Eye See You: Infection pt. 16

Before her body even hit the floor we were out of the diner and running.  I listened to hear if others were following us, but when I glanced over my shoulder I could see the remaining patrons standing, stock still, their eyes glued to Jimmy’s phone. 

Jimmy was smiling, looking from one person to the next.  “Soon you will all join us.  Soon you will all be part of Virus.” 

The phone began to spark, the white light growing brighter.  I stopped, turning, watching.  I needed to see what was going to happen next.  I could feel my mother tugging at my arm, trying to get me moving again.  Dina was yelling for me to get moving. 

I just watched. 

The light grew brighter, filling the entire diner.  There was a violent burst of energy, the picture windows of the diner blowing out, showering the street with glass.  Then it was over, and the diner appeared empty. 

I started back.  I knew better, I knew what had happened to those people, to Jimmy.  It was the same as had happened to Mr. Putterman and the waitress.  I just needed to see it.  I needed to be sure, though. 

When I was close enough, I peaked through the bent, now empty, window frames. 

Every single patron was lying on the floor, their arms and legs splayed out awkwardly.  No one moved. 

“Are they…” My mother was by my side. 

“Yes.”

Every single person’s face had collapsed inward.   

Rituals pt. 3

The church was wood, so we couldn’t build a fire inside, relying on moonlight and the small kerosene lantern that Alana had packed for light.  We kept the flame low, doing our best not to draw attention to our hiding place. 

We sat huddled between some pushed together pews, creating a small fort in the center of the main sanctuary. 

Doug was the first to fall asleep, leaving Alana and I on watch.

Alana passed me an apple.  She was smiling, and the flicker of the lantern caught her eye in a way that made my heart flutter.

Even after a full day of trekking through a barren wasteland couldn’t diminish her beauty. 

“You holding up okay?” She squeezed my shoulder.

I nodded. 

“You should get some rest.  We have a long day tomorrow.” 

As much as I wanted to argue with her, to stay up and talk with her, to learn more about her, I knew she was right. 

I was exhausted. 

Within minutes after lying down, I was asleep.

Eye See You: Infection pt. 15

The man, was tall, young, with shaggy brown hair and bloodshot eyes hidden behind scratched glasses.  He was smiling so big that the corners of his mouth looked like they were about to touch his ears. 

“Jimmy, you okay?” The lone waitress in the diner started towards him, her pink uniform rustling, and her white sneakers squeaking on the floor as she rushed towards him.  “You don’t look so good.” 

Protectively, I moved towards my mother, shielding her from the guy named Jimmy. 

The waitress was about three feet from Jimmy, when the young man’s hand shot up.  It was the one holding his phone, and the screen was burning white hot bright.  The waitress froze, a gasp coming from her mouth. 

Jimmy was looking directly at our table now. 

“This…” he said, “is not biblical.  This, all this, is a technological revolution.  The data becoming flesh.”  As he spoke his voice seemed to separate, becoming the voice of many speaking at once. “This is the Void becoming one with the world.”

The other diners leapt up, doing their best to pull the waitress away, but the second their eyes met the bright light of that cellphone screen, they froze on place.  One man came up behind Jimmy, hands raised and ready to strike.  With his free hand, Jimmy batted him away, knocking him over a table and onto the cold, hard floor. 

I could feel my mom’s hand clutching mine.  We needed to get out of there.  Dina got up first, and I followed her lead.  We moved slowly, carefully, making sure that Jimmy wasn’t following us. 

“Yes, we are Legion.” Jimmy was laughing now.  “We are many, but we are one.”

I could hear other voices now, voices that I recognized. 

Randy…

Luke…

Bella…

They were in there.  They were a part of that… thing, that was now using Jimmy. 

Without warning, the waitress spun around, her eyes glazed over a milky white.  She began to scream.  Then, with a sudden, sickening crackling of bone, her face collapsed in on itself.

Tentacle University pt. 23

Harper was moving quickly through the dark streets.  She had put on a sweater, a pair of tights and ballet flats, all in black.  She hadn’t been on the hunt in a couple years, and had realized much too late that she was lacking the proper gear.  She had her weapons, sure, but the special armor, the outfit, had all been left at home. 

She had thought of calling Whitley, to see if he had any extra gear, but he hadn’t picked up.  Probably out could from the pain meds.  She hadn’t been able to reach Charlotte either.  That worried her.  Charlotte was supposed to be her point person tonight, and she was suddenly MIA. 

