Chapter Six

The first indication that something was horribly wrong was the fact that Noodle had stopped the two of them from speaking, and that an unnatural buzzing noise had filled what was once still, disturbing silence. That in itself was even more unnerving than the quiet.

The second indication was the fact that Kara screamed. It wasn't a shriek of surprise, it was a cry of absolute terror, and coming from some one who'd managed to keep her freak-out level to a little bit of incoherent muttering at one point, that was enough to make the two Gorillaz realize that things were about get ugly.

The third thing that essentially proved that not only was things getting ugly, they were going right back to Hell in a hand basket being carried by the nastiest looking thing that any of them had ever laid eyes on.

Somewhere between then and the glass window shattering, 2D decided that he was having a very, very bad day.

Seconds after Kara screamed and drew Noodle and 2D's attention towards the large bay window it exploded inward, the giant moth creature slamming in to it hard enough to send huge chunks of glass spraying all over the place. Grabbing both girls by the shoulders just in time, 2D managed to shove them both behind the desk to a relatively safe place, his back taking most of the rain of glass as he attempted to protect them. He felt stinging across the back of his neck and a few spots just below the hem of the two shirts he was wearing, tiny shards lacing lacerations across his skin.

Hissing in pain as the sensation of several thin rivulets of blood went down his neck, he turned to see the buzzing, eight legged moth thing hovering in the air near where the MAX still lay like a broken behemoth. The creature looked to 2D, its twin heads canting to the side as the mandibles opened and let out a piercing shriek the echoed in the small space. Everyone let out a cry, Kara and Noodle both covering their ears and ducking their heads down low as they hid behind the desk. 2D, however, flinched and only put one hand over one ear, the other groping behind him for the riot baton that had been left by Murdoc. Noodle, having seen the previous creature, saw the police weapon as useless and had simply laid on the desk while they were packing. Though the noise was horrid and intolerable, 2D's pounding migraine was all ready at its worst and the pain was enough to keep his mind off the fact that his eardrums very well may have been bleeding at that point.

His fingers finally wrapping around the handle of the riot baton, he snagged it and put himself in a defensive stance when the creature stopped its high frequency cry. It eyed 2D like a large human staring at its next large meal, which only caused it to earn a very irritated scowl from the blue haired man.

"Yer gonna 'ave ta work fer it, ugly!" 2D taunted, twirling the baton in his hand.

"2D-san! Don't!" Noodles cried out at hearing his words, jumping up to try and stop him by sliding over the desk. Kara, still looking horribly pale and frightened, let out a yelp and snagged Noodle by her thin waist, dragging the flailing girl back down, "NO NO NO NO!" the Asian screamed, "HE'LL DIE!"

"SO WILL YOU!" Kara rebutted, clinging to Noodle like a child to a favorite teddy bear. She knew this knowledge as well as Noodle did, but she also recognized that 2D was trying to keep them safe. Though that familiar ill feeling added to her already rapidly beating heart and frightened state of mind, she realized there was very little either of them could do.

In the back of 2D's mind something registered that the girls were screaming about him, but he was so preoccupied on keeping the thing from attacking them that he'd momentarily thrown away all thoughts of his own morality. The moth creature let out one last, short cry before barreling down on 2D and a frightening rate. The man barely had a chance to react, throwing his arm out in an attempt to swing for the thing's head. Though he connected, it wasn't with the baton. Instead, he over-shot his mark by a good half foot, his arm instead thwacking in to the side of the thing's head and landing in a sticky mass of what could only be described as black hued blood from a wound a few inches up. The creature paused as if confused and before 2D even had a chance to mutter 'oh shit' in realization of his own foolhardy move, a painfully sharp mandible was clamped around his wrist, drawing out his own blood without even trying.

2D screamed in agony as the moth's mouth shredded his skin and streams of crimson dripped on to the carpet, his fingers going slack and letting the baton fall to the ground. The other head snagged his shirt with the speed of striking snake and the next thing the poor man knew he was hurling through the air, the moth having tossed him like a limp cloth against the nearby wall. Unfortunately he didn't hit with the same force, instead slamming in to it hard enough to completely knock the wind out of him.

