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Elitemage14

Elitemage14

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Chapter 3

After a couple of hours, John awoke from his self-induced slumber. His shoulder had stopped bleeding, the skin around the wound now cauterized together by the intense heat from the burning kitchen knife, and where the bullet hole had once been was now a section of bubbly, scabbing flesh.

He tried to test his arm and raise it in front of him, but could only get it as high as his chin before the muscles in his chest completely locked up. He moved his arm across his body, which was much easier, then behind his back, which was doable but sent tingling arrows across his collarbone.

"How are you feeling?" Sarah asked him.

"Fine, I guess. I'm just ticked off. That thing kicked my ass back there and now I can barely use my left arm. You did a good job cauterizing my shoulder, though," he commented.

"I didn't do it. I was about to, but then he came and did it for me. I was a bit hesitant at first, but I figured he knew more about that kind of stuff than I did." She pointed to the corner of the room, where the hulking figure of Leon Seronka was standing with his arms crossed.

Startled, John jumped back half a step. "What're you doing here?"

"That is something of no importance right now," Leon replied, his voice loud and commanding. He didn't even make eye contact with John, instead just staring blankly into space.

"He doesn't talk much," Sarah explained with a frown. "I tried to thank him and ask him why he has been following me, but he sort of just ignores me. You were right about his name, though. His name is actually Leon Seronka. Don't know how you knew that, but I managed to get that much out of him."

"Well then," John said, "what do we do now?"

"We have to get over to my house. It's nearly two in the morning, and my parents must be worried sick about me."

John was going to protest about going back on the streets after what had just happened to them, but he figured if they had Leon tagging along then they would be just fine.

31-Mar-2010 01:20:53 - Last edited on 02-Apr-2010 18:11:10 by Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Posts: 12,429 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
By the time the three of them went outside the, night air had turned chilly, but even with his sleeveless shirt Leon didn't seem to mind. He just walked in complete silence and payed them no attention, which John found unnerving and it made the journey pretty awkward. He just couldn't figure out the guy. Leon had saved their lives, and John was very grateful for that, but the man seemed out of place. The fact that he carried around a spear and a knife instead of using a gun was odd enough, but add that to the fact that he had been stalking Sarah was just plain weird. He obviously didn't mean them any harm; Leon had taken care of John's wounded shoulder for him, and while he had been unconscious had made no attempts to hurt Sarah. But that still raised the question of who he was and what was he doing here?

Before he could ponder the question any more, Sarah snapped him back to reality and pointed up ahead.

"That's my house."

It was actually more like a mansion than a house. The place was a dazzling white color with several twisting pillars decorating the front. The hedges were all expertly trimmed, and at the centerpiece of it all was a marble angel with a stream of water coming from its mouth. John had grown up in a pretty affluent suburb, but this was upscale even by his standards.

John was about to comment when Leon grabbed both of them and pulled them back. "Look, in front of the house," he said, the first words he had uttered in half an hour. Parked on the sidewalk were two black SUV's, and in front of them was a man dressed in a full black suit and shades. He stood there, smoking a cigarette, and after a few moments another man in a black suit emerged from the house and headed towards the parked cars. The two began to talk, and after a minute they headed back inside together.

31-Mar-2010 01:21:02 - Last edited on 02-Apr-2010 18:11:21 by Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Posts: 12,429 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
"Damn. The feds are already here," John said. "How are we suppose to explain all of this?"

"I don't know," Sarah replied. "I can't lie to my parents, but I don't know how else I can explain the two of you or where I've been."

Before they could discuss things further, Leon turned towards John and held out his spear. "Hold onto this," he said, "you might need it." John had never used such a weapon in his life, but he took it anyway, not wishing to anger Leon.

The weapon was ungodly heavy. The staff of the spear was either made completely out of metal, or had a thick sheet of it coating the wood. Either way, Leon was able to move the weapon around like a walking stick, but John could barely even keep the damn thing balanced.

"Young woman, you best avert your eyes," Leon said, drawing his knife and creeping up towards the house.

---

Leon stalked the men in the black suits as the traveled up the walkway and in through the front door. Leon only had a rudimentary understanding of what the word 'fed' meant, but he knew enough to know it didn't apply to these two.

Most people wouldn't even notice the small curves in their spines or the way their feet seemed to glide across the ground, but even these minute details in their posture could not escape Leon.

The two suits were not human. They were something close to it and had likely been humans at one point, just as he suspected the beast he had slain in the park had been, but what they were now was a mystery to him.

