CHAPTER 2
"No!!! Get away!!"
The rain pelted the girl as she bolted down the alleyway. The bright, neon, graffiti passed in a indistinguishable blur, though whether it was from her speed or the tears of pain that swamped her eyes, she did not know. She could feel the blood pouring from her side as it spilled over her fingers. She tripped and stumbled, landing on her knees with a yelp. She coughed loudly, although it sounded liquid, as a sliver of blood dripped from her lips.
She jerked herself to her feet, releasing a cry as her legs buckled and she fell heavily with her shoulder against the chipped brick wall. It scratched her skin, yet it went unnoticed as her stomach wrenched in agony. She slid down, slowly, leaving a dripping, congealing smear of blood wherever she moved.
She placed her head back, closing her eyes, feeling the rain patter against her face. The droplets pattered hollowly against the scanner that clipped over her right ear, the purple transparent screen extending from it, over her right eye. She could read off values from it, but she could also see directly through it. Right now, she was relying upon it, her mind was becoming fussy, as well as her focus. She was too exhausted, and she could feel the remaining drips of energy ebb away with her blood. The heat of the wound spread from her ribs to her thighs, initiating stomach cramps that felt as if someone was twisting a very sharp, yet invisible knife through her.
"Gyaa hahahahaaaaaaa!!"
She gasped, tears rolling down her face. She could hear the hysterical laughter gaining on her. The laugh was frenzied, screeching, insane. It sounded strangely guttural. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest, as the image of the daemon ripping through her side repeated on itself.
With a final cry, the girl moved into a staggaring run.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yeah! So I told her, it's off! No loss on my part! She was a terrible girlfriend! It was all me me me!"
Trunks sighed, swallowing a mouthful of cola. The sky had become grey and heavy, opening up to release a spray of rain, that became heavier and heavier
as time ticked on. He looked out of the café window, yawning to himself.
"Yo! Hey! Trunks! Hello? Anyone at home?"
The lilac-haired Saiyan frowned and rubbed his head where his friend knocked him back to his senses.
"What?" He sighed, rolling a straw between his fingers. Goten took a bite of chocolate and sat back in his chair.
"I was telling you about Samantha."
Trunks nodded, sighing.
"Oh yeah. How's that working out for you?"
Goten threw his hands up in despair.
"What's with you, Trunks? Weren't you listening? You still worried about your Dad?"
"A little."
Goten slammed Trunks in the arm, grinning.
"Chill, Bro!" He grinned. "He'll be okay!"
Trunks unevenly smiled back, rubbing his bruised bicep.
"Whatever."
Goten broke off a piece of chocolate, flicking it towards his friend, who smoothly snatched it out of the air. He looked at the sweet brown substance in his fingers, rolling it around. Goten rested his elbows on the table.
"Y'know, you can eat that."
Trunks popped it in his mouth, wiping his fingers on a napkin, and resumed staring out of the window. Goten rolled his dark eyes.
"C'mon, Trunks. I mean it. It'll be okay. We've all had problems. I mean look at my Dad!"
Trunks cocked an eyebrow. Goten smiled, pleased at grabbing his friends attention.
"Yeah! I mean my Dad is always going missing! Take that Uub guy, for instance. What the hell was that about? At least your dad is there!"
Trunks laughed, turning his gaze away from the near-flooded street.
"C'mon, Goten. Let's get outta here before we're stranded."
Trunks walked out of the door, waiting for Goten to pay under the nearest parasol. He pulled his collar up against the rain, wishing that he brought his capsule car, rather than take the old fashioned way. He decided, from then on, to take his car wherever he went. After all, it wouldn't take much effort to press a button, reduce the car to a 10cm pod and slip it in his pocket. But, he also knew that he would forget, like he usually did when Goten was around.
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
He stumbled backwards, his concentration destroyed by a high, resonating scream. It was filled with fear and pain, setting his heart off into a frenzied beat. He heard the bell on the door of the café ring as Goten appeared. The dark-haired Saiyan ran a few steps, stopping in the rain.
"What the hell was that?!"
Trunks halted next to him, his eyes wide, teeth gritted, the chill of the weather forgotten.
"I don't know. It sounded like an attack! C'mon!"
The two Saiyans bolted off toward the direction of the scream, their feet pummelling the soaking ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By passing glance, it would of appeared as a simple harlequin, but on closer inspection, it seemed to be a nightmare personified.
