A/N:

Hi again... here's a little quick update... it's not a full-fledged chapter but more a bridge-thing between 'book one' and 'two'. Therefore I'll keep it short and wish you happy (or unhappy whatever suits you) reading.

The music I structured this around is a bit rougher piece called 'Inri' by industrial band 'Psyclon Nine', it's not what you'd normally call a terribly pretty song but then again this is not a terribly pretty installment in the story. It can be found at:

vampirefreaks. com/ u/ psyclon nine

(Again remove spacings and put an underscore between 'psyclon' and 'nine')

There is a player which should allow you to stream it directly (works for me at least :) ), you just need to choose the song first from the player (song number 4 at the time of writing). Unfortunately the player is a bit annoying since it doesn't stop when it finishes playing a song, so if you don't feel like hearing them doing a cover of a Ministry song afterwards you need to stop the player after the song's finished (You may feel a need stop it before that heh...)

A few words about it: I don't really consider myself to be a die-hard fan of the aggrotech music genre but I chose this one because of the rage and loneliness I feel is evident in the song. Furthermore the vocals are quite harsh-sounding and can easily be considered to come directly from Chrono's inner beast, and as such the things written in bold are supposed to be the 'voice of the beast' as well as being lyrics taken directly from the song (if you read at about my reading speed they will appear in the chapter about the same time as in the song). I suppose all this sort of makes this into a songfic but I dunno... I just thought it worked nicely.

POV is not Chrono's (some later point in time it'll be explained who's it is)

Tomorrow is another Night

By Shnoosh

Violent Interlude

(Psyclon nine - Inri:

vampirefreaks. com/ u/ psyclon nine)

This...

I close my eyes tightly in an attempt to block out everything and pretend I'm in a bubble of dark safety.

Is...

I cover my ears trying to keep the screams of dying people out of my head, but they still penetrate through my defenses.

Pure...

I grind my teeth together... it makes my jaw ache and I don't know why I'm doing it, but I can't seem to stop.

The deafening crash makes me scrunch up, my arms shoot up to protect my head as I duck down further behind the chair, trying to will myself to sink into the floor.

Madness!

Soon after follows another scream. A scream of a man in mortal pain.

A scream which only lasts a few seconds before it is cut short.

My whole body is trembling violently. I want to get up but my legs won't respond. My mind begs me to run away, but I have no control over my muscles.

I can't will myself to move... because...

Because I know...

I know exactly why that man's scream was cut short.

I know what it is, that's causing the whole mansion to sound like the center of a desecrated battlefield.

I know...

Because I saw... It.

I was there when it came crashing through the roof of the entry hall...

I was there when it hit the great marble statue, making the colossus topple over with just a single strike...

Part of the statue literally exploded from that hit...

As if someone had filled it with 808...

I was there when its claws ripped one of the servants to shreds in less than a second...

His blood...

His bones...

His organs...

Everywhere.

I didn't even know his name.

I was there for only a moment...

But I saw...

And I fled.

I ran down a random hallway and into the room I'm in now. I hid in a corner, hoping against hope that it would not find me here.

I don't know why it's here.

I don't know what it wants.

I don't even know what it is.

Except...

It's not human!

I have to get out of here.

More screams...

I have to get up.

Cries...

Get. Up.

Crashes...

Get! Up!

I will myself to stand, my hand grips the gun tightly, although I doubt I'll be able to fire it to save my life. My legs shake underneath me as I try to make it to the door. The sounds of chaos strengthens when I open it. I can't tell where it comes from – it's all around me.

And then I sense a voice...

An inhuman voice inside my head.

Hellishly conveying its emotions directly into my mind...

And... I... Run...

The sounds of people dying mixed with the fury of the screaming voice combines into a brutal symphony of suffering, that threatens to massacre my very sanity. My legs move with frantic speed attempting to carry me out of this slaughterhouse. I barely recognize where I'm going, I don't know this mansion very well, I was just bringing those two girls...

Another loud crash from above... It's up there now!

I duck sideways through an open doorway just as the ceiling comes down in the middle of the hallway.

I look up...

And I'm staring into big brown scared eyes...

It's one of the girls... the youngest sister...

The one who was supposed to die.

I'm suddenly overcome by the need to protect her. I grab the little girl in my arms and jump inside a nearby closet.

Our only hope is to hide.

The darkness doesn't shield my mind and the voice fills my head – I can even make out what it's saying.

'Condemned by our lord and our savior.'

"I'm scared..." The red haired girl sniffles. "What's happening?"

'I see now that I'm the son of no man.'

"Shhh... we need to keep quiet..." I try to keep the voice out of my head.

'Knowing of the traps that you've set for me.'

"I don't like that man..." Her frightened words tell me that she can hear it too.

'Why should I even try to save myself?'

"He won't find us in here." I try to comfort her as she begins to cry softly.

"I have to find my sister..."

Goddammit...

How do you tell a nine-year old girl that her sister has been slaughtered by some inhuman beast?

