The Skylar Experiment : Beginnings

Chapter Forty - Showdown (p.2)

It released an agonizing wail and I stumbled away, thinking I might just have won. Instead, the flames growing from his skin died out in seconds. 

I gaped in horror as understanding gripped me. Fire was a form of energy. The monster eyeballed me, drooling at the corners of its curving lips. Sweet crap. 

The Wanderer lunged at me with arms scorched raw, but I didn't have time to dodge. The roof was big and wide, however there was nowhere to run or hide. It shoved me to the ground. My shoulders rattled under the impact, and I clenched my teeth to inhibit a scream. I used my lighter again and aimed for its remaining eye, but the thing saw me coming. 

Without lifting a finger, the lighter was ripped away from my grasp and it lost itself in the void, over the rooftop.

I gazed back at the creature, panicked, as it opened its broad mouth, displaying rows of sharp teeth beneath the translucent lips. They were coated with saliva. A foul scent seared through my nose, and I felt like hurling. Then something crossed through me and stole all the oxygen from my lungs... pointy claws thrusting up and up from the inside...

No sound escaped my lips at first. The pain was so excruciatingly stunning that my head spun until I saw stars, threatening oblivion. I couldn't move. The sensation spread through my entire being. Warmth pooled under my ribcage. My blood. Its face drew dangerously closer to mine, licking its lips in a snakelike manner. 

A vigorous twist caused me to finally scream. The veins from its bloody forearm lit up and swelled, becoming brighter as I felt myself being ripped from deep within.

My head snapped back against the blacktop. I couldn't feel my hands and feet, and suddenly my lids dropped. Ice seeped into my bones like a crushing blanket. 

Time slowed in my world. My body didn't want to fight back; I needed to break free, but I was rooted to the ground. Liquid bubbled up in my throat and I coughed, the taste of metal filling my mouth. A loud ringing invaded the space between my ears.

My energy was draining away like sand through fingers. The moon overhead blurred through my vision, and my movements slowly decreased in strength until I felt like I'd evaporate on the spot. In a last fit of spasms, I wriggled slightly, grabbing the sulfur from my pants and tipping the cap off.  

I painstakingly stuck the container against the back of its hand, letting the liquid seep onto the blotched skin. It retrieved its hand from my ribcage and brought it to its chest, howling again. 

I rolled to the side, panting. Feeling crept back into my body. I dumped the remains of the bottle onto the monster and kicked it. Hard. Like my Dad taught me. 

Doing so worsened the bleeding in my midsection and caused my entire stomach to burn, but it was already over for me. 

The importance of the damage was undeniable, and it seemed to hurt just as much to admit. No one was coming to fix it. I could at least take this bastard with me, so I tearily nodded to myself. I kicked again. My scream merged with that of the creature's. 

Its skin changed, reddened, singing from the acid. There was no way the Wanderer would find a way to get rid of that.

The creature regained stability on its two feet before I could, growling. It seized one of my arms and dragged me over to the edge like a puppet, probably deciding I was too much trouble to torture. I spat a jet of blood, and my body was swung into the void. For a split-second, I floated, weightless, then started falling down five whole stories. My heart raced erratically, awakening every single surviving nerve inside me. 

I crashed against the brick façade, hanging by one arm. The position tugged at my wound ruthlessly. With a desperate whine, I struggled to reach up with my other arm and grip the edge. I managed and looked down. 

I'd never been afraid of heights. When I surfed in California, I would ride waves this size and over. Only I wasn't surfing. Water wouldn't catch me if I plunged.

I watched the pavement underneath, morbidly fascinated. Eventually, my arms will get too tired and I will plummet to my death, cracking my head on the asphalt. Never thought my final moment would end this way and that I wouldn't get to say goodbye. 

A chilly wind glided over my forehead as if to wipe away my fears. It would be quick—and hopefully painless. 

I was vaguely aware of hands wrapping around my arms and yanking until my feet were over the edge of the roof. I lied on my side, letting my head drop and my eyes close like a curtain shutting out the world. Luc's shouting tenor crawled its way through my mind, mingling with the Wanderer's snarls. 

I exhaled. My shirt was damp and hot. I was bleeding out. 

Familiar lights exploded through the skin of my lids, heat pouring out in waves. I curled up to fight the shivers. He called out my name, called... and called... but the voices and the sounds muffled out. I drifted miles away from here, thinking of my dad, of my mom, and how I was so sorry to leave them so soon. An irresistible drowsiness claimed me. 

Dots teemed and swelled, blocking out the lights and him, his desperate calls that broke my heart. My reflex was to cling to it, but the tunnel was moving between us. I sailed into blackness.

  ✩