Full Moon Strays Ch. 05

Arthur was feeding what energy he could to Shield, but both were quickly approaching exhaustion. Mindy was near her friend and lover, trying to support him. Everyone else was arming themselves, including a clever few who were gathering aerosol cans and lighters from the supply closet.

Red looked over at Jane. Jane already had that wild look in her eye . . . the one she got when she or her friends were threatened. Natasha noticed it as well, and it chilled her blood almost as much as the Swarm itself. Jane's mind was so close to snapping that the two women could feel the tension.

Jane's hair unbraided itself and thousands of strands extended their reach as she strode forward, just as the shields began to crack and the Swarm started coming through. The Swarm was used to overwhelming its prey, but Jane posed a unique problem. Her hair was an army all by itself, and it began snapping and whipping through the air, ripping the swarm apart as it started to come through. And what no one knew was that although the Swarm would normally devour its goal and anything that got in the way, it had certain restrictions placed upon it that evening . . . Jane was not to be harmed.

"Sweet Jesus," Natasha said, watching the young woman wander towards the encroaching menace like a weed-whacker from hell. "Where the heck did she come from?"

The floor was strewn with corpses, many of which were lit on fire by the strays. The members of the Swarm that got through the crumbling shields and passed Jane headed straight for Red and while many were intercepted, some got close. Dozens latched onto Natasha, only to find their teeth useless against her impenetrable skin.

But the problem with facing the Swarm was that it wasn't like a normal enemy. It had no sense of self preservation . . . no doubts . . . no regrets. It existed solely to kill, and some of its members found their way to Red. She was swinging a sheet of rusty metal, smashing the demonic insects with great force, but some found there way to her skin and began to bite and claw and sting.

Red had never felt anything so painful in her life. Each tiny creature was inflicting a pain similar to being shot, and some were actually beginning to burrow into her skin. She smashed herself against a wall, crushing some of them and buying her an all-too-temporary reprieve.

A number of other Strays were suffering similar fates, as they stood too close to the break in the shield or the insects' path to Red. The ground was crunching beneath their feet as more of the swarm was swatted down, but it was the screams of the Strays that filled the air.

Red felt her flesh ripped as more of the creatures latched onto her. She had smashed through a wall and found herself in a utility tunnel leading away from the main platform. She threw herself up against one wall and then the other, crushing the insects feeding just underneath her skin.

Then, Red felt . . . secure. She realized that she was spun up in something resembling a cocoon. The material was wrapped around her from head to toe and smelled faintly of . . . shampoo. It was Jane's hair. The young woman had followed Red down and completely enveloped her lover in a living mass of hair that squeezed the life out of any insect that tried to burrow or claw its way into Red. And the red-haired warrior felt Jane's weight fall lightly on top of her. Jane was going to protect Red's life with her own. Red tried to scream . . . to tell Jane to run, but it was no use. All sound was muffled by the hair and the buzzing in the air.

Tarloh had followed down the hall and noticed the remaining Swarm desperately trying to get through Jane's protective cocoon, but he finally realized something else . . . the Swarm wasn't attacking Jane. They seemed to be avoiding her. Anyone else would have been dead meat by then. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew that it would give the Strays a chance to save Red. He called up their few remaining flame units as well as Natasha, and after several minutes were able to destroy the remaining Swarm drones.

Tarloh put his hand down on Jane's shoulders. "That's all of them," he said. "Let her go so we can . . ."

Tarloh was unprepared for the sight of Jane's eyes when she whipped her head around . . . they had gone dark and were flickering like the rays of the sun trying to find their way around the moon during an eclipse. In that moment, Tarloh had no doubt that Jane had gone insane. Then, the darkness was gone, and Jane's eyes turned white as they rolled back in her head as she passed out. Her hair returned to its normal length and released its hold on Red.

Red was bleeding from more places than not it would seem, and a few movements could be seen under her skin as a few remaining bugs ate away. These were quickly removed with Tarloh's sharp knife and the bugs were squashed. Red was picked up and rushed towards Arthur's humble medical facilities. For a time, all eyes were on their fallen leader, and it was a moment before anyone thought to go check on Jane. But by the time anyone checked, Jane was gone.

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Twenty minutes later . . .

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In all their history, the Strays had never been so chaotic. People were running all over the Den looking for Jane, while Arthur tried putting Red and the other victims of the swarm back together again. There were four more dead and a dozen wounded. Between the Swarm's attack and that of the Hellspawn, the ranks of the Strays had been decimated. There war leader was down, Jane was missing, and there were a lot of people feeling helpless.

Arthur was sweating like a racehorse after its second Kentucky Derby. He had stabilized the other wounded, but Red had been hit hard. He had worked insect corpses out of her body and closed up all the wounds, but she had lost a great deal of blood and he didn't have the energy to accelerate her replenishing. He wasn't going to ask for an energy boost from anyone, because no one had anything to . . .

"Arthur," Natasha started. She was sitting across from him, looking down at the woman she had spent years with, tears in her brilliant brown eyes. This wasn't how she had imagined her return at all. There was supposed to be that moment of fond remembrance with Red, followed by some good stories, great sex, the inevitable argument about who left who followed by the tempered reconciliation to hold them over until Nat's next visit. That's the way it had worked for over a year. "Can you borrow my energy? I know you've done it before."

"You're invulnerable," Arthur reminded her. "I don't think it could work on you."

"Try," she said. "Please, take whatever you need."

Arthur was hesitant, but only because he didn't want to have to look into Natasha's eyes if he failed. She reached out and offered him her hand and Arthur took it, a little intimidated by her grip. He felt a barrier there when he tried to draw energy, but noticed that Nat had her eyes closed as she tried to relax and let her power flow. Suddenly, there was a flood of energy and Arthur felt . . . small. It was as if he had found himself in the ocean, clinging to the side of the whale and calling its strength his own. He placed his other hand on Red's damaged side and continued to mend her interior wounds and replenish her lost blood. In a moment that felt like a lifetime, Red's body was as healed as Arthur could do without pushing her systems beyond capacity. He felt heady . . . almost drunk with power . . . and a little awestruck. He'd only sensed power like that once before.

'What is it about the women in Red's life?' he thought.

Meanwhile, Tarloh was in counsel with the remaining Strays, and thinks were getting even grimmer. A number of the Strays wanted to run in the face of this new enemy, and Tarloh couldn't say he blamed them. Jane was still missing, Red was still down, and Tarloh was at a loss for words. He was a good leader, but he had never had to lead alone. He found himself praying to whatever Gods might be listening to actually cut them a frickin' break.

Talia wandered up. "Patrick is missing as well," she said, referring to the Stray who had the Talent of flight.

"He wasn't among the dead," Mindy confirmed, "and I know he was at the meeting. You think whoever or whatever grabbed Jane grabbed him too?"

"I don't remember seeing him in the fight though," Tarloh thought absently. "You don't suppose . . ."

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On the outskirts of town . . .

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Patrick held Jane in his arms as he flew towards the sterile-looking business complex where the Hellspawn were based. The place still gave him the creeps, as it had ever since he had been recruited. The Strays were a noble group, but they didn't have a good retirement plan. The Dark One did. Obey it, and he would have a place at its side when it ruled this world. All he had to do was keep an eye on the Strays and report back what they were planning and what they're defenses were. He was supposed to join up with the Dark One's forces when the Hellspawn attacked and the opportunity arose, but Jane's unexpected interference had caused him to rethink that, and luckily the Dark One had agreed. Of course he'd had to kill a Hellspawn to make it look like he was really trying, but it had all been worth it. When the Strays had left Jane alone to check on that egotistical bitch Red, he had grabbed her and flown off down one of the escape tunnels, and no one would down there would have a clue. He still wasn't sure why his Master had wanted this stupid little girl so badly, but it wasn't his job to question why. So he had snuck out and gotten word to the Hellspawn about what the Strays defenses were and how the Swarm might bypass them.

He landed in front of the glass doors where two Hellspawn were waiting, opening the door for him as if he were some kind of emperor.

'Maybe I will be someday,' he thought idly as he carried Jane down the long stairs to the Dark One's chamber. He was met at the bottom by Gelok, who looked upon both captor and captive with some contempt.

"The Master is waiting," Gelok hissed, in his best English.