Even if he couldn't discern what they were, knowing they were not human made it easier for him to take responsibility for their deaths. He seized the one on the left, his hefty hand encompassing the creature's entire forehead like he was holding a baseball. Leon rotated the creature's head back, exposing the soft flesh of its neck. With astonishing quickness he plunged his hunting knife into its jaw and through the roof of its mouth, piercing the soft palette and striking the base of the creature's brain.

31-Mar-2010 01:21:08 - Last edited on 02-Apr-2010 18:11:50 by Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Posts: 12,429 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The creature was dead almost instantaneously, sickly orangish blood hemorrhaging from the wound and around the hilt of Leon's knife.

Before its partner knew what was going on, Leon extracted his blade and pounced on his foe. The man landed face down with Leon's knees pinned against its back, a knife driven through the its neck and his brainstem severed.

Leon flipped the bodies over, relieving them of the submachine guns they carried at their side, and then piled the corpses up in the corner. He did a quick run through of the house and then waved John and Sarah inside once satisfied they were alone.

-----

John met Leon at the doorway, exchanging the spear for a submachine gun, and ventured inside. He expected the house's interior to match its beautiful exterior, but instead found the place in tatters. Couches had been torn up, pictures thrown onto the ground, and tables and chairs flipped over. It looked like every inch of the place had been frantically searched.

"Oh my God," Sarah said, and sprinted up the stairs to the second floor in search of her parents.

When she was out of earshot, John turned to Leon and asked, "her parents aren't here, are they?"

"No," he answered. "There's no sign of anyone else here."

"Those two in the suits, were they the ones that tore this place up?"

"I suspect so."

John sighed and began flipping over some of the overturned picture frames on the ground. Most seemed to contain pictures of friends and family, and all the faces had been crossed out with a red marker. He ran his thumb over the stain and found the marks to still be wet.

On the coffee table he found a pair of pictures, expect these two were out of their frames and deliberately placed side by side.

31-Mar-2010 01:21:16 - Last edited on 02-Apr-2010 18:15:25 by Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Posts: 12,429 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The picture on the left was of Sarah and who John assumed was one of her friends. They had their arms around each other and were giving the camera a pair of silly smiles. The friend's face had also been crossed out, but Sarah's had been circled, and under it a few notes had been jotted down. John tried to decipher them, but the characters weren't even in English and were unlike any language he had ever seen before.

To the right of that was another picture, this one of John wearing a nice collared shirt against a red background. It was his school yearbook photo, which had only been taken a few weeks ago. 'How the hell did they get this' he wondered. This picture had also been circled in red with several notes scrawled down.

John was about to speak when Sarah ran down the steps towards them.

"They're not here," she panted. "My parents aren't here. What's wrong? Did you two find something?"

"I think so," John replied, holding up both pictures. "Where'd you get this picture of me?"

"I don't know. That's not mine."

John pondered this a second and then turned towards Leon. "I think you've got a lot of explaining to do. You've been following me and Sarah. And from the looks of these pictures, I think those men in the suits have been, too." He paused and gave Leon the chance to reply. When he didn't, John continued. "I have no idea what's going on here, but yall seem to have some interest in the two of us, and it's probably for the same reason. So what is the reason? Why are you helping us?"

31-Mar-2010 01:21:23 - Last edited on 02-Apr-2010 18:13:55 by Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Elitemage14

Posts: 12,429 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
"I told you. Now is not the time for such questions," Leon answered.

"Yeah? Well I think it is," John replied, raising the submachine gun strapped to his side and pointing it directly at Leon. It was tough to aim with only one good arm, but by resting the rear of the gun against his side and elbow and gently using the hand of his injured arm to help steady the barrel without putting too much pressure on it, he was able to find a good angle.

"John! Don't!" Sarah screamed at him.

"You and I both know you're not going to shoot me," Leon growled, moving towards him. He was right; John wasn't about to kill his only lead. It was a bluff, and Leon instantly saw right through it.

John lowered the gun, and as he did so Leon struck him with the back of his hand. John staggered backward, his face throbbing with the imprint of Leon's knuckles.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" Leon yelled. "I save your lives, and this is how you talk to me?! Where I come from you'd have your tongue cut out for speaking to your elders like that!"

The two stared down each other, the tension mounting. Finally Sarah came forward, tears beginning to form. "Please, Leon," she said, her voice soft and sweet. "My parents are gone, and if you don't help us then I'm afraid I'll never be able to see them again."

Although she was being mostly genuine, her quivering lips and the puppy-dog eyes was a bit much. John knew she was faking it to some extent and that she just trying to look as sweet and innocent as possible. But it seemed to be working. Leon's shoulders visibly dropped and his frustration seemed to evaporate.

"Fine," he sighed. "Take a seat and I will tell what little I know."

31-Mar-2010 01:21:30 - Last edited on 02-Apr-2010 18:21:58 by Elitemage14

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