Acherontia Atropos Part 14
The first thing that I was aware of when I regained consciousness
was pain. Burning, tearing, stabbing pain in my arm, my chest, and
my back. I did my best not to whimper. It didn't matter, though.
My throat felt so raw and torn that I had a feeling I wouldn't be
able to make much noise even if I tried.
The next thing I noticed was the fact that I was laying on the
ground. It was cold and bumpy, and my entire back side was
completely soaked, though how much of it was blood and how much of
it was dew, I had no way of knowing.
I opened my eyes. I was in a clearing of some sort... The stars
shone dimly overhead. The sky was lit from below; I could see
orange light in the edges of my vision. Fire. No, torches. It
didn't make any sense. What were torches doing in the middle of
the forest?
Suddenly, it became very important to sit up. I used my left arm,
the one that didn't feel like it was going to fall off, and pushed
myself up into a sitting position. I found out that I did, indeed,
have some voice left. Pain stabbed through my arm and I whimpered
brokenly despite my best efforts not to. I cradled my right arm in
an attempt to keep it from moving too much. There was something
sharp and white sticking out from the remnants of my blood soaked
shirt about halfway up my upper arm. For some strange reason, I
found it totally fascinating.
It was my bone. Oh God in heaven, part of my bone was sticking out
of my arm.
A horrified little sound turned into a cough in my throat. My
chest hurt, badly, and it took a lot of effort to breathe. My back
felt like it had been torn asunder. I coughed and warm liquid came
up my throat and flowed out of my mouth. I dabbed at it shakily
with my good hand. It was blood.
I'd definitely had better days.
I sucked in a quick breath and went into another round of coughing,
bringing up more blood from my lungs. I could remember the thing
grabbing Wufei, and Carmen grabbing me...and a knife sliding
between my ribs. I had a bad, bad feeling that she had nicked a
lung.
Carmen.
I looked up and immediately wished I hadn't. There were, indeed,
torches surrounding the clearing. The light should have been warm
and comforting. It wasn't, because of what it illuminated.
Wufei was hanging by his wrists from a tree branch, his feet
dangling at least thirty centimeters above the ground. His shirt
was gone, and his pants were looking the worse for wear, candy
striped with blood and dirt. At first, I thought he was dead. His
chest and arms were slick with blood, and he hung silent and still.
Then, very slowly, he pulled his head up to look at me. His eyes
were wide and full of pain. Trowa knelt near him, his arms tied
behind his back to a stake that had been hammered into the ground.
He was stripped from the waist up as well, and his hair was matted
with blood. He watched me with the eyes of the dead. Quatre was
beside him, similarly restrained. His back was a ruin of blood and
strips of dangling skin, as if someone had begun to peel him like
an apple. No sign of Heero.
I closed my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach. I had a feeling that
it had all been arranged for my viewing pleasure while I was out
of it.
"Duo...you're awake at last."
I opened my eyes and looked up. Carmen was standing not a meter
away from me, completely unarmed and smirking. It was easy to tell
that she didn't have any weapons; she wasn't wearing a stitch of
clothing. For once, it didn't bother me, because I was busy
thinking of something else. I was going to kill her.
We were all going to die, I knew it now, but in that case I was
damn well going to take her with me. With a silent growl, I
gathered my strength and threw myself at her. Just centimeters
away, I hit an invisible wall and went crashing to the ground,
broken arm first. The following minutes weren't coherent enough to
remember. Next thing I knew, I was on my feet and straining
against the invisible wall, refusing to acknowledge the pain that
screamed through me. It took a couple of tries, but I managed to
dredge up enough of a voice to whisper, "You're going to die,
Carmen." A few more droplets of blood flowed from between my lips.
Blood. It was all about the power and the blood. That was where
the strength came from.
She laughed at me. Suddenly, Cheree stood beside her, still
wearing her filmy white dress, and she was laughing to, that
annoying high pitched cackle. I snarled.
"Silly boy," Cheree said, "Carmen trapped you in a circle of your
own blood. You can't escape while her power still binds you."
"You'd be amazed at what I can do," I whispered hoarsely.
"Now that you're awake," someone new said, "we can begin the
entertainment."
Entertainment. I really didn't like the sound of that. I snapped
my head around to see who had talked another vampire, a male one
with an impressive mane of black hair, sat on a stone chair that
looked like a throne. I knew he was the Master the instant I saw
him. I could feel it. That wasn't what got my attention, though.
What had me riveted was the fact that Heero sat at his feet like a
trained dog. He even had a dog collar around his neck, which was
attached to a leash that had been nailed to the ground with a
stake. His head was resting in the vampire's lap, and he watched
me blankly, like he couldn't even see me. He was completely and
totally under. The wheel was turning, but the hamster was dead and
buried.
I went cold for a moment, then my anger returned, burning away the
last bits of pain-haze that had been fogging my mind. Suddenly,
nothing existed but me, my adrenalin surge, and the sure knowledge
that I would see them all dead for what they had done.
It must have showed on my face, because the vampire laughed. It
was a nice laugh, I'll admit; warm, rich, and vaguely sexual. I
let it wash over me and ignored it. "Let him go," I hissed.
"You're not exactly in a position to give me orders, pretty one."
The vampire reached down and caressed Heero's cheek. Heero smiled
vacuously. I thought I was going to be sick. "You're at my mercy,
in case you have forgotten."
God, I hate being helpless. I clenched my teeth. "What the hell do
you want?"
The vampire continued to stroke Heeros cheek. His hand slowly
traveled lower, down Heero's neck to run over his chest muscles.
"I like this one," The vampire said. "He smells like you. What did
you do to him, pretty one?"
"Nothing," I said harshly.
The master vampire shook his head. "A lie. You're very powerful, I
can taste it in the back of my mind. Your power intoxicates me."
He smiled lazily. "Perhaps you'd like to tell me why you can look
me in the eye."
I shrugged my good shoulder noncommittally.
Nothing showed in his eyes. "Or you could tell me why I cannot
capture the Chinese boy's eyes either." He raised an eyebrow. "No?
I had hoped you could, though it doesn't matter. I grow bored." He
looked away. "Carmen, come to me please."
She walked over to him, her skin shining pale in the moonlight.
