Arc 3 - Chapter 18: Zirardge Ranch I

(Reverence 3, 59 / 12:10AM)

“That’s the signal.”

The three of them watched as the flames soared in the East.

Noticing the speed of the inferno, Luna trailed her eyes at the barn near them. Despite needing shelter for the incoming flames, she knew that the fire would arrive later rather than sooner. Finally turning her eyes toward Benn and Chris, a slight creak to her batons pinched her ears.

“You two. Head back up to the hill where Jack is.”

“No. Chris can, but I won’t. Whatever they throw, I can handle it.”

“Then you better get behind me. Those dicks would be gunning for you the moment they see you.”

Benn turned his eyes toward Chris, who didn’t utter any word or groan a decibel. Creaking the metal of his mauser, Benn continued to press his face in a frown, as a soft exhale blew out from his nose.

Luna took a step forward, and furrowed a glare filled with authority.

“Hey idiot. Did you hear what I said? Run toward the hill.”

“But … I want to go with you guys.”

“From this point forward, it’s going to be chaos incarnate once the bullets fly. I don’t want you to become a liability.”

“But—”

— “Ew … a man.”—

Luckily for Benn, Luna’s body masked his presence, as he ducked into the crops below.

Right in front of them, was a woman the same age as Luna. Her hair painted light turquoise, her black skirt reached down to her knees. Wearing a headband, it had the shape of a golden star in the center.

Having a similar body type to Hope, she noticed that the woman had her eyes on the teen. Seeing that she had a wrinkled face, she looked older than her age, mostly because of the cigar she had in her mouth. Her fingers on the brown wood, she took it out for smoke to blow.

“Who are you?”

The woman lazily looked at Luna, her face still wrinkled and botched. Putting the small flame out, she flicked it away, as she cocked her head to the right.

“Ugh, who are you to question me meathead? You know, I hate it when women are muscular. It impresses men to be submissive, to be filled with lust. No woman should impress men. Nothing.”

‘Holy shit she’s annoying.’

Having her fingers hover over the center buttons, she extended her right hand outward. Glaring at her, she locked her boots tight to the fertilized soil, while her body and back straightened.

Chris stood right near Luna.

“Does it look like I give a shit about your love life? I could care less about your opinions.”

“Well you should. It could save you.”

“Uh … Luna—”

“Beat it idiot! Me and her are talking, thank you!”

Luna vanished.

The woman blinked, and turned to where Luna originally stood. Taking a couple of steps back, she raised both of her hands upward, and enclosed them into fists. Waiting for anything, the smell of garlic trickled her nostrils like—

Something sharp stalled against her neck.

Remaining absolutely still, she slowly lowered her hands along with her arms. Having no choice but to submit to her, her back was brushed against her chest and stomach, as she felt her bosom swell her neck.

“Who? Are? You?”

Her eyes narrowed into a look of frustration. Darkening her eyes, all that Luna could do was narrow her eyes in return.

“You’re here to rob us, are you?”

“Last chance.”

Tilting her head down, the blade that stalled on her throat, slowly glided off blood from its prison. Letting it roll down the metal, it dripped onto the crops, as the wind softly whistled through the night. Rustling the crops, and especially their hair … the woman devilishly grinned.

“The name’s Vivy, Vivy Zirardge. You have heard of my last name, right?”

Her body began to melt.

Like ice cream on a hot summer day, her skin and muscles dribbled onto the ground below. Letting go of her, as well as pulling back her blade, she took a step back and pushed on a defensive stance.

Although Chris grappled a Mauser pistol, his willingness to shoot was deterred.

In front of them, a blob born out of jello and animosity molded into obscurity. Rising up from the ground, it had arms and legs, and hands and feet. Crafted in a liquid that is similar to water, but it wasn’t, its defensive armor looked too flexible to break through.

With a single gasp, the creature roared.

‘Shit.’

________________________________________________________________________

—Wait … he’s the head of the Zirardge family?

The middle-aged man walked toward them, but treaded the gravel slowly. His hands and arms rustled with the trench gun, he had the butt against his hip, and his finger on the trigger. Bits of pebbles skipping away, the three of them felt the barrel pin at them.

“Do you know how much money I’ve lost? Half of my fortune is gone, all because of some bribes I pushed.”

“Y-You’re the one that bribed Reed?”

“Correct. And he wasn’t the only one I bribed in that courthouse.”

The man had the barrel of the gun press near Luke’s head. Luke tapped his foot against the road, and bit down onto his teeth with a tinge of strength. Feeling the wind dry his face, and most of his skin, his knuckles began to shiver against his nervousness.

Luke darkened his eyes, and slightly hunched his body forward.

“We could’ve paid for the damages. You could’ve told us that we owe money. We … we would’ve been fine on repairing your tower … So why bribe Reed … why bribe them …?”

Silence fell, but only the sound of crackling garlic blistered their ears.

Feeling the tension weighing down on his shoulders, he felt like eyes were on him again. Having his hands still, and his fingers stale, he gulped saliva down his throat. But after some time, the middle-aged man finally pressed the barrel into his skull.

—“Heros aren’t meant to be played with; only chosen.”—

All of his instincts screamed, which made him duck 90 degrees like a right triangle. Pulling the trigger, the buckshot didn’t scratch or graze Luke’s body, as he avoided—

He sprang his right boot.

Pushing it deep into the man’s stomach, he gasped out air. Dropping his gun, the metal and wood clacked with the pebbles, making him unarmed. In fact, he was vulnerable, like a duck in a small pond … surrounded by many hills.

‘Bingo.’

Another round traveled the ranch.

Hearing the shot burdening their ears, they quickly turned around to view the middle-aged man. Blood gushed from his right shoulder, he slammed with heavy knees to the ground.

Having his left hand on his wound, he quickly crawled away from the group. Reaching the stables, he slumped onto the wooden paneling that gave him comfort. Trying to maintain breath, it left Luke and the others to heed their attention onto the ranch house.

“Uh oh …”

Luke took a step back, once he noticed some figures in the distance. Beyond the smoke, those figures wore brown clothing. Thin jackets, khaki pants, their arms rested rifles and carbines.

“Looks like we’re in for a long holdout…”

“Godammit … get behind me you two.”

Brushing past Luke, Miles stood in the center, and knelt down with one knee to the ground. His palm being dented by the loosened pebbles, a blue light glowed from his fingers, which crafted into nothing more than a simple sandbag. One that was see through, it was just enough for four to five people to use.

Miles lowered his head, as his other hand grappled the center of the shield. One that was stationary to the ground.

“I could only hold this spot for 10 minutes. Max.”

“Gotcha.”

Both Luke and Hope pushed their backs against the cover, and pulled out their respective weapons. Tightening their grips on the metal, Luke felt his palms tighten tenfold.

—We handled worse things than humans.

________________________________________________________________________

A clash of two opposites sparkled the crops. Blocking and deflecting every attack, the liquid that she dodged narrowly grazed her clothes.

Like a gazelle, the tips of her boots glided through the fertilized soil. Despite the friction being more in sync, she felt it burden her calves and even her thighs. Struggling to keep up, the blob’s thrusting attacks only made her question what she was fighting …

As she glanced down to her right boot.

‘Why is it turning pink!?’

But because she glanced down, a small window opened. Leaping to the right, a fist barely grazed against her right cheek. Taking a step back, it wasn’t venom, and it wasn’t poison. It wasn’t even acidic.

‘Ah! What the…’

Her cheek felt itchy, as if the sun had rested onto the same spot for more than two hours. She felt like scratching it with all of her fingers.

Taken by surprise, again, she leaped to the right. And yet her blade took the full brunt of the mysterious liquid. Pulling her sword close to her, while gliding through the soil, she glanced at the metal of her blades. Which began to already rust.

‘Don’t tell me … is her power …’

Vivy took no time for a break, as she thrusted her right arm. Aiming at her sword, Luna pulled back her arms and her blades, and avoided an attack she could’ve deflected. Wary of the liquid, her blades looked dull, but it wasn’t enough for them to be chipped.

‘Damnit, I’m battling Ms. Clean here.’

The liquid that she was shielded in, one that smelt foul and hideous, dispersed outward like a flood. Enveloping the crops, it was only a short radius as it assaulted the crops and dirt. Making the soil sick, making the crops wither with life, it made Vivy her own self island.

Luna pointed her right sword at her. Seeing that most of her blades had orange blotches, another envelopment in that liquid would eat away the metal.

“Beat it bitch. I’m trying to reach my friends.”

On the top of its head, bits of watery substance trailed down from its body. Allowing a head to stick out, her turquoise hair was finally viewable from the ground.

“You mean your boyfriend? Why go to such lengths for some male?”

A sniper shot rattled the air.

Luna glanced toward the east, as the gunshot was directed toward where Luke was at. Sweat dribbling out from her temples, she also noticed the flames starting to creep up.