The daemon's face was white and bloodless, like a mime's. It looked dead, frozen, except for the blood-red gash of a mouth, twisting into a hysterical grin, dripping with black ochre . It's eyes were horrific, as they burned into you. The eye sockets looked as if they had been moulded out of clay, deep, featureless curves. They had been painted, or marked, as black diamonds, tiny, shinning, orbs of yellow burning out from the centre.
The girl screamed again, crawling backwards, vicious red cuts dripping from her face around her scanner. Her white shirt was flooded with red blood, peeping out between her long, black hair, which had twisted into rat-tails in the rain. She hacked, a clot of black-blood falling to the floor.
The daemon danced from foot to foot nimbly, staring directly at the girl with those unblinking, monstrous eyes. It's arching lips pulled apart, revealing numerous sadistic, needle-sharp fangs, stained with flesh and blood. It cackled and howled in uproarious glee, it's long, blade-like fingers scraping together.
"No..." The girl gurgled, her hands slipping apart as she lay in a dark puddle. She could feel the water splashing against her wounds. The water ran to red, as her vision ran to black. The daemon advanced on her, it's hyperextended limbs quivering in excitement. It raised it's arm up, aiming it's slicing fingers over her exposed neck. She could feel her own blood from previous attacks dipping on the skin of her nape from the death-dealing fingers as she waited for the final blow.
But it never came. She could hear howling, yet it never came from her lips. She jerked involuntarily as she realised the scream of pain came from the Daemon. She felt a hand slip under her stomach and under her chest and she was eased up, feeling the rain patter on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open as she watched a strange, dark-haired boy practically punch the harlequin in two. It staggered back, clutching at it's stomach, screeching in horror. The boy followed up with a kick. At least, she thought it was a kick, as she was too exhausted to match her vision to the sheer speed of his movements. The daemon's head snapped backwards with a sickening crunch, silencing it once and for all. She watched in a daze, as the monster crumbled to the floor, a pool of dark liquid gushing from it. The boy looked in disgust at the creature, his gaze switching to her, melting into concern. She could hear voices, deep and strangely calming.
Her body grew heavy and she slackened in the arms of the other saviour. The pain eclipsed her and she cried out weakly. She sank into darkness, her heartbeat slowing into shallow thuds. Her eyelids flickered closed, the last thing she could see through her scanner being two pairs of anxious eyes staring in shock.
"No!!! Get away!!"
The rain pelted the girl as she bolted down the alleyway. The bright, neon, graffiti passed in a indistinguishable blur, though whether it was from her speed or the tears of pain that swamped her eyes, she did not know. She could feel the blood pouring from her side as it spilled over her fingers. She tripped and stumbled, landing on her knees with a yelp. She coughed loudly, although it sounded liquid, as a sliver of blood dripped from her lips.
She jerked herself to her feet, releasing a cry as her legs buckled and she fell heavily with her shoulder against the chipped brick wall. It scratched her skin, yet it went unnoticed as her stomach wrenched in agony. She slid down, slowly, leaving a dripping, congealing smear of blood wherever she moved.
She placed her head back, closing her eyes, feeling the rain patter against her face. The droplets pattered hollowly against the scanner that clipped over her right ear, the purple transparent screen extending from it, over her right eye. She could read off values from it, but she could also see directly through it. Right now, she was relying upon it, her mind was becoming fussy, as well as her focus. She was too exhausted, and she could feel the remaining drips of energy ebb away with her blood. The heat of the wound spread from her ribs to her thighs, initiating stomach cramps that felt as if someone was twisting a very sharp, yet invisible knife through her.
"Gyaa hahahahaaaaaaa!!"
She gasped, tears rolling down her face. She could hear the hysterical laughter gaining on her. The laugh was frenzied, screeching, insane. It sounded strangely guttural. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest, as the image of the daemon ripping through her side repeated on itself.
With a final cry, the girl moved into a staggaring run.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yeah! So I told her, it's off! No loss on my part! She was a terrible girlfriend! It was all me me me!"
Trunks sighed, swallowing a mouthful of cola. The sky had become grey and heavy, opening up to release a spray of rain, that became heavier and heavier
as time ticked on. He looked out of the café window, yawning to himself.
"Yo! Hey! Trunks! Hello? Anyone at home?"
The lilac-haired Saiyan frowned and rubbed his head where his friend knocked him back to his senses.
"What?" He sighed, rolling a straw between his fingers. Goten took a bite of chocolate and sat back in his chair.
"I was telling you about Samantha."
Trunks nodded, sighing.
"Oh yeah. How's that working out for you?"
