x
“Swap with me, Animae.”
I looked down at Ignatius then Magpie to see them out cold before looking around to see a Level One slinking towards them. Slamming the blade between it and the pair seemed to deter any feeding attempts before I saw more Umbra creeping in from the dark corners of the hall. Slicing the first Umbra in half to make a point, I gestured to the pair on the floor then towards one of the patient rooms. A few growled something but they understood what I wanted. I then sent the others off to search the rest of the hospital once Magpie and Ignatius had been placed on the bed.
“Swap w—”
“Sh… sh…”
“They said you’re bleeding from the mouth,” Cordis griped as I entered the room next door. “They’re gonna turn on you the minute you show weakness. Swap with me.”
“N…no.”
I set the scythe aside before wiping the corner of my mouth to see what he said was true. Taking a deep breath, I winced before carefully pressing a hand to my chest to feel several ribs shift. Turning my attention to the throbbing pain in my arm, I grabbed my wrist. Inhaling as deep as I could, I pulled my arm forward before biting down on my lip as I guided the bone back into the socket.
“I didn’t know you knew how to set your arm back into place.” I shuddered as I exhaled shakily before pulling a dirtied sheet off the bed to make a sling. “Swap with m–”
“Sh…shut up,” I muttered as I started rummaging through the drawers.
“Animae–”
“Y…your f-fault.”
“What are you looking for?” I moved on to the cabinets. “Animae–”
“As…as…”
I moved to a cabinet with a glass window before trying to pull the door open to find it locked. Grabbing a nearby stand, I threw it at the glass before reaching inside to grab a few of the bottles. Going over the labels quickly, I popped the lid off one container before downing two of the red pills. I then sank down to the floor as I grabbed the Vandal doll I had with me.
“Swap with me.” The door opening had me looking over to see two Umbra making their way into the room. The low growling let me know they weren’t there to report something. “Animae!”
Climbing to my feet slowly as the room spun, I grabbed a tray and used it to bat the Umbra that lunged forward. Doing the same with the second, I went to retrieve my scythe before pointing it at them both.
“L…leave,” I growled, “or else.” I narrowed my eyes as they growled before watching as they slinked away. I went back to the room with the others soon after before taking a seat on the floor. Downing another pill, I grabbed the doll. “V…Vandal.” It was quiet. “Vandal.”
“I’m here,” he replied moments later. “Hey, where are you? Are you ok? The arm of your doll was–”
“Where… are you?”
“What’s going on?” I heard Talon ask from somewhere in the back.
I made a face at the sound of his voice before looking at the other two in bed. “Come to the h-hospital. I have Mag…” I inhaled deeply before exhaling shakily as breathing gradually became more difficult. “H-hospital.”
“Talon and I will be there shortly,” he replied before pausing. “Jayden.” I glanced at the doll. “Have you seen Nuallis at all?”
I frowned as I set the doll down. “N…”
“Jayden?”
Umbra watched from the corners of the lower hospital lobby as Vandal and Talon entered through the doors. Several blocked the entry to the halls and stairwell doors leaving the men to take the elevator. Even then they were greeted by Level One Umbra when the doors opened. When none made a move to exit, merely moving aside for the men, Vandal entered first with his finger on the trigger before Talon followed in after. Pressing the only button not covered in the dark, oily substance, the men went up a couple floors. Distorted elevator music faded in an out until the lift came to a halt. As the door opened, Vandal stepped out though Talon nearly lost his balance as more Umbra piled hastily into the elevator before the door closed.
“What’s got them so spooked?” Talon questioned as he watched the elevator go back down.
“Whatever it is, they seemed more concerned with it than us,” Vandal stated as he made his way down the hall. “Kind of like how none of them attacked us in the lobby despite their numbers but let’s not try our luck. Let’s just find–”
An ear-splitting screech filled the hall before several Umbra scurried out of a room and scattered to the dark corners. Brandishing Leonette as he eased down the corridor, Vandal glanced back at Talon before stepping into the doorway as he took aim when another shriek rang out. His face then blanched as he lowered his weapon.
Eyeing his companion curiously when he went silent, Talon made his way over. “What is it?”
As Talon leaned into the doorframe, he watched as the blonde bit into an Umbra. The Umbra retaliated with a bite of its own before its captor bit into it again, ripping a piece off. A final screech was heard before the Umbra was silenced by being ripped in half. The Umbra unfortunate enough to still be present huddled along the corners of the room before glancing at the two newcomers. Their growling is what signaled their arrival to the man at the other end of the room. When the gold eyes focused on them, Vandal gained enough regained enough wit to aim his weapon once more.
