Fast update! Yay for motivation! Hard to believe that this fic is almost finished… I expect that all shall be shocked with this chapter, since that is what I am hoping for.
Olgite the Squidgal: I didn't even remember that quote! It must be lodged deep within my twisted subconsciousness. DeviantArt is good, but kind of slow. If gum can trap my braces, it can trap a Yautja's mandibles. Stupid braces…
Stormseer88: I dunno about a massive shoot-out this time. You'll have to wait for the sequel (evil grin).
Kitty Felone: Matt: Quick! Cloak! The cops! (they cloak) People in room: EEEEEEKKK! GHOSTS!
Bastet1023: Twisted two-faced whiner bugger… I hates that Landis.
Lord Azrael: Zombie Nation rocks, but only the original.
Iconofcoolness: I have become quite good at the cliffhangers, haven't I? I just decided to be different with my beloved Matt and it is very creepy about your son… Small world…Everyone seems to be named that.
S'yuit-de: Shit, derogatory term.
Thwei-Tjau'ke: Blood Stone.
Ki'its-pa: Retractable spear.
H'sai-de: Curved sword.
Ki'cti-pa: Wristblades.
Pauk-de: Fucker or fucking.
Kainde Amedha Chiva: The Blooding hunt, the Hard Meat Trial.
Pyode Amedha: Soft Meat.
Chapter ten
A sudden chord of dread struck in his stomach, but was overshadowed by the small sun of rage growing in his chest. That s'yuit-de… He had told, hadn't he! The crowd of people stood quiet and wary as they silently counted each thumping step as the police officers climbed the stairs. The doorbell rang and no one moved for a moment until Freddy moved forwards and opened the door. A tall, dark woman and her equally well-height endowed partner stood framed in the doorway.
The man spoke, "We are going to have to ask you to break up this party immediately and return to your homes." Matt almost slumped with relief. The neighbors were only complaining. "There has been a murder near here recently and all citizens under the age of twenty one are advised to stay in their homes from the hours eleven PM to six AM." No neighbors. But they hadn't said anything about suspects. They teenagers in the room started muttering to each other.
They were about to turn and go when the woman put her hand up to her ear, listening to the small headphone and asked, "Is there a Matt Booker on the premises?" The buzzing in the room stopped and dozens of eyes locked themselves on him.
Matt stiffened and said in a loud, clear voice, "That's me."
"Please come with us." He started walking, avoiding the grab Thwei-Tjau'ke made at his shoulder. He stopped just for the barest moment in the door and glared murder at Landis, looking past Celia's pale, shocked, worried face.
…..
Once outside the police pushed him against the hood of the car and cuffed his hands behind him while they patted him down for weapons. They found his ki'its-pa, his h'sai-de, his long dagger, his two small, flat daggers and his brace of throwing knives; amazingly, they didn't find the myriad of other weapons stashed in his awu'asa.
"You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." the man said as he guided Matt into the car. This can't be happening to me. Matt thought. But it is. Oh, this is almost as bad as my Kainde Amedha Chiva… That bastard told. What is Lee going to think? She's going to be so worried… Landis. He contacted his friends and worked it out of them. He phoned the cops. That fucking asshole. That pauk-de. That goddamn motherfucking son-of-a-bitch told! Matt silently screamed, working himself into a fine rage to dispel the panic. Controlled rage would clear his head and help him think, help him escape. That was what the mesh'in'ga was. Pure controlled bloodlust. Landis, ooh, he would pay! The things Matt wanted to do to him would make even the Yautja's most gruesome kill seem like a neat sniper's victim. No. What he would do to that tarei'hasan! But first he had to get out of this squad car.
"Excuse me? Officers?" Matt asked, his anger making his voice tremble slightly, but that was OK. Let them mistake for illness. "I need to stop. I think I had too much to drink. I'm gonna be sick." The woman sighed in exasperation and slowed the car, pulling it onto the shoulder of the road in a mercifully bare stretch of road in front of a few empty treed lots. The man got out and opened the door.
"Make it quick, alright?" Matt pretended to lurch drunkenly out of the car and into the ditch. Then he faked a trip, tumbling head over heels into the shadowy bottom.
"HEY!" hollered the male officer, fumbling at his belt for his flashlight. Matt didn't have much time. He tucked his legs onto his chest and worked his arms back to the front, wincing as the metal of the cuffs cut into his skin. He twisted his hands so the chain lay between where his ki'cti-pa came out and clenched his right fist. The deadly twin blades shot out and with a simple twist, the chain was cut easily. In a flash, Matt unhooked his mask, put it on and cloaked just as the cop's light shone on him. "Hey, hey! That kid's gone!"
"Shit!" swore his partner, getting out of the car and drawing her gun. The man's beam passed over Matt's wavering form.
"What the hell is that?" he yelled as Matt darted to the left.
"Kid! Matt!" called the female cop. "Come out quietly with your hands up. We don't want to hurt you."
"Oh," growled a voice by her ear. "I want to hurt you." She whirled, coming face to face with a menacing masked form. Her scream of fear was cut off short by a metallic snick! as Matt shot his ki'cti-pa into her chest. Her face worked as she tried to speak. She started to fall and managed to squeeze off one shot before collapsing totally. It ricocheted off a shoulder plate.
