Ghost Rider III.
Summary:
Spontaneously combusting at night does not sound like a teenage girl's regular night out. Becoming Hell's bounty hunter, and wanted dead by the bounty that I was looking for was NOT what I would call 'normal'. (Swearing and a tiny bit parental spanking)
Later on in this chapter, I had an idea…It was spontaneous, and not sure if it was a good idea or not…but hey. Review with your thoughts, but if you don't like it, don't rant at me. Kay? O_O
Chapter Three.
I stood a little way a ways opposite Carter, hands in my pockets as I scuffed the dirt. We were outside, in a spot where there were no graves in sight. Carter claimed that this was his 'clean' spot.
"Come on, hands out the pockets." Carter encouraged. Reluctantly, I freed them and let them hang by my sides uselessly. "Ok. Hit me."
I stared at him. "I can't hit an old guy!" I exclaimed. Hysterical laughter in the form of Johnny sounded out from where he was leant up against the side of the church watching us. "Shut up Johnny!" I yelled, making the laughter die down a little, but not fade out completely.
"Just hit me." Carter drawled, splaying his arms wide. Then he smirked wickedly. "If you can."
My eyes narrowed at that, and I sprinted forwards. I was quite a fast runner, and I had always been proud of that fact. I was directly in front of him, my fist raised back as I prepared to deliver a swift blow to his face. "Sorry." I apologised, hoping I wouldn't knock him out or anything.
What actually happened though, I didn't expect, to say the least. His wicked smirk grew wider, and he grabbed my arm, pulling me down and past him so that I landed in the dirt beside him.
"Oh dear." Carter said, raising his eyebrows in amusement. "What were you sorry for by the way?"
I growled and stood up, brushing myself off. "Nothing." I muttered. Then I had an idea. My fist was up within seconds, and it connected with his chest plate, sending him back a little. He raised his hand to his heart, and bent over double starting to cough, suddenly he sank to his knees.
Concerned at what I had done, I frowned and ran to him, bending down from the waist as I put my hand on his back. "Hey, are you o-AAGH!"
He grabbed my ankles and pulled my legs out from underneath me. I landed with a thump on my back, and suddenly I was hauled up by shoulders, and his arm wrapped around my neck. "So what are you going to do from here. Think." Carter said instructively.
Yeah great advice when he's attempting to choke you. The only thing I could think was 'Breathe!', and that wasn't really helping as my hands scrabbled at his arm. Even when I transformed my hands, trying to burn him, I remembered that he would be impervious to my fire. I tried in vain to head-butt him, but he'd already thought one step ahead of me as he kept his head well out of range.
Thinking on impulse, I raised my left leg, and felt his own left leg stand back slightly as he anticipated it, and in that split second, I rammed my heel into the inside of knee of the opposite side, making his knee give way so that he released me so that he could catch himself on the ground with his hands, leaving me to fall with him and successfully roll away.
Blinking hazily as I found I was able to breathe, I stood upright and turned back to face Carter, only to see him point a loaded gun in my face.
"Oh shit." I said in a calm monotone.
"Carter!" Johnny called.
"Hm?" Carter called back, not taking his eyes off of me.
"Hit her one for me." Johnny shouted over.
I turned to glare at Johnny angrily. "Shut up Blaze!" I yelled, my hands balled into fists.
Suddenly Carter twisted the shotgun in his hands and clubbed me round the head with the butt end of it. I massaged the spot as I let out a yell of pain. "The hell?"
"S'bad manners to hear swearing from a young lady." Carter reprimanded.
I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, spare me from it." I moaned, watching blankly as gun was back in his hands and he started to press the trigger. I could feel my eyes go as wide as saucers, and on instinct, I let my knees collapse from under me, hearing the shot fire overhead. I landed on one safely bent leg and my hands, making me feel like some kind of cat. Using the straight leg, I swept it around in a half circle, taking Carters legs out form under him.
I rolled backwards and came up with a long sturdy stick in my hand. Turning, I saw that Carter had already recovered and stood up, aiming the gun at me again. Gritting my teeth, I knocked the gun out of the way with the miniature branch and disarmed him, pointing the stick at him.
Which must have looked very threatening, I'm sure.
"Checkmate." I growled, jabbing him lightly in the chest.
