The Despair We Fell
No one really talks as we move further into the caves.
Probably because killing people killed the mood too.
That is, except for Kite, who's still enjoying his bread while dodging Cinder's angry snatches.
"Try harder," he grins, mouth full. "Sword, Neo, ya'll want some?"
He waves half a piece.
"No thanks," I say. "Save it, man."
"I'll take it," Neo says, accepting it as Kite comes alongside me.
He has short, clipped brown hair, growing unevenly, a happy, elfish face, albeit malnourished and slightly hollow like the rest of us, punctuated with warm brown eyes.
"So, I'm assuming that was your first kill," Kite grins, hands behind his head as he floats leisurely along beside me. "It was pretty awesome.
"Stop hounding him, Kite," Krim says. "Sword's got enough on his plate."
"No, no, it's fine," I smile. "Talking carefreely helps calm my nerves, and helps me forget a little about, y'know…"
"You'll get used to it, soon," Kite tells me. "You won't be able to stop, and you can't stop in here anyway. We all have to live, right?"
"It's still murder. It's never right to kill, even if you have to kill."
"Sure. It's murder. Murder's like candy, you just can't ever stop at one, y'know? It's like an addictive drug. You just wanna keep-"
"Kite," Jora says from behind him. "You're being a total creep."
"Right, right," he dismisses, catching himself. "I'm just tryna say that you'll have to do it a lot more whether you like it or not."
"I know," I say. "I've already come to terms with that."
But the way Kite said that makes me think. I wonder if he's done it before. Not in the Facility, but if he's used to killing people before this.
What kind of person was he before this? What sort of life did have? My worst experience was being told by the officer at my doorstep that my parents had died, but like Neo I still led a happy life.
How many others in my group can that also be said for?
Can someone who's known nothing but green fields and clean houses really have the same mysterious vibe as Elemental? Or the bloodthirsty craziness as Luc? The cold-blooded decision-making as Krim?
Part of me if dying to ask them, but the other part doesn't want to know.
Then in front of me, Krim stops dead in his tracks.
He cocks his head, brow furrowed.
"Something is coming," he says. "Stay sharp."
"What?"
Chills run down my neck.
I glance up and a black-haired winged scorpion spider is in my face, mandibles drooling venom. It's as big as my arm, with four huge pincers, eight legs spread across the whole roof, and a collection of beady black eyes on its face.
"Ffffsssssssssssssffffffff," it says.
I make a small squeaking noise, rooted to the spot, falling out my skin.
Then Luc punches it in the face and explodes it against the rock.
***
"There there…" Cinder says, patting my back. "Just get it all up…"
I retch again, wiping sweat off my face.
"I don't blame you," Cinder mutters. "I almost died of a stroke."
"Y'mean heart attack?"
"Same thing."
I stand up straight and stretch.
"I'm fine," I say shakily. "Thanks for the warning, Krim…"
But Krim's ignoring me.
"Not that," he says. "Something else is coming."
"Worse than that abomination?" Kite asks.
"The air smells different," Neo comments, looking around from my side.
He's right. It feels heavy, metallic, almost electrically charged, prickling my skin.
"It can't be anything we can't handle, right?" Neo says.
He really needs to shut up.
Everyone's staring at him, wide-eyed.
"Oh no."
"Neo…"
"We're finished."
"We're screwed."
"Shut up and listen," Elemental hisses, brow clenched, a hint of desperation in his eyes.
I strain my ears into the silence, and just barely hear it. A dull, metallic plodding, like heavy footsteps.
"What is that?" I ask.
Krim starts backing up, and so does Elemental, until they're level with us. My heart thumps.
Thank god I'm not alone.
Thank god I'm not alone.
The group closes in with each other. Luc shifts to the front, fingers clenched tightly around his knuckledusters.
The footsteps grow louder.
Out of the dark, a figure slowly appears, and my stomach twists.
That mask - that black, full-face mask and hollow, glistening eyes beyond. Metal bat reflecting the dim blue light eerily, the same bat that crushed Kard's head like glass.
Neo freezes, Diva curses.
"You've got to be kidding me," Krim mutters.
