Fully Alive: Chapter 16, a short story by HarrySaintcrow. Date added: 2011-09-02. Times viewed: 785.
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- Intro: A glimpse into Tim's memories reveals just how Tim defeated Arkham so many years ago.
Chapter 16
Kira found her self in that same forest she always seemed to conjure in her dreams. She was sitting on her throne of wood looking out onto the woods that seemed a little closer than before. The night was all around her and the trees as she sat there feeling the warm wind from the breeze. She stood up slowly as she felt the presence of someone near. She looked around and heard the sound of leaves crunching under foot just before he appeared from behind the throne.
Tim stood there with a smile on his face now and she couldn’t help but smile the same way.
“Well my dreams are definitely better since your back.” Kira said.
“I hope so; I’d hate to think they were worse with me here.” Tim said as he walked towards her. She kissed him gently and he held her hand leading her towards the woods.
“Not that I’m complaining or anything, but what are you doing here?” Kira asked.
“I wanted to talk to you about what was happening right now.” Tim said.
“You mean between you and me?” she asked.
“No, I mean with what Lance has to work on right now.” Tim said.
“You mean with Arkham.” Kira said.
“Yeah, with him. He asked me to help him now that I was back.” He said.
“What did you tell him?” Kira asked suspiciously. Tim sighed for a moment before looking at her and answering.
“I told him I would leave it up to you.” He said.
“Why would you do that?” she asked. Tim continued to look at her as they walked and she had the strange feeling that he was trying to read her in some way.
“Look, all I want to do now is be with you. I don’t want to go back to that life.” Tim said.
“But you think differently.” She said.
“I’m not sure, Lance is the oldest friend I have and I don’t even know how Everado’s going to react.” He said.
“Or how Audery will react.” She said. Tim looked away for a moment but he kept up the conversation.
“The point is I’m not sure I can help with this situation.” Tim said. “I’m afraid I’ll only make it worse.”
“That’s not true.” Kira said. Tim looked at her confused for a moment. “You’re scared. You’re afraid to see Arkham.” Tim tried to walk a little further ahead but Kira kept up the pace with him. “You’re afraid to face the first demon you ever faced.” She said.
“He’s not a demon; he’s a vampire and a witch.” Tim said.
“You know what I mean. He’s where it all started, the thing that put you on the road to becoming what you are. He’s the first thing you took out your full aggression on and stopped.” She said.
“I know that.” Tim said.
“What happened that night?” she asked.
“You mean at Arkham’s home?” Tim asked. Kira shook her head and Tim sighed heavily. “I don’t really know how to tell you this story.”
“Then show me.” Kira said. Tim snapped his fingers and the entire world disappeared around her.
The cold stone beneath her hands and blood running down her face were the first things she felt when the light came back. She could make out the form of someone standing in front of her on a raised portion of the stone floor wearing a mantled coat with his long white hair trailing down his back. His back was to her as she lay there not moving. Pain rain through her entire body and judging from the fire in her ribs and stomach, there were probably a few broken ribs. She could see her arms were exposed and dozens of bleeding cuts were running up and down her arms. That’s when she realized these arms weren’t hers. Her head moved slowly to see the other side but she didn’t remember making her head move. Now she could see bodies piled in the corner of what was definitely a dungeon of some kind.
The bodies numbered in the dozens, all of them wearing military gear and fatigues. She made out the sword and scales symbol of the witch hunters on one of the body’s arms. She continued to survey her surroundings and found she was actually near the pile and it donned on her then what this was. She was reliving Tim’s memory of the night he faced Arkham. She looked back to the man standing there and saw another man standing in front of him. She recognized the dirty blonde hair, the cut of his jaw, and those deep brown eyes. She recognized the man who had tortured her in an instant as he stood there and listened to who she could only guess was Arkham.
“Make sure you keep yourself hidden after the golem is destroyed. We don’t want your position compromised before we are in place.” Arkham said in a voice that pressed on her ears and brought the thought of a snake’s hiss to mind.
“Of course master.” Richter said.
“Good, I trust our team is ready to advance?” Arkham asked.
“Yes, they are ready to hit the council as soon as you give the order.” Richter said.
“Good, then off you go. I will finish here; I believe we have a guest listening in.” Arkham said. He turned around and looked directly at Kira lying on the ground looking at him. “I know you’re awake, I can hear your heart beating.” He turned and then motioned behind himself for Richter to leave. Richter bowed slightly and then shot a dirty look towards Kira before he left through a large door in the wall. Arkham was now slowly walking towards her. “I see you’re a little stronger than these other hunters.”