Carter chuckled and slowly clapped. "That was a good move, an' it would have been better had it been an actual weapon. Somehow I don't think brandishin' a stick at your enemies is gonna be enough to scare 'em." I shrugged and dropped the stick to the ground, feeling slightly sheepish. "We've all had our own trade mark weapons in the past. Mine being the gun as you saw."
I turned to look at Johnny with a frown as he came over to join us. "So then…what's J-" Suddenly a chain whipped out and grabbed me around the torso, tightening it's grip on me as it cut me off halfway through my question. "Well…that was…rude." I gasped as the chains were unravelled once more. "But it's not that scary…" I said, not very convinced.
"I was merely demonstrating mine before you had to even ask it." Johnny supplied for me.
"Thanks." I said sarcastically.
"In any case…with any luck you should be fine if you were to find yourself being attacked." Carter said in conclusion.
I rolled my eyes. "That's great." I snapped. I wanted to go out and find these…Hidden…guys. I wanted to put it all into practice, see what I was really capable of.
When I refocused, I saw that Carter had left, presumably to go and dig some more graves back in the grave yard, leaving me with Johnny Blaze.
"Kira." Johnny called out to me as I began to walk off. I turned, giving him my attention momentarily. "Come here a second. There's something I want to talk to you about."
I shrugged and wandered my way back over to him, resisting the tempting urge to say something insulting as I faced him. "What?" I asked, for once wishing that I could go to bed and sleep like a normal person.
"Earlier…you mentioned that you left home at thirteen, correct?" He said, as though making sure of something.
"Uh, affirmative. My parents disowned me once they'd realised that I'd left for good." I said, messing around a little bit.
He stopped, considering something before he spoke, making me wait. "Carter and I both agree that you living on your own isn't safe." He started. "And…I think it would be easier for you, as both a normal teenager and even more so as a Ghost Rider, if I were to adopt you. For your safety. Living on your own at the age you're at now is dangerous, and as Carter explained earlier, as a Ghost Rider of your age, it's almost suicidal." He finished, letting me process the idea.
There was a silence.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ohhhh, that's a good one." I laughed, doubled over with mirth for nigh on a full minute. I straightened up, wiping tears of laughter off of the corners of my eyes. Looking back at him, I realised that his expression was actually looking kind of serious. "Wait…are you serious?" I questioned.
He responded with a nod. "Kira…I can actually take care of you. In both Ghost Rider and teenager aspects."
I was rather taken aback with the offer, and I didn't know what to say. Part of me didn't really care either way, seeming rather flippant about it…another said to shove it back in his face…whereas another part told me to take the offer, telling me that's I'd probably never get another chance like this. When the advantages were weighed up and compared to the disadvantages…the disadvantages seemed almost insignificant. I swallowed to clear my throat as I voiced my choice.
"I barely know you…and I've only really seen you on TV and in the newspapers, and I don't count that as knowing you. If you get me." I said, frowning.
"To be honest, it's more about keeping you safe." Johnny reasoned with an indifferent shrug.
"Alright then….I don't see why not." I said, imitating his shrug and shoving my hands in my jean pockets. "But I warn you, I keep a permanent floordrobe…I'm pretty argumentative and I get into trouble a lot."
Johnny smirked. "I'm pretty sue I can handle that." He said, motioning for me to follow him with his head. "Now then we better hurry if we want to be back here for six, which will give us two hours until you transform again. You up for that?"
I nodded enthusiastically. "Hell am I. I want to ride a bike, damn it."
Success! We had the adoption form sorted, and I had managed to persuade Blaze that I needed a shower. I say persuade. I had actually threatened to go naked have a bath in holy water from the church christening…thing. Naturally he had gone a little green and had then unintentionally taken my side in insisting that we should go back to mine, have a shower, make up a small backpack, and notify Martin that I was moving out.
We stopped outside my apartment, and I hopped off of the bike, leaving Johnny behind as I ran over to my front door with my hair streaming out behind me. He cleared his throat and I stopped and looked back momentarily. "Uhh, I'm going to quickly ride over to my place. I probably need a shower myself, and I'll need to pick some stuff up." He said. I nodded to show I'd heard and raised a hand to him as he drove off.
I turned back to the door and patted my pockets, looking for my keys. "Shit." I muttered, realizing I'd left them back at the church with Slade for safe-keeping.
