The Extremely Crappy Days at Ashfield High
Chappy Thirty: Cinders
"Where the hell are we now?" spoke Joshua, his voice bouncing off the walls and around the room. Myron was standing next to him, his wide eyes inspecting their surroundings. Zeik merely grunted.
They were in what seemed like a lobby of some sorts, which, like every other place in the town, was abandoned. Chairs were toppled over, windows were shattered, and the paint on the walls had thinned incredibly.
"Does it matter?" Zeik questioned, annoyed. "The poor bastards obviously didn't keep up with their payments… Hell, I could say the same about this whole, raunchy town!"
Joshua scratched his head. "You're the one that wanted to come."
"I wanted to wait for things to simmer down out there before going out and pissing everyone off like I always do." He picked up an overturned stool and took a seat. "And when I want your opinion, you know, I'll actually ask for it. Didn't you learn any manners when you were wrapped up in diapers at age five?"
Joshua cocked any eyebrow up. "Didn't you? I've never seen you not act like an ass."
Zeik didn't respond, and the younger boy left it at that, deciding to pick at a few pieces of fluff that had gathered on his jean jacket. Myron just leaned against the wall, the golden cross still clutched tightly in his right hand. Silence slowly overtook them, but Zeik felt the right to fidget, and it quickly irritated Joshua.
"Can't you sit still?" he demanded, but the eccentric man shrugged.
"I'm bored," he said. The brunet sighed and looked towards one of the windows… until the floor shook slightly. The shaking stopped immediately, however, but the two teenagers turned to the wooden floor. Zeik ignored it, but it started again, more furious this time around. Joshua stepped forward, eyeing the floorboards suspiciously. "What the…"
With every second that passed the shaking grew more and more violent; the walls soon trembled, and dust fell from the ceiling.
Zeik groaned as the stool he sat upon rattled and began to move. "Stupid piece of crap…" he muttered before getting off of it and kicking it across the room in frustration. "I guess they couldn't afford quality products either…"
But in the instant afterward the floor exploded in bits of wood and dust, a great shape rising from underneath it.
"What the hell?" screamed Joshua suddenly; backing away from the mess as he saw the shape took form. What stood before him was an extremely tall man, or at least what it looked like, wearing a blood-stained white gown of some sort. Its skin was a deathly pale color, and a foul odor emanated from it, causing the teenager to scrunch up his nose in disgust. A grand, black, pyramid- shaped helmet lay upon its head. One caught the most of Joshua's attention, however, was the massive blade held in its hands, which was raised above its head.
"That's one hell of a-,"
With inhuman speed the thing swung its weapon horizontally at the brunet, who luckily ducked as the blade ripped through the wall behind him. He scurried away too, right before the sword of sorts dove into the ground.
Joshua was speechless, but he then noticed Myron cornered up against the wall. "Myron!" The slightly geeky boy was frozen on the spot, staring up at the colossus in front of him. He squeezed his eyes shut, shivering. "N-N-No, no, n-no, no…"
A bullet zipped through the air and penetrated the creature through the back. It flinched, but turned, unharmed, and set its attention on Zeik, who had his gun aimed straight at it.
He smirked and shot once more, striking it in the chest. Like before, though, it was seemingly not affected, and only stalked forward towards him. Zeik cursed silently, reaching behind him to grasp one of the legs of the stool he kicked earlier. With a cry he launched the piece of furniture at it, but the stool broke upon impact. "See, what did I tell you? Poor quality!" he exclaimed.
"What-What is that thing?" Joshua shouted in fear as the demon continued to approach them as if the stool had never collided with it. Without a moment's hesitation Zeik dashed to the hallway leading out of the lobby. The brunet teenager watched as he went, but looked back in terror to see their attacker before him, weapon ready.