Stunned and in considerably much more pain than he was before, 2D slid to the floor in a heap, vaguely aware of the sound of the girls calling for him in panicked voices. A shadow descended upon him, and his bleary gaze turned upwards to see through double vision the form of the moth thing now hovering just a few feet in front of him. His body felt like lead, and though he knew he would die if he continued to sit there, helpless and unmoving, he couldn't will his body to respond. Every joint felt like it was on fire, and his torn up arm was a mass of stinging pain. His chest heaved as he made a wheezing noise, his lungs trying to redraw breath through his incapacitated state.

'm gonna die 'ere…

"2D-SAN! 2D-SAN! WAKE UP! MOVE! KUDASAI! 2D-SAN!"

"Noods…s-sorry…"

"2D!" Kara shrieked even as she held the struggling Noodle back.

2D closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable end to come, feeling his heart wrench at Noodle's insanely panicked screaming and pleading and Kara's desperate yelling. What he received instead of the crushing pain of a terrible death was the sound of some one who wasn't Murdoc bellowing obscenities and a splash of something warm and sticky wet splattering all over his face as the creature let out a pained shriek. Grunting in bewilderment he looked up just in time to see the moth creature, a metal pole sticking out of its midsection, give a spastic twitch and a weak, gurgling cry before falling to the floor, making a nasty squishing noise as it hit the floor. Blinking in confusion, 2D finally forced his lungs to take in a deep breath and shake his body back to something resembling normalcy.

Russel's round, dark face came in to view before him, the man's large eyebrows raised high as he gently grasped 2D's shoulder and gave it a very light and careful tug.

"D! D, man, say sum'in!"

"…Russ?" 2D croaked, his voice just rising above a hoarse, choked whisper.

"Jesus, man, that thing drug you to hell an' back!" Russel exclaimed, lifting 2D in to a standing position and letting the wary, pale young man lean against him for support. Through the pounding haze that seemed to be snaking through his entire body, hitting every nerve like tiny little jack hammers on speed, 2D could see Murdoc coming in through the broken window, stepping around another man that 2D didn't recognize in a green army jacket and black cargo jeans.

Nervously Noodle popped her head out from the desk, looking around for only a second before deciding to literally fly over the top of it and come barreling in to 2D, causing him to give a delayed cry of surprise after nearly toppling over. Luckily Russel still had a hold of him, worried that in 2D's pained and beaten state that he wasn't in any condition to try remaining upright on his own.

Noodle buried her face in to his shirt, speaking in rapid Japanese and broken English as she cried, her hot tears soaking through the cotton of his clothes and making a damp spot where she was. 2D let out a trembling sigh and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders, grateful to feel her solid and very real form after being so certain that he was going to cease to be among the living.

"'sokay now, Noods..." he muttered to her softly, "'sokay…"

"Come on, D, let's get dat arm wrapped up," Russel finally said, guiding the wobbly singer over to an unbroken lobby seat, instructing Noodle to detach herself and go locate the nearest first aid kit.

"'ey, bird, you al'righ' back der?" Murdoc asked, looking over the back of the table at the still hunched up Kara who'd refused to move from the desk even after releasing Noodle and realizing that, some how, they'd all been saved just in the nick of time. Her arms were over her head, the too big jacket sleeves covering her hands and making her look rather comical in her curled up state.

"Fine," she responded in a squeaky voice, the high tone belying her true feelings, "Don't mind me. I'm just coming to grips with the fact that a giant moth almost killed 2D. No big deal. None at all. This is me, dealing with things just wonderfully. By the way, the name is Kara, not 'bird', and if you ever call me that again you'll find out just how heavy my messenger bag is."

