Enter the Nomicon
Chapter 14
~ Blood Spilt ~
SUPER IMPORTANT A/N!:
I want to warn everyone that this chapter is extremely gory! There is also some torture, lots of homophobic slurs, and a violent death scene! If you are triggered by any of this, or are simply faint of heart I do have a much more safer version to read on my DeviantArt account right here!: ( art/CLEAN-VERSION-OF-CH-14-549502078?ga_submit_new=10%253A1438100606 )
Note, if the link doesn't work, you can just go straight to my profile!
Another quick note, I published the first chapter of the prequel to ETN if any of you are interested!
Okay, everyone else, enjoy! :3
…
Red. It clouded his vision. A strong, bitter and sulfurous smell filled his nostrils to the point where it was almost suffocating. The entirety of this was unpleasant. What was this exactly? Nomi couldn't tell, in fact, he couldn't recall anything that had mounted up to whatever was going on. He had no idea where he was, nothing. It all was just a blur.
It kinda felt like swimming in the ocean, except, it felt even lighter, almost completely weightless, engulfed in a sea of red. It was almost calming, which is what surprised Nomi the most. Everything just felt calm and relaxing, despite the mild discomfort. That didn't seem to be right. Not at all.
Something was wrong, terribly wrong. But what? What was wrong? What unsettling and unsavory thing was transpiring? Nothing felt right, that deep peace Nomi felt had seemingly vanished, replaced by a sense of wrongness, like the world was being torn apart, piece by piece. That dull ache of discomfort itched at Nomi, the red that filled his senses suddenly made him feel weak, vulnerable, scared, and alone.
But why?
...
The hideous scream echoed loudly throughout the halls of Norrisville High, causing the school to tremble to its very foundation.
Both Randy and Howard looked to each other with wide, panicked gazes. Neither teen had an explanation as to what was making this blood curdling scream.
"Howard!"
"N-ninja what's going on?!"
"I-I don't know!"
The two stumbled about, unable to keep their balances. Randy crashed into an empty desk, as Howard tripped over a chair, before landing on top of the still unconscious body of Mac Antfee.
As the scream passed, a sharp, biting sting tore into Randy like billions of needles pricking his body mercilessly. He gripped the edge of the desk with one hand, in order to support himself, while the other gripped at his stomach. As he forced himself upright, a pained gasp escaped him, only muffled by the ninja mask.
"H-aah."
Randy could only squeeze his eyes shut as pain spread all throughout his body.
"N-ninja?!"
Howard's voice could barely be heard.
"Ninja, look at me-say something!"
Randy forced his eyes open, and stared up at Howard dazedly.
"H-Howard?"
The pain began to slowly subside, though it was still painful for Randy to move normally, his tummy extremely tender.
"Ninja, you're glowing!"
Randy blinked owlishly, his movements and thought process seeming slower than usual.
"What?"
"I said you're glowing! You're completely red!"
Randy nodded distractedly. He couldn't quite register what Howard had just said.
"Cunningham?"
In any normal circumstance, Howard would never use Randy's last name when he was wearing the suit, but this was certainly not a normal circumstance.
Randy stared at Howard in a daze. He hadn't even bothered to scold the chubby teen for using his name.
"Something's wrong...I-I have to find Nomi."
"Are you insane?! The book can take care of himself, just wait here!"
Randy hesitated, before shaking his head.
"No, I have to find him...Whatever just made that scream...Nomi might need my help."
Heatedly set on searching for Nomi, Randy pushed himself completely away from the desk, wobbling slightly.
"Well, what do I do with him?!"
Howard gestured to the unconscious Mac Antfee lying on the ground between them.
"Just...keep an eye on him. You hit him pretty hard, so I don't think he'll get up any time soon."
Howard scowled, before looking down at Mac, then reluctantly nodding.
"Fine, but hurry it up."
Randy nodded.
"Thanks, buddy."
Howard huffed as Randy charged ungracefully out of the room, using the wall as support.
Suddenly, the body lying in front of Howard began to stir.
...
For the most part, the school seemed entirely deserted. The halls were littered with papers, notebooks, pencils and bags. Clearly everyone had left in a hurry.
