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Thread: Dragon vs Dragon Rider! Komodo vs Merik! (Beta vs m139)

  1. #11
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    The worst thing about not knowing where your opponent was happened to be not knowing what your opponent would do. And although Merik had been unable to capitalize on this when the woman rushed into the room, she had managed to swipe at the still Merik.

    As he ran down the hall, the effects of this swipe became felt. She had not got much of him, but with no armor, even a little could be a lot. Most of the damage was simply cosmetic- there was no doubt that his vest was ripped, and instead of neatly fitting to his body the lower left end now dangled in the wind. But that was not Merik's concern. This animal skin could be replaced by another's- his skin, on the other hand (or rather, on his chest)...

    There were now three lines, each differing in length and depth, on Merik's chest. The one on top was only about an inch or two long, and the blood had barely shown itself before it dried. The bottom one, too, was barely anything more than a slightly deep paper cut, although its length was a bit longer than the first. The middle line, however, had made the deepest impression. It measured at four inches, and the top layer of skin had all been completely scraped off. A pool of blood had welled up from the deeper layers, and now it filled and strangulated in this open sore. Nothing too drastic yet, but still not at all comfortable to run with. Especially when there were already discomforts of another kind.

    And of this discomforts- first, there was heat. Even now, Merik could feel it, the hot flames which sent the water scurrying away into the air. And even now, he could hear the flames- the crackling of burning wood gradually overpowered the dimming ringing in his ears. Louder, louder, it grew, reminding him of its coming destruction. Yes, there was fire- terrible fire- and the fire was close. But closer still was the smoke. The smoke- which even now was creeping down the hallway and beginning to obscure his vision. It would be too smoky to see at eye level soon- soon, but not yet.

    While there was yet light enough, while yet the air was still saturated with only clear water, he ducked into an open door frame. There was not time to do much- the woman was coming up behind him- but there was just enough time to mostly avoid the large frame of a what once must have been a couch that still stood against the wall. With a stubbed toe for a casualty, Merik made his way in a not very graceful manner to the far side of the room, where there was another door attached to the wall with just a single hinge. This time, he stood in front of it, although facing towards the hallway, and placed his hand on the single hinge, muttering words as he waited for his opponent to enter.

    He would not have to wait long, not for the woman, nor for his natural opponent. Even now, the smoke was beginning to obscure sight at his eye level, and its source, the fire, was not far behind.
    If the gold does not stay in this world,
    then I will chase it till I find my home

  2. #12
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    Party Crasher



    Smoke was quickly filling the halls and obscuring Komodo's vision. So much so that she was barely able to find her opponent through all of it. She had seen a somewhat obscured figure go into a room and determined that to be who she was after. Who else would be running from room to room in a burning building, right? Well, that and the blood trail led in that direction. It was tiny at first, but grew to noticeable drops on the wet floor the closer she got to him. Seems her wild swipe earlier had indeed caught him. Not very deeply, it seemed... but at least he was injured. Given that she was a bit worse for wear already, that was incredibly good news for Komodo.

    Turning into the room where her opponent was, Komodo smiled wickedly. "I'mma disembowel you now, dude. No hard feelings. It's just business, you know?" Immediately after her statement, she went to charge. A bad move. Between the age of the building, the lack of maintenance, the rain, and the fire... the floor could take no more. It gave way under the strain and sent her tumbling into the apartment below where she slammed to the ground and was peppered with debris and tiny cinders. Still contained to the top floor, the fire and smoke were less of a danger on this floor... but that would not be true for long. Soon the fire would spread to the lower floors and there would be no escaping it.

    That was the least of Komodo's worries, though. She was barely conscious after the jarring impact, and unsure of if her foe had also fallen or if he was still above. Either way kind of put her at a disadvantage, though. He'd had time to see the collapse start and thus ready himself for a fall. So if he was on the same floor, he could likely get his bearings more quickly and attack or flee once more. If he hadn't fallen, he could take a free shot on her before the fire fully engulfed the room he was in and he had to JUMP down. Neither made her very happy, and neither left her with much choice as to her next action. Drawing blood away from her claws, she reinforced the thin sheen of barely-visible blood that coated her body. This gave her defense at the expense of her killing power. However, much like when she drew it AWAY from her armor, she could not move the blood back immediately. This left her unable to do anything more than punch or kick normally for a brief period.