She smiled at me. "Kalin said that we will bring your friend into
the family. Are you happy for him?" She knelt by his side and
rested her cheek on the bit of the vampires lap that Heero wasn't
occupying. One big happy family. Over my dead body.
"I'd blow his head off myself before I'd let you touch him," I
said.
They both ignored me. I hated it when people did that. The vampire
kissed Carmen on the forehead and cupped one of her bare breasts
in his hand. "You did very well, love," he whispered. Gag me.
Carmen smiled. "I am your servant forever." She turned her gaze
toward me, and smirked. "You look bored, Duo."
"Oh, no, I'm fine, don't worry about me," I said.
"We have entertainment planned out. It would be rude of you to not
enjoy it." She giggled. "Except your friends managed to kill Paul,
so that only leaves Cheree to do the entertaining... unless my
love would let me help."
"Of course," he murmured.
I definitely did not want to know. Shit shit shit shit shit.
She said, "Thank you," and stood, moving back toward Wufei, Trowa,
and Quatre. For a long moment, I stayed focused on Heero. I
couldn't help myself. I was scared for him.
Then I heard Wufei curse, and I realized that I should be scared
for all of us. I turned quickly, and was overcome by a wave of
dizziness. I went reeling into the invisible wall. Not good. I was
losing too much blood. Blood brought the power to me, but if I
bled out, nothing could save me.
Quatre yelled, "Trowa!" and I looked up, my right hand sliding
along the barrier, futilely looking for purchase.
Cheree had untied Trowa and had him on the ground. Her hand was
down his pants. For a long moment, he fought back silently, until
she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her face. He
abruptly went limp, a blissful smile on his lips. Cheree laughed
and grabbed his arm, pulling his shoulder out until the joint
abruptly twisted and I heard a wet pop. That bitch had dislocated
Trowa's shoulder, just like that.
Then came the scariest thing yet. Trowa giggled, like it had felt
good.
There was an incoherent snarl of pure rage, and suddenly Quatre
was on top of Cheree, doing his best to kick her head in. He
wasn't moving very well; he could barely bend his back, and his
arms were still tied, but I would have to give him an 'A' for
effort. I'd never seen Quatre quite that angry before. Wufei
started yelling in Chinese. Whatever he was saying, it didn't
sound very nice.
"Cheree, put the boy under, please," Kalin said.
"As you wish," Cheree said. She grabbed Quatre and slammed him
into the ground, locking eyes with him. He, too, went limp. Wufei
started yelling louder, as Cheree stood and stalked over to him,
leaving Quatre sprawled on the ground like a ragdoll. I don't know
how she did it, but she set her fingers into his shoulders and
ripped downwards, shredding his back as if she'd been tearing with
claws instead of fingernails. Wufei's back arched in an
ineffectual attempt to get away from her, but he didn't make a
sound. Blood splattered down onto Cheree's white dress.
I didn't know whether to cheer for Wufei, or cry.
"You don't look like you're enjoying the entertainment very much,"
Carmen said.
I slowly turned to look at her. She was watching Cheree, and she
looked... excited. She was stroking her breasts slowly with her
hands. I felt sick. "I'm not a psychopath like you," I whispered.
Carmen giggled.
"Why?" I asked with as much force as I could muster.
She glanced back at me. "Why what?"
"Why would you sell out other humans?" The answer seemed important,
somehow. Humans weren't supposed to sell out other humans when
vampires were involved. I was sure it was a rule somewhere.
"Kalin is my master. I am his servant, his eyes during the day,"
she said, smiling. "You should have taken my advice, Duo."
"What advice?" A soft, agonized sound brought my attention back to
the 'entertainment.' Cheree was slowly peeling more skin off of
Wufei's back.
"I told you to contact the Master of the City and lead me to him.
He's the one we want. Though I suppose I shouldn't object." She
licked her lips. "This is more entertaining."
Cheree had obviously grown bored with Wufei, since he was still
refusing to scream. I know I would have been howling by then. She
gouged his back one more time, then slunk back toward Trowa, her
hands dripping blood. "You're a sick bitch, Carmen," I said.
"You're going to get as little mercy from me."
Carmen giggled. "You talk big for a little boy that's going to die.
After we're done with your friends, I'm going to use the circle to
drain you for my master. You should spend your last minutes
worrying about yourself." She walked away from me, to where Quatre
was still sprawled on the ground. He smiled vacantly at her and
struggled up to his knees, willingly falling into her arms and
kissing her.
I have never felt so much disgust before in my life, for myself or
anyone else. One of my friends was hanging from a tree, probably
bleeding to death, another was playing puppy dog for a vampire,
and the other two were about to get raped as I watched.
Carmen started unbuttoning Quatre's pants, and I couldn't take it
any more. I turned toward the master, Kalin. He was watching the
two women with a smile on his face. Rage flooded through me, and
then suddenly, I felt very, very calm.
"You're going to die," I whispered.
Slowly, he turned to look at me. He laughed.
I could feel the corners of my mouth pulling up into a smile.
Abruptly, he stopped laughing like someone had flipped a switch.
"I am the God of Death." I said, very calmly. "And I am going to
be your end."
Kalin stiffened. "What did you say?" he demanded. The clearing
suddenly became very, very still.
"I am the God of Death." I could feel my smile growing. "You
should clean your ears out more often."
It wasn't the thing to say. Kaling stood up, shoving Heero roughly
away. He stalked up to the barrier and reached through--
Learn something new every day. A blood barrier only applied to the
person it was cast on...
--and grabbed my right arm. My vision abruptly whited out, and I
could barely hear him over the roaring of blood in my ears.
"You are not funny in the slightest," he said, "and I think that I
shall have Carmen kill you now." He let go of my arm and I
crumpled into a little heap on the ground. I didn't think I'd be
able to get up again. I dimly saw Kalin walk away, dimly hear him
speaking, but it all retreated into unimportance.
Heero was on the ground across from me, only a few meters away. He
stared blankly at me. Fresh blood ran thickly from my arm, flowing
into the earth, and I fell into Heero's eyes.
I was surrounded with cool, dark water, crackling with the
electric energy that I knew now was always a part of me. It was
night; the power was awake and eager to do whatever I asked of it,
and I could feel Heero's need. There was a glass barrier between
his mind and his body, one that the vampires had put there. He was
trying to break it, pounding at it ineffectually, but he was too
weak. The spark that was Heero wasn't strong enough to go up
against the brighter, further spark that was Kalin.
