Soul-Bound

Chapter 8 : Fallen Angel

GRATATATATTATAT!
Bullets ripped through the wooden door. Lily quickly moved off of the bed and to the far side of the room. She gripped onto the handgun with both of her hands and tucked her head in fear. She breathed heavily trying to grasp a sense of logic.
Mann took cover inside of the closet.
"We're here for the Apple! Give it to us or you will die!" One of the goons yelled into the house. All of their guns still trained on the trio.
"You mother fucker!" Ella yelled at them. She then lifted the Apple into the air.
"Ella no!" Lily pled out loud.
The Apple emanated a boisterous energy that gripped into Ella's hand. As if becoming part of her. Her veins began to glow through her skin, empowering her body. As she concentrated her will into the Apple it got more uncontrollable until she manifested what she wanted.
KEROOOW!
A blast of light struck the door and exploded the entrance to the house. Debris flew inside and out of the tiny home surrounding them all with smoke. The doorway was caught aflame and blocked their escape that way.
Mann stood up after the blast had grounded everyone. He immediately looked for Ella who was breathing heavily, still holding the Apple in her hand.
Lily was okay, just stunned by the explosion. Though the adrenaline coursing her veins were pushing her body over the limit sooner than it should.
"Get up. Let's go." Mann said to Ella. She didn't move initially. She just clung onto the Apple with all of her might. Slowly a smile grew on her face. Ella's eyes met with the Apple and she started to chuckle. The chuckle turning into a hysterical laugh.
"What the fuck?" Mann backed away slowly then turning his attention to the front of the house. He took cover underneath the window as he saw more people lining up across the street.
Ella got onto her feet and walked outside of the house, still bearing a creepy smile. "The Apple isn't going anywhere. It's ours and we're going to make a new world." Her tone of voice was almost projecting a god-complex.
Ella knew once she obtained the Apple that she would create a new world. A world where Mann and her would live like they should have. Like a King and Queen.
"Ella what the fuck are you doing?" Mann tried to grab her attention but it didn't work. She was dead set on whatever her mind was thinking.
Lily crawled slowly over to Mann, "She won't listen to you. The power of the Apple is consuming her."
Mann sighed. What a fucking mess.
Ella held the Apple to the sky but just as she was about to use it.
BOOM!
The front gates were breached. A large swarm of people and beasts alike were invading. They stampeded through the town and all you could hear were gunshots and screams.
Mann went outside and took the Apple from Ella. "I'm gonna hold onto this since you can't deal with it."
Almost immediately did her feelings of being a superior being dissipated. She felt a bit sick. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."
Mann held the Apple as it clung to him as it did to Ella. His body adapted easily to the Apple, but it did not corrupt him or his mind. Mann motioned the Apple towards the ground and a large shockwave beneath the earth rippled towards the goons in front of them. At the base of their feet a large rock erupted from the ground and thrashed them about.
"Grab Lily and let's get the fuck out of here." Mann said now with a new purpose in his mind. He gave Ella the rifle slung from his shoulders and slowly guided them away from the entrance of the town. The only place he could think of was the South wall where the forest could cover their tracks.
"Keep moving, don't worry about anyone else!" Mann said as the Trio tried outrunning the chaos ensuing behind them. As the screams continued so did they until they came across the southern barracks which were inaccessible due to the overwhelming force behind them.
"What do we do now?" Ella asked, groaning in frustration.
Mann looked down at the Apple. It took him a couple of moments but then it clicked in his head. The Apple was an unimaginable force of power capable of doing anything. Something it took him the better half of the last 10 minutes to figure out.
With all of the might in Mann's body, he raised the Apple to heavens and used that might to cast down a thunder strike.
KROKOW!
The resulting strike was far more powerful than he had anticipated. The shockwave sent every one within 100 feet to the ground. There was smoke everywhere with debris and shrapnel thrown into the air.
It was almost like the world went silent, but it was just their ears ringing from shell shock. Mann felt like he was right in the middle of a mortar strike and everything around him was like a horror movie. The smoke covering his vision, the sounds of gunfire from every direction and the screams of innocent people.
The world was this washed out yellow color through the smoke. It was like this bubble that seemingly covered his world.
Mann managed to get to his knees as he took deep breaths to suppress the pain that resonated in his bones. A few moments passed before he realized that Ella was nowhere to be found. Lily lie face first in the dirt with haste in her breathing.
"L-lily!" Mann coughed and scrambled over to Lily. Her face was bleeding, body still tore up. She was in a worse state than if they had just stayed put in the house. "Fuck. I-I can...ugh."
Lily twitched around before finally opening her eyes to extreme pain. She let out ghastly groans and screeching screams.
Mann only then realized he still held the Apple in his hand. It was almost stuck to him like someone superglued it to him. There was another moment of realization where he knew what he had to do. With that in mind he could see silhouettes coming into the smoke. He gripped the Apple and held it out in front of him. The thought in his mind was fresh and full. As the person got closer, Mann activated the Apple and slowly pulled towards him.
The person stopped in their tracks immediately. They dropped their gun and lost their balance as they stumbled forwards. A creeping sound of violence came from their throat as they screamed at the top of their lungs letting their voice rip through the air. The longer it happened the more they screamed until they scratched at their throat and fell forward in a stiff position.
Mann gazed at the body for moments. He wondered if they would stand back up but knew he had killed them. It was more than just a kill to Mann, he knew that he had stolen their soul.
Mann looked down at the Apple and could feel a soul trapped inside. He shook his head and turned to Lily where he then projected that soul onto her. This green flowing beam of energy burst from the Apple. It grew in intensity as the soul was then projected onto Lily. Slowly did her wounds heal and she would finally stop screaming.
"D-did it work?" Mann said to himself. He kept looking at Lily and then the Apple trying to figure out what he had just done. Slowly he walked towards Lily who was slowly getting up to her feet.
"What did you do?" Lily looked down at herself. She grabbed all around as if trying to feel pain again.
Mann looked back at the dead body, "I did what had to be done."
"You killed someone just to fix my wounds? Why would you do that?" Lily threw her arms around trying to figure out what to do with herself.
"What else would I have done? Left you to die?" Mann snapped back.
"Yes!" Lily retorted. "You're just gonna kill someone every time Ella or I am hurt?"
Mann paused for a second, wincing at the thought. "Y-yeah. I would. Because you and her are the only people who I can trust and the only people who make me feel like life is worth living."
"Then where is she?" Lily went into a small panic as she looked around. "I was next to her before the explosion."
"I don't know, but we have to get out of here and look for her." Mann said as he slowly walked to the opening in the wall.