As Rayse opened his eyes, he saw the clear pools of blue in hers and froze. If this was a repeat of the last time he visited this goddess-forsaken place, he was about to get stabbed. Yet, there was no malice in her eyes, only confusion, urgency, and although hard for someone like Rayse to detect, compassion.
“How are you doing?” Rayse asked between breaths, the tone a bit more friendly than he intended.
While normally Taische would be incredulous and rattle off a host of questions, she knew keenly the kind of danger they were in. “I’m fine.”
Rayse didn’t know why he was awake, but there was no time for questions. He was here, she was here, and now they had to get out of this goddess-damned place. Another tremor shook the laboratory, this time potent enough to displace the objects on the tables and nearly knock the duo off their feet. Whatever was happening, it was getting closer. He frowned at the sight of the charred notebook and whatever secrets it kept.
Picking up a feather pen which was knocked from its inkwell, he took the few scraps he could and jotted something down, then turned back to Taische. “We’re leaving. This way.”
His one arm was wrapped around her shoulder, allowing him a bit more mobility than before. While normally he was too prideful for something like this, right now he didn’t even dignify it with a thought. There was more important things to worry about right now. Both of them made it out of the room, and Rayse verbally directed Taische toward the nearest exit. The catacombs were a maze, and the path Rayse used was now a deep, dark pit.
When he was young, he carried her when she was injured through the dangerous backstreets of Ettermire. Now, she was the one supporting him. Her focus on the escape was different than how he remembered her. She was quiet, serious, even though she likely had very important questions to ask, especially about her mother. Was she considering him a priority right now? What was he to her, anyway? Karuka didn’t expose him after all this time, yet at the same time didn’t play him up like the other men in her life. What did Taische see in him, exactly?
Regardless, they maintained the trend of not encountering a single other being down here. They were walking distinctly uphill, which wore on Rayse, his legs nearly crying out in pain with every step. A few times the tremors forced them to stop and lean on the wall for support, but that was about it. Then, a sort of low moan echoed throughout the dark halls.
“Meeeaaaaaaat...”
Rayse’s jaw dropped, “Oh holy goddess-damned hell…”
How in the FUCK did he survive that?!
“What’s that?” Tasiche asked.
“Something [i]very[i] bad.”
Eventually, they reached what looked like a dead end in the distance, but Rayse knew that it was an exit hidden by bushes. Taische turned around, her eyes wide as she finally felt the magnitude of what was approaching them. The tremors had become more frequent, forming a rhythm of one-two, one-two. They were footsteps. They picked up the pace, no longer causing any earthquakes, but now louder and louder. Whatever it was, it would be upon them in seconds.
“Go!” Rayse yelled. “I’m feeling better now, so get a head start and I’ll catch up in no time.” He lied.
“Then let’s leave together!” She protested.
“Look, I’m no good at this hero thing. That’s not really my style. Your slow ass will drag me down if we go together. I’ll buy some time and catch up. If you’d like to argue some more, I’ll just kill you and leave by myself, it would be a better fate than leaving you to… to it.” He pushed her forward, slipping the note he made inside of her robe.
Without having to support him, she was out of this hellhole before he even blinked. He turned back around, wondering how the hell Draug even fit in these halls if his new body was that huge. However, as the figure approached, nearly destroying the ground with the weight of each step, he remembered that Draug could compress his form despite his true size. He couldn’t make out any of Draug’s features in the darkness, but he knew it was him.
“Hello again, meat,” Draug said, in a soft voice. “That was the best attempt on my life I’ve ever experienced. But, I had a feeling you were trying something, and I detached my essence, letting you deal with a mindless mass. You forced me to discard my body… I respect that. Your reward will be a painless death.”
Rayse fished around his pockets for anything resembling a weapon, but found that he had nothing left. “I must confess: You have me at a disadvantage.” He made a fist and held it up to the Abomination. “I’m right-handed.”
Submit Thread for Judgment
