Welcome to The Trench! I see we have a few regular visitors, so I feel like I need get back on the writing bandwagon. If for nothing else, I hate cliffhangers, too. This is the story that most of my Ranger based stories have been leading to. The Outback Has Eyes isn't related to this the series. I'm not going to give too much away, just let the story tell itself. I only own the OCs and the plot. Please enjoy!
The sound of marching feet down the hallway was the only thing cutting through the air of darkness that surrounded the prisoner. Though young, the air about her seemed older than the centuries. She was dressed all in black, with pale white skin, and smoldering red eyes. She wore a smirk as they sat her down in a chair, clicking handcuffs around her wrists.
"Easy boys. I bruise like a banana." She said with a smooth voice that held intentions. The guards ignored her, moving away. A woman with cat like features dressed as a scientist wheeled a futuristic looking gun in front of the girl. She began typing into a tablet.
"Name?" She asked. The girl sighed.
"Cyna Nostradamus. Not spelled the way it sounds. C-Y-N-A." She said. The woman typed into the tablet.
"And you are?" Cyna asked. The woman glared at her.
"It is only fair." She said.
"Dr. Manx." She said. Cyna gestured with a hand.
"A pleasure. Now, may I ask what it is you have in front of me?" Cyna asked. Katherine continued to type.
"It's a special gun that will make sure you don't cause any more trouble. You killed our Alpha team and destroyed half the city. Given your record, I'm not surprised. So, I combined religion with science to create this." She gestured to the gun. Cyna thought about what she had just been told.
"Wait. Are you telling me you made an Exorcism gun?" She asked. Kat nodded. There was a pause, then Cyna burst out laughing, actually rocking a bit in the chair, and stomping her foot. Kat just glared at her, waiting until she stopped, before pressing a button on the gun.
"Lets see you laugh at this." She said. A beam of light shot out of it, hitting Cyna square in the chest. Cyna looked at Kat.
"This is nothing. It actually kind of tickles." She chuckled a bit, but it tapered off with a wince.
"Okay, little bit a twinge." Kat watched as Cyna began to grunt in pain. The grunts turned to moans and screams of pain as the light took over her body. Cyna began to writhe, pulling her binds to their limits as the light intensified; muttering words in Latin and English. There was a brilliant flash as she threw her head back and screamed, the light fading as did the screams. There was an explosion, but no heat or fire, just a loud bang. Kat looked up. The gun was ruined, and Cyna was no longer in her chair, she was now on the right side of the chair, rubbing her head. Kat heard another groan, to the left of the chair, and looked.
There was another person laying there. The face and air was the same, but she was dressed in a white blouse, khaki slacks, and light brown boots. Her hair was the opposites of Cyna's, being light blonde and down in a single plait that went to her waist. Bright blue eyes focused on Cyna with terror as Cyna shook her head with a groan.
"That was different. Feel a few pounds lighter though." She looked at the new girl, confused at first; then the confusion slowly faded to be replaced by a very malicious grin. Red eyes that once held hidden intentions were now open and full of promise to follow through with whatever ideas came to her mind. A low chuckle sounded from her throat as she slowly walked forward. The girl in white frantically crawled backwards, whimpering in fear as Cyna leaned towards her, smile feral.
"Nice seeing you again." Then the screaming began.
Cynthia woke with a start, shooting up in bed. It took her a minute to relax again, looking around her room to help ground herself. There wasn't much, being an Angel meant she had very little in personal affects and items, but that is how she preferred things. Collecting items was more of a Her thing.
There was only a bed in the corner under her window, a desk opposite, and a bookshelf with a smattering of books. A cross and altar was next to her door, holding a bottle of Holy Water, a candle, and a statue of The Virgin Mary under the Crucifix.
Cynthia drew a breath and swung her legs out of bed, deciding she wasn't getting any more sleep, typical after she had that particular dream. She got dressed in modest white clothing, kneeled in front of her altar, mouthing a quick prayer for the day. No matter how bad the nightmares got, even with cracked halo and no wings, the Angel held firm in her Faith. It was all she had left at this point.
Making her way to the first floor, she passed the basement door on her way to the kitchen.
"Kat, time for breakfast." Cynthia said, rapping on the door. She heard a piece of metal hit the floor and a curse before a voice called up.
"Be there in a minute." Cynthia smiled a little and shook her head as she finished the trip to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Cruger." She said, greeting the being sitting at the island; cup of coffee in one hand, book in another, already dressed in his uniform. He grunted a greeting, eying her to the side.
"That dream again?" He asked. Cynthia sighed as she prepped her tea.
"Yes." She said.
"Does that mean anything?" He asked. Cynthia shrugged tiredly.
"Sometimes. But this one was just a regular bad dream." She said, seeping her tea bag in the cup of hot water as she sat down. Kat came up, dressed in a mechanic's overalls, a smudge of grease across a prominent cheekbone.
"Having fun down there?" Cynthia asked, sipping her tea. Kat sat down with a breath.
"Might have to go out and find some gutted computer parts." She said, sliding a plate with toast on it over to her. Cynthia nodded.
"That dream again?" Kat asked, noticing the dark circles under Cynthia's eyes. The Angel pinched the bridge of her nose. These two always asked the same thing, just for different reasons. Cruger's because he was worried it meant She was preparing an attack. Kat's because she was generally worried about Cynthia's health and well-being.
"Different than before. It stopped before the really nasty stuff." She said.
"Is there any way to stop them or at least take out the sting?" Kat asked. Cynthia shook her head, shrugging one shoulder.
"The barriers hold back so much nasty stuff She sends out, that small stuff like nightmares slip through the cracks. And the only way to stop them all together is to stop Her all together." She said.
"Not for lack of trying." Cruger muttered into his cup. Cynthia looked at him with wise and patient eyes.
"And we will keep trying. Hope is the only thing that can keep us going." She said. Cruger put his cup down harshly on the counter, making the two females jump. He was glaring at Cynthia, lip curling into a snarl.
"It is not enough! We are just hiding, waiting for Her to come to us. And when we try to go to Her, we can't get close enough before we are running back here, tail between our legs and wounded. Kat almost didn't survive that last raid we tried." He growled. Cynthia ran a hand through her hair, sighing through her nose deeply.
"Doggie, it's just the three of us. What do you expect?" Kat said, placing a hand on his arm. Cruger calmed, but his hackles were still up. Cynthia looked up sharply.
"That's it." She said, getting up, making a bee line for the study. The two Beings followed, wondering what she was getting at.
"What's it?" Kat asked as Cynthia ran a hand over the spines of books both large and small.
"We need more people." She said.
"Where would we find other people. Those that are actually still around are too afraid, too inexperienced, or just plain don't care enough to help." Cruger said. Cynthia had drawn a very large book from the shelf, eagerly flipping through the pages.
"That is why we need people who can fight. Who aren't afraid of death. Who have experienced Her before." She said. Kat looked at the book.
"These are all Rangers." She said.
"You want to bring a bunch of random Rangers to fight Her? Are you going to tell them it is probably going to be a suicide mission?" Cruger asked. The smile fell from Cynthia's face.
"I would have too, I can't lie. But we have to do something." She said. Both Cruger and Kat looked at each other, then at Cynthia.
"What do you need?" Kat asked.