"What… the… hell… are… you?" she choked in between wheezes and coughs as Matt's form faded from sight.
"Lois!" yelled the man, charging up the side of the ditch. "You asshole!" he roared, seeing the woman's fallen form. The cop gasped as the warrior uncloaked and delivered a nearly point blank shot of plasma into his chest.
…..
Matt felt no remorse in killing the two cops. All he felt was anger, coldness and determination. He had retrieved his weapons from the trunk of the car. He jogged quickly along the side of the road towards one of the newer neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city. Matt remained cloaked. Most of the trick or treaters were now home, but the few that remained barely gave Matt's shimmering form a second glance. Eagle Street. Hummingbird Street. Mallard Street. Warbler Street. And finally, Hawk Street. Matt nimbly leapt over the fence of the first house on the block. It was a simple matter to peer into the windows of the first story house. The shadows didn't matter in his search. The infrared setting to his mask solved that problem. He slowly slowly slid the unlocked window open. The screen was missing already. He edged in, not daring to waken the sleeping body. Still in infrared mode, Matt wedged a chair under the doorknob and turned to the room's sleeping occupant. Standing over him, Matt nudged the somnolent body. He snorted and sleepily pushed himself up, clearing his throat.
"Huh? Wuzzat? Who's there?" asked the ooman querulously, squinting blearily into the dark and groping for the light switch. Light flooded the room. "Fuck."
"Hello Landis." Matt snarled in a low voice. "Don't bother screaming or anything. It won't do you any good. You'll just die faster." Matt shot his ki'cti-pa, the long blades halting only inches from Landis's nose.
"P-please, don't hurt me man… I didn't do nothing… You got the wrong guy."
"Oh really? I would have thought you'd recognize me." Matt removed his mask with a hiss. Landis's cheese coloured face flushed bright red.
"I was right! You did do something to them!"
"I only beat them senseless, which is far less than I will do to you and the person who squealed. Who was it, Landis? Jose? Damien? George? Or one of those others? Tell me."
"No fucking way. I'll never tell! You don't have the nerve to do it." Matt punched Landis in the face. His head jerked back, blood spurting from his nose.
"Tell me. Now." Matt pushed the tips of his ki'cti-pa into Landis's throat, pricking him. Sweat stood out like beads on his skin, mingling with the blood from his nose. The sour smell of fear choked the room. Matt stared deep into Landis's green eyes for several minutes.
"I'll… I'll tell you…" murmured Landis, closing his eyes and hunching his shoulders. Matt cocked his head to the side. "It was George."
Matt smirked and said, "That's a good Pyode Amedha. Was that so hard?"
"Please let me the fuck go. I told you what you wanted! I won't tell anyone else! Please, just let me go." babbled the red-haired boy.
"No, I don't think so. You already have no honor, so I cannot trust your word. You told once and you will tell again. The only punishment for you is death. You know too much."
"W-what? You're kidding, right? C'mon man, please don't do this… I could-I could pay you! What do you want? I'll give it to you! Anything! Please don't do it!" pleaded Landis as he backed away from the advancing warrior. "Don't touch me! I'll yell and my parents will come! Then they'll call the cops and you'll go to jail."
"Let them come. I will deal with them like I dealt with the other cops. Bring your parents in here and I will kill them too." Matt jumped onto the bed and seized Landis's throat, dragging him off the bed and onto the floor. He bore down onto Landis, hands clenching around his throat. "How dare you have anything to do with my sister! How dare you touch her! You are not worthy! You are shit compared to her; you and all your bullying friends!" Landis gagged and his eyes rolled up into his head. Matt released him. Air surged back into Landis's lungs with a noisy wheeze. He lay on the floor, coughing and gasping, Matt standing over him like a great dark god judging his minions. "For my kind betraying a fellow hunter to possible death or discovery for no reason other than hatred usually means death. There are no Arbitrators here, so I shall assume their duty." Landis rolled onto his back, legs curled onto his chest like an insect's. "Pitiful ooman." the warrior scoffed. Then the football player drove both his feet into Matt's largely unprotected belly. Matt doubled over as Landis scrambled madly to his feet. He wrenched the chair away from the door and was about to seize the doorknob when Matt grabbed him by the hair and yanked him away.
"Let me go, you crazy fucking bastard!" yelled Landis.
"You fight with surprising trickery, Pyode Amedha. But it will not be enough." snarled Matt as he ran the red haired boy through. He screamed. Sleepy, alarmed voices rang through the house and bare feet pounded the floor, but when they opened the door all they saw was a chaotic mess with a pool of blood in the centre. A trail of blood led out the window and into the night.
…..
Matt grunted, teeth bared in effort as he heaved on a length of rope that stretched over a tree branch. The other end was attached to the skinned headless corpse of Landis. Matt's hands were slick with blood, his armor spattered generously in the fluid of life, but he gave it as little attention as he would water. Matt saw everything through a thin red haze. The next stop was Georges. Matt was still very angry and still deep within the mesh'in'ga. He didn't give the corpse another glance as he put his mask on and cloaked as he left the small forest.
You are disturbed, no? Please review and tell me what you think of the gory gore! I'll eat flames for breakfast, but they are welcome. I'll laugh though before I douse them in yummy, yummy milk and sprinkle sugar on them.