Looking around to make sure no one was watching, (trust me when I say I have a nosy neighbourhood) I managed to open the letterbox and just about stick my wrist through. Checking again just to make sure, I let my arm catch fire using the powers that I had, turning my hand skeletal, but keeping the flames at bay so I didn't set the door on fire. I had no water on me, and if that had set fire, I would have actually resorted to spitting or weeing on it to try and put it out. A grim thought indeed.
I gritted my teeth as I took the final step to hook my skeletal fingers on the latch, just managing to tug it down so as to open the door. I smirked, feeling very smug all of a sudden as I quickly withdrew my arm and returned it to normal.
Pushing the door open, I was surprised when a voice hailed me from behind. "Hey Kira, how're y-Whoa. You look messed up…something happen the other day? I noticed you haven't slept here for the last two nights. What happened?"
Mentally, I cringed. Great, Martin had seen me BEFORE I had got myself cleaned up and had an excuse ready. I had nothing! I was the worst on the spot liar in the WORLD. I turned to face him somewhat sheepishly, seeing him standing there in his hot skinny jeans…..hot baggy white t-shirt…..casual trainers….Damn it. "Oh, uhhh…..Yeah. I was with a…friend."
He raised an eyebrow and leaned up against the doorway to his own apartment and ran a hand through his blonde and light brown mix of bed-looking hair, which he had no idea of how sexy it looked. "Oh yeah? What were you doing, playing with fire?"
I nearly laughed. Nearly. "Something like that. Fireworks." I nodded.
"For two nights?" He asked incredulously, staring at me with his deep blue eyes.
"Y-Yeah…." I said slowly, cringing at how fake it sounded.
He nodded. "So….Is that your excuse for getting out of paying the rent?" He asked.
I stopped trying to edge the door back, and I blinked at him. "What?" I asked cleverly.
"You know…the rent you owe me every month that you mysteriously haven't paid me and the excuse is that you've been away for two days with a friend." He snapped sarcastically.
Ouch.
"I swear, Martin….I put that shit through your letterbox. All forty of it. In a freaking envelope. Don't go asking for more, because I haven't got any more to spare." I said, feeling slightly indignant at the accusation.
"Then get out." He said.
I stared at him. "How….what?" I asked slightly blankly, trying to process why he had taken my line which I was supposed to have said kindly to him after my shower
"If you can't pay up, get out." He repeated, shaking his hair to the left as he folded his arms over his chest.
Staring at him with a calculating gaze, I gave up and pursed my lips, throwing the door wide open and flinging my hands out dramatically before they swung back and hit my sides uselessly. "Fine." I snapped, noting his taken aback look at my sudden violent acceptance. "I'll find somewhere else to stay and come back for my stuff later shall I? Well that's perfectly dandy. Tell you what, I'll have a shower, pack a backpack for now, find somewhere to stay for free whilst I go and earn more money down at that hellhole they call a bar, go rent somewhere else that's hopefully cheaper, maybe sell a few possessions online for more money, and come back for the rest of my stuff then. Yeah? Awesome, I'll be in touch. Perhaps in the meantime you can check your post from TWO DAYS AGO."
I slammed the door then, not wanting to hear anymore. I raced into my room and tore down a large mountain backpack from the top of my only wardrobe. Opening it, I stuffed all my shoes and clothes into it at the bottom, and two five pound notes concealed in a purse with a skull design on it were wedged into a small side pocket.
Looking around the room wildly, I grabbed my netbook and mobile, shoving them in with their chargers just in case I needed them. A few books, both educational and leisure were stuffed in too, as well as a notebook and pencil case.
Running to the bathroom, I picked up a small toiletries bag and filled it with all the essentials. Girl essentials, hair products, teeth cleaning objects, flannels and soaps, shower cap. Bending down, opened a small cupboard and dragged out a couple of towels which trailed behind me as I ran back into my room and carefully rolled them around the toiletries bag and lowered them into the backpack.
Having finished the backpack, I took it into the kitchen, where I all but raided my cupboards. I made a sandwich whilst I was at it, taking huge bites out of a turkey, rocket and cranberry sandwich whilst shoving packs of crisps and bottles of water into my back. I spied a packet of Oreos too. Those went straight in.
Carefully.
I glanced at the time which glowed green at me from the microwave. I had about twenty minutes until Johnny was coming back. "Hell." I muttered, placing the backpack safely on the floor and darting into the bathroom, shedding my clothes like skin as I turned the shower on hurriedly.
