[Objective: Clear the Dreamer Onslaught! 17/18]
Making the rounds had been unsurprisingly easy after that, and < Steel Swipe > had made things even easier. In truth — Carter felt a little scared by how easy it had been to turn off the little voice in the back of his head that said "this is wrong" and carry on his bloody song, stabbing head after head without much of a care.
And then he got to her — and dragged the other wooden crate to sit on and stare. The elevator had long since turned on and became functional, but he couldn't quite bring himself to check on it quite yet.
Instead — he sat on the crate, nursed his broken ribs and stared at the grim visage of the little girl Dreamer in the box ahead of him. A collar much like his own constrained her neck, and both of her legs had been blown up by something or someone for long enough for the wounds to have mostly stopped bleeding. One of her arms seemed completely useless, and with the other she aimlessly clawed at the air in his direction as if that would somehow reach him.
Before, she had spoken. Now, she just screeches and groaned and wheezes, eyes ablaze with dim blue light, her little white dress of rags tainted red by her own blood, and Carter felt like dying.
What had been her name, he wondered? Had she been kind? What were her dreams? Did she have any friends? Did she resent the world for the life of slavery it had condemned her to, or was she one of the ones who did her best with the hand life dealt her?
And whatever had turned her into this —
Had it hurt?
But the girl, like life, had no answers for him. All she had to offer were growls; sounds too pitiful to belong on a Human's throat, gestures too wild to belong on a girl he felt sure had looked adorable in life.
This —
"This just isn't right." He muttered, and scowled, and did his best to pretend his eyes didn't sting.
"You're right," said the Captain, standing silently to his side as he overlooked the results of his little rendezvous with the Dreamer horde. "It really isn't."
The man had arrived a few minutes ago, his machine gun held ready. Then he had taken one look at Carter and at the little girl's figure, sighed and stepped back in silence. He didn't offer any condolences, nor did he say anything stupid like "the weak die". Instead — Halt gave him space, and for that he was grateful.
But the man's impatience was somewhat noticeable, and Carter didn't feel like irking the man with the gun.
So he jumped to his feet with a sigh, spinning the dagger on his hand, and noticed with the corners of his eye that the Captain turned to look at him with an odd look of eager expectancy. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't off-putting, but there were more pressing concerns to focus his mind on.
The Girl continued to claw at him, struggling until her fingertips could almost touch the fabric of his shirt —
His hand moved. And hers stopped.
The dagger was sunk into the girl's head. Whatever life had kept her moving left her body with a breathless whimper, and the light that had burned in her eyes faded as had the others'. Her hand fell down, now as immobile as the other.
[Critical Hit!]
[Judith : 0/100]
[Congratulations! You win!]
[Challenge Rating: 2. EXP Awarded: 518.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
… What a worthless achievement.
But he committed her name to heart — "Judith." It tasted bitter on his tongue, and he swore to Death itself that he'd remember it forever.
"Is that her name, boy?" Halt asked, approaching him from behind. Carter froze, eyes widening, and then let his chest deflate slightly.
"Maybe." Because he couldn't be sure, and therefore wasn't lying. It was a dumb attempt, and it fell flat to his own ears — but the Captain didn't push. Instead, he motioned towards the elevator door.
"Maybe, hm? Fair enough. Come on. There are probably some curatives or potions downstairs."
He nodded, and walked inside the spotless metallic elevator without as much of a word. The doors slid shut with a bell-like ring, and faded elevator music began playing softly. It was honestly so awkward it was almost humorous — in fact, had he not felt like absolutely shit, Carter was pretty sure he'd feel it hilarious.
Halt dialed in a few things on his holo-transmitter — Carter wondered if his had broken in the fight — and the elevator began moving. A security measure, he supposed, for the elevator itself had only one button and it was one Carter doubted led to the prison.
"It doesn't." Halt stated.
Carter raised an eyebrow. What …
"You were wondering about the button, right? It doesn't. It doesn't lead anywhere; if you push it, it releases a noxious gas into the elevator and locks the door."
… Huh.
He supposed that was fair — rather, no such thing as being too safe. For a moment, he thought about asking the man of he would have let Carter die, should the Elevator arrive before the thirty minutes were up, but he had the feeling he wouldn't like the answer, and thus remained quiet.
As for Halt — the man had stared at him for a good while. Then he had smiled, a sight that was sure to haunt Carter to the very last of his days, and shaken his head.
This might sound obvious, but there was something very, very wrong with the man called Captain Halt. His mannerisms were too… odd. Sophisticated, he would say, in a way that wasn't quite befitting of a worldly man like a Police Captain. But more than that, there was a knowing gleam to the way he stared, a little sliver of amused knowledge that Carter had the bitter feeling would be familiar, that followed him like a ghost.
A normal Bound would have had no chance against the Dreamers — not even one in hell. Hell — He, as a Level 2, had almost died multiple times. Yet no questions were asked about his strategy or methods.
The man only smiled.
It dawned on Carter then. He turned to the man slowly, eyebrows furrowing as a deep-seated sense of despair seemed to settle in the depths of his stomach.
"You saw."
It wasn't a question — it was an accusation, a statement made by a boy set on edge. As for the Captain — he smiled again.
"Yes." A short answer, but it wasn't clipped. His voice was just as harsh as it had been previously, but spoken in a tone of slight amusement. He even looked a smidge impressed b
"How?" He instantly pushed, a hint of aggression in his voice. It was hard to keep it away, really; it had only been two days and already his secret was apparently out, known to someone who was quite literally told to break him so they might harvest his MP.
And also he had broken bones, a sprained ankle, his lip was burst and he'd just been forced to kill a bunch of things that had been people. So. You know.
As for the Captain, he said nothing for a few moments — merely looked at him, something odd in his eyes. Then, he averted his eyes back to the metal door, a small huff, like a muffled chuckle, indicating some of his apparent amusement.
"You will find," he uttered, "that there is little that happens within my city I am unaware of."
Oh, yes, like that explains anything.
Then — a pause.
"Your city?" He parroted, eyebrows furrowed.
Halt grinned. The elevator stopped moving, and with a 'Ding!' that was way too similar to the one his [System] liked to shake around inside his head, the metal doors slid open and revealed a long, well-lit corridor. The floor, walls and ceiling were built in some sort of white glossy metal-like material, and black highlights had been added in to serve as a path. Throughout the corridor, two rows of white metal doors were easily seen — one above the other.
The corridor led to a small archway that Carter assumed was a bigger room. It was all rather futuristic-looking, honestly, like something straight out of a comic book.
"Come now," Halt said. "If you want to know more, you'll have to impress me first. So let's get you fixed up and back to work."
"Oh, yeah," he muttered softly. "Sounds trustworthy."
"Why wouldn't it?" Questioned Halt as they walked, sparing a glance to some of the odd metal doors in their way. "Your little quest needs you to interrogate me anyway, doesn't it? It's all part of your little scheme."
Carter gaped.
The man, on the other hand, dramatically paused. "Ah!" He said, just before they crossed the archway info the next room. "I know. Is it because I'm supposed to break you?"
Carter gaped more.