Kira’s arms moved on there own accord and she felt her self stumble to her feet. Pain shot through her as a thousand different feeling s crept up her spine and down all of her limbs. She could hear the growl coming from Tim’s lips as he moved and wound up leaning against one of the walls.
“What the hell do you want?” Tim asked. Arkham stood about eight feet away from him and smiled a devil’s grin full of pearl white teeth with upper and lower canines. His shockingly white hair was pulled back from his face and tucked behind his elongated ears. His eyes seemed to have no color what so ever giving the unsuspecting the impression that he was blind. His face was all bout sharp angles and points from the crown of his forehead to the point of his chin. Under his mantled opera coat he wore the gentlemen’s attire of some one of the past century. White, heavily starched, dress shirt with dark blue vest embroidered with deep crimson floral patterns. His slacks were black with thin pin striping down the legs leading to his highly polished black shoes and white spats.
“What I want is of no importance to you.” He said.
“Why is that?” Tim asked.
“Because you will be dead my little witch.” Arkham said still smiling. “Of course I am wondering what to do with such a magnificent specimen such as you. You managed to survive my minions attack when every one of your hundred or so comrades did not. How is that?” Tim just continued to concentrate on not passing out from the pain as Arkham spoke. “Maybe a look inside your body is in order.”
“What about the golem?” Tim asked.
“That thing. Quite ingenious really; I send a big scary monster directly at the high covenant then while they waste there time destroying it my team comes from behind and kills them off while they are weakened.” Arkham said.
“So you want to take over the high covenant.” Tim said.
“No, dear boy, I could care less about the high covenant or the vampire council. What I want is to cause chaos and see where it leads.” Arkham said.
“What?” Tim asked in disgust.
“This world has become too boring with the trivial rivalry between the vampire and the witch. I believe it is time to shake things up.” Arkham said. The sound of whimpering came from one of the tables that were setup on the raise portion of the dungeon. “Ah, I see my little experiment is awake.” Arkham turned and walked back over to the table. He turned the table and flipped it to where Tim could see what was laying on it strapped down.
It was a little girl of three maybe four with blonde hair that hung to her shoulders. Her overalls were covered in dirt as was her face. Long streaks ran down her cheeks showing she had been crying for a long time; long enough that her eyes were completely bloodshot. Tim tried to move but more pain Lanced through his back and made him crumple to the floor.
“Let her go. You can do whatever you want to me just let her go.” Tim said.
“You are of no use to me, but this little girl holds so much promise.” Arkham said. “I am going to enjoy taking her apart to see what makes her tick.”
“I’ll kill you fucker. You touch her and I’ll fucking rip your god damn head off!” Tim screamed. Arkham finally looked annoyed as he returned his attention to Tim.
“Now if you are going to use such language then I will just have to put you down now.” He said as he grabbed his cane that had been leaning against one of the tables holding his instruments. The head was a polished crystal skull sitting on top of a solid black shaft. Arkham gave a small twist and pulled a sword from the cane then brought it to bear against Tim’s throat crouching near him to do so. “Now hold still, this will only hurt a moment.” Arkham said.
“No, it’s going to hurt a lot.” Tim said as he brought his hand up and jammed the knife he’d hidden into Arkham’s side. As Arkham let out a scream he summoned what strength of will he had left and used it to throw Arkham away from him. The vampire flew through the air and landed on top of the altar that had been setup for the golem. The idols controlling the golem’s existence were smashed under his weight and Tim knew the golem was dead now. Arkham continued to howl and scream as the knife burned the flesh around the wound and blood began to pour from his mouth, nose, and tear ducts. Tim made his way over to the little girl but his injuries were catching up with him. He didn’t know if he would be able to but he had to get the girl out of here.
He made it to the table and began to undo the straps holding her down. He was undoing the final strap when she screamed. Tim didn’t turn to see what was there he just dropped and dodged the blade of Arkham’s sword. Arkham stood there now with the knife sticking out of his ribs with a look of pure rage upon his face.
“You will not stop me.” He said.
