Chapter Twenty-three
Peter
As soon as I know she's safe, I turn to the crowd behind me. "William, you heard it too right."
"As clear as night. The hissing was exactly like they described."
Richard walked forward. "How long till they reach here?"
I press my ears to listen. "Somewhere around five minutes. It's a large building, but they 'slither' around quickly."
He nods. Max speaks up. "We split." He looks at me for confirmation. I nod. He continues. "Richard, William, with me. Harry, Kabir, Arthur, go with Peter."
"Wait." I say. "We need to split in three. Arthur, Harry go together. Kabir and I will go to Andrew and Marge. Check if they're okay. Harry, you and Arthur go to the right, tell everyone to clear out. Max, you guys check the labs- there's a ton of people there. Go!"
I run into the dark corridors, Kabir by my side. His healing powers might help if Andrew and Marge are hurt- we can't risk losing them now. We turn at the next corridor, getting closer to the dining room.
I put my hand out. "Wait, I can hear something. It's close, we need to be ready." I close my eyes. There's something blocking it. I look at Kabir, feeling my eyes turn gold, "I don't know where they are. We need to be ready for anything." He nods.
Before I have any time to reply, something, a person, jumps off from the ceiling in front of us. She has short, blond hair and her eyes slanted inwards. They glowed green in the dark. She was wearing a leather jumpsuit with scales shaded in green and yellow. She looked at us, her facing slant, and hissed. Oh my god.
I put out my hands, throwing fireballs aimlessly at her as she tried leaping forward onto. "Kabir, go! And be careful!"
The burning fire bounces off her suit, not causing enough damage, just pushing her off target and burning through the suit slowly. It doesn't seem to affect her much. I pull out the gun from my pockets with my left hand and aim it at her. Bang. Bang. Bang. I shoot perfectly at her head, my experience coming in handy.
Then, I cut out a piece of fabric from her feet using the daggers we were given and put it quickly into my pocket. I get back up and sprint down the hallways to where I suspect Andrew and Marge would be.
Another Snake-person leaps at me from his position where he was stuck to the wall. How did they do that? He doesn't last for long, the moment he puts out his tongue, the fork at the end spitting, I put two clear bullets through his nose.
The sight of him falling onto the ground, his nose leaking, half off, his pale white skin with shining piercings turning darker due to the dim lights, is enough for me to start gagging. I load my gun quickly and continue down the road. Andrew said they attack in large groups. I just killed two, how many more should be here? Did they know we are here?
"Ghack!" I splutter. Something rubbery and wet curves itself around my neck, tightening it. I can hear the fork end slicking up and down as it went around my throat.
"Argh!" I gasp, my gun slips out of my hands, my hands instinctively coming up to the tongue around my neck. "Ghaaa...!" Think.
I push my head back. You can breath underwater- this is the same thing. I convince my body and I take one long breath.
I reach out for my dagger somewhere on my suit, and stab it randomly into the foot of my attacker. It plunges in easily. With a cry of pain, my attacker unwraps his tongue from my neck and bends over, holding the thigh on which I stabbed him.
It takes him a second to come back. But it takes me one too. He looks up at me, his eyes glowing, mine turning red, shining bright. He hisses at me and puts his arms in front of him on both sides, showing off his long, sharp nails.
I snarl back at him and turn my dagger upside down in my hand, making it easier to plumage into his body, putting my hands ahead of me.
We mirror each other exactly, walking around in a small circle, taking in our opponent. His thigh is hurt, cut deeply. Another cut and it would break right off.
His face shows sheer confidence and I knew he would do his best to deny me a chance to do that. I switch over to his footing. He places his right leg in front of the left slowly, toes first. His right hand is further out than his left. He's a righty. His left side would be easier to hurt.
We walk on. I continue analysing his body fast, gripping his weaknesses, his strengths.
At the end of five slow circles, it is like I have known him for a lifetime. I am ready. Without looking up, I leap forward, just like his ally had done to me not too long back and go straight for his right side.
