Bela took a breath as she rested the back of her cloaked head against the brick wall of the abandoned tobacco store. After another hour of walking, the two decided to take a well-deserved break. Ethan used his journal to construct a map of the areas they had traveled so far. With so much to see and remember, he did not want to leave their journey up to chance.
Sitting on a crate, the blonde watched the man go to work. His hands tirelessly scribbled down drawings and notes as if he only had a couple of minutes left before darkness fell. It was a habit born out of the repeated frantic pace with which he had to utilize back in their world to keep going. With hordes of hungry Lycans at his back, Ethan did not have the luxury of taking his time.
Jot the important information down and run, he believed.
Bela's gun sat against the crate to her right. The pouches of ammunition were still strung along her body. She would not remove them, but the belt of bullets along her body reminded her of how much had changed since she arrived here. She felt like she was just like Ethan; clinging to whatever resources she needed to survive – which was true.
She missed the safety of her castle and the security that her powers bestowed upon her. Her place in Serpenmoor had to have been some sort of divine punishment. Maybe she didn't just get taken away in a wall of light, she considered. Maybe Ethan had killed her.
Maybe it was the cold. She didn't care what the cause was. This had to be penance for all her transgressions.
It was only fitting that she would be forced to endure it with the man who helped spell her undoing.
She twiddled her thumbs on her lap, closing her eyes to fight off the encroaching hunger that bloomed inside her stomach. A subtle growl from inside made ignoring such needs impossible.
I should have eaten something back there. Ugh. What were you expecting? That they were going to make you something better because you complained?
Bela leaned forward to pinch off the cravings, but all she could think about was the food that Kyia had available for them. She knew she would look like a fool if she opened another can up when they came back. The brunette would likely protest, but she didn't care.
Any slight on her part was close to resulting in a punch to the face.
My feet are killing me. How does he walk in those shoes all day?
Ethan paused his drawing as he looked up at the buildings around them. He turned his stare toward her. "Hey, that intersection back there: did it have a flower store on the right?"
"What?" She shrugged her shoulders high. "I don't know. Do you think I was paying attention to that?"
"Thanks for the help…"
"You know what…" She was about to stand up when her stomach took priority. Bela returned to laying against the wall, fighting the urge to moan from the discomfort. "Nevermind. I don't care."
Ethan glanced at her one more time before he went back to his drawing. "Yeah, whatever you say…"
Shut up already.
A few minutes passed and Ethan was just about done with the makeshift map that he had been working on. Bela had progressed to rubbing her stomach, but it still would not help at all. It was nothing like the way her hunger would get on certain days back at home. Whenever the daughters did not get to eat, they could feel the need for blood and flesh clawing at their souls. It was almost painful.
Cassandra was the one who felt it the worst. The woman was a big eater, and her frequent visits to the kitchen were perfect evidence of that. If there was no desirable food in arms reach, she'd go for the wine. Anything to fill her belly.
A nice bottle of wine would at least help. I'm so thirsty. Argh! Why did he have to come into the castle when he did? Breakfast had already been made after the maids were killed. We were all about to go eat and then he snaked his way out of mother's room. I should have taken the time to eat something, but…mother wouldn't have been happy.
"Is that map done, man-thing? I'm getting tired of waiting around here."
With a soft groan, Ethan closed his journal with a swift clap and set his eyes back on her. "Yeah, let's go."
Bela hopped off the crate and snatched her gun up. "Those skies look the same. Are we going to keep moving ahead?"
Ethan stood up and walked over toward where the road continued. The clock tower was still so far away, and the nearby parts of the city were just more of the same kind of buildings that they had been navigating since they arrived here. It wasn't until the clock tower got closer that the surrounding structures grew larger in height. He shuddered to think about just how many infected that area could hold.
If this part of the city was bad enough – that section had to be the epicenter of it all.
His hope for their survival was starting to fade as he thought about it some more. This wasn't some wide-open region with colonies of wolfmen. This was a dense environment packed with all sorts of creatures that could hide virtually anywhere. It wasn't a village of dozens or a hundred or two inhabitants. There had to be thousands – if not millions of people who Vikcia could have infected with her dust.
The thought of even trying to fight off a fraction of that was overwhelming. The Baker house may have seemed impossible at the time, but besides Jack, the threats inside dwindled with each family member or molded Ethan managed to kill. There was a small, finite number that he could reach for.
In this place, every building was its own Baker house and when night came – an army of Jack bakers was ready to engulf him.
It was all too much, but with Rose's fate still hanging in the balance outside this world, he was willing to kill them all if it meant he could get back to her. Bela was his closest ally in this situation, but despite all his attempts to work together, he still could not shake the mistrust that made the foundation of their relationship.
She was not shy about verbalizing her feelings toward him. He was a fool to think she wouldn't try to kill him the moment they returned. There had to be some humanity buried deep inside that blonde head of hers, he thought. If so, then maybe she could come around.
He would kill her if she stood in his way, but if there was a chance to not spill blood, he would take it. No matter what he had gone through, Ethan had not lost a shred of his drive to seek good. He was still willing to find a chance to avoid brutality. It sounded crazy, but if could retain his own humanity, then maybe she could find hers.
"I guess we can start turning back," he said. "I'm not going to risk moving any further. Those buildings only get more cluttered as they go on. The debris in the streets is everywhere. I feel like I have this space mapped out pretty well. I'll double-check it on the way back. When daylight comes out again, we can scout around the other side. Maybe there is something we could use there."
Bela gave a hesitant nod. Not because she was unhappy with his plan, but because she had not found any source of food on the way here. She hoped that they would have come across at least something, but fate seemed to have other plans. "Alright, let's go."
