"Death Comes Knocking At Her Door"
The trio rounded a corner of several cold stoned walls. Then another, and then another. Ben at this point was getting frustrated, tired, and above all, worried. For his cousin's cry of pain was weighing heavily throughout his mind; panic setting in as he and the others arrived closer to an obvious dead end. Furrowing his brow, Ben finally whirled around towards his followers, slowly opening his mouth to vocalize his distress. Kevin of course, beat him to the punch, and hissed under his winded, raspy breath. "We can't keep goin' on like this, Ben." The older man growled out, his fist clenching tightly against his side. "Gwen's not gonna make it if we keep goin' on these stupid wild goose chases!"
"I know, I know!" The hero sighed heavily in defeat, running his hand nervously through his short brown mane. "But how do we know which room Orthos' is hiding her in? It's not like I can just bust through every dead end we come up against, Kevin! It could put her in more danger if we lose the element of surprise." He finished, kicking a brick layered wall beside him out of anger. "Face it, guys. We're lost!" He forces himself to look up at the ceiling, his brows furrowing once again in disappointment. "… and we're losing time."
"Ben." Max began, breaking the small silence around them, his eyes being more than sympathetic for all who were involved, including his missing granddaughter. Quickly placing a comforting hand on top of the boys shoulder, he pushed out a small, comforting smile. "We can't lose hope right now, Ben, and I know you'll do what needs to be done to bring her back safe."
The young man lowered his head in response, huffing in a silent tantrum. But he also couldn't deny that his grandfather was right. Now was not the time to give up, or lose hope. But to find her in such a disoriented type of place just seemed unfathomable. For the last thirty minutes or so, they had found nothing. Nothing. No signs or traces of her anywhere. All they could hear were her outbursts of pain, and it literally killed them all on the inside every time her breath was being wasted on her torturous screams of despair.
As the hero was about to agree, and carry on with their task, another cry broke the three men out of their moment of reassurance, making Kevin tremble a bit more in fear. "That's it!" He howled out, bringing up his hand, and absorbing the stone wall next to him. "Element of surprise or not, I can't just stand here doing nothin' while that psychopath has his way with her!"
Letting out a familiar battle cry, Kevin had made a run towards the adjacent wall, all in the ready to slam his stone cold fists into the thick black tinted brick. But a bright flash of green stopped the man dead in his tracks, forcing Kevin to automatically turn towards the somber light. There, stood a bright yellow mechanical alien, tall in stature, with animal like features.
"ARMADRILLO!" Ben proclaimed, aiming to push Kevin swiftly aside. "Save your energy, Kevin." The slow and articulated alien announced as he finished pushing his comrade out of harm's way. "Let me handle this." Without further argument, the raven haired man quickly obliged, letting out a satisfying smile; watching as the metal covered alien crushed himself through the thick stone caverns with ease, as each casing of brick fell effortlessly around their feet.
As they worked their way over to the inside of the hole that was conveniently made minutes prior, the trio of heroes took a quick moment to look at their new surroundings. Disappointed, yet again, that they had found nothing in their efforts of getting any closer to Gwen.
Letting out a heavy sigh in frustration, Max seized the open opportunity to scan the small hallway they were now standing in, seeing if there were any types of clues left behind from Gwen. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he then allowed a small scornful look grow onto his already withered and wrinkled face. "Shoot" He whispered to himself, making sure that his companions wouldn't hear. "I'd take anything at this point, Pumpkin. Give me a clue… A sign, just anything, please." The old man prayed silently, rubbing the perspiration from his brow. Still finding nothing, and with a shake of his head, the older plumber and his two followers continued their journey further down the path; all three of them even more disappointed than they were before. Suddenly, Max had abruptly stopped as an all too familiar clicking sound began echoing just from his left, enveloping itself on the inside of his ears. Max's eyes quickly narrowed, and he lifted his hand up, signaling the other two to stand guard; to be in the ready for an attack from one of the infamous Arachnoids. "Stay alert, kids." He whispered out low, shifting his eyes from side to side. "It's close."