He may be right handed, but all his muscles are equally strong- and weak. Hitting the right side might help me because his left might not be able to defend it well enough. I grab his left shoulder heavily, leaning on to it, and push him behind. He didn't think I would attack this soon. Good.
I pull my free hand back and I stab the sharp metal into his shoulder, crying out. I remove it and push it back in again, my head moving back and forth. I manage to put in two strokes when he thrusts his nails into my side.
I fall off him in pain, my abdomen bleeding badly. The shield was too thin. He jumps at this opportunity and punches me on my face. I stutter and walk back. Come on. He reaches out to hit me on my jaw, he manages one punch, two punches. Come on! I wake up suddenly and throw my hand onto his face, blocking his vision out for a few moments. I pick up the dagger, which was on the floor beside me, and push it straight into his heart- no regrets. He falls down with one last hiss.
Even with his breathing stopped, his eyes remain open, glaring at me. I wipe my face, at my cheek where he hit me, and put my dagger back in. I turn down the corridor and limp my way through the darkness.
-
Andrew tugs on my safe side, his arm around me, as Marge holds out a gun in front of us. "I think they're all dead now," She says, "But I'd just like to be careful." I don't reply.
"Andrew." I croak. "Kabir, did he come? I told him to go when the first Snake came." Andrew doesn't look at me but says, "Kabir didn't come, Peter." He tries changing the topic. "Snakes- that's what you're calling them now?"
"You didn't see him?"
"No."
"Do you think he's made it out?" But Andrew doesn't get a chance to answer me. Marge stops dead in her tracks in front of us suddenly. "Oh heavens. Oh no, oh no no no no no." She bends down to a body on the floor. "Oh dear god."
I shrug off Andrew's arm and hobble ahead. "Kabir." I whisper.
WARNING!
This next paragraph is a little disgusting- don't read it if you can't stand too much blood!
He lays on the floor, silent. His body is in an odd position, his left and right feet far apart. One hand lays on his chest holding a gun. The other lay on the floor. His foot is cut off and a puddle of blood covers him.
But the blood from the foot isn't the only one making up the puddle. At my feet, two inches away from his chest, lay his head. His eyes are closed, but his expression-painful.
I push his head a little, pressing my hand against his wet, sweaty hair, to connect it to the rest of his body. He is missing one nostril. The sight is too much for me to see.
If you haven't read the above:
Kabir is killed.
Continuing:
I get up and turn around, too fast for my lame foot. "Ow!" I scream, falling onto the wall ahead of me. I bang against the floor hard with my wrist. "God damnit! Why him?" I yell. "Why'd you take him?"
Kabir was one of the best of us- funniest, friendliest, most companionable- but I guess these are not qualities one must possess to survive battle. "Damn it!" I howl into the walls.
And then, slowly, the tears come. I lost one of my men today. My responsibility. I hear Andrew walk towards me, Marge whispering to him. I hear him- and my tears- as he loops his arm around my waist and slowly drags me away. But I feel nothing.
-
"Peter! Is he alright?" She asks. Catherine.
"What does it look like?" He says, vibrations of his body hitting me as he spoke.
"Like he just walked out of a complimentary spa?" She answers. I stay awake for a few more moments, until he takes me till the corner of the room to a bed on the side and leaves me there.
My eyes flicker open wide enough to get a glimpse of her face. Then it's all black again.
-
I wake up slowly, trying to feel all my parts. "Oh, you're awake!" Her voice hits me before I see her. I force open my eyes. "Hey."
"Hi. Are you feeling any better?"
"Ugh." I reply.
"Sorry. I really shouldn't push you too much right now- not until you get better." She says, looming over me.
I chuckle. "You sound concerned."
"Yeah? Cause maybe I am." She counters. I smile and float back into the darkness.
She is safe. Her face flushed and a small cut on her right temple, but she is safe. I owe Lucas more than I can ever imagine. And Oliver too.