The hot water stung at first, but it was soon soothing and relaxing, and my once tense shoulders soon relaxed. I didn't particularly want to stay in the shower, because the steam always started to annoy me, and a shower is where you can reflect on things. Trust me, I didn't want to reflect just yet. There was still shit going down. Reflection could come later.
It was with that thought in mind that I showered and dried quickly; changing into some new clothes and throwing the ones I had been wearing earlier into the washing machine, turning it on and listening to the rumble of machinery as it started to do its job.
I grabbed a quick drink, just for the sake of having something to do whilst I waited for the washing machine to finish. Muttering to myself darkly, I grabbed a hairdryer from my room and plugged it in to the nearest socket, turning it on and eyeing myself as I dried my currently soaking long black locks.
My face looked kind of tired still, but it didn't look too bad. The bags under my eyes weren't too obvious, and my deep red t-shirt seemed to light up my face a little, giving it some colour other than the pale white which permanently stained my face. Red was my colour, but for some reason that worried people. I wasn't sure why. I mean, it wasn't like I was going to pick up a pillow and start hitting them brutally with it just because it was red. Even though it sounded highly amusing.
Besides I don't speak pillow, and I don't hear voices. Not since I learnt that it was just the tannoy systems in shops.
With a sigh, I turned off my hairdryer and scraped a brush through my hair, tying it back into its signature high pony-tail. Taking the plug out, I wrapped it around the hairdryer and put it back into its box house and storing it away in the cupboard. After a hesitation, I took it back out and added it to the backpack. It was just too handy, and not to mention it was a girls essential.
The washing machine beeped at me, and I rolled my eyes. Grabbing a drying rack from beside the fridge in the kitchen, I set it up beside the washing machine, opening the little circular door and grabbing the wet, clean clothes, hanging them securely over the rack and placing a mat underneath the rack so that none of the excess water would wash all over the floor if it dripped whilst it dried.
I jumped as my letterbox opened and delivered the post through it, just one tiny envelope. Cursing myself for being so jumpy, I stalked over to it and picked it up. It was addressed to me, surprise, surprise. But it wasn't from Martin, or anyone else I knew. The handwriting looked old-style, and I could have sworn I'd seen it somewhere before. Perhaps it was just-
My eyes widened in realisation, and my hand trembled as I fumbled to open the letter, gingerly drawing out a smooth, small piece of parchment, as though it was going to burst into flames upon touching it, I read the neat scrawl. There were barely two lines written on it. My breath caught in my throat it confirmed who it was from.
'Took the liberty of burning the envelope you posted through. You live on the road. Better start doing your job, else I'll find someone else. Mephistopheles.'I clenched my teeth and my fist simultaneously, listening as the letter crumpled noisily in my hand before I launched it into the bin in a fit of anger. I glared out of the window opposite me, thinking that perhaps my evil glare might do something cool, like shatter the window, or maybe make it melt. Instead, the glare was returned from down below in the street. A man was standing there, unmistakably staring at her through the window. He looked like something out of a scary movie. He was stood under a drainpipe that had dripped into a small puddle below, but the puddle was tiny….so why did the guy look drenched?
I blinked momentarily, and just like that, he had disappeared.
Rubbing my eyes, I stared at the spot where the man had stood not seconds earlier, not believing what I thought I had just seen. Did…..Did I seriously just see someone just materialize into a puddle? A knock on the front door didn't let me ponder the thought for long.
"Kira? Get out here. We haven't got long before we need to meet back up with Slade." Johnny's voice resounded through the door. Distracted, I wandered over to my room and picked up my heavy backpack, slinging my arms through the straps and securing it over my shoulders before opening the door and closing it behind me, finding my new dad sitting waiting for me on Grace.
"You got everything you need?" He asked as I seated myself behind him and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist.
I nodded, still staring at the puddle. "Yeah…" I said, only snapping back into reality when the bike started up, allowing us to high-tail it out of my former home
We walked back into the church, and Slade looked up from where he was dusting a large cross on the alter, making it look like it was radiating beams of golden light. "You done it then?" He asked simply.
Blaze nodded, holding up a piece of paper that I knew held the confirmation of my adoption on it. I felt slightly proud, knowing that I was now the daughter of not only a world famous biker, but also the daughter of a Ghost Rider.
