A faint rumbling had me shifting before sitting up to stretch. Slumber hadn’t come as quickly as I had hoped, what with the uncertainty of our next haven, but I still managed to get a few hours in.
Rubbing at my eyes after another good stretch, I yawned before looking around to see that I was no longer in that musty little room. I wasn’t back in the suite either. If anything, this was a step down.
“Where…?”
I looked around to see bars surrounding me. Dropping my gaze down to the bed I was once in, I saw a dirtied cot covered with what appeared to be dried blood before jumping to my feet to check myself. My face then paled at the dried husk of some poor person leaned up against the metal frame prior to seeing a smeared message in what could’ve been more dried blood.
No Freedom
I glanced at the body once more before trying the door. Relieved that it was unlocked, I opened it slowly, listening to the slow creak of rusted hinges. I then saw that there were many other cells, some empty and a few with skeletal husks propped in various positions. It was enough to make me want to get out of this creep show; however, a barred door left open wider than the others piqued my curiosity.
Making my way to it, I glanced inside to see an Umbra observing a pair of husks. Grimacing at the thought of the people once being alive and that this beast had killed them, I stepped back before hearing bone snap beneath my foot. The sound of the Umbra slithering towards the door had me darting into an adjacent cell before I slipped under the bed. I covered my mouth to stifle my breathing as I caught the black mass stop in front of my cell for a few moments before it continued making its way down the corridor.
Crawling out a few minutes later, I crept out the cell before making my way down the hall once more. I found an armored door with the same message from before scrawled along its surface. The two simple words left a pit in my stomach before I tried opening the door.
It didn’t budge.
Was it stuck?
I tried again before hearing the slithering sound of the Umbra dragging itself back towards my position. Trying to get the thing open again, I rammed my shoulder against the barrier before pausing when I didn’t hear the Umbra. Looking over my shoulder quickly, I saw it grinning at me from the end of the hall.
“Reaper~”
I rammed my shoulder against the door again as I heard it cackle followed but the sound of its dragging body. The throbbing in my shoulder wouldn’t deter me as I rammed myself against the door once more prior to it swinging open.
I hurried out and slammed it shut before throwing the security bar down just as the Umbra went to lunge. Jumping back at how the door lurched, I prayed that bar would hold before I looked around then up at the flickering light above me. As others sparked to life, I noted the smeared arrows and messages of freedom along the walls before following them as I heard the door lurch once more.
Seeing another door at the end of the hall, I looked over my shoulder as I heard the other slam into the wall before seeing the Umbra slither out. As one of its tongues snaked its way forward, I bolted for the door as a sharp screech pierced the corridor.
Covering my ears as I ran, I glanced up at the lights as they started to burst before throwing my shoulder against the exit once I reached it. Butting against the door again as there was another screech, I stumbled forward as the door flung open before turning to see the Umbra lurching forward. All too soon did it stop short before it snarled. Taking a step back, I saw a silhouette behind the Umbra in the dying light. A large grin was plastered on its face before it waved at me.
‘Is that the same one from the warehouse?’
I took another step back before the door swung shut, an ear-splitting shriek erupting soon after. I then hurried away before whatever that was had the chance to come outside.
“Where am I?” I murmured as I tried to get my bearings straight. “Ok, think, Jay…”
I fell asleep in a dirty room back at the hotel. Granted, the bed wasn’t as comfortable as the sofa bed but, given the arrangements and surrounding circumstances, a bed was a bed.
What I didn’t expect was to wake up in a freaking jailhouse.
Rolling my shoulders as I rubbed the back of my neck, I looked back in the direction from once I came before following what I guessed to be the main road.
I was hoping that that would at least put me on the right track but the more I walked around, the less certain I became.
None of this looked familiar. Even more, I didn’t know where anyone else was.
I elected in not screaming their names because I didn’t want to deal with unwanted company this early in the morning.
Observation showed no hotel in sight. The buildings along the sides of the roads were a jumbled mess and I had a hard time determining where the door was for some of them. One building that seemed unaffected by the maddening architecture was a courthouse; however, one thing was off about it. There was a message scrawled up each set of stairs leading to the door.
No Freedom
I stared at the words before ascending the first set of stairs.
Not Fair
I stared at the words then up at the columns before moving up the next flight of stairs.
Denied Judgment
My jaw clenched before I looked back up at the building. Central had a section like this but Runihura told me that I could never enter. When I asked him why, he just gave me an apologetic smile before trying to steer the question in a different direction entirely. When I confronted him on it, he told me that I wasn’t going to like the answer.
The buzzing from my phone had me rifling through my pocket to silence it but I didn’t bother with whatever message was sent. I silenced it once it buzzed again before scowling as it started to ring aloud.
“What?” I growled out as I stared at the last message on the steps.
