prop people needed to prepare the stage for the next scene, so I stormed off the stage. I was angry about what Josh had done – wasn’t it some sort of sexual assault to kiss someone without their permission? – but I was even more angry with myself for losing control. I hadn’t meant to hit him very hard, but when you add in the pre-zerk...
Plus, that look on his face had me worried. I had only seen him look scared once before: right after our first kiss, when I had almost killed him. Was the haze wearing off? Could it wear off? There were so many things I didn’t know.
My thoughts were interrupted by a scraping noise and a gasp from above. It was faint, even to my pre-zerking senses, so I doubted anyone else had heard it. I looked up toward the system of scaffolding and catwalks that formed a sort of metallic web overhead.
The noise came again. It was coming from stage-left, but wooden walking planks prevented me from seeing the source. I had a bit of a break before my next scene. On impulse, I walked to one of the ladders leading up and started climbing.
Using my pre-zerking reflexes, I quickly ascended the ladder and stepped onto the web of catwalks. It was dark up there, but about twenty feet away, at the edge of the stage I saw a flash of red and movement in the shadows.
Grateful for my increased balance, I ran toward the disturbance. As I approached, I had a difficult time understanding what it was that I saw. In the dim light I made out three separate images – a bucket filled with some sort of red liquid; Ginger Johnson, lying flat on her back and thrashing around; and a black monster that looked like shadow come to life and was apparently trying to eat Ginger.
I really didn’t like Ginger. Even so, I didn’t hesitate to act. I sped across the catwalk and pulled the creature off of her. It thrashed about, clearly upset to be taken from its prey.
The thing was jet black, a darkness so deep that it blended perfectly with the shadows. An almost skeletal head filled with sharp black teeth snapped and twisted, trying to reach me, but I held it firmly by the throat. Six legs with sharp claws flailed in a vain attempt to rake my flesh.
Ginger scrambled back, almost knocking over the bucket of red liquid – was that paint? – a look of terror in her eyes. She held a hand to her throat where red marks and bloody scratches welling showed she had been attacked. She breathed in small gasps, a look of pain accompanying each wheeze.
The creature’s skin had a slimy texture, like holding a frog. As I squeezed, I felt something break, and instead of simply compressing the creature’s neck, my hand squished through it like demonic play dough. Bits of the creature oozed through my fingers, leaving my hands clenched into a fist around nothing. Unfortunately, at that moment, the creature solidified again, trapping my fist within it. I threw up my arms, trying to fling the creature off me, but it held fast, keeping my hands trapped together.
Slowly, the creature wrapped its six legs around me, stretching and oozing to surround me. Its head twisted one hundred and eighty degrees on its neck so that I stood face to face with the creature, my hands still trapped together, and my body completely enveloped.
I didn’t want to fully ‘zerk in the middle of the school with Ginger watching, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t have helped anyway. On instinct, much the same way I had fought the Bringers the first time, I tapped into my Binder powers. Instead of trying to pull free, I attempted to cast a snare.
I pushed hard, willing the tendrils to come and wrap up the creature. To my surprise, instead of entangling the creature, black tendrils burst out of it, shattering its hold on me.
The creature fell onto the catwalk. I took a staggering step back, hands still held out, casting the snare. The thick tendrils looked almost grey in comparison to the pure blackness of the monster.
Where the tendrils touched the
Plus, that look on his face had me worried. I had only seen him look scared once before: right after our first kiss, when I had almost killed him. Was the haze wearing off? Could it wear off? There were so many things I didn’t know.
My thoughts were interrupted by a scraping noise and a gasp from above. It was faint, even to my pre-zerking senses, so I doubted anyone else had heard it. I looked up toward the system of scaffolding and catwalks that formed a sort of metallic web overhead.
The noise came again. It was coming from stage-left, but wooden walking planks prevented me from seeing the source. I had a bit of a break before my next scene. On impulse, I walked to one of the ladders leading up and started climbing.
Using my pre-zerking reflexes, I quickly ascended the ladder and stepped onto the web of catwalks. It was dark up there, but about twenty feet away, at the edge of the stage I saw a flash of red and movement in the shadows.
Grateful for my increased balance, I ran toward the disturbance. As I approached, I had a difficult time understanding what it was that I saw. In the dim light I made out three separate images – a bucket filled with some sort of red liquid; Ginger Johnson, lying flat on her back and thrashing around; and a black monster that looked like shadow come to life and was apparently trying to eat Ginger.
I really didn’t like Ginger. Even so, I didn’t hesitate to act. I sped across the catwalk and pulled the creature off of her. It thrashed about, clearly upset to be taken from its prey.
The thing was jet black, a darkness so deep that it blended perfectly with the shadows. An almost skeletal head filled with sharp black teeth snapped and twisted, trying to reach me, but I held it firmly by the throat. Six legs with sharp claws flailed in a vain attempt to rake my flesh.
Ginger scrambled back, almost knocking over the bucket of red liquid – was that paint? – a look of terror in her eyes. She held a hand to her throat where red marks and bloody scratches welling showed she had been attacked. She breathed in small gasps, a look of pain accompanying each wheeze.
The creature’s skin had a slimy texture, like holding a frog. As I squeezed, I felt something break, and instead of simply compressing the creature’s neck, my hand squished through it like demonic play dough. Bits of the creature oozed through my fingers, leaving my hands clenched into a fist around nothing. Unfortunately, at that moment, the creature solidified again, trapping my fist within it. I threw up my arms, trying to fling the creature off me, but it held fast, keeping my hands trapped together.
Slowly, the creature wrapped its six legs around me, stretching and oozing to surround me. Its head twisted one hundred and eighty degrees on its neck so that I stood face to face with the creature, my hands still trapped together, and my body completely enveloped.
I didn’t want to fully ‘zerk in the middle of the school with Ginger watching, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t have helped anyway. On instinct, much the same way I had fought the Bringers the first time, I tapped into my Binder powers. Instead of trying to pull free, I attempted to cast a snare.
I pushed hard, willing the tendrils to come and wrap up the creature. To my surprise, instead of entangling the creature, black tendrils burst out of it, shattering its hold on me.
The creature fell onto the catwalk. I took a staggering step back, hands still held out, casting the snare. The thick tendrils looked almost grey in comparison to the pure blackness of the monster.
Where the tendrils touched the
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