forum fall apart without me, body (o/o, urban fantasy with a classic lit twist)

Started October 04, 2020 by Deleted user

tune

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The factory was dark and empty, the machines long since turned off and the workers long since fired. Rust covered every inch of the place, and wildlife and foliage alike were beginning to migrate from the forest to inside the building.

Adam skulked down one of the corridors, where the main offices were. They didn’t want to check out the main factory just yet, because if it chose to do so, it would be out in the open and exposed. It wandered down the corridors, taking a defensive stance every time they opened a door.

Eventually, it heard the telltale sounds of claws ripping metal to shreds, just outside the door to the main storage unit. A dilapidated metal cart flew just by Adam’s head, and they winced. That could have hurt, had it flown just a few inches to the left.

When Caleb said to stop following sketchy ghosts into abandoned buildings, maybe I should have listened.

Emilia's breath was uneven and quick, a byproduct of her running. And the minor parkour it took to weave in and out of long unused machines. Now, she was weaving in and out of shelving, heart pounding in her chest as she evaded the hulking thing that had been searching for her. She didn't know what it was. Just that it shouldn't have been there, and that the way it kept throwing things around poked at a memory she did not want to deal with right now.

When she finally made it to the emergency exit in the back of the large storage area, Emmy tugged sharply on the door, and let out a strangled noise that she did her best to muffle. It was locked. Who locked an emergency exit? Especially when no one with keys was going to be in the building? Behind her, the crashing sounds grew, the creature's angry and violent movements nearing her, if slowly. How was she supposed to get out of here now? Hino was shadowing her brother, leaving her alone and without the spectral help she had grown to rely on. She was completely alone, completely screwed, and very much not happy about it.

It's too corporeal for me to work with. Dammit, think, Emmy. How are you going to get out of this one?

Adam noticed a figure moving in the dark. What a small, weak looking thing, it could just snap her spine in half and- no, best not to dwell on dark thoughts. Thought lead to action, and actions had consequences.

It approached, silently so as not to draw any attention from the monster it was hunting to itself. “Hello,” they whispered, coming up behind the other person.

Emmy jumped at the sudden voice, swinging around into a defensive stance. And then it hit her. This one had talked. This one couldn't be the thing that had been following her. Too quiet, too patient. Either she was dealing with an added issue, or this one could be of help. Hopefully, help. She was so tired of running, and her ankle still throbbed from landing on it wrong. If she could just get out of here, she could recuperate, and figure out how to deal with the mess.

She blinked at the creature–person?–in front of her, a frown etched into her features. "Um-hey. Who are you? How did you get in here and past the thing? And why? Did you get stuck in here too?"

“I’ve been tracking it, I need to kill it. And you would be?” they asked, tilting their head to look at the woman in front of them. The thing Adam had been tracking thrashed around in the storage area, just about ready to burst out and start attacking things.

“Brace yourself, I’m heading in.” it said, taking out a glowing sword.

"Um…someone in the wrong place at the wrong time?" She supplied, by way of answer. The presence of a glowing sword had her shifting back, and she looked from it to the person talking to her. "You're going in? Do you need like, backup? I have a switch blade, that's about it." Emmy stated, eyes again transfixed on the glowing sword. "Which really pales in comparison here."

“Best case scenario, you run. Worst case, take these,” they handed her a pair of purple silk gloves and a spray bottle of some faintly glowing liquid that smelled of lavender. “These beings, they hate the smell and feel of that particular mixture. Either drench yourself in it, or if the creature gets too close, spray it on the thing.” Adam said, inching closer to where the door had come clean off. Likely the monster’s handiwork, but if there was another here… “the gloves are for the worst case scenario. Whatever you do, do not snap your fingers unless you’re inches from death.”

"Uh huh. I'm gonna trust you on this one, person with a large sword." Emmy said, slipping the gloves on and holding the spraybottle like she was posing for the poster of an action movie. Once she got a feeling for it, she shrugged. "I'd really like to not die, if that's possible. But I'm also not too keen on leaving you alone here, so…let's have at this thing."

“Fine.” they said.

“And it’s Adam. Not ‘person with a large sword’.” Adam said, bursting through the doors.

