I know, I know, I suck. Go on, purge, let it out, let the profanity spew…
Done? Okay, I'm so sorry 'bout the wait, my loyal minions. My computer screwed up and took my files down with it so even after it was fixed (which took F O R E V E R) I had to rewrite all my stuff. Which sucked. *sigh* WHY am I still rambling on! You've waited long enough so here-
"Hello, author."
"J-J-J-JUILAIN!"
"The one and only."
"What are you doing here? Not, you know, not that I object."
"Stick to your own species. It's your goddamn fault, author. Do you KNOW how many of my pissed off fan-girls have been sulking around because of your atrocious updating? Or lack thereof. DO YOU?"
"Uh…"
"Uh? Oh, that's very literate of you. How in Hades did you manage to get so many reviews? Humans are such strange little creatures."
"Why, thank you."
"Tell you what, here's a riddle fore you. 'Two bodies have I, though both joined in one, the stiller I stand, the faster I run. What be I'?"
"*mumbles*"
"What was that?"
"Sigh. AN HOUR GLASS! And I KNOW what you're gonna say! My time for this story ran out ages ago and everyone's probably given up by now."
"Mm. So she's not actually as dumb as she looks. And, though I could have said it better myself, that's basically it, yes."
"Oi, watch it Shadow Boy. Get back in the freakin' story if you're so damn eager."
"YOU don't give me orders."
"Yeah, sweetie, I kinda do."
"… I willkill you in your sleep."
"I will write you wearing a sombrero and a tutu."
"… Touché."
Vermin
"St-st-stay b-b-b-back! D-don't come any c-c-clos-er!" Julian grinned widely as he watched the runt whimper and shake, swiping jerkily at things that weren't there. He made one of the rats leap at the quivering boy and his scream was like music. Unable to hide it in any longer, Julian's rich laugh bounded through the room, weaving in a twisted harmony with Tom's keening wails.
Tom was long past the point of begging and pleading for his life, as the knowledge that Julian really didn't care seemed to have penetrated even his thick skull. Julian missed that part. It had been incredibly funny to watch.
Tom aimed a frantic kick at a mangy rat the size of a Yorkshire terrier and even as it was flung away, two more moved in to take its place. The swarmed all over him, scuttling up his pant leg and scratching at his skin. They darted away when Tom swatted clumsily at them, chittering and clicking as though they were laughing at him. Tom was sobbing slightly, his limbs a blur as he tried to shake the rodents off of himself, gulping in air in a way reminiscent to hyperventilation.
Not for the first time, Julian wished he had a camera to capture the moment.
"Did you know," Julian called over the gruesome symphony of squeaks and sobs "that if you see one rat, then it usually means that there are a hundred more nearby?"
Tom's wide eyes flickered up in time to see Julian's smirk and flashing cobalt eyes.
And then the walls caved in.
Brick splintered and there was the suffocating smell of filth and sweaty little bodies, along with deafening chatters and scratching of thousands of claws as a wave of rats spewed through the ever growing cracks and holes. There seemed to be no end to them as they fell over each other, scratching and biting and shrieking all the way. They fought amongst themselves about who was going to get to Tom first, mixing spurts of crimson blood into the squirming mass as they rushed forwards in a never ending stream.
Tom whipped this way and that, desperately pleading for an escape, the thudding of his pulse almost drowning out the awful racket around him. It was no good, they were boxing him in, and the space was getting smaller and smaller every second. Images of what they would do to him assaulted his mind, he saw them slicing his flesh with their needle point claws, tearing through muscle and sinew with their vicious teeth, burrowing inside of him, lapping up his blood ravenously while their beady little eyes laughed.
And Tom screamed.
The tsunami of rats was almost upon him and he ducked into a foetal position to try and protect himself, though he knew he was done for. This was the end. Still he screamed bloody murder as the swarm blotted out the light. He could feel their rancid breath on his back, their nails scathing his skin. This was defiantly the end.
Julian watched gleefully, head canted to one side and a smile on his face. The runt was in the middle of an empty room, curled up in a ball and screaming at nothing. It was hilarious.
If nothing else, Julian had to admit the boy had a good imagination. In his minds eye, he saw what Tom thought he was seeing with the help of his own… special talents. The rats heaved onto him as a writhing whole and Tom thrashed and screamed some more. Once more, Julian wished for a camera. And popcorn (at least humans created something worth while).
As amusing as this little show was, the runts constant shrieking was beginning to grate on Julian's already frayed nerves. With a roll of his eyes and a snap of his fingers, the horde of vermin were no more. All left but one, who remained shivering and yelling for a full thirty seconds after the rats had disappeared.
