LBHE chapter 8 coming to you before midnight saturday! Yeehaw, I'm getting better at this updating on time thing! XD Anyways...its awesome to see so many of you guys are still around! As always, enjoy!
Lauren
I came to out in the middle of no where, on my stomach and staring at a giant mushroom cloud silhouetting a cactus. Where? The heat from the explosion traveled fast across the desert and a hot, gritty breeze made it hard to breath for a moment. The gravel and dirt pressed into my hips like tiny metal jacks. Was that…Hope? Coughing, I dug my nails into the ground, slowly scrabbling to my knees. Owie. It hurt to move. Everything hurt. Pain, God's way of reminding you of a good ass kicking.
"You humans and your toys." I froze on my hands and knees like a deer caught in a semi's headlights. "You treasure your technological prowess, yet you have little in the way of real power."
It was the soft sound, a female's crooning voice, inviting, sultry, husky. A voice of verbal seduction given a life of its own. Slowly I maneuvered myself into a sitting position, facing the speaker. It was Vergil's fuck buddy, that woman from before. I remembered her, shadows danced in her dress, making it move all on its own. 'My lord, something comes.'
The demonness wasn't looking at me, but rather at the rising mushroom cloud that looked so atomic and nuclear it wasn't even funny. The light of bombed out Hope cast an orange glaze over her unnaturally pale skin. Her orangey-red, curly hair looked like is was on fire-as if it were part of the burning city in the distance-as she turned to size me up. The dark shadows of her gown ate up all the light Hope blazed with, crawling across her skins like insects, jellyfish, and slithering, creeping unmentionable things. Her gaze flickered to me, a cold unamused glare, indifferent and annoyed all the same. Every demon has that look, a look of detached engagement, of consistent self-interest balanced only by external amusement. I returned her glare with my own heated look and spat a wad of blood at her feet. Princess didn't like that.
A flash of pale leg emerged from her ever-shifting dress of darkness. Like lightning her foot hit me in the mouth. Hard. I'm not entirely sure I saw that coming. The blow rocked my head back, sprawling me out face first on the ground. Taking a hard breath, my tongue ran against the slick insides of my mouth. There was a brand new cut on my bottom lip, oozing blood like a waterfall. Bitch… Growling, I glared up at her from my sprawled out position on the ground. Grunting I began to get to my knees again. Dust rose from the ground in mini-storm clouds, coated my blood and goo soaked jeans eeking into my wounds, as I struggled to rise again.
"Disgusting creature," the woman continued to glare down at me, taking a careful step over my red spit. Her 'skirt' rustled as she moved, revealing flawless ankles and bare feet. A silver hoop decorated one of her dainty ankle. She towered over me, watching me struggle with an indifferent gaze. I returned her look as I finally took a seat. She looks pretty human…maybe she's like Trish…one of those demons that have human-like bodies… I swiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand, giving the demon a defiant look.
"You should know your place, human," Nevan snarled. "How dare you show such an insolent gaze to your better." My better? Lady, fuck you. I clenched my hand, feeling maelstrom in ring form. She so much as touches me with her little pinkie finger and I'll rip her goddamn arm off. She held up a pallid arm, her eyes a faint shade of violet. Electricity crackled, dancing between her fingers as her eyes began to glow a brighter purple color. Her aura prickled at the back of my neck and pinpointed across my arms. This demonness was strong, but she wasn't that strong. Not strong enough to piss on me and get away with it… … …those eyes…. I laughed softly to myself, spitting out more blood in the process. Irony doesn't even begin to cover it…
The demonness returned my laugh with one of her own. It was a breathy laughed, injected with want and lust. That laugh was all it takes. A porn star would be envious of the way that demon some how managed to induce desire, greed, and near submissive offering in a single sound. "Such a pity, but I only play with boy dolls," she told me, the tip of her tongue flicked out and licked the corner of her mouth. "You're too disgusting for my tastes." Oh, you don't say, huh babe?
"I knew someone with purple eyes once," I said, my voice hoarse and cracked. Satisfaction only made my voice sound twice as rough. "I tore her goddamn face off before cutting her into pieces."
"Fool!" Succubus woman hissed, pissed now. Her beautiful face melted away to reveal a snarling animal. She lunged, her electricity-filled hand dive-bombing for my face. Time to lay my cards on the table. Maelstrom flicked off my finger with out a hitch and succubus woman went still almost as fast as she began her assault. Maelstrom's curved scythe tip gently dug into the bottom of her chin, forcing her head upwards, until all she could see were the stars slowly being blotted out by the mushroom cloud.
"How do you feel about a jaw replacement, sweetheart?" I asked her gruffly. Succubus woman flashed a pointed animal teeth sneer at me but doesn't say anything. Her magenta eyes glared at me. I snorted. Starting to get an idea of who you're screwing with now?
"You're the fool, Nevan." Vergil's voice. Shit, where is he? The two of us, Nevan and I, glanced over. He stood quietly behind us, just barely visible in the dying light of the bomb explosion. God I didn't even feel his aura. "You were so easily baited by a mere human. How degrading." Nevan hissed-either at me or Vergil-but unfortunately, was smart enough not to do anything. I encouraged her to remain still, by digging the point of Maelstrom's scyth edge into her chin a little more. Pinkish-blue blood trickled down the curved instep of Maelstrom and Nevan hissed under her breath. Vergil moved, his boots crunching over sun-baked ground, coming closer to us now.