Goten threw his hands up in despair.
"What's with you, Trunks? Weren't you listening? You still worried about your Dad?"
"A little."
Goten slammed Trunks in the arm, grinning.
"Chill, Bro!" He grinned. "He'll be okay!"
Trunks unevenly smiled back, rubbing his bruised bicep.
"Whatever."
Goten broke off a piece of chocolate, flicking it towards his friend, who smoothly snatched it out of the air. He looked at the sweet brown substance in his fingers, rolling it around. Goten rested his elbows on the table.
"Y'know, you can eat that."
Trunks popped it in his mouth, wiping his fingers on a napkin, and resumed staring out of the window. Goten rolled his dark eyes.
"C'mon, Trunks. I mean it. It'll be okay. We've all had problems. I mean look at my Dad!"
Trunks cocked an eyebrow. Goten smiled, pleased at grabbing his friends attention.
"Yeah! I mean my Dad is always going missing! Take that Uub guy, for instance. What the hell was that about? At least your dad is there!"
Trunks laughed, turning his gaze away from the near-flooded street.
"C'mon, Goten. Let's get outta here before we're stranded."
Trunks walked out of the door, waiting for Goten to pay under the nearest parasol. He pulled his collar up against the rain, wishing that he brought his capsule car, rather than take the old fashioned way. He decided, from then on, to take his car wherever he went. After all, it wouldn't take much effort to press a button, reduce the car to a 10cm pod and slip it in his pocket. But, he also knew that he would forget, like he usually did when Goten was around.
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
He stumbled backwards, his concentration destroyed by a high, resonating scream. It was filled with fear and pain, setting his heart off into a frenzied beat. He heard the bell on the door of the café ring as Goten appeared. The dark-haired Saiyan ran a few steps, stopping in the rain.
"What the hell was that?!"
Trunks halted next to him, his eyes wide, teeth gritted, the chill of the weather forgotten.
"I don't know. It sounded like an attack! C'mon!"
The two Saiyans bolted off toward the direction of the scream, their feet pummelling the soaking ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By passing glance, it would of appeared as a simple harlequin, but on closer inspection, it seemed to be a nightmare personified.
The daemon's face was white and bloodless, like a mime's. It looked dead, frozen, except for the blood-red gash of a mouth, twisting into a hysterical grin, dripping with black ochre . It's eyes were horrific, as they burned into you. The eye sockets looked as if they had been moulded out of clay, deep, featureless curves. They had been painted, or marked, as black diamonds, tiny, shinning, orbs of yellow burning out from the centre.
The girl screamed again, crawling backwards, vicious red cuts dripping from her face around her scanner. Her white shirt was flooded with red blood, peeping out between her long, black hair, which had twisted into rat-tails in the rain. She hacked, a clot of black-blood falling to the floor.
The daemon danced from foot to foot nimbly, staring directly at the girl with those unblinking, monstrous eyes. It's arching lips pulled apart, revealing numerous sadistic, needle-sharp fangs, stained with flesh and blood. It cackled and howled in uproarious glee, it's long, blade-like fingers scraping together.
"No..." The girl gurgled, her hands slipping apart as she lay in a dark puddle. She could feel the water splashing against her wounds. The water ran to red, as her vision ran to black. The daemon advanced on her, it's hyperextended limbs quivering in excitement. It raised it's arm up, aiming it's slicing fingers over her exposed neck. She could feel her own blood from previous attacks dipping on the skin of her nape from the death-dealing fingers as she waited for the final blow.
But it never came. She could hear howling, yet it never came from her lips. She jerked involuntarily as she realised the scream of pain came from the Daemon. She felt a hand slip under her stomach and under her chest and she was eased up, feeling the rain patter on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open as she watched a strange, dark-haired boy practically punch the harlequin in two. It staggered back, clutching at it's stomach, screeching in horror. The boy followed up with a kick. At least, she thought it was a kick, as she was too exhausted to match her vision to the sheer speed of his movements. The daemon's head snapped backwards with a sickening crunch, silencing it once and for all. She watched in a daze, as the monster crumbled to the floor, a pool of dark liquid gushing from it. The boy looked in disgust at the creature, his gaze switching to her, melting into concern. She could hear voices, deep and strangely calming.
Her body grew heavy and she slackened in the arms of the other saviour. The pain eclipsed her and she cried out weakly. She sank into darkness, her heartbeat slowing into shallow thuds. Her eyelids flickered closed, the last thing she could see through her scanner being two pairs of anxious eyes staring in shock.