He pocketed his journal and pen and brought his shotgun back up into his shoulder. As Bela slowly approached him, he couldn't help but notice the slight bit of misery in her walk as she trotted over. Before he could even ask, he heard the growling of her stomach and watched as her left hand moved to massage it. "Wait," he said.
"Why?" Her eyes moved to the road that she had just walked, fearing that something may have been following them. They would only widen once she turned her gaze back to him when he didn't answer, finding a small can in his possession. "What is that?"
"Look, I know that it's nothing, but…I took this from one of the houses in the village right before I entered the castle. I was always taught to salvage whatever food you can in the field, especially if you're expecting to be there for an indefinite amount of – look, forget that; you need this more than I do."
Why is he giving that to me?
"I'm not hungry," Bela told him, though her eyes would not go elsewhere.
"I can hear your stomach from over here," Ethan reminded her. "Plus, you didn't eat anything since we got here…as far as I know. I'll ask Kyia for some food next time, but for now, take this."
He doesn't have to do this. Why?
Bela's eyebrows lowered, only to loosen as her lips parted and her eyes closed. She breathed a slow draw and exhaled her pride. Her stomach growled again at that moment, and she knew there was no use in lying to the man. "Fine."
She walked over to him and accepted the can of food. The first thing her eyes noticed was the lack of anything she could grab to open it. The blonde rotated the tin around in all directions, searching for something that she could tug on. Nothing. Her expression of discontent was already beginning to form, but Ethan withdrew his knife and used the blade to jab a hole in the top.
He cut a rim halfway around it, before using the side of the tool to pry the face upward and peel it back. The scent of ground beef was the first thing she felt, as the aroma filled her nostrils and invaded her lungs. It wasn't fine dining. Not even close. But, it was better than whatever Kyia had back there, and she would not pass it up.
Ethan wiped the blade with the bottom of his shoe before he sheathed it back inside his jacket. With the can in her hand, Bela stood there, watching him almost shyly as he began to straighten his gear back up. Her lips parted again before she rolled them back in. The woman did not know what to say.
"Uhm…thanks," she spoke quietly before stepping away, only to pause as she looked at her gun. She had to figure out how she was going to balance it in her arms while she ate from the can. The weapon was cumbersome and did not leave much room for anything else.
Thankfully, Ethan was already one step ahead of her. "Give me your gun. It doesn't have a sling. You go eat."
She paused again, surprised by his generosity. With his hand extended out, his fingers curled as he gestured for the weapon. Bela handed the twin-barrel over and watched as he slung his M1897 and took hold of the new firearm. Ethan's eyebrow raised as he inspected the thing, noting how strange it was. He cracked open the action and observed the two different calibers of ammunition seated within their respective chambers.
"Do you want to know a funny story?" He asked.
Against her very nature, Bela shrugged her shoulder. "Sure."
Ethan chuckled as he tilted the gun. "This thing reminds me of something I came across when I went to a local gun shop after I moved. I wanted to shoot clays, and I was told to get a well-made double-barrel shotgun. Well, I go in and asked the clerk about them and he tells me about how complicated the process is. Licensing, examinations, all that. But, he said if I was still interested, I can get an idea of what I'd buy. He shows me some shotguns, and I pointed to this very elegant-looking gun. I'm not a gun guy, but I admire fine craftsmanship. Well, he tells me that is a horrible gun for the sport, and I asked him why. It was the same thing as this: half-shotgun, half-rifle. It even had a third barrel on the side that I did not notice. It was also a very expensive gun, which only the wealthy typically bought. A 'drilling,' I believe he called it."
He laughed again as he closed the action. "Needless to say, I never got into the sport. But, I guess I have an eye for big-game hunting. I just need to be royalty or something. It's just kind of fitting that you found this, given that you live in a castle."
Bela's eyes floated around him as she evaluated his statements, searching for any possible derogatory intentions. Nothing. It sounded like the man was complimenting her.
She flashed a short half-smile and giggled internally. "Fitting it is."
Bela scooped more of the meat from the can with the spoon that Ethan had provided her. The dainty utensil had seen its age, but for all its carrier had been through, the thing appeared remarkably clean. After swallowing some of the bits she had been chewing as they walked back to Kyia's, she spared him a glance.
"What kind of jacket are you wearing?" She asked.
He raised an eyebrow before he peered down at the beige outerwear he sported. "It's just a cotton-lined winter coat. Nothing too extraordinary."
"Hmm…" She stared at the pockets, wondering how he could have fit that can anywhere in them. "I don't suppose you have any bottles of wine from my castle in there, do you?"
"No, sorry. If I knew how much stuff I needed to use, I probably would have brought a briefcase with me," he replied.
"They don't make briefcases that big." Bela scraped the inside of the can with the edge of her spoon, taking another helping of the beef into it as she did so. She brought the food up to her dark lips, opening them as she indulged in another bite. She kept the handle sticking out of her mouth like a metal cigarette as she thought more about why he had offered her food in the first place.
He has to be trying to win my favor in some way. He thinks if he does something nice for me, I'll remember it when we get back to my castle. It doesn't change anything, Ethan. I'm still going to disembowel you the moment we return.
She pulled the now-empty spoon from her mouth and stuck it back inside the can.
It doesn't seem like that moment is anywhere close, however. I guess I'll accept this.
Bela kept quiet for most of the walk. The can of food was hardly sizeable, and while she enjoyed it so much that she was ready to scarf its contents down, she resorted to slowly eating it along the way. It was a medium to avoid conversation. It kept her face occupied, as biting and chewing prevented her mouth from speaking words.