The further Randy walked, the more on edge he felt. He felt vulnerable, and with every creak and shudder the school gave, the more it unsettled him, making him even more paranoid about his surroundings. It almost tempted him to pull out his sword, however, he refrained from doing so. It wouldn't make a difference anyway. Randy wouldn't be able to hold it, let alone use it.
As he ventured further down the hallway, he noticed how much more destroyed the classrooms were. Had he and Mac made this much of a mess? Randy glanced over a scorched piece of building and shook his head. No, no they hadn't.
Suddenly, before Randy could have a chance to even blink, a burst of colorful doodles flooded the hallway. They burned everything they touched, reducing them into nothing more than ashes.
Randy was unable to move away fast enough. He squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the burning sensation of fire to rip through his body and burn him to a crisp, but it never came.
Daring to open an eye, Randy found himself staring face to cover of what looked like a tiny, colorful doodle of Nomi in book form, complete with tiny stick figure arms and legs. For a moment, he stared at the little doodle dumbly, before it suddenly began to nuzzle Randy's cheek.
Randy froze in surprise, he wasn't sure what to do, so he allowed the act, which was soon added by other doodles that began rubbing themselves against his body.
A light feeling of warmth began to spread throughout his body, seeping into his very veins. Any pain Randy had previously felt slipped away, until there was no pain at all. He flexed his fingers curiously, still feeling no pain. The tiny doodles seemed to sense this as they all pulled away. The Nomicon doodle lingered for just a second longer, before it too floated past Randy, and finally fading away into nothing. He glanced down at his hands, and found that he was no longer covered in stank.
To Randy, the entire transaction was odd to say the least.
"What the juice just happened?"
Randy didn't have much time to ponder over it, before suddenly-
"Hello, nice wad."
Randy had barely managed to turn around before something smacked him hard against the side of his head. He was sent stumbling to the ground, stars dancing in his eyes. He could feel Mac's presence looming over him. Randy turned his head as best he could to look up at him. The man held a wicked smirk on his face. Randy saw a large wooden board in his hands.
Mac raised it again, before bringing it down upon Randy. Darkness overcame his vision.
...
A deep groan.
"Hmm, I think he's waking up. Good, I thought you killed the brat."
Randy shifted, his eyes beginning to adjust.
"Too bad, it would've made things easier. Ah well, fucking with him is gonna be even better."
His muscles ached, and his head stung.
"Uuugh..."
Randy moaned out. He turned his head to the side, and at first could only see a wall, but soon someone stepped into his view. Randy's eyes widened as the Sorceress stood before him. She gave him a smile that could rival the Cheshire cat's.
"Hmm, for such a puny little rat, you've caused quite a bit of trouble. I suppose I can't complain though, you being such a weakling made it easier for us. The Norisu brat wasn't all that much different either. Shame, I expected more of a fight from the worthless worm."
Randy began to tremble violently,
"W-what?"
The Sorceress's smile grew wider, but before she could utter another word, a deep growl resonated from somewhere Randy couldn't see. She began to giggle and coo.
"Oh, it seems he's quite the impatient one."
Randy swallowed. He tried craning his neck further to see what the witch was talking about, but to no avail. What was holding him down?
Randy felt added pressure on his back, and he let out a sharp gasp of pain.
"What, excited to see Teach?"
Oh. Right, Mac. Oh no, Howard! He'd told him to keep an eye on Mac! Did he do something to him?!
Randy began to squirm around vigorously.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"L-let me go! LET ME GO!"
Mac chuckled darkly. He lifted his foot from the small of Randy's back before viciously stomping down on him between his shoulder blades. Randy cried out.
"I believe it's time we ended this. No need to prolong this brat's time."
The Sorceress scowled, clearly more intent on finishing things up quickly. She knew that if the young ninja somehow managed to gain some form of upper hand, it would all be over, and their plans would go down the drain.
"Aw c'mon, I'm just getting started! I want this stupid fucker to pay. Let's just have a little fun with him. Besides, the 800 year old newspaper isn't gonna be any trouble, now that he's under your control. Besides, I have the mask."
"WAIT WHAT."
Randy's eyes shot open, his pupils shrunk. No, it couldn't be!
The Sorceress eyed the purple haired teen tentatively. The idea was much too good to simply pass up. The ninja had been a thorn on her side for centuries. And now, the opportunity to make him pay was practically laid out in front of her. Even better, she had the right weapons for the job.
