The Meaning Of Eternity (TMOE #1)

Chapter 18: Interrogations in the bathroom

Lucius struggled to think clearly as he fumbled through the darkness. He could hear the beast moving towards him where he lay on the floor and he tried to back away as fast as he could, eventually hitting a wall.

The air went out of him, and his thoughts refused to stop swirling around in his head. What was that? What would he do? Was he going to die? Would it maul him to death like Apocalypse had done with Ravi?

No. No, he wouldn't go out like that. Lying there like a wounded deer wasn't going to get him to the top of any town, and he clenched his jaw as he tried reaching for his knife.

It didn't go well. Before he could reach his target the creature grabbed his arm and Lucius noticed it didn't have paws after all. It felt more like some form of human hand with the claws of a wolf, and he couldn't resist a frown as he was lifted from the floor.

The creature leaned in to sniff him, leaving a disturbing amount of saliva over Lucius' clothes and the latter would've screamed in horror if he hadn't been busy calming his heart down. Even worse, the creature didn't seem to appreciate his scent at all as it growled and threw him across the floor again. Still being close to the ground Lucius mostly ended up rolling rather than being thrown through the air but it still hurt and he let out a groan as his chest hit the hard floor.

He was soon picked up again, this time with an even harsher treatment and he cried out as his head hit the ceiling of the room. He was that far up? Why? The thought of what would happen if the creature would let go struck him, and a trembling breath escaped him. That would be the nice option, wouldn't it? What if it actively threw him into the hard stone floor? He'd be crushed entirely.

He had one arm left though, and if he had to choose one of the options he'd go with being dropped. So he hurried to bring out his knife and before the beast could go through with whatever plan it had in mind Lucius cut its hand, forcing it to drop him.

It let out a heart-stopping roar as Lucius landed on the floor, stumbling over as the impact sent a beaming pain through his legs. For some inconvenient reason it seemed his right foot was injured, and he couldn't seem to stand up properly.

"Fuck," he whispered as he proved unable to run, and readied himself for the creature's blow. Would it throw him again? Lift him up and crush him against the floor? Bite his head off? The spinning thoughts along with a second roar paralyzed him entirely.

To Lucius' great fortune a light suddenly burst through the darkness as someone opened the door to the room.

"Stop it!" A voice Lucius couldn't place called out and the creature hesitated as it looked over at the new appearance. "Stop it right now!"

As Lucius dared to open his eyes his first instinct was to close them again. The beast really was something. Had it not been hunched over he was fairly certain it would've reached the ceiling. He cautiously looked away from the threat to glance at the new person in the room.

"Tom?" Lucius whispered, but the man ignored him and instead walked over to stand between him and the beast.

"He's not a threat," Tom said, clearly not addressing Lucius, given the situation. "Back off, Richard."

Lucius' jaw dropped.

"... Richard!?"

The beast roared again at Lucius' voice and Tom, against all expectations, took a step forward.

"Back off," he repeated, words slower and more articulated this time and to Lucius' relief it seemed to work. The creature backed away and Tom waved his hand at Lucius to get out of the room. Lucius didn't hesitate to obey.

Tom appeared next to him shortly after, setting his candle down before closing the door and proceeding to lock it up again.

"What—I... I don't..." Lucius couldn't form a complete sentence as he watched Tom bar the door. "Just... What?"