The Builder broke the skin on his fingertips and pressed it onto Kalika's wound. The doors had contained her captors... but she wondered if the scythes were powerful enough to break through the steel. If so, she was in for more than she saw coming. The wound sealed slowly, yet managed to stop the bleeding. For the cut being so tiny on his finger, the Builder's "wound" had healed almost instantly after treating Kalika.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked as the Builder placed an hand on his temple.
"I'll be fine... just a tad lightheaded..." he stated.
"I wouldn't doubt it... giving your blood to heal myself and making this weapon would do that to you, I'll bet." she stated, then glanced at the door. "Let's go... there must be a way out of here..."
Taking the Builder by the hand, Kalika pressed forward, down the dark hallway leading into the torture chamber. It was a room filled with the stench of rotting skin and aging blood stained upon the floor and walls. To return to the very room itself was the last errand she wished to fulfill, and she had the scars to overcome any sort of debate against her will. The two continued down a darkening hall, only to stop dead in their tracks. Another cell had been opened...
Wheither it was her own paranoia or merely curiosity, Kalika couldn't decide at the moment. The result was the same. She strayed from the hall leading to the torture chamber as she and Builder moved towards the opened cell.
"Kalika..." the Builder protested, only to be hushed by a finger pressed to Kalika's scarred lips.
"Shhh.... stay here..." she whispered, releasing her hold on his hand.
Cautiously, the girl positioned herself to a sqwat, then using her arms and legs, moved herself forward, towards the door. From the Builder's view, she reminded him of a spider.... a black widow silently moving in for the prey. However, the situation was quite the opposite, in which the spider was suddenly the prey. Even in her silence, Kalika knew well that she was in the same position. She neared the door, then stood up, pressing her back against the wall, preparing to make a leap into the cell. Silently bringing in a breath of air, Kalika sprang herself out into the opening, then leapt into the cell.
Nothing...
Turning to her comrade, she signaled her hand forward, beckoning him to follow...
"Intruding disturbance of my peace... my allotment hasn't been fulfilled!"
Kalika nearly jumped out of her skin. Before she could scream, a force had smashed into her back, sending her toppling onto the stone floor roughly. She had braced herself from causing damage from contact with the ground as a cloud of dust and cobwebs surrounded her. She rolled on her back, and immediately was forced into a backwards somersault as she dodged a flying claw aiming for her throat. She landed on her toes in a crouch position, stairing in shock and horror at her attacker.
It was apparently a male, and possibly stood from six to seven feet in height. However, she couldn't tell the exact height seeing that the creature was hunched over, carring a large, metal boiler on his back with was also strapped into his chest and impaled into his right shoulder. His skin was pale with a small tint of green to it, and his muscular arms formed into a claw with five large, fatally sharp talons.
However, his muscular frame and inhuman height was not the top concerns or even the top ten on her list of terrors. The creature had one large golden eye with a black slit through the center. The other eye had been patched with a slab of metal, as well as his left jaw and throat. His entire lower face from nose to chin (minus the cheeks) was nothing more but bare, red muscle tissue, revealing a cartiledge point of a nose and an entire set of teeth, the canines forged and slimmed into a curved, sharp pair of fangs. His stomach and abdonem had been peeled off, revealing more red muscle tissue, a set of intestines that were somehow kept in place, as well as a set of ribs. His ears were large and pointed, and the scalp of his head had been peeled off, along with the top part of the skull, revealing the monster's brain.
The Builder's expression of fear intensified as the creature jumped towards Kalika again. She rolled forward this time almost instantly, rolling between his legs and somehow dodging his flailing claws. However, the monster's attention hadn't turned to the Builder, though it was quite obvious that he was aware of his presence. Kalika saw her mistake instantly as she noticed that she had rolled into the cell. She jumped to her feet and readied herself. The creature jumped for her again, swiping for her head. His swings were powerful, however the boiler had posed as a flaw in his agility. And knowing that she couldn't fight the creature depending on brute strength in which she obviously lacked, Kalika fixed her thoughts on one option. Escape.
The creautre swung again, and after quicking ducking the slash, Kalika charged forward almost as if she was trying to stampede on the Builder. Panting and sprinting, her face painted with fear and her breathing quickening, she pointed towards the torture chamber, yelling for her comrade to run, to escape. The demon, frozen in his fear, suddenly awakened to his senses, then turned to run. Kalika continued to sprint, growing more tense as the thundering of the monster's feet echoed behind her. She neared the hallway, gripping the cornor of the way and making a sharp turn, heading towards the torture room. The monster, still lacking the agility, had managed to turn, yet slam roughly into a wall, causing him to fall on his side.
"Hurry!" Kalika cried as she neared the Builder. "He's getting back up!"
"What should we do?" the demon questioned, his breathing slowly escaping from his weak lungs.
"Just run.... then hide! That's the only options we have!" Kalika cried, just as the thundering of claws against the stone floor were heard again.
The monster charged forward, his speed increasing. Kalika and the Builder jumped for the torture room, noticing the room had been occupied. Slaves and prisoners were shackled and chained to the walls, other strapped onto racks and tables as a large, flattened stone of spikes lay above their mutilated bodies. Kalika had been strapped to one of these tables while the guards had tried to sew her mouth... thankfully that was all they had acheived, because she knew what fate would've come for her had they continued to sew her eyes shut as well. And there, like before, was the tray of their razors and torture equipment. Quickly, Kalika turned and slid on the ground, gripping the Builder by the wrist. He fall roughly, but the human had slapped a hand over his mouth, preventing him from calling out. They were hidden behind on of the unoccupied tables, yet she knew that the monster was still chasing her. Thankfully, the table was close to the tray of the knives and razors.
Better to die armed than die hopeless... she thought, then turned to the Builder. "Hurry, go and hide! I have an idea!" she stated. The Builder shook his head.
"You can't possibly be thinking of dueling with him!" he cried, just as a loud crash was heard. The creature had managed to slam into one of the tables, causing the table and the helpless prisoner to go toppling on the side, crashing into the rack beside it.
"It's okay... I have an idea."
"Kalika! You'll die!"
Another crash was heard as the second table had fallen against the rack Kalika and the Builder had been hidden behind. She turned to him.
"Stay low... escape from the torture chamber and hide in one of the cells. I'll be back for you, I promise." she told him, then stared in his eyes. "Trust me..."
Without awaiting his reply, Kalika leaned forward and gripped the handle of a large, jagged blade. Instantly, she rolled forward out into the open and landed on her feet, revealing herself to the monster.
"Hey! Looking for me!?" she growled, then eyed the Builder, who had actually taken her advice and began crawling away.
"You're a tough one to chew. I'll have to tenderise you to get my praise, even if it means bruising the meat!" he growled, then charged forward.