"Hmm, I guess we aren't in such a rush. And this could be the perfect chance to practice my control over the Nomicon."
Her eyes glistened wickedly as she spoke.
Meanwhile, Randy's heart was beating madly against his chest. He was in a full fledged panic. They know who he is, his secret identity exposed, and Nomi was sta-
Snap!
The Sorceress had snapped her bony fingers, and instantly a blur of black and red was at her side.
Mac Antfee removed his foot, lifting Randy by the scruff of his shirt, shoving him face to face with what had become of his teacher.
Nomi's body was long and slender, with short, muscular legs, each equipped with long red talons. His snout was long with two feelers on either side of his cherry red nose, and a small beard grew on his chin. On top of his head sat a set of antlers and a mop of long, red hair that ran from the top of his head and ended at the tuft on his tail. The entirety of Nomi's body was coated in impenetrable black scales, and a cream colored underbelly with the glowing red symbol of the Norisu Nine engrained at his chest.
"Nomi..."
His name was all that he could manage to muster.
The Sorceress cooed as she ran a sickly green hand against the smooth scales.
"Yes, he'll wreak havoc upon this pathetic town, and soon the world will be ours. Hellion, destroy this pitiful building."
"No, Nomi don't! NO!"
Nomi ignored Randy's pleas. He snarled, baring his large fangs, smoke pouring out of his mouth and nostrils. He then turned to the nearest wall, and without batting an eye, released a powerful torrent of colorful doodles that acted like flames, eating away at the wall and anything beyond that with ease. He then rammed his antlers against the smoldering room, destroying any surviving material, before moving on to the next room, all within a matter of seconds.
Randy could only watch on in horror, before he was promptly shoved against the wall, away from Nomi. He could just imagine Mac was grinning from ear to ear.
Randy squeezed his eyes tightly shut as Mac Antfee began to beat him. He was punched numerously against his head, before being thrown like a ragdoll against the cool tile. One of his eyes was swollen and black, blood leaking profusely from his nose.
"You were such a fucking pain in my ass, kid. You don't even deserve that mask. I'M the best ninja that old twink has ever taught. You're worthless compared to me! Do you hear that?! WORTHLESS! And I know you like him. It's almost painful with how obvious it is. But you know what?"
Randy swallowed a sob as Mac kicked him in the stomach.
"He doesn't care about you. He just sees you as some poor kid who's stuck doing his dirty work."
Another swift kick, this time to Randy's ribs.
"You're nothing to him. You're just a replaceable pawn!"
Mac grabbed Randy by the throat, lifting him up high. He began to squeeze, barely allowing any air to pass through his lungs.
"He won't miss you, let alone love you. I almost feel sorry for ya. Too bad I'm gonna fucking kill you."
"N-Nomi!... NOMI!..NOMI HELP!...PLEASE-!" Randy rasped out desperately.
Mac snickered, he watched, utterly amused, before digging his nails harshly into Randy's neck, cutting off almost all air from his lungs, leaving the teen gasping.
"The book isn't gonna do a thing to help you now. He belongs to us now."
Randy's hands shot out and grabbed at Mac Antfee's hand, trying to pull it away, but it didn't budge.
The Sorceress watched the display, a sense of sickening satisfaction crossed her wrinkled face.
...
Nomi had gone far off down the hall, far away from the brutal beating of his student. He had already destroyed nearly a third of the nearby classes in less than a few minutes.
He could hear the sounds of a fight, and despite his mind being completely under the control of the Sorceress, some form of curiosity entered his mind, and he found himself twisting back around down the hall from where he'd previously come from.
Nomi couldn't quite place why he was so interested in the sounds of the skirmish, yet continued on, ignoring his previous orders to destroy.
It was odd, but even the idea of destroying things was actually quite foreign to Nomi. Why did everything feel so off? So wrong?
Nothing made sense.
Nomi marched on as he tried to make sense of everything, but it was as if something was preventing him from doing so. But what and why? He couldn't say.
"N-Nomi!"
Nomi froze.
"... NOMI!.."
Who was that? Why were they calling for him? They sounded familiar...
"NOMI HELP!...PLEASE-!"
