I should probably apologise for the slightly more R rated feel to this chapter. but i won't :)
When the power went out a hostile panic flashed through them all, the sun had long ago set and the sudden plunge into pitch darkness left them all gasping with a panicked fright. Fumbling in the dark they managed to locate one of the torches, the single beam of light like a beacon as it flicked from face to face, each one pale in the harsh light, eyes wide and confused as to what had gone wrong.
They soon found out it had been a distraction, Jeep, Kyle and Kevin had made their uncertain way back to the generator room, the three of them having the most experience with the machines, leaving the rest of them in the pervading dark of the living room, lit by the warm glow of a few glittering candles, the yellow flames casting long shadows and impenetrable corners of darkness that hovered at the edges of their vision, all them on edge, hands braced on their knees as a shrill and piercing scream echoed through the corridors.
They found Jared after the ensuing rush of trampling feet, hurrying through the hallways until they came upon Abigail, forcing herself back into a corner, her eyes wide and terrified as she looked at the body lain sprawled on the unforgiving concrete floor, blood spilling from his eyes, his gaze upturned, horrified, hands frozen where they had scrambled at his neck, at the heavy metal object fastened neatly around burned and charred flesh, the smell of it strong in the enclosed space. A collective gasp of horror and revulsion whispered through the room, edged by a sudden and debilitating sense of awareness as they recognised the object adorning his neck: Michael's collar.
His death had shocked them deeply, they had all been subject to his dark and scathing scepticism, his brusque and sometimes obnoxious manner, but he was still one of them, a survivor, and they felt his pointless death with a keen poignancy. But it affected Michael the most, blaming himself for not having ridding himself of the destructive halo, knowing exactly what it would do were any of them to put it on, the human body not made to withstand the undiluted contact with their creator. He took a greater pain in knowing that had it been any of the others, anyone's but his, then his death might have been avoided, he may have been left damaged, but he could have lived, and that poor young girl would not have had to have seen him.
Kate had told him not to blame himself, the man had had a determination over the last few days, pushing Michael for answers, turning his fury at having lost everything on those who had once served Him, he had alluded to finding out the answers for himself, his obscure threat brushed aside as the ravings of an angry and disturbed man. They had never entertained the thought that he would actually seek out the one article that remained in the bunker that could gain him contact with God, the cold metal halo wrapped up and tucked beneath Kate and Michael's bed, out of sight and only mentioned in whispers and rumours. None of them could have anticipated the determination of one man seeking answers for his personal devastation, purposefully sabotaging the generator in order to provide him with enough time to sneak through the corridors, relying on the chaos he had caused to sufficiently hide his actions. But Michael had remained silent, the hard edges of the metal cutting into his hands as he stared at it, holding it with an air of distrust, trying not to notice the remains of burnt skin that clung to the inside edge.
She had left him alone, sensing from the dangerous glint in his eye that he needed space, some time to think, so she had retreated back to where the others had gathered, clustering around the scatter of candles, the shaking and tremulous breaths they issued making the flames gutter and flare. she gave him an hour before she went back to him, long enough for him to have calmed the anger he held for himself, long enough for him to have pushed the collar back beneath the bed with the design to be rid of it as soon as possible. She walked the length of the pitch black corridor, her hand guarding the flame of the short candle she held carefully, measuring her steps until she reached her door.
She had just opened it when the flame went out, whatever utterance of annoyance she would have made was replaced with the shocked gasp that burst from her lips when she was grabbed roughly by the wrist, the door shutting loudly behind her as she was turned, her hands held and pressed against the wall, her cheek against the cool paint as she felt the hard heat of him press against her back, his breath hot on her neck as he held her trapped. Her heart lurched in her chest, a bewildering thrill rushing through her at the cool shudder of unexpected fear. She gasped his name, trying to pull back from where he had her hands held in his restricting grip, pushing against his chest as she turned to try and face him, but the darkness was complete, not even a glimmer of reflected light to cast relief on her senses as he fastened his mouth to her neck, his searing kiss jolting in her stomach with a twisting shock of arousal.