However, there was a sudden growl, and several dogs from earlier jumped through the windows and into the room, speedily biting at the stronger demon and aggressively attacking it. Two of the dogs latched on to its left arm, and another clamped its jaw on the creature's shoulder. The mighty entity grabbed that hound by the neck and flung it across the room. With quick reflexes it slashed the dogs away; black liquid seeped from the demon's shoulder wound, and Joshua acknowledged that it could be hurt. And if something can be hurt, it can be killed.
"Unless you want to bite it, hurry up!" called Zeik, waving at both him and Myron. They ran after him as he bound up a set of stairs located at the end of the hall. The hulking being knocked the last minor demon to the side before following after them, its great knife tearing apart the floor as it dragged it behind itself. As it neared the stairs, however, more of the dogs crashed through the door, the smell of granola reaching their heightened sense. With much eagerness they raced after the four.
Myron, who was at the rear, glanced behind him to see the powerful colossus of a creature gaining on them. He heard the sounds of the dogs as well, and saw two of them lunge at the larger entity, that knocked them off.
"T-They're c-c-c-coming!" said Myron excitedly, his left hand fumbling for his inhaler as he ran. He was growing more and more tired by the second, but he disregarded it; these things were going to kill them if they were given the opportunity.
Joshua looked behind him quickly, but stopped. There were stairs no longer, just a long hallway with a single door at the end. Zeik was standing before it, his arms folded. The boy winced and darted forward to it, giving the doorknob a good pull. "Damn, the lock's broken!" he said as Myron caught up to them.
Zeik sighed while the other two turned back to see one of the dogs crash against the wall and land in a heap, lifeless. Their hunter grunted as it walked into the hallway, its giant blade held at its side. A hound hung over its shoulder, dead, and it grabbed it by its legs and threw it to the floor. "Shit!" said Joshua, looking back to Zeik. "What are we going to do? We can't the door open!"
"That's where you're wrong," answered Zeik with a grin. He brought the gun up and fired at the doorknob, blasting it apart. The door swayed a little, and he kicked it open, right as the demon started its way towards them.
They all left through the doorway… but they didn't get far, as they were on the rooftop of the building.
"How the… How did we…" Joshua trailed off, sighing. There was a distorted chuckle behind them, and they turned to see the creature behind them, laughing, as if he was taunting them.
Myron glanced down at the cross, and Zeik aimed at the demon and pulled the trigger, but there was only a CLICK.
He stared at it for a second. "Well that just plain sucks," he stated, looking at Joshua and Myron for a moment. The creature-the pyramid head- bowed its head and continued towards them. "Are you, uh, sure you're out of bullets?" inquired Joshua hopefully as they backed away. Zeik nodded. "Yeah," he replied and dropped the pistol.
Suddenly, however, the sound of sirens rang through the air, and the pyramid head looked up to the sky, alert, as if the sirens were telling it something. It spun around all of a sudden, while the dogs from before exited the hallway, their wounds bleeding tremendously.
"Did they… come back to life…?" thought Joshua aloud, watching as the demons growled and snapped at the pyramid head. Two more were moving around the entrance of the hallway.
"Shoot… We're not getting out of this," said Zeik without even a hint of emotion in his voice. Myron looked up at him as he said this, noticing his eyes a bit wet. Was he crying?
The dogs leaped at the pyramid head, but it swept them aside, effortlessly, with its weapon. More of them sped out of the hallway and attacked it, but a few wandered away and set their sights on the three humans.
Before Joshua could even know what hit him, one of the hounds jumped on him, having him down in an instant. He kicked at it, hurriedly crawling away, which caused his granola bar to slip out of his jacket pocket.
"My granola!" he yelled as the hound went for the bar, but he was fast enough to tackle it down. Before he could get it back, though, another one sunk its fangs into his arm; Joshua cried out, but the dog was suddenly sliced in half by the pyramid head. It turned to eliminate him next, but Zeik grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him out of the way. One of the dogs then soared at the demon, giving the two enough time to get away.
"But, my granola bar!"
"Forget about the damned granola!" responded Zeik.
Myron, while this was all occurring, was standing completely still, a chill running down his spine. Joshua, who was holding his arm firmly against himself, ran over to his side, while Zeik stayed a little ways off.
He looked back at them, and then to the demons as they struggled against each other. He slowly reached inside his coat, bringing out a plain, black sphere. His head raised, and he saw her, standing at the doorway, her sandy blonde hair running down her shoulders. She was wearing her favorite yellow jacket, over that pink blouse her aunt bought her for her last birthday. "Nan…cy…" choked Zeik, his legs feeling weak.
The sphere fell to the floor, rolling towards Joshua and Myron as he fell to his knees. "Nancy… Nancy…" he sobbed, his voice cracking. The pyramid head walked up to him, its giant shadow covering him.
He stopped himself from falling completely with his hands, tears gathering up in his eyes, but never falling. "…Nancy…"
"What the hell's he doing?" screamed Joshua desperately as the sirens sounded once more. The remaining dogs immediately crumpled to the floor, as if the life had been sucked out of them. Zeik didn't notice, only sobbing a little.
The creature before him extended its left arm at him, grasping him by the throat harshly. He made a strange sound as he was lifted into the air, the sirens growing louder and louder.
Myron cupped his ears, the sound too intense. Joshua, however, heard nothing, at least nothing as loud as what Myron was hearing.
The black- haired man didn't even try to struggle, his arms falling limp.
Sinner…
One tear slid down his cheek.
Sinner!
He gasped for air as his throat was being crushed.
SINNER!
"L-L-Let… L-Let… Let him go!" shouted Myron, his voice booming over the sirens. They stopped instantaneously, and the pyramid head released Zeik, who became aware of what was happening the moment he hit ground. "Huh…?" he mumbled to himself. Everything went silent, aside from the gentle breeze blowing through, and Myron stood there, breathing deeply. A second later, the sirens began once again, and the demon bowed its head and raised its blade.
Zeik got to the side quickly, things reaching his head at an amazing speed. "The bomb!" he hollered to the others. "The bomb!"
Joshua looked around, finding the somewhat small sphere cast off to the edge of the building.
"Hurry! Throw it to me!"
The brown- haired teenager grasped the object and heaved it to Zeik, who caught it with the utmost ease. "Now," he said, shaking the bomb, "get the hell out of here."
"What?" asked Joshua.
"I said, get out of here!" repeated Zeik as he avoided a slash. He glared at the two boys, a grim expression on his face. "Don't worry, I'll stall him. This bomb makes quite a big BOOM, and I have to blow this guy up, so unless you want to be obliterated, get the hell out of this place!"
Joshua contemplated this for a moment, as Myron stepped up beside him. "C-C-Come on, J-Josh, l-l-let's g-go."
He glanced at him, and then at Zeik while the pyramid head prepared another attack. "…Fine…" he agreed, and sprinted to the hallway, with Myron close behind.
Zeik turned back to the demon, moving away. He struck the sphere hard with his fist and threw it to the floor right in front of the creature.
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"Uncle James! Uncle James, wake up!"
James Sunderland awakened, his niece staring down at him with a concerned look. He blinked a few times, sitting up. "Nicole… What… What happened?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. The last thing I remember was Ms. Mason's car crashing into that building, and then waking up here. Then there was this explosion, somewhere else in the town."
He scratched his head, looking around. They were sitting on the street somewhere, the fog seemingly gone. James got up, his eyes wandering around. "An explosion?"
"Yeah, just right now," she replied while standing. He folded his arms. "We'd better find that teacher of yours, and those two other boys…"
Nicole winced. "Oh yeah, Josh and Myron! They came too!"
James nodded. "Let's not waste time."
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Jeremy shook his head, looking back out onto the lake. "No, Noah… No…"
The traitor chuckled weakly. "No? I'm correct, and you know it, Jeremy. None of us are in control anymore! Don't you see it?"