"Too close!" Kevin bellowed out, as the Arachnoid busted through the larger opening it had made, snarling, hissing and running rabidly towards them; showing no signs of slowing itself down. The wall that had fallen closest to Ben ended up crumbling right on top of him without warning, pinning him to the ground instantly. Seeing the hero's distress, Max rushed over to help the boy, trying with all that he had left to free his grandson, as rock and debris continued to descend from the ceiling above. Much to the hero's dismay, the watch he had worn on his wrist since he was at the age of sixteen had automatically timed out, rendering him completely useless to halt his newer problem.
"Grandpa!" Ben cried out, struggling with all of his might against the heavy rubble of stone. "I can't…*groan* I mean-"
"Hold on, Ben!" The older plumber tried to reassure, bending himself down, and herding the rock away as best he could; rushing to break the boy free. "If I could just-"
But the man was cut off, and with one fluid motion, Max was thrown back several feet by one of the oversized bug's appendages. Ben looking on helplessly as his grandfather smacked harshly against the wall, lying on the cool damp floor, knocked out cold; Kevin was doing his best to seize the creature to a dead standstill, or at least he tried to distract it away from his friends, and doing his best by giving the old man some time to free the young hero. But, it was to no avail.
"Kevin!" Ben shouted out, grunting as he moved more stone off from his body. "Get Grandpa, and get out of here, now!"
"Not a chance!" Kevin responded, his voice sounding a bit strained. It was no secret that the hard shelled alien was wearing him down fast. With Ben, and Max out of commission, he was fighting the creature souly on his own, pounding his fists into the massive insect, hoping that his frantic attempts would keep it away from the wounded others.
Ben had finally broken free, and surprisingly no serious damages had been done. Running with a slight limp over towards his fallen family member, he immediately reached down and rested his hands against the man's neck, feeling for a pulse.
Luckily, it was as strong as ever.
The young man sighed in relief, and felt his grandfather stir, a deep moan escaping his lips. He was still alive, and it brought a smile of relief upon Ben's face, with Max opening his eyes, and smiling sheepishly at him in return.
"Hey!"
Ben and Max turned to the source of the voice, realizing that the little reunion of theirs would have to wait. Kevin was slowly losing his one on one battle with the beast.
XX
"Please… Stop." Gwen groaned, watching the pink essence drift away from her body. "Please." She tried to reason with him once more; her small frame getting weaker by the seconds, her voice shallow, as every intake of breath she made faded dangerously low.
Orthos deeply smiled in satisfaction. Showing no remorse for what he was beginning to do. "You think this is bad?" He asked in a low chuckle of amusement, his eyes sparkling with madness. "My dear Gwendolyn… This is practically nothing." He cooed on, his hands glowing menacingly with crimson power. "Why, I haven't even begun chanting any of my spells yet."
"Ben…" She edged on, swallowing hard with what little saliva she had left in her throat, her fists tightening, and opening from her life source being drained. "He will-"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him or your other little comrades." Orthos grunted in satisfaction, as he faced his red headed prisoner. "Their being well taken care of… I assure you."
Gwen gasped in horror as Orthos lifted his hands, his power increasing into the air tenfold. His breath quickening its pace as his own body raked in on her form's own life energy. His crimson power deepening into a demented blood red as her limited source of strength began to feed his unlimited amounts of hunger.
The energy, and the intensity from it all was feeling quite riveting for Orthos, almost as if he were getting high on some miraculous potent drug, and soon, he'd be completely unstoppable; reeking in all the benefits of earth, and the entire universes located in other galaxies once everything was all said and done.
But, he had to admit, that it was all thanks to his ex-lover. If only he could 'properly' thank her. The dark man laughed to himself maniacally as his past memories of being with her flashed vividly on the inside of his mind, as more manna began ripping out from the red head and into his own wicked, and heartless soul. Feeding his empty and cold blackened heart.
Gwen screamed out in agony once again, as several violent pink rays tore heavily away from her body, her frail, and partially drained anatomy lifting up with ease. Grunting, and falling dramatically to the floor from the enormous blasts of manna, Orthos knew that it wasn't going to be too much longer before the transfer of her powers was complete. Now was the time to seal the deal, and to chant the spell that would ultimately bring poor Gwendolyn Tennyson to her demise. Orthos grasped the rounded table that the young woman lied helplessly upon, his fingers trembling fiercely as he gripped the sides, pulling himself up from the dampened rock below.
