CHAPTER SEVEN
Host
Later that night…
Coyote only had nightmares every once in a while, and usually it was of something she had seen on TV. Nothing too scary, and she admittedly liked having sappy kinds of dreams, preferably those about Marcus (not like we could expect anything less from her). Never, however, had she ever had what was called a night terror.
For those of you not sure of what that is, I'll explain it, as well as the differences between the two. A nightmare causes all sorts of negative emotions, whether it be anxiety, sadness, or the most common of all being fear. Usually you'll just crack your eyes open once it's over and go back to sleep after you've had a minute to calm yourself down. A night terror on the other hand, also called sleep terror or pavor nocturnus in Latin, is a vision that causes pure dread, and you're very likely to wake up screaming and sweating bullets once it's over, clearly indicating that you've come close to having a panic attack. Night terrors don't tend to happen after the first three to four hours of sleep, but the most notable thing is that you'll usually forget about them once you get up for the day.
But if there's one thing that the people of the Lylat System always remembered, it was Kursed, and she had no intention of letting the terror she spread die down. Coyote had been unfortunate to watch a TV series called Twin Peaks when she was younger. It was a very old show, but a very good one. The downside was that it was probably one of the most graphic and terrifying shows that she had ever seen to this day, and it didn't even need to become a pure gorefest like the shows of Adult Swim.
It seemed Kursed was taking advantage of this as the poor wolf girl slept peacefully now, happy with the day that had come and gone and not even coming close to expecting what was about to happen.
Dreaming…
Coyote was alone at first, walking across a well-lit plain of grass. The sun was shining overhead, the wind was blowing calmly in her fur, and there wasn't any sort of noise to break the peace.
And that was what unnerved her.
As quickly as the sun had risen, it set and cast a dark violet shadow over the plain, and numerous tombstones began slowly rising up out of the grass. The grass itself shrank back into the ground, leaving the entire plain as a now barren wasteland. The wind was gone, and now she could heard loud booming every other second as though she had been sucked into the Slender game.
"In that case, it better be $20 Mode, 'cause I'm sure up for a good laugh."
She continued to walk through the field regardless of the ridiculous changes that had just occurred. She walked alone, not having an idea what was going on, and all the while she felt something wasn't right. Admittedly she was half-hoping to hear "Gimme 20 dollas, no wifin' in the club!" though she knew perfectly well that wasn't going to happen. Nothing, however, could prepare her for what was going to happen. Kursed had found her, and she was going to squeeze every last drop out of the suspense Coyote had built up prior to this meeting.
After what seemed like an hour's worth of just mentally preparing herself for the worst, what Coyote got wasn't laughs but chills when she heard a slithery voice come from nowhere.
"Coyote Lorraine O'Donnell…I'm so happy that I finally get to meet you, dear."
"…it's you."
"Yeah, it's me. Were you expecting your boyfriend?"
"Anyone but you."
"You seem like a strong young girl. Why don't you have a little fun with these little friends of mine? I'd like to see just what you're capable of."
Coyote scowled as numerous shadows crept along the ground, slowly moving towards her until standing up as beings similar to the one that had gotten loose in the Shack.
"Well, on the plus side it's a dream, so I can do whatever the hell I want…and that means…"
She swung her arm, shaping the air around into a blade that she smirked at once she saw how it was designed.
"And this is how you know you're a fan of Zelda: when you have your friend make you a Hookshot and you dream of using the Master Sword."
The first monster to make the stupid mistake of coming closer was the first to be decapitated, followed up by a stab under Coyote's arm to impale another. Letting out a loud and Link-like battle cry, she jumped high in the air and sliced a third in half and used a spin attack to do the same to a fourth and fifth.
Up came a hand from the shadows beneath her feet and off went the hand form its arm as she slashed its wrist. In another brutal act, she threw the sword in front of her to impale another monster before rushing forward, pulling the blade out and slashing behind her to slice the next one in two. A blade sprouted from the wrist of one and Coyote was forced to lock with it and push hard against it to keep from losing her balance. Once she had gained the upper hand, the creature stumbled backwards and she impaled it through the stomach, vaulting over the one rushing up behind her and slashing its head off.
