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Episode 053 |
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“Typical.
Bad guys always have the edge on us. It’s like a rule or something.” Shadowcat, Excalibur The door opened up with the sound of rusted metal
groaning with motion. Light was sent
across a dank wall, spots of moss covering the cracks in the thick, ancient
brick. With a fast shove, Sarah was
thrust into the room. She landed hard,
collapsing to her hands and knees. Two figures stepped into the room as well, grabbing her
arms. She yanked her left arm free,
causing her capture to stumble back, and punched the man on the right in the
face. She threw her arm forward,
sending him crashing onto the ground as she stood to face the other man. But as she did, two prongs shot out, jabbing into her
side. Her entire body went rigid as
electricity coursed through her body.
The prongs came out and she slumped onto the floor. The two men got up and grabbed Sarah’s
arms. They slid her jacket off, then
tore open her shirt, ripping it off.
With violent shove, they threw her onto the moist brick ground,
dressed only in a few layers of silk. Gasping, she lifted up, a violent look in her eyes as
the door shut. She looked around,
shivering in the humid cold. Standing
by the door was a man holding a tazer.
He smiled at her, then glanced towards a bucket in the corner. “Have a seat.” Emma slumped back down against the wall, pulling her
legs underneath her. She stared at the
man as she caught her breath. “You’re
in a precarious situation, my dear.” “Story of my life,” she countered defiantly. He smiled. “Not
this time. This time you’re in a
little over your head.” He walked over
to the bucket and turned it over and sat down. He reached into his jacket and pulled out
some cigarettes. “Want one?” “If I asked you to not smoke in here, would it matter?”
she returned. “No,” he said simply, lighting the cigarette. The flash of flame revealed a thin beard
over his tanned face. But in an
instant, he was cloaked in shadow again.
“I’m here on loan to these people.
Consider me something of a sub-contractor, with them but not part of
them. Now, they want something from
you. And I want you to give it to
them. ‘Why’ you ask,” he posed as if
to keep her from doing so. “Because
it’s in my best interest if you do, it’s in my employer’s best interest if
you do, and most importantly to you, it’s in your best interest if you do.” The man took a long moment to take a drag from his
cigarette, then blew it at Sarah.
“See, I know about the Responders.”
Sarah didn’t react. “I know
about your transporting that…thing to He stood up, finishing his cigarette. He flicked it at Sarah, the smoking embers
splashing against the wet wall by her head.
She continued to glare at him as he approached the door. “Consider it, but don’t consider it for
too…” The door was thrown open, light cascading onto
Sarah. Blinded, she turned away. Standing in the doorway, a man stood
dramatically. “<Leave us, >” he
ordered to the first man. Sarah looked
up as he headed out, able to make out nothing more than curly black hair. The door shut again and the new figure towered over
Sarah. She could hear him smiling;
detect the slightest presence of his fangs as he stared down at her. But all she could see was a silhouette. “No doubt, he offered you something
already,” the man said in Danish-stained English. Sarah glared for a moment, then rose to her feet. Standing face to face with the man, she
stared fearlessly into his eyes. “Send
him back in, vampire,” she said. “I
don’t deal with your kind.” She
stepped away from him, crossing her arms, unbothered by her minimal
apparel. “Let me guess. You were turned recently, within the last
hundred years. You’ve forsaken your
mortal name and you now call yourself something ridiculous like ‘Ominous
McJewenstein’,” she accused. “And now
you think that you’ve got something that resembles power.” “My dear, power I do have,” he said. “But I’ll let you continue to call me
‘Ominous’, since you seem so delighted to do so. And since you’ve told me what you think of
me, allow me to tell you want I think of you.” In the blink of an eye, Sarah was shoved against the
wall. Held by her throat, her feet
dangled over the ground as she was held up by an ice-cold grip stronger than
steel. Before her, a pair of dark eyes
glowed red, casting illumination over the angry glare of the vampire. “I think you are a pathetic weakling who hides behind
the orders and wishes of your UN masters,” he bellowed, “enslaving and
dominating everyone and everything on this planet.” He released her. Sarah fell to the ground, coughing. Hovering a few inches over her, the vampire
stared down at her with disdain. “You
will give me what I want. Or I will
make you beg for death.” He lowered down, grabbing her head. Clinching tightly, he held her up as she
grabbed his hand. Her body quaked as
her skull groaned under the strain.
“Now,” Ominous said directly, “let us begin by discussing where in Slowly, the darkness gave way to more darkness. Irene’s eyes fluttered open drowsily. She could feel the smooth, wet stone
beneath her head and body. The cold made
her shiver uncontrollably as she curled in on herself. She looked around, for the first time
realizing that she was in only her bra and underwear. “What’s going on?” she asked quietly. “Irene?” came a voice. “Lisa?” she asked, sitting up. As she did, her head ached. Lisa drew close in the darkness of the tiny
cell. “What happened?” Irene asked, holding her head. “The plane crashed,” Lisa explained, helping Irene stay
upright. A potent edge of panic
lingered in her words. “We swam to
shore, but we got attacked almost immediately. We were brought here, wherever here is, and
thrown into this cell.” “Where’s Sarah?” Irene asked, sitting up under her own
balance. She looked around slowly, aching
with the tiniest motion. “Where are
we?” “We’re
somewhere still in |
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