Me: -Is on the phone to Abbie- Bye!
Abbie: Bye!
Me: Bye!
Abbie: Love you!
Me: Bye!
Abbie: Bye!
Me: Wait, WHAT?
Abbie: -Click-
Me: -Looks at Abbie, who is in fact standing next to her- What the crap?
Abbie: Don't ask if you know what's good for you.
Eevee: Trust me, you don't want to know.
Me: I'll take your word for it.
Abbie: Good girl. –Pats Seraph on the head-
Me: Ahhhh! Scary woman!
Abbie: Someone needs a hu-ug!
Me: No! NO! –Is pounced on by Abbie- AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! –Scrambles about on the floor, promptly knocking over at least three cameras-
Eevee: Uhhh… We seem to be having a few technical difficulties. Please do not adjust your monitor, and please keep in mind that we three don't own Jak and Daxter. Thank you, and enjoy the chapter.
Written To: Runaway – Linkin Park –Moshes–
Jak's commentary
"Speech"
"YELLING!"
'Thoughts'
((Me popping into the story to explain something or other.))
Song lyrics
Bio-speak
I didn't know what was going on back in the city. At that exact moment, I think all I really knew was that I had been outsmarted, and I didn't like it. And, well, you know how pissy Dark Jak is…
Her limp body crashed against the great sandstone walls of the canyon, carried by the raging torrent. The cold had numbed her body to the point where she could feel nothing, and she was almost completely unaware of her surroundings. Only the faintest notion and briefly stirring memories told her where she was. The water had sapped her strength, and she felt no desire to struggle. This was her end.
Dark Jak stared down angrily at the water, watching resentfully as the incapacitated body of his prey was swept away. A decision was made in his bloodthirsty mind to follow the nomad's passage downriver, in case she somehow survived the terrible journey.
Minutes, hours, days passed, and still the river carried the nomad, heading away to the east. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, the river slowed down, and the walls began to lower the closer the predator (and his quarry) grew to the sea. The woman slipped in and out of consciousness, no longer able to differentiate between the two states. Water began to fill her lungs, but some strange instinct told her to keep going. Her sluggish mind pondered a single question; why was she not dead? Had Makire forsaken her? Had her people forgotten her? She was unaware of the dark creature that hounded her, his stamina rarely faltering as he slowed to a leisurely pace, moving with the water.
Suddenly, she felt solid ground beneath her. The change in the pressure, and the feeling of air, not water, above her was frightening, and she felt terror wash through her weak, bedraggled body. The river had, for some reason that she could not discern, carried her to safety. She struggled for breath, coughing and hacking to expel liquid from her lungs. Her body was devoid of vigour, and she knew it was her time. She took in a deep breath of air – how sweet, how glorious it was after having only breathed when the river allowed her – and held it for a second, as though calling on some old, buried memory. Then she released the air in a long, laborious cry. Water rolled from her shredded ears as she took another breath, and then resumed her chorus. She cared not for the sound of splashing water, although normally such a thing would have spurred her instincts into action.
Dark Jak was furiously swimming across the river, the weak current simply lapping against his powerful body. In less than a minute, he was at the opposite bank, standing over the howling vagrant, claws at the ready. In her dulled state, the woman had no clue of his presence; all she knew was it was nearly her time.
Elsewhere, three beasts stood, the wind stinging their golden eyes. While they cursed that wind, it carried something to them that without it they would never hear.
"Is that - ?"
"I think it is."
"Come on, you two. Let's check it out."
There was a unanimous agreement to this statement, and from their vantage point they scanned the sands below. None could see the source of the howl, but they could follow their ears instead. They made for the sound, listening for any directional cues the singer might give. There were none; the song simply faded away, giving no clue as to where the crier was. It was up to their navigational skills.
They did not know it, but time was of the essence, as every second they spent was a second for the eco being to cause the nomad a world of suffering; he liked to 'play' with his kills before dispatching of them. Her arms bore several more scars than there head been, and one of the existing scars on her face had been torn open by his terrible claws. A large chunk of her right ear had been torn off, and many other wounds littered her frail body. The blind woman heard his heartbeat ringing in her ears, striking more terror into her than even his talons. It was the sheer malice in that heartbeat, the anger and hatred coursing through those veins. It was this that reinforced her feeling that it was her time.
Both were so fixated with the other, be it from fear or malevolence, they knew nothing of the trio of metal heads coming towards them. In fact, the only time they were given a clue as to their presence was when it was staring them in the face. A great beast burst from the shade, his black carapace giving him a supernatural appearance. He put himself between the duo, snarling angrily and glaring through his pitch-black eyes. Five growled words escaped his throat;
"It is not her time."
Dark Jak made a lunge for him, but was met mid-air by the other two metal heads, which grappled him to the ground. The largest, a beast named Boomslang, sat on him.
"What do we do with 'em, Shadow?"
He looked at the black creature, which was inspecting the nomad. Boomslang paid little heed to the claws raking along his carapace, although it was written on his face that he wasn't particularly comfortable with it.
Shadow looked up, turning his dark eyes from the woman to the struggling Dark Jak who was currently restrained by his comrade's arse. He thought for a moment, considering his options. He recognised the sat-upon man-beast; everybody did. But the woman – she would be just another parasite, too weak to hunt.
"We'll see what Radagast has to say about them."
He knew that the guilt of leaving someone to die when it was not their time would be far greater than the difficulties presented by getting her back to the camp.
Boomslang no longer felt claws raking against his body; rather, it was now just something pushing against his rump. Looks like his 'captive' had given up on the clawing business. He couldn't say he wasn't grateful. His thoughts were interrupted by an amazingly indignant shout,
"Will someone PLEASE get this fucking thing off me?"
Me: -Looks up- Blimey. I finished it! -Celebrates chapter-finishing-
Abbie: No. Of course you didn't.
Me: Cut the sarcasm.
Abbie: Goit.
-Large amounts of bickering ensues-
Eevee: Well, please R&R. It'll shut them up. Maybe.
NOTE: A boomslang is a type of snake. A type of snake with a very cool name.