Chapter 45: Blood on the Tarmac

The truck continued to rattle down the open Kentucky freeway, headlights off and radio humming quietly. Nicholas could faintly hear Leo kicking his feet against the back of his dad's leather seat, and occasionally tugging at his seatbelt. He was still barely conscious, but he was just aware enough to realize that his head was still resting on Leo's lap.

"Jesus, how much longer have we got? The FBI'll find us any minute now, and I don't think that they'll be afraid to start shooting when they do," said Leo, peering out his back window. A wave of dim light poured into the car as it passed under a tall highway lamp, briefly illuminating the messy interior.

"We'll get off the freeway pretty soon- next few minutes, I think. The route from there to home isn't too far, especially since we just have to get to the edge of the woods," replied Leo's father, briefly switching his smartphone on to take a look at the map. "...Yep. The map says we'll be there in about 11 minutes, which means that we'll be there in less because the highway is totally- Oh, shit!"

Nicholas let out an involuntary scream as the entire car jerked violently- something big had just thumped violently against the windshield, tearing off the wipers, flying over the hood and landing with a disturbingly wet thud against the pavement behind the car. Leo's dad let out a series of swears and slammed on the brakes. The car skidded to a halt, violently throwing Nicholas against his already locked seatbelt.

"Holy crap, what did we just hit?" Leo asked, craning his neck to find the thing that they'd just hit. His father let out a pained grunt, and flung open his car door.

"I don't know, but we should check- I don't think it was a deer. Grab your flashlight," Leo's father said, reaching into the glove compartment. Nicholas couldn't help but notice how his shoulders tensed just like Leo's when he was worried.

As Nicholas unfastened his seatbelt, he immediately found himself being ushered out of the car and onto the grass, his ribs burning with intense pain. He grabbed onto Leo's shoulder as stumbled out onto the asphalt, eyes following Leo's flashlight beam like a guiding beacon. At first, the circle of light just passed over several meters of bare asphalt and dead grass. Gradually, a small trail of crimson liquid appeared, glistening under the beam of light. Nicholas held his breath as Leo's flashlight followed the thin blood trail, which became thicker and messier as it came closer to the source...

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Leo brought the light to rest on the source of the gore. Nicholas wanted to look away, but he found his eyes glued to the gruesome display. It was clearly a demon of some sort, or at least it used to be. By some cruel stroke of bad luck, its entire stomach cavity had been torn apart and emptied by the impact and subsequent dragging, decorating the poor creature and the ground around it with its own assorted viscera.

As the two looked on in horror, the creature yanked its head up like a broken Halloween decoration, eliciting a horrified choking noise from Nicholas. Its beady eyes glowed under the intense scrutiny of the cruel, searching light, just enough for Nicholas to see that the demon was looking at him.

"Oh- Oh my god- he's still alive!" Nicholas sputtered, letting go of Leo and lurching towards the dying demon. It shrieked and struggled to roll over as Nicholas approached it. "What- what do we do? We can't leave him here, someone'll notice him!"

Leo stepped solemnly forward, joining Nicholas several feet away from the living mess. He kept his flashlight trained on the demon like a pistol, and to an apparently similar effect. The beast allowed its head to fall back to the ground, raising one shaky, bloodstained hand in defense.

"We kill him, and dump his body off to the side," Leo replied. Nicholas gave him a deeply uncomfortable look. "Well, would you like to do the honors? I've gotta hold the flashlight." One of the demon's wings twitched like a detached spider-leg.

"That is... awful on several levels. I mean, how do I even kill it?" Nicholas asked, a pang of sympathy rising in his dormant conscience. Leo groaned.

"Like... THIS, I assume!" He shouted, slamming his foot down on the demon's head. The demon let out another horrible shriek and thrashed to the side, hands flying up to its face. Leo bit his lip and turned back to Nicholas, trying to keep his flashlight focused on the screaming abomination. "You know what, why don't you take a turn? I mean, I softened him up for you, and I'll keep the flashlight on him- it shouldn't be too hard."

Nicholas gaped. "I- I can't do this. I just don't kill sentient creatures often. I've told you about the connections I get- it feels incredibly strange to share their dying emotions when I'm the one killing them!" Nicholas said, desperately trying not to let the demon's conscience connect with his own in any way. He hadn't been using his empathy much since the incident with Jeremy the slime all those months back, (excepting the occasional bit of communication with the sub-sapient) and he wasn't even sure if it would work in the real world; however, based on some unexplainable feelings he was getting when he looked at the demon, Nicholas was pretty sure that it would.

