"Treat? You literally forced your way into my wallet— I thought you were paying." Jake snapped.
"I think I should head home now. Isn't safe for a lady like me to walk around town late night." Anna said in a dismissive tone, and looked at her watch, like she didn't hear anything from five seconds ago.
After heading out, Jake fetched her a cab while she stubbornly insisted to walk with him to take the subway instead, in which he declined, and after an hour and numerous minute of debate— had her sent home. Jake rode into the city with his iPod on, as a means of blocking everything out.
That's when he felt something was wrong and glanced at a long shadow that fell across the sidewalk, overlapping his own.
"Oh— no, you don't." Jake muttered to himself. "Reading thoughts do come in handy."
He turned the switch on. The torrent of thoughts flooded like a train gone on full-speed without breaks—with practice, he was able to learn how to single out thoughts from one another. Like an array of disk scattered around him. He just needs to pick up the disk, and disregard the others, though this doesn't come without a time limit. He managed to grab into the stranger's thought, before the torrent of words snatched it away from him. To his surprise— he can actually control the thoughts that floated around him. This time it was like a sonar.
"I must be half—dolphin." He chuckled to himself, amused. He glanced at the shadow, and tried to focus on the stranger's thought. There's nothing in it but rage, hatred and— hunger?
He almost tripped on his feet, when he noticed another thought. With this one— the thoughts are strangely directed at the stranger that was following him. He tried to focus on it. But the thoughts went silent—like a TV cut from it's signal. Jake tried to get back at it but all he got is some strange buzzing. It's as if the thought was intentionaly hidden under lock and key.
It was following the stranger?
He quickened his pace and cut over a narrow path— hoping to lose whoever was following. A deserted strip of darkness between the bright lights of where he came from and where he was headed. He was too focused on the other thought, that didn't hear the former coming up behind him until he was nearly on him.
He whirled— And saw a man—Mr. Ferby, behind him, dressed exactly like he wore earlier—gray tuxedo.
He should have ran, but he stood still as Ferby came toward him, saying something in a low, guttural voice, in a language Jake didn't understand.
Ferby reached into his pocket and drawn a gun. There was a click as he pulled the hammer back, the end of the barrel pointed at Jake.
Jake tensed and took a step back. "Look," he said, folding his arms over his chest."If this was about earlier—"
Jake wasn't able to finish as something flew past him from behind and struck Ferby on the chest, knocking him flat on his back with a scream— a thin, high sound.
Jake looked around wildly—surely someone must have heard or noticed the commotion, but no one appeared
Ferby stopped shaking abruptly—and laid there unmoving.
Jake was frozen in place when someone grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and shook him.
"Next time you feel something wrong. You run."
Jake whirled.
The girl stood in front of him, her emerald eyes restless as she gazed upon him. He didn't quite notice before, but she was gorgeous—not quite short, more like average, slim with a long spill of jet-black hair that fell past her waist. Her skin was as unblemished as the surface of a pearl. Her red dress which she wore earlier at Turks, had been replaced by black leather jeans and a tight gray tank top— it was quite tight indeed, emphasizing her humble rack, in which he wished he hadn't noticed, overcoated by a red leather jacket and a silver pendant winked just above her chest.
"Why are you following me, little miss." Jake demanded of her.
"My name is not little miss. It's Rachel— which doesn't have to concern you. Now, run along. I still have something to do." She says in dismissal, and walked past him.
Jake quickly blocked her way. "I usually love it when beautiful woman chase after me, which is most of the time— not including psychopath over there." Jake exclaimed, "Unfortunately, for you my darling, I'm not in the mood. Now, spill."
"Not," the little miss who was named— Rachel choked and made an impatient noise. "I wasn't—" she says in frustration. "I was following —that." she pointed behind him, "It was following you." And pointed directly at him.
"Oh," Jake looked suspicious, "why are you following him,— not it."
Rachel shook her head. "I meant— it." and moved toward him. "Look," she started, "It may look human, sound human, or sometimes act— like one, but it's not— not anymore."
" What are you talking —"
"It's something not of this world." She interrupted, and rolled her eyes at his look of utter incomprehension, and exhaled a sigh. "It's a—" her eyes went wide, "Duck!" she shouted and bolted forward.
Duck?
Jake thought and turned around, just as something seized his ankle and yanked him away from where he stood. A bolt of pain shot up his leg; he glanced down and saw a ropy tentacle wrapped around his boot, dragging him toward it—Mr. Ferby, that now looked like a massive prehistoric parrot with a pair of bat-like wings.
"That," Jake pointed, "definitely isn't a duck." He glanced at Rachel, then back to Ferby. "I thought you said you saw a duck?"
"I wasn't talking about ducks!" snapped Rachel, as she pulled something shiny from behind.
The pressure on his ankle increased. With a grunt Jake tumbled, hitting the ground hard. He gasped and rolled to the side just as something —too fast to be seen, flew past his head, sank deep on Ferby's flesh and blown away a part of it's back into chunks which scattered into the pavement.
Ferby shrieked, and the tentacle loosened it's grip enough for Jake to pull his leg free.