"I know," Patrick said, pushing past and carrying Jane into the darkness, depositing her on the floor. He felt It's presence and took pride in his accomplishments.

{{LEAVE US,}} the Shoggoth's massive mind said telepathically. {{LEAVE ME WITH HER,}} it crooned. It sounded so much creepier when it wasn't trying to sound menacing.

Patrick wanted to wait for his well-deserved congratulations, but he knew better than to defy the Dark One. He walked back toward the opening of the room.

'I wonder if I'll even recognize her the next time I see her?' Patrick wondered has he walked back up the stairs.

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Back at the Den . . .

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Red and the other victims of the attack that could be saved had all been stabilized. The amount of energy that Natasha had let Arthur share had proven to be more than enough. As Shield replenished the defenses, Tarloh tried to figure out what the Strays next move would be. He had never had to rule without Red's help before, and he didn't like the way it felt.

Robbie and Natasha had refused to leave Red's side, and Talia had dropped by as often as she could. No one had ever seen her so weakened before. They were flabbergasted . . . using a Swarm to try and murder a single person was like using a nuclear bomb to destroy a single tank. Their opponents had been serious, and they had struck two blows. Red was down, Jane was gone and the Strays were scared.

"She's gonna be alright," Natasha said, trying to soothe the red-haired girl's brother. Robbie was trembling in pure fury. He hadn't been able to protect his sister, though she had protected him so many times. And he was helpless to do anything about it.

"Wha . . . what the . . ." came a low voice from between Red's lips. Her eyes opened, and Robbie held one hand while Natasha held the other. Red looked between one and the other. "What happened?" she asked.

"We got hit bad," Robbie told her. "Arthur saved you, with a little help from your woman here," he said unthinkingly.

While Red's affection and appreciation shown through, the words "your woman" brought someone else's face to mind. "Where's Jane?"

Natasha flinched but didn't let go. 'I'm the one here with you,' she thought, almost angrily. Then she felt guilty. Red wasn't hers and she knew it. "Your friend . . . she's gone. We're not sure, but we think that Patrick might have been working for the other side and took her . . ." Natasha stopped. She shouldn't have said anything. She knew EXACTLY what Red would do. So did Robbie, as the two of them pushed down on Red to keep her from trying to get up.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Red snarled. "After all we . . . If they harm one hair on her head . . ." Red's strength was already giving way and she was easily manhandled back to bed. "Let me go . . .I've got . . . she needs me," Red almost whimpered. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be . . . she was supposed to go to the rescue, not lie around and wait for her lover to be destroyed. "Please let me go," she pleaded as her voice faded and she began the slide toward unconsciousness.

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Outside of town . . .

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Jane's eyes opened, though it didn't matter much. There was a pure darkness wherever she was that seemed to seep into her eyes. There was something sick . . . putrid . . . vile maybe, floating through the air. She didn't need to see it. She could feel it, and it made her soul cringe. She started to stand, but was smashed to floor by some . . . thing. Her chest ached and she was sure her nose was beginning to bleed.

{{I'VE BEEN SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS MOMENT,}} came a voice from the abyss. No, not from outside . . . it was coming from inside her head. {{A STAR ALONE IN THE NIGHT SKY . . . UNAWARE OF YOUR BRILLIANCE. UNAWARE OF THE DEVASTATION YOU COULD BRING.}}

"I don't know what . . ." she started as she got to her knees, then felt a blow against her cheek, sending her spinning back to the chilly floor. She began to cry. She was going to die, and no one was coming to rescue her. Her nose was bleeding, her cheek was broken, her back was aching . . . It would be over soon.

{{DEATH?}} her captor projected, seeing through the window of her mind, {{DEATH WOULD BE A WASTE OF WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER. YOU WILL BE MY AVATAR.}}

Jane crawled back up to her knees, placing one foot on the ground as she prepared to stand. "No," she whimpered feebly. "I won't."

That time, she didn't feel a striking blow. Rather, she felt a kind of pressure being exerted on her shoulders and the backs of her knees, forcing her slowly but surely back to the ground.