Julian cleared his throat, and the screams stuttered to a stop. The runt looked up slowly, glancing around and shaking and just generally looking terrified. Julian gave himself a mental pat on the back.
Eventually, his wild eyes found Julian, leaning casually against a countertop, and he reluctantly straightened out of his hunched crouch. Through loud pants he hissed "You bastard."
Julian smiled at him. "Of course."
"I'm going to kill you!" Tom's growl was considerably less effective due to the quaking off his limbs and the tears still in his eyes.
Julian couldn't help it, he laughed. "I would love to see you try, Tommy," he chuckled "I would love to see you try."
When he had gotten his breathing somewhat under control, Tom scrambled to his feet and lunged at the still laughing Julian, yelling a war cry as he came.
Julian watched the pathetic excuse for an attack as though it was happening in slow motion. He quirked a pale eyebrow at the vengeance twisted expression on Tom's face and wondered, for the billionth time, what Jenny could possibly see in him. He stood casually and unmoving as Tom charged forwards, waiting until he was close enough for him to shoot out an arm and flip him swiftly onto his back, slamming him to the ground harshly.
Looking down on the runts groaning form, Julian threw in a yawn just for kicks. Tom sent him what he probably thought was a glare.
Julian chuckled again, and something ugly sparked in Toms eyes. Though he was winded, he forced himself to speak. "This is all about Jenny, huh?"
The chuckles cut off abruptly, all traces of humour gone from Julian's system. He clicked his teeth and sent a look with the fury of a thousand ice blizzards burning into Tom's face.
Tom gulped, but carried on regardless. "A-all this just for her?" Julian wondered what he meant by 'just for'. "You shouldn't bother with it. B-because no matter what you do, no matter what you say, Jenny is my girlfriend." Julian didn't know what was on his face, but it made the runt grin. "She's mine. And you've gotta realise that she's never, never in a million years going to love you." He spat.
Julian made sure his face was the cold mask it usually was, but said nothing. Once again, he found himself thinking of how much he detested emotions.
For a few minuets, silence was absolute. Julian's icy gaze stared unflinchingly down at the runt, who had to avert his eyes and visibly restrain himself from wincing from the force of it.
Tom was cursing himself for saying such a stupid thing. He knew what Julian was capable of, and he was thinking of the many different ways Julian was probably about to torture and torment him in revenge for that little speech.
Behind the mask, Julian was trying to restrain himself from doing all those things and more. The game wouldn't be as fun without all the pawns, now would it?
As time ticked by, Tom was gathering false courage. "Really, man, there's no point. Its- its never gonna work, okay? So, j-just let me go." The part of Julian's mind that was still capable of higher level though marvelled at how the runt could actually be thicker than he looked. However, most of Julian's mind was past caring. He tried, he really did, but he simply couldn't stop himself.
He. Just. Snapped.
In a blur of movement, Julian had hauled Tom to his feet and slammed him violently against the wall, a pale hand grasped around his throat. Tom kicked his feet (which, as it happens, were a foot off the ground) and pulled feebly at the iron choke hold. The grip was like steel, and didn't move an inch.
"You shut your mouth." Julian hissed in his ear, feeling a little better when he felt the petrified shaking begin again. "Tell me, Tommy, because I'm honestly quit curious; what do you think the chances are that I would just let you leave, just because you asked? Hm?" Tom's eyes were wide and terrified at Julian's inhuman tone, and when he opened his mouth all that came out was a sad little whimper-grunt-thing. "Now really, was that a scenario that seemed even remotely logical in your tiny little mind? Is it actually possible that I over estimated your brain efficiency, because before now I would have thought that implausible. Listen, and listen well, you pathetic little vermin, because I really don't like to repeat myself. If you ever step one hair out of line again, I will rip your heart out of your chest in ten seconds flat and forget you ever existed within the next five. Are we clear?"
Once again, Tom made no sound, but Julian took the interesting shade of purple he was turning as a yes. He released him, a smile ghosting over his lips as he watched him splutter and gasp on the floor. He bit off the end of each word in a clipped, emotionless voice "You don't want to irritate me, boy. I do regrettable things when I'm irritated. Like mass murder."
Tom only managed to cough in a vaguely insulting way.
Julian curled his lip but turned away from the pitiful heap on the floor. "If you want to talk about Jenny, you should have just said so." His tone was casual, cheerful even, like he hadn't had Tom up against the wall, squeezing the life from his body and making death threats just moments before. At the moment, he resembled a frozen lake: the still, passive surface hiding the roaring turmoil of the currents beneath. But ice is a fragile thing, and too much pressure could shatter it so easily.