"Hey, freak shows! You're making it less of a nightmare and more of an adrenaline rush…thank God that can count, otherwise I think I would have said 'wet dream' and…that's just no fun for anybody."
No…no, it isn't.
Right as she looked over her shoulder, she saw a group of the creatures gathering around her and looking ready to pounce. She smirked and bent her knees. Right as the creatures came close enough, she let loose with a massive spin attack, zooming all over the plain like a tornado until each and every one of the monsters was dead on the ground…right as she saw more coming towards her.
"You gotta be kidding…"
"Alright, boys. That's enough. It's Mama's turn now."
Just like that, the monsters disappeared. Coyote stood panting for a brief moment before noticing her shadow illuminated by the now exposed moon. It wasn't shaped properly, and she looked on, it slowly began to extend and writhe about until it disappeared altogether.
"You know, Coyote, I heard that you used to look up to me back in the day. I felt pretty good that I was someone's role model."
"That was before I found out that you weren't worth a buck to your name."
"Or is it because you were just sucking up to Marcus?"
"Shut up! What do YOU know?"
"Everything. I see everything. I feel everything."
"You're about to feel my fist right in your face. Get out here and fight!"
"What do you mean? I AM out here."
"What are you talking about?"
Then the voice was right by her ear as she felt the foul breath blow through her fur.
"Behind you."
Coyote yelped and turned around, half-expecting to find either nothing or Kursed pouncing on her, but no. She just stood there leering down at her with that sickening smile still stretched across her face. Coyote had never really been afraid of any living being, but the blood red eyes peering into her own made her feel more frightened than she had ever been in her life.
"You're such a pretty young girl. I can see why Marcus has taken a fancy to you….do I scare you?"
"…yes."
"Not nearly enough as I scare Marcus, I'd say."
Kursed gently stepped forward and draped a hand across Coyote's cheek.
"Mmm…feels good. Let me ask you, Coyote: what frightens you the most?"
"I…I'm not telling you that."
"Oh? Why not? I thought we could be friends."
"With you? Never."
"What's wrong? Have I really done anything that bad by your standards?"
"You skinned somebody alive! Even Leon wouldn't do that!"
"Wouldn't he? You don't know him. When the chips are down, even the most civilized person in the universe is willing to eat somebody to stay alive. Everyone has their repressed feral instincts. It's just a matter of how much they can take before letting them out."
She gently exhaled into Coyote's ear before gently wrapping an arm around her torso. For whatever reason, the young O'Donnell did nothing to break away. She was too frightened that the person she had once idolized was right there and touching her intimately. Upon Kursed touching something that would have been preferred not to have been grazed, Coyote yelped and pushed her away. She simply giggled.
"Aw, what's wrong? Am I invading your personal space?"
"Shut up…just shut up. I'm gonna do something I bet Krystal wished she had done a long time ago."
Coyote readied the blade she held and awaited Kursed's next move. Kursed herself narrowed her eyes and frowned.
"You were better off not mentioning that traitor. Besides, who's to say I can't already see what you're afraid of? And…oh, what's this? You're a fan of Twin Peaks, eh? I enjoy that show myself. I think Killer BOB is quite the charmer."
The smile returned to Kursed's face and she lowered her head, evilly smirking up at Coyote.
"In that case, come, my dear…fire walk with me."
Kursed raised her hand and clenched it, forcing fire out of her palm that landed on the field and formed a large circle around the two of them. Coyote gritted her teeth as the sky went from a lovely moonlit hue to a dark violet colour, and before she could do anything about, the Master Sword was suddenly pulled from her by an invisible force and landed in Kursed's hand. Kursed then smirked at the sword for a brief second before snapping it in half over her knee and then dropping both pieces into her mouth one at a time.