This time, something snapped. It hit him like a ton of bricks, reality came pummeling down on Nomi. The deep red veil that had clouded his mind vanished. He remembered. The fight that had broken out between himself, Randy, the Sorceress, and Mac...the rage that led to him getting stanked.
A deep bubbling anger flared through his mind, and Nomi suddenly began to barrel his way down the ruins of the demolished hallway with no signs of stopping.
…
Mac watched as Randy struggled, slowly suffocating within the tips of his fingers. Just like the Sorceress, a swell of satisfaction puffed inside his chest.
Randy's mouth fell open as he despairingly tried to breathe in any air he could, but Mac did not allow him. He squeezed just enough to cut off all air supply to his lungs, and when the man relented enough to let him take a breath, it simply wasn't enough. Randy could feel his eyes beginning to roll backwards as the lack of air was causing him to slowly lose consciousness again.
He knew that it would be permanent this time.
Seconds passed, and Mac did not give Randy the relief of even a small amount of breath. His grip on Mac's hand weakened.
"This is it," Randy thought, "this is where I'm gonna die."
Just as Randy was about to pass out, a loud snarling roar startled Mac, causing him to release Randy's neck, just barely enough for the teen to breathe. And the man was almost instantaneously torn away from him.
Everyone, even the Sorceress, seemed shocked.
Mac was on the ground, utterly terrified as Nomi hovered over him, pinning him down with one large clawed hand, his long red talons threatening to pierce the skin on his chest.
Randy wheezed, as he took desperate gulps of air, coughing every few seconds. He laid there limply, his eyes closed and tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. Small sobs escaping him.
Mac squirmed underneath Nomi, staring up at the ancient being with a fearful gaze.
Nomi leaned down, a resonating growl erupted from his maw, and he bore his long fangs, clearly intent on using them.
The Sorceress, who had been watching the entire display, acted fast. She created a ball of pink energy and aimed it skillfully at Nomi, hitting him dead on, causing the dragon to rear up, releasing his hold on Mac. The ginger haired man wasted no time to scramble away. He reached behind him and pulled out the stank covered katana, the Sorceress joining his side.
"YOU FOOL! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN TO NOT HAVE LISTENED TO A WORD YOU SPAT OUT! THE NOMICON IS NO LONGER IN MY CONTROL!" The Sorceress snarled.
"Then get him back in your control!" Mac hissed back.
Before the Sorceress could retort, a large billow of colorful doodles smacked her, sending her flying down the end of the hall. She was out, cold.
Mac stared after her, in complete shock, before turning back around in front of him. That was a huge mistake.
Nomi's reptilian tail swung out at Mac like a whip, snatching his katana from his grip.
Randy watched quietly, having at some point managed to push himself into a slumped, sitting position against the wall. To him, it was like watching a scary movie, as the monster was being cornered, getting ready for the final stretch of the film.
Unfortunately this was no movie. This was real.
As Nomi lunged, Mac darted around the mouth full of teeth, just narrowly escaping by a hair. He hastily went for his katana, which sat an inch or two within the tips of his fingers. However, Nomi was quicker. Like a rubber band, Nomi snapped around faster than a whip, snapping his large jaws onto Mac's hand.
Mac Antfee hollered loudly in sheer pain, before being tossed into a pile of rubble.
Randy watched in silent horror as Nomi opened his bloody jaws, preparing to enlist a final blow, but just before he could, a pink blast hit him squarely in the jaw.
Nomi roared angrily, turning to the source of the offending blow. The Sorceress.
Nomi narrowed his eyes darkly, and was quickly upon her in seconds.
Having been unprepared for Nomi's speed, the Sorceress was useless in fighting off the redhead's devastating attacks.
Randy continued to watch, breathless, as Nomi unleashed ferocious attacks with brutal force and absolutely no mercy.
Suddenly, a deep grunt of pain caught his attention and instantly, fear swarmed his mind.
Mac was slowly getting back up onto shaky feet, one hand bleeding profusely, the other grasped at the glowing green katana tightly. He began to stagger towards Randy. A maniacal grin was stretching itself across his face, eyes wide and wild.
He began to laugh.
"I'm gonna finish what I started. And there's nothing he can do to save you now."
