Benny pushed himself hard, the journey lead ever upwards into the thickly wooded foothills of a mountain region he had never ventured into before. By the time he had trudged up a steep incline, soft soil giving away under his feet with each step, even his vampire stamina was flagging. It was a relief then to see a yawning chasm open before him. It was natural, created when Purgatory itself was willed into existence, and so cavernous Benny could only see darkness inside. There was a smell too, beyond the usual stench of death and decay, that raised the hairs on his neck. The throbbing in his chest ceased however, and he knew with clarity that this was his destination.
Giving Rois' unconscious body a reassuring squeeze, Benny strode into the darkness and followed a winding tunnel, broad and high enough to drive a truck through, downwards until there was a sharp change in temperature. Wary, Benny peered around a sharp corner and was rewarded with seeing a massive gathering of monsters. The cavern was uncomfortably hot, and Benny had no idea what they were until he saw it- Leathery wings, scales, the whole nine yards. A dragon was resting off to the side, out of the way of its companions. Were it not for the summons that lead him there, Benny would have obeyed his instincts to run like hell.
Eyes started to turn towards him and his cargo as he cautiously stepped into the room, the gentle hum of conversation dying off with each footstep. His fangs were itching to come down, to be aggressive, but his cool logic reigned. A willowy woman with crimson slitted eyes approached him and made a placating gesture. "You've come to speak with Mother?" Benny inclined his head slightly, glancing around nervously "Follow me, she has been waiting for you." Her smile was not kind, and Benny heard audible sniffing as he was lead away.
"We covet virgins you know, but she will not be harmed so long as Mother wills it." His guide chuckled softly.
"A virgin? Oh..." He was not sure if he could have felt guiltier for what he did, but there it was.
Down a much narrower corridor, a left or two later and Benny was stepping through a maw-like opening into another chamber. Massive stalactites connected floor to ceiling all around, the trickle and dripping of water into pools and air flowing like a breathing beast made it all seem oddly alive and flowing, not like the rest of Purgatory and its mostly static state. His guide had turned and walked past him almost right away, leaving him and Rois waiting in the dark. There was a presence here, familiar and terrific, but no different than the last time he had experienced it.
"Put her down, let her rest." A soft voice sighed, he complied but was not compelled to- he knew full well she was capable of that. "Walk with me, Benny, I wish to talk with you." When Rois, and his weapon, were placed gently on the hard ground he walked further into the cavern. Coming to a stop at a large, dark pool, he was not surprised to look into the reflection of the water and see her standing there beside him. Eve, the Mother.
"Mama." He uttered, turning to look down at the unfamiliar face of a young woman with wavy brown hair and a calm gaze.
"I told you son," her smile was sad as she reached up and placed a hand on his stubbled cheek, soothing with her thumb "humans will always cause problems for you- they are not the answer. But they do tend to find you, don't they? She's a sweet girl, and I know you have feelings for her. I'll tell you what I told you before, Benny. All mothers want their children to be happy, I want that for you." Closing his eyes, he sighed and tilted his head to her hand.
He was standing at the edge of a massive, dark lake the first time he met Eve. She had appeared beside him in the reflection of the water and he attacked, but with a word she compelled him still and they had words; That was how he learned the spell to leave Purgatory. Being in her presence was a humbling thing and there was a power that radiated from her, maybe just because of her sheer age.
Benny need not actually say anything, she already knew what the problem was. "You tried to leave home again, save the girl and get back to Earth. But she can't leave, and you hurt her." Eves chuckle was a soft, tinkling noise as she started to walk back towards Rois with Benny in tow. "She is just a human, it's true. Humans are not my children, and it is your nature to hunt and hurt them Benny." He kept a few steps back while Eve came to stand beside Rois, looking down at her like one might inspect an insect.
"I have no real hate of humanity, you know. All of my children have come from humans and require them to exist for sustenance, further perpetuation of their own race, so on." Clasping her hands in front of herself serenely, Eve looked from Rois to Benny then, a small frown on her full lips. "The creature that killed this human and brought her here is not one of my children. It was an aberration that consumed souls, denying them their afterlife so that it could continue its own existence on Earth. It doomed itself to Purgatory by consuming the souls of my children, and when it died it was consuming this girl, Rois."