She still did not like Ethan, but this was another example of him helping her. She wondered what it would take to finally drive that man away. It had to be anything regarding his daughter, she figured. He could be nice, but when it came to Rose, he was ready to tear someone's head off. It did not change the fact that he was trying to kill her during their fight. She was smart enough to know he would resort to it if needed.
As would she – and that meant the two were destined to clash yet again.
She never cared for acquaintances. Her only friends were her sisters, and even those friendships had been on rocky terms in the last few days. Cassandra had been going through a lot of stress and the brunette was acting out. There were fights and arguments regarding multiple serious matters.
She recalled how much it affected Daniela – including one incident in particular.
An incident that should never have happened.
Yeah, she thought, even in sisterhood, peace was never certain. What foundation did anyone else have to stand on?
Ethan turned his head as soon as he saw that she was finished. "I guess that's it. Feel better?"
Bela sighed as she shook the utensil around the tin, allowing it to rattle within the empty cylinder. "Yeah, a little. Thanks again."
I already thanked him once. Argh! You're making a fool of yourself, Bela!
"You're welcome." Ethan glanced at the spoon. "Mind if I have that back?"
She didn't reply. The blonde handed him the can, allowing him to pluck the spoon out. He waved it around in the air to dry it out and threw the item back into his pocket. Bela chucked the empty can over her shoulder. The tin rolled along the cobblestone as it trailed behind them. Her belly was satiated, at least for now.
The hunger she felt had not been anywhere near as strong as it was back in her world. She had gone many short times without eating and felt like she was in the throes of death – however dramatic that would have sounded to someone else. It was a peculiar little thing that stayed in her head, fostering larger concerns the more she thought about them.
Why was everything about her body so different here?
"I'll take my gun," she said.
Ethan handed her the firearm, watching as she cradled it in her arms, fighting to find a comfortable way to carry it. In a string of kindness, he unslung his M1897, taking the time to unhook the sling from its swivels. He tossed the leather strap to the blonde, who caught it on top of the twin-barreled weapon. "Here, this should fit on that. I can see the studs right there. You can hook that right in."
What? I know it'll fit…but…
She gave him an expressionless look before she turned the gun over and went to work attaching the sling to its connection points. As soon as it was on, Bela lifted the gun and threw it over her shoulder. The large firearm bounced around her back, and Ethan reached closer to her in response.
Bela backed away, cautious and somewhat irritated. "What do you think you're doing?"
He pulled his hand away. "Sorry. You can adjust the sling with the strap in the middle of it. Just pull it if you need to tighten or loosen it."
"Oh." Her heated glare softened as she did just that. The gun was pulled closer to her shoulder blade, which prevented it from swaying and colliding against her bones. She was about to thank him again, but this time, she managed to stop herself. The blonde continued onward, though her chin dipped down as she picked up the pace just enough to move ahead of him.
With his shotgun in his hands, Ethan shook his head as he watched her go about. He hoped that she would lighten up a bit after everything. Maybe she did, which only mean that she was as cold as the arctic ice and it would take a fire to melt her walls. Like Bela, he did not seek a close friend. He needed an ally. If the two of them continued to fight and butt heads, they would get nowhere.
The removal of Bela's abilities did not eliminate the monster that she had been when they first met. He could still see the gleam of a cold-hearted killer in her eyes when she degraded Kyia and threatened him. It was the same glare she held when she first assaulted him with her sickle and dragged him across the castle to her towering bitch of a mother.
She clearly held herself to such a high standard and looked down on everyone else around her. The only saving grace in the face of everything she seemed to be was that in times of need, she was not too prideful of herself to accept help. If there were any cracks in that glacier of her heart, he'd have to stick to them. He didn't want to fight her again.
In fact, the more time he spent with her, the more he hoped he would never have to kill her.
Their encounters in Castle Dimitrescu were short-lived and filled with violence. He had only known her from the in-formal introduction to her family and that harrowing chase throughout the castle's blood-soaked dungeons. She seemed like a mean-spirited, sinister shell of a woman. It was easy to throw bullets her way.
As he watched her quietly move along these roads with her head still down, he wondered about what he did not know. Perhaps, he thought, the biggest truth she had told him was that he did not know the real her at all.
If fate allowed them to draw breath for the foreseeable future, then hopefully he could learn more. Until then, he would have to remain patient.
Kyia's shelter was less than an hour away. The map that Ethan had constructed proved useful when it came to navigating this city, though some corrections had to be made along the way. It was more difficult to recall the twists and turns needed when they were now heading in the opposite direction as before.
Hand-drawn lines can only carry one's judgment so far.
With her gun out of the way, Bela had taken to carrying her sickle, which had previously been strapped to her acquired ammunition belt. She preferred the weapon in contrast to the firearm, as her familiarity with it was high. While she resembled an individual who was ready to wage a one-person war, she could not shake how inexperienced in combat she truly was.
Her kill count was high, but slashing the throats of helpless maidens did nothing to teach someone 'combat' skills. Even Cassandra, the castle's most bloodthirsty resident who held a serious streak of violence, did not carry any tactics or finesse to her. She loved hunting, but her gifted senses and abilities did the dirty work. Like the rest of her family, the brunette was always the apex in the scenarios she found herself in.
Bela could only wonder what her sister would do if she ever found herself without her powers – especially in such an unfamiliar world. What would happen if she encountered another being with powers of its own? Could she truly survive a ferocious beast without aid from her flies?
If the toughest of the three sisters could not, then what chance did she have?
Bela kept her violent actions narrowed and focused. There was hardly any abrupt killing in her later years. She was methodical and well-planned, while Cassandra and Daniela favored the more immediate approach. The brunette may have kept some of the girls alive for an extended period of time, but that didn't equate to true planning – only circumstance.
