Inner Turmoil- Chapter 20
He came at her so fast, Blossom had barely enough time to react.
Him was on her in mere seconds, his newly-formed claw raised in the air to strike. Blossom didn't move or attempt to dodge him. She was so surprised by his sudden advance that she had literally become rooted to the spot, unsure of exactly how to react.
On instinct she lifted her arm up to block at the last second, and Him brought his claw down onto her, forcing her arm downwards. At the same time it grazed her shoulder and collarbone, tearing through her shirt, and-
-Blossom cried out in surprise, stumbling backwards away from Him. Her hands flew to her shoulder where his claw had connected, feeling the tear in cloth, and the warm moisture of blood; she was bleeding. He had torn through her skin, blood seeping into the torn edges of her shirt, her wound stinging with pain. She'd felt pain before, but this was not the dull ache of a bruise or punch, this was the pain of torn skin, and it scared her, because never in her life had she felt it this intense before.
Blossom drew her hand away and looked at her reddened fingers with a mingled mix of shock and fear. She risked a glance at Him, who was regarding his claw with intense interest, carefully examining the fresh blood that lined the sharp angles. He looked up at her, and smiled maliciously.
"That's interesting." he said dreamily, his voice once again the throaty, high pitched drawl. "Isn't it?!" deep and growling. He brought the bloodied claw up to his face and closed his eyes, taking a deep intake of breath that looked as if he was smelling her blood, breathing in the scent as if it was sustenance for him.
"Ohh, no." Blossom spluttered. There was no way out of it now. She had to fight Him, because he wasn't about to let her out of his sight, not now that he knew he could hurt her
Without giving Him time to react, she lunged, throwing her fist forward to punch. He grabbed it in mid air, clamping down on her wrist like a vice, and didn't let go. She looked at him furiously, then with her other hand, tried once again to clock him, but it was no good. Once again he caught her arm before it connected.
She was now tied up helplessly in his grasp, and the pressure hurt so badly. She was sure her wrists were going to snap at any moment.
His face moved dangerously close to hers, so close that their noses nearly touched. He watched her intently for what seemed like an eternity, his warm breath dancing across her turned cheek, his glowing eyes reading her like a book, smiling-
- And then suddenly he shoved her backwards with so much force she went flying a good twenty feet in the opposite direction, connecting hard with the concrete wall on the opposite end of the room. She hit the wall with dangerous inertia, nearly breaking through the strong barrier, leaving a gaping, crumbling crater in the thick stone. She fell roughly to the floor, coughing and spluttering, crumbles of concrete following her down. Blossom hadn't been expecting that.
She got shakily to her feet, feeling the high adrenaline in her system. Her head was spinning from the sudden rush of terror, making her feel like she wanted to collapse. She managed to lift her head in Him's direction. He looked positively thrilled.
"Surprised Blossom?"
"You stupid bastard," she spat, glowering at him ferociously, tasting the metallic, coppery flavor of blood in her mouth. He began to move towards her slowly.
"Is it possible. that I may be. stronger than you?"
"Never."
"I hope you're prepared to die, because it ends right here."
And he suddenly leapt towards her, faster than Blossom had anticipated, but she managed to gather her strength in time. Before he managed to grab a hold of her with his claw again, she punched him hard across his face, sending Him to the side sprawling.
He stumbled a few steps to her left, momentarily stunned. Blossom moved away from Him quickly, attempting to put feeling back into her fist by shaking it wildly.
"You'll regret that," he hissed, turning to face her once again. Blossom could see a small trickle of blood slide down his chin, and could see the fresh crimson on his pointed canines. His face was contorted in the strongest expression of anger Blossom had ever seen.
"Perhaps this will be harder than you anticipated," Blossom said, her voice very cold. Her head was spinning with millions of different ways she could fight Him, but for some reason she just found herself confused. She had absolutely no idea what she intended to do next, except try to stay alive.