"Tasty. I wonder how tasty you are."
Just as Coyote was about to rush forward with a fist raised, chains fell from Kursed's wrists and they proceeded to wrap themselves around Coyote's body, intent on taking in every bit of her skin as they could. One even reached up towards her neck and gently wrapped itself around it. Coyote rasped for breath, and as she fell to the floor, Kursed giggled and held one of the chains in her hand like a leash.
"Good girl."
"Stop…please…you're cutting off my circulation."
"That's the whole idea, sweetie. I like to see you squirm around like this. It makes me happy...and even a little horny if you don't mind me saying it."
"You sadistic piece of GAH!"
She had no time to finish the sentence before the chains tightened.
"Mmm…your fear smells so wonderful.
She smiled at Coyote once more before whispering out her next line.
"Brush your teeth, Coyote dear. It's time to go to sleep."
At first, Coyote had no idea what happened next. All the light had been sucked away and she was still lying on the floor. The chains appeared to have gone, but that didn't bring her any relief because of what she heard: silence. Dead silence. Even worse was that for some odd reason, she slowly finding it harder and harder to breathe.
And then she moved. Her arm bumped against something wooden, and went she attempted to sit up to rub the bruise, her forehead bumped against another wooden object, as did her knees when she moved them as well. Hoping it wasn't true, she slammed her hands forward. All that happened was she heard a hollow echo as her hands slapped against hard wood.
"No…no no no NO!"
Kursed hadn't been lying. She had known what her fear was. Coyote's one fear was of being buried alive, and here she was, locked in a coffin and thrashing bout to get out. The darkness, the lack of oxygen, the sounds of the echoing wood…it was torture…enough to make her scream.
"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" she cried, tear-stricken.
Right as she cried out, the soulless red eyes shined in front of her. She felt the weight of Kursed's body press down on her, and even worse, she felt none of the leather that Kursed had donned before. There was nothing there, and she felt this as Kursed began to fiddle with Coyote's own clothing.
"What is there to help, dear?" she giggled. "You can't be saved now."
The horrible sensual feeling began between Coyote's legs and worked their way up until she had no choice but to scream for futile mercy yet again.
One horrific night terror later…
The sound of the sliding glass door opening on the first floor caused Marcus' one ear to twitch and thus woke him up. It wasn't like him to suddenly wake up this late at night and he half-expected to turn over and find someone staring at him, but as he listened closer, he could hear the door close again and a few footsteps down below from the kitchen.
"Must be just Dad." he muttered, semi-convincing himself. "Always needs to get up late at night for a quick glass of water…"
Then he thought back at what had happened that day and his eyes snapped open before he furrowed his brow.
"But I'm not taking any chances."
He got up out of the bed, grabbed his staff from under his pillow and wrenched open his dresser drawer to pull out and load up a pistol he kept in his room just in case, as well as putting on a silencer. He tiptoed down the stairs toward the kitchen with the gun in one hand and the staff in the other, making use of any of the stealth skills he had to try and not alert whoever was in the house to his presence. He slowly edged towards the kitchen and pressed himself against the wall before looking inside. He could see a shadow leaning over the sink, and although he couldn't quite make out who it was, he knew that it definitely wasn't Fox or Krystal.
"Ah, thought you could try and sneak up on me in my own home, eh?" he thought sourly.
He looked away for a brief moment before sucking in a breath and vaulting himself into the kitchen with the gun aimed.
"FREEZE, BITCH!"
"DON'T SHOOT, MARK! IT'S ME!"
"What the…Coyote?!"
The young O'Donnell was indeed on the ground and cowering to see that her own boyfriend was pointing a gun at her, and Marcus himself dropped the gun almost instantly.
"What are you doing here? It's one-thirty in the morning! What are you, crazy?"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw that Coyote's clothes were torn and there were nasty bruises all over her body, especially on her neck.