I whispered, "Help me, Heero." over and over again, like a mantra,
until the glass wall shattered, and he was suddenly on his feet,
grabbing the stake that held his leash. It pulled up easily, and
he threw himself at Kalin.
Time slowed down for me, as Heero charged at Kalin, stake in hand,
and Kalin turned, his expression shocked, then enraged. He was
faster than Heero, and he dodged. Kalin twisted the stake from
Heero's hands and reversed it, slamming it into Heero's chest.
Into his heart.
As I watched Heero crumple to the ground, I could dimly hear
someone screaming hoarsely. I was bemused in a tiny corner of my
mind to discover that it was me.
Then, suddenly, miraculously, I was on my feet and pressing myself
against the invisible wall. "You're dead," I heard myself snarling,
"I'm going to take you to HELL!"
Kalin smiled at me. "Amusing," was all he said, but his eyes were
filled with cold rage. "Carmen, love?"
I glanced over to where Carmen and Quatre were. She had his pants
down around his ankles and her head was in his lap, though she
looked up when Kalin said her name. Quatre was smiling like a
lobotomy patient. I looked away. I didn't want to remember seeing
Quatre like that. I hoped that he wouldn't of be able to remember
what had happened later.
It was kind of funny that I was still thinking in terms of
"later."
Carmen walked up to stand just behind Kalin's elbow. She was
licking her lips and she slowly slid her hands around his waist,
then down to his groin. I felt sick, a real accomplishment
considering how pissed off I was. "Yes?" she purred.
"Our guest is refusing our hospitality," he said, his voice
venemous. "So let's dispense with the pleasantries."
Great. Life couldn't get much worse, though. Heero was dead, Wufei,
Trowa, and Quatre were probably going to be next... who was I to
get left out?
"Thank you," she breathed, and let go of him. I watched her walk
toward me, and suddenly, I was grinning again, and I wasn't even
sure why. "My..." she said, "I haven't even given you something to
smile about yet."
I pushed my hand against the barrier as hard as I could, trying to
find a way out. "Step inside, Carmen, and then I'll really have
something to smile about."
She waggled a finger at me. "Naughty, naughty." Gag me. She
giggled. "I'm going to have fun draining you dry before my master
embraces you."
"Funny. I'm not." Backed away from her slowly. Each step set my
arm burning again. Carmen took a quick trip over to Kalin's chair.
She shuffled around behind it for a moment, then came back out
with a very large, very unfriendly looking black knife, and
something that made my eyes light up - my gun. The only problem
was that she had it and I didn't. Never a good sign.
All I wanted was my gun. I was going to kill them all. Then, it
didn't really matter what happened.
Carmen stopped just outside the boundary of my invisible prison.
She set the gun down on the ground. I had a feeling she was
teasing me. "Come forward," she said, "and put your hand back up
against the circle."
Rule number one when you're being held captive by the servants of
darkness: don't cooperate. Stall. Anything. "Why?" I asked.
Carmen drew the black knife across her breast, leaving a thin,
shallow cut. Blood welled out of it almost immediately, and she
wiped the flat of the blade across the blood. Abruptly, Kalin was
standing beside her. He bent his head and delicately lapped at the
welling blood. Carmen's eyes slipped shut and she panted, mouth
slack.
I wanted to throw up.
Finally, Kalin drew back. Carmen wasn't bleeding any more. She
focused on me again. "To syphon power into my master, there must
be a mixing of my blood and yours. Hold your hand out."
"Let me think about that." I paused. "How's 'no' sound?"
She smirked. "Try again."
I made a big show of thinking. "How about 'fuck you' then?"
Carmen's smile got bigger. "Promise?"
Oh gross...
Kalin laughed. "Give her your hand, or I will have Cheree kill one
of the boys."
My eyes flicked over to Cheree, who was tracing bleeding designs
on Trowa's chest with her fingernails, and Wufei, who was steadily
dripping blood on the ground. Quatre was just laying there, still
smiling, his pants around his ankles. It seemed to me that killing
them outright would be doing them a favor. We were all going to
die tonight, anyway. I might as well try to make it quick. "Go for
it," I said.
I don't think that was the answer they were expecting. There was a
moment of shocked silence before Kalin spoke. "Cheree, release
that boy from your mind."
"Master?"
"Do as I said." He never took his eyes off of me. Trowa suddenly
stiffened, his eyes widening. A soft, pained moan escaped from his
lips as he tried to push Cheree away with the arm that she had
dislocated. I couldn't understand how he could even move, let
alone stay quiet... but then again, it was Trowa. "Carmen, pick up
the boy's gun," Kalin said, "and shoot that young man in the
knee."
Oh God... with the kind of bullets that were loaded in my gun,
Trowa wouldn't have a leg left after he got hit. I licked my lips.
Killing outright was one thing, torturing was another. At least
when the vampires had him under, he wasn't feeling pain. "Let's
not be too hasty. Why don't you just come and get it, huh?" Trowa
was still struggling against Cheree, even though she held him
pinned to the ground with no effort. She seemed to be enjoying
herself.
Carmen picked up the gun. "We're not stupid."
"Could have fooled me," I muttered. "Fuck." I staggered forward
and slammed my hand against the wall. My ribs and my other arm
screeched in protest. Fuck.
"Wise," Kalin said. Carmen put the gun back down. I stared at it
as hard as I could while she came up to the circle and sliced my
palm open with the black knife. It didn't really hurt, compared to
every other injury I had, but there was something wrong with it. I
jerked away, reeling backwards to hit the back wall of the circle.
I slid to my knees, my good arm clutched around my chest.
I was being attacked on a level I couldn't understand; the power
within was being pulled at, and my entire body burned with it. I
pulled my head up in time to see Kalin lick the blade of the knife.
My mouth filled with blood, and suddenly I was face down on the
ground, trying to curl into a little ball as if that would help
the pain. It hurt, oh god, it hurt, on a level beyond just the
physical. The pulling I'd felt before was nothing now. I was being
drained away, bled to death, and every droplet
burned like acid. I couldn't hear anything but my own harsh
breathing. "Help me..." I whispered raggedly. "Help me...God, help
me..." There was no one else to appeal to. Slowly, I rolled to my
side, trying to take some of the pressure off of my lungs. Kalin
and Carmen were on the and seemed to be enjoying themselves a
great deal.
