Ch. 6

The bartender only smiled.

Flynn raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Noble? Is that what you call it." He shook his head, taking a nut from the little plate. He rolled it around between his finger and thumb. "That's the problem with society: mislabeling weakness as kindness."

The girl seemed amused. "And you think kindness is a weakness."

Flynn squished the nut till it broke. "One I'll never overcome."

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We needed supplies. At first I was afraid to peel the synthetic blend from my skin. The exposed areas, patches where the armor had melted completely, and my face where the slime had splashed, was skinless, steaming, and oozing of blood and pus. Where the armor still held, the skin was stained green, and rubbing a finger on it was like pulling cellophane off a soft block of cheese. Smelled worse, though.

At least my feet were ok. Red and sore, a few burn blisters, but I could walk.

Errol's dark skin was darker, and at first I thought that was the only problem. Well, then I got a closer look. the bits of chemical suit material had melted into the soles of his feet, making them crusty, dark fluids seeping from ragged wounds. The rest of his body looked the same, but darker, easer to miss if you weren't inspecting.

"I only have enough for one right now," I said, taking out the remains of a medkit. "I'm going to use it on myself, so that I can find more, for you."

Errol didn't seem mad at that decision, which relieved me. But he did look a bit defeated. "So you're going to leave me here, while you find it?"

"No, man. You could get killed by yourself, especially in your condition. You'll just walk with me, alright? But I have to get healed first, so I can take care of you."

I almost passed by a small room with a doorway but no door. Inside sat a large medkit, some shells, and a double barreled shotgun. Despite my pain, I just had to stand and gape. How beautiful. And I almost rushed in, but remembered bitterly that the demons are smarter than they look. It looked too much like a trap.

"Fuck it," I said to myself and I grabbed Errol and raced in. He helped me snag the stuff and speed back out. I collapsed, sweating bullets as I stared back in the room. Nothing happened. Maybe it wasn't a trap, I considered, opening the kit.

I was just finishing up with Errol when the lights went out. Sensing his fear, I put a hand on Errol's knee and said, "Alright, no big deal. Let's just get up slowly…"

He was quiet, sniffing, as I led him a way I thought was safe. Truth was, I was just as clueless as he was. Too dark to see even each other, I had to rely on my guts to get us back into the light. Switches were hard to come by, as well.

He saw it before I did. "Hey! Over there! The Hell is that?"

I tensed. I had certainly seen it before. A pentagram, and a big one. As it glowed red, the ceiling above it had a sort of reverse shadow, shining a pure white that excited me.

And some blue orbs were sitting around it. "Yes!" I said. "O God I could really some of that juice right now! Using the light from the pentagram, I tended to my wounds. I worked fast. I was so excited to toss back the contents of one of those vials. Even at full health, they always made me feel so much better. Less vulnerable to pain. I had some synthetic skin left to apply to Errol's feet.

My body aching but my spirit invigorated, we crept along a wall towards the pentagram. I could see no monsters so far. A part of me felt sick at that. "This is another trap, isn't it?" Errol said behind me.

"Probably. But those vials are worth it. Trust me," I replied, really trying to convince myself. Well, also, since we haven't found another portal in a long time, it was a process of elimination now. We had to search everywhere for a way out, even if we ha to go into dangerous places.