armor plating until it began to buckle under the onslaught.
"Get back!" The whisper carried over the sounds of combat as Kent sprang through the air, one gangly arm catching a firm grip on the ruptured metal plate Rends had beaten against. His other hand is suddenly enveloped in a crackling cloud of electricity, which he plunges into the arachnid's interior. Sparks lash and play around the casing as the spider wails in pained surprise.
"We have to get through the doorway," I note in befuddled alarm as I spring past them, leaping up onto the back of the stunned spider before springing for the open archway beyond. They are so silly, if we could beat these wondrous creatures to death, there would be no need for the bother of fleeing through the door, now would there? I tell you, bewildered listener, sometimes I do weep for the ignorance and foolishness of my own kind.
'Oh man," Kent shook his head in awe as the electrocuted spider rose up to its full height again. Already all around him and Rends Steel three others were closing in. Ice, we have to get through that doorway now!"
"By the forbearance of The City," I mutter, "why must that simpleton keep reinventing my plans?"
"The spear!" Ice ducked and weaved as she tried to slip past the two metal monstrosities that were currently attempting to flay her rather shapely flesh into messier sub sections.
"By the power of Thor!" There was a crack of thunder as suddenly Rends Steel seemed to bulge as his muscles enlarged. He let out a thunderous roar that seemed to shake the buildings around us as he grabbed and picked up the still somewhat dazed spider they had electrocuted. It lashed out at him blindly, its cutting legs poking grievous holes in his soft flesh. Yet he turned with a bellow and hurled the huge beast into its two fellows who were so actively assaulting Ice. They struck with a resounding clang that pained my ears greatly, and the three creatures were bowled over and sent scattering across the street.
"The spear," cursed Ice as Kent reached out to grab her and drag her bodily towards the door.
"I got it!" Trixie appeared from atop the one downed spider, her hands clutching the spear triumphantly over her head as she smiled. Then a dark shadow fell over her. She gasped nervously as she looked up into the towering shape of a rather annoyed seeming metal spider.
"Blast it all! Will you idiots get through the door!?!" Ed was suddenly atop this new threat, his claws tearing at the spider's exposed crystalline eyes. Trixie turned and ran, sprinting past the others so quick was her flight. Kent and Ice were at her heels with the lumbering form of Rends bringing up the rear, a splattering red carpet of gore trailing along in his wake.
"Oh dear," I sighed as I saw one of the spiders quite intently rushing after us, two more of its fellows in its wake. "We do indeed need that door to close," I noted. Thinking quickly I bowed my head and clasped my hands in front of me. "Oh dearest City, blessed are we who may walk amongst you…
"Keep going, I got this!" Rends spun on his heel. The spider behind him was, perhaps, closer then he had anticipated, and one of its legs struck deeply into his side. Rends roared back in defiance as he used his enhanced strength to rip the leg out of its joint before using the severed limb like a club to beat back its owner with huge, clanging, impacts of metal on metal.
So intent was he that he never did see the second spider pause in its charge of the doorway to neatly sever his head from his shoulders.
"Rends!" Ice's eyes were focused outward as she called to her pack mate.
"Damnit Kent, get her inside that door!" Ed bellowed his order loudly.
Kent nodded and forcibly picked up Ice and shoved her through the door even as the spiders resumed their rush towards us.
Ed turned and sprang from the head of the spider he had assaulted, rolled between the legs of another which viciously lashed downward with its barbed forelimbs in an attempt to skewer him, and came up to his feet in a dead sprint for the switch.
It was a close thing, I can assure you, even with me praying to The City for one desperately needed bit of providing. The shadow of the first spider fell over me and I heard the others snarl.
Then I heard the resounding clang that announced the door was sealing once more. The massive metal door crashed downward in a sudden fury of speed and force. The spider could barely manage a squeal of surprise before its solid metal body ruptured open from the massive impact. It was driven to the floor as pieces of broken metal and internal machinery whizzed past my face. Then it was over, everything was quiet and the spider before us was pulped by the wickedly heavy and fast doorway.
"Ed…" Ice apparently had been wounded or exhausted in the battle, for now her legs seemed to fail her as she dropped to her knees, her cold bright eyes staring at the sealed doorway. I walk forward and place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"We were never in true danger, The City provides."
'The City?" I am struck most cowardly from behind and stagger forward as Kent stalks towards me, unreasoning anger in his narrow eyes. "More like, brave and loyal friends provide, you sick freak!"
"The City moves in mysterious ways," I assure him, and for some reason he lunges forward again. Thankfully for all involved, Ice springs to her feet and knocks him onto his back with a sharp chopping motion of her arm.
"They didn't die out there to let us kill ourselves," she snarled sharply. "Let's finish this quest."
"I couldn't agree more, oh she of the shining face," I say with a quick bow. Yes, it was well past time that this whole affair ended.