Chapter 5 - The Utter Discomfort of Blood

Downtown LA

A shadowy figure wandered downtown in the comfort of darkness. Behind him, a lone streetlight revealed his destruction- a body count that would be classified as mass murder. The scene was painted with red. Blood streaked bodies, some just limbs, decorated the street in pools of blood; like a wild animal with its prey.
Looking back, the figure grinned saying “I couldn’t help it.”

On a train

Bovey. Yes, that was his name once wasn’t it? Bovey sat on a train watching the blood flow through his veins. To him, it was an art form. The way the blood followed pathways leading into different places, getting faster when more is needed and slowing down again. Only he could truly understand the beauty of blood.

The train stopped and Bovey got off. Silently, he walked out of the station and into the light of the city.
“Hey, you!” someone shouted. Bovey turned around. “Hand over all your money or else…” a man said, pointing a gun towards him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Bovey said, a smirk on his face, almost daring the man to pull the trigger. The man said nothing. Slowly, Bovey raised his arm in front of him, reaching out to the man with his hand. The man tensed, his hand shaking, making the gun shake with it.
“Hey man. What are you doing?! Stop it!” he yelled. His face was turning red now and going a shade darker by the second.
“Stop!”
Bovey’s smile grew bigger and the man’s eyes widened.
“Stop it!
Bovey started laughing, loud, mocking laughs. The man clutched at his ears, holding his head in his hands.
“STO-!” A sickening squelch cut off the man’s pleas. Satisfied, Bovey held his index finger out, drawing something out on the ground. First an ‘s’ shape, then three lines, his erratic behaviour distorting the shape and direction of the lines. It was his calling card.

In the middle of the desert ...
(Luisa & Thinzar VS. Tommy & Win)

Win started breathing deeply, trying to calm her down but Tommy noticed not even that could stop her.
“I. Said. Stop” she said through clenched teeth.
“And I heard you. But that’s not gonna make me, isn’t that right Thinzar?” Luisa replied. Thinzar laughed.
“Aaarrghhh!!” Win screamed, furiously running towards Luisa. At the same time she started forming blades that ran down her forearms. Lifting one in front of her, she took a leap towards her target, ready to bring the blade down on her.
“What is that? Your battle cry?” a voice interrupted them. Win looked up towards the source of the sound but she realised too late that it was Thinzar. For a split second their eyes connected. “I want YOU to stop.” Thinzar’s voice echoed in Win’s head and suddenly she found that she couldn’t move, she was frozen in mid air, Luisa inches away from her death.
“What? This isn’t possible!” Tommy whispered.
“You don’t think it’s possible? How about US? No one thought people like us, with ABILITIES could even EXIST.” Thinzar’s voice brimmed with anger and purpose. “In this era, anything is possible.”

At Bovey's apartment

He wasn’t always like this. Bovey was once a normal person. He was sane, he was calm, and he had feelings. Then the insanity took over, spreading through his body like a disease. And now, he shared his body with another conscious mind.
“What are we going to do now?” said Bovey.
“I’m craving …hmmm…what’s it called? The taste of blood.” Uhhh … Bovey again.
“You sicko! What’s wrong with you?” Bovey said to Bovey
“What’s wrong with you?”
Bovey contemplated with himself. He didn’t know and it didn’t really matter to him anyway. All he knew was that he had a sudden urge to kill.

In the middle of the desert ...
(Luisa & Thinzar VS. Tommy & Win)

“Let Win go!” Tommy yelled.
“Sorry. But we can’t do that,” said Thinzar. Outside, the beginnings of a shower could be heard.
“Hmmm…finish this soon Thinzar. We don’t want to get caught up in the rain” Luisa told her.
“Gladly.”
Tommy clenched his fists and looked towards the ground, trying to avoid Thinzar’s glare. From the corner of his eye he saw Win’s fingers starting to move.
She’s breaking free, he thought C’mon Tommy, think of something else. You can’t let Luisa know. Tommy glanced at Luisa – she hadn’t seemed to notice. It looked like she was still fighting with Win. Was it all in their heads?

In their heads…

“So how does it feel?” Luisa sent a thought into Win’s head.
“What?”
“Not being able to do a single thing.”
“I CAN do something. Soon…”
“Oh… like with Agent Damien? Soon is too late.”
“Don’t!” Win thought of all the things she’d to her once she could move again “…just wait. You’re all going to get defeated.”
Luisa chuckled at the thought.

Tommy vs. Thinzar

The rain was getting stronger, crashing loudly onto the roof and getting louder by the moment - unnaturally loud…
“What the-?” Thinzar said looking up. She looked over to Tommy and saw that his palms were facing upwards by his sides. By this time Luisa and Win had noticed too. Win smiled, starting to move her legs now.
“That’s not rain…” started Luisa. Small objects were breaking through the roof.
“It’s ice!” Tommy yelled sending sharp solidified droplets of water down to Luisa and Thinzar. Thinzar’s power over Win faded as the shock and panic took over her.
It was like everything moved in slow motion. Luisa looked left and right for an escape; Thinzar desperately tried using her power one last time, “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me” she said; Win ran towards Tommy creating a barrier. Then the shower of ice came. The icicles fell to the ground shattering into a million pieces that scattered everywhere, piercing everything. All that remained was a thick mass of steam.
Win and Tommy came out of their cover surveying the damage of the area. “This’ll cost us.” Tommy said hoping to lighten the atmosphere. It didn’t work. Win was searching the hallway; there was no sign of Luisa or Thinzar.
“They got away? How?” she screamed. “They should have been obliterated.”
“Luisa must have picked up on my plan earlier than I thought.”
“Yeah. Let’s report back to The Company.”

At a bus stop
Bovey

Bovey looked around for his next victim. A professor-scientist type man, alone, stood at a bus stop. Perfect, thought Bovey. Quietly he walked up to the man until he was directly behind him.
“You know, it’s not a good idea to be alone at this hour of the night” he said in a low voice.
The professor turned around swiftly and saw the dark figure, wearing a dark cloak, the light casting freaky shadows on his face.
“Boo” said Bovey. He got ready for the kill, lifting one hand in front of him, two fingers out.
“Wait!” The professor cried. Bovey decided to humour the man, stopping but not lowering his hand. The professor stared anxiously at the hand “I know who you are.”
Bovey thought about this for a second. “Nobody knows who I am.”
“W-we do. At The Company.”
“The Company?” The man nodded frantically. Bovey had never heard of The Company before. “Thanks for the warning,” he said. Then, before the man could say any more, Bovey brought down his hand, making the professor’s blood exit through the holes in his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. He was instantly killed. As always, Bovey drew the sign in blood.
Better leave something for The Company too, he thought. Next to his calling card, he wrote:
‘You’ll be seeing me soon.’

At The Company…

“Thinzar and Luisa have gotten away,” said Win.
“That’s fine. They’re very strong when they work together. Leave them for now…” Allison reassured her.
“But we’ll have to keep an eye out for them. They’re a danger to The Company… and to the public,” said Henry.

Hours later…

The Company was in total darkness. Nothing could be seen except for the red lights of the alarm. Every hallway was deserted. Down below, prisoners pounded on their cells screaming for help.
Henry, Allison, Tommy, Win, Dylan, Aida, Janette, Khiem. All of them stuck in the depths of the company. All of them trapped.

To be continued…

By: Allison