Like a predator circling its prey Eve circled Rois as she spoke, thoughtful. "She was not fully consumed, her soul broke away- but it took a piece of his. That is what dragged her here." Benny found it a hard meal to digest, she really didn't belong here.
"How can I help?"
"Shh." Against his will, Benny closed his mouth and fell silent. You don't talk out of turn with your Mother, especially not this one.
"You could turn her, you know. Have a real companion here to hunt with, my vampire children were not meant to hunt alone, I see how you suffer." She raised a hand in a placating gesture, smiling slightly at his rising panic. "Don't fear. You've never fully accepted your gift, I understand. However, anything that happens to change her in this place will not truly change her soul, she is already dead. That in mind, I have a plan. You may go wait with my other children Benny, and behave yourself." He felt chilled as his body started to walk back towards the entrance of the caverns, his mind fighting so hard to stop, to protect Rois from what was coming. This was not what he wanted, but like most pivotal moments in his existence he was powerless to stop it.
By the time Benny had walked back up to the congregation of dragons he was heaving from the mental strain of trying to not obey, to break the command. Many pairs of red eyes settled on him as he came to a stop- gritting his teeth when a long scream, hollowed out by distance, echoed up the tunnel he just walked out of.
"Where am I?"
"Dreaming. Dancing that fine line between life and death."
"So all of this really did happen then, and Benny?"
"He almost killed you, should have really, but he has never fully embraced the gift he was given. Some of my children are like that."
Rois was looking into the face of an unfamiliar woman as they both stood in the middle of the camp she had ran away from what felt like ages ago. Their surroundings were glowing with the last light of dusk but she felt cold.
"Your children?"
"I am Eve, the mother of all monsters." Her smile was warm, but there was something off-putting about her entire demeanor, like being in the presence of a big predator when there is no safety glass.
"I was awake sometimes. Benny was taking me somewhere, to you?" Eve nodded, confirming.
Rois looked around slowly before settling her gaze back on Eve. "Well Eve, it is good to meet you I suppose?" She smiled nervously. "What happens now?"
"I am going to make you an instrument of vengeance. You will kill your killer, avenge your friends and my children, and then leave this place and never return."
"And Benny?"
"What about him? He will stay by your side and try to leave for Earth once again, I don't even need to read minds to know that."
"Can I help him?"
"Maybe, maybe not. That is beyond my ability to divine, and entirely up to you." Eves gaze sharpened, the corners of her lips curling into a little smile. "Are you ready?" Rois did not have time to answer. Eve was directly in front of her and placing a warm hand against the bite wound on her shoulder before her eyes caught up with what was happening. That was when the agony started.
After a while Benny gave up struggling, opting for distraction instead. With a little glancing around he found the willowy dragon who had guided him before and strode over to her.
"You should not fight her, Mother is sacred to all of her children."
"I put that human girl in there, I was protecting her and I failed." Bennys voice was sharp, he could not physically vent his anger here and it came through his words instead.
"Forgive me if I don't weep for your little virgin. All dragons serve the Mother, guard her and are the physical manifestations of her will. Your friend is our food and Mother is our concern, nothing more."
Damn religious zealots- can't even escape them here. Benny thought bitterly. "I don't know how hunting and killing each other for eternity could be considered heaven, but even Mama knows I'm an odd duck." Disgusted with himself and everyone in sight, Benny turned and made for the mouth of the cavern- if only to cut off the many pairs of eyes glaring at him. There were no more screams.
Some time had gone by and a few dragons had come and gone, giving him threatening looks every time they passed. Benny was running a hand through his hair in frustration, he had lost his hat during the mad dash to get here, but froze when the thrumming of a familiar heart came into his hearing range. He was not facing the mouth of the cave, wasn't strong enough to face it, so he stood there and listened as she got closer. Her feet scuffed against earth lightly, not as heavy as before, breathing even, heart rate increasing as she got closer, nervous.
"Those were dragons."
"Yeah."
"I wonder if you can see what I can, is this what being beyond human is like?" Guilt stabbed at him and she paused.
"Look at me, Benny."
