Dead Souls: Alive

Unending

Chapter XVI : Unending

Visinia City, Magnus Estate
February 14, 08h40

Watery pebbles clashed with almost translucent glass, alongside white tiles reflecting the image above. A shower taken to ease the muscles with humane emotions alike was held, working splendidly. Araele's time in there was seemingly unending, it did not look as though it would stop anytime soon. She hummed, though so softly the other would fail to pick up on her muffled vocals. A louder, much larger shower was, as well, undending. This one instead washed away human sins. Bloody surfaces were given a redo by mother nature herself. Visinia's streets were clean, even though the horrors still remained littering the streets; dead.

I can't bring myself to trust her...

She thought. Such thinking was derailing as she now felt a slight unease. Dread neared her home at a leisurely pace, she knew to prepare.

I cannot...

Her being was still unmasked as she stepped out of the shower and hid behind the sealed door. A towel soon draped around her in its softest of cuddles. Unlocked, she waited for a good quarter of an hour, listening to see if she could pick up on anything suspicious like a phone call from the girl. Janice, now concerned, checked on her as soon as some time had passed. "Are you okay in there?" Her vocals voiced her concern in a tone of worry. "Yes, I'm almost done!" She replied. She heard no malice from her inquiry, almost detecting concern until she heard a knock. Not on the bedroom door, but the front door. Heart began to flutter beneath her well endowed chest. Her skin, light, porcelain as it could get, her breathing hightened in rhythm. A few seconds passed after the knock. Her lips let out, but not quick enough to save Janice.

"Jani—!"

Boom! Opened the door in a violent storm before she could even alert her companion. Janice felt a rush of wooden blades make way into her mahogany skin, courtesy of the door's sudden, explosive death. She had neared the door in attempt at peaking through the hole, but that seemed like the worst possible thing she could possibly do. For certain death was now at their door step.

“So this is where you were hiding. Cozy!”

Smoke spoke in a female tone before slowly clearing up into the storm outside. Slowly reviving, Janice raised her head and faced the door. Steam seemed to oozed from her stabbed flesh, the wood now only falling to the wooden floors. A tall, slender woman appeared behind the fading smoke screen. Her lips, devouring a cigarette. Janice wondered who she was referring to when she spoke, but it definitely was not her.

"The experiment went well, Doctor Zmeesc. Shall I take her?" Over an ear piece, she spoke as though someone was beside her, when the only thing with her was a dark bag. Its contents were unknown. "Understood." She confirmed. Boots clicked and cracked the door's destroyed glass. A descent into the house by the woman in a black suit ensued, patience evident in her stride. Her hair fell to oblivion, nearing her well perked butt and swayed with the wind; black, like the darkest & coldest of nights. "Be not afraid, child."

Her voice eased into Janice's ears like a blissful melody. It was calming, like an angel had graced their home with its divine presence. Her hand descended and her glove was held out. Janice was unable to resist and she followed through until something caught the corner of her eye. It was Araele.

So you're not alone.

Suprise laced Janice's facial features. How the woman was able to detect the nearing Araele was uncanny, unbelievable. Swiftly, she ducked, and a fire extinguisher fluttered past her head. Her hair swayed with her movements until a heal kick cracked Araele's right rib. She let out a sharp yet shallow gasp and immediately fell to the ground. Consciousness escaped her mouth alongside the air she had trapped inside of her. "Well, that's out of the way." Shock prevented her from noticing right away, but Janice was soon struck by realisation. The mark residing within her eye was occupying the other woman's eye. They reflected, when in truth it was a simple double. She too had suffered the same fate as her.

“Ah, my manners.”

Visinia City, Outskirts
09h30

Elsewhere, Skyler calmly descends into the cottage, nerves having already reached their daunting peak. Was he going to meet someone else? Or was he instantly going to be recognized through his actions? Questions were a necessity, over thinking was not. Evaluating possible solutions was a definite go-to, that he did. "Yo, Heem, did you take care of the guys outside?"

Suddenly, lights were given their usual blood flow. Electricity passed through light bulbs and darkness sought refuge, slipping into apertured walls. Metallic walls made their debut, with ceilings of the same compound blemished by led lights. He was amazed. An entire operation base hid beneath a corn farm. Was this normal? Not by a long shot! The stairs they saw stretching out towards an endless abyss were his method of travel, though the road ahead was as clear as day. They led to the lowest possible floor of this entire base.

“. . .”

Skyler, who now went by Heem, gave no response except for a sharp nod. His eyes picked up on a surreal discovery. The guy who walked beside him had a name tag, seemingly only visible through special means. His eyes rummaged his own chest and was met by his own name tag emblazoned in the most intricate of fonts. Shaheem. The other's tag suggested that his code name was Eddie.

I see. Shaheem.

"What is it with you and using your head to reply to everything? Wanna give me head for Kami's sake? Can never have a simple conversation with you. Let's go." Nerves eased up, though only momentarily. Skyler's breathing soon reached a constant rhythm, perhaps his mission would follow through as a success, or perhaps he would be caught and killed right on the spot. The intensity was brewed by no one but his own self, and he dared not blame fate for this pickle he found himself cruising around. The area was foreign, and so was the suit he adorned. He felt an unwelcoming sensation from both.