    All in all, it was not the best time for Komodo. Injured. Deaf in one ear. Covered in dirt and debris. Open to attack. Pissed off. She was on the losing side, it seemed. Another loud crack of thunder seemed to mock her. At least it sounded like thunder to her damaged ears. It was actually a beam crashing out of the ceiling in the room above. Just like the floor she had fallen through, the fire and storm were too much for the roof to bear. It had given way in much the same fashion, opening a hole in the roof that was a few meters across. This ALSO allowed the heavy rain to flood in, temporarily quenching the fire and soaking the two combatants in cold rainwater.

    It was a much needed turn of events, really. No one would be happy if the victor was a fiery inferno, after all. ESPECIALLY the wealthy investors who were making bets on the fight.
    Spoiler: Neat Stuff Within 

  3. #13
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    There was no real sight, not here in this room, not here where Merik stood. Smoke had crept down the hallway and through the cracks and crevasses from the adjoining room. It gathered at the ceiling, then, finding the ceiling too crowded for its tastes, had gradually began to hang lower, then lower still, and the once slightly polluted air became a grey mass of opaque construction.

    Still, there was movement within it, as the smoke collided with itself, carrying from one end of the room to the other a singular voice,

    "I'mma disembowel you now, dude. No hard feelings. It's just business, you know?"

    This, in turn was followed by another sound- a roar- actually- that came neither from that opponent across the room, nor from the fire a few doors down. Instead, it came from below, and the floor, its mouth, was opened wide. In fell the source of the voice. In fell the couch frame and kitchen counter. In fell various debris.

    Those things that remained above were those that found themselves on protruding teeth. Here a couple of leaves teetered on a pointed edge. Here an ancient twig waited for its turn to be ignited. And here stood Merik, once more whispering to the door behind him, which, in turn, promptly vanished replaced by a small pool of water that made its way through the teeth and into the room below.

    If there had been any sunlight, perhaps it would have flooded into the room, dispelled the smoke, and somehow brought the shaded building a memory of its faded glory. But as it was, what little light had managed to creep through the clouds only barely made it past the door. Still, there was enough light that one could just make out the slightly darker silhouette of Merik step out into the "light".

    He was now on what once had been a beautiful balcony. Once, a resident had filled this concrete slab with many flowerpots, and colors had twisted around the rails and fallen over the edge. Now, however, all that was gone. Only a few scattered skeletons of pots remained. In the light, perhaps, one might have seen the green of the vines that crept all around this place, but, if one did, the observer was more likely to describe the color using adjectives such as "sickly ", or "troubled" rather than "lively" or "life-filled".

    Nevertheless, it was here, on this little balcony, that Merik stood. What had become of his opponent, he did not know. All he knew was that he had no intentions of letting her disembowel him, yet he had no intentions of letting the fire kill her, if he could prevent it. If she was dead already, so be it. She had already destroyed herself so much, she may very well have now done it to the extreme. On the other hand, she had not really hurt him at all. True, she attempted, rushing headlong into this or that, but besides the three little lines on him, the rest had been done to herself. He would kill her though, if absolutely necessary for his own preservation. The ideal, however, fell in the middle. Merik would leave, the girl would leave, and she could do whatever she did while he could live the rest of his life in solitary peace. Or try to. As if Merik would ever get that peace in this life- only in death to people get left alone.

    Still, the question remained, how alone was he now? He squatted to move his line of sight below the slowly thinning out smoke line, but he really did not have to, for at that moment, it all flooded out into the high heavens as a supporting beam crashed down to some unseen floor nearby, and the roof followed, opening up like a floodgate and letting the waters rush inside.