It wasn’t like her. 

Cherry moved carefully through the main campus, towards the arts buildings.  Her senses weren’t as great as they use to be, but she could already feel the energy of the Mythos coming from that area.  It was strong, too.  It was strong enough to make her stomach knot up. 

She wasn’t ready for this.  She was out of practice, out of shape, and scared out of her goddamn mind. 

“Where you going?”

Cherry froze.  The voice came from behind her.  It was male, young, and oddly familiar.  She turned, double checking to make sure that her blades were hidden under her bulky sweater. 

The guy stood on the sidewalk behind her.  His clothes were tattered, and blood speckled his arms and face.  His face was a blank, no emotion. 

“I’m… meeting some friends.” Cherry kept her voice as calm as possible. 

“It isn’t safe out here.” He took a step towards her. “There’s a killer on the loose, don’t you know?”

“Yeah… that’s why I’m meeting up with friends.” Cherry took a step back.  “Safety in numbers, right?”

“Other people like you?” Another step forward.

Great.  She had run into a psycho racist.  Just what she needed.  She felt her muscles relax a bit. 

“Like me?” She held her ground. 

“Yep.” His hand snaked behind his back.  “People like you.”

“And what is that exactly?” She readied herself for a barrage of racist bullshit. 

“Hen warriors.” He spit the words out, as if their very presence in his mouth would poison him.  “He told me all about your kind.  He told me to take care of you, and I am.  Charlotte was easy.  Lets see you if you’ll be a challenge.”

Cherry’s muscles went taught again, her hands reaching under her sweater and pulling her blades loose. 

He rushed her, a dagger gripped in his right hand. 

Good, she thought to herself, a warm up.

The guy was fast, faster than she had expected.  Cherry dodged and weaved the best she could, but he was keeping her on the defensive.  She couldn’t find an opening to make her move.  Shit.

He had said he had taken down Charlotte.  If he had managed that, even with the element of surprise, then he needed some skills, or at least some supernatural boost to his speed.  She had seen his kind before.  The minions.  Mythos loved collecting minions.  Not only were they a stable, willing food supply, but they were great diversions. 

He swiped at her, his blade just missing her cheek.  His arm was extended, and she had her chance.  Using her right hand she swung the long, curved blade upwards, she caught him in the side, the blade sliding between two ribs.  She dug it deep, and then pulled her hand back, slicing his torso wide open. 

He didn’t react.  No screams, no howls, no nothing.  He just kept on coming, although the strained sound of his breathing clued her into the fact that she had managed to knick one of his lungs. 

Good.  Supernatural speed, or not, it was very hard to fight with a collapsed lung. 

He was faltering, his body growing weaker from the blood loss.  He was swiping at her, his movements wild and unfocused.  She had this. 

Using the glittering, straight edged blade she carried in her left hand she lunged.  The blade pierced his throat, and slid through his flesh as if it were butter. When she felt the blade push through the back of his neck, she gave the hilt a hard twist, and blood spluttered out of his mouth. 

With a hard kick to the chest she pulled him from her blade, and he stumbled back.  His hands grasped at his shredded neck, his eyes wide in surprise.  Then he went rigid, and his body hit the ground with a sick, sloppy thud. 

He had done his job.  He had kept her distracted, and now, gathering her wits about her, she mentally scanned the area for the Mythos’s energy. 

It was stronger now, so much stronger. 

Shit, she thought to herself, if she didn’t get to that thing soon it was going  to be too strong. 

Slipping the blades back under her sweater, she took off again, her path at least clearer.  She needed to get to the dance building.

Eye See You: Infection pt. 14

“What the hell is Virus?” I look at Dina.

“She won’t, or she can’t, tell me. Not in any clear way at least.” She takes her now unresponsive phone back.  “She has called it something else, though. She’s called it ‘Legion’.”

“Like in the Bible?” My mother leans forward, and continues.  “I don’t really remember the story perfectly, but I believe it was when Jesus was casting the demons out of a man, and into a bunch of pigs.”  She clears her throat.  “Before Jesus casts the demons out, he asks their name, and he responds…”

“I am Legion.” The voice came from the other end of the diner. 

The three of us turned to see a young man watching us, his face beat red, his hand clutching his phone so tight that his knuckles were white. He smiled at us, and spoke again.  “I am Legion.”

Then he started to laugh.