Murdoc recoiled from the desk as though a snake had mysteriously appeared on its surface, snarling bitterly at the red head. Despite the fact that her tone of voice had managed to come off as less than threatening due to the fact that her pitch kept wavering with her anxiety, the point had come through just fine, leaving Murdoc feeling a little more than miffed that he'd gotten told off yet again.

Before he had a chance to respond to her, though, Sam, who'd been standing not more than three feet away, surveying the damage of the office, was suddenly next to him, shoving the older man out of the way and leaning over the desk. Crying out, Murdoc regained his balance by grabbing on to the wall next to the window, growling at them both as his level of frustration rose.

"Kara!"

"…Sam?" Kara responded uncertainly, slowly moving her arms down and tilting her head back to look at the man as if she'd seen a ghost. A second later her face broke in to an ear to ear grin and she let out a relieved, stuttered laugh, vaulting herself up and over the desk to tackle Sam in a hug as the bottled up tears she'd been holding in came streaming down her cheeks full force

"Oh gods, Sam I thought you were gone with the rest of the town! I thought I'd lost everyone! I'm so happy to see you!" she cried out, holding on to him like he was the last port in the storm.

"Holy shit, Kara," Sam muttered, burying his face in her messy hair, taking in her scent and feel, finding it hard to believe that she was real, "When I saw the MAX I thought you were dead. I didn't know which car you'd gotten on,"

"I was in the back where I usually sit. I probably would have died if 2D and the others hadn't been there," she admitted, pulling back to brush some tears from her eyes, her pale cheeks now smudged with red blotches.

Murdoc watched the sickening reunion for about three second before giving a disgusted grunt and taking out a cigarette, lighting the end and leaning against the wall as he waited for some one to acknowledge that he was still there. At Kara's comment, he glanced up from the smattering of glass that he was gazing at on the ground and shrugged nonchalantly, noticing that she was mostly talking in his direction since Russel and Noodle were still busy trying to keep 2D from passing out while they wrapped his arm.

"Hn," he snorted, letting a swirl of semi-opaque smoke swirl up from his lips and across his face, "Brain ache saved you. 's no' like I di' 'nything. So you know each other den?"

Kara rolled her eyes at his gruffness and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, we do. We go to school together at the local coll-"

"Kara, shh!" Sam hissed, his eyes suddenly trained on the area beyond the broken window and the haze of grayness beyond. His eyes had swiftly turned cold and intense, his lips pulled tight and his expression dire. Kara and Murdoc turned their stare in the same direction, looking and listening for whatever it was that had Sam so entranced.

"Murdoc," Sam said, his demeanor growing serious and a hidden hint of worry lacing through the name. This had the older man's attention from the get go. Though normally untrusting of people, especially of strangers, something about Sam's whole behavior had clued Murdoc in on the fact that he knew what he was doing, and therefore knew how to get everyone else through what was essentially a live or die situation.

"Yeah?"

"Get all the supplies you can grab and get outside as soon as you've got them. I'll meet you out there. You two!" Sam called out, getting Russel and Noodle's attention, "Same thing, and don't argue," he said, halting Noodle in mid protest, "just do it. Kara?"

"…yeah, Sam?" Kara replied nervously, watching as Murdoc, Russel and Noodle all went to the task that they had just been instructed with.

"Can you help the blue guy walk?"

"2D? Uh…yeah, I suppose so."

"Good," Sam said, taking the messenger bag that she still had slung over her shoulder off of her and putting over his own head, "Do it. Go outside and wait for us. Don't question it, okay? Just trust me like you always have."

Kara hesitated; staring in to Sam's faded gray eyes before hugging him one last time and rushing over to where 2D was still sitting, hunched in a wary position in the chair. When she approached he slowly raised his head, looking at her through bleary eyes. A thin sheen of sweat had broken out on his brow, sticking strands of blue to his grayish toned skin.

"…Kara? Wus goin' on?"