    As Merik stood in the doorway on the balcony, covered by the separate slab of concrete, the wind stormed down through the hole and turned to bashing him in the face. Yet it did not move anything but his hair: he stayed in his position, watching as this stream, illuminated softly by the struggling sunlight, and then violently revealed from time to time by the flashing lightning, fell and splattered on the ground below. Internally, he felt the water move as well. He knew where the drops of rain rested on the roof. He knew them as they fell through the hole, and down two stories, where they landed on the floor, or on this surface or that, or on the form of- the girl.

    He could not distinguish her now. But she must be somewhere below. She was not by the opposite wall, so she must either be against this one, or somewhere in the debris. There- was that her hand? He could not tell exactly. And since he could not tell even if it was a part of her, he could not judge whether it was moving or not.

    He pondered. Was it her? Was she alive? Did she need help? For a moment, he thought of jumping down and helping. The next moment, he thought of how she had tricked him in the beginning, and thought of jumping away and running again. Then, a third thought occurred to him: he could just do nothing. After all, the fire had been pushed back- he could stay here a bit longer.

    And so he stayed crouched, the cautious side of him slowly bringing his bow to the front, waiting, and the idealist in him hoping he would not have to fire.
    If the gold does not stay in this world,
    then I will chase it till I find my home

  4. #14
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    We All Fall Down



    A minute or so had passed with neither side making any moves. The strange man on the floor above Komodo seemed content to wait out the blaze now that nature was dousing it for him, and Komodo could do little while he remained on the floor above. No point in stalling any longer, it seemed. She had a plan to minimize the risk to herself, but it was far from perfect. Honestly, it was outright childish in its simplicity. Still, it was better than rushing out like a drunken berserker.

    Clenching a piece of debris in one hand, she pushed upward with all her might and burst forth from the rubble. "You think this is funny?!" she said as the crocodile tears welled up in her eyes. With her free hand, she grabbed the wooden spike that was embedded in her side and quickly yanked it loose. A sharp cry of pain accompanied this, followed by more tears and yelling. "You don't know what it's like, you smug prick! Fighting for your life every day, watching your friends have their bodies mutilated for the sick pleasure of some rich cocksucker, being told if you don't hurt or kill people that you'll be killed and replaced with someone who WILL... you don't know, ok?!"

    Komodo dropped to her knees and punched the floor as hard as she could, screaming loudly as she did so. This was not to vent frustration, however... it was to grab up a fistful of the dust that the shattered tiles were reduced to. Now everything was in place. Time to act. "I don't have any god damn choice but to fight you. If I don't, then I'm fucking dead, you see? I can't do anything else!" With that statement, she jumped into the air toward Merik and hurled the larger chunk of debris in her left hand. She was confident in her armor's ability to defend her from any retaliation, despite being annoyed at her reduced offensive capability. That aside, this was the hand fate had dealt her. She'll was going to win even if it killed her in the process.

    Her head was pounding, her blood flowed freely from the wound at her side, she couldn't hear out of one ear, her body was bruised and battered from being tossed around, and many of the investors had begun to write her off... but Komodo's will refused to falter. This man was in her way, and likewise refused to give in. As a result, she was being forced to kill him. It wasn't HER fault. It was HIS fault. At least that was how she rationalized it at this point. Sure, she'd probably still try to kill him even if he surrendered... but she would be stopped like always. A large dose of sedatives injected from her prison anklet would see to that.

    However, none of that mattered right now. As both Komodo AND the chunk of concrete she threw hurtled toward Merik, Komodo began to return blood back to her claws and drew back her right hand as if to punch her foe when he dodged the large stone. What would come next would likely decide the fate of this fight, and all of the investors watched on in anticipation of the potentially brutal climax.
    Last edited by Salroka; 10-27-2016 at 02:45 AM. Reason: Removed a smiley
    Spoiler: Neat Stuff Within 

  5. #15
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    As she began to speak, Merik began to understand. So this was why she fought. This is why she felt that she needed to kill him. This was why she was so reckless. She fought for much the same reason he did: simply to stay alive. But was what she was doing living? He knew his choice was live or die. But hers... Could one be said to live if all one did was act against their own free will? Then again, what other option did she have?