Vivy also took a small glance, as the wind fastened. The air having no humidity, their sweat flourished against their own skin.

“Him and your group pissed off Daddy. And believe me, you’re not going to like what he has in store for you all.”

“Does it look like I take consequences from men?”

“Ahh, you’re finally starting to understand my—”

“Cause I don’t look for men through a garbage bin. I’m no loser, but you’re actually pathetic for a woman.”

All of Vivy’s muscles strained, making her growl through her parched throat. Veins splattering both of her temples, it wasn’t long before she strained the ground with blobbery feet.

As she extended both of her hands outward.

“Eat this!”

Like a water gun, ziplines of liquid shot out through her body.

Zipping and leaping all across the field, she felt the bottoms of her boots build up dirt. Making her socks and feet all the more irritable, she bit down on her teeth, and pressured her gums to bleed.

‘Shit! How can I tackle something like this!’

The more she slid through fertilized dirt, the longer she felt like the mouse in cat-and-mouse. Trying so hard to dodge the liquid, it splashed, it sizzled, and it sucked out the moisture from the poor garlic crops.

‘I need some distraction, something for her to take a glance at!’

They both heard a faint buzz.

Turning toward the south, the two of them heard the buzzing growing louder and louder. Hearing it tremble their bodies, and even their boots, it was none other than a large swarm of insects. Insects that made her drop her swords.

“Ha … ha…”

Her lungs failed, and her eyes widened. Her face growing deathly pale, she slowly walked back while the tips of her toes grew in static. Her chest being pounded against, all of her heart pumped again and again like the beating of a drum.

Because the swarm … was a collection of black and yellow.

“BEES!!”

Dropping herself down to the crops, the leaves and stems blanketed her from the swarm.

Vivy walked backward, as her eyes widened at the back and yellow that formulated her irises. It wasn’t just regular bees. No. Their bodies were slim, too slim to be that of normal pollinators.

‘No no no …’

Chris, who had spectated Vivy and Luna’s fight, noticed a burly figure standing in the middle of the field. His eyes closed, he looked way too open, but what he was doing was necessary for Luna’s safety.

Turning his eyes toward Vivy, a single word came out from his lips.

“Wasps…”

Like the flick of a switch, a storm of them swarmed all over her body. Fighting the air with her blob-like hands and arms, she quickly crafted her head to cover her face. Despite the yellowish-white liquid acting as armor … she continued to wail her arms.

‘Wasps have touch exoskeletons, but they’ll die soon enough when indulged in bleach. Unfortunately for her, their bodies are more durable than metal.’ thought Benn.

The swarm began to shrink in size, their corpses littering the insides of the bleach. Bursts of liquid sprouting out from the sides, she knelt down on one knee, and then the other. Feeling pintacks poke at her, her shield … melted away.

And that didn’t stop the rest of the wasps.

‘I got to get up … I got to get up …’

Despite 75% of the swarm dying, the 25% continued to sting. Reaching outward with a single hand, she stared at the ranch house that lit up in lights. Thighs swollen, lips botched, her cheeks began to puff up like a pufferfish.

‘I got to make it back … I got to … make it … to …’

Having no feeling within her legs, she clawed through the dirt that solaced her chest and stomach. Her neck pierced by stingers, it felt like all of her throat began to swell in flames. Her windpipe inflamed, it reddened the longer her body sustained the torture.

[Make perfection your goal. Strive to be good, unlike your useless brother.]

‘No…’

She stopped crawling, and blindly stared at the ranch with blurred eyes.

The world around her began to fade, as even the stings she was inflicted against went into darkness. Hearing dimmed, touch gone, all of her nerves were dimmed to the lowest it went. In fact, she couldn’t see what lay in front of her.

‘Daddy’s right … I need to fight.’

Feeling her soul submerged in water, it was solace and tranquil within the shadows. No way for it to quell her lungs, she held her breath for as long as she could. While a single light faded from the surface.

‘I need power … I need strength … I need—’

Then came the Hades zone.

Trapping in a void with no light, the light that shone from the surface was by no means seen. No breath, no thought, she was left to reel with only her thoughts and prayers. Only thoughts. Closing her eyes, she swore she saw a white light flicker inside her irises.

A light that was finally within her grasp.

‘I need only myself and I.’

Reality rushed into her. Like a time-suck, her whole body arched as if she was struck by lightning.

Her eyes rested on the ranch, she instead glanced up toward the sky. No stars, only two double new moons.

{Blessing of Bleach: Act 2}

Then came the wave of bleach.