Randy pressed himself against the wall. He felt small, compared to Mac, as he loomed over him. Randy whimpered as Mac grabbed at his throat again, lifting him up high, his body pressed against the wall. Randy closed his eyes as Mac began to squeeze his neck again.
Mac chuckled softly as he slowly raised his katana, before plunging it straight into Randy's stomach.
Randy threw his head back, his mouth fell open as he let out an odd, strangled cry that quickly fell silent as Mac tightened his grip on Randy's neck, his dark grin only growing at the sight.
...
Howard moaned out pitifully, his face stung, and he was more than sure his nose was broken.
The last thing Howard could recall was Mac getting to his feet. Howard had tried to call for Randy to come back, before he felt a sharp cuff to his face that rendered him unconscious.
For how long was he out was a mystery that seemed like too much work to ponder. He simply hoped that Randy was okay. That way, when he saw him again, he could slap him, because holy cheese, he was left alone with that maniac!
Howard huffed in annoyance at the thought. He then pushed himself back to his feet, but only to be knocked back down again.
The entire school began to tremble, sounds of destruction radiated off throughout the halls. It was almost like an earthquake had hit.
Howard gripped at a desk and pushed himself up.
Random chips and pieces of the ceiling began to dust his hair, which he brushed off in aggravation. He turned to the rest of the room, and could tell that Mac was definitely long gone, and Randy still hadn't come back yet.
Wait.
"CUNNINGHAM!"
Randy wasn't back, the whole school was shaking, and oh my cheese there's some huge monster outside the room.
Howard froze at the sight of what looked to be a black dragon passing by. The large beast appeared to be in deep thought when-
"N-Nomi!"
The dragon paused, raising its head just slightly, before moving closer to the source of the voice.
Howard's heart skipped a beat. That had sounded like Randy.
"... NOMI!.."
It started to walk faster, ears perked up in alert.
"NOMI HELP!...PLEASE-!"
Then it started to run. The large dragon was a blur, and was gone in seconds.
Wait. Was that-? No, it couldn't be the book? Could it?
Howard decided he wasn't going to wait and find out, he had to go after it before it could get to Randy.
With that, Howard made his way into the hall.
...
The taste of iron intoxicated Randy's mouth. His lungs cried out for air, and the urge to vomit attacked his insides. It didn't help that a sword was literally hacking at him either, even more so when the sword wielder was twisting it around.
Randy could only squirm around weakly. He couldn't even call out to Nomi anymore.
"You know what, nice wad? You're absolutely pathetic. If ya had just given me the mask, I wouldn't have to kill you. But you just had to play the hero, huh?"
Randy could only squeeze his eyes shut as Mac continued to berate him. Tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Are you seriously fucking crying?"
Soft whimpers escaped Randy's bloody lips.
It wasn't the response that Mac had wanted. He slowly slid the the katana out of Randy's gut, and held it up to the teen's bloodied face. Randy squirmed, crying out.
"Look at it."
The young ninja didn't open his eyes.
The ex-ninja ninja scowled darkly at him, before violently shaking him.
"I SAID FUCKING LOOK AT IT!"
Randy whimpered, slowly opening his eyes and peering face to face to Mac's bloody sword. Tears blurred his vision, turning the sword into a smeared blob of red.
"You're so fucking useless, a waste of space. You're the shittiest ninja ever, a huge fuck up. I don't know what Teach saw in you. He must have been desperate."
Randy stifled out a sob.
…
The Sorceress hissed, as wall of colorful doodles nearly burnt her to a crisp. She raised a part of her shroud to shield herself as it passed. She had so far managed to evade most of the Nomicon's more vicious attacks, but just barely. She knew though, that eventually it wouldn't be long before the large dragon would manage to land a hit on her, and she would be thrown into another deadly foray. Thus far she's been on the defensive, and that quickly needed to change. She was already cornered against a wall, her magic useless against Nomi, and she was slowly running out of ideas. She needed to distract the beast.
Her eyes darted around until they landed onto her ticket of escape, the purple haired brat that Mac was currently torturing to death.