The greatest test, Bela figured, were the denizens of this plagued world.
She had made it through various infected and did so in one piece. Hell, even Vikcia did not get to claim her life during their first encounter, though the shadow woman came dangerously close to doing so. Bela recognized that she would not have survived had it not been for those now-deceased survivors, but she had the drive to escape when she could. She would not die frozen in fear, and if Vikcia was going to kill her, the eldest daughter would not go peacefully.
Serpenmoor still had a host of monsters left in its pocket, and she had to take each kill as a sign that she stood a chance of making it back.
As she watched Ethan walk along, she pondered what kind of background the man himself had. He did not seem like the seasoned military type. His skill with firearms was there, but it was not backed by a lifetime of training. Those qualities about him were what drove the blonde crazy.
If he was just such an ordinary guy – how could he have made it so far?
Bela stared down at the glint of light that shined on her sickle's blade from the heavens above. The sky was slowly turning toward a gloomier tone, though it could have been attributed to the influx of clouds that were coming in. The presence of three suns seemed to offer ample daylight, but the distance of each of them served its purpose.
One was clearly very far away, appearing more minuscule than the sun back in her world. The second was way off to the right, bordering the edge of the city almost constantly. The third was the closest in distance, glowing a hot white as its proximity made it five times bigger than the sun she knew. However, something about it was strange in that it didn't disperse much heat.
If anything, it was the one furthest away that kept the planet habitably warm. A strange twist, she thought.
Huh…I've always admired astrology, I suppose. I wonder if Kyia has a book about these stars? It'd be a shame if all that woman cared about were other realities. The people here must have thought she was a crackpot…and for good reason.
Ethan kept his eyes on the map, stopping occasionally to make eye contact with the carnivorous people that stood inside the buildings surrounding them. He found it abnormally creepy how none of them would move much; watching the duo intently instead. Their patience was terrifying. They were just waiting for the moment to strike.
"We're almost back.," he said as he turned back to the map. "We just have to keep going straight, then make…a left over by that floral shop with all the dead plants hanging around."
"Oh yes, the place with the dead things," Bela remarked. "Such an oddity in this city."
A low groan flowed out from his lips as he shook his head. "After the flower place, we keep heading straight then hang a right next to the intersection with the two destroyed carriages in the center. After that, it's a straight shot, mostly."
"What do you plan to do when we return?" Bela asked in a monotone voice. "Socialize with your girlfriend?"
Ethan shut his journal as soon as he heard her speak those words. "You know what? How about you just stop? Trust me: that is not what I want to hear right now."
He wanted to lash out at her for even suggesting that another woman could take Mia's place. The lack of consideration Bela had for others was clear, and as much as he wanted to enlighten her on his recent events, he did not want to give her any more information that she could use against him later. She did not need to know about his deceased wife. The comments about Rose were enough to make him want to slap her. Any insults directed to Mia's memory in combination with that risked pushing him into a rage.
"Whatever she is, man-thing, she hangs around you like a lost dog. I'm not jealous, believe me. I'm hopeful that she will listen to you when you tell her to mind her own issues."
Ethan groaned again as he pressed his hand against the side of his head. He wanted to rip out his hair at this rate. "You need to leave her alone, for one. We're in her home, and all you did was disrespect it at every turn."
Bela turned her head to him and gave him a glance that sought to invoke some deeper thinking. "Did you respect my home when you entered it, hmm? You smashed vases and broke windows." She brought her eyes back forward. "I consider that disrespectful too."
"Are you serious right now?"
The blonde giggled. "Not entirely. None of that has to do with why I don't like her."
"She's the best help we got. We're lucky that she knows so much about these realms. Without her, we wouldn't know where we are at all. We wouldn't have shelter or a place to sleep. Like her or not, Bela, she saved us." Ethan wanted his companion to be rational and use her head. Kyia did not have to go out of her way to do anything for them, but she did. Now, with the way she was following her discovery of their true place of origin, even she seemed to finally have a sense of hope.
If Kyia believed that there was a chance for herself to escape this wretched city, then that made the likelihood that such a feat was possible entirely. It gave the man hope that they were on the right track, but if Bela continued to antagonize her, then he feared what would happen to the stability of their work in the long run.
There was only so much a person could take before they called it quits, and Kyia looked like she had a fragile mindset. She enjoyed Ethan's company – quite a lot, indeed – but she did not care for Bela's. He did not know her past or what she had endured, but the way Kyia retreated when Bela got in her face concerned him. He did not want her to be bullied.
"She needs to stay away from me, that's all. I'm not going to press this matter any further, just leave it be," Bela responded, sounding somewhat annoyed.
Ethan wanted to rip the sling off her gun and make her carry it like he had to carry his. He regretted giving her some food, wondering how she would have spoken if her stomach yearned for sustenance at the same time. This woman was such an ungrateful being in the end, it seemed. No matter what people did for her, she always had to allow her horrible personality to assert dominance.
"Whatever, Bela…"
She turned her head to him again. "What do you want me to say? Do you want us to argue?"
His voice was low, "Of course it would be an argument with you."
Her lip curled up and her teeth flashed. There was a slight expression of disbelief on her face as she watched him carry on after having said that.
I'm not – damn this man! Argh! I'm not trying to have this stupid conversation!
"I know she's not your girlfriend, you stupid little rodent!" Bela huffed a growl as her unoccupied hand clenched into a shaking fist. "Honestly, I pity any woman that has had the misfortune of having had that title.'"