Cheryl watched them quietly, her gaze falling on Christian. Did he deserve this fate? She cursed at herself. This was all her fault, in the end. It was because of her that he was going through this… he didn't deserve it…
Jeremy sighed. "What is this… that is driving you, Noah?" questioned Jeremy emotionlessly, pure curiosity behind him. Noah looked him straight in the eyes.
"The fact that my life, my existence, is meaningless."
Then, in a flash, the shard of glass dove into Jeremy's abdomen. The older man gasped as his skin was punctured; blood flowed from the wound and over the glass. Noah backed away, his own wound taking its toll as Jeremy's eyes glazed over and he fell.
Noah stared at him for a minute or two, his teeth ground. "D-Damn…" he murmured, and collapsed against the railing himself. Cheryl was speechless, angry.
"You… You stupid fool! He was the only one who may have known how to save him!" she exclaimed, referring to Christian. Noah just shook his head.
"He said it himself: the boy's fate has been sealed," he stated, looking up at her seriously.
"I refuse to believe that," she retorted, kneeling down beside Christian. He seemed peaceful, but his skin was extremely pale, and he was quite cold, sp much that he was shivering and his teeth were clattering. She brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes, something triggering inside of her. There was this sudden feeling within her, a feeling that was very unfamiliar.
"There… has to be a way to save him," she said confidently. "There has to be!"
The brunet sighed. "Just as persistent as ever… but I wouldn't know of a way… Jeremy never told us much about this specific ritual, or whatever it's called…" He fidgeted slightly before holding out his free hand. "Could you lend me your gun?"
"Huh?"
"The gun. You have it in your back pocket."
Cheryl reached behind herself and felt the pistol. She had forgotten about it, but she slowly realized why Noah wanted it. "No," she said. "I can't have you do that; I need your help!"
"What does it matter? I'm going to die anyways…"
"But you must know something that can help me… save his life! You don't understand…. If he dies… I, I…"
Noah let his hand drop. "It's too late, in any case. It's over. You were too late, just like I was. We both failed, don't you see?"
Cheryl ground her teeth. "Dammit! This… this can't be happening! He's going to die, and it's my entire blasted fault!" She suddenly grasped his coat collar and shook him. "You have to know! I won't allow him to die! He's just a kid, just a damn kid!" She was losing control of herself fast, and it was still too late…
Christian let out a yawn and stretched out. He groaned and stood up, and Cheryl practically fell back in surprise as he looked up at the bleak sky with a smile on his face. He faced them with a serene expression. "…Why hello there," he said, sirens blazing from out of nowhere.
They cut through the air, but before anyone could do anything, there was a distant explosion in the town.
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The whole building was falling apart, and Joshua Townshend and Myron Cartland raced down the stairs, into the lobby area, and straight out of the place. It crumbled behind them, and Joshua glanced at the ground with his eyes closed, ashamed.
Myron looked down at the cross in his hand, and then at Joshua.
"W-What's wr-wrong?" he asked while the other boy clenched his fists.
"…That stupid, stupid… imbecile… There wasn't a need for that! He was just making a damn excuse to die!" he said furiously, kicking at a stone jutting out from the rubble.
"It's n-not your, your f-f-f-fault, J-J-Josh. He ch-chose t-t-that way…"
"Well it still doesn't make it alright! And then I went and just… let him do it!" Joshua turned away, sighing. "I'm… I'm sorry… I just… I just don't know what the hell's going on anymore! I mean, one minute I'm going to get a stupid journal back and the next I'm running around an abandoned tourist town with undead dogs on my ass!"
Myron didn't respond, as he was now staring the person who was approaching them.
"J-J-Josh…"
"What?"
"L-Look."
The fifteen year-old raised his head to see Walter Sullivan standing before them, a triumphant grin on his face.
"Hello Joshua, Myron…"
(Phew… This chapter was pretty long… Hopefully you didn't get bored with it!)