"Will Mephistopheles know about this do you think?" I asked as I lay down fully and rested in one of the church pews, watching idly as Carter continued to polish the cross.
Johnny looked down at me and rested his hand on the back of the wooden pew, leaning into it. "He makes it his business to know. He'll know. As will any other demon who decides to do some research on the subject of a Ghost Rider."
I grimaced. That didn't sound good…that didn't sound good at all, considering what I'd seen earlier…or rather, what I thought I'd seen. I checked my watch, which read five o'clock, seeing as we'd come back an hour earlier than expected. This meant three hours of waiting around before anything exciting happened. I glanced at the form that was still held in Johnny's hand, and I suddenly thought of something, pulling a face.
"Wait a minute…does this mean I have to call you 'Dad'?" I asked.
Carter snorted with laughter up ahead, quickly trying to turn it into an unsuccessful sneeze.
"It's up to you…I'm good with any of them." Johnny said with a smirk. "Anyway, you've got three hours left now, so you might as well sleep for two."
I glared at him witheringly. "I don't sleep. I'm an insomniac."
Johnny held up a finger to me. "Wait here." He said, making me roll my eyes. What else was I going to do?
He came back minutes later with some small weird violet flower that had long narrow leaves on it. I gazed at it doubtfully. "What's that going to do?" I asked. Laying the flower in the crook of my shoulder, he crushed the flower slightly, making me frown.
"Breathe in deeply through your nose and try to go to sleep. It should help. That's Lavender." He explained, running his hand tiredly through his hair.
"Don't see how this is supposed to help, but I'll give it a go anyway." I muttered, doing as he had instructed as I closed my eyes.
I'll admit, the lavender smelt heavenly. It was strong and sharp…but it was relaxing, and if I concentrated a little on the perfume of the flower, it almost smelt…sweet. But not candy sweet. I had a vision…or maybe it was a dream, I couldn't be sure. I wasn't even sure if I was asleep. I was laying back, with my hands behind my head, and chewing on a long blade of grass, like I've seen Slade do. Lavender bushes were quite close, and there was towering trees all around me. The sun was setting, signalling that it was late evening.
Bees buzzed lazily in and out of the lavender bushes, and birds chirped quietly above me as I watched the sky throw out hues of rosy pinks, bright oranges and deep, rich reds that matched the colour of the sun, which was literally a ball of red in the sky, like a spot of blood tainting the horizon.
I felt totally at ease.
A sound made me tense, and I saw Martin blur into focus as he came and sat down next to me in silence, laying back until he was alongside me, looking at me as though it was some kind of sick love story scene as his messed up hair fell into his eyes slightly.
But it felt right, and as he smiled at me, I smiled back.
It was only when a breeze stirred loudly in the trees, rattling their leaves, and the ground trembled beneath us, that I sat up in alarm, Martin doing the same.
He grabbed my hand and made me look at him, and I finally registered the urgency on his face, making me instantly pay attention to him, although the grounds trembling had increased violently, and the wind had become frenzied until it was a storm.
"Beware the elements, Kira." He shouted over the pandemonium.
Then everything went black.
Johnny Blaze and Carter Slade returned from where they had had a friendly drink outside for about an hour, Carter having claimed that he had to light the candles before dark.
He noticed a few stray strands of black hair hanging over the end of the pew, and he shook his head with a small laugh. "Best not leave her there; else ways she'll wake up all stiff." He commented.
Blaze looked over and rolled his eyes, walking over to pick her up bodily, holding her small, curled up body close to his chest. "You still got that little bedroom?" He asked quickly, gently shifting her so as not to wake her up.
"Yeah, it's opposite mine. Think you stayed in there once or twice if I 'member correctly." Carter confirmed, nodding in the general direction of it as he spoke, lighting up another of the candles that was now illuminating the isle.
Johnny nodded and made his way through to said bedroom, opening the door with some difficulty and gently depositing his daughter into the bed, making sure she was comfortable as he removed the hair from her face and drew the covers up over her, watching her sleep for a few minutes.
Standing up resolutely, he went back out into the corridor, and taking one last glance at her, he smiled to himself and closed the door.
When I woke up two and a half hours later, the place was quiet. Too quiet. Frowning to myself, I sat up, letting the Lavender fall off my shoulder, and then onto the floor where it went unnoticed as I stood up and looked around. My back ached slightly from the rather uncomfortable wooden pew, by I couldn't really complain, seeing as I had now been moved to some kind of bedroom. In any case, at least I'd been able to sleep.
