Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 24

Ashtyn stood in the shadows, hidden back by the door, watching.  She didn’t know what to do.  What power did she have to stop Grath?  This wasn’t her world.  She hated to admit it, but she was terrified.

She watched as the tentacle forced it’s way into Bobby’s mouth, as another one started to snake up the leg of his pants.

She needed to do something!

She ran to Juktha’s side.

“You need to do something!”  She grabbed Juktha’s shoulders and shook her.  “You can’t let him do this to them!”

Juktha looked at her.  The deity's eyes were pale, her skin staring to wrinkle.  The life was being sucked out of her.

“You... you... are their last chance.”  Juktha’s voice quivered with age.

“Me?”  Ashtyn couldn’t hide the shock in her voice.

“Your gift.”  Juktha smiled, looking at Ashtyn’s hands.  “Use the gift I gave you.”

Suddenly she remembered what had happened when the spore had touched her in the computer room.  A normal person would have been possessed by Grath, but when it had touched her skin it had vanished.

Ashtyn knew what she needed to do.

She got to her feet, taking a step towards Grath.  For the first time he notcied her.

“Would you like to play, too?”  He laughed.  “There’s enough of me to go around.”

“Bring it on.”  Ashtyn took a deep breath, and rooted her feet to the floor.

A tentacle came soaring at her, and she reached up catching it mid air.  The second her hand wrapped around the slimy, phallic object it burst into a cloud of dust.

Grath howled, every inch of his body going taught.  The tentacles that had been invading Kurt and Bobby suddenly went slack, releasing them.

“What... what are you?”  Grath turned his head towards her, taking a step back.

“I am a disciple of Juktha.”  Ashtyn smiled, her body seeming to be overtaken with a sudden surge of power.

Grath growled, raising his arm, and swinging the blade on his wrist towards Ashtyn’s head.  Before the blade could even make contact with her, it burst into dust, cracking Grath’s arm in half.

Ashtyn, with renewed confidence, took a step towards the weakened god.

“I am her exorcist, her cleric.”  As she spoke, her words no longer sounded like her own.  It was her voice, but the words themselves seemed to be coming from somewhere else completely.  A different time.  “You will release your host, and fade back into the obscurity where you belong.”

“Never.”  Grath held his ground, his body bracing for an attack.  “My followers will give me their strength.  How many does Juktha have?  Three?  Four?  I have dozens, and my disciples are growing in numbers as we speak.  You cannot defeat me.  Not with Juktha so weakened.”

Ashtyn smiled, her confidence coming not from herself, but from the strange power that was growing inside of her body.  Without warning she rushed Grath.  She threw an uppercut, her fist connecting with his jaw.

His head exploded into a cloud of dust on contact.   The rest of him stayed standing, unmoving.  Slowly, starting with his crumbling stump of a neck, he began to break down, turning into nothing more then a pile of dust and sand.

Ashtyn looked up at Megan, and watched as the barbed wire that had snaked around her leg vanished, releasing the young woman.

Within a matter of seconds the room began to change around them.  Everything became bright and new.  No signs of Grath’s decay could be seen anymore.

She had done it.  She had saved the day.

“You are much more advanced then I had expected.”  Juktha’s now youthful voice made Ashtyn turn.  “I have chosen well.”  Juktha smiled, her face restored to its former beauty.

Megan’s mind scape was safe.

Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 23

I couldn’t let him win.  I couldn’t let him destroy Megan’s soul just like he had done to his past hosts.  I had to move.

I took a step forward, but the very act of moving proved difficult.  My limbs felt like lead.  He was not only draining Juktha’s power, he was draining mine.  I took another step forward, and fell, the weakness overtaking me.

“Bobby!”  Kurt tried to run to me, but a loud crack stopped him in his tracks.

A piece of the wall shattered, releasing a writhing strand of barbed wire, which wrapped around Kurt’s wrist, yanking him back.