"Mea distribuero in virtute tua….. De Potestate luminis, fontem eius aurum excreuerit aeternum erit –" He gasped heavily for air, trying with all of his strength to stand himself up straight, his eyes glowing more and more mad with menacing power.
Gwen at this point couldn't catch a solid breath. Orthos' magical feats of torture were beginning to take its toll upon her. Mustering with what little strength she had left in her, Gwen began to plead frantically, begging for him to stop. She knew that it was her one last stitch effort to stay alive. But, in the front of her mind, she also knew that he was far beyond simple reasoning. Being so close to death was now clouding her more rational side.
Orthos' smile grew even wider when he heard her strained voice, and in the end, chose to ignore her. If he had the means to choose between infinite amounts of endless power over her own pitiful and meaningless life, well, he knew what he already wanted, and sadly Gwendolyn did not matter.
She never did…
…And there was no going back…
"Please". Gwen choked out once more, her voice betraying her; it only coming out in short, rapid breaths.
Orthos just laughed over his hoarse undertone, and continued on, already making his choice over her fate. This was it. This was going to be his glorious day, when the whole world was going to crumble at his feet. All were going to his bidding, or suffer death to those who dared to challenge or defy him. He quietly smiled to himself in wonderment. No… Not just the world. Not just here… Universes abound would soon fall under his hand, rulers would tremble, and beg him to let them live, begging him for his mercy.
The dark empowered knight was on his last chant, his heavy form floating effortlessly in mid air. Blood red and magenta streams of manna circled all around them, his dark brown orbs turning into a bright shade of crimson. The walls around him and the anodite began to shift as his words flowed smoothly like silk from his bilingual tongue, as Gwen lied below him, barely breathing; clinging to life.
XX
Ben, Kevin and Max rounded and entered another walk way, fearing the worst. They hadn't heard Gwen's elevated voice echoing throughout the halls for over a half an hour. Defeating the last arachnoid beast put them severely behind in their retorts on retrieving their friend, and it was beyond any forms of comfort.
In reality, it was chilling them all to the core.
Running and turning through more confusing dark tunnels, Max absent mindedly shifted his attention down at his hip, suddenly coming to realization; it hitting him in the chest like a rock, and he stopped himself quickly to a feverish halt, his face paling as he grasped the energy signature devise that hung snuggly at his side.
It didn't take long for Ben and Kevin to notice the old man's sudden change in attitude, and in his pace. This made Kevin back track his way over to the experienced plumber he had looked up too for well over five years. "What is it?" He asked harshly, his eyes narrowing at the man, as Ben too stood out in concern for his grandfather, right at the ex-con's side.
"I…" Max stumbled over his words, his eyes shifting between the tool and the boys. "Her…" He still couldn't get the words out, because if he were to say exactly what was going down at that moment, he knew it would tear the team apart.
"Grandpa." Ben breathed just above a whisper, knowing already that this was about Gwen, and only Gwen; that her life energy signature was no longer reading on the devise. "No, it can't… She's not…"
Kevin twisted his head back and forth, watching as the two exchanged horrified looks, and it didn't take him long to come to his own conclusion. He growled inwardly, bearing his teeth, as his heart began to pace at an alarming rate. "NO!" He shouted out, running towards Max, ripping the machine from his hands.
"Kevin." Max sighed, staring back at the raven ex con, his tears threatening to fall. "This isn't-"
"She's not dead!" Kevin glared down at the old man, his fist clenching tightly. "We've gotten so close; there's no way it's gonna end like this!" He then threw the plumbers tool aggressively towards the wall, shattering it into unrecognizable pieces, and turning to face the old man head on. "I won't let it." He cursed, his voice dangerously low, and menacing.
Just as the devise hit the rocky surface, it abruptly began to crumble, breaking away from the steal barriers that held the palace up. Pieces of solid stone shards tumbled onto the floor as the ground beneath them started to quake violently under their feet, causing the trio to stumble dramatically around, looking for some sort of support.
"What's going on?" Ben squealed out in fear, grasping a random ledge, as did his comrades. Max and Kevin were about to say that they weren't for certain as to what was going on, but all their questions were soon answered as a mixed concoction of reds and pinks enveloped the corridors around them.