Someone help me...
Help me...
The last reserves of my power flowed out into the ground,
searching. There were Trowa and Wufei and Quatre...there was
Cheree...none of them would help. Cheree was strong, I didn't have
enough power left to take her over or break her hold. Heero...I
couldn't make myself touch Heero. The power ranged further,
stretching itself thinner and thinner as it drained slowly away.
Suddenly, it was there...it had found what I was looking for.
There was a corpse, less than a week old, buried under a tree a
short distance beyond the clearing. Eagerly, the power leapt into
it, filling it up, replacing the vital spark of life with
something darker, and knowledge flooded into me.
"Ayako..." I whispered. "I call you. Come to me, Ayako..."
I opened my eyes, my vision were oddly doubled. My sight dark with
blood loss, but at the same time, I saw what Ayako saw. She was
coming. A pale face wavered up in the darkness; it was Kalin. He
smiled, saying something, but it didn't matter; I couldn't move, I
could barely feel. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my
own heartbeat, and the unhealthy bubbling noise that each breath I
took made. A hand jerked my head roughly back, exposing my neck,
and I coughed more blood out.
It seemed a little funny. I would have thought that after all the
bleeding I'd been doing, I wouldn't have enough blood to be worth
drinking. Obviously, the vampire disagreed. There were lips on my
neck, and the sharp press of pointed teeth. The zombie stood at
the edge of the clearing. She wanted... needed...
I couldn't send her after the vampires. They would rip her apart.
I at least wanted to take one of the bad guys with me.
"Carmen," I whispered, "kill her." Kalin didn't even twitch.
Perhaps he was ignoring me, or maybe he couldn't hear past his own
blood lust. Ayako moved through the trees to the edge of the
clearing, and walked slowly up behind Carmen as Kalin's fangs sank
into my neck. Then she reached and tore into Carmen's throat, and
I could feel the warmth of blood rushing over my hands...
Carmen let out a shrill scream that was abruptly cut off. Kalin
threw me away and turned, one hand clutching his throat. He was
too slow. I felt Ayako's hands pull Carmen's neck apart,
completely severing her head. The force of Kalin's shove sent me
rolling out of the circle; it was gone with Carmen's death.
Power, stronger even than I'd felt the night of Yan's death, tore
through me, filling me until I thought I would burst. I sent it
out into the ground; into Ayako, into Cheree, destroying her hold
on Quatre and Trowa, into anything it could possibly fill. I heard
Wufei yell and Cheree shriek as the power draiined from me like I
was a sieve.
That all retreated into the background as Kalin's hand closed
around my throat. I didn't have the strength to even pretend to
fight back.
"I'll kill you!" Kalin hissed. His hand tightened around my throat,
but it had none of the strength I associated vampires. He seemed
to be having serious problems.
So instead of having my throat neatly crushed, I was going to have
to go through the messy process of being strangled. Wonderful.
With a purely internal sigh, I turned my gaze towards Heero's
corpse. I'd be joining him shortly, it seemed. Black specks began
to dance in front of my eyes.
Heero's shoulder moved. At first, I thought it was a hallucination,
wishful thinking...but no. My eyes widened as he pushed himself up
into a sitting position, then rolled to his feet, the stake still
impaling him. Blood flowed sluggishly down his chest, slick and
black. He staggered a few steps forward, then reached up and
jerked the stake from his chest, almost falling to his knees.
Oh my God... he wasn't dead...
Somehow, I found the strength to reach up and grab Kalin's wrist.
He was still stronger than me, even in his seemingly impaired
state, but I gained enough slack the I managed to pull a small
amount of fresh oxygen into my laboring lungs. Heero was moving
forward again, his face set like stone.
Kalin was so intent on trying to strangle me that he ignored his
surroundings. Heero slammed into him and knocked him away from me.
Kalin yelled loudly as Heero fell on top of him, trapping him face
down against the grass. With a harsh growl, Heero raised the stake
that he still held in his hands and shoved it through the
struggling vampire's back with strength that I hadn't even thought
him capable of, pinning the shrieking monster to the ground. But
it just wasn't enough - the bastard wouldn't die.
Heero had his hands full as it was... I gasped in a breath. "Ayako,
bring me my gun."
Dirty tennis shoes and stained socks appeared in my vision almost
immediately. The scent of week old death shoved itself into my
nose, and a thin, delicate hand that was covered with blood and
had bits of flesh stuck under the fingernails reached down to put
my gun in my hand. It took everything I had, but my hand closed
around it. I lifted my arm a little, leveling the gun at Kalin's
head.
"I am..." I began to say. I was interrupted by a bout of coughing.
More blood. The vampire's struggles suddenly ceased, and he turned
his head to look at me. His eyes were wide, frightened. I tried
again. "I am The God of Death." I croaked.
"No..." he whispered, like I had just claimed to be Satan himself.
"You are dead," I choked out. I emptied the gun into his head and
kept squeezing the trigger even after it clicked empty. When I was
done, there wasn't enough left to fill a sandwich baggy with, and
most of the remains were splattered over Heero and I.
The empty Browning dropped from my hand as sudden peace washed
over me. I couldn't hear Cheree shriek any more, but I could still
hear Wufei cursing, though his voice was calmer. It was over. It
had to be over.
Heero half fell off the corpse, one hand covering the hole in his
chest. He crawled over to me. I dredged up a small smile. "Mission
accomplished," I whispered.
He snorted, and pain flashed over his face for a moment. "How
badly are you hurt?" he asked.
My vision was beginning to white out at the edges. "Hurt?" I asked.
"Who said anything about hurt? I'm just fine...I feel like I could
beat you at a game of basketball now." It was nice that he'd be
around for it. More than nice. The horrible emptiness I'd felt was
gone. "What about you?" I asked.
"I'll live."
I smiled and let my eyes close. "That's good."
"Duo?" I dimly heard Heero say. "Duo?"
It was a nice sound to hear. I carried it with me as I fell into
unconsciousness. I was tired.