"Johnny?" I called out, slightly unsure of the familiar, yet odd surroundings. I headed out back into the main church, to where the lit candles illuminated where I had managed to fall asleep earlier in one of the pews. "Dad?" I tried again, trying out the feeling of calling him by that. But there was still no answer. Was it some kind of test?
An owl hooted from in the rafters, breaking the silence and making me jump terribly. Horrible images ran through my mind as it finally processed that I was in a church…at night…alone.
"Carter?" I yelled, jogging slightly up the isle.
I felt so…defenceless. What if I was about to be attacked? What if Johnny and Carter were dead? Wait no, that was impossible. They were Ghost Riders…Well…Carter could be dead…but it was unlikely with his amount of experience. Besides he would probably have Johnny with him. So why did have such an ominous feeling?
Catching sight of a wooden cabinet, I raced over to it. I was hoping that it held some matches and candles, so I could take them outside with me for when I braced myself to searching outside, just to make it feel a little lighter and safer.
But I found much better.
Upon opening the cabinet, I stared. I never knew a church could hold weapons. Not in the religious sense anyway. Nevertheless, there were six swords sitting there, looking as new as the day they had been bought. Perhaps Carter regularly cleaned them or something.
I looked at the set of six different swords in front of me, eyeing them speculatively. A rapier, katana, a cutlass, sabre, a long flat sword that I didn't know the name of, and rather oddly, a foil. What harm was a foil going to do to anyone? It had a rubber piece stuck on the end of it for god's sake! Still. It was probably a good idea to arm myself.
And no, not with the foil.
Making a quick decision, as I realised that I didn't have much time left due to the rapidly approaching darkness, I grabbed the rapier, which I noted had a very thin blade. Testing its weight, I was taken aback. It was surprisingly light, which was handy.
I hadn't really held a sword before, but I'd held kitchen knives, for cooking purposes. I used to be a waitress for crying out loud! Ok, I might have once thrown one at a wall because I'd been pissed off, but that was beside the point.
Taking the rapier into my right hand and closing the cabinet door with my left, I turned and tested out a couple of moves, swinging it around a little, trying to maintain what grace I could. Though to be honest, if anyone had been watching, they would have probably laughed and thought that it was an troll trying to dance.
Not to mention that the troll was in a church instead of a dungeon, but hey. Troll in the dungeon. (A/N: Cookies go out to everyone who gets the reference! ^^ )
Deciding that there was no reason for hiding out in a church, I headed outside into the cool air that had lost the day's heat. The time was near on eight o'clock at night and the sky was suitably dimmed as the night descended, the sun trying to feebly throw out its last few rays of light.
The rapier was hung by my side, but my hand clenched the handle so tight that my knuckles had gone white. I felt stupid admitting it to myself, but I was petrified. Yet still I walked through that damn graveyard. What was worse, I felt as though something was calling me by my name. Just whispering 'Kira…..Kira….', and whilst I hadn't totally panicked yet, I'm pretty sure that I should have. But it was probably just the wind.
"John-I mean…Dad?" I called, remembering quickly. "Carter?" Hearing no answer annoyed me, and it felt good to have something other than fear suddenly channelling through me. Using the idea, I tried again. "God damn it Carter. If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny. Now you and Dad get your asses out here already!" I shouted, eagerly fuelling some anger into my voice.
By now, I'd reached the gate, and the small expanse of trees lay just beyond. Steeling my quivering nerves, I set foot outside the gate and kept walking. I could feel the Ghost Rider's burning feeling starting to build up within me, but I ignored it, pushing it down with the sheer force of my willpower as I stumbled over tree roots in what I had decided to call the mini forest. It was no forest of Dean, like they had in England, but it was definitely the forest of 'dark'.
It was a good thing I ate carrots…..and that I could produce a mini torch just by clicking my fingers.
"Kirrra…" A voice sighed, close to my ear. I jumped terribly, and thinking it was Carter, I scowled and swung my head around dramatically to show how irritated I was.
"If you honestly think that can scare me Carter, then let me-" I stopped abruptly, as I stared into a pair of foreign eyes, ones that stared back intently, almost greedily when I noticed the accompanying smile under the slightly hooked nose. I stared at him, and he stared back even though his black dreadlocks hung in front of his face as he leered towards me.