He stopped walking and she quickly caught on. The suddenness of it prompted the blonde to realize that she may have struck a serious nerve within him. She said nothing as she stood there and watched him try to reel all his anger back inside. Her eyes fluttered around as she awaited the curses that he was ready to toss her way. Part of her even prepared for the chance that he would raise his gun at her.
Lose control, Ethan. Go ahead. Give me one good reason to kill you.
Against all temptation, Ethan slowly breathed as he opened his eyes back up and set them upon her with a look of disappointment. His hands loosened around his shotgun, and his finger distanced itself from the trigger. His bullets did not have to be physical. "Those 'scarecrows' in front of your garden? I think anyone of those men would choose that over a lifetime with you. You're honestly the worst kind of woman and it's disgusting. You don't know anything about love."
…
A few seconds of silence passed by as the two of them stood there, staring at one another. Ethan kept his tired and heated glare fixated on the blonde who had initially looked speechless but now adopted a venomous fixation upon the man who had scorned her. He could tell by how much her breathing had picked up that he had struck a nerve.
This fight was completely avoidable, but he wanted her to know how problematic her words were. Despite the small progress that had been made, she needed to feel the weight of her actions. She needed to feel some of his pain.
Bela's voice came out subdued, almost as if she was trying to hold back too. There was a slight hint of sadness in the way she spoke, coupled with the wrinkle that formed between her brows. Besides her face, her entire body remained static, frozen. "I said I'm not going to have this conversation. Our talking is done."
As soon as her lips closed on that final word, she started to walk at a faster pace than before. Ethan did not follow as he juggled his own emotions. The mere recollection of Mia through her remark and the way it spat in the face of everything he did for her made him forget his limitations. He knew that Bela had no idea about her, nor the events of the Baker house. She had just unwittingly pulled the pin off a grenade that she didn't know was live.
Was her comment terrible? Yes. But, she did not have the context to make it personal.
He did not know about her life either, or her in general, but he took the extra time to throw some more poison into what he said. He wanted to dig into her core and pierce it, and it seemed that was what happened. The only problem was that as his composure came back together and he watched her move away, he realized that he had said something completely out of his character.
Something that not only undid the progress he made – but something that would never be forgotten.
"Damn it!" He spit his words out before he returned to the path back to Kyia's. Bela was already well ahead of him. He did not expect her to have made it that far so soon. She had to have been really upset, he thought. "Hey!" Ethan shouted out to her, but she would not answer.
He knew he had made a big mistake in what he had said. It wasn't the first time in his life that he had allowed his anger to manifest itself in such a harsh way. Past arguments with Mia did see a rare moment where he said something personal and hurtful. It was all in the heat of the moment, but it made reconciling all the more difficult. He thought he had moved past such actions, but evidently not.
What complicated the matter further was that at least Mia loved him. They had a relationship. A marriage. Bela was the total opposite. They had started off as bitter enemies, even though there stood the smallest possibility that they could find some kind of stability. All that went into the gutter when he said what he said. If she hated him then, she had to have hated him even more now.
Bela could hear him running up from behind her. Her jaw clenched as she listened to the pattering of his shoes drawing close to her ear. The rage inside of her was festering. She wanted to lash out at him, but she fought to maintain her composure. Having a complete breakdown was not in her nature, nor did the image of the most responsible and balance daughter allow for such a thing.
He does not know what he is talking about. I should kill him right now! How dare he say that to me?! Ugh! I'm the worst kind of woman? I don't know anything about love?! What does that mean? I made some little comment and he says that? I've had it with him. I'm done. If he even so much as speaks to –
"Bela, wait…" Ethan finally caught up with her.
The water that she wanted to drown him in was already at the top. Now that he was back in her face and trying to talk, his weight caused it to spill over. Bela ceased her walking and turned toward him, shoving the man back as hard as she could. "Just shut up! Enough!"
Ethan stumbled back a couple of feet; eyes wide as she stared him down. Bela looked more furious than ever, but after she pushed him away, she did not follow up with anything else. She just stood there, heaving her breaths out like an animal. "Look, about what I said –"
She unslung her weapon. Ethan froze as he found himself tasked with the choice of what to do next. He wanted to talk this out with her. It didn't have to come down to violence. He did not want to shoot her.
With the gun in her hands, Bela glared at him furiously before her flashed teeth disappeared behind her pressed lips. Her face tensed as she turned around and used the butt of the gun to smash open the window of the building that was directly behind her. The glass shattered and peppered the ground as the blonde shouted a loud grunt that filled the entire block.
That was when Ethan realized that it wasn't him that she was going for – it was what was inside the building.
Sure enough, located just a few feet away from the windows were more of the infected people. It had been so easy to forget just how many of them were close by, hiding in the shadows of the dark rooms of the thousands of structures to be found here. The maggot-ridden denizens shuffled around as they watched the barrier between their room and the outside world break. It was only when Bela poked her head inside that instinct took over and they suddenly began to approach her.
Ethan was still frozen in shock as he watched her raise her firearm toward the creatures. A pull of one of the triggers sent a burst of shot out that peppered one of the infected's faces. From his standpoint, he could see an explosion of maggots over Bela's shoulder, before the thud of a body could be heard.
Bela regained her stance following the first shot and re-directed the gun back into the building. Its large sights found themselves centered on the body of another plagued inhabitant that was still inching toward her. She pulled the trigger, sending a large caliber rifle round spiraling through an infested woman's stomach. An explosion of gore erupted from her abdomen as she rotated around and crashed to the floor. The recoil of the blast was too much for the blonde, as the hard-plated stock rocked her shoulder and vibrated her bones. She lurched back, nearly falling after the incredible concussive force of the discharge.
It only made her rage build more.
Damn this gun! I hate it!
