Jean Archer #3 - Here There Be Monsters (Preview, part 1!)
Book 3
(Pre-release preview. Suggested 13+. Feel free to repost.)
- Flashback -
- The Death of Innocence -
Kelly flexed his shoulders to dispel the tension that sprouted there as he “unfolded” the shadows around him and stepped into the darkness of Andrews Academy. He found himself backstage, on the assembly platform they used as a performance stage. He sensed the girl nearby, felt her underlying urgency and fear. Moving forward through the shadows and black stage curtains, he spotted that fire-red hair like a beacon in a storm of light.
The DireBlesed soldier moved to a break in the curtains and backdrop so he had a clear view of the stage, then stopped and stared.
Jean Archer stood several feet in front of him, facing off against a massive Octocrawler. The menacing behemoth got its name from the eight massive, armored tentacles, complete with tearing claws on the underside of each. The bulbous body gyrated as it moved along, gouging up the hardened stage surface as it did.
Kelly could sense the dark, tainted energy that coursed through the Void creature. Before he made a move, he heard a deep, raspy chuckle from the girl he hadn’t noticed standing beside Jean. Astonished, he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t noticed her, because when he concentrated, he could see the dark shadowy mass that hovered just above and behind her, attached to her back by a thick, black coil of dark energy.
Looking at Jean, the girl whispered in a raspy, guttural drawl, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.”
Jean was stunned.
“I’m here for you,” the girl continued and reached for Jean.
Jean shoved the girl back and stepped away, just as a thick, slime-covered Octocrawler tentacle slammed to the stage, where she’d just been standing.
Kelly lost track of the strange girl in the darkness, his eyes locked on Jean, as she recovered momentarily, then slipped in the vile mucus and toppled into the shadows.
Glancing from Jean to the Octocrawler, Kelly made his decision, and as a deep growl emitted from the bulbous body and it gyrated its way around to face Jean, Kelly charged forward and slammed into the side of the undulating mass. The impact slid it several feet, to the far side of the stage.
Satisfied for the moment, Kelly reached into his long, black coat and brought out Jean’s sword, which he had surreptitiously retrieved from her bedroom wardrobe. He raised his free hand at Jean, to get her attention, then with a firm shove, slid the weapon over to her. Satisfied she was armed – once she snatched up the sword – he retrieved his side-arm blades from the other side of his coat, with short punch-blades built into the hilts.
Standing, he caught Jean’s gaze and said, “I’ve got this, if you can help get the people out.”
Without waiting, he lunged for the Octocrawler at full speed, much faster than a normal man of his size. Both punch-blades gouged into the monster’s flesh; much tougher than it looked.
Unable to find purchase with the punch-blades, Kelly stayed in close, hacking away at it, with very little effect. It couldn’t reach him easily, due to his proximity, so the beast began to push and shove against him, scooting them away from the wings and into the greater open area.
Concerned that with more space, the Octocrawler would be able to reach around and get hold of him, Kelly thought feverishly for a plan. At that moment, Jean crashed into the side of the ‘Crawler at tremendous velocity, knocking it toward the front of the stage, and the wind out of her.
As it tried to right itself, the Octocrawler toppled off of the stage into the audience area, already enveloped in its own chaos. The flailing of the giant tentacles and smaller, snake-like feelers protruding from between the tentacles just added to the clamor, as chairs and bodies went airborne.
Jean climbed to her feet and bent to recover her sword, when her opponent lunged for her.
Kelly didn’t hesitate and bodily tackled the girl. They rolled and came to a stop with her straddling him. She raked at his face with her nails, but he blocked enough to limit the damage to only his wrists and forearms. The young woman was unexpectedly strong. Kelly managed to get his hands on her waist and shoved her off of him. She rolled twice and came to her feet in a crouch.
She tried to see past Kelly as he rose to a fighting stance, but he blocked her view of the audience area.
“Keep your eyes on me,” Kelly said. “Pay attention to right here.”
“I have no business with you, DireBlessed,” the girl’s raspy voice said, which Kelly understood as coming from the creature possessing her.
“You do, now,” Kelly said, flexing and relaxing his fingers on the hilts of his side-arm blades.
The girl’s vision zeroed in on him, and she said in barely more than a whisper, “So be it.” She launched herself at him, diving forward to grapple with him.
Still struggling with not wanting to hurt her, Kelly dropped to his knees at the last minute, linked his arms through hers and flipped her over him, sending her through the muslin backdrop and into the backstage area. Bounding to his feet, he pursued the girl through the torn backdrop.
Partially enclosed between the back wall and the performance backdrops, a miasmic fog was filling the space. Kelly tried to wave it away from blocking his vision. It made him cough, and his lungs felt like he’d inhaled toxic fumes, but that was the extent of its effect on him.
The girl began to hack and cough violently, staggering past him in the minimal light, back through the torn muslin, and collapsed center-stage.
Kelly followed her and watched impassively as she writhed on the gouged and deeply furrowed stage floor, clawing at her own neck. The muscles strained against her skin and her body heaved with every cough, the last producing blood-saturated phlegm. Two more violent coughs shot blood into the air. The girl’s body finally seemed to calm down and Kelly could see her silently muttering to herself. Then she smiled and went still.
An odd calm fell over the two of them, leaving Kelly wondering what was coming next.
Suddenly, the air pressure around him seemed to increase, then decrease, and his ears popped to adjust. The stage light increased dramatically, then moments later, a woman walked out of the light. Garbed in a combination of leather and gleaming metal armor, Kelly recognized the Guardian right away.
“Valera!” he said.
A second later, the girl screamed so loud and long, it ended with a rasp and blood misting from her distorted mouth. She arched her back so dramatically that Kelly thought it would break.
Surely, a mortal body can’t withstand that kind of force! he thought.
Looking between the girl and Kelly, Valera said, “Go to Jean. I’ll take care of this.”
Without hesitation, Kelly nodded and bolted in the direction he’d sensed Jean had gone.
Valera looked down at what remained of the young woman, each detail easily visible beneath the bright stage lighting.
As if the power were turned off, the girl’s body flattened and blood spurted through her clothes as her torso split open from neck to navel, tearing her clothing and spreading wide as two three-fingered hands began to push their way out of the dead girl.
Even a seasoned Guardian like Valera found the whole sight repugnant as the tear widened and a disfigured, dark gray head bathed in crimson began to emerge.
Gritting her teeth, Valera stepped forward, quick-drew the sword at her hip and with one slash, decapitated the beast, sending the head rolling across the floor. She pivoted the blade and stabbed into the torso, sinking the tip down and through the creature, piercing the stage floor. With a powerful flex of her sword arm, she pivoted the wide blade, shredded the interior into pieces, and watched as it began to melt into a black ichorous sludge. A quick glance to her left and she saw the head melting down, as well.
“Poor lost child,” she said, “you never should have let him in.”
Careful not to breathe in the fumes emitted from the sludge, Valera stepped away from the lifeless corpse. She walked over to the damaged stage backdrop, easily cut a piece of muslin free, and lay it over the girl, completely shrouding her face.
“May you be at peace, wherever you find it.”