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.