Hello everyone! Happy 2021! I hope you all had as great a holiday as possible.
Chapter 86 is here and as always, I hope you all enjoy it!
Thanks a lot for following/ favoring/ reading the story. You are all the best and I am truly grateful!
See you all next week in Ch. 87. Until then, have fun and be well!
Darkness welcomed Ruby and Weiss as they stared inside the narrow, pitch-black corridor. The only tinge of light entered through the open gates, but barely illuminated the path ahead of them.
They both spared a few minutes to stare ahead, but there was nothing but darkness. "Unfortunate it might be, but the use of light may draw way too much attention on us" the pale girl concluded.
"We can't just go blind in there!" Ruby protested "we have to at least use your lamp!" Weiss pondered for a couple seconds, but decided her partner was right and took out a small, old-fashioned lamp with handle.
"I pass on to you, the dreams of those unable to conquer the sky" her melodious, almost lyrical voice made the brunette stare in awe, as her words seemed to slowly engulf the lamp in a gentle fairy tale.
A second passed and the platinum-haired girl turned at her, followed by the lamp that now floated along her just behind her back. She pushed a button, lighting it up and sending dim light in front of them.
"This magic stuff is so cool!" Ruby said excitedly "you have to teach me sometime!" "Maybe I will, when I am confident enough." Ruby nodded and drew Thorn; its blue gems shone purple in the lamp's low red light.
Myrtenaster at hand, the pale girl mentally commanded the lamp to move slightly ahead. It slowly floated forward, revealing the empty and dusty corridor ahead of them, while they carefully followed its path.
It took them a couple seconds to realize there was something wrong with that kind of emptiness, however. The walls, floor and ceiling were all covered in cuts, holes and large brown splashes in various places.
Ruby knelt and rubbed the area around one of the larger cuts with her fingers. "These are weapon marks for sure" she declared. "Could these then be made of bullets then?" Weiss pointed at a pair of holes.
"Yeah" it didn't take more than a second for the weapons expert to tell her. "I don't even need to think in order to find out what those brown stains are" the former head of SHU's laboratory added.
"A battle happened here. And from the looks of it, it was a really brutal one" the reaper summarized their findings. "In that case, where are the corpses? There is too much blood here."
Ruby didn't reply. She just narrowed her eyes and lightly tilted her head towards the unexplored, dark passage ahead of them. "Sounds about right" Weiss bitterly commented before they started moving again.
They walked in the red-lit corridor for a few minutes. The pattern of cuts, bullet holes and blood splatters continued, reminding them of Red mansion in Grimmwater, if only a few decades older.
Finally, a small metal door appeared a few meters ahead of them. In front of it, as they expected, the skeletal remains of four humans were lying on the floor on top of a huge brown splatter, covered in fungi.
"The song remains the same, no matter what" Ruby stopped and gave them a quick salute by grabbing her chest with her right arm. "Remnant has its history smeared in blood and death; that's only expected."
The brunette didn't answer Weiss' comment; there was something in this scene that bothered her. "Isn't it weird that they haven't had this place cleared? Who in their right mind leaves corpses around like this?"
"Yes, but this place is being used. We saw the car coming out of here" the equally confused reply came. "Also, if those people were guards, they should have been armed. What happened to their… guns?"
The way Ruby's voice trailed off didn't pass unnoticed by Weiss, who had moved past the skeletons and was checking the door lock.
"What's the matter? Did you find something?" she turned around to her partner who was kneeling in front of the guards' remains. "Their heads are missing. And there is a huge clean cut on their necks."
Ruby stood up "a huge cut like they were decapitated with a blade" she further explained "just like the ones Blake and Yang found back in the town. Weird…"
Weiss' eyes narrowed. "Ruby" she said in a low, flat voice "didn't those things that attacked us above the lake look…" her voice trailed off "like severed heads somehow?"
They stared at each other's eyes for a moment. Horror and fear were evident on their faces. No words were exchanged- there was no need to.
"Could you please open the door?" Ruby asked after gulping in a very uncharacteristic for her manner. "Sure" Weiss replied in a timid and equally uncharacteristic way.
The door, much to their surprise, was easy to unlock and both women quickly closed it behind them. The corridor ahead was equally dark and unfortunately equally messy, minus the corpses.
But, save for the battle marks and dried blood traces on the metal walls and floor, nothing else stood out. "What a surprise" Weiss remarked "a corridor is behind the corridor. If we are spotted, we have nowhere to-"
"Who will spot us, Weiss? This place looks like it hasn't been occupied in years! What the heck are they doing? There are no guards, drones, security cameras! The door was almost stuck by mold and grit!"
