Red on Arrival Pt. 2

Chapter 61: Red on Arrival Pt. 2

 

           

           

 

           

Trevor nursed his wound for a passing point. He was uncertain what had knocked them out, but it couldn’t have been friendly. With the way it was treating their intrusion. Sporadically pinpointing them and mauling them in complete darkness. He crawled off and hid behind a tree again and stared out at the clearing where the cement was. He looked at where he could’ve died and scanned the segment for Jamie. He finally made him out on the ground not stirring. He could scarcely see blood dripping out of his ear. Trevor was abashed. He didn’t know what to do from here. He slowly slid his cell phone out of his pocket and called on David. It rung four times before getting him on the line, he said he was somewhere between home and where he was before. Only one problem, Trevor would have a hard time telling him where he was for sure. In the meantime, he hung around his hiding place for a place where he could at least take some ground if he needed to. He flung the phone back up to his ear when he was ready to tell David exactly where he was. He mouthed off everything he could while he trenched himself under the bush that surrounded him. Not too far away, he heard another dismal noise. He couldn’t quite piece together what it was. He had some ideas though. The one thing that attacked him the night he was with Jamie and that other guy. Trevor searched with his eyes, and suddenly got alarmed, like something was near him. He couldn’t see Jamie anymore but he knew relatively where he was laying. Nothing could be seen, it was too dark for anything to be caught easily, close to him or not. If he wasn’t himself, he would have just used all his power right now. But, he couldn’t abuse his gifts too much. There would be nothing left. All he could see was the edge of the path and an open area under the moonlight. If Trevor loved anything more than ever right now, it was this tree.

            It was what was keeping him from being found and maybe the first one dead. He stood up to a hunch and peeked around the other side. Instantaneously, he heard a deep gasp back around the other side. It was Jamie. He’d woken up, though he didn’t move yet. That is. Until he swayed his arms out and pushed himself up most of the way.  Just then Trevor watched in horror as Jamie got bathed in flames by none other than his man made of such. He came out of nowhere and showered his good friend in a prolific blaze that washed over him in a flash. Trevor had to look away, he couldn’t watch as his accomplish ate a bombast of fire and cooked him to a crisp. Trevor took off to hit the foe where it hurt and kill it while it wasn’t on to him. That’s when he stopped blasting Jamie and scorching him whole. Trevor looked on at Jamie laying there with his hands upheaved in a barrier of energy, sat between him and the thing trying to kill him. A purple wall of light had kept him from death and Jamie had somehow activated it out of the blue. He lay there helpless and time was running out. He left his safe zone and rushed the monster that stood before his ally. For a split second, he thought he saw the guy turn his head, but there was no recognition. He took an opening and let loose. Trevor hit it from the back left side of its stance, blowing away chunks of flame from its core. He interpreted that he hadn’t gotten rid of it. But, it didn’t falter from its position. It stood there as the fire inside tried to reshape itself. Trevor dove to help Jamie up. He watched as Jamie flung himself out of the way. Trevor felt a terrible sensation on his hind quarters. An indescribable burning that singed the nerve endings of his backside. He leapt way off to the side as far as he could go. On the ground, stunned there, he could feel pain, and there was a good chance his lower end was slightly allayed with burns. He cast his eyes over at Jamie. He was gone. Must’ve run away. Trevor hung on to his a*s and waddled over to another tree nearby and crouched around it. He hoped dearly that he wouldn’t be found here. No dice. Trevor looked up and saw the abomination towering over him. It raised its reach and brought it down at him. He squeezed off to the right side and sprawled around the tree. As he did, the tree cracked and frayed while it got hit with a flaming bomb that erased most of its internals. The tree began to fall, Trevor sprinted out of the line of its landing and a thwack told him it hit the ground. Trevor raced to a wooded place and got concealed. He wondered where his friends were. For one, Jamie may or may not have run off very far. He comprehended that his friend could’ve taken off for the time being, leaving him to fend against the demon himself. Trevor also knew if there was another one around he’d be a goner. At the same time he could get ahead big time if he slaughtered them both. Two birds with one stone as they say. So, he now lay prone on the filthy grass that shot up from the hillside that he’d made it to. It wasn’t getting any brighter out there and he could barely see as it was. He couldn’t see a torch lit man or anyone else out here. Leaving the comfort of his shield of foliage, he dashed for the top of the hill, waiting to get up to a point where he could find another tree or something to hide behind. He made it up, not for a lack of his toes breaking the dirt and scuffed it back down the grade. Like it or not, he’d made a transition, but he went off to see if he could find Jamie. He was getting close to the part of the trail where he took through the woods and got out on the side of the street. Letting his arms fall loosely at his sides, he had a feeling he’d probably just be back at the car, though incredibly rattled. A bustling from the treetops above his head, it didn’t take long to put two and two together. He knelt down and left his phone underneath a tree where he’d stayed. The time passed slowly for mere seconds. Then something came down on him. An aerial dive that left him pinned to the ground. He opened his eyes and was crushed into the ground, it compressed beneath him. He couldn’t move and his waist seemed to be disabled from any movement. Just like the night his right shoulder went out. Inactive on the forest floor, he shouted many times over. He didn’t rationalize it as calling for help, but he did cry out. He couldn’t tell if whatever it was - was still on top of him or if he was just paralyzed again.

