A Month Later...
???: (Asleep) *Snore*
[The room is dark. Jerry is lying in his bed snoring loudly. His right arm is dangling off the side of the bed and he seems to be barely clutching a wrench in his right hand even though he's asleep. His left arm is still in a sling, though the sling doesn't look like the makeshift one Asher made. It looks like a new actual sling.]
Jerry: (Asleep) *Snore*
[It looks like he was working or tinkering later than he should have been again. There are papers and small empty crates scattered all around his room. The whole place is a mess, it's a miracle he gets any work done.]
Jerry: (Asleep) *Snore*
[He continues to snore loudly before a louder noise seems to wake him up.]
*Loud Ringing*
Jerry: (Half Asleep) Eh?- What the fuck?
*Loud Ringing*
[An alarm clock on the ground next to his bed starts ringing.]
*Loud Ringing*
Jerry: (Half Asleep) Ughh...
*Loud Ringing*
[He hits the alarm clock with the wrench he's holding causing it to stop. He lets out a groan before tossing the wrench he's holding somewhere in his room making more of a mess.]
Jerry: (Half Asleep) *Groan* Uhhhhhh... Goddamnit...
[He sits up and rubs his head.]
Jerry: (Half Asleep) Wha- What did I do last night?
[He looks around his room confused. His eyes stop on his blueprint table and the numerous bottles of booze on the ground around it.]
Jerry: (Half Asleep) Oh... Yea... I was drinking and tinkering again...
[Jerry moves to the side of his bed and stands up. He walks over to his blueprint table and grabs his apron which is hung on the side of a chair. He puts it on and ties it around himself. He then stretches his head and rubs his forehead.]
Jerry: I wonder if I came up with anything interesting last night? Whatever it is, it's probably impossible to build.
[He looks down at his blueprint table and glances at the blueprint resting on it. The blueprint seems to be for some sort of weapon. An arm-mounted blade to be exact. Most of the writing on the blueprint is gibberish but the schematics are completely legible.]
Jerry: Huh... That could- That could theoretically work... Definitely gonna come back to this one...
[He walks away from his blueprint bench and towards his bedroom door. He opens the door and walks into the hallway. He looks at Asher's bedroom door across from him.]
Jerry: Hmm... I wonder if Asher is awake...
*Loud Clang*
???: FUCK!
[A loud noise followed by yelling can be heard coming from the workshop.]
Jerry: Yep. He's awake.
[Jerry walks away from the bedroom doors and walks over to the slightly open workshop door. He pushes the metal door aside and steps inside. He looks around for Asher and eventually spots him near the truck, seemingly working on the engine. He's dressed in his normal attire, maroon vest and all. Jerry shakes his head.]
Jerry: Uhh- Morning Asher.
Asher: Eh?
[Asher looks behind him and sees Jerry standing near the workshop door. His face has some oil dots on it.]
Asher: Morning?
[Asher grabs a rag and wipes the oil dots off of his face.]
Asher: Jerry it's three in the afternoon.
[Jerry looks at Asher surprised.]
Jerry: Oh... Shit... I really need to fix my sleep schedule...
Asher: Yea, ya do.
[Asher tosses the tool he was holding on the table next to him and places the rag over his shoulder. He turns around and leans against the front of the truck.]
Asher: Let me guess... You were up late tinkering or making some new blueprints again, weren't you?
[Jerry starts walking over towards Asher.]
Jerry: And drinking! Don't forget drinking.
Asher: Aah! Yes! Of course! How could I forget?!
[Jerry stops walking a few feet in front of Asher. Now Asher is able to get a look at his tired face.]
Asher: Jesus christ you look like shit.
Jerry: I was drinking all night and up until five in the morning! What the hell did you expect me to look like after that scenario?
Asher: (Enthusiastically) Well, I mean you look like how I would expect someone to after what you did last night. But in the end, I suppose I expected you to go to sleep at a reasonable time and wake up looking invigorated and ready to greet the day with a smile!