"We gotta go, 2D," the younger girl said, slipping an arm around his back and lifting him out of the chair. Though noticeably thin, she had expected at least some sort of weight to be about him and was surprised to find that she had barely any difficulty even with most of his body leaning against her. She could feel him trembling through his shirt, no doubt a result of both the attack and the injury, "You gonna be okay?"

"…I 'unno," he admitted softly, shaking his head slowly. Kara frowned and began moving with him, taking care not to go too fast. Around them the others were gathering up the items that hadn't gotten in to backpacks and duffel bags yet, hurrying as fast as they could manage. Kara gave one last glance to Sam, who was assisting Noodle with her task, and stepped through the broken bay window, going a few feet up the sidewalk that bordered the building and pausing on the corner where the ripped open end of the MAX lay to their right. Kara gave an instinctive shiver as her eyes wandered over the gray, fog choked city, the lightly falling flakes of undetermined material, the down right creepy and disturbing emptiness of it all. It wasn't chilly by any means, but the scene that lay before her sent ice in to the marrow of her bone and she wanted nothing more than to go home, take a blanket and curl up on her warm bed until it all passed.

You don't even know if your home exists anymore, Kara…

"Nigh'mare," 2D muttered quietly, catching her attention. His onyx gaze was trained on where the MAX tracks were, vaguely hidden beneath the mist, and it was obvious that he was recalling the horrible crash that seemed, in Kara's mind, to be days ago, "Dis whole fing…'s like a nigh'mare…"

"Yeah, it is. …and I just wanna wake up," Kara agreed, giving a strained sigh as a flake of gray substance fell on her nose. Blinking, she reached up and brushed the substance off, leaving a streak of black across the bridge of her nose just beneath her glasses. She stared at her fingers, rubbing the strange essence between her first two fingers and her thumb, "Ash," she muttered, looking to 2D.

"Sumfin's burnin'?"

"Guess so. I don't see any fire, though."

Shuffling drew their interest away from the covered cityscape and back to the window. One by one the rest of the group emerged, laden with stuffed bags and each holding on to currently powered off Maglites. Sam headed up the four of them, jogging up to Kara's side and halting next to her.

"He gonna live?" he asked, looking to the pallid, still shaking 2D with only a thin layer of concern showing on his features.

"We need to finish taking care of his arm. Otherwise there's not much else we can do for him aside from getting him to a hospital," Kara said, gesturing with a twitch of her head to the bandaged arm. Russel and Noodle had managed to wrap it with thick gauze several times over, but spots of pink were beginning to show on the top of the white material, showing that the deep wound was still bleeding. Sam gave a snort and began walking.

"Not an option right now," he said, his coarse tone causing Kara to flinch, "Come on, we need to get moving."

Kara sighed, gave an apologetic look to 2D, and began walking with him again. Silently the group progressed down the street, barely able to see more than a few feet in front of their own noses but able to keep one another's backs in view well enough to not get separated.

They approached the other side of the cross street that went through First, the very road that housed the two way MAX tracks that had started the whole downward spiral of their situation, Sam continuing on through without even glancing in either direction. He seemed to know the general location of where he wanted to head and wasn't about to deviate from his path. No one spoke; for fear that doing so might attract another horrible creature like the moth.

A few steps on to the other side of the street, a sudden, wailing siren tore through the silence, causing everyone to stop and Kara to suck in a sharp breath. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere and no where all at once, as if the siren was part of the air itself.

"Shit," Sam muttered, turning around and waving his hand in the air frantically, "RUN! COME ON!"

They didn't need to be told twice. Murdoc and Noodle traded fearful looks and took off down the road, catching up to Sam quickly as he, too, started pounding the pavement. The siren continued to screech through the air and the air seemed to turn a bitter cold in just seconds.

Kara and 2D tried to move as fast as they could, but 2D was still awkward on his feet, his fatigue and soreness dragging them both down. Russel came up behind them and stopped Kara, grabbing 2D's good arm and carefully lifting the man up and slinging him over his large back before either of them could protest.