"Gwen!" They all thought in unison. But not a single word was spoken as their actions screamed louder than their voices could carry, each plumber bracing themselves, and racing towards the ominous beams of light. Dodging, and ducking debris, as each one hoped silently that once they had reached their destination, Gwen would still be alive.
After a few falls, jumps, and strides from our heroes, they finally reached their point of entrance and broke through the small opening that had been constructed during the sporadic quake of the castle. Ben had entered in first, with Max and Kevin not far behind.
Taking in their surroundings once more, their eyes fell upon a heartbreaking scene before them. There, on a circular table lied Gwen, with Orthos hanging just above her unmoving form. Colored streams of energy were entering his body, and it looked as though that Gwen wasn't even breathing, informing the trio of their worst fears; that she may have lost the battle to stay alive.
No… They weren't going to think it. They were never going to let it.
Without so much as a second's hesitation, Ben reached for his watch and slammed down on the dial, hard. Max steadied himself, and his alien tech artillery, while Kevin absorbed some foreign metal located just behind Ben. It looked solid, and reliable enough, and to be honest, with the situation at hand, it was neither the time, nor the place to be generally picky.
"NRG!" A deep Russian voice echoed out harshly, causing Orthos to automatically turn swiftly to his left, his hands and body still in the workings of absorbing what little amounts of manna Gwen had available in her.
NRG engaged his metallic hands up to the front, shooting elongated beams of what looked to be hot lava, knocking Othros, and his concentration to the ground with a loud 'thud'. Not giving the man a chance to make a defensive action, the liquid powered alien sent another round of burning magma towards the fallen villain, forcing him against the table that his cousin was for now, being held prisoner on.
Orthos grunted in pain, grasping his charred, tin covered stomach; but quickly came to his feet, and with a simple flick of his wrist, he angrily chanted, "Patefacio viral scriptorium!"
In a matter of mere seconds, a large glowing portal had opened, blinding all who were in the room, the heroes could only look on in shock as a few more Arachniod creatures emerged from within it, hissing and crackling at their leader, waiting for their master's instructions.
Kevin grounded his teeth, and turned towards Ben, and Max, wanting to know what the next course of action was going to be. Not only did they have to deal with an empowered demon named Orthos, but now they had three more Arachnoid annoyances to deal with. Gwen didn't have that kind of time on her hands. They needed to, in some way reverse the spell that would bring all of her life energy back to her, defeat Orthos, and the three newer, more aggressive additions that were added to the mix.
The whole thing deemed more than impossible to make a successful victory.
Orthos stood up from the ground, dusting off his metallic attire. "YOU," He pointed a finger towards Ben and his team, "should never have come here!" He bellowed out, his eyes all aglow, as he levitated in to the air. "Doesn't matter, I have enough of what I need to finish you off." He turned his attention to the howling creatures standing at his right, and grinned. "Kill them."
The beasts charged on command, one of them knocking NRG to the floor with very little effort, and pinning him down with one swift movement of its leg. The metal alien let out a hard groan as he tried to use his strength to lift the creature off from his chest. Having no real success with that plan, NRG finally resulted in using more liquid magma, aiming for the beast's vulnerable undercarriage, and letting the lava flow from his fingertips.
The giant bug squealed out in tremendous pain, the lava burning its way onto the inside of its stomach, causing the alien creature to fall almost instantly. NRG took to his feat, and seeing that Max was dodging the other Arachnoid's acidic blows. Ben then remembered that Grandpa Max was only equipped with only simple alien artillery, and ran to go help fight by his side. There was just no way that the old man was going to win against the bug using such a weapon that had no lasting effects on the creatures to begin with.
XX
Kevin stood his ground as the last of the three charged his way, in the ready by make-shifting his arms into elongated swords. During the man's distraction, and without warning, the giant bug quickly lowered its jagged jaw, biting down onto the ex-con, clipping his shoulder. Then, in a matter of minutes, the arachnoid lifted him up with little effort, flinging the man hard against the adjacent wall.