"What if it is an abandoned building, used as prison? This would explain the state it's in. They wouldn't spend effort to make their prisoners' life easier, would they?" she replied. "That makes sense" Ruby agreed.
"It also means that if the students are still alive, they would be around here" she then added, pointing forward for the Schnee to lead the way-
A sudden bang on the door behind them, made Ruby jump and turn around. Weiss, momentarily startled, raised her blade in anticipation for an enemy attack, but nothing happened.
They exchanged a quick glance; silence returned, the alarming sound only echoing in their ears for a few seconds. "We do have to check" Ruby whispered. Weiss nodded and readied her ice dust canister.
Sword in hand, Ruby grabbed the handle and took a breath. She shot a quick stare to her partner, making sure she was ready as well, and then opened it wide, before jumping back, holding Thorn with both hands.
But, to their surprise, there was nothing new. The same battle-scarred tunnel greeted them, accompanied by the same skeletal remains. Ruby took a few steps closer; there was no indication that something-
All of a sudden, she noticed a small detail. It was a small, significant detail that made all hair at the back of her neck to stand tall in horror.
"Weiss?" she asked "was that skeleton always so close to the door?" A couple elegant footsteps brought the pale girl next to her "I don't really remember. You are the one with an eye for detail, not me" she replied.
"I think it was a little further away" she whispered. "Maybe you missed the distance due to the low light and exhaustion. There is no way a pile of bones could move by itself…" her voice trailed off a little "right?"
Instead of replying, Ruby closed the door again. "Could you please seal it?" she gulped. "Are you sure? We may be blocking an exit this way."
She nodded in determination "I don't want to be staring behind my back every couple minutes. If there is no other exit, then we will make one. But I am not leaving this one open with what I just saw, Weissy."
Weiss nodded and sealed the door with a slab of earth dust. "Thanks. Let's move on now. We have already wasted enough time-"
Again, she was interrupted by a noise. A loud, creaking sound from ahead of them penetrated the darkness and filled their ears; the sound of chains being dragged on stone.
"A prisoner" Ruby exclaimed and both of them made haste, giving just enough time for their lamp to illuminate the area ahead. Its bright light danced on the marred walls, revealing the wider corridor ahead.
The sound of chains became stronger and they slowed down in order to stay as hidden as possible. In the dim light, they saw that a crossroad formed in front of them. They nodded to each other and pressed on.
And then, they saw it. Briskly illuminated by the red hue of the lamp, a human figure passed by the opening a few meters away. The sound of chains accompanied it, as it had its hands tied in iron-cast bindings.
Weiss and Ruby stood in shock. They had only seen it for a brief second, but there was no mistaking the empty gaze, the torn clothes, the half-open mouth and the half-rotten flesh barely hanging from its bones.
The lamp trembled and fell on the floor; Weiss had been shocked to the point of breaking her spell. Ruby had covered her mouth to stifle the terrified scream that had risen from the very depths of her soul.
That thing's flesh, half rotten as it might have been, was not black. It had a perfectly normal, human color. There was no mask, red eyes or any indication of a Grimm existence. It had been a perfectly normal, 100% walking human corpse.
When their minds registered it, the fear that had been lurking around since they entered the facility multiplied. "Th-this has to be some sort of semblance or illusionary trick, right Weiss?" Ruby stuttered.
"I-It has to be" the ex-heiress replied. "I can understand lots of things, but Zombies are too much for my sanity at this point, Ruby" she made an audible gulp and took a few quick breaths to steel her mind.
"This place is so much different than I expected it" the brunette stood up. "I hope at least Blake and Yang are faring better than us right now" a pair blue eyes narrowed in worry.
-o—
"This way!" Blake announced. Her eyes were fixed on the tire tracks left in the muddy ground, not breaking even for a second. Behind her, Yang was on lookout duty, both of them running at a moderate pace.
After they left the facility, the road took a sudden upward turn, making them literally climb up a slope. The fog was turning thicker as they ran up, still greatly obscuring their vision.
The bright side was that all the floating head-Grimm had vanished. Not that it meant much with all the impossible things they had lately seen, but it was a good thing to not have them creepily hover in the distance.
"Fuuh… this is even tougher than the slope in Aegis" Yang complained. "Where the heck may they be going with her is the one thing I wonder" Blake replied "are there any other buildings around here?"