    She had the same option as he did: to not fight. True, she might very well die, but if she did fight, was she not already dead already? Here in front of him was one trapped in a similar circumstance as his own: the world was against her, her friends kept on being killed, and it seemed that if she wanted to live, she would have to do what she wished not to. Her choice seemed to be die or die.

    But there was another choice. There was always another choice.

    "Child," he began, as the girl below bent over to pick up a piece of stone.

    "You can't win this game unless you don't play!"

    His words clashed with hers, and as she began to rise, he rose too, at least for a brief moment of time as he leapt up from the balcony slab, using his hands to propel him over the balcony railing. Then, his upward ascent stopped, and it reversed directions. He began to fall. There were four stories on this old building, and. like the rain which slid off of the roof above, he began to plummet to the hardened ground below. But unlike the rain, which had no human attributes, this man had a mouth: a mouth that was moving, forming words, and whispering in protest to the clashing wind.

    And as his mouth moved, some of the rain began to collect under him, forming a thin sheet that was at the same time prodding him and supporting his falling form. He was beginning to maneuver himself into a prone position, arms outstretched, back facing down, and body parallel to the ground. Supported by the buoyant force this sheet was providing, the speed of his fall gradually began to lessen.

    By this time, he had about one story left to fall. Above him, if he had opened his eyes to see it, a piece of concrete was flying overhead, a piece of concrete which would have hit him had he not jumped off the balcony. But he did not see it: as it were, his eyes were shut tight, avoiding the rain that was pelting all over his unconcealed face. Below him, he knew, was the ground. It was still coming at him, and when he landed, it doubtless would cause some impact. Still, if he could straighten up in time- it might be less than what it would have been had he let himself just fall, or if he had just let her kill him.

    But there was another pain, another pain that would be there no matter what had happened. There was a pain for her, the girl. She was so lost, trapped within the cycle of kill, kill, kill. Unable to live. And to break free of it- to live- would be her death.
    If the gold does not stay in this world,
    then I will chase it till I find my home

  6. #16
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    The Crescendo at Crestmont



    This son of a bitch was just asking to die now. Calling her a child? Acting like he was so much better than her? What a pompous piece of shit. But then he did something that only someone completely off their rocker would do... the bastard jumped out of a fourth-story window. Ok... THAT, Komodo couldn't help but respect. That said, she had little choice but to follow suit. This would be it. This was the finale. Either she'd kill this guy or she would die trying. Without breaking stride, she burst forth out of the window in pursuit of her quarry. Oddly enough, the guy was still in the air. How? Fucked if she knew. But that made targeting him all the easier. ESPECIALLY since the guy was floating there completely wide-open. The slightest smirk began to creep its way onto Komodo's face as she convinced herself of her victory.

    Forcing every drop of blood from her body armor back into her claws, she smiled wickedly as she plummeted toward her target. "Nowhere to run, dickhead!" mused Komodo as she fell toward her foe. The claws on her hands extended rapidly as she fell toward the stranger, adding their speed to the speed of her fall and further reducing the man's chances for survival. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Komodo as she closed in for the kill. It was always like this when she took a life... every detail flooded her senses simultaneously. The smell of the rain, the feeling of the water on her skin, the searing pain that wracked her body, the surprised gaze of her foe... it was exquisite.

    How many times had she felt this before? She'd stopped counting after about twenty, but it had to be at least three or four dozen by this point. From the time she killed her mother and those police officers to the many times in the Deadman Wonderland facility... she reveled in it. Despite what she might claim, there was a part of her that was addicted to that rush of adrenaline that occurred right before a kill. God, it was better than sex! All the power that came from snuffing out someone's life... knowing she controled their fate at the end... there was no way to describe it aside from sublime. Even now, her pupils dialated and her loins grew hot as the instant where her foe expired rapidly approached. Truly, she BELONGED in a place like Deadman Wonderland.

    In the moment of time just before the two fighters clashed for the final time, there was but one thought in Komodo's head... "Checkmate."

    And checkmate it was. Either she would skewer the man repeatedly with her wicked claws, rupturing organs and piercing arteries... or she would fall four stories to her death. Either way, she would consider it a win. If he died or was incapacitated, she would go home to the Vegas Deadman Wonderland facility and all that was familiar there. If SHE died, she would perish under an open sky and free of the confines of her cell. It all came down to this one... final... moment...
    Last edited by Salroka; 12-05-2016 at 10:15 AM. Reason: Fixed a few more typos because apparently I wrote this while half-awake.
    Spoiler: Neat Stuff Within 

  7. #17
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    The concreted sailed away into the distance. Still, it was not even out of sight when a new shadow replaced it. And this shadow... it was different. It was bigger and falling directly towards him.

    Before Merik's conscious mind had even made up what exactly the source of the shadow was, his subconscious had identified it as a threat. The waters, which before had been pushing him in a slightly upward direction so as to slow his downward speed for the last couple of meters, suddenly shot out from under him, coming back around to push him to the right. Had Merik, in those somethings of a moment had to time to think, he would have thanked Professor Ortiz, one of his former teachers, who had made him practice falling drills again.. and again... and again.

    But enough. In this time, now, there is no repetition, and barely time enough to react. For, even as the waters rushed to save him from the falling threat from above, they were already too late. Down, down, faster than the rain, faster than the concrete, fast then Merik, came the ten prickpoints. And, although some of them, given their spread, missed, some did hit their mark. Not only that, but, because of Merik's own added movement, they did more than just pierce...

    The action was within a second. Swiftly, little needles of blood poked through cloth, and through the skin below. And not quite as swiftly was Merik pushed by his own powers to his left. And even as he moved left and downward, the needles moved down and seemed, in reference to him, to move rightward, causing large gashes to appear.

    But there was no time for Merik to recognize this damage. Indeed, the sting had just now become felt, when a new pain began rising.

    Thump, thump, thump. Merik's body hit the ground, and began to roll a few times before stopping. When he finally did, though, he found himself on his stomach. And, finally with time to think instead of just react, those last few moments he lived replayed themselves. His fall. The other jumper. Her claws coming out and- her claws?!? Her?

    Had she?

    He turned on his side to see if she was still alive. His left arm reached for his bow, only to discover that it must have become detached during that terrible tumble that left him in this spot almost twenty feet away from where he had been headed for only a moment before. And while he looked, the pain rose in his bones- or rather, it seeped out from his wounds- in addition to the couple of claw marks from earlier, there were now three others- one ran from just below his left eye to the side- this one probably my position of her hands, was not quite as deep as the others. One marked his left thigh, and, although it would not kill him while he lay, running would be pretty painful, if not deadly. The third joined the clawmarks- it was deeper than those there, but, luckily, had still missed any vital organs.

    Still, it was only by sheer willpower that he managed to put these pains, along with the general pain of having been thrown sideways onto the ground, that he managed to grab one of his remaining weapons- his hunting knife- and prepare himself in case there was to be another movement in the rain.
    If the gold does not stay in this world,
    then I will chase it till I find my home

  8. #18
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    I... Failed You?



    She'd done it! She'd skewered that rat bastard! And what's better than that? He'd attempted to dodge far too late, ripping what claws had punctured his flesh out... sideways! This had to be the best day that Komodo'd had in years. For a split second, she was on top of the world. She'd killed her target, the first non-Deadman she had been pitted against, and done the warden proud. He would definitely reward her for doing so well and making him so much money from the wagers that had no doubt been placed. He wouldn't hit her this time or threaten to take her body parts. No, no, no. She had been a good girl this time. Surely there would only be good things waiting for Komodo once she got home. Maybe even more time outside!

    Suddenly, Komodo's daydream was shattered to pieces as her body slammed into the ground from her four-story freefall. Time once again seemed to slow down. First thing to hit was her outstretched arm. The wrist was instantly broken, along with her radius and ulna. She opened her mouth to scream, but her chin was the next thing to hit. While her arm had slowed the fall significantly, her teeth smashed together upon impact... three of the pearly whites were instantly broken, and one more seemed to reject the whole thing and fly out of her jaw as if it were launched by a spring. Next up was the torso. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Collarbone in two places, plus two ribs. Neither pierced her lungs, but breathing would still be a chore. Lastly, hip and legs. Already slowed drastically, the only injury Komodo ssustained here was a bruised hip and sprained ankle. All in all, she was a complete mess.

    "I... got the... bastard..." thought Komodo as she struggled in vain to move either arm. A dislocated shoulder in one and a shattered forearm for the other meant the nerves were pretty well overloaded with pain and unable to properly signal the muscles to move. Combine that with her rapidly declining levels of adrenaline, and the relentless fighter was suddenly as weak as a malnourished child. She groaned in discomfort as she inhaled, then coughed as some of the blood in her mouth rushed into her lungs. That should prove to Mast-" No. NO! The fucking asshole wasn't just alive, but brandishing a knife?! What the fuck did she have to do to kill this son of a bitch?

    Flashing before her eyes like the lightning in the distance, was the face of her beloved Warden. With her target still alive, she knew she had not pleased him. He loved it when she would eviscerate and decapitate. He loved it when she would lick her fingers clean after disemboweling her targets. He loved HER. But he would not let something like this slide, either. He was nice, but only if you were strong! Komodo hadn't proved she was strong. In fact, she'd shown her weakness. Her last attack should have ended the stranger's life, but instead she had failed.

    She... had failed.

    Even with her body wracked by pain, she had not shed a tear. In fact, she had started screaming angrily upon realizing her opponent was alive. But when the realization of her failure hit Komodo, she paused that spine-tingling yell. A few seconds later, she started to go back and forth between heart-wrenching tears and momentary fits of laughter. "JUST DIE ALREADY, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" she cried out through her tears. "Warden has to punish Komodo if she fails! He loves her, but he will because he HAS to!" then came the laughter. "But maybe... maybe he'll take her heart as punishment. Then Komodo can live with him forever in death." ... and back to tears.

    She'd managed to get her uninjured leg in position to get to her feet, and stood slowly. It became all too clear that she was no longer able to fight. Wheezing heavily from the pain of her broken ribs, she continued to cry and laugh. She even tried to form her bloody claws once more. They were there, but shadows of what they had been at the start of the conflict. Her injuries were just too severe, and her body could not spare much blood to form them. Why? Blood had been slowly oozing from the wound on her side, from several small lacerations caused by the debris she'd had fall on her, and now from both her mouth AND the compound fracture of her ulna. Even an untrained eye could see she was no longer in any shape to fight. ... even Komodo herself knew it.

    "God dammit! I can't fail h-" she shrieked, cut off by a large dose of sedatives administered by her prison ankle bracelet.

    The world swam around her now. She felt... comfort. Was the warden here for her? Had she actually done a good job? She must have. She wouldn't feel so warm and comfortable if she had displeased him No, no, no. If he was mad at her, she would feel only pain. This was different... soothing... calm. No more pain. Only dreams. And when she woke up, she would be in a warm place with the warden. Well... at least that was what Komodo thought as she quickly fell unconscious from the sedative.

    With Komodo taken out of the fight, two men emerged from each side of the building and rushed to the injured woman's side. Three of them pointed assault rifles at the similarly-injured Merik, but did not fire. The fourth seemed to be examining Komodo. A few seconds later, that was confirmed when the man sad "She's pretty banged up, but stable. She'll make it for the time being. Get her into containment and back to the facility." Two of the armed men began to help the one who had examined the injured woman, and started to carry her back behind the Crestmont Apartments. The fourth soldier followed them, keeping his weapon trained on the stranger for a few tentative steps.

    The doctor remained, apparently calm despite the injured man before him still possessing a large knife. Either he could handle himself, or he figured the man too injured to pose much of a threat. "You had best do what you can to patch yourself up. You will bleed out soon otherwise. Komodo is good at making that happen, after all. Neither of you are in any shape to continue, so there was no point in letting Komodo succumb to her wounds. Surely you understand, yes?" Well, that made it clear which of the two things that the doctor thought. It wasn't that he was entirely incorrect, but how was he to know this guy didn't have some trick up his sleeve?