"For the record — that's probably the largest—ugliest duck, I've ever seen." He says, quickly bolted—more like hastily dragged his heels over to where Rachel stood, the gun —still smoking in her grip.
Rachel had to admit. It was hideous. "Don't even start on why its not yellow." she shot him a warning look.
"That," Jake went on, "and the sharp teeth."
"Would you stop being annoying?" said an irritated Rachel, as she emptied the gun— a silver revolver. It's empty shells rolled across the pavement.
"Or maybe, It's a half—duck—half —something else." said Jake, studying her push the gun inside a holster attached to her hip, and plucked the necklace dangling from her neck. She gripped it tight, as if her life depended on it. Like a lifeline.
"There's no such things as half a duck!" Rachel snapped, "and stay back." She spun, there was a flash of light and in her grip —a silver sword. "Where I can see you."
"Jesus, you outta your mind? Get that thing away before you hurt someone." Jake says.
"I meant— stay, right here." She says, as Ferby sprung towards them with mouth wide open, lined with shark-like teeth. "or—not!" She pulled —half-dragged him with her.
"I can't fight that thing in here. It's too narrow a path." said Rachel, as she ran with Jake in tow.
"Why don't you just use the gun, like before." He says, nearly out of breath.
"I'm out— besides, regular bullets would only slow it down, so does holy water— burns it to some degree but not kill it. Only weapons made of metal— silver and the such, but only of the purest quality can do that, and one more other thing—"
"What the hell was that anyway? He wasn't that all feathered up when we met earlier."
Rachel jerked to a stop, and looked at him, like she only just begun to notice that he was there. "Wait— you met earlier?" she looked struck, "Do you really piss off everyone you meet that much?"
"What do you mean everyone?"
"Me for one," Rachel swallowed hard. "and probably all the other people you met after that and so was it. — Very." she said this like she meant it, and continued running.
"I rather think myself as charmly annoying."
"I'm actually beginning to have a vague understanding on why it wants to murder you that much." Rachel rolled her eyes, "And that—was a demon, not— a duck, and was probably human when you met. Corruption may have occured after that, demonic infestation, possession, corruption, metamorphosis— you name it. Call it whatever you like. A demon cannot completely enter our world in it's physical body. So they enter our world in corporeal form— latches itself to a human till it can manifest physical form." Rachel finished as they busted out on the streets. She looked around wildy abruptly— spun on her heels and darted towards the direction of the park.
"Like a cocoon to a butterfly—in Ferby's case—egg into duck?"
"That's a pretty weird analogy, but that is correct." Rachel stopped.
"What's with the sword?" said Jake, as the demon appeared to have caught up to them. It roared, and flapped it's wing violently.
"Only weapons made of blessed metal— silver and the such, but only of the purest quality, and one more other thing, " said Rachel and held the weapon above her. The weapon— the silver sword, blazed in a white hot fire. "Holy swords."
Ferby grounded it's teeth and backed away as if burned by the sight. It roared and lunged— Rachel darted away, but not before her boot slipped which sent her crashing to the ground.
The sword skittered out of her hand, the flame died out like a doused match. Jake who was frozen in place threw himself after it, seized it up, and rolled to the side just as Ferby lunged with its enormous body. It hit the space where he'd just been lying, and hissed.
Jake stopped for a moment, felt shocked on hat he'd just done, when he felt like the sword in his hand was singing. It was more than instinct, there was something familiar in the grip of his hand on the handle, like he held the sword— or something like it from before.
But he never had held one before, or at the least— nothing real, really. A few toy swords in his childhood. And a rubber sword as a part of his costume in sixth-grade school play.
There was a spark—at that instant the sword roared up in blazing glory under Jake's grip. He almost threw it, out of reflex, when he felt it— It wasn't exactly hot, but the opposite. It was cold, and soothing.
He looked wildly between Rachel and Ferby, and he felt something inside him stir. Like something is about to rise to the surface and completely devour him. He shook his head.
He shouted a barrage of insults; mostly about ducks— hoping to drew it's attention away from Rachel, waving the sword— bathed in flames in front of him like an idiot, accomplishing his intention.
Ferby turned at his direction and snarled at him, leaving it's back wide open to Rachel who laid on her elbow on the ground.
Jake glanced at her, and his mouth formed the words. Move
Rachel who was too stunned to move, seemed to have regained her senses, rolled into a crouch— a pair of silver daggers in hand, and leaped forward, stabbing at the demon's back, plunging her dagger into the creature's back then just as quickly catapulted herself away from it, using it's back as a foothold.
Jake let his instinct takeover, and its as if his body and the sword were one. More than just muscle-memory, his body knows what to do, as if fighting these things was something that he already knew but just forgot and was just now beginning to remember— No, it wasn't like that. it was ingrained inside him, like there was someone fueling his actions other than him.
He quickly bolted with a shout, all strength and muscle behind him, rammed the sword into the demon's chest. It gave one last dying shriek— it's reptilian feet gave out as it's eyes rolled behind its head and broke apart like glass that crumbled under him and he found himself kneeling in a pile of dust, the blade dropped from his hand, and reverted back into a red pendant.
Jake took one last look at Rachel before the world spun, and everything went black.