"Beats me" the blonde commented "this fog is almost getting solid. I am going to smash my face on it at some point." "You are the reason we are here, so stop complaining please" the cat-girl reprimanded her.
That made Yang stop talking for a few seconds. "Blakey; are you mad at me?" she asked. "Why would I be?" genuine surprise appeared in her feline eyes as she turned around to stare at her partner.
"I just wanted to let you know that I am only doing this for you. I am not going to sugarcoat it, but this idea might as well be the stupidest one in your history of really stupid ones, Yang" she then added.
"Then why didn't you try convince the others against it?" the question came at once. "Because that would be trampling on your kindness; and I would rather shoot myself than do that to you" Blake retorted.
"Hmph" Yang chuckled "you have matured so much kitty; the old Blake would have given me the cold shoulder for at least an hour or so." "One of us has to act mature" the faunus sent her a snarky smile.
They kept climbing up the path for a while with Yang getting more and more anxious. The further the car's destination was, the lower their chances to save Cherry were after all.
And then there was that silence… this place was a type-1 zone and up to now had truly justified it with the Gargoyles, the floating horrors, the flower-like colossus and that one-eyed Grimm cyclops with the staff.
But now, as the scarce low trees started giving their place to numerous taller and sturdier looking ones, that solid fog and the unnatural lack of anything moving around was as alarming as a Goliath's charge.
Before she could voice her thoughts, however, Blake motioned her to stop. "I see the outlines of a building ahead of us" she whispered. "Do you see the car or them?" Yang asked her.
"Not yet, but let's still be careful" she pointed towards the closest tree "Follow me and try to be as silent as possible" the feline woman knelt and started skulking around their target's perimeter.
They managed to get closer after a while, their stealthy attempt being assisted by the thick tree trunks that were really abundant around the facility. Blake was sure they had almost entered a forest at this point.
Besides her, Yang was trying her best to notice anything important. She lacked the faunus' vision and the place seemed really vast. It had sturdy and tall walls, made of metal and reminded them a lot of Carmel's one.
But her lilac eyes saw it. In front of the massive building, almost totally covered in fog, the car was parked. She pointed it to her partner with a triumphant look on her face, earning a nod of approval.
Maybe it was their exhaustion, or even their overly alert mind, but the moment they started moving forward both girls felt a wave of unease and discomfort pass through them.
"Did you feel that?" Yang asked. "All my senses are warning me; don't go inside this place" the yellow-eyed huntress affirmed. "Well" a loud huff accompanied the tall blonde's declaration.
"We didn't come here to fall back now, did we?" she grinned, albeit a little less genuinely than she was comfortable with. "Can't disagree with that; follow my lead" Blake started moving ahead, half-hidden.
With the help of the trees and the fog, both girls reached the empty car while fighting their growing unease away. After they made sure Cherry was not left in there, they made haste to the now visible front door.
Said door had been left open. There were no visible lights coming from inside, but the yellow-eyed woman noticed two figures carefully placed on the ground diagonally in front of the entrance.
They moved closer and knelt to take a better look at them. They were two thick black wooden poles, almost 1 meter high. Strange, deformed faces had been carved on them, depicting twisted human-like forms.
This is really creepy Yang thought. Curious as to what sort of wood was that, she touched one of the distorted faces. "Ah!" a suffocating feeling overwhelmed her, making her stumble and fall on her knees.
"Yang!" Blake hurried to her partner who was letting out heavy, slow breaths and clutched her chest in visible pain. "Are you ok?" she gave the blonde some water and helped her stand up.
"Those things are…weird" she blurted and drank some water to wash the freaky sensation away. "They are like those creepy stones in Aegis but even weirder" she stared at Blake who nodded in understanding.
"Are you good to go?" the black-haired girl asked. "I still have this damn disgusting feeling from before, but the suffocation has gone. I think I'm fine. How about you?" she asked back.
Blake took her weapon out and turned to the door. "Every fiber of my being tells me to run away screaming like a toddler. But that would not be the first time, would it?" she made a forced smile.
"I guess not" they moved towards the door and noticed that a corridor was slightly visible beyond it. But, as they did, something on the door case made them stop and stare at each other in concern.
A small talisman hung from the case's roof, with the help of a rusty iron chain. It was made of three small black wooden rods that formed a thin triangle pointing to the ground.
In its center, a fake- or at least they hoped it was fake- eye was etched. A series of small bones dyed red with some thick pigment, were crudely placed on the wooden rods, like an outstretched, deformed mouth.