[Asher places his index fingers at the corners of his mouth and gives Jerry a nice wide happy smile. Jerry shakes his head in response.]
Jerry: Ehh- Whatever you say... Wait, weren't you drinking last night as well?
Asher: *Chuckles* Yep.
Jerry: When the hell did you wake up?
Asher: I woke up at nine like a reasonable person.
Jerry: How the hell are you not hungover?
[Asher places his hand on his chest like he's proud of himself.]
Asher: I am very good at hiding things, my friend! It may not look like it but I am hungover as hell right now!
[Asher leans back a little bit and tilts his head.]
Asher: *Groan* Awwwww- I have a seriously nasty headache...
Jerry: Well you do a damn good job at hiding it.
Asher: (Enthusiastically) Thank you! I use the same skill to hide the sins of my past!
Jerry: What?
Asher: What?
[The two stare at each other awkwardly for a few seconds.]
Jerry: Uhhh... O-k, changing the topic. How's the truck going?
[Asher turns around and looks at the truck.]
Asher: She's almost done!
[Asher cleans off his hands with the rag and then places it on the hood of the truck.]
Asher: She just needs one more part!
Jerry: Well, why don't you just go get it?
Asher: (Sarcastically) Well... I would have gotten the part if I wasn't busy at the ring last night...
Jerry: Oh yea. Leo offered you part-time work right?
[Asher turns around and looks at Jerry. He leans against the truck once again.]
Asher: Yea! Apparently, he was rather impressed with my fight against Croc that he-
Jerry: If you can even call that a fight... In all honesty, it just looked like a long drawn-out game of duck-duck-goose except more of you getting the shit beaten out of you. But uhhhhhh- continue.
[Asher silently glares at Jerry.]
Asher: Yea... Anyways, he was impressed with my fighting in the ring so he asked me to serve as a fill-in for some of the lightweight matches. He even said I could sign up and participate full-time in the ring if I'm interested.
[Jerry nods.]
Jerry: Hmmm. So how did last night go?
Asher: It was so-so. I was filling in for a no-show and there wasn't much of a crowd. I beat the guy I was up against in two rounds and made a bit of green in the process.
Jerry: Those fights can pay pretty well if you bet on the right person. Or, yourself in your instance... What are you gonna spend it on?
Asher: The last part I need to finally finish the truck!
[He turns around and pats the front of the truck like it's an animal.]
Asher: It's gonna feel so good to finally drive this girl around the city!
Jerry: We've had that thing in here for months. The sooner it starts working the better.
[Asher turns back around towards Jerry and spreads his arms out.]
Asher: Exactly! Because once we get her running, it's gonna make both of our jobs a ton easier! Being able to haul weapons into the city in a single trip is gonna save us a ton of time!
Jerry: It's gonna feel weird not carrying everything into the city on our backs.
Asher: At first yea, but in the end, we won't be breaking our backs constantly and forced to buy a new pair of boots every month.
Jerry: Yea, that would save us a bit of money...
Asher: Alrighty then!
[Asher claps his hands together and begins to walk past Jerry.]
Asher: *Clap* I'm off to go get the last part, I'll be back shortly!
Jerry: You're going to get the part now?
[Asher stops walking and turns to look towards Jerry.]
Asher: Yea, of course. Why? Do we have work we need to get done today? Because if we do it's already three in the afternoon and we should probably get working on that.
Jerry: Uhhh- No... We don't have any work today... But I uhhh-
[Jerry scratches his head with his right hand.]
Jerry: I feel like... I feel like you shouldn't go into the city...
Asher: What? Why?
Jerry: I don't know... I just feel like today is a bad day for pretty much anything.
[Asher waves off Jerry's remarks.]
Asher: It's probably just the hangover talking!
[He turns around and walks towards the workshop door. He waves to Jerry without looking behind him.]
Asher: I'll be back in a jiffy!