"Oh my God…what happened to you?" Marcus stammered as he knelt down next to her and gently felt at each wound. She didn't wince at his touch (if anything, she was comforted by it), yet she couldn't help but whimper out her response.
"It…it was her…she came for me."
"What?!"
A footstep behind them alerted them almost instantly before they both furrowed their brows and looked back toward the door.
"Scott!"
The younger O'Donnell shrugged.
"Force of habit."
As soon as they had heard Marcus yell, Fox and Krystal had woken up and come downstairs to see what the matter was. As soon as Krystal saw Coyote's bruises, she gently placed one hand on the wolf girl's wrist and another on her head.
"What did she do to you?" Marcus asked.
"It was horrible…she said so many strange things…it made me feel like everything good that happened to me didn't matter anymore…and then she…oh God."
"What?"
"Mark…she…she raped me!"
Everyone was speechless for a brief moment before Scott spoke up.
"What's that?"
"Sport, you don't wanna know. Let's just leave it at that." Fox replied.
Coyote continued to whimper.
"It was horrible…I only felt pleasure for about a nanosecond and then it burned…it burned like my whole body was on fire. It felt like I was going to die right there staring up at her face…"
She burst into sobs again and clung to Marcus. Krystal finished her analysis (or whatever it was she was doing), and the look on her face was not pleasing in the slightest.
"I'm not sure what she's done to you, dear, but one thing is for certain: it's not the same Coyote O'Donnell in there."
"Wha…what does that mean?"
"I wish I knew, but I doubt it's a sexually transmitted disease…well, given how much of a Sodomite she is, I wouldn't be too surprised. Have you been in contact with any foreign fluids?"
"Well…Mark gave me a necklace on our date and I found some blood on it, but I don't know if…"
"That explains it, then. If you touch any part of Kursed, whether it's her blood, her hair, or her body, she can find you."
Marcus grimaced.
"Damn…I knew she got in the Great Fox. This is all my fault. I just wanted to give her a present and I ended up scarring her for life thanks to that no-good-dirty-rotten monster of a surrogate mother."
Scott began tugging at Marcus' tail to get his attention. Upon giving it, Marcus could see that there was a worried look in Scott's eyes.
"Mark, is Coyote gonna be okay?"
That was probably the last thing he had wanted to be asked, because he had no idea what the right answer was. There was sure to be some sort of consequence for Kursed just showing up out of the blue in Coyote's dreams. Firstly, he was guilty that this had happened because of him, and second, he feared what would happen to Coyote if what Krystal had said was true.
Nevertheless, he smiled and got down on one knee to lay a hand on Scott's shoulder.
"She'll be just fine, Scott. I swear on my life that Coyote's gonna get through this."
That was what he said, yet deep in his mind all he could do was think about how much worse this could get. Yet never could he imagine what would be soon to come. As Kursed looked through the window and smiled at the damage she had done, she knew that from then on, this fight was hers.
"Hope you enjoyed the appetizer, Coyote. The main course is still to come."
...well, that ain't good. Especially considering this story's going on hold until I've wrapped up the Darkstalkers story (Please don't pressure to me to start pushing out new chapters for this yet. I'm not abandoning it until it's done, so no worries.)
In case I don't publish anything from here until the end of the month, I'll give my wishes now. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Ramadan, Happy...well, everybody! Happy Holidays, and if "Happy Holidays" is too corporate, then Happy Shut the Fuck Up. (If you get that reference, kudos to you. Here's a hint: He's the angriest gamer you've ever heard.)
SOUNDTRACK SO FAR
Krystal's nightmare- "Parabola" by Mer (Originally by Tool)
Marcus versus Coyote (friendly)- "Name of the Game" by the Crystal Method
F-Zero race- "F-Zero Medley" by Entertainment System
Space pirate attack- Space pirate theme from Metroid Prime
Ridley- Ridley's theme from Metroid: Other M
Falcon takes down Ridley- "The Meaning of truth" by Hiro-X
The date- Ilia's theme from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Coyote versus the shadows- "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson