481. Season of night, 9

(Myls)

We could barely hear the rain outside.

We were climbing carefully the hidden inside architecture of the monumental wall. It had been a fortified line. A modern great wall.

By the time we found another exit, the storm had already passed.

Inside the tunnels were ramps to bring even vehicles up and down. It was a grid of tunnels inside. There was no real shelter. So we kept going up.

Until there was no point in hiding there anymore. Then, as we were already quite high, we looked around fo an opening, and found a way out in altitude.

Just for a while, we would look at the scenery from a high point. Then we will turn back and ride back the way we came down to the ground.

~

The sight from that summit was impressive. Very impressive.

The sky still as deep blue. In the distance on the wild desert lands, I could see the ruins of a city completely eroded. That must have been the city of sun.

And just behind the wall, again some dark spots of fallen bodies.

One looked paler. And moving?

M - Something looks alive down there!

B - ...

We rode our way back to there a little faster.

~

After an hour and half or so later, we were behind the wall, broken nearby.

Ahead of us was the landing spot. Where the burnt bodies crashed.

Except for one.

She was stumbling, not quite able to hold onto her legs. Some burnt horns of a kind were attached to her back.

She was severely burnt and wounded as well. But she still had some pale skin on her flesh, and the will to stand and walk.

She couldn’t stand up really. She kept falling.

Her head was halfway crushed into itself, and marked with burns as well. Just like her torso. She couldn’t breathe very well.

In the end she just collapsed there, attempting a last time to stand, while we were getting closer to her.

She died.

We inspected her body. She was mostly human.

M - What is happening? Magenta is eating and spitting humans?

B - I don’t think so. I think it’s creating new things... New priests, to hunt us down on land.

We knew something like this would eventually happen. It still is a shit piece of news.

It was only a matter of time...

Blume meanwhile opens what’s left of that human looking thing’s skull, like she would any other animal carcass.

Not much of her brain is left intact. She still eats it without a care about the fact that I’m watching, nauseous.

M - Can you still do that metallic sound? The one of the pale white little roses...

B - Why would I do that?

I used to like her... I sigh and turn away. I’m getting ready to leave.

She does the sound. I hear it. I turn around.

She looks nothing like what she used to be.

She looks monstrous.

But her body still does that wind chime note I used to know.

Her eyes even are barely human anymore, but as she looks at me, her twisted face draws a rough smile.

B - It’s still me you know.

M - I know... We humans mostly trust our eyes, that’s all...

She thinks about it. About how she doesn’t care about looking gorgeous anymore.

Then she winks at me, sort of cutely. The contrast...

I unwillingly took a step back under the shock. She grins.

B - It’s still me. Don’t trust your eyes.

~

It took us longer than expected to start going through interesting ruins.

First we had to cross canyons of ruptured earth of unknown age.

Then we went slowly through dusty ruins that were pretty much worthless and empty.

We found nothing and I’m running out of food and water. This area is more dry than Mars.

And Magenta is already on the rise ahead...

Then we found finally some interesting ruins.

An odd compound going deep below the ground.

Everything was collapsed and we couldn’t explore very far from that end. At least we were in a reasonable shelter for that strike. But we also found a map of that subway system.

From there, we found where to go, from another entrance we would find, elsewhere in this field of ruins.

So we returned outside, as the rain was already on its way back to the sky.

For the first time, we looked for the falling bodies that would follow.

And we saw them.

Balls of fire, like small meteors falling down, at great speed. Too great.

Two crashed as you’d expect.

One had a sudden deceleration, spreading burning wings against her fall. They soon turned to smoke and ashes, and the body finished its fall alone.

She landed on her two feet, standing...

We weren’t far.

I felt as if Nightmare was pressing against my back.

I was shivering and it was hard to breathe.

~

Two charred corpses spread around in splatters.

And one human with severe burns over her skin, but alive, and standing.

Even dressed, though very lightly.

A severe look, but no tears on her face.

Grey and white hair, but not too old features.

She looks a lot like her...

M - Rose... Is that you?

Blume looked as severe and worried.

There was heavy tension in the air. I was ready to draw my weapons as well, even if she looked armless.

She only looked hurt, and maybe very angry.

Something broke the tension, and that rose jumped at Blume with great vigour despite her empty hands.

And despite holding nothing, it was suddenly as if she had thrown a stun grenade.

A bright flash blinded me and I lost my balance along with my hearing.

When I recovered my senses, all I saw was Blume about to die, and all I could hear was that she was screaming for her life in pain.

That white rose was over her, holding her down, while glowing liquid light drooled over them, dissolving Blume straight through like the rain would.

Blume was screaming.

My mind didn’t take the time to think. I just reacted.

I stood up, already stepping toward them, weapon in hand.

The liquid light was hurting my eyes when I looked around it, but I was still able to aim.

My first bullet went straight through the rose’s chest.

As she turned her face toward me, showing dire pain, three other bullets reached her chest, neck and head.

As she fell over in her blood, the light vanished, soon replaced only by crimson. The echoes in my ears faded slowly.

Blume was direly wounded, parts of her head and body gone, but still alive.

She stood up, her face and body spattered with holes and burns.

M - Are you alright?

B - ... I’ll be fine...

M - That thing... Looked like Licht.

B - You’re right. You’re sadly right.

I was already reloading my handgun while Blume was trying to recompose herself.

There was no need to say it aloud since we both knew it.

It was only going to get worse from now on.

~