{{SIT,}} came the voice again. {{GOOD PUPPY. YOU WILL LEARN QUICKLY TO OBEY YOUR NEW MASTER.}} It lashed out with one of its many tentacles cloaked in darkness, smashing her arm, breaking the elbow. The Dark One almost sighed in ecstasy as it heard her scream. It knew how far it could push her before her body could take no more. {{YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN, AND I HAVE AN ETERNITY TO TEACH YOU.}}

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Back at the Den . . .

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Red's eyes opened, her vision awakened by the pounding in her head. She could still feel burning pain where the bugs had devoured her flesh and Arthur hadn't been able to reach yet. Arthur, completely exhausted, had fallen asleep with his head on her arm while Mindy stayed nearby, keeping an eye on them both. Red tried to move but found herself strapped to the table.

"Sorry," Mindy said plaintively, "Tarloh's orders."

"TARLOH!" Red screamed, finding her voice. She heard the thumping of his mighty footsteps, even over the chaotic din of their underground layer. "Let me up!" she screamed, straining vainly against the heavy leather straps.

"Only if you promise to . . ." the big man started as he appeared in her view.

"I promise to break your neck if you don't let me loose!" Red was frantic and was prepared to morph into her lycanthropic state, even if it killed her.

"You're in no condition to help her!" Tarloh said, pinning her to the table with his mammoth hands. It broke his heart to see Red like this.

"Calm down Sis," Robbie said from nearby. "Tarloh's right. We've gotta . . ."

"Don't you fucking dare tell me to calm down!" Red growled. "Why aren't we going after Jane?!" Red looked around. Tarloh, Natasha, Talia, Mindy, Robbie, Anya, Arthur . . . if everyone was still at the Den, who was saving Jane?

"We can't rush into this," Tarloh said, trying to be calm. "We're at a disadvantage. You know I care about Jane, but I'm not going to sacrifice everyone else in a foolish . . ."

Red might have well have been slapped. "Jane saved one of us, when she had no powers and no reason to do it. She would've died for one of us, and you aren't even going to try? I thought we never left our own behind." Red's eyes were clouded with grief and rage, both fighting for dominance in her sight.

"That's not damn fair," Tarloh said, though he felt doubt and saw that same doubt on the faces of others.

"Fuck fair," Red said coldly. "Untie me. You have no right to keep me. Dammit, I'll go by myself."

"You'll die," Robbie began, stressed beyond words. His sister was all the family he had left in the world.

"That's my choice," she told him, meeting his gaze. "She saved us all. She saved you," she added directly towards Robbie, "and she saved me. I can't do nothing. I won't. Fuck it Robbie," she started openly crying now. It was the first time Robbie remembered seeing her cry. "I love her and I have to save her."

Natasha felt cold for a moment, then oddly free. The cold was because she had to accept that things with Red were over, and free because they could both stop waiting for something they knew was never going to happen. Red's heart had found a new home. Nat grabbed one of the buckles and undid it. No one moved to stop her.

"I'm going with you," Natasha said, giving her friend a brief smile.

Tarloh looked at the remaining Strays. Some had chosen to flee after the battle, no longer able to withstand the fear. Between the departures and the deaths, only twenty or so Strays remained. They had all gathered around, and many were hanging their heads in shame. Then his mind cleared.

"You're right," he said softly, the crowd noise dying. "For decades, the Strays have fought battles no one would ever hear about for no reward, on behalf of those who can't fight for themselves. If we give that up, then we're nothing but street rats." His eyes darted from face to face as Natasha removed the last of Red's constraints. "If anyone wants to walk away, then now's the time. No hard feelings. But," he added, offering Red his hand and helping her to her still-unstable feet, "the rest of us are going to pick a fight."

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In the Shoggoth's layer . . .

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Jane was curled up in a ball somewhere in the darkness. She had run out of tears, breath and prayers many minutes earlier. She no longer believed that Red was going to tear through the surrounding blackness on a magnificent steed adorned with shining armor and rescue Jane. There was no light . . . only the Dark One.

The Dark One was almost intoxicated. The girl was on the edge and beginning to fall slowly into the abyss. It had been whispering into her mind . . . telling her stories of agony and ecstasy intertwined. It teased her with false hopes, then slammed her with fear. It promised her relief, then delivered a mental image of Red's corpse rotting on the subway platform. It knew that Jane could no longer tell the truth from the lies, and in fact no longer cared.