I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t help him.  I watched in horror as the barbed wire tightened, piercing Kurt’s skin.  The small, sharp barbs cut into him, drawing small streams of blood.

“Grath, stop this.”  Juktha was trying to stay conscious.  “This isn’t our world anymore.  We have no place in it.  We are the forgotten ones.”

“Forgotten?”  He laughed, stepping away from Megan, down the stairs towards us.  “If we were truly forgotten we’d be dead and gone.  Not even dust in the wind.  And yet...”  He spread out his arms, motioning towards the decaying room, “here we are.  Our disciples are out there.” He motioned towards Kurt, Ashtyn and myself.  “You have already found some of yours.  I intend to find mine, and when I do...”  He smiled.  

I looked past Grath, at Megan, who was trying to pull the barbed wire from her leg, but with every tug the wire just pulled taught, snaking higher and higher up her leg.

“Grath, just let her go.  Let Megan go.  You can have me instead.”  My voice was weak, choked. I slowly got to my feet, not fully trusting my legs.

“Don’t do this.”  Kurt’s voice was shaking, the pain evident in every word.

“Have you?”  Grath was at the bottom of the stairs now.  “Oh, I intend to.”

He arched his back, and the sound of flesh ripping filled the room.  Long, gray tentacles sprouted from the ripped flesh, flailing wildly in the air.

As they slithered towards me I braced myself.  The first tentacle wrapped around throat, lifting me off the ground.  The next two grabbed my wrists, pulling my arms behind my back.  Two more wrapped around my ankles, pulling my legs apart.  With a tug, the tentacles on my wrists pulled my arms down, causing my back to arch.  They tightened, and I gritted my teeth, trying not to cry out in pain.

I could feel tentacle around my neck tighten, extend.  It was heading towards my mouth.

“Let him go, you son of a bitch!”  Kurt was pulling at the barbed wire around his arm.

“So this is your one and only?”  Grath turned his head towards the sound of Kurt’s voice.  “No reason I can’t get a taste too, right?”

A tentacle snaked across the floor, moving quickly towards Kurt’s leg.  I watched on in horror as it wrapped around Kurt’s ankle, lifting him off the ground upside down.  Another tentacle wrapped around his chest, and started snaking it’s way towards his neck.

We were trapped.  We had lost.  I had not only failed Juktha, but I had gotten Kurt stuck in this mess as well, and now he was going to pay because I failed.

I closed my eyes, giving up.

Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 22

As we stepped into the house we were swallowed up in darkness.  It wasn’t just dark, it was pitch black.  I couldn’t see my hand when I raised it directly in front of my face.  I stood still, afraid to move.  Who knows what I would run into, or what I could fall off of?  For all I knew, I was standing at the edge of a large cliff, over an endless pit. 

There was a flicker of light in the distance.  Then another, a few feet away from the first.  The light was soft, warm.  It flickered.  I squinted.  It was candlelight.  Another candle lit itself, then another, making its way around a wide, circular path, moving towards us.  Each flame revealed a bit more of the room.  The tattered wall paper, the chipping paint.  The room, at some point, must have been beautiful, but Grath’s influence was already causing a vicious rot to spread.

“Megan?”  I called out.  The only reply I received was my own echo. 

“What is this place?”  Ashtyn was wide eyed, taking her surroundings in.  I had to remind myself that she had never been inside someone’s mind before. 

“This is Megan’s mental landscape." Juktha sounded weakened. She leaned against a large, chipped pillar.  "There is something very wrong going on here.  I... I..."  She looked like she was having trouble breathing.  

"Juktha, what's the matter?"  I rushed to her said, catching her just as her knees buckled.  

"I don't know how," she looked me in the eye, her face pale, "but he's draining my power."  

"You forget that we are connected, my dear, sweet wife."  Grath's voice through the room.  

We all turned, watching as two parallel rows of candles burst into flame, one right after the other, moving up a wide, grande staircase.  Grath stood at the top of the steps.  Megan, her hands held behind her back, was standing next to him.  She too looked weakened.  Her skin was pale and droplets of sweat ran down her face.  