Running on pure adrenaline, Kevin hadn't felt the acidic burn from the beast's bite, or for that matter, the pain he received from hitting a solid stone surface. Bringing himself swiftly up from the dampened floor, the beast quickly realized the man's movement of life; that it had done very little damage, and it began hissing out an ear piercing shriek, lunging itself forward once again at the raven haired man. Kevin dodged to his left, and growled up at the Arachnoid, swinging his arms over and around to try and hit in the exact spot to bring it down to its knees . "You should try harder!" He raged on, as the monster spit more acidic bombs his way. Kevin followed the blaze of muck, and looked behind him with a grin. "It'll take a lot more than that to take me out, big ugly!"
…And at that, Kevin had wasted no time in charging right back.
XX
NRG finally reached his Grandfather's side, pushing the older man behind him protectively. "Go! I will take care of this snot blowing beast!"
Max furrowed his face in response, and was about to say that he had a handle on the situation, and instead, to go and try to help free Gwen. That is, until NRG beat him to the punch. "Go, while Orthos is distracted with the fight!"
Without argument, Max nodded in agreement, and backed himself into the shadows of the castle. "Out of sight, out of mind." He mumbled, working his way over closer to his granddaughter.
Peering around a pillar, Max was estimating all of his options. Orthos was only a few feet away from Gwen, and any slight noises or mistakes on his part; he had no doubt that the man would turn on a whim, and kill Gwen on the spot, with or without all of her energy. As the devil himself had mentioned prior, he had just enough of her manna to fulfill most of his dangerous desires anyway. So Gwen really was no longer important.
Max leveled his eyes onto the young red head, and waited to see if there were any signs of life radiating off of her. When he had seen her chest slowly rise and fall, he knew right then that Orthos hadn't finished her off. He was overjoyed with relief. Keeping his happiness at bay for the moment, he got down onto his hands and knees, and crawled towards his headstrong granddaughter, smiling to himself despite the fact that he and the others' were at war.
Gwen still lied unmoving, and at this point she was still somewhat conscience. She was just afraid to make even the smallest type of gesture. She knew her rescuers were there, but she didn't want to give alarm to Orthos . The less focus he had on her, the better her chances were at survival. Quickly opening her eyes upon hearing a short scuffle coming out from beneath her, the crimson haired girl slowly mustered up all the energy that she had left by gracing her paled, worn out face with a tiny smile. "Grandpa." She whispered weakly. "You…"
"Shhh" He held a finger up to his lips to hush her; to help save some of her strength. "It's going to be alright, sweetheart." He grinned, sliding his hand into a medium sized bag he had attached to his side. "I brought you a little something." He finished, while cutting her hands free, then handing her a small leathered bound book. "Figured this would come in handy."
Even though as weak as she was, Gwen shakily grabbed the book quietly from her Grandfather's hand, knowing automatically to which page she needed to turn to for the correct spell. "Thanks, Grandpa." She breathed in deeply, her lungs feeling quite heavy with each intake of air.
Max gently held up his hand to her cheek with a grin on his face. "No need to thank me, Pumpkin." He sighed with relief. "I'm just thankful that you-"
Only Max was interrupted yet again by Kevin being slammed up against another wall once more, his outcry of pain evident in his tone of voice. Max turned to Gwen with a torn look about his face that asked silently if she was ready and able handle something like this, and if she had it in her to try and take Orthos out for good. She nodded willingly, and with a squeeze of her hand, Max crawled his way back over towards the battlefield.
Orthos was laughing maniacally as NRG rounded on him with more liquid magma, trying his best to get the dark magician to let Kevin go. But the man was more than enjoying the ex-con's pain, and plowed another spot of his dark manna towards the metal alien, knocking him to the ground.
"You're all pathetic!" He spat, his venom dripping with distain, as he slammed Kevin hard against the stone floor by just his mere thoughts alone. Kevin only grunted in response, breathing heavily as he slowly looked up to the man who as of late, made Gwen's life beyond miserable, and unbearable.
There was no doubt that Kevin wanted his revenge. But it was obvious to everyone, that if Orthos could bring down Ben with just a simple snap of his finger, there was little chance the raven haired hero was going to be able to take the psychotic man out. Flickering his eyes over to the sudden movement he had witnessed from the corner of his right eye, Kevin then noticed that Gwen was slowly coming too. Bringing a hidden smile upon his cold hearted features, the raven haired hero knew right then and there that she was going to make it out of this fiasco alive.