“Oh, right… Jeez, he’s gonna be so pissed that you saw that…” A snicker then bounced around the room before the blonde finished eating the Umbra in his grasp. “Put that away, would you? Jeez,” he muttered as he got to his feet. “Obviously I’m unarmed.” He gestured to the arm in a sling before steadily making his way over. “For now.”
“Jay–”
“Definitely not,” Vandal corrected Talon as his finger slowly eased the trigger back, “right, Cordis?”
Said person simply shoved the firearm aside before closing the distance between him and the marksman. Smiling at the glare he received, Cordis patted Vandal on the cheek before stepping around to step on one of the Umbra that was trying to flee.
“Always a pleasure seeing that handsome face of yours, Gunner.” Cordis greeted before sneering when the little monster bit him. Disgust soon past and replaced with amusement as Cordis laughed to himself, licking his lips. His attention then went to the man in yellow that was staring dumbfounded. “What?”
“Are you seriously going to eat that?!”
Cordis raised an eyebrow before biting into the creature to answer the question. Ripping off a portion, he ignored the screech before making his way out of the room to finish devouring the Umbra in his grasp. A low laugh echoed down the hall as the rest of the Umbra skittered out of sight to avoid the same fate.
Watching as Cordis continued down the hall, Talon looked back at Vandal to see him checking on Ignatius and Magpie. The smaller injuries had been tended to and bandaged while a patch was secured over Magpie’s eye. A container of pills was resting alongside and upon further inspection, it was seen that the seal had already been broken.
“Oxycotin,” Talon said as he looked at the label. “It’s a high strength pain medication.”
“The priss took too much of it.” Both men looked back at the door to see Cordis leaning there as he toyed with a sakura petal. “He was very insistent on not swapping with me. Something to do with making sure they’d be ok or whatever up until he blacked out.” He then blew the petal away. “It’d be one less thing to worry about if they died though.” Cordis chuckled to himself. “Wouldn’t that just be tragic? Then again, Banana Boy could just recover their souls.” His attention then panned over to Talon. “Isn’t that right?”
“If you’re not concerned with their wellbeing, why even stay?”
“You’re the last one to be questioning anyone on motives,” Cordis countered. “How many times have we gone through this or similar shit before you finally decided to make your appearance? You weren’t concerned with our well-being then, right?” Gold eyes panned over to the marksman as he made his way over. “You have to be wondering the same thing. How many times did you have to die before he came to rescue you? How many times did you bite the dust? How many times did you cross paths with your wife? It’s brings a whole new meaning ‘til death do you part’, doesn’t it? Especially when it keeps happening over and over with no way to stop it.” He leaned in slowly. “Oh, new question. How many times did he let dear Nuallis get kidnapped?” Cordis noted how Vandal held Leonette a bit tighter before his attention went back to Talon momentarily. “Better yet, how many times did that sweet girl have to die?”
Talon held up a hand in defense when the marksman looked his way. “Van–”
“How many times did it take? How many times did they watch?” Cordis questioned. “How many times did him and his friend sit by to do nothing?” He hummed his curiosity. “They did nothing but leave you little trinkets such as those dolls,” he chided as he fished petals out his pocket, “and what good did that do you other than letting you know that someone has died yet again…” He blew petals at Talon before stepping away from Vandal. “Senshi’s dead by the way but I’m sure you already knew that. Animae is gonna lose his freaking mind though,” he mused aloud as he looked over at Talon. “However, If you must know why I didn’t leave, it’s because of the dislocated arm, broken ribs, and punctured lung. It’s kinda hard to heal when you dine and dash. Having a high dose of pain killers going through one’s system isn’t exactly a walk in the park either.”
Talon narrowed his eyes slightly before looking at Vandal. “Hey, you’re not really gonna listen to this guy, right?” Vandal remained silent. “Seriously, Vandal, we just spent all that time together! Team Two remember?” Vandal didn’t respond. “Don’t tell me you’re really considering listening to someone that we caught eating an Umbra! They can’t be trusted!”
“Excuse me.” Talon glared at me. “Lower your voice,” I said. “You’re in a hospital with patients recovering.” The man’s face reddened slightly. “Plus, you may attract unwanted attention. I haven’t cleared any of the floors.”
“Why should we believe anything you say?”
Cordis shrugged. “I could ask you the same thing.”
Huffing in frustration, Talon turned back to Vandal to see him inspecting the petals littering the floor. Spotting a lock of blonde doll hair in his hand, Talon headed towards the marksman before stilling as an Umbra slinked forward. Watching the thing as it went by, growling at him no less, he watched as it cautiously approached the blonde that was toying with another petal. The growling didn’t pique his attention rather than the tilting of Cordis’s head followed by a quizzical hum.
“Don’t tell me… you understand that thing?”
Cordis glanced at Talon before looking back at Vandal. “Gunner.” Vandal shifted. “It says that some of the others have heard movement a few floors above. Who knows, could be dear Nuallis.”
