'Get to cover, dammit.'
Violet frowned. 'You're not the boss of me, Jake.'
'And you're not getting rid of me that easily.' It appeared that Asher also had a deathwish.
I shook my head while turning to face Jasper again. 'We can't survive this.'
He glanced back over his shoulder. 'Then leave already!'
Jasper's words rang true, but I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I'd let him go it alone. Plus, I still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he wasn't telling us.
'Well, I'll be.' Asher remarked.
Jasper's mother and father lay face down, having dove straight for the ground when they arrived. His mother stood up first to look closer as the portal began to fluctuate, and the shrinking event horizon was so unstable now that it seemed to expel tiny ripples every few seconds. Even the thick black fog seemed to have reversed course and was flowing steadily back towards its pulsating centre.
Jasper tried to wave his parents over, but they weren't paying attention, nor could they hear him shouting. Then I had to push him out of the way when Nightmouth's swift retreat brought the bulk of the fog towards us. It was trailing so low now that it continued to claw into the pitch's yellowing turf at every chance it could get; it didn't want to leave at all.
Jasper's mother had gotten out the way, but his father was stood in the wrong place as the last traces of Nightmouth shot through the closing portal. And as a final act of spite, it seemed to slap the man's entire body at once, sending him skidding across the ground. It wasn't just him, though. Everywhere I looked, I could see death and destruction. If Nightmouth had been here for even another hour, then half the world could have been snuffed out. We were very, very lucky.
A quick look at the sky still showed the aftereffects, a lasting monument of Nightmouth's attempt to break clear of the upper atmosphere. It'd carved a vast tunnel through the world's fluffy white clouds, a stairway to heaven some might call it, and it was almost beautiful, almost. The entity's efficiency had been terrifying. And what had been designed to be the perfect world engine had instead become a prolific destroyer.
'Do you think it'll attempt to come through the portal again?' I ask Jasper. He didn't answer, though; he was more concerned with checking on his father.
As Jasper flipped him over onto his back, I saw horrific burns where the corrosive fog had lashed out during its departure. The man was unconscious, but it was probably for the best that he wasn't awake for the pain that was still to come.
I did not envy their family; first, Nightmouth destroyed their world, then Jasper's grandmother was killed, and now his father might join her. That's not to mention the guilt he must be feeling over the creation of the thing. I wasn't going to judge Jasper, though; instead, I would do my best to help him.
My sombre gaze turned to the perimeter as I scanned for anyone who could assist us. 'We need medical attention here.'
The referee scowled at me while charging past. 'So does everyone else, buddy!'
'Come on, dammit. Do something!' It seemed I'd overstepped this time, and the referee started blowing on his whistle, exhaling so long that he might as well have been playing a musical instrument.
'Violet, can you-'
She sighed. 'I'll do my best, but these wounds are bad. I can't make any promises.'
Half an hour later, Jasper's father, Frederic, had been healed, yet he remained unresponsive. Even his grandfather was feeling much better, though we'd had to force the older man to sit down as he couldn't stop fretting over the state of his son.
I'd glimpsed the destruction wrought throughout the rest of the stadium, but it wasn't until our drama ceased that I could genuinely witness the tragic aftermath. The entire western side of the structure had been crushed into a flattened carpet of debris, making the identification of bodies somewhat impossible. The damage was much more apparent on the eastern side, though, where thousands of victims were still trapped, calling out for a rescue that might never come.
It took some effort, but I lowered my gaze to focus on the pitch where the distant, blurred figure of a man was approaching us. And marching alongside him were four armed security guards, all humanoid and all moving with unnatural discipline.
I smiled as I recognised who it was. 'Edmond, I'm glad you're here.'
Edmond Strike was over seven feet tall, muscular, and incredibly athletic, with a golden brown lion's mane of a hair cut. As competitive as he was when playing any sport, he was kind and had always stood up against bullies back at school. He was one of the reasons why Feldspar became tolerable for Violet after her potion debacle.
'What just happened?' Edmond demanded, dispensing with all pleasantries.
We all looked to Jasper to provide answers; he was better suited for it anyway, being that Nightmouth was from his world. After filling them in on the details, the man just nodded brusquely, but his guards didn't so much as flinch.
That immobility didn't last, though, and barely a minute later, his security stepped forward, each of them seeming to tilt their necks to the left at the same time. Then I heard a voice booming in their ears; I could barely make out what was being said, but I knew for sure that it was an enchantment of some kind.
'Yes, Sir.' They all murmured, moving to seize Jasper first. They had to drag him up onto his feet as he fought back before frog-marching him towards the nearest exit.
'It's not his fault-' I started to say.
'The leaders of Titan's Reach will need someone to blame for this,' Edmond's reply was mechanical, fateful even, then he stared into my eyes. 'Too many have died.'
'You said "leaders" Edmond, aren't you in charge here?'
'Our respected leaders have brought this world into a new age of prosperity, and we are eternally grateful for all of their many sacrifices,' it was another scripted message, one lacking any emotion. 'In The Reach we trust.'
That was a load of crap, and judging by the way he seemed to spit each word, it was clear that Edmond knew it too. Damn, and here I was fuming about how Brockwing Vale was managing to evolve on its own. At least my people still have free will.
'Edmond, you're better than this!' Violet hadn't yet realised what was going on here, and I couldn't exactly spell it out for her without tipping off the guards.
The man recoiled, firing a warning glance at us all. Then for the briefest of seconds, he gestured to the cameras hovering above with his eyes. Edmond knew the decision to take Jasper in was wrong, but still, it seemed he had to do it. There appeared to be a lot that he was unable to tell us.
Those unrelated to Jasper behaved rationally, understanding that Edmond's ability to speak openly was curtailed by the presence of the recording devices above us. We held our tongues; Jasper's mother and grandfather reacted how you might expect, though, with his mother being the most unruly of the pair.
'Don't you dare take my son!' She ran after one guard and punched them with so much force that their armoured helmet came flying off, tearing out chunks of brittle red hair with it. What was underneath the helmet shook us all to the core. Not Edmond, though. No, he seemed to look sad more than anything.