"Go," he ordered her as she stared at him in confusion and fright. She looked as if she would loose her lunch any second and it was clear her heart was pounding against her chest anxiously.

"But-"

"I can carry him. GO!" Russel snapped, giving the girl's shoulder a shove to get her moving. Kara stumbled but quickly regained her balance and took off down the street, looking over her shoulder repeatedly to make sure that they were following.

Though slower than the rest of the, Russel managed to make good time even with 2D hanging on his back. 2D dared a glance over his own shoulder and nearly choked when he saw the road far behind them being swallowed in absolute, inky darkness that was literally crawling over the streets and buildings.

"SHI'! RUSS, MOVE!" he screamed, his voice going high in panic.

"Goin' as fast as I can!" Russel huffed as he barreled down the road, following the path of the group ahead of him. He didn't dare look, the tone of 2D's voice telling him well enough that there was clearly something to fear back there.

Sam rounded the corner on to Second Street, skidding to a halt just at the corner for a moment before taking off again. Murdoc pulled up next to him, his gaze just barely catching the darkness that was advancing on them steadily from where the MAX tracks once were.

"Sweet Satan…" he hissed, forcing himself to pick up speed. Looking around frantically, Sam jerked a hand up at a fog shrouded sign that hung in front of an old brick building a few feet above them.

"There!" he cried, slowing down and allowing Murdoc to pass him as he instructed the older man to get the door open. He hung back, urging Noodle and Kara to catch up with Murdoc. Once Russel reached him, 2D still staring back at the darkness that was following, Sam started running again, keeping with them rather than taking the lead once more.

Murdoc pulled the door of the grungy mini mart open, some how not surprised to find that the door was unlocked and that the metal security bars were still pushed back behind the windows. He ushered the girls inside after they reached it, waiting on Sam, Russel and 2D. Once they were all inside he yanked the door closed and threw the switch lock in to place despite the fact that he thought it would do very little against whatever it was that was following them.

Outside the faded, hazy light that had been their source of illumination slowly slipped in to darkness, causing the dusty dimness of the store to lose what little brightness it had. The siren cut off suddenly, leaving the store in silence save for the huffing and heavy breathing of the six that occupied it.

As the final bit of darkness enveloped the store and everything surrounding it, Murdoc managed to wrap his fingers around the Maglite he'd shoved in to his pocket so long ago and flick it on, letting the cone of light land on everyone in a silent head count. 2D, though still shaky, flinched at the light and slid off Russel's back, landing on his feet and using the larger man as a leaning post. Save for the beam cutting through it, the darkness seemed all encompassing, but whatever it had brought along with it seemed to stay outside the confines of the store.

Murdoc let the light waft over their surroundings, seeing short shelves stocked with various items, industrial fridges holding food stuffs, and a counter with a grimy looking cash register and a plastic case housing cigarette packs and cartons. The whole place had a dirty, barely maintained feeling about it, indicating that whoever had run it before the city's vanishing hadn't cared too much for quality or sanitation. Despite that it was a refuge in a very disturbing kind of storm, and they were all grateful for it. One could only imagine what would have occurred had they stayed in the broken police office.

Kara let out a heavy sigh that was as sharp as a gun shot in the silence and slid down against a nearby wall, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them close. Noodle stared at her for a moment before sitting next to her, resting her messy haired head against the older girl's shoulder. Kara blinked and looked at her in surprise, but gave a tired smile after and put one of her arms around Noodle's thin shoulders, glad for the strange form of comfort she was providing.

Murdoc brought the flashlight to Sam's general location, looking at the gray eyed man with a look of wary distain.

"So…now wut?"

Sam sighed, taking off his hat and scratching at his unkempt blonde hair and causing it to stick up more than it already was. His head canted to the side, gaze going towards the window and the seemingly infinite darkness beyond. As his eyes slowly adjusted he could make out what looked like rust lining the streets and buildings outside, and a soft hiss started up outside, like the sound of heavy, unrelenting rain coming down without warning.

"What else can we do? We wait."