"Are you going to kill her as well, Lauren?" Vergil asked calmly, studying the stand off between Nevan and I. Could I kill her? Yes…and he wouldn't even care would he? "It would give you satisfaction, would it not?" He added. Damn him... Even if his fuck buddy ate the big one it wouldn't get me any closer to getting the hell out of here.
"Fuck you, you sadistic prick," I growled at him. More blood trickled down my chin and I spat red out again. He was less than a pace away, stepping between Nevan and I. Nevan backed off instantly, maintaining a good three foot distance between herself and Vergil. I had to wonder…fuck buddies? Hmm…probably not by the way she was giving Vergil such a wide clearance. I'm willing to bet Vergil's using her as a servant or something… … … … … but they're probably still fuck buddies, the bastard… I tightened my grip on Maelstrom, letting the weapon drop until it rested on the ground, the blade ready to rend the sky in halves. My arm burned from the small time it took to threaten Nevan, just as it had in Hope. Not good, my body was nearing its limit.
"You keep making careless offers." Vergil's boot drove Maelstrom into the ground, trapping my hand beneath it. I grunted, as the staff of Maelstrom rolled into the palm of my hand, slipping from my fingers. I didn't counter the move. There was no counter to be made. I was already on my knees and bleeding out. I was at a disadvantage as it was. Vergil crouched, catching my chin between his thumb and pointer finger while his weight bore down on my hand. He studied me for a moment with those cold, unreadable eyes of his before speaking again. "Should I take you up on them?" I hissed, glaring at him.
"Not if you were the last living thing on the planet." He narrowed his eyes at me.
"You would have rather died, just a moment ago, than revealed the city was going to be incinerated. You want me dead that badly?" No shit, Mr. Personality. Vergil's face was hard to see in the dim light of the distant explosion. I couldn't read his tone either. Hope, Arizona now burned in the heat of a thousand suns. So many lives were lost. Anything that may have been living, dead, or somewhere in between the two, were now dust and ashes. I kept my mouth shut. Tit for tat, he never told me what they would do to my sister. He knew, knew, they would kill her and her baby. I didn't have to tell him anything.
Vergil released me, dropping my head to the side. His hand wrapped around my free arm in a vice grip. He rose, releasing Maelstrom from beneath his boot and dragged me to my feet. His thumb pushed hard into the fleshy inside of my arm, pinning the pressure point there perfectly. Two can play at that game.
Maelstrom arced through the air, as if of its own accord. Vergil's hand slammed down on mine, holding both off to the side as the pointed tip of Maelstrom dug into his shoulder. You're good Vergil, but I've gotten better, can't you see? Gripping my hand, he slowly and gently twisted them past the flexibility of my joints. I arced my hand forward as much as I could, digging the blade tip into his shoulder and drawing it against the flesh. Vergil ignored the pain, his face impassive. For several heartbeats it was a silent contest, his strength against mine, his pain versus mine.
"Foolish," Vergil growled quietly, tilting his head to the side. He continued to study me, those blue eyes taking in every detail. Pain rode up my arm as he continued to slowly twist it more and more. I grit my teeth but didn't give him the satisfaction of a grimace. I hooked Maelstrom a fraction more. My fingers tingled, turning blue.
"You have nothing to gain and everything to lose," Vergil commented, waiting. "I will break your arm should you force my hand, Lauren." He would too. He'd stay this way, continually pushing my arm past any logical bearing. He would break my arm. It was a battle of wills, but as usual, he had the upper hand. The joints of my fingers and elbow cracked and popped, the only and last warning they would give before self-imploding. Any longer and I wouldn't be able to use my arm any more. Goddamn him. Wincing I let go of Maelstrom, feeling the sting of my lip and cheek in that small movement, letting the scythe slide back into its dormant state on my middle finger. Everything to gain and nothing to lose? What the fuck does he know? I have nothing to gain…I have lost everything…and everyone…
"Why did you murder my general Lauren?" His tone was light, tight and foreboding, but the pressure eased off my arm somewhat. The tone was not something I'm used to hearing from him and I didn't really know what to make of it. I didn't want to say anything, but it was getting hard to keep my balance.
"You already know why," I said. Blood trickled down my chin yet as the cut on my lip swelled. That bitch kicked me hard. "You wouldn't ask me otherwise." The corner of Vergil's mouth twitched into a half smirk.
"True," Vergil agreed. The hand that was crushing my fingers before now reached up and smudged away the blood from my chin. The gesture is so casual-so damn human-it unnerved me. I pulled away from his touch. I didn't want him to touch me. Not like that.
"But then what else do you know?" Vergil demanded, flicking my blood from his fingers absent-mindedly. I shook my head and said nothing. "Are you aware the sickness is transmitted through bites?" His blue eyes weren't looking at me. Not at my face. What is he staring at? The hand that smeared away the blood lowered, traveling to the collar of my t-shirt to reveal a bruised bite mark near the collarbone. It was still healing, the virus made any kind of healing go very slowly, even with the 'benefits' I've gained in the past ten years.