[He walks out of the workshop and closes the door behind himself. Jerry stares at the door for a few seconds before scratching his head again with a puzzled expression on his face.]
Jerry: Why do I have this feeling of... Dread? Huh?
[He notices something on the ground in front of himself. It's one of the metal spears he melts down and turns into a variety of weapons. He bends down and grabs the spear with his right hand. He stands back up and looks at the spear closely. He can see himself clearly in the reflection of the spear. He glares at it suspiciously.]
Jerry: Hmmm... Why do I feel like I forgot to tell him something... Something... Really, really, fucking important...
[He then stops glaring at the spear and shrugs.]
Jerry: *Shrugs* Eh, it's probably nothing...
[Jerry walks over to a workbench and places the spear against it. He then scratches his chin still puzzled by what he might be forgetting.]
Jerry: Hmmm...
[Jerry walks away from the workbench and seems to start preparing to work on something for the day. On the workbench where he left the spear leaning against are a few pieces of paper and some blueprints scattered over it. There also seems to be something else on the workbench as well. It seems to be a calendar. The calendar appears to be up-to-date as there are a few days that are crossed off leading to today. However, it appears that today's date has been circled and has some arrows pointing to it with exclamation marks. Inside the circle, there is some writing. The writing reads, "Cleansing Day" in large lettering.]
An Hour Later in Pentagram City...
[Asher peeks out from around a corner inside the city. He has his gas mask on to hide his face from the crows. But as he looks at his surroundings he has a confused expression on his face. And he should be considering what he's looking at. The streets of the city are entirely empty. And I mean completely. There isn't a single demon or creature in sight. The city looks like a ghost town in this state. Completely deprived of the chaotic life it usually has. It's odd... Almost unsettling...]
Asher: Where in the literal hell is everyone?
[Asher steps out from around the corner and starts walking down the sidewalk. He looks to his left and right confused.]
Asher: What the hell is going on? I'm used to this place being filled to the brim with chaos! This is... Unnatural for this city...
[Asher continues to walk down the sidewalk doing his best to act natural. He seems incredibly confused and suspicious of the odd state the city is currently in.]
Asher: Is there some sort of party going on that I wasn't invited to? *GASP* Maybe it's a surprise party!? Hang on, it's not my birthday...
[Asher stops walking and scratches his chin.]
Asher: And I don't have any friends who like me... Hmmm...
*Caw*
[Asher immediately freezes and tenses up. He looks around without moving a muscle.]
Asher: (In Head) Uh-oh...
*Caw*
[Asher tenses up again. He seems to be in a bit of a panic.]
Asher: (In Head) Calm down dumbass. They can't recognize you if you're wearing the gas mask... Unless it's their leader...
*Caw!*
[The cawing continues. Asher looks around the streets for the source of the noise.]
Asher: What the hell?
[The source of the noise seems to be coming from a tipped-over trash can on the other side of the street. There's a crow inside the trash can looking and cawing at Asher. But it's not just a normal crow, it's the Crescent Crow.]
Asher: Oh fuck.
[The two stare at each other silently for a few seconds. Neither of them moves. They just stand there motionless. Then, after a few seconds, the Crescent Crow caws once again.]
Crescent Crow: *Caw*
[Asher flinches backwards because of the crow's caw. He seems pretty scared of the crow even though it just seems to be the one. And that's when he realizes. It's only the Crescent Crow. Asher looks around the street expecting to see more crows surrounding him like they usually do after the Crescent Crow summons them. But there isn't a single crow, besides the Crescent Crow, in the area. Asher seems surprised by this. Then he starts chuckling a little.]
Asher: Uhhh... Heh... *Chuckles* Ha!
[Asher holds his arms out towards the Crescent Crow taunting it.]
Asher: What's wrong buddy?! Don't have your pals to back you up!? HA!!!
[The Crescent Crow seems to glare at Asher a bit annoyed. It takes a few steps forward out of the trash can and caws again.]
