Swiftshadow felt his presence long before they arrived at the abandoned hospital. A heavy dark shroud enveloped the presence alone seemed to suck the life out of the place. She felt like she was walking barefoot into a pit of vipers.
North Mercy Hospital domineered the yard. Long brown scraggly grass decorated the lawn. cracked windows stared menacingly at the group. Vines crept up into the faded and cracked stucco. It almost was like the building itself was staring at her. The fading sunlight casted dark sinister shadows across the yard.
A raven cawed from its perch on a nearby streetlight.
"Tucker, get out of the car," Danny scolded his friend.
"But it's a dark spooky scary hospital," Tucker whined, clutching the headrest like his life depended on it.
"I thought you beat this phobia when you broke in to rescue Sam and me from Spectra," Danny crossed his arms.
"That was different," He whined.
Swiftshadow rolled her eyes. Her stomach was rolling with anxious anticipation. The lions den stood before her. She could feel the gems power permeating the area. Swirling and dripping.
"I was wondering when would you show up," A posh voice echoed. A blond haired boy emerged from a whirling shadowy vortex. Dressed in mostly white with a old leather bound book under his arm.
'So this was Julien' Swiftshadow thought to herself. He somehow seemed snobbier than she imagined. She had known that he came from money on both sides of the family and he showed it with fancy business casual clothes. He held himself proudly with his nose pointed haughtily in the air.
"Where's Sam?" Challenged Danny.
"You mean the girl? She's right here," Julien raised his hand and snapped. A dark shadowy plume rose from the ground revealing a girl in black and purple clothing. Dark tendrils coiled tightly around her as she glared disdainfully at the blond. She was gagged by a single coil.
"Let her go!" ordered Danny.
"You first have turn yourself over,"
"What do you want with me, anyway? I'm just a normal kid,"
Julien burst out laughing, "Please, I know what you are, half ghost," Swiftshadow noticed Danny flinch, "Besides this is nothing personal, just business,"
"H-how'd you know that?" Danny took a half step back.
"Well, I had a little help," Shadows arose and unfurled behind Julien. The shapes twisting and morphing as they solidified. A pair of strange spindly limbed nightmarish creatures took root. Bright shining glaring eyes opened all over their bodies. Swiftshadow was certain that they were all staring at her, tearing into her soul. It was as if they knew who she was. What she was. She couldn't bear to stare back into them.
"you can either surrender peacefully or we can fight. And I do hope you choose the former cause I don't want to have to dirty myself with this labour," He said in an almost dismissive manner.
'Sorry Wilson, can't say i'm liking your nephew,' Swiftshadow balled her hands into fists, "Maybe We can talk about this, Julien,"
The boy froze, "How'd you know my name?"
"Your uncle told me about you,"
"My uncle's dead,"
"Well yes and no," Wilson perched himself on her shoulder.
"No- It can't be," Confusion turned to anger in mere second, "Lies, You wish to deceive me with this- this fake,"
The creatures struck. Their movement where blindingly fast. Swiftshadow barely the time to duck as a pitch black spear whistled past her. It dug deep into the concrete sidewalk. She transformed and blasted a torrent of soul fire at the creature. An unholy shriek filled her ears as she darted away.
She turned to face down her opponent. Whatever this thing was it was powerful. It chilled her to the bone. A part of her wanted to flee. But she couldn't. Not while there was someone in danger.
A black spearlike appendage lashed out. She felt it graze her hind leg as she dodged. Blue and red blood dripped out onto the pavement. She ignored it. It was quick and she could barely keep out of reach.
Danny was in ghost mode facing down his own beast. Green blasts sent ripples across the shadow creatures forms. He nimbly flew around the creatures attacks and defended by throwing up a green shield. Ice formed around a creatures arm snapping it off. It regenerated and struck again.
Jazz and Tucker had pulled out a couple anti ghost rays the shadows. The ecto-blasts left only small divots that quickly refilled as fast as they could make them. Their faces filled with a fiery determination.