While he waited for something to happen. Either him getting killed or the thing that attacked him relenting and going back where it came from, he lay there buried in dirt everywhere below the neck and found he felt nothing. He didn’t feel like getting up at all even if he could, nor fighting off what was probably the ghoul that had gotten him. Nor did he feel like dying either. Any of those things. Trevor lay down his arms, if just for once and tried to spit on the ground beside him. He ended up spitting on his own face. It was a deplorable experience. He spaced out for the course of another minute, then closed his eyes and opened them again. He’d reactivated time-stop, though he still had trouble seeing in the dark it was better than nothing. Unsuitable was the realization that he could not move a single part of his body and he tried to force his fingers to move either way, but all he could seem to get was the tips of his fingers to flex out and was not able to reach his side with either set of them. He relaxed knowing there was nothing he could do about it now, for if he was struck again he would surely die. Trevor placed his foot on the edge of the indention that was caused. He had regained movement of at least one foot, though he wasn’t sure what good that would do. It’d been quite a while since he’d been hit, and much later than Jamie had run off earlier. It was likely he’d either gotten lost, or his first thoughts about it were correct. He started rolling his other foot around by the ankle and released his hands as well. Somehow they were less affected by anything it did to him than the rest of him. So Trevor was essentially tied down, for the most part, and livened up a bit, though he still felt really cumbersome. This time he more groaned, his extremities that he could feel started to hurt and he loudly strained and came close to braking his ankles when he touched his feet down on the ground trying to feel about for where he really was. There really wasn’t much he could do. The immobilization was wearing him thin and he couldn’t stand it. Trevor wasn’t in much of a hurry, however he wasn’t going to just give up either. Unsuspectingly he took a pound to his head and lost consciousness for a matter of seconds. He was what you call seeing stars. He didn’t regain his sight until minutes later. He heard much yelling, and rustling and loud booms that were taking place all around him. As much as he desired to get up and conclude what was happening, he couldn’t lift himself or even get his head straight for that matter. He twitched abruptly, coming to rather wobbly and feeling nothing in his mid-section, if only to be able to stand up, but not able to detect what was underway in the woodworks. Trevor raised a hair and got up from his ditch that he was beaten into. He looked around and couldn’t see anything. He heard noises about and off in the distance. He had no possible idea what it would be, but sure it had something to do with one of the two demons. He braced himself up with a steady arm and loosened up his balance when he finally was standing. He strolled along without much awareness of where he was moving to. In one hand he held his cell phone he’d picked up when he tripped against the very same tree that he’d shoved it under. Walking at a snail-pace until he reached a big, heavy tree that looked like the largest in the forest. He looked around on the left side, and the section of the woods was an incandescent golden. Aglow with the flare of the exact demon he was hoping not to have to run into again. Trevor hurled himself on the flat-back of the tree and stayed reverse of the entity while he could remain there. He shuddered to think if he could actually get away with attacking one more time. It was likely that wouldn’t kill it either. No, this thing had a defense system that put him at a major disadvantage. If he could even take another chunk out of it, he would be susceptible to being burned alive. Though if he didn’t do anything he would have a rough time getting out of here and also having another opportunity to wipe it out completely. This time he knew he had to do something. He just didn’t know what. Ideally, he could out-smart it by freezing time and smashing its body in multiple places. Though, that could backfire and it could do something unpredictable like self-destructing and taking him with it. If not, it would be the worst possible contingency and he could not let that occur. If he would even make it anywhere close to it, no it can’t be prospectively done. Not if Trevor wanted to get over there and fast. He knew if there was any way to kill it now, he would go for it. He jammed his cell phone back in his pocket. Waited for a mass of moment and crept out from behind the tree. The demon was looking around over by the tall grass. He must’ve heard an animal scratching around at whatever it was over there. He looked, hid, and looked again. His enemy still scanning the outer rim of the opening. Then Trevor took his. He sprung from the sideline of the tree and onset for the manlike monster. He slammed into its head with his fingers already charged and ready to go. Though he couldn’t feel all of it surging through. His hand started charring. He wailed in pain.