Crescent Crow: *Caw*
[Asher seems to disregard the Crescent Crow's caws. He shoos it away.]
Asher: Ehhhh- You're not worth my time right now. I've got better things to be doing than arguing with a rat with wings!
Crescent Crow: *Caw* *Caw*
[The Crescent Crow continues to caw at Asher. He glares at it before turning away and continuing to walk down the sidewalk. He keeps a watch on the crow out of the corner of his eyes.]
Asher: (In Head) As much as I would love to rid that bird from my afterlife... I know that crow is smart... I might be overthinking it, but this could be some sort of trap it set up... Then there's this situation...
[Asher looks over his shoulder towards the Crescent Crow. It's the only other living thing on the street. It's still standing directly outside the trash can. Still looking at him.]
Asher: (In Head) I'm more concerned about what's going on in the city at the moment. It's all too weird and freaky...
[Asher looks forward and continues walking down the sidewalk paying no mind to the Crow. The Crescent Crow continues to glare at Asher as he walks away. It takes a few steps forward before a shadow passes over it. The Crescent Crow immediately freezes and looks around rapidly. It then quickly hops back into the trash can and seemingly goes into hiding. Asher continues walking down the sidewalk confused and a bit nervous. Eventually, he comes to the end of the sidewalk and decides to make a right turn. He turns the corner and immediately freezes.]
Asher: Oh, phenomenal, a corpse.
[There's a corpse in the middle of the street not too far away from Asher. The body of the demon seems to have about three spears in it.]
Asher: Yikes...
[Asher walks up to the corpse cautiously. He rapidly looks to his left and right nervously. Eventually, he gets close enough to the corpse where he can get a good look at it. It looks like it was impaled multiple times before the spears were left inside the corpse. The body is a mess and completely unrecognizable in its current condition. There's also a shit ton of blood in the area around the body. A lot of it looks like it was splattered around frantically. Asher kneels down so he can look closely at the corpse.]
Asher: Yikes... This guy did not die painlessly...
[He glares at the corpse. The body looks fresh. Incredibly fresh...]
Asher: But he did die recently...
[Asher looks up at the three spears sticking out of the corpse. They're the same ones Jerry has at his workshop.]
Asher: Normally I wouldn't think much of a random corpse in the middle of the street, but now...
[He looks around at his surroundings.]
Asher: This feels odd... Even for Pentagram City... And that's saying something since random murder is normalized down here... But this-
[He looks back at the corpse.]
Asher: -This isn't right... The tune is off...
[Asher stands up and looks to his left and right. He seems to be incredibly on edge and nervous. He scans the area around him. Everything looks completely normal. For Pentagram City that is... All the buildings are in roughly one piece, there are some trash cans knocked over and garbage on the ground, a random body somewhere in the streets, a few parked cars, and-]
Asher: What the hell?
[Asher notices something off as he's looking at his surroundings. Far away from him on top of a building, there is a humanoid figure looking in his general direction. Asher can't quite make out any features of the figure.]
Asher: Who the hell is that? And what are they doing on the roof of a building?
[Asher squints his eyes and places his left hand above them in an attempt to block out the light. He's able to see the figure a little bit better but it's still hard to make out. From what he can make out, the figure is pretty tall. About the same height or even taller than Jerry.]
Asher: What the fu-
*THUD* *SPLAT*
[A loud thud and splat can be heard. Asher freezes and blinks confused. He then rubs his left cheek and looks at his hand. There's some blood on it. He looks to his left toward the corpse and sees that a new spear has been impaled into the body. The new spear seems to have destroyed the corpse a bit more and caused blood to splatter around the area. The spear looks exactly like the ones that are already in the corpse and the ones Jerry has at his workshop.]
Asher: Huh... That's certainly not where I left it...
[Asher looks away from the corpse a bit freaked out and back at where he saw the figure before. The figure ain't there no more. It's gone.]
Asher: Ohhhhhhhhh- no.
*Long Scraping Noise*
[A scraping noise can be heard to the left of Asher. He immediately turns towards it and jumps backward, leaping onto the sidewalk. The noise seems to be coming from an alleyway across from him. He seems to take up some sort of fighting stance but keeps his right hand close to his vest like he's ready to grab something at a second's notice. He looks like he's trying to keep up a tough expression, but in reality, he's completely panicked. The scraping noise continues as Asher takes a few steps back further onto the sidewalk. Then it suddenly stops. Asher remains completely still. He's breathing heavily and sweating a bit as well. The silence is unnerving. He takes another step back. Then something that might possibly be the most terrifying thing happens in front of Asher. Something lights up in the alleyway, two bright white O's.]
Asher: (Quietly) What the fuck...
[Asher stares at the bright white light in the alleyway. He does his best to remain completely still. Then something else lights up in the alleyway. An odd-looking ring above the O's followed by a creepy smiling face beneath it.]
Asher: (Quietly) O-k, this is not normal at all!
[Asher takes a step back.]
Asher: (Quietly) I think I should get the hell out of-
[But before Asher can finish his sentence, whatever is in the alleyway charges directly at him. It quickly yanks one of the spears out of the corpse as it passes by it. Within a second the thing makes its way only a few feet in front of Asher.]
Asher: SHIT!
*SMASH*
[Asher quickly dodges to the right and hits the deck. Where he once was is now covered in a large cloud of dust. Asher quickly stumbles as he gets back onto his feet. He reaches into his vest with his right hand and takes out a knife, it seems to be one of the knives Jerry makes. He cautiously and slowly takes a few steps backward away from where he once was. He keeps a close eye on the dust cloud as he makes his way away from it.]
Asher: (In Head) What in the name of God is going on!?!?
[After taking a few more steps backward, the dust begins to settle. Whatever came out of the alleyway, grabbed a spear, and attacked Asher is now visible to all.]
Asher: What in the Goddamn...?
[Asher is completely bewildered by the looks of his attacker. The "Thing" that attacked Asher is as tall or taller than Jerry, has long gray limbs, curved horns coming out of its head, large gray wings, and what looks to be a halo of some sort floating above it. Asher takes another step back attempting to gain some distance from this Thing. After he takes another step backward, the thing quickly turns its head and looks at Asher. It has two glowing O's for eyes and a creepy smile on what is considered its face. The Thing then pulls the spear it's holding out of the ground and turns towards Asher. The two look at each other. Asher has wide eyes and looks a bit horrified while the Thing shows no emotion but the creepy smile on its face. There's an uncomfortable silence between the two.]
Asher: Uhhhhhhhhhh- Bye.
[Asher quickly turns around and starts running in the opposite direction away from the Thing. He panics in his head.]
Asher: (In Head) What. The. FUCK! Was that thing!?!? Was that some sort of demon?! Why the hell did it have wings and a goodman halo?! And why the hell am I running with a knife?! I might cut myself?! *Laughs* HAHAHA!
[Asher laughs to himself as he continues running. His breathing is heavy and he seems stressed out.]
Asher: (In Head) Calm down, calm down... Whatever that thing was is one hundred percent trying to kill me... I just need to keep running and-
[Asher looks over his shoulder. The Thing is chasing after him.]
Asher: (Yelling) OH CHRIST IT'S FOLLOWING ME!!!
[Asher continues to run as fast as he can with the Thing right behind him. Eventually, he gets to a corner and makes a right. Asher looks over his shoulder to see if the Thing is still following him. He sees it impale its spear into the ground and use it to turn the corner and slightly fling itself forward after Asher. It continues to follow after him at a rapid pace. Asher looks back forward and continues running. He notices an alleyway to his right. In an attempt to lose the Thing he runs into the alleyway. The Thing purses after him. Asher runs down the alleyway and makes a turn whenever he is given the chance in an attempt to lose the Thing. Eventually, he turns and is faced with an unfortunate sight. There's a fence blocking his path. Luckily for him, there's a trashcan in front of the fence. Asher jumps onto the trash can and vaults over the fence successfully making it to the other side only to realize he just jumped into a dead end.]