Soul fire ate away at the shadows. Its screech pierced her ears and clawed at her brain. She veered as it struck with terrifying speed. It was like dodging lightning. At least with lightning she could redirect it somewhere else. She swiped at the tendril. It was like hitting tar. Thick and goopy. It sucked her claws in. She yanked her talons free of the cold shadows.
Beyond the creature Swiftshadow saw Sam struggling against her bonds. She had to free her somehow. She sucked in a deep breath. A torrent of silver flame blazed a bright path, incinerating the shadows that held Sam.
Sam leapt from her disintegrating prison and charged at Julien. She threw a fist at the boy, smacking him in the nose. Julien reared back as Sam snatched the book from his grasp. She bolted for the car.
"You stupid bitch!" Shrieked Julien through a broken nose. Blood pouring from his both his nostrils, "Get her!"
The shades halted their assault on both Swiftshadow and Danny and turned their attention on Sam. Horror flooded Swiftshadow's senses. Not again. She refused to fail to save another life. She surged forward to intercept the shades. Silver fire blazed from her maw. The shades pained shrieks dug into her mind. Danny's green blasts sent the shades reeling.
They had Sam. Sam was free. Now all they had to do was get out of here.
A tendril wrapped around her leg. She felt herself thrown across the parking lot. The impact knocked the breath out of her. Shadows crept over her body strangling the life out of her. She fought against them but it was like punching tar. She frantically gasped for the air her lungs desperately craved. She could barely hear the shouts of others over her own panic. A fog rolled into her brain like dark clouds on the horizon.
Several sickly green glaring hypnotic eyes lured her into oblivion. They were the last things she saw before the whole world went dark.
Danny sent a volley of blasts into the dark shadowy mass. but it was like firing into water. Thick viscous black water. it just absorbed whatever he threw at it. Intangibility was no help either as he could not phase through the gunk. He had marginally more success with his ice powers. The frozen shadows cracked and splintered into pieces, only to regenerate as fast as he could destroy them. And they just kept coming.
He should've known something was up when they approached the hospital. His ghost sense had failed to go off. Normally a wisp of blue mist would've escaped his mouth whenever there was a ghost anywhere nearby. While there were a ways to hide from it like putting him in a cold environment so that couldn't tell the difference between his ghost sense and normal breath mist. But it was a warm sunny day in the midst of summer. So either this thing had a way of concealing itself or it wasn't a ghost at all.
His mind couldn't help but what Frostbite had told them. Seven mighty heroes battling an other worldly force of darkness known as Malic Korvoth. The name itself sent shivers down his spine. But it was sealed away somewhere right? So unless this brat somehow freed him it couldn't be Malic Korvoth, right?
Swiftshadow destroyed the tendrils holding Sam with her silver flame. Sam managed to get one good whack at Julien to his amusement. Horror eked its way into Danny's veins as the creatures turned their attention on her. He couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt. Danny tried to intercept the creatures targeting Sam only to met with a face full of concrete.
A tendril had coiled itself around him, squeezing the half life out of him. Danny thrashed against the oily shadow vine, with no avail. Silver flashed in the corner of his vision. He froze the tar like substance. Breaking free he drove the shades away from Sam.
A shrieking roar filled his ears as Swiftshadow was flung across the parking lot. Dark shadows enveloped her writhing body. She collapsed before several sickly pale green eyes, her own taking on the same colour.
He heard a ravens distressed caw.
Danny darted to aid her. A wall of darkness erupted between them.
"You're not getting away from me that easily," Julien's snobbish voice really grated on him.
"Dude you really need to lighten up," Bright green ectoplasm engulfed his fists.
"No, I don't think I Will,"
The wall collapsed upon him like a tidal wave. Its Immense weight crushed him like a ton of bricks. Before he could even think the whole world went dark.