"So that's a demon? He looks pretty bad," said Leo's father, appearing suddenly behind Nicholas. Nicholas had half a mind to be surprised but, then again; like father, like son. Leo had to have gotten his uncanny ability to show up places from someone.

"Right? I didn't know that a car could do that to someone," mused Leo. The demon had finally stopped its infernal shrieking, and was now just twitching and gurgling.

Somewhere in his mind space, Nicholas could feel it: The undeniable outline of a sentient mind, reeling in agony at his feet. He tried to will it away, but it was too late-something had clicked. He couldn't ignore it anymore. The emotions reached up into Nicholas's mind like squirming tendrils. Yet, the feelings were so intense, so human. Nicholas shifted uncomfortably as he realized just how many feelings he shared with the demon.

"So..." Nicholas started, offhandedly gesturing towards the beast. He winced back in pain as a devastatingly loud crack and a flash of light penetrated the thin night air, and the demon jerked to a halt.

Nicholas jumped as he felt a final, mind-shattering scream. After that, there was nothing. Instantly, all of the emotions had gone. It was as though the computer running it all had just crashed to a cold, blank screen. There wasn't any static, any sign of what was once there; the demon lying at Nicholas's feet was nothing more than an empty terminal.

The final scream echoed again and again in Nicholas's mind. He could almost feel its soul trickling out onto the pavement.

"What? You were taking too long," Leo's father muttered, holstering his stolen FBI pistol. Nicholas almost said something, but remained silent. Mere words could not mend the breach which now hung between Nicholas and the world.

As Leo's father prepared to hoist the body off to the side of the road, Leo made a sudden cutting motion with his hand and dropped to the ground, falling amongst the bloody remains of the demon. Nicholas stared on in confusion.

"Get down!" Leo hissed, motioning at the area beside him. Instantly, Leo's father joined him in the puddle of blood, and Nicholas soon found himself being forcibly dragged down as well. He didn't have much of a mind to care, not over the terrible headache and the acute ringing in his ears; he had no idea how Leo was able to fire multiple gunshots and not go completely deaf, let alone accurately assess a situation.

Seconds later, a shiny black car with incredibly bright headlights came whizzing past, barely missing one of Nicholas's badly placed hands. Nick held his breath and locked eyes with Leo as the black car began to slow down, before eventually coming to a stop beside Leo's pickup truck. There was a long, ominous silence as the black car's engine cut out. Eventually, the doors popped open.

Leo pushed Nicholas's head down as three figures stepped out of the car. As the lights of the car faded out, the squad switched on the flashlights of their assault rifles and immediately began shining them all around the area. The cones of light carved through the darkness like hungry wolves, slowly circling their unseen targets before the inevitable pounce.

"Cover your ears," Leo's father whispered. He made a quick motion to his son, and the two drew their pistols.

Before Nicholas could even react, his eardrums were assaulted by a cacophony of cracks and whips. Immediately, he buried his head in the sea of dry grass and wet blood, trying his hardest to disappear, to block it all out. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth harder and harder as the brass shells and clouds of smoke blew past his face. Were they really doing this?

In just a few painful seconds, the symphony of lead was over. The smoky air burned Nicholas's eyes as he gingerly lifted his head up from the grass to regain his bearings. Somewhere in the back of his conscious, he noticed three bright minds had disappeared.

"I think we got 'em," Leo's father whispered, throwing the empty nine-millimeter aside and checking the safety on his revolver. "Yep, I definitely see three lumps over there. Lets go make sure we finished them."

Ears still ringing, Nicholas followed Leo in a daze as they approached the bodies. He was still a little too shaken by the sudden burst of combat to process the moral ramifications, but he was pretty sure that they weren't good.

Nicholas nearly gagged as Leo focused his flashlight on three human bodies, lying very still against various surfaces. The flashlights on their rifles continued to shine uselessly across the blood-spattered ground, a grim reminder that living beings had been holding them just seconds ago.

"Holy shit..." Leo muttered. He was shaking. "Jesus, dad! Look at this! We just killed these people! What the hell do we do now!?"