“Why should he believe you?” Talon questioned before looking at the man as he gripped Leonette. “You’re not seriously going to check it out, right?” Vandal looked back at him then at Cordis. “What if it’s a trap?”
“What good would I have setting a trap for him?” Cordis questioned. “You’re the one that’s stalling. For all we know, Nu dear could be up there all alone. Or the brink of death yet again,” There was a snap of fingers, “But, no, you can go retrieve her soul and start the cycle all over again, right?”
“What floor?”
“Van–”
Cordis pointed up. “About five floors. It’s dark up there but the Ones will lead the way.”
“I’m going with you,” insisted Talon.
“No.”
Talon looked befuddled. “Wh… why not?” Vandal turned. “Van – we’re Team Two! We have to go together.”
“Just… just stay here.”
“Im not staying with… with him!” Talon snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde that was leaning on the doorframe. “We came here together. I’m going with you.”
“No.”
“Tick-tock, you guys.”
Glancing at Cordis, Vandal then looked at Talon. “Stay with the others. If anything happens, you’re the only one who can get them out of here fast enough. In the meantime, why not call Carlos here so you’re not alone. There isn’t really a Team One now that Senshi’s…”
“But–!”
“Cordis.”
Said person pointed at the Umbra then at the ceiling. “The Ones will lead you up and don’t worry; they won’t attack you if you don’t attack them.” He then rubbed his chin methodically before offering a smile. “Try not to dawdle, wouldn’t it be nice to see that sweet girl again?”
“Van–”
“I’ll be back soon,” he interrupted before following the Umbra that was leading him towards the stairs. “Look after the others.”
Scowling as the door closed behind the man, Talon folded his arms as he cursed his luck. He then frowned momentarily looking at a pink petal on the floor before turning to see an empty doorway.
“I can’t believe he left me here,” Talon muttered to himself as he headed back to the occupied room. He then flinched as Cordis stepped into the hall again. “There’s nothing up there, is there? You were just trying to split us up.”
Cordis shrugged his uninjured shoulder. “Ones aren’t exactly the smartest so they’re not sure what they’ve heard. It could be an enemy or it could be something like medical equipment falling over. It’s an old building after all.” An amused smile then crossed his face. “And splitting you up? Don’t go flattering yourself. I’m not the one sitting here like a puppy with its tail tucked between its legs because they’re partner decided to leave.”
“You–!”
“I what, said things that I’m sure he was already thinking?” Cordis questioned as he rounded Talon. “What, I’m the bad guy for saying what he didn’t out loud?” A syringe was placed at the man’s throat. “What I said before, I’m sure we’re all thinking it. We’ve gone through some iteration of this bullshit more than once before you and your friend finally decided to grace us with your goddamn presence. I can only wonder how many times I’ve come close to going home only to have this shit happen like it’s Groundhog’s Day. C’mon, tell me. Do we die the same way each fucking time?”
Elbowing the other in his injured arm, Talon broke free to push Cordis away. He then entered the occupied room to lock himself in with the others.
“It wasn’t easy trying to get here,” he countered. “We tried– ”
“You want me to believe that shit?” Cordis growled as he dragged the needle over the dirtied glass. “I don’t trust a damn thing you say!” He then laughed sinisterly as he stabbed the syringe into the pane. “I could see why Animae didn’t want to be paired with you.” He reached into the hole to unlock the door before entering as he held the needle in a precarious manner. “Not only did he not trust a word you said but he knew anything you’d say would just piss me off,” he chuckled again as he walked forward, “and he was right. I just want to kill you and, with Animae not here to interfere, maybe then this will end.”
“It wouldn’t,” Talon corrected as he took a step back.
“Well, at least it would make me feel better momentarily.”
“You wouldn’t remember killing me.”
“Small victories,” Cordis replied irritably as he surged forward. “I wonder if you would keep coming back too… that way I can just keep finding new ways to get rid of you!”
Opening a portal before he got too close, Talon closed it the moment Cordis entered. Feeling heart race, he took a few moments to compose himself before looking at the broken glass on the door. Grimacing at the idea of having to deal with the deranged blonde, Talon set out to barricade the entrance.
Downstairs, a portal opened to allow Cordis to land in a pile of Umbra. They growled their annoyance before quieting as the man hissed under his breath after landing on his injured shoulder. Casting the needle aside, Cordis looked around slowly before snagging a hold of one of the Umbra that didn’t gain enough space between it and himself. It growled in confusion before the sounds transition to that of utter fear when dark eyes gleamed mischievously while petting the Umbra.
“Aren’t you a lucky one?” Cordis asked before licking his lips. “You get to help me recover.”
ns 15.158.61.23da2