The Sorceress grinned darkly, and fell into her usual act of manipulation. Cooing, she narrowed her soulless yellow eyes, lips pursed,
"Poor, poor Nomicon. Do you really believe that you can have that little ninja as yours? You aren't human anymore, remember? Any form of humanity you show is simply an act you put up to fool everyone around you. Now, you've even managed to fool yourself. He will grow old, while you'll continue your miserable existence."
Nomi paused.
"Besides, the boy despises you. He wouldn't have to deal with any of this had you not burdened him with your duty. You've ruined his life, and now he will die, because of your incompetence! I'm sure Mac Antfee agrees, after all, he seems to be having quite a bit of fun torturing your little toy to death."
As the Sorceress said this, she lifted a bony hand and pointed at Mac and Randy, a wicked grin on her face.
Nomi hastily spun around, eyes immediately landing on the two. Mac holding Randy up by his throat, and a blood soaked sword in his other. A large gaping wound decorated Randy's gut and was gushing out large amounts of blood.
Nomi's eyes narrowed, he let out a blood curdling roar, and charged straight to Mac, completely forgetting about the Sorceress.
...
Mac sneered.
"Fucking weak. A damned pathetic, cock sucking brat."
Randy closed his eyes, his mouth fell open as strangled sobs left him.
"You and your fat fuck of a friend. Can't believe he wants you."
Randy's eyes shot open. He tried to mouth a 'what?' to Mac, but Mac simply rolled his eyes. He seemed bored, and even mildly disappointed.
"I think I'm just gonna wrap this up. You're such a damned crybaby, not even worth my time-"
A loud roar cut off the rest of Mac's sentence. He turned to where he guessed was the source, but immediately found himself being bulldozed away, releasing his grip on Randy.
The man's eyes were wide with fear, and his mouth wide open as a pained, gurgled cry escaped him. Nomi's antlers impaled right into his arm, ribs, thigh, and cheek, barely missing the temple.
With brutal ferocity, Nomi snapped his head in an effort to shake the man off, and once he did, Nomi began to violently tear into Mac Antfee. With no mercy, Nomi began to tear him to shreds, viciously tearing off an arm.
Randy laid where he was dropped, his own blood already pooling around him. He'd already lost a good amount before. It was a miracle he hadn't passed out yet.
He took in deep and heavy breaths, savoring each swallows of air he got. His vision, though blurred by his tears, and one eye swelled shut, it didn't completely hinder him from the the grizzly scene that was playing out before him.
Mac was shrieking loudly, painfully, as the sounds of his flesh being torn apart could be heard.
Randy shuddered at the sounds, disgusted.
His whole body ached, his face especially stung, but indescribable pain spread from his stomach. This entire moment seemed so unbelievable, like something from a nightmare.
Was this a nightmare? Wasn't he going to wake up and find himself in his own room?
The Sorceress, in all her centuries of existence, was actually mortified by Nomi's gruesome performance. She needed to leave now, unless she wanted to end up like Mac, but first, she needed to grab something, something important.
Making her way around the Nomicon in silence. She stopped by a seemingly insignificant pile of rubble, and pulled out the Ninja mask. Originally, the witch had been willing to hand it over to Mac, so long as he kept up with his end of the deal, which was to help her gain control of the Nomicon. Of course, that clearly wasn't what was happening, and that being said, the Sorceress decided that this was her time to take her leave.
...
Nomi had made quick work of Mac. What was left of him was barely recognizable to anyone.
Randy stared weakly up at his teacher, and for the first time ever, he actually felt afraid of Nomi.
The older male slowly turned to him, his jaws dripping with Mac's blood, and he began to make his way towards Randy.
Not sure whether or not Nomi would attack him, Randy hastily reached into his pocket and fished out his wallet. With trembling hands he dug around and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Nomi paused, watching in curiosity as Randy began to unfold it, before holding up the parchment. It was the painting of Nomi and his siblings.
Nomi blinked, he stepped closer. His voice was soft, almost gentle, but still came out as an inhuman rasp.
"RAnDy? ...bROtHerS AnD SisTeRs...HOw...?"
Nomi carefully pressed his nose against the ancient painting, sniffing it lightly. A purr emitted from his throat, and he laid his head on the bloody tile in front of Randy.
Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. What had he just done? Something unforgivable, sick, and brutal. It was wrong and selfish, worse, Randy had to witness it all, endure through it all.