Him wiped the blood from his mouth with a delicate claw, and then very suddenly he let out a roar and swiped at her again. The newly formed claw sliced through the air heavily with a huge whoosh of moving air. Blossom barely moved in time, the claw bearing down on the space she had occupied just seconds before, crashing down onto the wire mesh floor with a shower of hot sparks.
Oh shit.
The only thing she could do was dodge his gnarled hand. He had already proven that he could now tear her skin open, and Blossom had enough sense to know that impaling wasn't an exception to the new rule. In fact, if he managed to stab her, he would win and she'd be dead. Blossom wasn't about to let that happen.
"That's a neat trick you got there. the whole claw changing thing," Blossom said with a light smirk, trying her hardest to sound composed and amused. He didn't buy it. She knew that her trembling and excessive sweating must have given her away.
He grinned, and threw his entire arm back, readying another strike.
"You have no chance," He snarled.
He looked positively livid, with his black hair falling over his face, his light frill distinctly more ruffled than it had been before, and his entire expression deadly. Him definitely meant to kill her this time.
Him was open for an attack. His clawed hand was out of the way. Maybe, just maybe-
Blossom knew she was running out of time. Without thinking she threw herself at him again, mustering all her strength into every fist. She hit Him, again and again, and he wasn't even trying to fight back as she released her anger onto his face and upper body. He just stumbled backwards as Blossom's fists continued to fly, but finally he fell to his knees, monstrous and silent.
Blossom jumped backwards out of arms reach, surveying her work. He wasn't dead or unconscious, but there were fresh cuts on his exposed skin, seeping small amounts of reddish fluid, mingling with newborn bruises on his body. His breathing was ragged and heavy, and he certainly looked weaker than before. Blossom thought she had stopped him, and was seriously considering making a run for it, when-
Him's head snapped upwards very suddenly- "Are you quite finished?!"
Then his lips curled into another smile, and he got strongly to his feet, apparently unfazed by Blossom's power. She looked around wildly, suddenly very intent on getting away, but Him would have none of that.
At that moment when her guard had been down he came down on her, slapping her hard on the shoulder with his normal claw, sending fresh tendrils of bloodied pain through her body. She fell to her knees roughly, feeling the stinging sensation of freshly opened cuts.
She looked up, and he stood over her like an impending doom. At any moment, he would bring his morphed claw in for the kill. Very slowly, he extended his arm back, grinning wickedly-
-Blossom watched him fiercely, barely aware of the warm tingling feeling that had begun to accumulate in the space behind her eyes. There was only one last chance, and she had to do it fast-
"See you in hell." was all Him said, and he was about to rip her cleanly apart when she suddenly cried out, concentrating every bit of her consciousness on her task. At that moment the fuzzy sensation behind her eyes exploded in a dazzling ray of charged energy, which burst from her eyes with the force of a rampaging semi.
Him reeled backwards, both of his arms scratching at his face in an attempt to ward off the pain, but Blossom had managed a direct hit.
It didn't have quite the effect she had wanted, which had been to outright kill, but he was in enough pain that she had a chance to get to her feet. Again she stood, now trying to shake away the funny, buzzing feeling inside her head.
He moved his arms away from his face and Blossom could see that he appeared unscathed, except for the light smell of burning flesh, and the ribbons of steam that were fizzling away from his face. In fact, he may have looked even angrier than he had been before.
"That hurt."
"That was the idea."
Without thinking, Blossom jumped at Him again, the only thing going through her mind was the desire to kill Him, her body completely on autopilot. She was so focused that she ignored every fresh scratch and every new bruise that was forced upon her from her constant hits, the pain beating relentlessly at her to no avail. She never tired, even though her pounding heart threatened to burst from her chest.
She was so focused on dealing her own damage onto the demon before her that she barely noticed in time the gnarled claw coming straight for her neck like a javelin. She cried out loudly in surprise, and as she tried to dodge she stumbled, her legs tangling up beneath her. She came down heavily, gravity clearly not on her side.
Him raised his clawed arm and looked at Blossom, excitement washed over his face.
"I doooo like skewers."
Blossom screamed wordlessly, the sound of her cry echoing pointlessly off the far walls of the compound, only to be heard by no one.