Wanting to keep Gwen's sudden awakening a secret, Kevin then decided to go for what he normally did best…
… Insulting people.
"Hey moron." Kevin began, wiping the blood that was dripping from his lower lip, gaining Orthos' attention almost immediately. "That girly smack down you did to my face just now… Was that supposed to hurt me or somethin?" He chuckled a bit more under his breath, as he pushed himself up from the castle floor. "Cuz, I didn't feel a damn thing."
Orthos grinned in amusement, and raised his hands up for the final impact towards Kevin's undeniable death. Mumbling a simple equation of spells, Orthos' fingertips began to ignite, sparks sputtered and spat as his power grew within his palms; setting his aim dead center at the ex-con's head. Death for the younger plumber would be quicker than Orthos would have liked, but at least Kevin would no longer be the major thorn that stuck in his side.
Orthos lowered his hands to take Kevin out, the power within him flowing off his hands effortlessly; ready to strike at his enemy. Kevin winced automatically, waiting for the impact of his doom. But, it never came. All the man heard before reopening his eyes, was Orhtos.
Letting out a terrible, earpiercing howl, Orthos suddenly felt the most agonizing pain shooting from behind him. A beam of magenta light had directly gone into his back. It almost seemed as though the power within him was slowly losing its momentum. As if he were now being drained himself. Falling to the floor, and clutching his chest, Orhtos slowly crawled his way around, facing towards the source of his downfall. His dark orbs widened in disbelief.
"Gwen!" He shouted out in anger, raising his left hand in the air, as lighter sparks escaped from the tips of his fingers.
Not holding back, Gwen shouted out another spell, knocking Orthos through a brick wall, sending him down the corridors of his fortress; her energy, growing stronger by the seconds.
Orthos groaned out in pain, trying to get up onto his knees. Looking up towards the shadow that hovered above him, Orthos let out a menacing chuckle. "My, my… Did we get braver over the years, Gwendolyn." He croaked, as he spat blood from his busted mouth. "Two years ago, if I remember correctly, you'd never act so stupid, and carelessly."
"Save it!" The red head hissed with venom in her tone. "Never again, Orhtos." Her eyes narrowed down at him, glowing with power.
"And what's that my dear…" Orthos cocked his head to the side, almost as if he were toying with her. "What is it that I'll never do… Again?" At this, the man began to stand. His balance awkward from the blow he received moments prior. Even after all he went through so far, he was still trying to get inside of her mind, finding ways to distract her.
But this time, it was different, and Orthos new it deep down within his cold stone heart. He was just trying to buy himself some time.
"Hurt me." Was all Gwen simply said, as she began chanting her spell. One so strong and meniachle, that it would most likely destroy all that were around them. But, she didn't care. All she wanted was this devil of a beast to be gone from her life, and to those lives she cared most about. As long as they were safe? She didn't care.
Her body began to shed a bright magenta hue, her eyes glowing an eye burning light. Her hands began to form colors of purples and pinks. The skin tone she wore faded into nothing. The ground began to shake beneath Orhtos feet, as pink streams of manna flew harshly into his body…
Orhos cried out in horror. His body was now being torn into molecules of flesh. His head tilted upward towards the sky, as his voice echoed throughout his fortress. The trio of plumbers rushed in as they saw Gwen performing her chant, showing no signs of mercy.
"Gwen, STOP!" Ben cried out, running after her. He needed to get to her, rationalize with her. It made it that much harder since the caverns and the floor were breaking apart by the seconds. Ben stumbled over his feet a few times, getting frustrated with himself. He had to stop his cousin. Before she made any decisions she would soon regret. "GWEN!"
But Ben's cries went unnoticed. Gwen didn't even flinch at his words.
"Ben! We need to get out of here now!" Grandpa Max shouted over the noise of rock falling around them. "We're going to get killed if we stay here much longer!" He gasped as he grabbed a wall to steady himself, his brow narrowing towards the boy.
"Were not leaving, Gwen." Kevin spoke up, his jaw closing tightly with rage from the thought. "She'll die too." His voice running horse, as the words escaped from his lips. "And we all know that I'm not gonna let that happen."