Asher: Oh shit...
[Asher turns around looking for the Thing behind him. But it's nowhere in sight. Asher looks around a bit more expecting to see it beside him. It's completely vanished.]
Asher: Where the hell did it go?
[Asher takes a few steps backwards. He then freezes.]
Asher: It's right behind me isn't it?
[Asher turns around expecting to see the thing right behind him. Thankfully, it's nowhere in sight. Asher lets out a breath of relief, then looks around the dead end. There isn't much insight, just some trash, a few garbage bins, and a door that supposedly leads into the building in front of him. With no other option, Asher walks to the door and grabs the handle. He turns on the door handle only to see that it's locked.]
Asher: Locked. Should have expected that.
[Asher turns around so he can look for a different way out of the dead end. But to his surprise, the Thing is right behind him. It's above Asher and seems to have jumped from the roofs directly towards him. It looks like it's in the middle of drop kicking him which it proceeds to do so.]
*SMASH*
[The Thing kicks Asher through the locked door and into the building creating a large cloud of dust and debris. He's sent flying inside and into some sort of small workshop. Asher lies on the ground motionless for a second before quickly getting on a knee and grabbing onto something beside him. It looks like some white curtains. His mask seems to have fallen around his neck when he got drop-kicked. He looks to be in slight shock and pain by what just happened.
Asher: (Painfully) Ouch...
[Asher pulls himself up using the curtains and looks at the hole in the wall where the door once was. The glowing O's, smile, and halo can be clearly seen through the dust. It then lowers slightly closer to the ground. Asher realizes that it's about the charge at him again. He quickly gets to his feet and grabs ahold of the curtain. He yanks it down and holds it in front of himself in an attempt to obscure his body from the Thing. The Thing charges forward with its spear in front of it and impales the curtain. Luckily for Asher, it missed him by a few inches. Asher doesn't seem panicked anymore. He seems completely cool. He's taking this seriously. He swiftly forces himself over the Thing and behind it while still holding on to the curtain, keeping it blinded. As the two charge forward the Thing slams into a wall and breaks through into another room. Asher then let's go and allows the Thing to run forward and wreck the room they entered. As Asher gets to his feet he sees that the room they're in seems to be some sort of storefront. A radio store to be exact. The Thing, still blinded by the curtain, swings its spear around rapidly in an attempt to hit something. Instead of hitting Asher it just hits a bunch of shelves knocking over and destroying a ton of radios. Asher Stands up straight even though he seems to be in pain. He takes a deep breath and assumes a fighting stance with a knife in hand. The Thing continues to swing around before suddenly stopping. It then grabs ahold of the curtain and pulls on it in an attempt to get it off. But instead of taking it off it just rips a hole in it and pops its head through leaving the curtain stuck around its neck. It shakes its head before realizing that Ashers is in front of it holding a knife. It raises its spear ready to attack again and looks directly at Asher. Asher isn't smiling, he has a serious look on his face as he stares down the Thing.]
Asher: I don't know who or what you are... But you better listen to me when I tell you this...
[Asher tosses the knife in the air and catches it by the handle perfectly in front of his face. He has a wide ear-to-ear sharp-toothed smile on his face and a fire in his eyes.]
Asher: I would sooner die a second time than let some fallen-angel-walk-the-nine-hells-fuck get the better of me.