"Calm down! If we didn't kill them, they were gonna kill us. I... I know it's hard for you, but we're at war now," his father replied. Leo stood perfectly still for a moment, before letting out a long, angry groan of frustration.

"Damnit, Dad! This- this is death penalty shit! They're going to try to... try to execute us for this! Do you hear that, Nick? They're going to kill us!" Leo shouted, emphasizing each word with a corresponding gesture. Nicholas nodded weakly, unable to take his eyes off of one of the dead FBI agents; her face reminded him of Neptune's, or maybe Nurse's. Her throat had been pierced by several bullets, splashing her chin and neck with blood.

"Do you think she had any children?" Nicholas asked, almost to himself. Leo's father groaned impatiently.

"Look, I get it- you don't kill people often, it's really traumatic. But, someone probably heard those gunshots, and if we don't get out of here right now, we're definitely going to die," he said, picking up one of the fallen agent's rifles, "What's done is done- nothing we can do to bring them back to life."

Leo seemed to think for a moment. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. A gust of cold wind blew past the silent trio, chilling Nicholas's skin through his thin hospital gown and filling the next few seconds with its shrouding sound. Eventually, Leo exhaled, and nodded.

"You're right," Leo replied, looking down at his feet "But, I don't know what we're supposed to do now- I don't suppose you have any suggestions?"

Realizing that he was being indicated, Nicholas brought his head up and nodded. He nodded slowly at first, then with what might have been confidence.

"Yes, actually. First, drop the guns," Nicholas replied. Leo looked about ready to snap as he gave Nicholas an incredibly condescending grin.

"That was rhetorical. I don't mean to be rude, but, last I checked, I was the one calling the shots," said Leo. Nicholas allowed himself a hint of a smile.

"Really? Despite my maladjustment to this world, I am still your guide, and I believe I have a suitable plan which will not result in any more unnecessary death. Will you not consider it?" Nicholas asked. Leo looked him up and down suspiciously.

"What is this, a midlife crisis? Do you feel like I've shoved you out of the spotlight or something? I'm sorry if I gave that impression, it's just that, you know, you're pretty much useless in this world, not to mention that you're kind of drugged out right now, whereas I-" Leo started. Nicholas did not allow him to finish.

"Whereas you have made nothing but poor decisions since we arrived here! I had hoped that you had outgrown me, and that you would prove to be a decent guide in your own world; your recent escapades have only served to remind me why I am Guide, and why you are just another player!" Guide snapped. Leo's father glared at him.

"Oh, because you're one to talk! You really need to cut my son some slack! Most kids his age don't have to kill demons on a daily basis, or deal with these dumbass FBI guys around every corner! I think he's been a shining example of inner strength," his father retorted, putting his arm around Leo. Nicholas brushed past the two, and began walking towards the truck.

"Well, as they say: Like father, like son. The final portal is doubtlessly on lockdown now, and wielding weapons will only serve to get us killed faster. A nonviolent solution is the only solution," said Nicholas. He threw open the door to the passenger seat. "Now, if you two 'warriors' would get in, I believe I can get us to back to Terraria and resolve this mess."

Nicholas was too excited by his own resolution to notice the silent argument which Leo and his father were holding as they walked towards the car. No words were passed between the two, and none needed to be. In just a few seconds, Leo was throwing open the back door and jumping into his seat, while his father was turning the key to the ignition.

"I hope you've got a really good plan," Leo muttered, fastening his seatbelt, "'Cause if I don't have a gun, I don't have a plan." Nicholas gave him a broad shrug and an uncharacteristically wild grin, trying very hard not to laugh out loud.

"Well, there's only one way to find out! Lets get there before it's too late!" Nicholas exclaimed. He thought about punching Leo's father in the shoulder for emphasis, but promptly decided that he could only push so many boundaries at a time. Still, he was practically buzzing with excitement.

Somewhere within him, an old power had awakened. Nicholas's mind searched eagerly for other consciences to connect with, to share, to bend... The experience with the demon had shaken him, but he realized now that the only way to proceed was to give his empathy free reign-

But not yet; he still had time to prepare. Nicholas instead allowed his brain to focus on the plan as the blood-smeared truck sped down the road, closer and closer to their destination, and to an end.