The Graveyard

Signs At the Abyss

He's not waking up. Eli's wheezing, his heart fluttering like a frightened little bird threatening to break out the cage of his heaving chest. His hand presses against the wound in Corbin's own and feels the odd thump of his heart, offbeat and irregular, and slow, too slow.

"He's not healing." He chokes, eyes burning, his throat feeling like it's closing in on itself and he can barely breathe right. Something - everything - is wrong, this shouldn't be happening, the black stains of Corbin's blood dribble off his fingers and back into the wound, but nothing further happens, he's not healing, his breaths are feeble, his skin is paling, he feels alarmingly limp in Eli's arms and he's not healing. "Why isn't he healing?"

Ravenna's boots make a heavy thump as she gets to her feet with the aid of her sister, clutching her injured arm, long claw marks across her stomach, scratches at the side of her neck. She steps forward with a limp to her walk, only as far as Cameron's glare allows her, and looks down at the unconscious boy, eyes dark with something unfathomable.

"It's taken him," Revanna gasps softly beside her, and looks at her sister with wide, glassy eyes. "He'll never open his eyes again, we've lost him, sister."

"What does that mean? What is it?" Eli demands, his grip on Corbin tightening. The pair doesn't seem to have heard him at all. "What are they talking about?" He asks Cameron, who's leaning by his son on the other side, voice a little louder, higher, more desperate.

It took all three Ravens, Connor, Cameron and Felix, to restrain Revanna long enough for Raya to take Eli, Crystal, Damian and Estle from whatever underground room they were in, and bring them here, in time to see Ravenna decapitate a skeletal-like creature with a long dagger and set fire to the frame before falling to her knees, weakened by the wounds it inflicted upon her.

He caught sight of Corbin on the other side of the hallway, passed out, hands draped over a similarly unconscious Chloe, and he ran to him. Crystal followed after immediately, but lost her grip on consciousness once she saw the state her son was in, his aunt had slid down the wall and looked around with wide eyes, as if she still couldn't believe what was happening.

The rest followed soon after. Revanna appearing in a whirl of black smoke, three similar clouds coming into view after her. She'd took one sweeping look around the hall and rushed to her sister's side as Connor came out of the shadows with Cameron and Felix in tow, looking ready to raise war. Their fierce expressions melted into frowns, however, at the sight greeting them, the burnt smell, the ashen remains of the creature still glowing dim as embers, the sisters, Corbin.

Cameron had sprinted forward, hoisting his wife into his own arms and hovering over Corbin, dread washing over his face, he'd reached a hand out to him, but withdrew a second later, as if afraid his son would break if he were to touch him.

"Dad," Cameron had said, tone tight when he looked over his shoulder to where his father stood, backed against the wall, face pale and eyes wide, looking at his grandson like he'd seen a ghost and Eli's frown deepened, before it dawned at him. The old man had seen something like this before.

"Dad," Cameron had groaned when Connor didn't respond, the second try snapping him out of his stupor and he tore his eyes away from Corbin to look at his son. "Is it it?" He had questioned. "Are they telling the truth?" He spat in the sisters' direction, deep rage and despair apparent in his voice, almost as deep as Eli's.

Connor opened his mouth, eyes darting back to his grandson for a split second and for a moment he looked so young, fear overcoming his wide, wet eyes. Cameron called for him again, urged him to come closer, look at him, tell me something, DO something, but the old Raven just shook his head and looked down, mumbling something in a trembling voice.