"Care for an infection of your own?" I snapped. I got the bite way before Leon saved Sarah's ass and Sarah led him to me. I never said anything about it. There was no reason to, as its more or less impossible for me to contract the virus. My tolerance to the viral shit was already through the roof. Vergil had probably found the wound by smell alone.
Nevan hissed, her eyes going a full shock of magenta as she devil triggered. If that chick were a cat she'd had have a halo of hair standing on end. Vergil let his hand drop from my shoulder, glancing over at Nevan. He doesn't speak a word but I can almost feel the mental conversation they were having. Nevan knew enough about the death virus to want to kill me on the spot. So does Vergil apparently. However, Nevan wouldn't kill me. In fact, she was backing off and lowering her eyes, dropping into a bow of servitude to Vergil. All hail the king, apparently. Vergil just cowed her into submission. Maybe not fuck buddies after all. Maybe Nevan's a general working under Vergil too? But then, why would Vergil want to know what I know about the virus…especially if he had a hand in creating it? … … … …So there's something not even the great hell spawn Vergil knows. Not as omnipotent this time around are we? Vergil returned his full attention onto me. I steadied my nerves.
"Have a care, Lauren." He released me, backing off. My arm throbbed where he had been holding it. What? What the hell? "Death is not something to trifle with." I ground my teeth together, willing my legs not to give out just yet.
"Come Nevan." Turning Vergil and Nevan headed off. Wait a minute…he's leaving? I have a lame leg and possibly some dental work, thanks to Ms. Suck-suck. I can barely stand let alone put up a decent fight. Vergil literally had me right where he wanted me, he could have gotten anything he wanted, could have made me say anything he wanted with just a little bit more of a push. He knew it and I knew it.
This is more than just suspicious. What the hell is going on? Why is Vergil in Hope, Arizona-in the human realm no less? Demons can contract the virus…does that mean there's infected demons in hell or something? And what is that supposed to mean… 'Death is not something to trifle with'? Hello! Who was the bastard who fucking knifed me ten years ago? Who was the prick who murdered me for his own ends? 'Don't trifle with death'? What the fuck are you trying to pull Vergil?
"I hate you," I growled in that creaky, cracking got-the-shit-kicked-out-of-me voice I'm sporting now. My voice carried enough venom to poison a small furry thing. Nevan paused, glancing over her shoulder at me with magenta eyes. Purple tinged electricity crackles down her ass length hair before she turned and fell in pace behind Vergil again. Vergil didn't break his pace let alone toss me a second glance.
"You're entitled," he told me, coming a halt. Nevan walked past him, pooling energy in her hands. "You wouldn't be the first and you certainly won't be the last." A rift opened before Nevan and Vegil. It was a dark hole that swelled up from the ground, seeming to eat the light around it. It was darker than any darkness present in this realm of existence. A portal to hell. Peachy. Nevan shot another glare at me before stepping into the portal. Haughty aristocratic high nosed bitch. I owe her one. Big time.
"Let's meet again." Vergil said, glancing over his shoulder, now. He smirked at me. "Soon."
"Either kill me now or live to regret it, Vergil," I told him. He has to know I'm going to get revenge on him. If not for right now, then for what he did. He knows by now that I don't make idle threats. He will live to regret sparing my life tonight. Count on it. Vergil laughed, heading towards the hell portal now.
"Strange, but I look forward to our next chat. It's been far too dull." His pitiful life has been 'boring'? How dare he use me as his entertainment. Again, he read my mind as he seems to be able to do from time to time, saying the exact thing that will piss me off the most. "You've offered me far too much, Lauren. It would a waste not to take advantage-"
"Go to hell," I growled, interrupting him. Vergil just continued to laugh. Yeah aren't you just a barrel of monkies you prick.
"As you wish, little Lauren." Then he's gone, the hell portal closing behind him. Goddamn him.
Only now do I let my legs give out from under me and sink to the ground. My leg hurts and even though the light from distant, burning Hope is weak, I can kind of make out the dark red black stains of blood and congealed necro goo…but…what? What was that? There was a tightened brown leather band around my leg, just above the glass shard wound…a tourniquet? Who the hell put a tourniquet on my leg? … … … … … … … … … Sonvuabitch! Why the hell did he remove the glass shard in the first place! He kept me alive just to freaking question me? And honestly what the heck did he even get out of that? Sadistic fuck.
I look to Hope, still ablaze in all its glory. I have a lot to think about but…for now…I need to get out of this frickn' desert or I'm vulture food. Groaning, I got to my feet. The nearest town was roughly twenty miles away. It was about three am. I had three hours of staggering before it started to get hot again. I won't be able to get anywhere between 11 am until maybe 7 pm. It was coming off the tail end of summer, no way in hell I'll be able to avoid passing out with weather in the triple digits. I'll have to dig a hole to hide in or something. If I'm still conscious by then. No wonder he didn't let me bleed out. That would have been too quick. Starvation and dehydration take way longer. Vergil you bastard.