It had been a long day.
The first thing that I was aware of when I regained consciousness
was pain. Burning, tearing, stabbing pain in my arm, my chest, and
my back. I did my best not to whimper. It didn't matter, though.
My throat felt so raw and torn that I had a feeling I wouldn't be
able to make much noise even if I tried.
The next thing I noticed was the fact that I was laying on the
ground. It was cold and bumpy, and my entire back side was
completely soaked, though how much of it was blood and how much of
it was dew, I had no way of knowing.
I opened my eyes. I was in a clearing of some sort... The stars
shone dimly overhead. The sky was lit from below; I could see
orange light in the edges of my vision. Fire. No, torches. It
didn't make any sense. What were torches doing in the middle of
the forest?
Suddenly, it became very important to sit up. I used my left arm,
the one that didn't feel like it was going to fall off, and pushed
myself up into a sitting position. I found out that I did, indeed,
have some voice left. Pain stabbed through my arm and I whimpered
brokenly despite my best efforts not to. I cradled my right arm in
an attempt to keep it from moving too much. There was something
sharp and white sticking out from the remnants of my blood soaked
shirt about halfway up my upper arm. For some strange reason, I
found it totally fascinating.
It was my bone. Oh God in heaven, part of my bone was sticking out
of my arm.
A horrified little sound turned into a cough in my throat. My
chest hurt, badly, and it took a lot of effort to breathe. My back
felt like it had been torn asunder. I coughed and warm liquid came
up my throat and flowed out of my mouth. I dabbed at it shakily
with my good hand. It was blood.
I'd definitely had better days.
I sucked in a quick breath and went into another round of coughing,
bringing up more blood from my lungs. I could remember the thing
grabbing Wufei, and Carmen grabbing me...and a knife sliding
between my ribs. I had a bad, bad feeling that she had nicked a
lung.
Carmen.
I looked up and immediately wished I hadn't. There were, indeed,
torches surrounding the clearing. The light should have been warm
and comforting. It wasn't, because of what it illuminated.
Wufei was hanging by his wrists from a tree branch, his feet
dangling at least thirty centimeters above the ground. His shirt
was gone, and his pants were looking the worse for wear, candy
striped with blood and dirt. At first, I thought he was dead. His
chest and arms were slick with blood, and he hung silent and still.
Then, very slowly, he pulled his head up to look at me. His eyes
were wide and full of pain. Trowa knelt near him, his arms tied
behind his back to a stake that had been hammered into the ground.
He was stripped from the waist up as well, and his hair was matted
with blood. He watched me with the eyes of the dead. Quatre was
beside him, similarly restrained. His back was a ruin of blood and
strips of dangling skin, as if someone had begun to peel him like
an apple. No sign of Heero.
I closed my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach. I had a feeling that
it had all been arranged for my viewing pleasure while I was out
of it.
"Duo...you're awake at last."
I opened my eyes and looked up. Carmen was standing not a meter
away from me, completely unarmed and smirking. It was easy to tell
that she didn't have any weapons; she wasn't wearing a stitch of
clothing. For once, it didn't bother me, because I was busy
thinking of something else. I was going to kill her.
We were all going to die, I knew it now, but in that case I was
damn well going to take her with me. With a silent growl, I
gathered my strength and threw myself at her. Just centimeters
away, I hit an invisible wall and went crashing to the ground,
broken arm first. The following minutes weren't coherent enough to
remember. Next thing I knew, I was on my feet and straining
against the invisible wall, refusing to acknowledge the pain that
screamed through me. It took a couple of tries, but I managed to
dredge up enough of a voice to whisper, "You're going to die,
Carmen." A few more droplets of blood flowed from between my lips.
Blood. It was all about the power and the blood. That was where
the strength came from.
She laughed at me. Suddenly, Cheree stood beside her, still
wearing her filmy white dress, and she was laughing to, that
annoying high pitched cackle. I snarled.
"Silly boy," Cheree said, "Carmen trapped you in a circle of your
own blood. You can't escape while her power still binds you."
"You'd be amazed at what I can do," I whispered hoarsely.
"Now that you're awake," someone new said, "we can begin the
entertainment."
Entertainment. I really didn't like the sound of that. I snapped
my head around to see who had talked another vampire, a male one
with an impressive mane of black hair, sat on a stone chair that
looked like a throne. I knew he was the Master the instant I saw
him. I could feel it. That wasn't what got my attention, though.
What had me riveted was the fact that Heero sat at his feet like a
trained dog. He even had a dog collar around his neck, which was
attached to a leash that had been nailed to the ground with a
stake. His head was resting in the vampire's lap, and he watched
me blankly, like he couldn't even see me. He was completely and
totally under. The wheel was turning, but the hamster was dead and
buried.
I went cold for a moment, then my anger returned, burning away the
last bits of pain-haze that had been fogging my mind. Suddenly,
nothing existed but me, my adrenalin surge, and the sure knowledge
that I would see them all dead for what they had done.
It must have showed on my face, because the vampire laughed. It
was a nice laugh, I'll admit; warm, rich, and vaguely sexual. I
let it wash over me and ignored it. "Let him go," I hissed.
"You're not exactly in a position to give me orders, pretty one."
The vampire reached down and caressed Heero's cheek. Heero smiled
vacuously. I thought I was going to be sick. "You're at my mercy,
in case you have forgotten."
God, I hate being helpless. I clenched my teeth. "What the hell do
you want?"
The vampire continued to stroke Heeros cheek. His hand slowly
traveled lower, down Heero's neck to run over his chest muscles.
"I like this one," The vampire said. "He smells like you. What did
you do to him, pretty one?"
"Nothing," I said harshly.
The master vampire shook his head. "A lie. You're very powerful, I
can taste it in the back of my mind. Your power intoxicates me."
He smiled lazily. "Perhaps you'd like to tell me why you can look
me in the eye."
I shrugged my good shoulder noncommittally.
Nothing showed in his eyes. "Or you could tell me why I cannot
capture the Chinese boy's eyes either." He raised an eyebrow. "No?
I had hoped you could, though it doesn't matter. I grow bored." He
looked away. "Carmen, come to me please."
She walked over to him, her skin shining pale in the moonlight.