    "The Vegas DMWL Facility thanks you for your participation, sir." said the doctor as he reached into his coat. "Here is half of the standard monetary equivalent of the prize intended for Komodo had she beaten you. It was a draw, so the prize is split. Again, I am sure you understand." the man tossed a small attaché case in Merik's direction. "Perhaps it will be enough to pay a surgeon to properly treat those wounds once you get to town. About three and a half miles south of here, by the way." said the doctor before turning to follow the three other men. He did not even seem concerned about potential retaliation. Confidence bordering on stupidity, some might say.

    Watching from his office thanks to one of the dozens of cameras that had been placed in and around the Crestmont Apartments, the warden sported a devilish smirk.

    "Oh well... at least it will be a fun penalty game."
    Last edited by Salroka; 12-17-2016 at 05:45 AM. Reason: fixed a link
    Spoiler: Neat Stuff Within 

  9. #19
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    The rain was still pouring, but even through the translucent sheet Merik could see her, hear her.

    He saw her stand, somehow, even though her pain must have been enormous. He heard her laugh, cry, even in the face of the fate that was hers. And then...

    He saw her fall again.

    The knife was still in Merik's hand as the men came out and pointed their weapons at him. He did not move- for really, how could he?- when they surrounded the girl. He did not move when that person came and dropped the case that held the money. Nor did he move when they carried the girl away.

    For a while, his eyes rested on the spot where she had fallen. Komodo- that is what they had called her. His mind dwelt on this for a while. A strange name for a girl. He wondered if it was really hers, or if it was simply one they had given her when they chose for her that life she found herself living.

    Merik's adrenaline level was dropping. His grip on the knife, which he still held upright, was gradually loosening. But his attention was no longer on it, and as it fell to a somewhat sideways position, his eyes, weary as well, shifted to the small attaché case.

    The man, whoever he was, had said there was money inside. "Go fix yourself at the hospital" he had said. As if. Merik thought to himself. Even if the hospital would accept the money, the likelihood of them accepting his kind was rather slim. He was almost certain they would let a dragonrider die. Maybe they would not have some years ago but now...

    Now, the world had changed. Situations had changed. What once had been a life of spring days changed to one of darkening skies.

    And slowly, slowly, the horizon of Merik's own life began to darken. Slowly, slowly, the world around him began to fade, and the knife fell out of his grip onto the soggy ground.

    Then, he heard a voice.

    "Merik"

    The voice was small at first, but then, it repeated itself, a little bit louder,

    "Merik"

    And then again,

    "Merik."

    This time, there was a response.

    Lapis? Merik's mind asked questioningly.

    In his mind, the image of a long, snake-like dragon began to form. "I've come to take you home." Lapis said.

    Merik mentally whispered back, "To the academy?"

    "They can help you recover."

    "To do what, fight again?"

    "To live another day."

    "Hardly seems like a home, if the goal is simply to merely to stay alive."

    "You know that is not what live means."

    Merik was silent. He knew that this definition of living was not true, although sometimes that was the way life made it seem to be. He knew that to live- to truly live, to be- required a whole lot more. It required a will, and an ability to be oneself despite the environment- an ability to be intrinsically free- even if bound to a harsh, cruel reality.

    But this, this was hard. And at times like this, when he could easily let reality and all its pains slip away...

    "Merik?" Lapis had called again, questioningly. The light blue form swirled in the blackness, his metalic scales reflecting light from an unseen force.

    Merik spoke, "All right. Take me...home."

    The last word broke out through his mind, and into that world that contained Crestmont Apartments. Where Merik's body lay in the rain, still with some warmth despite the cold of the rain, there was a swirl of blue. Around and around it went, obscuring the broken form of Merik beneath. And then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

    There remained in the crushed grass only a small pool of blood, a hunting knife, and an unopened attaché case. Within minutes, though, the blood had disappeared into the ground. And as the days passed, and then the months, and the years, the knife and case, too, became buried under layers of dirt, lost to time.

    No one would remember them. Just as no one remembered the lives, hopes, and dreams of those people who once lived in that place known as Crestmont Apartments.


    End.
    If the gold does not stay in this world,
    then I will chase it till I find my home

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