Unable to stop myself, I screamed in terror and started to run.
But I was stopped by him almost lazily….floating….in front of me. My eyes widened, but that was all I was able to do before his hand swished and slapped me around the side of the face so powerfully, that I slammed into a tree, and landed on the ground on all fours, coughing up blood as I felt pins and needles sticking in through my knees and hands where I'd fallen. Sparing a quick glance at my free hand, there was a large gash along the palm, and it was bleeding heavily.
It hurt like a bitch, but that wasn't going to stop me. Not by a long shot. I curled myself in and made it look as though I was hugging my knees in pain and terror. "W-W-What a-are y-y-you?" I asked with pretend fear.
Well. It wasn't all pretend, truth be told. Nonetheless, he seemed to buy it. "As the new daughter of the Ghost Rider, I'm surprised you don't know." He crowed, letting his hand fade in and out with the wind. "My name is Abigor, demon of the wind. But unfortunately for you, you have to die now. Revenge and all that, you see?"
"Let me kill her." A gravel-like voice said.
I was tempted to look up, but I quickly refrained myself from doing so. Instead, I settled for peeking out between cracks of space in-between my arms, to see a figure moulding itself up from particles of dirt from the mini forest floor. "No, Gressil….where is Wallow?" Abigor asked.
"There is no nearby water. He is unable to transport himself any closer. "Gressil informed him.
Abigor made a sound in his throat that sounded halfway between a hurricane and a growl. "We cannot have our revenge without him!" He shouted angrily. "The Ghost Rider's girl must die, so that he will mourn her and drive himself to death! Otherwise our revenge mission will be a failure, and if the Ghost Rider still walks, then Blackheart cannot return!"
I had no idea what the wind demon had just said, but even through his rant, he had managed to realize that I had been slowly but surely backing away. He disappeared, only to reappear behind me and grab a fistful of my charcoal black hair. "Oh no you don't." He hissed, hauling me upright by my hair, making me scream in pain as I resisted.
Until I gritted my teeth and arced the rapier up with a smooth flick of my wrist, intending to spear him through the heart or head from where he stood behind me.
Oh, the awkward moment when he stares at the hole of empty space that I managed to spear though where his neck should be. He tilted his head and Gressil started laughing, as did Abigor. Their laughter annoyed me, and in that second I felt heat flare through me, and on impulse I ignited my hand. That got them stop. If only momentarily.
This time they laughed even harder, their laughter a cruel ringing in my ears. "Looks like we've got a little Ghost Rider on our hands, Gressil." Abigor teased wickedly as he leered towards me, forcing more of his 'empty space' down the length of the rapier.
"No, she's just playing with fire that she can't control. Let's put it out for her." He suggested.
There was a few seconds of silence, and my flames died out. Gressil shot forwards and grabbed me by the throat with one hand and squeezing, lifting me up so that I unintentionally dropped the rapier so that it landed with a soft thump on the leaf ridden ground so as I could use my hands to scrabble at his one hand that held me. In return, my neck was squeezed even harder, so that all my airways were cut off.
As I struggled, I was able to feel my heartbeat more prominently, and although I was in so much pain, I tried not to let go of the air I had managed to trap in my mouth. His grip relaxed slightly as I played dead quickly and went limp. I slowly breathed in as much as I could through my nose and waited, holding it there until his grip relaxed even further.
"Is she dead?" Abigor asked warily, a trace of excitement in his voice.
"Not yet, I can still feel a heartbeat." Gressil replied.
"Well hurry it up!" Abigor snapped impatiently.
Before Gressil could retighten his grip on my neck, I opened my mouth and screamed as loud as could for the five seconds that it managed to stun the two of them. "!" I hollered, knowing that I was in no state of mind to even try to activate the Rider's powers yet, since I didn't know what these guys were capable of.
Abigor laughed again, as did Gressil. The sound an evil cackle. "She thinks someone is really going to come and save her. How…sickening." He said, his voice sounding disgusted at the end.
"In my opinion, I think it's sickening that you two didn't stay in Hell like your brothers when I sent you there all those years ago." A familiar voice said.
Gressil dropped me as though I had burnt him, and he and Abigor stared at the newcomer.