She smiled at me. "Kalin said that we will bring your friend into
the family. Are you happy for him?" She knelt by his side and
rested her cheek on the bit of the vampires lap that Heero wasn't
occupying. One big happy family. Over my dead body.
"I'd blow his head off myself before I'd let you touch him," I
said.
They both ignored me. I hated it when people did that. The vampire
kissed Carmen on the forehead and cupped one of her bare breasts
in his hand. "You did very well, love," he whispered. Gag me.
Carmen smiled. "I am your servant forever." She turned her gaze
toward me, and smirked. "You look bored, Duo."
"Oh, no, I'm fine, don't worry about me," I said.
"We have entertainment planned out. It would be rude of you to not
enjoy it." She giggled. "Except your friends managed to kill Paul,
so that only leaves Cheree to do the entertaining... unless my
love would let me help."
"Of course," he murmured.
I definitely did not want to know. Shit shit shit shit shit.
She said, "Thank you," and stood, moving back toward Wufei, Trowa,
and Quatre. For a long moment, I stayed focused on Heero. I
couldn't help myself. I was scared for him.
Then I heard Wufei curse, and I realized that I should be scared
for all of us. I turned quickly, and was overcome by a wave of
dizziness. I went reeling into the invisible wall. Not good. I was
losing too much blood. Blood brought the power to me, but if I
bled out, nothing could save me.
Quatre yelled, "Trowa!" and I looked up, my right hand sliding
along the barrier, futilely looking for purchase.
Cheree had untied Trowa and had him on the ground. Her hand was
down his pants. For a long moment, he fought back silently, until
she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her face. He
abruptly went limp, a blissful smile on his lips. Cheree laughed
and grabbed his arm, pulling his shoulder out until the joint
abruptly twisted and I heard a wet pop. That bitch had dislocated
Trowa's shoulder, just like that.
Then came the scariest thing yet. Trowa giggled, like it had felt
good.
There was an incoherent snarl of pure rage, and suddenly Quatre
was on top of Cheree, doing his best to kick her head in. He
wasn't moving very well; he could barely bend his back, and his
arms were still tied, but I would have to give him an 'A' for
effort. I'd never seen Quatre quite that angry before. Wufei
started yelling in Chinese. Whatever he was saying, it didn't
sound very nice.
"Cheree, put the boy under, please," Kalin said.
"As you wish," Cheree said. She grabbed Quatre and slammed him
into the ground, locking eyes with him. He, too, went limp. Wufei
started yelling louder, as Cheree stood and stalked over to him,
leaving Quatre sprawled on the ground like a ragdoll. I don't know
how she did it, but she set her fingers into his shoulders and
ripped downwards, shredding his back as if she'd been tearing with
claws instead of fingernails. Wufei's back arched in an
ineffectual attempt to get away from her, but he didn't make a
sound. Blood splattered down onto Cheree's white dress.
I didn't know whether to cheer for Wufei, or cry.
"You don't look like you're enjoying the entertainment very much,"
Carmen said.
I slowly turned to look at her. She was watching Cheree, and she
looked... excited. She was stroking her breasts slowly with her
hands. I felt sick. "I'm not a psychopath like you," I whispered.
Carmen giggled.
"Why?" I asked with as much force as I could muster.
She glanced back at me. "Why what?"
"Why would you sell out other humans?" The answer seemed important,
somehow. Humans weren't supposed to sell out other humans when
vampires were involved. I was sure it was a rule somewhere.
"Kalin is my master. I am his servant, his eyes during the day,"
she said, smiling. "You should have taken my advice, Duo."
"What advice?" A soft, agonized sound brought my attention back to
the 'entertainment.' Cheree was slowly peeling more skin off of
Wufei's back.
"I told you to contact the Master of the City and lead me to him.
He's the one we want. Though I suppose I shouldn't object." She
licked her lips. "This is more entertaining."
Cheree had obviously grown bored with Wufei, since he was still
refusing to scream. I know I would have been howling by then. She
gouged his back one more time, then slunk back toward Trowa, her
hands dripping blood. "You're a sick bitch, Carmen," I said.
"You're going to get as little mercy from me."
Carmen giggled. "You talk big for a little boy that's going to die.
After we're done with your friends, I'm going to use the circle to
drain you for my master. You should spend your last minutes
worrying about yourself." She walked away from me, to where Quatre
was still sprawled on the ground. He smiled vacantly at her and
struggled up to his knees, willingly falling into her arms and
kissing her.
I have never felt so much disgust before in my life, for myself or
anyone else. One of my friends was hanging from a tree, probably
bleeding to death, another was playing puppy dog for a vampire,
and the other two were about to get raped as I watched.
Carmen started unbuttoning Quatre's pants, and I couldn't take it
any more. I turned toward the master, Kalin. He was watching the
two women with a smile on his face. Rage flooded through me, and
then suddenly, I felt very, very calm.
"You're going to die," I whispered.
Slowly, he turned to look at me. He laughed.
I could feel the corners of my mouth pulling up into a smile.
Abruptly, he stopped laughing like someone had flipped a switch.
"I am the God of Death." I said, very calmly. "And I am going to
be your end."
Kalin stiffened. "What did you say?" he demanded. The clearing
suddenly became very, very still.
"I am the God of Death." I could feel my smile growing. "You
should clean your ears out more often."
It wasn't the thing to say. Kaling stood up, shoving Heero roughly
away. He stalked up to the barrier and reached through--
Learn something new every day. A blood barrier only applied to the
person it was cast on...
--and grabbed my right arm. My vision abruptly whited out, and I
could barely hear him over the roaring of blood in my ears.
"You are not funny in the slightest," he said, "and I think that I
shall have Carmen kill you now." He let go of my arm and I
crumpled into a little heap on the ground. I didn't think I'd be
able to get up again. I dimly saw Kalin walk away, dimly hear him
speaking, but it all retreated into unimportance.
Heero was on the ground across from me, only a few meters away. He
stared blankly at me. Fresh blood ran thickly from my arm, flowing
into the earth, and I fell into Heero's eyes.
I was surrounded with cool, dark water, crackling with the
electric energy that I knew now was always a part of me. It was
night; the power was awake and eager to do whatever I asked of it,
and I could feel Heero's need. There was a glass barrier between
his mind and his body, one that the vampires had put there. He was
trying to break it, pounding at it ineffectually, but he was too
weak. The spark that was Heero wasn't strong enough to go up
against the brighter, further spark that was Kalin.