The thing was tall, like it was stretched out, with huge lamplike eyes that stared them down. It was thin, and pale, with too many arms and legs to count, and a cracked gemstone in its chest. Adam ran towards it, slicing off its front legs and then slicing it open on its underbelly. The gem cracked more, but the being didn’t die.

"How was I supposed to know that." Emmy muttered to herself, rolling her eyes and briefly forgetting the plan. When the thing came into sight, she didn't cower, simply wrinkling her nose in distaste. It was creepy, but not anything worse than some of the eldritch-looking things she had seen. Mostly, her issue lay in what she was afraid it had done already.

When she had found her dad–or rather, what was left of him–she had just barely missed the creature at fault. And the long limbs looked eerily similar to what she had glimpsed as she'd hidden behind the door to let it out.

The sword didn't kill it, and Emilia frowned, tucking her back to the wall. She had slipped in, following Adam, and was entirely unsure of how she could be of help without getting in the way. For now, it kind of seemed like her best bet was to stand back, and be there if things went wrong.

“I’m sure it will come down eventually, I’ve been able to wound it befor-ahh!” it screamed as they were lifted by one of the creature’s many limbs and swung around like it was nothing, surprising given its inhumanly tall stature.

The monster screeched, flinging Adam halfway across the room and then following after, like this was a game, like Adam was just a toy. The thing scuttled across the room full of broken metal cartons and scraps of machinery, and managed to pin the patchwork person to the floor.

Adam struggled, reaching for where it had dropped their sword, but to no avail. They screamed as the thing tore into its pale, yellowed flesh through the thick trench coat they were wearing.

"Shit-" Without thinking, she stepped forward from the wall, waving her arms and dancing around in an attempt to get it's attention. "Hello, monster thing! Over here please! I would really like for you to…tear into my flesh instead?" The last part came off as a question, like she was trying to figure out what to say to it, if it could even hear her. She had barely any plans beyond that, but moved like she had one.

If the asshole of a ghost that had led her here was near the building, maybe she could use him. She just had to hold out until the last second. If luck turned up, then that was energy she hadn't wasted. If it turned down…well, she didn't keep the switchblade in her pocket just for defending herself.

She pulled the weapon from her pocket, clutching it tightly in one gloved hand and the spray bottle in the other. It would be nice, of course, to not need it. What she could do wasn't exactly pretty, but still, she flicked the blade open. The movement was practiced, and subtle, but the blade flashed quickly across the skin of her arm, sleeves pushed up to accommodate the gloves. The cut was down the back of her arm, just deep enough to begin bleeding quickly as she wiggled to get the creature's attention.

If it could just make it out, maybe they could get to their sword in time and- Adam looked up in surprise when the monster started tearing after the woman instead, completely ignoring them.

The creature roared, standing on its hind claws and making a loud screech to rock the heavens. It began to chase after Emilia, coming closer and closer with each crippled step it took. The blow Adam had dealt had done some good, but not quite enough as it turned out, the being starting to dart faster, stronger than before.

Adam reached for its sword and winced, the damage the beast had dealt was too much for them to handle. It crawled over, one step at a time, heart racing with fear.

Fear, ha. Fear was usually a good thing in combat, it kept you on edge. But now, Adam felt near-paralyzed with it, it quaked and shook in the terror. It couldn’t save anyone, not even the girl, and what good was it to humanity dead and how could they do something, they had to figure out something in time or-

It pulled themself up, sword in hand, and limped to the monster. It might not be able to do much in their current state, but they could at least try something.

"You're kind of obnoxious." Emilia called to the monster, her tone less afraid and now more deadpan. That was a common trait of hers. Fear hit it's breaking point, moving on to make way for a desperate tired and uninterested. Still she kept moving, always dancing just out of the way in time. That was a perk of being as light as she was. Though a notable downside was the quicker fatigue, which would be hitting her sooner or later.

She swept a finger across the blood on her arm, lifting it to draw some sort of shape on her throat. Now that she had to think quickly, a plan formed in her head. A kind of stupid one, but she had never really been known for good plans.

There was no way to know for sure that her ability would work on this thing. But if it got close enough, and the spray bottle didn't quite take it out, she was ready to try.

One of the thing's long limbs took out a shelving unit, and Emmy just barely avoided being crushed by it. She was pushing her luck and running out of space, but that didn't matter. Now that the sigil was set, all it took was placing it on the thing and reciting her invocation. Easy.

Adam limped over, barely strong enough to hold a sword. It felt,,, dizzy. And suddenly, they were losing consciousness, shoulders and then their entire body drooping, collapsing to the floor.

The last thought it thought was that it couldn’t save even just… just…. one…. human….

They were lying down in the middle of a forest, staring up at the sky. They mumbled out some cooing noises, their tongue thick and inarticulate, not understanding the intricacies of speech, not yet. A leaf fell on its face, and it giggled.

And suddenly it was being chased. Hunger ate at its stomach, but apparently the townspeople didn’t appreciate a giant monstrosity such as themself foraging in the way all simple creatures did. It ran, ran so far and so fast. And yet it couldn’t quite escape the rocks pelted at their head and torso, or the wild dogs that snapped at its heels.

And then Victor having destroyed their one hope of not being alone. How could such a fragile, innocent, new thing be so cruelly disposed of? Rage filled their heart, and they vowed vengeance on their creator.

Adam blinked, slowly. No, they couldn’t slip away. They grasped for their dropped sword, standing, then falling, then using their sword as a sort of makeshift cane. They moved closer to the monstrosity attacking Emilia, and swept its sword at the ugly demon’s tail.

((i hope it's alright that i'm including the creature's actions? i assume that's what you were hoping for, but i'd rather make sure lmao))

Emilia's gaze shifted to Adam's movement, face splitting into a grin. They were alive, which meant she didn't have to tack on another witnessed death. And considering she wasn't exactly able to revive people from death…this was definitely fortunate.

The creature seemed momentarily distracted by the assault on it's tail, which was somewhat understandable. As it turned, Emmy glanced to the spray bottle in her hands. She had been told to use it if needed, and this thing was large enough that her switchblade would work about as well as a toothpick. With that in mind, she danced around to it's blind spot, moving quickly to make it there before it had fully turned towards Adam. And she sprayed it. The action felt weirdly like spraying a cat who was acting up, and she couldn't help the muttered 'bad monster' that slipped from her mouth.

The thing screeched and fell over for a second, the spray hitting its side and burning it. The gem cracked considerably further, and as Adam dealt the finishing blow, the gem burst. And so did the creature, dark blood and explode guts scattering all over the room, and onto the two who had slain the beast. Adam huffed, wiped its face, and sheathed their sword.

As soon as the being was dead, Adam took out a small hand grenade and pulled the pin, tossing it onto the pile. In a flash, they grabbed the woman and ran, just barely making it out of the doors with fire at its heels.

“That was close, I timed that incorrectly. Well, failure is the only way to move towards succeeding, you have to learn these things.”

Emmy had barely managed to wipe the blood from her eyes, before she was being lifted and hauled from the factory building. It took her brain a moment to catch up, a complaint halfway on her lips before she silenced herself. Considering the fire, maybe this was best.

She removed the gloves as they made it outside, using her hoodie sleeve to try and remove the blood from her face. It did more smearing than anything.

"Better close than dead, you know." Emilia pointed out to them, looking up. They had lifted her with no effort at all, which seemed strange to her. They had seemed strong, though, so maybe it wasn't too far out of the question. "Thanks for the bloodbath, though. My poor clothes aren't going to recover from this."

Adam huffed, a little displeased with the woman’s demeanor. “Better covered in filth than dead. You should wash off, my house isn’t that far away and I think I have a change of clothes that could come close to fitting you.” they said, sheathing their sword and starting to walk away. The gravel crunched beneath their feet for the few steps it took, and then, “Are you coming?”

Emilia rolled her eyes, following after them and still attempting to clean herself. "Yeah, yeah. I'll pay you back soon as I get home and get the cash. Cash is okay, right? I can pay for the whole saving me thing too, cause that was more than just a little helpful." Rambling slightly, she removed her hoodie, for just a moment forgetting why she even wore it in the first place.

The tank top she had underneath made it incredibly obvious how often she skipped meals, looking just a little too thin. An unhealthy thin, considering her height and body type. Beyond that, though, were the scars covering her body. Now visible due to the lack of hoodie–which had taken the brunt of the blood wave–they seemed concentrated to the backs of her arms, her shoulders, and her chest. They varied, some looking like the result of angry cats, and others coming from knives, or sporting the look of burns. All generally unexpected on a normal human.

With a sad sigh, she tore off the sleeve of her hoodie, wrapping the fabric around the wound she had made on her arm. It had been a pointless one to make. But still, at least she knew she could have tried something. Could have gone down fighting, instead of giving up. That was always important.

“Why pay me? I already have money, and you probably need some help,” it said.

This was quite confusing. Even if Adam didn’t have money, why pay for a simple gesture of familiarity and compassion?

“I can fix that wound. I have certain healing salves from friends of mine, at home. I didn’t expect to need them here.” they said. Damn, their body was beginning to fail them. If it kept on like this it would pass out, so it grabbed a nearby metal pole and leaned all eight feet of themself onto the pole, using it as a crude walking stick.

"Because you showed up on time, and sorta probably saved my life, and therefore are probably entitled to financial compensation." Emilia said, glancing up at them. "And don't worry about this, I'll he-" Cut off by surprise, she watched them pluck up a metal pole. Her theory of their strength was solidified by that, and she snorted. "I'll heal. It doesn't hurt, and some clean bandages when I get home will have me good as new. Honestly, I'll probably end up with some scrape or scratch right after anyway. I'm somewhat injury-prone."

“It was a… oh, what did the man on the television say… happy accident? Don’t pay me. I’ve invested well in my time.” they said. Over the last two hundred years, it was to be expected.

Adam made its way back to its house, and opened the door for Emilia to step inside. “I never did get your name,” they said, voice as soft as ever.

In the context of the house, Adam was huge. It was a small cottage with bottles and boxes crammed in corners, and all sorts of strange plants around the place.

Emilia blinked, pausing in the doorway. She flashed a smile over her shoulder as she continued inside, speaking. "It's Emilia. Friends and family call me Emmy, if you're interested in utilizing a nickname." She said, stopping just inside and looking around. Comparatively to anyone, she was small, but compared to Adam, she was more like a kitten next to a Great Dane. Almost a comical size difference, she had to admit.

The plants caught her interest, and she slipped her shoes off to go peer at the closest one to her, fingers itching to touch it but knowing she shouldn't. They weren't her plants, and some of them could be toxic to touch. They were sort of strange looking, and she had a friend who had gone through a phase of growing poison plants for fun.

“Take care around those. They can sting.” Adam said, taking it’s gigantic boots off and going into the small kitchen, beginning to prepare something to eat as it turned on the stove. “Shower’s in the back, I’ll get you some clothes from a friend’s house. She won’t mind, I steal things from her all the time,” they said, once the stove had heated up nicely it placed a pot of water onto the burner and went to stack wood in the fireplace.

There was a somewhat larger, yet still relatively humble cottage nearby, just past the tree line and into a sunny clearing. Adam walked the gravel-paved pathway and knocked on the door. It swung open, which was never a good sign, but Adam did really need to get a spare change of clothes for their new… friend? Acquaintance?

They wandered through the equally cluttered house, this time she had magazines with the eyes cut out of the models’ faces and an overwhelming supply of rubber clown noses that probably honked if you squeezed them. Adam did not squeeze.

“Oracles, honestly.” it shrugged. Adam made its way through the house and to the empty bedroom, decorated with nothing more than a dresser and a bare bed. They quickly found a soft grey t-shirt, blue jeans, and belt, aand bolted.

Emilia nodded, taking that as a sign to definitely not touch any plants. Instead, she moved about, studying each plant with interest, humming softly to herself once Adam had left. The tune was soft and sweet, something she would have sung along with had she been baking. She couldn't remember the name of the song, though. Just that she had heard it on some playlist.

She was still looking at the plants when Adam returned, and glanced up to smile at them in greeting. "You really don't have to go out of your way. I'm sure it's not the weirdest thing the bus drivers have seen, so I could have just headed home. But either way, thank you. Seriously."

"It was the least I could do. Feel free to shower, change clothes, explore the place. Well, except the basement. Never the basement. Anything you want, you can have. Well, anything within reason." Adam said, moving around the house, busying themself with taking care of their plants and so on.

It didn't really care what Emilia chose to do, but it was nice to have company that wasn't, well, the Oracle. A Oracle, at least, but it always thought of her as a The. They watered a large, brilliantly coloured plant and fed it-yes, fed it, it had a mouth-some strange purple sludge.