Private Finished Brains and Brawn

MarcellusD

Well-Known Member
Inactive
May 21, 2017
366
Long Island
Gender
Male
Pronouns
he/him
Posting Status
Daily
Clayton sat at the edge of a slow river, legs crossed. The trees surrounding him blocked out almost all of the sunlight, and although it wasn't necessarily pitch black, Clayton felt like it was. The darkness, combined with the usual nature ambiance, made his already half-lidded eyes close completely. He began to fall forward. His fingertips dipping into the water shocked him back into consciousness. He slapped his cheeks and jumped to his feet, making sure to keep his eyes on the ground.​
"Gotta move," he said to himself. "Gotta... move."​
Clayton started walking in a straight line, and after a minute, came back to the river. "Did I cross to get here?" he thought. His memories weren't cooperating, and neither was his stomach. He could've sworn the growling echoed throughout the whole forest. He decided to take a minute to think about which way he came from, ignoring his ever-growing hunger.​
 

Kada

Comradmin
Administrator
Supporter
Aug 9, 2016
5,922
Gender
Male
Pronouns
Him/Her/Them
Posting Status
Daily, Weekly
Laurie was working entirely on instinct as she made her way through the forest. She had her crossbow in one hand and a set of knives strapped across a bandolier, leaping over rocks and between trees - a predetermined natural obstacle course.

She stopped upon hearing a man talking to himself, breaking her concentration and making her slip and nearly fall. Catching herself on a tree limb, she paused to listen. Determine where the sound was coming from and get more context.

He sounded frantic. Borderline panicked. Her protective instincts kicked in and she rounded around the river, leaping over a narrow part of the water to cut him off at the other side.

"Uh hey, are you okay?"
 

MarcellusD

Well-Known Member
Inactive
May 21, 2017
366
Long Island
Gender
Male
Pronouns
he/him
Posting Status
Daily
Clayton nearly jumped out his skin when he heard the voice of a woman somewhere near him. He shot his gaze to the ground—causing some pain in his neck—waited for his heartbeat to return to normal, and forced a grimace.​
"Get away from me," Clayton said. He realized that he sounded like a child, but he didn't feel like putting any effort into his front. He began walking in the opposite direction that the voice had come from.​
A root snagged Clayton's foot. With the speed at which he was walking, it almost seemed like he lunged forward. On instinct, he lifted his head just before he hit the ground, and before he even saw the Inciting Demon, he began chastising himself. It had appeared out of nowhere when Clayton tripped.​
As soon as he hit the ground, he tried to scramble away, but he could no longer control his body. The transformation began as the Inciting Demon slowly approached.​
 

Kada

Comradmin
Administrator
Supporter
Aug 9, 2016
5,922
Gender
Male
Pronouns
Him/Her/Them
Posting Status
Daily, Weekly
Get away from me.

That was a concerning thing to hear, especially with the childish whine that it had. Whoever this guy was, he was scared. Of her? Maybe. They were alone in the forest together. But Laurie's training kicked in nonetheless and she vaulted over and around the underbrush just in time to see a grown man on the ground, with some kind of demon looming over him.

She didn't take any time to think or concern herself with nuance in the situation at hand. The man was basically forgotten, her hand grabbing onto and drawing her pistol to fire at the demon. She knew that her rounds probably wouldn't kill it: getting blessed or even silver ammunition was a pain in the ass on this island. But she could maybe slow it down. Distract it. Keep it off of its intended target. Filthy fucking monster.

While she shot, Laurie started going through the different incantations and prayers that she knew, one at a time. Everything from ancient Hebrew to Catholic verses in Latin to Japanese and even French creole Voodoo chants. Something had to work on this thing.
 

MarcellusD

Well-Known Member
Inactive
May 21, 2017
366
Long Island
Gender
Male
Pronouns
he/him
Posting Status
Daily
The Inciting Demon hadn't even acknowledged the woman in front of it until she shot. The first bullet connected with its left shoulder, and it dodged the rest. The demon's shoulder flared, looking like some kind of ferrofluid, and emitted a noise that sounded like a static hiss. It zoomed away to hide behind a tree.​
Meanwhile, Clayton had finished his transformation. His right arm was large and red, like it was inflamed; his giant sword was in his grip; and various teeth had grown and pierced his skin. Clayton launched himself and struck the tree that the Inciting Demon had hid behind, causing the tree to fall. The demon moved so that it could have both Clayton and the woman in clear lines of sight.​
 

Kada

Comradmin
Administrator
Supporter
Aug 9, 2016
5,922
Gender
Male
Pronouns
Him/Her/Them
Posting Status
Daily, Weekly
Swapping magazines was easy enough. Out and in, up and down. Practiced a million times across dozens of lives. The bastard was fast, but Laurie had other worries at the moment. The guy she'd ostensibly come running to protect now had a pretty gnarly arm and a big fuck-off sword that he used to cleave a tree down like it was nothing. At least he seemed to be going after the demon and not her. Still, it was... concerning.

The demon was trying to keep both of them in line of sight. She could tell that much by the way it moved and looked between them. Tricky bastard, dodging around like that. He wasn't much faster than a vampire though, and if she could hit them...

Laurie dived behind a different tree, slipping her jacket off once she was out of sight. One. Two. Three seconds and she tossed the jacket one direction and rolled into the bushes the opposite way. Looking up at where the demon had been, pistol pointed and ready to adjust to where he might jump to rather than where he currently was. Like Space Invaders.
 

MarcellusD

Well-Known Member
Inactive
May 21, 2017
366
Long Island
Gender
Male
Pronouns
he/him
Posting Status
Daily
The Inciting Demon observed the woman while effortlessly dodging Clayton's attacks. When the woman hid behind a tree, the demon climbed onto the tree that was directly behind it, balancing on some branches. It saw the woman move from behind the tree and leapt into the branches of said tree. Clayton followed close behind, swinging his sword in wide arcs with wild abandon. The sword cleaved through the tree, forcing the Inciting Demon to jump to a different one.​

@Kada
 

Kada

Comradmin
Administrator
Supporter
Aug 9, 2016
5,922
Gender
Male
Pronouns
Him/Her/Them
Posting Status
Daily, Weekly
Laurie cursed under her breath as the demon jumped higher and none of her recitations seemed to be doing anything. She had to think. To plan. She wasn't equipped for this though.

Diving out of the way of the next tree that fell, Laurie cursed again and followed the movement in the canopies with her eyes. As quick as this thing was, it still had to move from point A to point B manually.

She could work with that. From her spot behind the fallen tree, Laurie took aim at where the demon was most likely to move next, based on the direction it was already going. Then she popped off three shots, back to back, and prayed.

She was becoming increasingly aware however that the guy with the giant arm and sword might also be a problem. He was erratic. Enraged, it seemed like. She couldn't count on him as an ally, and might have to turn her attention to him at any moment. She couldn't die here, so she had to keep all of her family's training in the forefront of her mind.
 

MarcellusD

Well-Known Member
Inactive
May 21, 2017
366
Long Island
Gender
Male
Pronouns
he/him
Posting Status
Daily
The Inciting Demon leapt into the next tree in it's path. Two of the woman's shots hit the demon: one at its shoulder and the other at its leg. It faltered and missed its next jump, landing on the ground. Clayton was right behind it. Like always, the demon dodged effortlessly.​
The two moved back in the direction of the woman. Once it was close enough, the Inciting Demon began sprinting in a wide arc around where he thought the woman was. It took a second for Clayton to see where the demon had gone. He spotted it in the distance and began running again, but stopped when he saw the woman in front of him.​
Clayton hadn't even acknowledged the woman before, but now that she was directly in between Clayton and the Inciting Demon, the directive in his brain added her as another target. His anger doubled, he swung at the woman.​
@Kada
 

Kada

Comradmin
Administrator
Supporter
Aug 9, 2016
5,922
Gender
Male
Pronouns
Him/Her/Them
Posting Status
Daily, Weekly
"Fuck!"

Laurie pivoted hard to the right, out of the way of the sword swing. Without thinking she fired at Clayton, aiming for center of mass. But she was up and running the second that she got out of her crouch. The demon would have to wait - this guy was clearly berserk.

Keeping Clayton in her sight, she circled around him and looked for an opening in the trees that she could use to her advantage. She had no doubt that her bullets hadn't done much to him, but maybe if she could make him drop a tree on himself...
 
Forgot your password?