[He then grabs his mask with his left hand and places it on his face. The Thing brushes some dust off of the curtain around its neck. The two stare each other down. Both with wide smiles on their faces. Then the Thing charges forward at Asher with its spear. It swings at Asher rapidly in an attempt to hit him, but he manages to barely dodge each attack coming toward him. The thing is incredibly fast as all of its attacks barely miss Asher by mere inches. He's barely able to keep up with the dodging, but after a few more missed attacks Asher sees it. An opening. And possibly his only opportunity for one. He turns his knife around and swings at the thing's head. His attack connects and he manages to hit it right in the face. The Thing stumbles backward a few steps and holds its head high towards the ceiling out of Asher's view. Asher steps back and looks at the Thing in an attempt to figure out if he severely wounded it. After staring at the ceiling for a few seconds, the Thing looks down at Asher with its head jittering a bit. There's a cut on its face where Asher hit it. In between both of its eyes, around where the bridge of its nose would be if it had one. It's all twitchy and jittery now, it seems like Asher got it mad.]
Asher: (In Head) Looks like somebody is mad... Guess it's not used to getting hurt.
[It then stands up straight and holds its spear in front of itself. It places the bottom of the spear into the ground and remains still. Asher lowers himself a little bit in an attempt to prepare himself for what the Thing does next.]
Asher: (In Head) What the hell is it doi-gah-
*Stab*
[As fast as a light, the Thing appears in front of Asher. With its spear impaled right through his chest. There's blood flowing out of his chest. Asher, in complete shock, looks at the spear in his chest, then up at the Thing. There's a fair amount of his blood on the Thing's face, along with the white curtain which is now stained partly red. He then coughs causing some blood to come out of his mouth and drip down from under his mask.]
Asher: (Quietly) *Bloody Cough* What... The helllll...
[He then slumps forward against the spear causing it to go deeper inside him. His entire body seems to go limp a second later. The thing stands motionless. No longer shaking or jittering. It then moves its spear around and impales it and Asher into the ground. It lets go of the spear and stares at Asher who's lying face up on the ground. It tilts its head a bit as it stares at the gas mask on his face. It then looks up and starts walking towards the hole it made in the wall. It walks through the hole in the wall and then through the hole in the back of the building. Once it gets outside, the Thing seems to spread its wings behind it. It then seems to disappear upwards as it flies out of the alleyway as if nothing happened. Inside the radio store, Asher lies on the ground motionless with blood pooling around him. The store is quiet and still with no movement whatsoever.]
Asher: (Incredibly Quiet) *Bloody Cough* F... Fuck...
[Asher coughs up some blood in his mask as he stares at the ceiling of the storefront. He's still alive. Barely alive that is.]
Asher: (Incredibly Quiet) Wh... What the hell... Happened?
[He seems to attempt to move around to no avail.]
Asher: (Faint) It... It just ap- Appeared in front of me... Then... Implied me...
[He shakily moves his hands around and places them on the ground beside him. He attempts to push himself up and move around, but it seems that the spear impaled in his chest and the ground is keeping him in one place.]
Asher: (Faint) Can't move... Can't really breathe either... *Bloody Cough*
[His eyes begin to slowly close.]
Asher: (Faint) This can't be it... Not like this...
[He places his hands beside him once again and attempts to stand up. This time he's able to shakily push himself a tiny bit upwards.]
Asher: (Faint) No... Not again... I'm not dying like this... Stuck under something... It be too ironic... *Chuckles* *Bloody Cough*
[Asher seems to laugh at himself causing him to cough up more blood in his mask. He falls to the ground with a thud. Blood continues to spill out of him.]
Asher: (Faint) No... This is it... Isn't it...? This is how I die... Again... *Chuckles* *Bloody Cough*
[Asher chuckles once again causing himself to cough up more blood. He lies on the ground motionlessly. His eyes barely open.]
Asher: (Faint) Well... I better come to ter... To terms now... Now that I'm dying again...
[He closes his eyes, seemingly accepting his fate.]
Asher: (Faint) What do I have to come to terms with...? Hhmmmm... There isn't much... I never really did anything in hell... Just... Fucked around... Looking... For... Something... Something I could never find...