Disgusting… Blake passed by the twisted pendant and Yang followed. The tall girl wasn't mindful enough of her own height, however and her hat scraped the triangle as she moved beneath it.
A violent pulse erupted from inside the building, hitting both girls head-on. Nausea filled their heads, making them fall down on the metal floor like thrown-away puppets.
A feeling of savage hatred and primordial terror engulfed them. "GAH!" Yang turned around and emptied her stomach contents, unable to hold back the sickening bile that formed inside her.
"Aaahh….aaaahhhh…" next to her, Blake was shaking. She was holding her head in her glove-covered hands and taking deep breaths trying to calm her rampaging nerves, small whimpers leaving her trembling lips.
"Blake…" Yang strained her muscles to get up. Her body felt heavy, but she didn't care. Blake needed her and that's what mattered. She let out a heavy breath to clear her head.
So much negativity… this is not normal even by Grimm standards… the brawler spat on the floor and trekked next to the faunus who sat with her back on the wall, whispering and muttering while holding her head.
Throwing a quick glance around to make sure nobody was there to take advantage of their weak moment, Yang cupped her friend's hands with her own "Blake can you hear me?" she said in her kindest voice.
"It's so dark… so deep… his blood… I can see it… I can smell it…" a voice filled with terror left the girl's lips "I can taste it... but it's fake… I know but still… Sun… don't… leave me…"
"He won't" Yang's voice lowered to barely a whisper "he is here for you and so am I. We all are Blakey" gently, she wrapped her hands around the faunus' back and helped her snuggle in her nape.
"That's it… you are strong. You can do anything. Take it easy..."A few seconds passed with the girl's tension vaporize and her body calming down considerably. Yang stared around to be safe, still hugging her.
Saying this place is bad will be an understatement the blonde thought while gazing at the dark passage ahead of them. With the suffocating malice bursting out of it, it looked like a tunnel leading straight to hell.
A hell she was ready to delve into and drag her best friend along with her. Blake broke the hug and stared at the lilac eyed girl, each one still holding the other's shoulders.
"Are you better?" "Thanks a lot, I am fine" the cat girl smiled. "It seems the attack stopped for some reason" the brawler commented "the air is much heavier and oppressive than before though."
Blake nodded "it's the same change in atmosphere we experienced in the Morkvind's altar in Aegis. As if we passed a boundary and stepped inside" she stared at the hanging talisman "a marked territory."
Yang gulped. She was thinking the exact same thing and had reached a very unfavorable conclusion about it. "You go out and try to see if you can fix the car" she exclaimed in determination "give me one hour."
Bright feline eyes opened wide in shock. And then narrowed in anger "I will pretend I didn't hear this" the faunus replied. "I am serious Blake. You were right; it was a mistake to come here."
"I am not letting you go inside there on your own" Blake hissed at her partner "neither do I need special treatment" she pressed on. "It's not about you, it's-"
A pair of gloved hands grabbed her by the hem of her jacket "are you out of your freaking mind, Yang Xiao Long? Did the mental shock drain your remaining brain cells?" she glared at her with ears perked up high.
"Blake…" "Don't 'Blake' me! I promised I will have your back! It took me six months to return to action after that goddamned incident with the Nevermore nest when I nearly killed you all due to collapsing! I made a promise! I swore I will never let any of you down again!"
She let go of Yang's jacket and both of them stood up and made a quick check of their equipment.
The taller girl gave her friend a warm smile "I won't stop you, but…you don't have to die in order to prove to me of all people how brave you are, kitten; I see it every day. I know how strong you are."
The black-haired girl closed her yellow orbs and took out a small dust lamp. "I am not risking my life to prove anything to anyone, you dumb thick-headed oaf" she responded, taking a page out of Weiss' book.
The lamp lit up and shed a thin wave of light ahead of them, revealing a small, clean path with a closed door on its end. The atmosphere was as heavy and oppressive as before, but they were enduring it much better.
Is it actually getting weaker? Or are we getting used to it? She thought for a moment before she finished her thoughts to her partner.
"I am risking my life to stand next to my partner who, after six years, still tries to shoulder everything by herself in the most stupid way ever conceived."
Blake moved ahead with a very flustered and apologetic Yang follow after her. They walked further inside, forgetting to make one last check outside.
If they had done so, they might had seen the humanlike figure with the oversized staff that watched them from the mist, accompanied by dozens of scarecrows and illuminated by dozens of sinister red lights.