I whispered, "Help me, Heero." over and over again, like a mantra,
until the glass wall shattered, and he was suddenly on his feet,
grabbing the stake that held his leash. It pulled up easily, and
he threw himself at Kalin.
Time slowed down for me, as Heero charged at Kalin, stake in hand,
and Kalin turned, his expression shocked, then enraged. He was
faster than Heero, and he dodged. Kalin twisted the stake from
Heero's hands and reversed it, slamming it into Heero's chest.
Into his heart.
As I watched Heero crumple to the ground, I could dimly hear
someone screaming hoarsely. I was bemused in a tiny corner of my
mind to discover that it was me.
Then, suddenly, miraculously, I was on my feet and pressing myself
against the invisible wall. "You're dead," I heard myself snarling,
"I'm going to take you to HELL!"
Kalin smiled at me. "Amusing," was all he said, but his eyes were
filled with cold rage. "Carmen, love?"
I glanced over to where Carmen and Quatre were. She had his pants
down around his ankles and her head was in his lap, though she
looked up when Kalin said her name. Quatre was smiling like a
lobotomy patient. I looked away. I didn't want to remember seeing
Quatre like that. I hoped that he wouldn't of be able to remember
what had happened later.
It was kind of funny that I was still thinking in terms of
"later."
Carmen walked up to stand just behind Kalin's elbow. She was
licking her lips and she slowly slid her hands around his waist,
then down to his groin. I felt sick, a real accomplishment
considering how pissed off I was. "Yes?" she purred.
"Our guest is refusing our hospitality," he said, his voice
venemous. "So let's dispense with the pleasantries."
Great. Life couldn't get much worse, though. Heero was dead, Wufei,
Trowa, and Quatre were probably going to be next... who was I to
get left out?
"Thank you," she breathed, and let go of him. I watched her walk
toward me, and suddenly, I was grinning again, and I wasn't even
sure why. "My..." she said, "I haven't even given you something to
smile about yet."
I pushed my hand against the barrier as hard as I could, trying to
find a way out. "Step inside, Carmen, and then I'll really have
something to smile about."
She waggled a finger at me. "Naughty, naughty." Gag me. She
giggled. "I'm going to have fun draining you dry before my master
embraces you."
"Funny. I'm not." Backed away from her slowly. Each step set my
arm burning again. Carmen took a quick trip over to Kalin's chair.
She shuffled around behind it for a moment, then came back out
with a very large, very unfriendly looking black knife, and
something that made my eyes light up - my gun. The only problem
was that she had it and I didn't. Never a good sign.
All I wanted was my gun. I was going to kill them all. Then, it
didn't really matter what happened.
Carmen stopped just outside the boundary of my invisible prison.
She set the gun down on the ground. I had a feeling she was
teasing me. "Come forward," she said, "and put your hand back up
against the circle."
Rule number one when you're being held captive by the servants of
darkness: don't cooperate. Stall. Anything. "Why?" I asked.
Carmen drew the black knife across her breast, leaving a thin,
shallow cut. Blood welled out of it almost immediately, and she
wiped the flat of the blade across the blood. Abruptly, Kalin was
standing beside her. He bent his head and delicately lapped at the
welling blood. Carmen's eyes slipped shut and she panted, mouth
slack.
I wanted to throw up.
Finally, Kalin drew back. Carmen wasn't bleeding any more. She
focused on me again. "To syphon power into my master, there must
be a mixing of my blood and yours. Hold your hand out."
"Let me think about that." I paused. "How's 'no' sound?"
She smirked. "Try again."
I made a big show of thinking. "How about 'fuck you' then?"
Carmen's smile got bigger. "Promise?"
Oh gross...
Kalin laughed. "Give her your hand, or I will have Cheree kill one
of the boys."
My eyes flicked over to Cheree, who was tracing bleeding designs
on Trowa's chest with her fingernails, and Wufei, who was steadily
dripping blood on the ground. Quatre was just laying there, still
smiling, his pants around his ankles. It seemed to me that killing
them outright would be doing them a favor. We were all going to
die tonight, anyway. I might as well try to make it quick. "Go for
it," I said.
I don't think that was the answer they were expecting. There was a
moment of shocked silence before Kalin spoke. "Cheree, release
that boy from your mind."
"Master?"
"Do as I said." He never took his eyes off of me. Trowa suddenly
stiffened, his eyes widening. A soft, pained moan escaped from his
lips as he tried to push Cheree away with the arm that she had
dislocated. I couldn't understand how he could even move, let
alone stay quiet... but then again, it was Trowa. "Carmen, pick up
the boy's gun," Kalin said, "and shoot that young man in the
knee."
Oh God... with the kind of bullets that were loaded in my gun,
Trowa wouldn't have a leg left after he got hit. I licked my lips.
Killing outright was one thing, torturing was another. At least
when the vampires had him under, he wasn't feeling pain. "Let's
not be too hasty. Why don't you just come and get it, huh?" Trowa
was still struggling against Cheree, even though she held him
pinned to the ground with no effort. She seemed to be enjoying
herself.
Carmen picked up the gun. "We're not stupid."
"Could have fooled me," I muttered. "Fuck." I staggered forward
and slammed my hand against the wall. My ribs and my other arm
screeched in protest. Fuck.
"Wise," Kalin said. Carmen put the gun back down. I stared at it
as hard as I could while she came up to the circle and sliced my
palm open with the black knife. It didn't really hurt, compared to
every other injury I had, but there was something wrong with it. I
jerked away, reeling backwards to hit the back wall of the circle.
I slid to my knees, my good arm clutched around my chest.
I was being attacked on a level I couldn't understand; the power
within was being pulled at, and my entire body burned with it. I
pulled my head up in time to see Kalin lick the blade of the knife.
My mouth filled with blood, and suddenly I was face down on the
ground, trying to curl into a little ball as if that would help
the pain. It hurt, oh god, it hurt, on a level beyond just the
physical. The pulling I'd felt before was nothing now. I was being
drained away, bled to death, and every droplet
burned like acid. I couldn't hear anything but my own harsh
breathing. "Help me..." I whispered raggedly. "Help me...God, help
me..." There was no one else to appeal to. Slowly, I rolled to my
side, trying to take some of the pressure off of my lungs. Kalin
and Carmen were on the and seemed to be enjoying themselves a
great deal.
