Calix placed his hand in the center of it, his breath catching when it passed through. A door had been left open. Alterrealm, as the supes called them. Perhaps in his haste, Ryke had forgotten to close a passage to Orcosia, though where it led to remained a mystery. At least Calix knew why the wall hadn’t burned, though.
With a careful step, he climbed inside, a wall of cold air hitting his face as his foot touched down on the gray concrete, in what appeared to be another hallway. A single light swung back and forth from the ceiling. The scent of blood and rot clung to the air. Water dripped a constant beat from behind.
Calix swung around to find that the hallway went on until it faded to darkness.
An outcry brought him spinning back in the other direction.
“Oh, God, stop! Please!” Hard to tell if the high-pitched squeal belonged to male or female, but Calix hastened his steps toward it. “Help me!”
A thick iron door brought him to a halt and Calix peeked inside. Through the darkness, he spotted a dozen bodies hanging from chains that reached up into the ceiling. Most of the bodies had been torn apart, cavities opened and mutilated. As the putrid smell of decay burned his nose, Calix covered his face with his sleeve.
In the back corner, two white figures clung to one of the bodies. The Sang.
“Oh … fuck!” He’d first seen one of those creatures the night Ferno had burned Ryke’s underground club to the ground.
Splayed fingers and a quivering jaw told Calix the person being eaten was still alive.
Calix raised his dagger and skirted around the hanging bodies, keeping to the shadows. With a hand on the second dagger at his hip, he threw the first, nailing the Sang in the back of its skull.
It slid to the floor, revealing the gore of the victim, whose genitals had been eaten away and thighs chewed to shreds.
The second Sang hissed, and its blood-red eyes locked on Calix—before it vanished into thin air.
Hands gripped Calix’s throat and a sharp sting pierced his neck. He reached back and grappled with the nape of his attacker, grimacing at the soft, squishy texture of its skin, as he yanked it over his shoulder.
Fangs protruded, and its eyes, so red they almost appeared black, narrowed in rage.
Calix sliced his blade across its throat and drew back as clear, glistening fluids sprayed upward into his face. Another slice decapitated the beast.
The first Sang had crawled toward him and it reached out a clawed hand.
Calix stabbed it, palm down, into the concrete, before removing the dagger from its skull and performing the same decapitation. He watched in awe as gold-speckled blood pooled across the floor.
Soft whimpers drifted across the room, hardly discernible over the rattling chains, as what appeared to be a male, judging by his facial hair, shook.
Calix stood from the gore and, careful not to hit the gaping wounds, he lifted the frail, human body from the hook lodged into his back. The male toppled forward, his hands bound behind him in chains, and with a slice of his dagger, Calix set them free before lying the male down onto the concrete.
“Who are you?” Calix asked.
“Na … name’s P-P-Paul. I’m … Alexi.” His eyes rolled back in his head, and Calix tapped his cheek.
“Hey! Paul!”
The guy roused, his face pale with a hint of blue that must’ve been hypothermia setting in.
“I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”
Instead of answering, he released a long sigh and his face morphed into pain. His body jerked. “I … want … to die.”
“No can do, my friend. You’ll be fixed up in no time.”
The male seized, his eyes rolling to white, and his body shook in Calix’s arms. When his eyes slid back down, the large brown irises doubled in size. “They’re coming!”
“Are there others in this place? I’m looking for a girl.”
The male’s lip quivered, like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to laugh or cry. “The girls … are the first to go …
With a careful step, he climbed inside, a wall of cold air hitting his face as his foot touched down on the gray concrete, in what appeared to be another hallway. A single light swung back and forth from the ceiling. The scent of blood and rot clung to the air. Water dripped a constant beat from behind.
Calix swung around to find that the hallway went on until it faded to darkness.
An outcry brought him spinning back in the other direction.
“Oh, God, stop! Please!” Hard to tell if the high-pitched squeal belonged to male or female, but Calix hastened his steps toward it. “Help me!”
A thick iron door brought him to a halt and Calix peeked inside. Through the darkness, he spotted a dozen bodies hanging from chains that reached up into the ceiling. Most of the bodies had been torn apart, cavities opened and mutilated. As the putrid smell of decay burned his nose, Calix covered his face with his sleeve.
In the back corner, two white figures clung to one of the bodies. The Sang.
“Oh … fuck!” He’d first seen one of those creatures the night Ferno had burned Ryke’s underground club to the ground.
Splayed fingers and a quivering jaw told Calix the person being eaten was still alive.
Calix raised his dagger and skirted around the hanging bodies, keeping to the shadows. With a hand on the second dagger at his hip, he threw the first, nailing the Sang in the back of its skull.
It slid to the floor, revealing the gore of the victim, whose genitals had been eaten away and thighs chewed to shreds.
The second Sang hissed, and its blood-red eyes locked on Calix—before it vanished into thin air.
Hands gripped Calix’s throat and a sharp sting pierced his neck. He reached back and grappled with the nape of his attacker, grimacing at the soft, squishy texture of its skin, as he yanked it over his shoulder.
Fangs protruded, and its eyes, so red they almost appeared black, narrowed in rage.
Calix sliced his blade across its throat and drew back as clear, glistening fluids sprayed upward into his face. Another slice decapitated the beast.
The first Sang had crawled toward him and it reached out a clawed hand.
Calix stabbed it, palm down, into the concrete, before removing the dagger from its skull and performing the same decapitation. He watched in awe as gold-speckled blood pooled across the floor.
Soft whimpers drifted across the room, hardly discernible over the rattling chains, as what appeared to be a male, judging by his facial hair, shook.
Calix stood from the gore and, careful not to hit the gaping wounds, he lifted the frail, human body from the hook lodged into his back. The male toppled forward, his hands bound behind him in chains, and with a slice of his dagger, Calix set them free before lying the male down onto the concrete.
“Who are you?” Calix asked.
“Na … name’s P-P-Paul. I’m … Alexi.” His eyes rolled back in his head, and Calix tapped his cheek.
“Hey! Paul!”
The guy roused, his face pale with a hint of blue that must’ve been hypothermia setting in.
“I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”
Instead of answering, he released a long sigh and his face morphed into pain. His body jerked. “I … want … to die.”
“No can do, my friend. You’ll be fixed up in no time.”
The male seized, his eyes rolling to white, and his body shook in Calix’s arms. When his eyes slid back down, the large brown irises doubled in size. “They’re coming!”
“Are there others in this place? I’m looking for a girl.”
The male’s lip quivered, like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to laugh or cry. “The girls … are the first to go …
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