            In the pith, he ran his hand through the head of his foe and it went right through. He’d missed! He pulled his hand back through and it was smoking and burnt. He teared up and flung the burning mess that covered his hand onto the dirt away from him. There was something wrong. He was trying to turn on his powers but it wouldn’t come. Trudging back and inadvertently allowing it to turn toward him, he guarded himself and wretched his hand forward, holding it with the other and motivating it to work. It didn’t. He didn’t understand why it wouldn’t starch with the essence of death. The fire man was moving forward now, and he was afraid. His every impulse in his body told him to swiftly get back to the tree and try to escape. But, he let it come closer to him. He could see it reaching to grab him or do something else. He didn’t know. But he dodged to the right and swept his arm along the way, the flames broiling his hand were now gone and his energy came back to him. He snatched the portion of his opponent that he presumed was its head and focused his might to the outside of it, reeling in hard to keep it out of the layer of blazing gushes coming from it. He punched it one time, hoping to do something. Nothing. It just set his hand on fire and he yelped. But, as his hand that had it by the cranium turned slowly it imploded and wisped away. Just for the bout, he moved sideways. But, it wasn’t good enough. He was grabbed by the headless fire that engulfed him by the waist and he started burning up from the inside. He ended up braking free from the hold, and twisting around to get away from it. He watched abhorrently as the figure wicked down from top to bottom, it couldn’t sustain itself from there without its center piece. It fell and smoldered into mere cinders. Trevor felt unimaginable. He stalled several minutes staring at the empty woodland waiting like something else would happen. Fortunately nothing did. The spot where it’d shattered back to wherever it came from was desolate and he had a feeling he should run away. There was no other sounds signifying where he should go right now. Whatever all the commotion was he had no way of knowing what it’d been. Trevor came to notice the burn marks on the side of his shirt that’d been stripped away by the hands of that thing. He ripped off his shirt and tossed it off into the bushes. He was effusing sweat anyway, the night almost felt hotter than the day, almost. He retied his shoes and walked off to the left side of the area. Feeling better. Though dirty and bruised, he jumped over branches and logs to get to where he could find his way out. Looking left and then right, and continuing on straight. Coming to another opening, he looked out, there was nothing there. For the time being he didn’t know where to go to.

A bark from not far off let him know that he wasn’t alone.