Reluctant but ever polite, he slowly turned to face her. She had his coat folded over one arm neatly, his weapon tucked under her armpit, and as far as he could see, smell and hear she was perfectly healthy, radiant in comparison to what she was- even when she first arrived. "I didn't mean for this to happen, Rois. I am very sorry." Her brows pinched together firmly and she made a gesture for him to stop with her free hand.
"I believe you, and I forgave you before you had even taken your teeth out, alright? I would have lost my shit too if I was in your situation." Benny couldn't hide his incredulous expression. "My soul is still human, Eve made it very clear I'd be leaving Purgatory when this is over and done with. There is nothing done to me that will not be reversed. Here's your coat and your sword thing." Stepping forwards with a determined look, she held the coat to him and he looked at it for a moment before taking it and shrugging it on quickly. It was like getting his skin back on, he didn't know how much more naked he felt without it until it was back. After that she handed him back his weapon and he felt complete again.
"Thanks girl." He was the first to smile and she returned it easily. "You're welcome, and thank you too. You lost your hat?" Rois had grown to appreciate how it looked on him. "Yeah but it was lose the hat or lose you, darlin'." They both chuckled and Rois closed in to give him a tight hug which he returned warmly.
When they let each other go, Rois stayed close and looked up at him seriously "Alright. We need to get moving soon so humor me for a minute, kay?"
"Yeah, what is it darlin'?" He gave her a curious look, eyebrows quirked.
"Squeeze my hand." Sticking her hand out for a shake he took it reluctantly, confused. "Alright." He clasped her hand like he was giving her a hand shake and she shook her head quickly. "Squeeze Benny." Shrugging, he slowly squeezed harder and harder, watching her expression. Her lip curled mockingly. "That all you got?"
He frowned then and gave her hand a sharp squeeze, to which she all but squealed and batted at his hand for him to stop. "Ah!" Once her hand was free she held it to her chest, hopped from foot to foot and then shook it out. She quickly held out her other hand.
"Darlin', I don't want to hurt your hands."
"I said humor me, Benny. Try and hit my hand." Her voice was a bit tighter, having your hand nearly crushed would do that to you.
His first halfhearted swipe was deftly avoided, and her lips curled into a grin. Catching on to what was going on, Benny chuckled. "Really? You're checking, you don't know?" Another swipe at her hand, much quicker, but no closer to hitting than the first.
"Not physically, no. I don't know what all happened but there are a few obvious things, this will come in handy though." Laughing softly, she tilted her head and watched as he tried a few more ever faster swipes, always avoiding by a hair. "It's like you're moving in slow motion, awesome." When his hand suddenly snapped at a speed comparable to an athlete playing slaps with a chump and grabbed her wrist firmly, she jumped in surprise.
"Darlin', everyone is special in Purgatory. Don't get cocky, or you'll get dead." His grip was firm and he was looking at her seriously. Startled, she took a moment to process the information and had to admit he was right. Everyone was special in Purgatory, this was a valuable lesson. Before she could take a breath to respond however, there was a scraping and hissing from the cave behind and Benny took a slow step backwards.
"Leave." An inhuman voice rumbled so forcefully that Rois almost felt physically pushed by it. Her voice came out in a squeak. "Yes!" Benny didn't argue, he was the one that saw the dragon filling the cave entrance and the smoke rising from its nostrils.
They had dashed down the sandy decline like hell was following. Rois enjoyed a field of mobility she had never dreamed of and saw the woods closing in around them with a clarity she couldn't have had even in the best of circumstances before. Benny watched her more than the dirt he slid down, concerned.
When they entered the woods, no longer in eye shot of the cave entrance, they both stopped and looked around warily. There had been a sense of safety near the dragon cave, but that was gone. Now it was all howling, snarling danger buzzing around them again.
"You know a place we can hide in for a little while?" Rois' heart was beating quickly and she looked distinctly overwhelmed.
"Yeah. Holed up with you in a good one not far from here darlin'." Benny felt they needed to lay down some ground rules as fast as possible and in as safe an environment as possible too.
"Lead on." At least Benny was able to move at a real pace now, Rois had slowed him down considerably before but was keeping up more than fine. Much like when he made the trip carrying her, Benny lead them around and past as much fighting as he could. At one point Rois grasped his shoulder to stop him, looking around confusedly."Wait." Benny had no idea what she was on about, but listened just in case. Together they crouched down between foliage and waited.