“Well, good morn–”
“Spare me the bullshit pleasantries, Cordis.” I then looked around slowly before focusing on the grand doors before me. “Where are the others?”
“What does it matter?” came the response.
“You know why, you asshole.”
“If I’m an asshole, what does that make you, Animae?” I sucked my teeth. “Why don’t you go inside? You know you want to.”
“No.”
“Why? It might be the only chance you get, Animae. It’s not like you’ll get this kind of chance back at Central, right? You’re not exactly…complete.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“No need to be touchy. Go inside.”
“I said no,” I replied as I turned away to see Cordis alreadywalking up the first flight of stairs
“No need to be so heartless,” he chuckled. “Then again, that is what you are, Animae.”
“And you’re a soulless bastard, Cordis.” He tilted his head before he ascended the next set of stairs. “Where are the others?” I questioned, taking a step back. “Cor–”
“Around… but they will be dead soon enough with you to blame.” He continued forward until my back bumped into the door. “Why don’t we go inside?”
“I don’t–”
“It wasn’t a suggestion.” A smirked ticked the corner of his mouth before his gaze panned past me. “Do you mind?”
I followed his gaze to see a shadowy figure poking their head out from around the door before a hand grabbed at my face. As a wide grin appeared, followed by a brief wave, I recognized it as being the same individual I had run into at the warehouse as well as in the jailhouse earlier. My stomach then dropped as two gold eyes appeared before closing again from the intensity of their smile. I was then pulled inside, hearing Cordis walk into the ruined building soon after with the door closing.
I caught myself after being shoved forward before whirring around to pin Cordis with a glare as he casually proceeded forward.
“Where are the others?”
“Is that really important?” he replied. “We should be focused on going home.”
“I already told you that it wasn’t possible!”
“Well, not with that attitude,” he stated with a smile. “Don’t you want to go home?”
“What I want is to know where the others are.”
He clicked his tongue before pushing open a door to reveal a courtroom with the last message I saw on the steps scrawled along the far wall. When he smiled, I took a step back before feeling a hand rest along my shoulder. Looking back, I was met with that wide grin before yellow eyes focused on me.
“Animae.”
I looked to see him running a hand over the judge’s bench. “Cordis, where are the others?” He hummed in acknowledgement to my question but not much else. “I’m leaving.”
The hand on my shoulder tightened and I looked back to see the individual tilt its head.
“My new friend has been helping you for a while, but do you honestly think you could beat a Level Four Umbra without this?” I turned back to the bench to see the scythe – my scythe – resting upon Cordis’s shoulder. “Even more, do you really think I’ll just let you walk out of here?”
I swatted off the hand “Instead of hiding behind your friend, what are you going to do to stop me?”
Cordis looked a bit surprised before he chuckled. That chuckle then transitioned into a hysterical laugh that echoed around the room as he began walking towards me. “What am I going to do?” he questioned between laughs, twirling the scythe. “I don’t want to kill you, so I’ll just beat you to an inch of your life. Well, what’s left of it…”
“You wouldn’t.”
He rested the blade beneath my chin. “Try me.”489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0dLesZ57q
I had mentioned before that Umbras have different levels. In Jayden's universe, there are five levels with Five obviously being the strongest (there's even a reaper that's Level Five Umbra in his world). One sure way to defeat any Umbra is to make sure their cores are destroyed our they'll just reform (and come back even more pissed off). The way they move up in levels is by eating each other, eating transitioning souls (charges), or eating reapers.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSM1nEMaxtQ
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxArRJpFwdh
Level I - They're generally small and don't pose too large of a threat unless encountered in masses. They don't have speech capabilities but do still possess the acidic tongue property though they only have one. Even new reapers should be able to kill these guys.
Level II - They're relatively the same as the Level I but are a bit bigger in size. They still don't have speech capability but are known to make sounds to communicate amongst themselves. As they get closer to reaching a Level III they can begin to mimic some of the words they here.
Level III - The characters have been encountering this level as they are capable of speech. They can be massive in size but still retain an amorphous blob-like form with razor sharp teeth. The number of tongues can range from 1-3 with the same acidic properties.
Level IV - These are rare compared to the previous three levels. It is very capable of speech and has a humanoid shape just silhouetted in black with yellow eyes. The only other feature distinguishable from their eyes are their mouths. Their intelligence can match that of an average person allowing them to utilize tools, formulate plans, etc and have advance durability and strength as well as an insatiable hunger.
Level V - This level is extremely rare and far in between compared to the first four levels. They look completely human, taking on attributes they are particularly interested in, minus the fact that their skin is almost ghost white. They can transition between a gaseous, humanoid shape like that of a Level Four but generally stay in the last stage. They have all the capabilities as mentioned in the Level IV. When it comes to Umbras they are at the top of the food chain.
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