"Johnny…." I croaked, my voice weak even as I massaged it, wincing each time it gave a painful twinge as I gulped down good, sweet oxygen into my starved lungs. He ignored me, and instead focused his attention on the two demons, slowly walking around them as though he were stalking prey as he made his way over to me.
"Ghost Rider." Gressil snarled angrily, Abigor pulling a similar face but wisely remaining silent as he backed off. In answer, Johnny unravelled his trademark length of chain just by letting it drop to the ground with a clinking until it finally hit the ground with an ominous thud. Abigor raised his head slightly, not taking his eyes off of the chain as he backed off, pulling at Gressil's arm urgently. As Johnny cracked the chain in their direction with a burst of fire erupting from it, Abigor vanished in a sudden gust of wind, and Gressil hurriedly became one with the earth as he crumbled down into it and sank underground.
There was a few moments of silence, allowing us to conclude that they had definitely gone, and I stood up and half-raised my fist in the air. "Woo!" I cheered weakly, seeing as my throat still hurt, and that I could already feel bruises coming up in the colours of blue, black and even dark shades of purple.
It was only when Johnny turned to look at me, and I noticed how furious he looked, when I finally was able to comprehend how much shit I was in. I gulped worriedly.
"Would saying 'I'm sorry' help?-" I asked tentatively with a weak, hopeful smile. I had barely finished asking the question when his arm shot out and grabbed my forearm, and his grip was so tight that it hurt, and his tone when he spoke scared me, but it didn't stop me from trying to pull away desperately. Even though it was in vain.
"Listen to me. Listen to me!" He commanded, forcing me to look at him. "When we get back to the church, we're going to have a little chat. Is that clear?" I growled, shaking me by the arm roughly so as to get me to answer.
"Y-Yeah." I answered quickly, nodding repeatedly as I let him all but drag me back out of the mini forest and into the church, where we found Carter sitting at the table. He took one look at the two of us and stood up, coming straight over towards me. He looked calm, and he was acting it, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that he too was also riled up. Upon reaching us, Johnny stepped away so that Carter could get a good look at me. One full glance from all four sides was all it took and he was ushering me into a small prayer room, clattering around as he brought out small sewing needles and such. All the basic first aid stuff and he even filled a small bowl of hot water. Pushing me down into a chair, he closed the door behind the two of us.
I hunched my shoulders over and tried to draw into myself, looking behind me and to the side as I took a sudden interest in the pastel walls.
"S'no good trying to ignore me." Carter said at least, his tone flat, making me wince.
I sighed, giving in to the inevitable. "I'm in trouble aren't I…..?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
Carter raised an eyebrow at me. "Trouble? Hell missy, that don't half cover for what you're in for."
I groaned and covered my face with my hands, only to quickly retract them with a hiss and leaving a line of blood on my face from my still bleeding gash, which Carter quickly took and attended to with his new needles that he must have got from my first aid pack earlier.
"Thanks…." I muttered, actually kind of grateful that he was patching me up. In return I got a small, knowing smile, making me snort quietly. We stayed like this for at least another quarter of an hour, in which he slowly patched up my knees, hands and any other cut. Then he got a good look at my neck, and let out a low whistle.
"Well…..As for your neck, m'afraid we're just gonna have to let it bruise and fade with time. Try not to move it so much, I'd say. You might wanna try sleeping for the next few days to restrict the movement." He advised, dipping his hat slightly as he allowed me to finally stand back up.
I nodded to show I'd heard, and warily bit the inside of my cheek as I stared at the door that I was about to have to go through. He noticed the look on my face as he put the chair back and gently pushed the small of my back so as to send me forwards towards the direction of the door. I turned to look at him, my face portraying my alarm. He shrugged in response as he washed his hands and dried them on a small towel. "Might as well just get it over with kid. You ain't gettin' outta this one, kid." He said sagely, nodding towards the door as he came up behind me and opened the door for us both, making me swallow hard.
Pushing me forward again, I wanted to resist, but forced myself to relax as I saw Johnny sitting at the table. Carter cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows, making Johnny turn to look at us as Carter tipped his hat to him and walked out into the graveyard, closing the door behind him and leaving me alone with Johnny.
Woo! 7500+ words! =D Hope it was ok. ^^
I would have updated last week, but no joke, I am exam OVERLOADED. So don't panic if I don't update every week. Shishishishishishi!
Review pleaaaaaaseee! ^_^
Kai XxxXxxX