Simple.

"I'm sure your sister is fine, I think I saw her get out of here."

You don't.

"But..." She begins to talk and I interrupt her.

"Listen... you stay put here, and don't make a single sound. I'll go see if I can find a way out for us and then I'll come back for you."

I put my hand gently on her head. "Okay?" I feel her nod.

Once again I walk out in the room and proceed to the shattered hallway. I still hear screams... audible as well as inaudible. But there's no nearby sounds of destruction so I run down the hallway. I come across remains of people torn to pieces... blood cakes the walls, and there are piles of dust lying scattered around.

I reach the entry hall.

It looks like it has been hit by a bomb.

Both of the marble statues have fallen, they now lie in pieces on the ground. A whole section of wall has come down too, adding to the rubble alongside much of the roof.

What the hell could have done this?

But whatever it is...

It's not here right now, so I should go back to get the girl.

"HELP!"

The scream alerts me to a young woman. She's lying face down and trapped beneath the remains of the shattered wall and much of the marble statues. There's enough of her upper body free to allow her to scream, but from her waist down she's hopelessly stuck underneath tons of stone.

"I can't get out!" She's probably one of the servant girls... not that social status matters in this situation. "Help me!"

"Hold on a sec..." I begin to remove some of the debris – damn... this girl has been at the worst possible places when the statue crashed down.

"Hurry! Please..." The second word is uttered almost apologetically, like she's afraid she'll make me leave her by being rude.

I remove a large board allowing myself to get a better look...

And then I stop.

"What's the matter? HURRY UP!" She obviously sensed me stalling.

There's a leg down there...

Her leg...

And it's not connected to the rest of her body.

But she doesn't bleed from the stump which is still attached to her upper body, which makes me realize something.

All the rocks weighing down on her midsection must have effectively cut off the blood supply to her legs... and if they've done that... then lifting them off again means...

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?"

"Listen..." My voice is serious but reassuring. "I'll try to lift the rocks here as much as I can. I'll count to three and on the count of three I want you to try and work your way out... got that?"

"Yeah... ok." She sounds a bit doubtful of my plan but her voice holds a spark of hope.

I stand with my legs on either side of her shoulders my back is to the rocks. Her hands claws desperately at the floor to find something to grab, her head is turned towards the ground.

She can't see what I'm doing.

"One."

I kneel down slightly as if I'm gonna try to push the rocks off with the strength of my legs. I point the gun directly at her head.

"Two."

'BANG!'

Her body immediately goes limp. The ground underneath her head becomes smeared in a dark burgundy substance, there's a hole in the back of her head and I really don't want to see what her face looks like.

All I could give her was a quick death... allow her to die with hope in her heart...

I leave her and run back towards the room with the closet. I have to find the girl, I have to save her to redeem myself.

I run into the room and rip the closet door open...

She's not there.

DAMMIT!

I told her to stay put.

I can't go look for her now...

I'll die...

DAMMIT!

But...

Only her sister was supposed to live anyway...

Just because I was the one who brought them here... under the pretense that the lord would use them as servants... it's not as if it's my fault that she's going to die now... I mean what choice did I have?

None.

DAMMIT!

I'm already running through the corridor... the opposite way... I'm already searching for her.

God damn guilt!

Why does it have to... THERE!

She's standing peeking through the slightly ajar door leading into the main bedroom... I could have told myself that... it was where her sister had been taken. Several body parts litter the floor around her... the sight is gruesome to say the least.

I quickly snatch her off her feet... the girl is completely paralyzed...

I turn around to run back down the corridor.

I have to make it out of here!

I have no idea what she has seen in there... but it has rendered her completely motionless in my arms. Her frantic pulse reveals that she's still alive though.

I bolt through the hallway and out into the ruined entry hall again.

"SISTER!"

The girl wakes up from her coma, and starts to hit me in order for me to let go. "STOP IT!" I grip her tighter and she winces from the uncomfortable embrace. "There's nothing we can do!"

She begins to cry as I run out into the night air and makes it for the first and best car... luckily I know how to hotwire it. I get in and place the red haired girl in the passenger seat before proceeding to start the car. She's sobbing hopelessly but doesn't make a move to get out.

"Sister..."

As the car starts I'm struck by the irony of all this.

The girl beside me is alive... because of me... and if it hadn't been for that... thing... in there... she would have been dead... also because of me...

Instead the rest of the mansion's household is now being mercilessly slaughtered.

And it actually means I'm free... I can escape from all of this...

I ought to be thankful for that.

Still I can't help but feel the echoes of that beast screaming inside my head. I never actually heard the words... instead... it's like they have somehow imprinted themselves in my brain...

Literally branded my mind with a symbol of pain and anger.

WHY

SHOULD

I BELIEVE, IF GOD'S NOT

HERE

TO

SAVE

ME?

And done...

So thanks for reading once again... I feel it was a bit on the experimental side, so do tell me what you think – I'd very much like to know.