"This is not good," Cinder agrees, instinctively throwing out a hand in front of me, like he's used to protecting others.
The enemy tilts their head, observing us.
The silence is absolute. The tension is worse. A fist-sized lump has formed in my throat. Sweat rolls down my face.
The grip changes on the bat, ever so slightly. My eyes widen.
"LOOK OUT!!" Krim screams, as the batsman explodes off the ground.
It just can't be described as 'enhanced physicals' or 'speed'.
That's practically teleportation on steroids. He's suddenly in the midst of us, bat a metallic blur, swinging down at Leon. He catches the motion and lifts both hatchets to block, but instantly both weapons snap like twigs.
However, he manages to redirect the swing in the ground.
Luc jumps in, fist cocked back, and a monstrous punch connects with the enemy's chest. It's like punching a tank. He barely reacts to it and grabs Luc by the arm, before flinging him 30 feet into a stalagmite.
"What do we do!?" Diva demands, backing up even further. "Do we run?"
"You think we can outrun this ridiculous musclehead!?" Cinder yells, circling the batsman
He just took down Luc in one attack.
"Fight back," Elemental's eyes narrow. "We fight back."
He goes in and we follow, but he's too quick - they're already clashing, metal on stone. 004's slashing, feinting, hacking and dodging, a whirlwind of attacks. I can't find an opening.
I watch him as close as possible, burning the images of Elemental's techniques into my mind. Low centre of gravity. Always below the opponent's reach.
It doesn't amount to much though. The enemy doesn't even move their feet. He just stands stock still, swinging that bat in one hand and parrying everything like it's his morning exercise routine.
"Eleme-" I begin.
The batsman scores a direct hit to his side, and the crack echoes off the walls. Elemental is sent crashing twenty feet backwards and carves a line into the side of the cave.
Krim takes his place almost instantly, sliding under a horizontal swing, plants a foot on the batsman's chest and flipping backwards, kicking him under the jaw. It sounds like thunder, but it only lifts his head back a little. Krim lands beside me.
"He's not even flinching."
"We need to all attack together," Kite mutters. "Jora, Cinder, you guys better be ready to risk your damn lives…!"
"Don't jinx it, shithead!" Neo snaps.
Oh, the irony.
Luc, somehow standing back up, grabs the batsman from behind in a giant bear hug, pinning his arms to his sides, muscles rippling with veins.
"NOW!! JUMP HIMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!"
We all rush forwards, weapons flailing. Cinder punches him in the jaw, Neo locks his left arm and Leon goes for the head. I skid along the rock floor, aiming for the notch behind his knees.
Luc roars, straining.
Diva slashes down at the neck stem and Jora aims an arrow.
I'm sure all our thoughts align.
"WE GOT 'IM-"
He flexes, and launches Luc off him into me, slamming me full in the face with a wall of muscle. We both hit the ground, groaning.
Lifting the arm that Neo's locked down, he swings him round like a flail into Leon.
Jora lets fly an arrow, and he dodges it like nothing. In one fluid movement, he backhands Cinder out the way and whacks Diva in the ribs with the bat. Both of them fall awkwardly.
"How the fuck is that even possible!?" I demand, head still ringing.
Luc and Kite are already going back in. Kite jumps upwards, one foot landing on Luc's shoulder, and launches himself off. He flips midair and hurls on of his knives right into the batsman's eye slit, the impact ringing like a gunshot and sending sparks flying. Kite lands neatly in front of him, crouched, poised to strike under the jaw.
"Got you, bitch!"
He goes for it, but the batsman turns his head slowly. The knife falls out with a clink. Not a scratch underneath.
"Shit."
The bat shoots forwards in blindingly fast thrust, and there's a crack, then a splintering noise. Kite's chest caves in like paper from the impact and he hurtles backwards, thumping against the cave wall with a sound that makes my stomach flip.
"KITE!!" I scream, trying to run to him, but the air feels too thick to move through.
Cinder's already there, yelling, cursing, fists hurtling.
"You son of a-"
He swings again and again, dodging and weaving the batsman's swings, each punch crashing into his sturdy body.
The enemy backsteps once.