“Watch me, bitch.” Tim said. Arkham lunged forward with his sword and Tim managed to move out of the way and grab one of the blades off the table. He tried to block Arkham’s attack but only managed to knock Arkham’s sword form his hand but he wasn’t ready for his fist. The blow sent him flying back into a wall and Tim blacked out for a moment. Arkham seemed to just appear before Tim and grabbed him by the throat and held him against the wall. Arkham opened his mouth and bared his fangs ready to tear into Tim’s throat. Tim tried to get out of his grip but he could barely move his arms to do anything. He felt his hand brush against the handle of the knife he’d used still stuck in Arkham’s side. He grabbed the handle and yanked the blade free. Arkham screamed in agony. He dropped Tim and using the downward momentum he drove the knife into Arkham’s chest. Arkham dropped to the ground and tried to pull the knife from his chest but his strength left him and he collapsed to the floor. Tim collapsed to the ground as well and the world faded to black.
Kira woke up with the morning sun shining through the windows into her eyes. She felt the warmth of Tim’s wing on top of her and the softness of the fur against her skin. She rose up slowly as the aches and pains from the memory were still going through her body but they were only a fraction of what they originally had been. Tim stirred next to her and she looked down to see him looking up at her.
“My own little slice of hell.” He said.
“How the hell did you keep going?” she asked.
“I honestly don’t know. I just had to do something.” He said. She pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. She could still feel the cold from the room she had been in the dream. She could feel Arkham’s hand around her throat and the blood that had run down her face. She felt Tim sit up and his arm come around her shoulders. “I’m sorry you had to see that, but I thought you should know what had started it all.” Tim said.
“No, it’s okay. I wanted to know and now I do.” She said.
“So now what?” Tim asked.
“I’ll let you know after we get dressed.” She said before she climbed off the bed and began to get dressed. Tim climbed off the bed and grabbed the bag Kira had told him she’d packed his clothes in and then went into the bathroom. A minute later she could hear water running in the shower. Kira dressed in blue jeans and a black tank top along with her combat boots then put in her feathered hair piece and a few silver pieces she wore now for protection. By the time she was done tying the last piece in Tim was coming out of the shower. He was wearing black jeans and boots while he walked out drying his hair. He shook the remaining water from his wings outside on the balcony before grabbing a shirt from his bag. He pulled a knife from the bag as well and made two slits in the back of the shirt. “Making alterations?” Kira asked jokingly. Tim smiled as he brought his wings forward and used the tips to pick up the shirt. He bent them upward and the shirt slid into place while his wings came out of the two holes he’d made.
“Just a little.” Tim said.
“I guess those things are even more flexible than I thought.” She said.
“You have no idea.” He said. He reached down underneath the bed and pulled a large metal box from under it.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“A little emergency ration I packed a while ago.” He said as he opened it. Inside was a holster rig for a large gun and some knives along with pouches for other things. He strapped on the belt and rig and began loading the four sheaths with the knives in the box. One of the knives was actually as long as a machete and went in the sheath down his left leg. Finally he pulled a large wooden box from the case and opened it to reveal the gun inside. Kira had come over and looked in the case as he had gotten ready.
“Jesus, what the hell is it with you and guns the size of a cannon?” she asked with a little amusement in her voice.
“I have to use a large caliber gun when I channel energy through it. Smaller guns have weaker frames and thinner metal so I risk making them explode or ruining them with only a couple of shots. This way, the gun lasts longer and I have enough room to engrave the protection spells into the frame.” He said as he held the gun and aimed it.
The gun was based off of a desert eagle but was made in the caliber of .454 casull round. The metal of the frame was black as coal with faint lines and sigils running along the barrel and compensator with a Latin saying on the side. The handle had redwood grips with a pentagram carved into them on either side.
“What does the Latin say?” Kira asked.
“I shall fear no evil.” Tim said. Kira looked at him and smiled while he closed the box and tucked it back under the bed. Kira put on her jacket and turned to see that Tim’s coat had returned and was firmly in place. Tim smiled at her and then grabbed her hand as he came beside her. “Are you sure you know what you’re asking of me?” He asked.
“No, I’m sure of what I’m asking both of us. You don’t have to face this alone anymore and no matter how much you might think you need to protect me; I will be right by your side through everything that comes down the road.” She said. Tim looked into her eyes and she could tell her words were getting through but he would still play this his way. “Now I think it’s time to help your friends.” Kira said before taking his hand.
“I think your right.” he said as he smiled and opened the door for them both to walk out.
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