Someone help me...
Help me...
The last reserves of my power flowed out into the ground,
searching. There were Trowa and Wufei and Quatre...there was
Cheree...none of them would help. Cheree was strong, I didn't have
enough power left to take her over or break her hold. Heero...I
couldn't make myself touch Heero. The power ranged further,
stretching itself thinner and thinner as it drained slowly away.
Suddenly, it was there...it had found what I was looking for.
There was a corpse, less than a week old, buried under a tree a
short distance beyond the clearing. Eagerly, the power leapt into
it, filling it up, replacing the vital spark of life with
something darker, and knowledge flooded into me.
"Ayako..." I whispered. "I call you. Come to me, Ayako..."
I opened my eyes, my vision were oddly doubled. My sight dark with
blood loss, but at the same time, I saw what Ayako saw. She was
coming. A pale face wavered up in the darkness; it was Kalin. He
smiled, saying something, but it didn't matter; I couldn't move, I
could barely feel. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my
own heartbeat, and the unhealthy bubbling noise that each breath I
took made. A hand jerked my head roughly back, exposing my neck,
and I coughed more blood out.
It seemed a little funny. I would have thought that after all the
bleeding I'd been doing, I wouldn't have enough blood to be worth
drinking. Obviously, the vampire disagreed. There were lips on my
neck, and the sharp press of pointed teeth. The zombie stood at
the edge of the clearing. She wanted... needed...
I couldn't send her after the vampires. They would rip her apart.
I at least wanted to take one of the bad guys with me.
"Carmen," I whispered, "kill her." Kalin didn't even twitch.
Perhaps he was ignoring me, or maybe he couldn't hear past his own
blood lust. Ayako moved through the trees to the edge of the
clearing, and walked slowly up behind Carmen as Kalin's fangs sank
into my neck. Then she reached and tore into Carmen's throat, and
I could feel the warmth of blood rushing over my hands...
Carmen let out a shrill scream that was abruptly cut off. Kalin
threw me away and turned, one hand clutching his throat. He was
too slow. I felt Ayako's hands pull Carmen's neck apart,
completely severing her head. The force of Kalin's shove sent me
rolling out of the circle; it was gone with Carmen's death.
Power, stronger even than I'd felt the night of Yan's death, tore
through me, filling me until I thought I would burst. I sent it
out into the ground; into Ayako, into Cheree, destroying her hold
on Quatre and Trowa, into anything it could possibly fill. I heard
Wufei yell and Cheree shriek as the power draiined from me like I
was a sieve.
That all retreated into the background as Kalin's hand closed
around my throat. I didn't have the strength to even pretend to
fight back.
"I'll kill you!" Kalin hissed. His hand tightened around my throat,
but it had none of the strength I associated vampires. He seemed
to be having serious problems.
So instead of having my throat neatly crushed, I was going to have
to go through the messy process of being strangled. Wonderful.
With a purely internal sigh, I turned my gaze towards Heero's
corpse. I'd be joining him shortly, it seemed. Black specks began
to dance in front of my eyes.
Heero's shoulder moved. At first, I thought it was a hallucination,
wishful thinking...but no. My eyes widened as he pushed himself up
into a sitting position, then rolled to his feet, the stake still
impaling him. Blood flowed sluggishly down his chest, slick and
black. He staggered a few steps forward, then reached up and
jerked the stake from his chest, almost falling to his knees.
Oh my God... he wasn't dead...
Somehow, I found the strength to reach up and grab Kalin's wrist.
He was still stronger than me, even in his seemingly impaired
state, but I gained enough slack the I managed to pull a small
amount of fresh oxygen into my laboring lungs. Heero was moving
forward again, his face set like stone.
Kalin was so intent on trying to strangle me that he ignored his
surroundings. Heero slammed into him and knocked him away from me.
Kalin yelled loudly as Heero fell on top of him, trapping him face
down against the grass. With a harsh growl, Heero raised the stake
that he still held in his hands and shoved it through the
struggling vampire's back with strength that I hadn't even thought
him capable of, pinning the shrieking monster to the ground. But
it just wasn't enough - the bastard wouldn't die.
Heero had his hands full as it was... I gasped in a breath. "Ayako,
bring me my gun."
Dirty tennis shoes and stained socks appeared in my vision almost
immediately. The scent of week old death shoved itself into my
nose, and a thin, delicate hand that was covered with blood and
had bits of flesh stuck under the fingernails reached down to put
my gun in my hand. It took everything I had, but my hand closed
around it. I lifted my arm a little, leveling the gun at Kalin's
head.
"I am..." I began to say. I was interrupted by a bout of coughing.
More blood. The vampire's struggles suddenly ceased, and he turned
his head to look at me. His eyes were wide, frightened. I tried
again. "I am The God of Death." I croaked.
"No..." he whispered, like I had just claimed to be Satan himself.
"You are dead," I choked out. I emptied the gun into his head and
kept squeezing the trigger even after it clicked empty. When I was
done, there wasn't enough left to fill a sandwich baggy with, and
most of the remains were splattered over Heero and I.
The empty Browning dropped from my hand as sudden peace washed
over me. I couldn't hear Cheree shriek any more, but I could still
hear Wufei cursing, though his voice was calmer. It was over. It
had to be over.
Heero half fell off the corpse, one hand covering the hole in his
chest. He crawled over to me. I dredged up a small smile. "Mission
accomplished," I whispered.
He snorted, and pain flashed over his face for a moment. "How
badly are you hurt?" he asked.
My vision was beginning to white out at the edges. "Hurt?" I asked.
"Who said anything about hurt? I'm just fine...I feel like I could
beat you at a game of basketball now." It was nice that he'd be
around for it. More than nice. The horrible emptiness I'd felt was
gone. "What about you?" I asked.
"I'll live."
I smiled and let my eyes close. "That's good."
"Duo?" I dimly heard Heero say. "Duo?"
It was a nice sound to hear. I carried it with me as I fell into
unconsciousness. I was tired.
It had been a long day.