She moaned lowly, unable to stop herself as she found herself completely surrounded by his heat, hard and firm, his hold on her strong as her knees trembled at his sudden onslaught. She tried to speak, tried to form words around the whimpered sighs that escaped her lips as he trailed unyielding kisses down her neck, biting lightly at the slope of her shoulder, his teeth grazing with a delicious friction against her skin, igniting something furiously dark within her.
She knew this wasn't the right time, the faint flicker of recognisable thought offering up the stark knowledge that a man had just died, that they had lost someone, but she could feel his desperate search for affirmation in the wake of the nights events in the way he laced his fingers between hers, pressing tightly before stroked down her body in a firm caress, hands beneath her shirt, smoothing up her stomach, holding her in a possessive grip as she let her head fall back against his shoulder, offering up more of herself to his temptation. She reached up behind her, her nails sharp against his skin, running up into his hair as he found that spot beneath her ear that made her utter a pained sound, a sighed objection as he pulled her hand away, placing it back against the wall even as he curled her hair in his fist, pulling her head back so he could kiss her, claiming her with a barely reserved passion, the buttons on her shirt pulled undone, his hand hot and warm against her skin as he cupped her, the noises she made hidden and swallowed in his kiss. His hands were rough against her, almost painful as he moved them over her skin, tugging at the waistband of her jeans, snapping the buttons undone and pushing them down over her hips. The breath was forced from her lungs as his arm held her firmly across the chest, pulling her flush against him as his hand trailed with purpose up the inside of her thigh, her breathless gasps echoed in his ragged breaths that swam hotly around the damp skin of her neck.
She shivered violently, closing her eyes against the dark, every inch of her skin on fire, pressing back into him as he destroyed her resolve, a hot and heavy pool of desire coiling low in her body, following the pattern of his hand as he slowly drove her wild, making her shake and gasp and plead and moan, until he turned her with a swiftness that left her dizzy, her back slamming back painfully against the wall as she was covered by his heat, his hands, the long, slow drag of his tongue on the length of her neck, biting at the hinge of her jaw before his kissed her, stopping her body from its sudden collapse with his leg placed firmly between hers, holding her and pressing against her with urgency. She moaned into his mouth, her hands grasping at the thin, soft cotton of his shirt, stretching it in her frantic grip, pulling him closer as he grasped at her waist with a bruising fierceness, holding her still as she tried to rub against him.
She muttered breathlessly, something obscene and almost certainly blasphemous, causing his nails to rake across her skin, burning trails down her sides as he whispered darkly in her ear, "Tell me what you want." She wished she could see his face, could see the raw hunger that tore at his usually soft voice, making it grate lowly in his chest as he pressed forcefully against her maddening heart. She stuttered, her words unformed by the distraction of his hand on her hip, his thumb rubbing circles over her skin, blinding her even in the dark until he held her neck in his grip, his cheek pressed against hers as he ground out, "Tell me."
She trembled, lips shaking as she breathed, "Fuck me…hard" Her whispered demand covered with a bruising kiss, hard and punishing, the taste of blood in her mouth as he gripped her leg, one hand on the back of her thigh, the other fumbling between them with hurried motions as he pulled at his own clothing, his mouth hot against her shoulder as he pushed at her, her back dragging against the wall as he picked her up, their harsh breaths colliding in the heated space, hitching with agonised ecstasy as he forced himself into her, driving a shocked and pained gasp from her rasping lungs as he moved against her. She could feel the bruises forming on her body under his tight hold, her back sore against the unforgiving wall as he drove into her with an unforgiving urgency, forcing her breath from her lungs with each thrust, his name breathed with burning ardour between his demanding kisses, drawing low moans and pained whimpers from her.
It hurt.