The black dragon let out a shaky whimper, a puff of air escaped him, and with it so did the stank.
Randy watched as the red air slithered away, out of sight. He turned his gaze back to Nomi, and stared in silence as the older teen reverted back to his normal self.
"I'm so sorry. Randy, I...I'm so sorry..."
Tears rained down Nomi's cheeks as he continued to vainly blurt out undecipherable apologies. He buried his face into Randy's chest.
Randy smiled, he opened his mouth as if to say something. It was weak and soft.
"Nomi...I love... "
But just like that, he trailed off as his vision became black, and he finally passed out.
Nomi hadn't noticed that Randy had tried to speak, too stricken with grief and shame at his own, despicable actions.
He did, however, hear the sounds of distant vehicles, and more than likely they were police officers, ambulances, news vans...the usual group of vultures.
"What did you do?"
The voice startled Nomi, and he pulled away to find Howard standing only a few feet away from them.
"Howard-"
Nomi could hardly even get in Howard's name, before Howard rushed over and harshly shoved Nomi away. The redhead didn't fight back as Howard began to berate and shout at him.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HIM YOU BASTARD?!"
Nomi's eyes widened slightly. Did Howard think that he...?
"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM! DON'T EVEN COME NEAR HIM! IT'S YOUR FAULT YOU STUPID BOOK!"
Nomi winced, but otherwise didn't react. Howard glared at him murderously, before turning away and hastily lifting up his best friend's limp body. He shot Nomi another look as if he wanted to say something else, but decided against it, and ran off.
Nomi cringed as the sound of the school's front entrance slammed shut behind the chubby teen. After that, an unsettling quiet set in.
Nomi's eyes fell upon the painting of him and his siblings that Randy had dropped, and carefully took it into his hands. He clutched it closely, not daring to look at the faces of the people that he clearly disappointed.
He pondered how on earth Randy had come across it.
Nomi knew that he should probably go after Howard and Randy, at least to make sure his student made it to the hospital safely, but he didn't. The words of the Sorceress and Howard echoed through his mind, and he stayed, glued to the floor he was sitting on.
...
Hours passed by, before a gentle but firm hand placed itself onto Nomi's shoulder.
Nomi silently turned to the hands owner and he found himself staring up at a familiar face.
A man wearing a cowboy hat glanced down at him forlornly, his expression grave, yet at the same time, sympathetic.
It was Nomi's "uncle" Charlie. There was very little Nomi knew about the man, for one, his name wasn't Charlie. No one knew what it was, not even his parents knew. Two, Nomi and Charlie were certainly not related by blood, but he was a friend of Nomi's family, long before he had been born. Though the southern accented man was still a complete mystery, there was no doubt that he was an ally. How he came to be an ally was a long story, but for another
The point was, "Charlie" cared, and that was that.
Said man carefully kneeled on the ground, avoiding the pool of blood that Nomi was laying on, and wrapped his arms around Nomi. The redhead couldn't resist and returned the gesture, breaking down into loud sobs into the man's shoulder.
It had been centuries since the last time the two had actually embraced, let alone speak. Still, the blossoming familiarity pulled Nomi in and kept him there, until it overwhelmed him. Nomi pulled away and numbly got to his feet, brushing off any other forms of comfort the man offered.
"You gon' be okay?"
Charlie's deep southern voice strung against Nomi, and all the teen could do was shake his head, before walking off.
Charlie stood there, and watched as Nomi walked off, making no movements to stop him.
He simply nodded, and walked off to his own direction.
As Nomi walked off, he tried to ignore Mac's mutilated body, barely resisting the urge to vomit.
He clumsily hopped out a nearby window, and headed into town.
...
Whoo! This chapter was definitely the hardest to write, and the most goriest thing I've ever written, by far. Ah, I know it's been ages since I last updated, but let me tell you guys when I say that I will never give up on this story. I've invested so much of my time, and poured my heart out into this, that I'd be insane to just suddenly quit.
Please, don't send anymore messages asking when I'm going to update, or that I should pass off the story to someone else, etc. It's pretty hurtful.
Aside from that, I do want to say that I am looking for anyone interested in being an editor for ETN and TBNYW (the prequel of ETN). If you are interested, send me a pm and we'll see from there!
Okay, hoped you guys enjoyed!