He heard the heartbeats before the scrabbling, it quickly became clear that it was the sound of many running feet and they braced themselves as multitudes of small children ran by, chittering and shrieking wildly. Rois bit the inside of her cheek hard when a child looked in their general direction and had a mouth like a lamprey and its eye sockets were vacant. Several minutes passed before they slowly stood, Rois whispering urgently "I'll explain when we get safe, lets go."
Only when the large boulder slid into place did Benny confront Rois. "Care to explain what that was about back there, darlin'?" Rois was looking around, taking in details and how things looked in pure darkness. "Yeah, sorry. I can see things, it is hard to explain." Turning to face him, her brows were furrowed and she was frowning.
"See things?"
"Tracks. They are everywhere, it's kind of overwhelming. Old, new, hot, cold, sort of color coded. And smells! All I could smell before was those dragons so I didn't think much of it, but when we were running I smelled everything." Rois paused and rubbed her jaw a moment before crossing her arms. "I saw the group of footprints those little kid things made and I guessed they were circling, I didn't really know they were coming- that was just a good guess. You can't see or smell anything like that?"
Benny thought over her question while a current of darker thoughts flowed, considering the possibilities and what he could do with this unique situation.
"Not like that, no." She tilted her head and frowned as he slowly sat down, following his lead and sitting across from him. "Sight, sound, smell; Those are very enhanced senses, but sound and smell are more, ah, blood related."
"Like hearing a heart beat and smelling blood."
"Yes. Still, those senses are much better than a humans." Setting his blade to the side, Benny pulled up a leg and rested a hand on his kneecap casually. Rois raised both her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, a curious look on her face.
"Somethin' wrong darlin'?"
"I was awake sometimes, you know? I couldn't move or open my eyes, but I heard snippets." Her gaze leveled on him- not accusing, but heavy. Benny shifted, wondering how much she had heard. "Well, I never said anything I didn't mean." Rois smiled.
"What do you plan on doing when you're back on Earth, Benny?" It was an abrupt change of direction for the conversation, but he went along with it.
"Not sure darlin'. Last time I tried to fit in didn't go so well for me."
"You seem like a people person to me, is it new technology that throws you or?"
"It's like being an addict surrounded by your drug of choice."
"Oh." Benny wasn't enjoying the look of empathy he was getting.
"What's your plan then when you get back to the realm of the living darlin'?"
"I am going to make the biggest pizza my oven can hold." Rois beamed a huge smile "Then, I'm gonna eat the whole damn thing in one sitting. Of course, that is assuming I have a home or even a body to go back to. But it doesn't hurt to think about it, eh?"
Benny smirked. "That is the second time you've said "eh", I've been waiting for it."
"My friends tell me I'm not a very good Canadian, sorry." Rois sighed slowly, keeping her gaze leveled on him. "I don't know how you'd feel about it, but after all this you'd be more than welcome to stay at my place Benny. I live a good hours drive out of town, you'd be hard pressed to get much more away from people than that, if that is a concern of yours."
"You don't have to invite me to live at your place because of some sense of duty darlin'"
"I'm expressing my thanks Benny. But to tell you the truth, all my friends were murdered and they were all I had. I don't want to go back to Earth knowing there is nothing and no one there, not after all of this." Raising her hand quickly to cut him off, Rois continued. "And I'm not even talking about some kind of man and woman relationship either, I'm just talking about friendship and family. There's a long way to go before any of this matters, just think about it alright?" Rois had a pleading expression, willing him to understand, and Benny had no choice but to nod quietly. Just like that, there was a subtle change in their dynamic and his perception of her shifted. They had a working relationship here, could there be more? Was she a sister like Dean was a brother, or something else?
Sighing heavily and rubbing his face, Benny grunted. "Alright, enough of this. Time for us to get moving again," As Rois tried to stand, Benny gave her a firm poke in the chest that set her back on her ass. "but you remember this: you are surviving first and foremost, fighting only when you absolutely have to. What Eve gave you, it was just a better chance, understand?"
Pursing her lips, Rois stood up again and nodded. "Don't get cocky, I got it." She didn't mention how much it stung her pride, but Benny didn't need to read minds to see that either. He only hoped she really did listen.