"That bond was broken long ago!"  Juktha tried to stand, but she was too weak, and instead she fell to her knees.  

"Once bound, never undone."  Grath laughed.  "Your power is my power."  He looked down at Megan.  "This one, she's a strong one.  Thanks to you, I know have enough strength to finally possess her."  

Megan screamed as a strand of barbed wire snaked out of the floor, and began to wrap itself around her ankle, and up her leg.  

"What do we do?"   I knelt down next to Juktha, and attempted to get her onto her feet.  I glanced from Kurt to Ashtyn, searching for a solution, an idea.  Nothing.  

"I... I don't know."  Juktha looked at Grath, defeated.  

Had we really just helped him destroy Megan?

Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 21

Elizabeth dragged Ashtyn into the lab, plopping her next to her passed out friends.  As small as the girl was, she was still hard to move.  As she stood up she could feel the muscles in her back tense.  She was going to feel that burn tomorrow.

“You heard his call?”  Steven stepped into the doorway of the lab.

“Yes.”  She kept her distance from him.  Grath had told her what he had done to Nomi, and she wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to do the same to her.  Even though they were on the same side, power had a way of making one want to take out their competition.  “Did you get it?”

Steven nodded, holding up a clear, glass box.  It looked like a smaller version of the cage that had held Grath when he was still inhabiting Andrew’s old body.  Floating inside was a large, yellow spore.

“No others were infected.”  Steven started towards her, holding the box out in front.  “Nomi had cleared out the lab before the... specialists were brought in.”

Elizabeth glanced over at Megan.  She still looked human, except for her eyes.  The rest of her was unchanged.

She shuddered, unable to look away from the smooth skin where Megan’s eyes should have been.  No matter how many times she saw that, it still gave her the creeps.

“So, who do we give the spore to?”  Elizabeth looked back to Steven.  “You or me?”

“Neither.”  He laughed, lowering the glass box.  “We are not worthy.  At least, not yet.  No, if we were to be... joined with Grath now, we would just turn into one of those lumbering beasts. We must find him a worthy host.”

Elizabeth motioned with her head towards Megan.  “What about her?  She seems to be holding out so far.”

Steven shook his head.  “Come.  I unlocked the doors to the lab.”  He turned, not even waiting for her. “We must grow our numbers.  The name of Grath must be heard, and he must be given power.  Only then will his true host come forth.”

Elizabeth followed Steven.  She secretly hoped that she would never end up sounding like that.  Like some brain washed cult member.  She wasn’t in this for the glory of Grath.  She was in this for what he could give her.  At first she had just wanted Nomi’s job, but now... now she had a chance at some real power.

She just hoped she didn’t have to look like one of those things to get it.

Keeping her distance, she followed Steven out of the lab.

“For the glory of Grath.”  He pulled the box close to his chest.

“Sure,” she sighed, “for the glory of Grath.”

They quickly navigated the winding halls of the lab, and then made their way out the front door.  Whatever happened back at Yamada didn't concern them anymore.  They had a new mission, a new leader.

They would spread the name of Grath to all those who would listen, and destroy those who would get in his way.  They were his disciples.

Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 20

When I regained consciousness I was standing in the large, front yard of a grey, rotting mansion.  The design was a mixture of medieval castle and Gothic nightmare.  Obviously it wasn’t the happiest of places.  The only color was the green grass, a sharp contrast to the black of the house, and the gray of the sky.

As expected, Juktha was standing to my right.  She looked just as dazed as I felt.  I don’t think even she could ever imagine that Grath was strong enough to have pulled us into Megan’s mind-scape on his own.

I heard a soft moan to my left.  It was male.

I turned my head, and saw Kurt sitting on the grass, rubbing the side of his head.

“How in the hell...” I couldn’t believe me eyes.

