Part 17

Before Harper knew what was happening he felt the sudden rush of air, and then the inevitable sudden impact of the same ground as he landed heavily upon it, his right shoulder and hip taking the impact and his head whip lashed forward connecting with the ground under his own momentum of the fall.

It was hard to breathe, as Harper groaned in a daze and then rolled shakily onto his back, showing all of those still watching from the balcony above that he had survived the fall. Focusing with some effort ignoring the slight double vision he now had, Harper saw the wide eyes of Beka and Dylan looking down; they had been pushed forward against the railing to observe whatever else was planned for him now. In defiance, Harper smirked, but inside he felt groggy and pain, but he was unable to determine exactly where it hurt, it just hurt all over now.

Harper began to test his mobility, but soon heard a gruff voice nearby. "Don't move, Harper."

"Rev," Harper responded, remembering where he was suddenly. "Let Barton's guys go," he then shakily added, still trying to completely focus.

"They are not my prisoners, Harper," Rev then revealed. "I am their prisoner."

"What?" Harper checked, and looked upwards to a grinning Barton. "But he said, he asked me to help."

"It must have been a trick," Rev came into Harper's line of vision. "I'm sorry, Harper, I never realised you were up there, that they had recaptured you, and captured Dylan and Beka as well," he gestured to where Beka and Dylan now looked down on them. "I was simply passing the time in deep meditation, in the hope the gang would get bored."

"Don't stress yourself, Rev," Harper grimaced, and attempted to move but Rev stopped him.

"Harper, you are hurt," Rev spoke up, and Harper felt the warm flow of blood escaping his mouth and nose, plus from a cut somewhere on his head where he had made contact with the ground, the exact location of his pains was proving hard to pinpoint.

"Gee, you think?" Harper grimaced, but then screamed out as the three gang members took hold of him, and pulled him up to a sitting position, the pain reverberated inside of him like electric shocks, with every movement they forced him to make.

Rev showed his teeth in reaction to the yobs actions, his stance showed anger as he took on an attack posture.

"Remember your promise, Magog," Barton yelled.

"My promises are only bound with honest men, and you are not one," Rev returned. "This is my friend, and you are risking his health and life with your actions, you are forcing me to act."

"The same friend you also crave," Barton spoke knowingly. "We all saw it before, and then when we found you, your chants were to give you strength against your instincts, the instincts that were telling you to attack your friend!"

"That's not true," Rev returned loudly, seeing Harper in extreme pain as they kept him hanging, almost slumped now in their hold.

One of the goons holding Harper used a piece of cloth to gather more of his blood, and Rev immediately backed away. The goon approached, as close as he dared to a Magog, and then threw the bloodied cloth.

"What do you want from me?" Rev now demanded, ignoring the cloth that landed on the ground before him, and glaring at those around him.

"Pick the cloth up," Barton now requested, but Rev made no attempts to move as he glared up at the leader. "I said pick it up!" Barton yelled now, and then gestured to the goons holding Harper, the sound of the human screaming out soon followed as the goons casually roughed him up causing Harper distress. Rev reached down and picked the cloth up, holding his clawed hand in a defensive manner seeing Harper's pain.

Preparing to play along, Rev held the cloth but when he saw that they were still hurting Harper simply by still moving him in their hold, something inside of Rev told him to fight, and his strength of faith could no longer hold him back. It was only whilst glancing up and seeing Beka and Dylan were also at the mercy of the goons, that he attempted to remain focused, but the instinct was growing inside and attempting to take control. Rev glanced down at the cloth, realising the scent was a part of his growing unrest and he discarded it quickly.

A sudden explosion finally distracted Rev and he heard movement above, Barton had moved away from the railing, and there was shouting mixed with the sound of fighting. The three goons holding Harper were focused on what was happening above, and when Rev finally saw Tyr and Rommie fighting up above, and releasing Beka and Dylan, he quickly moved forward.

The youths eyes were wide, as they pushed Harper away to the ground, but Rev only momentarily checked the now groaning Harper as he proceeded towards the men that had caused his friend additional pain.

"Rev, no!" Beka's voice now yelled from above. "Rev!"

Without pausing Rev reached the first goon, frozen in fear and his venom hit the boy across the face, within a few moments the other two goons joined their friend as the paralysing spray incapacitated them, before they collapsed to the ground.

"Rev, please," Beka pleaded now, unable to reach the Magog and fearing what she was seeing, even with the commotion still ongoing around her as Tyr, Rommie and Dylan secured the goons.

Breathing heavily, Rev now fought his more primal instincts and moved away from the fallen gang members, now paralysed and in fear of their lives. He turned to see Harper racked with pain, withering on the ground. Rev slowly approached him, seeing and smelling the human's pain, the sensations were reactivating those earlier thoughts and Rev closed his eyes.

"Rev," Beka called out once more, her voice shaky, she had heard what Barton had said and she still couldn't shake the thought that Rev wanted to hurt Harper, and as he approached him now, her fear grew. "Please, Rev, step away, wait for us we'll be down, please Rev, meditate, fight this!" she spoke, in the hope her voice would break through, but the Magog was now stood over Harper, and his silence concerned the blonde captain.

Rev knelt down, knowing Harper wasn't yet aware that he was there, and the human seemed only vaguely aware of what was happened around him. Reaching out, Rev placed a clawed hand on Harper's chest and the human instinctively froze with his touch, finally focusing enough to look at Rev, and the Magog felt the boy's heart beat increase, and the fear engulfed his senses.

"Rev?" Harper spoke in almost a whisper, doubt in his voice at the way Rev was staring at him without moving. "Help me," Harper was barely heard now, as his face for the moment creased up in pain, and blood continued to escape him.

Harper shifted seeing that Rev was staring at the fresh blood about his person, but the pain prevented him moving far, and the Magog still had a hand on his chest, the claws touching his skin. Taking some controlled breaths, Harper willed unconsciousness but for the first time it seemed it was the last thing he could achieve, as he stared at Rev now.

Then Harper saw it, and he instinctively screamed as Rev's head went back, showing his teeth and soon after Harper felt the venom splatter upon him.

"Rev no!" Beka frantically yelled now, and it took all of Tyr's strength to stop her climbing over the rail and falling to the room below to help her friend, but Rev wasn't aware of her actions, or heard her voice, as his focused remained solely on Harper.

Quickly all sense and feeling left Harper, and with it the pain and it dawned on Harper what Rev was doing, at least what remained his last hope that Rev was doing. The Magog gathered the human into his own hold, and there was nothing Harper could do to stop Rev, as he remained staring at the Magog with uncertainty. Slowly Harper continued to lose all feeling and a fresh panic arose as he remembered what had happened before, when his vital organs had failed but no one could see his fresh panic, as he became more trapped by paralysis within his own body.

Rev closed his eyes, and unknown to Harper the Magog was flexing his clawed hand just inches from the boy's body, fighting an inner battle of control. With his already fevered thoughts disrupting his control, and the temptations that had threatened to overwhelm him, Rev was fighting his toughest battle ever. Harper had always been a threat to him, with his enhanced natural fear and emotions that attracted Rev's kind, and made human's easy prey for the creatures, but now that threat was being realised as Rev held the prone human, paralysed by his own venom, and with his own friends already doubting him, Rev had little to lose.

End of part 17