She threw the firearm onto the ground and withdrew her sickle. Despite the sight of two infected now lying dead on the ground, the others did not halt their efforts to reach the source of food that clung to the borders of the shattered window. "Come on!" She yelled at them, eyeing the closest one as he shambled onward. "I'm right here!"
"Bela!" Ethan tried to bring her back to her senses. She could hear him in the background. His efforts did not go unheard. However, they only inflamed her wrath.
With maggots spewing from the mouth, an infected man got within a few feet of the window. As he reached his arms out to try and grab her, Bela hooked her sickle directly into his left shoulder and pulled him closer. She grabbed his opposite arm with her free hand and yanked him as hard as she could over the window frame. Shards of glass carved into his body as he dragged him into the outside world. He tried to fight back and claw at her, but the influx of daylight quickly made its presence known.
It burned his skin, searing his nerves with a fiery impulse. The blonde could hardly hold onto him for long as his skin began to smoke. The temperature of his body rose to high levels, just short of him bursting into flames. She let go once enough of him had been brought over to tumble down onto the ground. That was when she stepped away, allowing her shadow to leave him and the daylight to shine.
The creature withered around in agony as the illumination cooked him alive. Maggots poured out from his mouth, only to darken to a deep brown as they became exposed to the Sheer Orbs up above. His pale skin wrinkled and tinted to red and purple, while heaps of smoke billowed from his unoccupied orifices. It was a ghastly sight – one that made Ethan gag as he witnessed it unfold.
Bela – meanwhile – just stood there and watched him suffer without any emotion to be seen.
The infected man kicked around before his movements began to slow down. Before he could die, Bela wrenched the sickle out from his shoulder and went back to the window, looking for more. "Who else?!"
Ethan had enough of what he had seen. He needed to put an end to this madness. "Stop!" He took her by the shoulder, but all she did was scream louder at the creatures inside.
"You want to kill me? I'm right here!"
"Bela! Enough!"
Her eyes turned his way in a swift movement. It was like he had just stumbled into the hornet's nest. "No! Get your hand off me!"
She put up a hell of a fight, but Ethan was able to move her away from the window as more of the plagued people began to draw closer. With enough space to ensure their safety, he focused his attention on desperately trying to snap her out of this fury. "Look, let's just talk."
"I'm done talking to you!" She pushed him away and went for her gun. The action was cracked open as soon as her thumb touched the release lever. Ethan tried to interrupt her again, but without even looking his way, she brought forth a threatening posture. "Get out of my way…"
She threw in some new cartridges and closed the firearm. Ethan called out to her again, "Hey! I fucked up, alright? If you keep shooting, you're going to draw –"
A large black shape suddenly flew out from the window, right past Bela's left side. The force of the creature was enough to knock her off balance, causing the gun to smack into the ground. She landed on her hands and knees, her bitterness increasing until she realized what had just transpired. Through her amber eyes, she could see Ethan pacing around, his face shifting in all directions.
In the sky was a black, winged creature that smoked and shrieked as it flew around wildly. Within seconds, it came crashing back down to the street, flopping around as it withered and died. The hissing that spewed from it sounded like a reptile, but with its feathered body and distinct beak – it was a bird.
Reeling from her resentment, Bela carefully got back up on her feet and retrieved her gun. Ethan approached the downed creature, which had now passed away from exposure to the light. Laying on its back, the animal's wingspan was about three to four feet in diameter. It sported a very short neck, but its large beak made up for it.
The top portion was normal, if not quite long with a sharp downward curve at the top. However, it was the bottom one that truly stood out. Split into two separate parts, like an insect's pinchers, the bird's divided beak curved upward – ready to hook anything in its grasp.
Ethan stared at the eyes, repulsed as he realized how they were the same as that of a fly. Two large domes covered both sides of its head, filled with hundreds of tiny smaller eyes. Its two legs were surrounded with tiny fibers that mimicked the hairs on some insects, while two openings around the back of its head carried small clumps of maggots that had also been burned to death. The creature also sported a long tail that appeared to carry a venomous prong at the very end. It was a grotesque sight to behold. That was when they realized that the extent of this plague went far beyond that of the people who lived here.
Not even the animals were immune.
Before Bela could say anything to Ethan, a large collection of hisses could be heard from inside the building that she had just assaulted. The blonde carefully walked over so that she could get a better view of the inside without having to get too close.
What is that?
Ethan joined her, cautiously eyeing the interior. He already had a terrible feeling about what was going to go down. At this point, he just needed the visual confirmation to validate his growing fears.
As the two stared ahead, the darkness of the inside began to move. Nestled in the background, beyond the few remaining infected people, were clusters of shapes that clung to various areas of the rooms. They were easy to miss early on, as they seamlessly blended in with the darkness. With the added light that had been introduced to the area, it was now a little easier to make out the shapes of what was inside.
Wings flapped as some of the shapes scuttled around. Beaks poked up in the air. Further in the back, two or three of the creatures darted across the room, carrying the sound of ruffled feathers in their wake. Dread filled Bela's body as she realized that she had just invited an entire flock of these things to her location. She knew that they were staring at her, waiting for her to get closer.
The people who had been turned did not seem to cause them any alarm, but the sight of her and Ethan fueled their hunger. These were dangerous animals.
Animals that needed to eat.
Ethan kept his shotgun trained on the window in case another one of the birds was going to try and make an attempt to attack them. He was so fixated on what was in front of the bead of his muzzle that he did not notice the next turn of events that signaled how dire their situation truly was. It was only when Bela's voice spoke to him that he broke from his concentration. She was no longer the hell-hearted woman who was ready to vent her misgivings. No. She sounded as worried as ever.
