One Foot in the Grave: An Almost Zombie story

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Fight! Fight! Fight!

The lizard opens its mouth wide and I see the rows of serrated teeth, each as long as the first joint of my pinky. Then it flings itself at Maxx, who is standing sideways, protecting me. The half-Komodo's claws grip him around the middle and rip him away. His body slams into the other wall. Bits of granite rain down from the ceiling to coat us in its dust, but I'm the only one who notices. I sneeze. Maxx finds his footing just as the half-dragon turns its attention towards me. He springs at the lizard, teeth bared. The creature meets him in mid-air, mouth still gaping open. It snaps shut, getting nothing but a mouthful of air. And then Maxx shows me exactly what being a hell hound really means. His eyes begin to glow; his normally black fur burns, orange flames racing across each other before turning to black and repeating the process. My mouth drops open in amazement as my friend sheds his form all together and turns into pure magma. The stones above our heads groan in protest at the heat. 

"Uhhh...Maxx?" I don't even know if he can hear me, let alone answer. He's too busy burning the Komodo, who is screaming...ummm...hissing its outrage, but seems otherwise unaffected. Maybe it takes longer to burn a lizard than it does a human. I'm no expert. Its claws try to dig into the hell hound, but it can't get a hold on him. Maxx crackles as the flames leap upward form his back and lick at the ceiling. It's so noisy I can't hear myself think. I hunch down and away, resisting the urge to 'stop, drop, and roll'.

"Lydia told you to never come down here!" 

At the sound of Father Moss's distinctive voice, every stops in mid-fight. The half-Komodo backs away from Maxx, one stumbling step at a time, its skin charred and blackened. Maxx doesn't regain his shape, but he sits and tilts what looks like his head up at the gargoyle, which is hovering above us like a very pissed off, and avenging, angel. Minus the flaming sword. 

"Ra'kul," he says, then starts hissing and clicking. The half bares its teeth and Father Moss flies directly into its face. It throws its arms above its head, backing away from the stone wings until it vanishes back down the hallway and, presumably, into the bowels of Hell it came from. 

Then it's our turn. 

"You disobeyed Lydia, Isis, and could have been seriously injured in the process." Father Moss lands at my feet. "Not only that, but Ra'kul was hurt and it's difficult enough to treat wounds when the one bearing them is..." he trails off. 

"Crazy? Insane? Wacked out of his head?" I say. 

"That's unkind, Isis," the gargoyle replies. "Ra'kul was bitten many years ago, but instead of dying, she turned. She's the only one in existence, and her mind snapped shortly after it happened." 

Oh. The lizard thing is a girl. Oops. "She was trying to kill me." 

"Why do you think I had her locked up? Down here, where no-one was supposed to go?" He clatters his wings at me. "Why do you new ones never listen?"

I'm not sure which question I'm supposed to answer first, so I just do what I do best; try to justify my actions. "Lydia told me I couldn't come down here without a powerful escort. And I didn't. I had Maxx." 

How exactly a gargoyle can glare, I'm not really sure, but Father Moss does it. "You are ultimately responsible for Maxx's actions, which caused Ra'kul's burns. The entirety of this mess is on your head, Isis, and it is up to you to repair it." 

Well, how in the world am I supposed to do that?

"To that end," Father Moss continues, "if you wish to continue to come here, you will help Lydia tend to Ra'kul's injuries." 

I open my mouth to protest, but he growls at me. I didn't know he could do that, either. Boy, my education is just increasing by leaps and bounds. My mouth snaps shut.