For a heartbeat, I think,
Maybe.
Then the bat slams down in a vertical arc that shakes the entire cave, and when the cloud of dust clears, Cinder's lying motionless at his feet. "CINDER!!"
Luc loses it. He tackles the guardsman, roaring his head off, and slams both fists into his chest like a sledgehammer. A swing from the bat collides with his temple and Luc's blood flies across the cave, and for a second his feet leave the ground. Then they plant back down firmly, Luc's head snaps back round, and his eyes glare into the batsman's.
"DIE!!!"
Krim joins him, launching kick after kick into the ribs, jaw, neck - anywhere he can hit. Elemental's there, bring down dual weapons onto his back, and Neo weaves around the outside, trying to find openings. Jora keeps volleying arrows, but he dodges every single one.
Everyone's hitting him, and I'm on my feet too, running forwards. Just one punch. Just one hit, please.
The tunnel's shaking, dust raining from above, sparks flying with every impact. I hit him with all the strength in my body, a slash to his chest, but the stone just sparks against his body and bounces off.
The impact wrenches it out of my fingers.
Again, I have to hit him again. I draw my fist back.
Pale Viper, please come in clutch again!
Nope, it doesn't. My knuckles find their mark but he doesn't even budge. It's like punching steel.
I can feel the strength in my arm. The venom is there and it's working. But it doesn't matter. It's like bringing a candle out to a storm and then acting surprised when it goes up.
One hand shoots up and catches Elemental midair by the throat, slamming him down into Neo like he weighs nothing, crushing them both flat. Luc bellows and rams him in the back with the shoulder, sending him stepping forwards a little. He swings, and Krim hurls a kick at the face. He catches both of them and spins around. Both of them go flying.
He slams the bat down again and a ring of air erupts from the impact. It hits me full on and jars through every bone in my body. My ears ring, and my vision blurs. I feel something run down from my nose. It tastes salty and metallic.
Elemental's there again. Then Luc, Diva and Krim.
They dance circles around him, piling on damage that would've killed me several times over.
It just doesn't work. The bat flashes, and blood sprays across the air. Diva falls, one of her spears snapped through the middle.
I plant my hands against the rock and then find myself running, pounding across the ground.
Krim crashes to the floor next to me, but I ignore him and keep going.
JUMP!!
I find myself leaping into the air, pushing one knee forwards. The impact jars my whole body, and then I fall, collapsing to the ground.
Did I… get him…?
I'm lying flat on my back. Forcing my eyelids to open, I look up the batsman, staring down at me.
There's a single crack in the mask.
Was that it? All of our combined efforts, just for a single crack in that damn mask.
But at this point, I'm so desperate I'll call anything a win.
Shakily, I lift my arm, heavy as lead, and flip him off.
"Get fucked," I tell him.
He looks at me for what feels like a long time, then turns and walks away down the tunnel, dragging that steel bat behind him, trailing sparks like a comet.
Jora's crawling towards Kite after getting hit by flying debris launched at her by the batsman.
He's lying there on his back, mouth wide open, and eyes unfocused and glassy, his chest a mangled mess. Cinder's collapsed over there, blood pooling under his head. Elemental's trying to push himself off the ground.
Diva's beside me, clutching herself and pale, coughing. Luc's the other way, lying on his back, panting. Krim's got his arm hanging wrong and Leon's on the floor groaning.
I don't how much longer we lie there, panting, unmoving.
"He did… he didn't… he didn't even bleed…" Neo pants.
I wonder it is I'm feeling right now. Frustration? Anger? I'm furious with myself. What was I doing while Kite and Cinder were dying? Survive? Do anything? Who was I kidding?
My hands shake when I try to clench them.
They hurt, scratched and bloodied from the rocks.
I could drink ten more pale vipers and it still wouldn't make a difference.
I stare at Kite's chest and my brain keeps trying to fix it.
Like if I just think hard enough, I can reverse time.
Like death is a machine problem with a solution.
I don't want to become a monster.
But I don't want to be useless more.
I'm weak. I'm depressingly, sickeningly weak.
Surely, somewhere in this Null Zone, there has to be someone who can help me.