“Why is it that I always get sucked into these creepy, strange worlds on every single one of your adventures.”  Kurt stood up, shaking his head to clear his vision.  “First Sumthak’s layer, and now... What?  Dark Shadows?”

“You were the one who gave Grath the idea.”  I took his hand in mine, giving it a squeeze.  He was really here.

“Don’t remind me.”  Kurt cracked a half smile.  “Try and have a romantic moment, and some forgotten god goes and turns it into a special trip to a netherworld.”

Juktha stepped towards the house, looking it over, taking in the decay, the rot.  “His influence is already taking over.  We are running out of time.”

We all froze at the sound of approaching footsteps.  I turned, ready to fight.
“I’d ask why you were on edge, but I have an idea.”  Ashtyn was walking up the long driveway, brushing leaves and grass from her shoulders.

“The gang is all here.” Juktha was obviously unhappy with that fact.  “He’s trying to take out his biggest threats.”

“Us?”  I glanced at Juktha, then to Kurt and Ashtyn.  “Why them?  They don’t have any powers?  They couldn’t get to him before he involved them in all of... this!”

“That’s not entirely true.”  Ashtyn pulled a dried leaf from her hair.  “There’s been something going on with me.  Something I... I can’t really explain.  I can understand things, ancient languages, that no one else could.  I touched one of those spores, and it just turned to dust.”

“It’s my aura.”  When Juktha spoke we all turned towards her.  “The longer you are around Bobby, the more you have been exposed to my essence.”

“So, it’s rubbing off?”  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  “But Kurt’s around me more than anyone, and he isn’t showing any odd powers.”

“But he is.”  Juktha looked at Kurt.  “He makes you stronger.  That battle with Grath in the lab?  You didn’t survive it because of me.  You survived it because Kurt was in the room.  He protects you, heals you.”

I was about to say something when the sound of the front doors of the house banging open pulled my attention.  We all turned towards the noise.

There, standing in the open doorway, was Megan.  She was in a long, flowing, white dress.  She seemed to stand out against the darkness behind her.  No light seemed to be able to actually penetrate the house.

“Megan!”  I started towards her, but Juktha stopped me.

“Help me.”  Megan’s body tensed as a shadowy hand seemed to break away from the darkness, and move across her stomach, then up towards her breasts.  “Please.”

With a violent tug, Megan was pulled into the void beyond the doorway, and completely vanished from our view.

I took off, the rest of my group following behind me.  Within seconds we had crossed the lawn, and were entering the house.  As expected, once we were inside, the doors slammed shut behind us.

This was it.  Our battle with Grath had begun.

Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 19

I stood there, looking down at Megan.  Her body was convulsing, fighting the change that was threatening to overtake her.  Her mouth opened and closed silently.  She was losing the battle.  I didn’t have any more time.

I felt Kurt’s hand in mine.  His touch seemed to instantly ease the pain in my ribs.  The cuts on my back stopped throbbing.   Even with the battle I knew I had to face lying, literally, right in front of me, I suddenly felt calm.

“It’s not safe.”  His eyes were locked on mine.

“She’s going to lose if I don’t do something.”  I gave his hand a squeeze.  “I love you.”

“Don’t.”  He pulled closer to me, placing his free hand on my cheek.  “Don’t say it like you aren’t coming back.  You are coming back.”

“I can’t promise anything.”  I could feel the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.

“I wish I could come with you.”  He kissed me.  “I wish you didn’t have to do this on your own.”

The sound of low, rumbling laughter drew our attention towards Megan.  She was looking at us, or at least, I think she was.  Her eyes were gone, replaced with smooth skin.  She was smiling.

“How sweet.”  When Megan spoke her voice was a cruel rasp.  “You want to play, too?  I can make that happen.”

Before I could respond I felt a mental tug.  I started to lose focus, the world around me going fuzzy.  The room started to spin.

“Kurt... I...”

For one brief moment my vision became clear, and I could see that Kurt was feeling the mental tug as well.