He came at her so fast, Blossom had barely enough time to react.
Him was on her in mere seconds, his newly-formed claw raised in the air to strike. Blossom didn't move or attempt to dodge him. She was so surprised by his sudden advance that she had literally become rooted to the spot, unsure of exactly how to react.
On instinct she lifted her arm up to block at the last second, and Him brought his claw down onto her, forcing her arm downwards. At the same time it grazed her shoulder and collarbone, tearing through her shirt, and-
-Blossom cried out in surprise, stumbling backwards away from Him. Her hands flew to her shoulder where his claw had connected, feeling the tear in cloth, and the warm moisture of blood; she was bleeding. He had torn through her skin, blood seeping into the torn edges of her shirt, her wound stinging with pain. She'd felt pain before, but this was not the dull ache of a bruise or punch, this was the pain of torn skin, and it scared her, because never in her life had she felt it this intense before.
Blossom drew her hand away and looked at her reddened fingers with a mingled mix of shock and fear. She risked a glance at Him, who was regarding his claw with intense interest, carefully examining the fresh blood that lined the sharp angles. He looked up at her, and smiled maliciously.
"That's interesting." he said dreamily, his voice once again the throaty, high pitched drawl. "Isn't it?!" deep and growling. He brought the bloodied claw up to his face and closed his eyes, taking a deep intake of breath that looked as if he was smelling her blood, breathing in the scent as if it was sustenance for him.
"Ohh, no." Blossom spluttered. There was no way out of it now. She had to fight Him, because he wasn't about to let her out of his sight, not now that he knew he could hurt her
Without giving Him time to react, she lunged, throwing her fist forward to punch. He grabbed it in mid air, clamping down on her wrist like a vice, and didn't let go. She looked at him furiously, then with her other hand, tried once again to clock him, but it was no good. Once again he caught her arm before it connected.
She was now tied up helplessly in his grasp, and the pressure hurt so badly. She was sure her wrists were going to snap at any moment.
His face moved dangerously close to hers, so close that their noses nearly touched. He watched her intently for what seemed like an eternity, his warm breath dancing across her turned cheek, his glowing eyes reading her like a book, smiling-
- And then suddenly he shoved her backwards with so much force she went flying a good twenty feet in the opposite direction, connecting hard with the concrete wall on the opposite end of the room. She hit the wall with dangerous inertia, nearly breaking through the strong barrier, leaving a gaping, crumbling crater in the thick stone. She fell roughly to the floor, coughing and spluttering, crumbles of concrete following her down. Blossom hadn't been expecting that.
She got shakily to her feet, feeling the high adrenaline in her system. Her head was spinning from the sudden rush of terror, making her feel like she wanted to collapse. She managed to lift her head in Him's direction. He looked positively thrilled.
"Surprised Blossom?"
"You stupid bastard," she spat, glowering at him ferociously, tasting the metallic, coppery flavor of blood in her mouth. He began to move towards her slowly.
"Is it possible. that I may be. stronger than you?"
"Never."
"I hope you're prepared to die, because it ends right here."
And he suddenly leapt towards her, faster than Blossom had anticipated, but she managed to gather her strength in time. Before he managed to grab a hold of her with his claw again, she punched him hard across his face, sending Him to the side sprawling.
He stumbled a few steps to her left, momentarily stunned. Blossom moved away from Him quickly, attempting to put feeling back into her fist by shaking it wildly.
"You'll regret that," he hissed, turning to face her once again. Blossom could see a small trickle of blood slide down his chin, and could see the fresh crimson on his pointed canines. His face was contorted in the strongest expression of anger Blossom had ever seen.
"Perhaps this will be harder than you anticipated," Blossom said, her voice very cold. Her head was spinning with millions of different ways she could fight Him, but for some reason she just found herself confused. She had absolutely no idea what she intended to do next, except try to stay alive.
Him wiped the blood from his mouth with a delicate claw, and then very suddenly he let out a roar and swiped at her again. The newly formed claw sliced through the air heavily with a huge whoosh of moving air. Blossom barely moved in time, the claw bearing down on the space she had occupied just seconds before, crashing down onto the wire mesh floor with a shower of hot sparks.