"Ethan…look at the wall."
His eyes glanced at the bricks which had previously shined in the light. That shine had faded to a dimmer glow, which was only getting dimmer by the second. The two turned their heads back toward the sky, where they were shocked to witness the Sheer Orb on the edge of the city quickly being pulled back down. The sky was beginning to turn orange as its sources of light started to alter.
It was happening.
Ethan turned to the blonde with no time to waste. "Run!"
Without another word, the two of them took off down the road, sprinting as fast as they could, weary that they were still being watched by the vicious creatures that had taken shelter inside the abandoned buildings. Ethan could barely keep his head straight as he searched for the next spot to turn. Bela was not as fast, and the added weight of her gun did nothing to help her.
"Hey!" She called back to him. He fought his instincts for survival, knowing that if he kept going, she would be left to the flock. He stopped where he stood, which allowed her to close the few yards between them. "Where can we go?"
"Fuck! I don't remember!" The argument had cleared his mind of the directions that they needed to take to get back to Kyia's. Taking a wrong turn would be a death sentence if they did not know where it was they were going. As he reached into his coat to retrieve his journal and look at the map, Ethan's eyes went back to the sky, where he saw the next Sheer Orb being yanked down at breakneck speed.
It was the scariest thing he had ever witnessed.
He abandoned his plan as soon as he saw it. "Fuck that! We're not going to make it in time! We need to find somewhere out of view, fast!"
"Okay!" Bela nodded, following him again as he took off down the next alleyway. The creatures had to have been watching them as they ran away. At any moment, as soon as the last star was removed from the sky, darkness would come and a world of horrors would be at their backs. They had to keep running. Any window around them had the potential to house their demise behind the glass and with the approaching darkness, it became even harder to discern if something was behind it out not.
They could not stop and check for safety. They just had to keep moving. As soon as the duo rounded the corner of the wall at the end of the alley, they saw the trail split into a fork. There were no windows to be seen, but the locations were a dead end. If they turned back now, they would be right in the middle of the street. The sky was shifting into a shade of purple, which meant that Vikcia had to have been starting up her work on the final Sheer Orb. Knowing that the monsters were about to converge on their location, Ethan had to come up with another plan.
"They know we're here," he said to Bela as he frantically looked around. There were two buildings at the fork, each with a doorway that led into the interior. If they stayed outside, a ravenous horde of birds was about to peel them apart. A choice had to be made. "I got it! Give me your gun!"
Bela did not say a single word. She handed him the twin-barreled firearm and took possession of his shotgun. Ethan ran ahead toward the other end of the fork, stopping just short of the door. "Stay there!"
Without warning, he fired two increasingly loud blasts into the air near the entrance to the building, causing an uproar from the creatures that were now beginning to flood the streets. The man sprinted as quickly as he could to Bela, tossing her the gun and taking his M1897 back. "Let's hope they don't come to this door…"
He turned the handle, thankful that find that it had not been locked. If it had been, he was ready to send a round of buckshot into the frame, but the risks of such an action would have been significant, assuming it would have even worked at all. With a couple of shells inside his gun ready to go, Ethan pointed his weapon ahead as he made entry into the dark building. He did not want gunfire to have to erupt inside, otherwise, his entire plan would have fallen to pieces then and there.
Bela reloaded her weapon as she followed him inside, shutting the door behind her just as the sounds of the approaching creatures echoed between the buildings. She slung her gun and took out her sickle, tapping him on the shoulder as soon as she did. "Knives, Ethan. Quiet…"
With no sling of his own, Ethan transferred the shotgun to his left hand and took out his knife from his coat. The blade shined as the fading sunlight trickled away from the windows. There were no signs of creatures on the lower level, but he could not be too certain. They would have to clear this entire building as they made their way up the floors. Bela cautiously turned back to lock the door behind her, hoping that it did not make a single sound as she did so. The infected could already be heard as they congregated around the area where he had fired off those shots.
They moaned and shrieked as they clawed at the metal door across the alleyway, fighting to get inside and kill the man and woman who had crossed their paths. The blonde gulped as she moved away from the sealed exit, hoping that they did not turn back to check this building out.
She could see his silhouette as it blended with the shadows inside the room. "I'm right behind you," she whispered.
The room was dark, darker than the ones she and Ethan had been held up in before. By the time they had cleared the entire building, nightfall had settled in. There were no infected on the lower levels of the structure, though they did encounter two deceased maggot-people as they made their way to the room where they were now.
A dead survivor was found not too far away; his body bearing multiple scratches and bite wounds that seemed to have festered as he went without medical attention. His slashed wrists described his cause of death well as he lay against the wall on the other end of the hall. Ethan could barely look at the corpse, while the blonde knew the decay spoke of an end that had come about a week or so prior to their arrival.
Besides the dead, the building seemed clear, and that was all that they could ask for right now.
As she sat on a table near the window, Bela's head hung low as she kept quiet and to herself. They had been inside for only ten minutes, but neither of the two had said a word to the other. The sounds of the creatures could still be heard outside, but it appeared that they were beginning to disperse and search elsewhere for food. It should have been a relieving moment, but she was still as troubled as she was when she got here.
You're an idiot. You're so damn stupid. This is why you can never do anything right.
Ethan sat on the ground as the shadows concealed most of his body. He had not taken his eyes off the woman since they got here. His mistake sat fresh in his mind, coming back up for air once the threat of the horde had subsided. It was back to square one for him and he earned it. As detestable as she could be, the hints of hurt that she displayed during her outburst had not been forgotten.
In a quiet voice, he spoke out to her, "I'm sorry about what I said."
She did not respond, only choosing to lean back as she peered out the window.