The Shadow Man grinned deviously and, with a wave of his hand, the shadows darted forwards, spinning into a man-sized inky black tornado. Tom shielded his eyes from the wind, and when the shadows dissipated Julian was holding a large mirror. The edges were ornately carved into howling skulls and watching eyes, the pictures seeming to shift if you looked away. Its unblemished surface was smooth and perfect, but radiated malice.
"Lets see how she's getting on, hm?" His tone was that of someone inquiring of the weather.
Tom stared at the mirror in confusion, and Julian could tell he was wondering just how unhinged Julian really was. Just then, the surface of the mirror rippled strangely, and when they cleared Jenny's face filled it.
Tom gaped. Julian grinned, leaning over to get a better view.
He manipulated the frame to zoom out to see her surroundings. She looked tired, run down, but, in Julian's opinion, it hardly affected her beauty. He was pleased by it, in fact, it meant she might surrender sooner. Julian chuckled at the thought. Not likely. She's far too stubborn. A will of iron, that girl. And that, he figured, was part of why he loved her.
She was in a replica of the petit-blonde girl's bedroom, picking her way through rubbish. All the occupants in the room wore matching expressions of distaste as they worked to clean up. Oh, just you wait, Julian thought, eyes glinting, the fun hasn't even started yet.
They watched, Tom disgusted, Julian anticipating, both transfixed, as the piles of trash got more and more nauseating. Then the bugs flooded in.
The scene was now something from a horror movie as giant insects swarmed them, and walls came crashing down.
"Jenny!" Julian frowned at Tom for breaking his silence. The runt grabbed at the mirror stupidly, his hands glancing of the glass pane. Julian rolled his eyes, conjuring shackles that wound their way up his body, restraining him non-too-loosely. Tom thrashed against his bonds in vain, mewling annoyingly. Duct tape slapped itself to his mouth, and Julian couldn't help but think of what an improvement it was.
Back in the mirror, Julian did what Julian did best.
He watched.
He watched Jenny through the haze of panic and screams in the room. By the way Tom was struggling and wincing, he knew that he was worried for her and hated to see her like this. Julian thought it was beautiful. The way her hair splayed out behind her when she ran and dodged, the steely glint of determination in the face of danger, her composure even though she was so scared. She was so pretty when she was scared.
Julian frowned slightly when Jenny skidded to a stop near the escape, shouting at the little blonde child. Because, Julian knew, that was the kind of person she was. Never leaving a friend behind, completely selfless, brave, good. Good. Julian exhaled quietly. Yes, Jenny is far too good for her own good.
Julian took a second he didn't really need to deliberate, before dropping the mirror. It flicked out of existence before it even hit the ground. Tom yelped around the duct tape, yelling in muffled nonsense. Julian ripped the tape from his mouth vindictively, enjoying the wince he got out of it. "That's all, folks."
"YOU BASTARD!" Tom shouted.
"You've said that already."
"BRING HER BACK! LET ME GO! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!"
He stepped back a few paces before wiggling his fingers at Tom in a mocking wave. The runt screamed in pure fury, straining against his chains.
"Play nice while I'm gone." He whistled, and huge brown rats crept from every shadow in the room, advancing on Tom with their whiskers twitching and pulling back over their too-big teeth in, rat like grins.
"Nononononono…" Tom pressed back into the wall, looking like he wanted to meld with it and never come out. His petrified, wide eyes gaze darted from rat to rat, swaet already pooling all over him. "Please, no!"
The rats picked up their pace, and, as Julian teleported in a breeze of darkness, the runts screams were just beginning.
Um. Ta da…
I know what your going to do. Because your pissed with me, you're gonna withhold reviews. Now I don't blame you, but it means if you don't review, you're simply being spiteful.
Do you want to be spiteful?
Oh, and this idea was all Child Of The Ashes'. If you liked it, blame her. If you didn't, blame me. It was a BRILLIANT idea, but I may have effed it up. Which I have a startling tendency to do. Its really quite suckish.
If I take so pathetically long to update later, assume Julian has made good on his threat to kill me. Then I won't feel bad. (;
"Hn."
"Don't start. My poltergeist will so write you as a Mexican ballerina."
"Oh, I am so very scared. Shake, shake, quiver."
"So you should be, my cooperatively challenged friend, so you should be."
"Bitch."
"Jerk."