"I've gotta plan!" Ben motioned over to his comrades, signaling for their attention. "Just follow my lea-
But the hero never got the chance to finish his idea of bringing Gwen down, as a deafning explosion crashed into their ears, forcing them all to go air born…
Everything that they knew at that moment, suddenly faded into black.
XX
Ben was first to open his eyes; the sun being too bright to open them to their full extent. He looked around at his surroundings for a moment, noticing that Grandpa and Kevin were close by. They were both still knocked out from the harsh pink blow. Arising to his feet with a grunt, the hero slowly made his way over to his friends, checking for a pulse.
They were still alive….
Poking and prodding them awake, Ben helped the other two men get to their feet, all dusting the castle rock from their clothes. Though badly cut in some places from the hard fall, and the explosion, they were all thankful to still be alive.
But they were still one person short… Where was-
"Gwen!" Ben sputtered out in fear, spinning around swiftly, and running as fast as he could towards the rubble. "Where's Gwen!"
Kevin and Max too, ran over to the debris, checking frantically under the many rocks, boards, and pieces of glass that had been annihilated from Gwen's powers. The three of them lifting each stone, and wood without care, all in hopes of hearing any cries of life coming from Gwen.
Lifting a well burned ceiling prong that fell from above, Kevin had made the discovery of Gwen's lifeless body, his hands shaking due to the fact of seeing her lacking any signs of life.
His eyes burning with rage, Kevin wasted no time into reaching down for her, and pulling her out from the charred ashes of the castle. Trying hard to find his voice, Kevin finally hollered out, "BEN, HERE, NOW!", while he lied her down carefully on the cool morning dewed grass.
Ben and Max rushed over, as Kevin began ripping her already half torn shirt, popping the buttons with his unnerving grasp, getting in the ready to help the poor woman breath in the fresh morning air.
Bearing down onto her chest, Kevin began pumping his hands to a steady rhythm. Trying to jump start her heart. Ben and Grandpa Max stood there, feeling helpless as they watched Kevin desperately slam his fists into her chest, placing his lips harshly over her own, blowing his breath into her lungs, wanting to the red head to just breathe.
Two minutes into giving the girl C.P.R. The ex-con was growing more than impatient…
"Just breath damn it!" Kevin growled out, after he clasped his lips over hers, while still pressing his palms to her chest. "Gwen?" He hissed, sweat dripping from his midnight colored brow. "Come on, babe, answer me, swear at me, hit me, do something!"
"Kevin." Ben choked out, as he stepped over to the man sadly, while making the mistake of looking over towards his Grandfather. The old man was alive and well as they were, but, had paled as if he just died.
"Kevin." The hero said again, this time resting his hand on the man's shoulder. "She.."
"NO!" The Osmosian shouted in defiance, his voice echoing throughout the air, pushing the young hero away with much aggression. "I'm not givin' up, not yet! She still has a chance!" He said hoarsely, his hands now moving her chest up and down again. "She still has a chance." He whispers to himself, blowing into her lifeless lips once more.
"You need to stop, Kevin." Ben pressed on with falling tears framing his cheeks, stepping back from Kevin a little just in case the man began to swing at him again. "Gwen wouldn't want this."
"No… She wouldn't." Kevin huffed back with the heaviest of venom. "She'd wanna be here, with you, and with your Grandpa."
Ben decided right then, to try and pull Kevin away. It was doing more damage than good towards the man. He knew Gwen was gone… He just needed to make his best friend realize it too. She saved them all, and had finally taken Orthos down, along with his powers and the Arachnoids. All were no longer existing, all were no longer hurting those Ben cared so much about. He would be forever in debt to Gwen. If he could bring her back, or exchange places with her? He would, in less than a single heart beat…
He just needed for Kevin to let her go…
Reaching for the man's shoulder once more, his hand at a tighter grip than before, he steadied himself to rip Kevin away from her. It was time. It was over… Gwen was ultimately, an undeniably gone…
But it was at that moment when he reached for Kevin shoulder, Gwen finally had gasped for her first intake of fresh air.
Gwendolyn was still alive…. She still had that chance; just as Kevin had promised.
This one gave me soooo much trouble! Please forgive me that this update is so late… Writers block stinks!
Thanks for reading guys! And please leave a review! I'll love ya forever! :D
The Spoon. :D