She almost told him to stop, the plea hovering on the edge of her lips as he burned her with the friction of his touch, the contrast of pleasure and pain as he drove into her made her chest ache, her hands alternating between pushing against him and pulling him closer, her mouth open and gasping against his as a furious well of fire pushed up against the cries that threatened to tear at her throat. It wasn't love, it barely even felt like sex and she swore with a passion, straining towards the promise of rapturous release, spurred on by the simmering violence in his touch, she pulled at his hair, making him hiss and pause at he bit at her throat, the rough utterance of her name pressed against the erratic pulse of her heart, his shoulders tensing under her touch as she held onto him, the euphoric blistering wave of sudden and blinding release halting time and stealing her breath away, her surprised cry muffled by his hand over her mouth, silencing her as she arched, her fingers ripping the seams of his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her, his body tight and steeled as he pressed his face into her neck, hiding the breathless cry of his own trembling release.
She fell limp in his arms, her hair falling down his back as her cheek hit his shoulder, her mouth dry as she breathed, supported by his solid heat until he drew away from her, his hands firm and gentle in the dark as he pushed her away, staying with her long enough for her to slide down the cold wall, her legs useless beneath her as she crumpled into a shivering heap, her skin cold in his absence, every scratch and bruise throbbing in time to her pounding heart.
She shuddered, taking a full minute to eventually calm herself and become fully aware that he was nowhere near her. She searched the floor with shaking hands, her fingers trembling over the scattered pile of her clothes, fumbling in the pockets and finally finding the still warm shape of the candle. The light of the match burnt her eyes, making her turn her face away as she touched it to the wick, waiting until it stopped flaring and settled into a low and steady flame.
The light reached him where he sat against the opposite wall, his arms folded on his drawn up knees, the sleeve of his t-shirt half torn off and the skin beneath deeply scratched and seeping blood. His shoulders were tense, shaking minutely with unspent emotion. Slowly she gathered the shirt around herself, a shaking embarrassment of her nakedness as she made her way cautiously over to him, her hand hovering over his arm, reading the tension beneath her touch as he held his hands in tight fists. She whispered his name, carefully minding the welts on is arm that she had inflicted. He breathed out heavily, sitting back and pulling his arm out from under her gentle touch, his hands rubbing at his face as he shook his head, a low growl in his throat when she asked him what was wrong.
"I realised today..." He muttered quietly, staring at the dark lines of script that wound around his forearms. "I have no control." He rubbed at a sigil inside his wrist. "No power." he ducked his head, pressing the heel of his hands against his eyes..
She pulled at his wrists, drawing them away from his face and his self deprecation. "You couldn't have seen this coming." She told him quietly, her voice sore and rough. "No one blames you in any way." She could have guessed at the subject of his admission, she could still feel the weight of his hold around her wrists, the burning need to possess and control her, to claim her as his and command her, each breath and moan driven from her by his furious power over her.
He raised his eyes, looking up at her through his lashes at her shadowed face, his dull eyes narrowing with pain as he reached out, his thumb sweeping across her lip and smearing at the blood that welled up in the cut born of his possessive kiss. "What have I done to you." his gaze flickered over her body, lighting on every mark, every scratch. He dropped his eyes, turning away from her with a shamed flush to his cheek, curling his hands around his waist, holding himself with a trembling uncertainty as she surged forward, holding his face in her hands as she clambered into his lap, he met her concerned gaze as she kissed his cheek lightly, "I hurt you." he said quietly, half statement half question, his eyes dark as he searched for the truth in her stare.
"I could have told you to stop." She whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his lips, tasting her blood on him.
"I wouldn't have." He told her lowly, grating with a chilling truth that made her heart stall, captured in the dark steel of his eyes.
"Yes, you would." She stroked her thumb across his cheek.
He said nothing in rebuttal, merely glanced away from her eyes, a glimmer of fear lining his face, fear at what he had done, what he had let himself become. She kissed him again, soft and loving in the face of his crippling self doubt. She pulled his arms around her waist, forcing him to hold her as she rocked forward, her fingers in his hair as she held his head against her chest, her cheek resting against him as he tightened his arms, holding her flush to his body, his breaths shuddering against her skin as he fought whatever battle he faced inside his mind. She held him, swallowing her own disturbed fear as the candle light flickered and flared, soft shadows curling over her skin as she held him, pressing kisses to his face as she whispered soft reassurances, feeling her heart sink with his in the dimming light.