Ethan shook his head as he set his shotgun against the wall. He recalled the many fights between him and Mia that had ended in moments like this. Quiet. The two of them on separate sides of the room, wondering when the wounds would heal.
It was ironic that his wife was not the only woman he found himself in these moments with. There was no love between him and Bela, but the regret he felt was comparable to those damaged nights. "I should have just kept my mouth shut."
Bela looked his way for a second before her hooded face tilted down and returned to the outside world. "What did I say?" She said in a somber gloom. "What was it that made you say that?"
Ethan felt like a total idiot when he heard her. "It was what you said about the 'girlfriend' thing. I have…had…a woman I loved. I lost her right before I came to your village. I know you didn't know that but…fuck. It just got too personal for me. I'm sorry."
She breathed a hollow chuckle as she shrugged her shoulder. "Well, I know now." There was no happiness to be found in her voice. It seemed the more she thought about their exchange, the more she sank into the abyss of her own problems. "It was a stupid comment."
"I didn't mean what I said." He wanted to make her feel better, but the effort could only go so far.
"Don't lie to me, Ethan." Bela sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Save me the exhaustion. Don't lie."
"I'm telling you the truth," he said.
She turned her despondent face his way, though he could barely see it. Her bright, pale skin was the only thing that allowed some parts of her to be discerned amongst the infectious darkness. From what he could make out, she looked broken. "You already did."
As he was about to respond, the sound of distant laughter could be heard. They turned their eyes to the window, watching as a serpent-like cloud of darkness broke forth from the clock tower and descended on the city below. Bela hardly reacted to the sight, as she was too upset to even care.
Vikcia could have her meal.
The tunnel of dust crashed onto the street, swirling around as the shadow woman's body formed together. Particles floated around the air, entering buildings in search of any survivors they could infect. Through her piercing white circles, Vikcia scanned the area for any sign of prey to be found. Individuals who were already infected by her debris scoured the area in search of their own food.
Those creations held no interest to her in terms of nourishment. She needed fresh blood to satiate her. There had to be a dead body nearby. Someone had to have perished after the removal of Sheer Orbs.
As the days pressed on, finding food had become more difficult for the woman. The inhabitants had to have known about her tricks. They used to flock outside in great numbers when the light returned. Now, those times seemed to be at an end.
Vikcia dispersed again, barreling down the street when she spotted a corpse that was in the process of being eaten by two of the infected birds. The insect-like fowls scattered upon the sight of her, leaving the demonic lady to enjoy the remains for herself. This would do.
Her sharp, black talons spread as she knelt down to claw the deceased woman's body to shreds. The birds had gone for the arms and the face, ripping them apart as they were the easiest things to bite into. It left only the bone and strings of muscle, while the skull had been hollowed out of the eyes and tongue. She could smell the heaps of blood that had pooled inside the corpse.
The kill was fresh. This victim had to have died moments ago.
Vikcia ravaged the woman's stomach, tearing through it with her nails and feasting upon whatever it was that she could grab. It was not long until she came upon something strange that caused her to stop the mutilation. She leaned in, inhaling the scent through the dissected organs that steamed into the night air. A smile brimmed on her pale, hooded face as she cackled to herself. She tilted her head, opening her jaws while her purple tongue slathered her teeth.
A fetus was pulled from the once-swollen belly of the dead body. Vikcia brought the unborn to her nostrils, inhaling the aroma of the untainted soul. The meat was pure. Undisturbed. She sniffed the oily skin, her nostrils pressed against the neonate's ribcage. Her dark lips spread into another grin as she giggled to herself, dust and maggots dripping from the corners of her mouth.
One of the birds came back for another bite of the body, but a swipe of her hand sent the creature flying back away. She snarled as she watched the animal depart, only to hum a melody of enjoyment as she brought her nose back to the fetus. Vikcia's tongue broke loose, gracing the skin of the lifeless baby. She salivated as the appendage drew back into her mouth, smiling at the dark sky above her.
Another giggle and then the first bite commenced.
NOTES:
Well, another chapter deeper!
A lot of stuff went down in this one. Progress and then regression. It seems Ethan struck an unforeseen nerve with Bela. What is the significance of what he said and how does it relate to her? We'll find out soon enough, don't worry. It seems like he really doesn't know the real Bela at all, yet.
These two have been at each other's throats since this story began, but this will open the ground to have an actual conversation. Hopefully, something good comes out of it.
And speaking of good – or the opposite of it – Vikcia is back on the prowl. I wanted to give her a quick little snippet to show a little bit of how she is when Ethan and Bela aren't around and the truth is…she isn't much different. She is practically an animal. Kinda lovable though, but we all know what hides behind her smile.
Where do we go from here? Expect more Bela/Ethan development, more creatures, more Vikcia, and some more Kyia sooner or later. Also, a lot of you have been wondering just what has been going on in Castle Dimitrescu ever since the eldest daughter and that stupid man-thing suddenly vanished. Well, you're going to find that out too. Actually, expect that to be revealed in the next chapter!
We're ten chapters in and still plenty of more story to go and lots of questions left to be answered. The next installment should be out in two weeks. In the meantime, check out Fragmented Flies if you want some alternate universe/Cassandra adventure. That story is nearing a darker turn as well, and there will be blood.
Follow this story on Archive of Our Own to see the latest artwork of Vikcia that I created for this chapter!
Thanks for all the support! I'm ecstatic to meet more new people who are discovering this story. I'm honestly so happy to see you all here! It's always a pleasure to hear from you and I'm always happy to talk! Wishing you all the best as these days go on and I look forward to the next time we meet! Until then, stay happy and stay safe! 😊