“The more the merrier.”  Megan started to cackle.

With Kurt’s hand still gripped in mine, I passed out.

***

Ashtyn ran down the hall, Elizabeth trailing behind her.  She didn’t know why, but the closer she got to her destination, the stronger the electric feeling in her body became.

“What the hell is going on with you?”  Elizabeth grabbed Ashtyn’s arm, pulling her to a stop.

“If I told you that some strange voice in my head was telling me to get to the lab, would you believe me?”  Ashtyn whipped around towards Elizabeth, yanking her arm free.  “Now, we have to get...”

“I know what you mean.”  Elizabeth was looking at her, smirking.  “I hear those voices, too.”

“What?  Then why’d you stop me?”  Ashtyn took a step away from Elizabeth.  Something about the look in the other woman’s eyes made her uneasy.

“Ever since we saw the spore, I’ve been hearing him.”  Elizabeth placed her finger on her temple.  “He told me to stop you.”

“He?”  Ashtyn’s stomach dropped.

“He’s very powerful.”  Elizabeth took a step forward.  “He promised me something.  Something I’ve always wanted.  All I had to do was get you to stop.”

“Elizabeth, you can’t listen to him.  He’s desperate.  He’s...” She felt Elizabeth’s finger press against her lips, cutting her off.

“He wanted me to give you a message.”

“We don’t have time for this.”  Ashtyn pulled away, starting back down the hall.

“He said ‘Welcome to the party.’” Elizabeth didn’t move.

Without warning the world seemed to jerk to the side, knocking Ashtyn off her balance.

“What did you do to me?”  Ashtyn tried to use the wall to hold herself up.

“Not me.”  Elizabeth was watching her.  “Him.”

Ashtyn’s knees gave out, and she fell to the floor, the hallway seeming to fade in and out of focus.
“Have fun, Ashtyn.”  Elizabeth stood in front of Ashtyn, looking down at her.  She was smiling, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Fuck you.”

The hallway began to spin, to fade away into a pit of endless nothing.

Elizabeth nudged Ashtyn with her boot.  The girl was still breathing.  She was just out cold.  Just like he had told her.

Now all she needed to do was finish the plan he had given her, and he would give her the reward.

He would give her power beyond her wildest dreams.

Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 18

Ashtyn and Elizabeth both looked up when the red lights started flashing.

“Oh no.” Elizabeth stepped back, away from the computer.  She glanced up, towards the ceiling.

“What?  What ‘oh no’?  You can’t just say ‘oh no’.”  Ashtyn pushed away from the computer desk, and stood up.

Elizabeth was scanning the room.  “We need to close the vents.”

“What the hell is...”

“Don’t ask questions, just do it.  There’s no time.”  Elizabeth was already rushing to the other side of the room.

Ashtyn just followed her lead, looking for any vents that she could see.

“Cover your mouth and nose.  Use your shirt, or something.”  Elizabeth pushed one of the vents closed with one hand, using her free hand to lift the collar of her shirt to cover the lower half of her face.

Ashtyn did as she was told.  She was doing her best not to panic, but the lack of information and the red flashing lights were not helping.

Ashtyn could feel a slight breeze on her ankle.  She knelt down, and saw a vent under the computer terminal.  Quickly she got down on her knees and started to crawl towards the vent.  Just as she reached out a small, yellow spore floated into the room.

Quickly Ashtyn slammed the vent shut, and backed away from the floating orb.

“Elizabeth...”  Ashtyn crab walked backwards quickly.  “What the hell is that thing?”

The spore was moving towards her.  It was focused, determined.  There was no air moving that thing.  It was doing it all on it’s own.

***

Nomi stood behind Steven, watching him work.  His fingers moved nimbly over the keyboard, and his unblinking eyes were locked on the monitor in front of him.  She could see the lean muscles in his shoulders and back through the tight, white fabric of his uniform.

As far as minions went, he wasn’t half bad.

