Zaorhsi had ever seen a Residue once before in his life, on a snowy day when the twelve year old was busy collecting leaves for Ellisa.
It's been was too long since she got to go outside. I should find the wildest ones possible for her. He grinned to himself. Ellisa had been hospitalised due to heart issues at a very young age. As a result, she rarely got to play and actually have fun. Recently, the doctors have been saying she kay need a heart transplant in the near future.
Since it was her birthday today, the fifth of December, he decided he could be a little kind today for her sake.
In the distance, an unusually huge pug was sprinting straight at him, it's mouth wide open. Zaroshi was confused ofcourse. He threw a few pebbles at it, which did little damage. As it came nearer, Zaroshi realised that its teeth were unusually sharp and its eyes had this crazy glint about them too.
Zaroshi was about to run for it when the pug jumped at him and bit at his eye. Zaroshi screamed and fell on the snow. He screamed and yelled but no one seemed to be hearing his calls.
The pug was about to eat his right eye too when a spear flew from a distance and landed straight at the pug's temple. It helped and fell back, writhing on the ground. Zaroshi breathed, too much in pain to get back. Beside him, someone, probably the one who threw the spear, fell. It was Ellisa.
His eyes widened. Of all the people in the village, it had to be his sick cousin to come to his defense.
"El? El, please."
She wouldn't answer.
Please tell me she's not dead, just unconscious.
The pug was now stirring back up. Zaroshi groaned, got up and shoved the spear far into the pug' temple, the point peaking out from the back of its head. The pug might just come to come if he lowered his guard. So with what little strength he had in him, he picked up Ellisa and made for the village, running for his life.
When they finally reached the village clinic, Ellisa was taken in intensive care while they patched up Zaroshi's eye hole, where his eye was supposed to be. No one bothered to look deeper into the pug who attacked him, believing it was already dead.
But now, feeling the sinister aura of the Residue in the cabin again, he knows in his heart that the pug back then had been possessed by a Residue too.
He and Alex hide among the cascade of seats and the piles of bodies spread in the cabin. Alex whispers,
"I'm sure there are atleast two Residues on the Cabin right now, one trying to kill everyone and the other making the cabin fly up in the sky. There's no way humans can ever kill Residues but what we can do is kill the humans being possessed by them. We don't need to kill the one possessing the Captain, we just need to get out of this Cabin somehow-"
A body is thrown above them.
"Humans and their dumb strategy making sessions, how mundane. Listen, hand over the kid with that eye and I might let the other one go."
"No way in hell, you little parasite!"
The Residue snarls, "Don't ever call me that! It's only a matter of time till the legend regains their centre and we'll regain our own immortal and ethereal bodies, with all of our abilities intact. You humans don't know what's coming at you!"
Zaroshi whispers to Alex,
"I'll try and find the other possessed body, you distract the Residue possessing the Captain."
He grins, "Got it."
He jumps out of the bodies, avoiding the bundles of nerves pointed at him. He unsheathes his katana and slices of the nerves near the Captain too. The nerves, however, wrap around his katana, preventing motion. Alex grins as he tries to gain back his katana.
Hurry up, Zaroshi.
Meanwhile, Zaroshi is sneakingly checking which body among the piles is still breathing. After a while, he finally finds it.
It's that girl from earlier who had killed everyone before slashing her own wrists. Apparently, she's still alive right now. If he rips out her wounds, she could die this instant and the cabin will fall. They can have a chance at escape then. But for some reason, he can't bring himself to do it. He decides to switch sides with Alex.
He leaps out of the seat and fires a bullet straight at the Captain's temple. The nerves recedes and the Captain falls back.
"Congrats, there's absolutely no chance the captain can come back to life now," Alex says blandly, his chest heaving. "Did you find the body?"
"Yeah, it's the girl who killed everyone earlier."
"Thought so. Why isn't she dead yet?"
Zaroshi looks away, "Can we not?"
"Not what? Look at me, Zaroshi, not what? So you just kill the Captain because the Residue on him wants to kill us but can't kill the girl who's also possessed by an equally dangerous Residue? Grow some balls," he shoves him as he nears the girl he pointed at. He's about to fire the bullet at her temple when she whispers,
"Please... don't... I'm just 16...."
Alex lowers the gun, "Darn it! It had to be a child!", he huffs, "Guess I've got no choice but to attempt that technique, despite sucking at it."
He calms down and hunches his shoulders. On the count of 3, he breathes in.
The cabin falls and all of them knock the roof.