Oh shit.
The only thing she could do was dodge his gnarled hand. He had already proven that he could now tear her skin open, and Blossom had enough sense to know that impaling wasn't an exception to the new rule. In fact, if he managed to stab her, he would win and she'd be dead. Blossom wasn't about to let that happen.
"That's a neat trick you got there. the whole claw changing thing," Blossom said with a light smirk, trying her hardest to sound composed and amused. He didn't buy it. She knew that her trembling and excessive sweating must have given her away.
He grinned, and threw his entire arm back, readying another strike.
"You have no chance," He snarled.
He looked positively livid, with his black hair falling over his face, his light frill distinctly more ruffled than it had been before, and his entire expression deadly. Him definitely meant to kill her this time.
Him was open for an attack. His clawed hand was out of the way. Maybe, just maybe-
Blossom knew she was running out of time. Without thinking she threw herself at him again, mustering all her strength into every fist. She hit Him, again and again, and he wasn't even trying to fight back as she released her anger onto his face and upper body. He just stumbled backwards as Blossom's fists continued to fly, but finally he fell to his knees, monstrous and silent.
Blossom jumped backwards out of arms reach, surveying her work. He wasn't dead or unconscious, but there were fresh cuts on his exposed skin, seeping small amounts of reddish fluid, mingling with newborn bruises on his body. His breathing was ragged and heavy, and he certainly looked weaker than before. Blossom thought she had stopped him, and was seriously considering making a run for it, when-
Him's head snapped upwards very suddenly- "Are you quite finished?!"
Then his lips curled into another smile, and he got strongly to his feet, apparently unfazed by Blossom's power. She looked around wildly, suddenly very intent on getting away, but Him would have none of that.
At that moment when her guard had been down he came down on her, slapping her hard on the shoulder with his normal claw, sending fresh tendrils of bloodied pain through her body. She fell to her knees roughly, feeling the stinging sensation of freshly opened cuts.
She looked up, and he stood over her like an impending doom. At any moment, he would bring his morphed claw in for the kill. Very slowly, he extended his arm back, grinning wickedly-
-Blossom watched him fiercely, barely aware of the warm tingling feeling that had begun to accumulate in the space behind her eyes. There was only one last chance, and she had to do it fast-
"See you in hell." was all Him said, and he was about to rip her cleanly apart when she suddenly cried out, concentrating every bit of her consciousness on her task. At that moment the fuzzy sensation behind her eyes exploded in a dazzling ray of charged energy, which burst from her eyes with the force of a rampaging semi.
Him reeled backwards, both of his arms scratching at his face in an attempt to ward off the pain, but Blossom had managed a direct hit.
It didn't have quite the effect she had wanted, which had been to outright kill, but he was in enough pain that she had a chance to get to her feet. Again she stood, now trying to shake away the funny, buzzing feeling inside her head.
He moved his arms away from his face and Blossom could see that he appeared unscathed, except for the light smell of burning flesh, and the ribbons of steam that were fizzling away from his face. In fact, he may have looked even angrier than he had been before.
"That hurt."
"That was the idea."
Without thinking, Blossom jumped at Him again, the only thing going through her mind was the desire to kill Him, her body completely on autopilot. She was so focused that she ignored every fresh scratch and every new bruise that was forced upon her from her constant hits, the pain beating relentlessly at her to no avail. She never tired, even though her pounding heart threatened to burst from her chest.
She was so focused on dealing her own damage onto the demon before her that she barely noticed in time the gnarled claw coming straight for her neck like a javelin. She cried out loudly in surprise, and as she tried to dodge she stumbled, her legs tangling up beneath her. She came down heavily, gravity clearly not on her side.
Him raised his clawed arm and looked at Blossom, excitement washed over his face.
"I doooo like skewers."
Blossom screamed wordlessly, the sound of her cry echoing pointlessly off the far walls of the compound, only to be heard by no one.