“Now remember, just keep the vents in this lab open.  All vents leading to outside offices and structures should be shut.”  Nomi placed her hand on Steven’s shoulder.

“Of course.”  He smirked.

“We don’t want this to turn into an outbreak.  Just a contained... experiment.”  She gripped his shoulder, feeling his strength in the palm of her hand.

Steven stopped typing.  “But I do.”

“What?”  She pulled her hand away from him.  Something about his tone frightened her.

“Grath will be freed.”  He kept his eyes locked on the monitor.

“What are you talking about?”  Nomi took a step back.

Steven moved so quickly that Nomi didn’t even have time to react.  He was up, on his feet, moving towards her.  He produced a slim, short blade from the waist of his pants.

He didn’t say a word.  He just pushed the blade into Nomi’s gut.

She let out a pained gasp, falling against him as he twisted the blade, ripping her stomach open.

“No one can harness the power of Grath.”  He was whispering in her ear as he dug the blade deeper into her stomach.  “He will be freed.”

Nomi tried to talk, but she couldn’t produce the words.  She just let out a weak cough.  A cough that released a spray of blood.

She was dying.

Steven pulled the blade free, and stepped back, letting Nomi fall to the ground.  She tried to catch herself, but her body was already too weak, and she crumpled into a gasping heap.

She had been so close.  She had seen a god made human, and had had that power in her possession.  Yet, here she was, lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood, unable to do anything.

Steven watched her, wearing his regular smirk.  “He is weak now, but he will grow stronger.  He will find his perfect host.”

Nomi watched in horror as Steven lifted the blade to his lips, and licked the blood from it.

That was the last thing she saw before she slipped into the darkness.

***

Ashtyn watched as the spore touched her hand.  The second it grazed her skin she felt a spark, and then she watched as the spore began to break down.  Soon it wasn’t even dust.

“How did you do that?”  Elizabeth was watching her, her eyes wide.

“I... I don’t know.”  Ashtyn stood up, still half dazed from her last run in.

“Get to the lab.”  The words seemed to drift through the room.

Ashtyn looked around.  There was no one else there, and Elizabeth hadn’t said it.

“Did you hear that?”  Ashtyn feared that the stress was making her lose her mind.

“Hear what?”  Elizabeth was moving slowly towards the door.

Ashtyn shook her head, trying her best to regain her composure.  She was used to weird shit, but usually it was Bobby who was hearing the weird voices.  Not her.

“They need you.”  She heard the voice again.  This time it was a little louder, a little more distinct.

“I need to get out of here.”  Ashtyn was breathing heavy.  Her whole body felt like an electric current was running through it.  “I just... need to...”

Elizabeth grabbed her arm. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Just trust me, okay?  We need to get to the lab."  Ashtyn looked her dead in the eyes.

"If you say so."  Elizabeth released her grip.  "Follow me."

As they left the small computer room, Ashtyn said a silent prayer that she wasn't walking right into a trap.

Accidental Demon Slayers: Experiments in Darkness pt. 17

Grath moved closer to Megan.  He seemed to be studying her, watching her as she began to regain consciousness.  He reached out, the tip of his wrist blade playing with the cloth of her uniform, following the curve of the plunging neckline.

As the blade touched her skin, Megan awoke with a sudden gasp.  She backed herself further into the corner, pulling away from the invasion.

“Megan, stay calm.”  I tried to follow my own advice, and avoided screaming.

Grath just glanced my way, but soon his attention was right back on Megan.

“Please...”  Her voice was shaking.  “Please, just get me out of here. I don’t want to become one of those things.”

Kurt and I took a step towards the glass box.  Sensing us approaching, Grath raised his blade, placing the tip just under Megan’s tip.

“Come any closer, and I separate her pretty little head from her pretty little body.”  Grath’s voice rang through my skull.

I winced, doubling over as the vibrations of his warning rang through my mind.  The pain was sudden and intense, worse than any migraine I had ever experienced.  My stomach turned into an instant knot, and I felt like I might be sick.  Suddenly, my knees buckled.  