[He then uses the last bit of strength he has and reaches towards his neck with his right hand. He grabs the silver locket around his neck and brings it towards his face. He pops it open and opens his eyes so he could look at the picture again. Seemingly for one last time.]
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) I could never... Never find you... No matter how hard... Or... Or where I looked... You were gone... You disappeared...
[A somewhat sad expression seems to grow on his face. A few tears seem to form under his eyes.]
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Not on earth... Not in hell... Nowhere... You vanished from my life as quickly as you appeared...
[He then grabs the top of his mask and pulls it down around his neck revealing his face. There's plenty of blood around his mouth and chin.
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) I... I'm... I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't find you...
[Asher then moves the silver locket to his face and presses it against his lips.]
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) My spark...
[Asher then closes his eyes. Letting go of the locket allowing it fall around his neck.]
*Static*
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Hmm...?
[An odd static noise can be heard. Asher opens his eyes a tiny bit so he can see where the noise came from. On the ground to his right is a radio which seems to be completely unharmed by the damage Asher and the Thing caused. Asher turns his head to his right so he can look closely at the radio. It looks like the one Asher has back at Jerry's workshop.]
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Huh... Nice radio... It's kinda... It kinda looks like mine... Huh...
[Asher's eyes begin to close once again. But before they close completely, something odd happens.]
Radio: (Static) You can't die here... Not now... Not again...
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Wa- What?
[Asher's eyes shoot open. He stares at the Radio confused as it seems a feminine voice just spoke through it.]
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Did... Did the radio just talk to me?
Radio: (Static) The radiant fire inside you burns brighter than all of the flames in hell...
[The lights on the Radio glow with each word it speaks.]
Asher: (Faint) Oh, neat. The radio's talking to me... I've officially gone insane during my last few seconds alive...
Radio: (Static) *Laughing*
[The Radio seems to laugh at Asher's remark.]
Asher: (Faint) And now it's laughing at me... Fantastic... I'm being mocked by a piece of hardware...
Radio: (Static) *Giggling* You must let your undying soul burn to your heart's content!
Asher: (Faint) Ok, that's enough... I'm tapping out...
[Asher slowly closes his eyes. His breathing begins to slow down. But the Radio continues to talk.]
Radio: (Static) You mustn't give up now. Not here... And certainly not before we meet face to face...
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Technically I already saw your radio face... Sooooo...
Radio: (Static) You can survive this... I know you can do it... I've seen you do it...
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Mmmmhmmm... Sure...
[Asher's eyes slightly open.]
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Wait... Seen me...? Wha... What the hell are you talking about...?
Radio: (Static) *Chuckle* Stay strong my firefighter... Hopefully, we'll cross paths sooner than later.
Asher: (Incredibly Faint) Hang on... How do you know... That... That I... I...
[Asher's eyes then close completely. His body barely moves. His breathing slows down. His mind filled with questions with no time left.]
???: You better not die on me...
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A/N: Howdy! Before this chapter ends there are a few things I would like to mention.
1. Thank you all for all the reads, votes, and comments you've given me so far! It means a lot and inspires me to continue this fic hoping that it hits the top charts. Fingers crossed.
2. I'm thinking about changing the name of the fic because I've finally gotten past the "Introduction" part (If you can even call it an introduction) and because the fic is hopefully getting a new cover when the next chapter is posted. Maybe something like "Entertaining Fire"? I feel like that sounds better than the current title. Eh. I'll think about it.
3. Time for criticism! Whatcha, y'all think so far? I know it's not truly aligning with the tags so far and for that, I apologize. As I said in the description it's going to be a long ride until the cannon. I'm still more focused on writing an interesting and engaging story than just another one to toss in the pile. Eh, just comment what you think or ask me anything. As you can see by the read time of this story, I have nothing better to do than type, go to class, eat without a table, sometimes sleep, and play Fallout New Vegas. God, I love that game. Should I do a fic on that? Oh shit, I'm rambling. :P
Anyways, thanks again for everything! Let there be light!