Kurt caught me, pulling me close.

“What happened?” His voice was a whisper.

“He spoke to... to me.”  I was gasping, waiting for the pain to fade.  “I didn’t know he could do that.”

Grath smiled, or at least it seemed like he was smiling.  It was hard to tell, honestly.  He lowered his blade, letting it slide down her neck, towards the top button of her uniform.

*POP*

The button went flying, clinking off one of the glass walls, and exposing just a little more skin.

“Don’t you touch me.”  Megan spoke through gritted teeth.

As if to prove that she had no defense against him, Grath popped another button.

*POP*

“Grath!” Juktha’s voice burst out of my mouth.  “You stay the hell away from her!”

Juktha had only done this once before.  She was taking control of my body.  I could still remember the first time, in the coffee shop.  That same warmth was spreading through my limbs, and I could feel my consciousness being pushed back.  I could still see, but I could tell that I was not the only one viewing the world through my eyes.  I could still feel, but I had no control over my limbs.

“Bobby,” Kurt was yelling now.  “Bobby, what the fuck is going on?”

I could feel my head turn towards Kurt.  “I promise to bring him back in one piece.”  It was Juktha’s voice coming out of my mouth. “Go over to that cabinet over there.  The top left compartment.  Grab a face mask.  You don’t want to be infected.  Once your mouth is covered, I’m going to need you to help Megan, okay?”

Kurt just nodded.  He quickly took off, following Juktha’s instructions.

I felt my body launch forward, towards the glass cage.  My mind was racing.  Even with Juktha behind the wheel, my body was still human.  A little stronger, a little more resiliant, but not by much. I hope she knew what she was doing.

Just as the thought passed through my mind, I felt my body spring off the ground, my arms lifted, covering my face, and I dove head first through the side of the glass cage.

As the panel shattered, the rest of the structure became unstable.  Quickly the roof began to bend, then crack, then break, showering large shards of heavy glass onto those of us who had just so happened to find themselves underneath it.

My body quickly covered Megan, shielding her.  I could feel the chunks of reinforced glass smashing into my shoulders, my back.  My body was withstanding the beating, but there was still damage.  I could feel warm blood trickling down my back.  The glass was slicing into my skin.  Juktha was doing her best to dull the pain, but at this rate I couldn't see my body being able to withstand much more.

“Close your eyes and hold your breath.”  Juktha’s voice whispered into Megan’s ear.

Megan nodded and did as she was told.

I turned my head, looking over my shoulder, and watched as the vile creature that had been this glass cage’s prisoner, was cut to shreds.  An arm, a shoulder, a piece of glass split his head in two.  Grath's form was already weak.  Even though he was strong enough to take one of us out, he couldn't withstand the sudden shower of damage that was being brought down on his body.

There was no blood, though.  Only spores.  Green-gray spores that spread out through the air, floating towards me, towards Megan, towards Kurt.  I glanced up, watching as the spores moved towards the vents.

Shit!

They were supposed to close when a contagion was released into the air.  They had in the past, so why not now?  What the hell was keeping those vents open?  If those spores got into other rooms, other sections of the building...

One Grath was bad, but a whole army?

I large piece of glass crashed into my back, pushing me forward, pinning Megan to the ground.  I felt her gasp, as the sudden wait on her body pushed all the air out of her lungs.

Double shit!

The spores quickly dissipated, and I stood up, pushing the glass off of me, and slowly regaining control of my body.  Kurt was rushing over, extra face masks in his hands.  He was running towards Megan, towards me.

I held up my hand, motioning for him to stop.

He glanced at me, then at Megan.

The skin on her face was already starting to cover her eyes.  She had inhaled one of the spores.

“What do we do?”  Kurt’s voice was muffled by his face mask.

“We go in after him.”  Juktha’s voice was back to just being in my head.

I nodded.