JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Thin Air

Chapter Forty: Apocalypse Dreams (Part II)

Bryson's head soon moved to gaze directly at the vampire's figure, his fear quickly becoming overtaken by curiosity. And in even less time, his feelings became those of valor. He would've much rather taken action against the vampire fast than wait for Monica to come to her senses and hit the vampire first, by which time they both could've ended up dead. He was surprised that Monica didn't act right away, but that didn't matter. As part of the Speedwagon Foundation, Bryson had a duty to fulfill.

"Damn you, you human-shaped freak, take this!" he said. He swiped his hand at Nourhanne's face, causing pieces of Wrap Your Trouble to fly into her eyes, blinding her temporarily.

"Th-that's no way to treat your host, is it?" Nourhanne said, surprised but not in pain, as she used her sharpened black fingernails to pull the hardened jelly out of her corneas. "I think I need to show you some manners!"

"Monica, quick, let's get out of here for now and think of a plan!" he said, as he ran away from the vampire. He didn't hear a reply from Monica, but assumed that she'd concurred with him since he could hear her footsteps. He couldn't afford to look back and confirm it though, because the fog was too thick, and the vampire could've already been in front of him by the time he could set his eyes back on his course. He dashed off into the hallway to the left of the staircase. It was fairly long and had a few doors leading to different rooms, and it ended at the entrance to a terrace or balcony of some sort.

He weaved through a doorway, flipped a switch on and found himself in a small room, roughly the size of a walk-in closet. He quietly and swiftly shut the door. The walls had shelves installed on them, carrying various kinds of glass jars and containers. On the floor were neatly stacked plastic containers which held linens and utensils for cooking and eating.

"I'm in a pantry," Bryson said to himself. "Who knew some twisted evil fucks would have kept their food and utensils organized so nicely?  Well, this is a mansion, after all. A mansion occupied by weirdos,"

He dumped over the plastic containers and began pawing through them, his need to fight pushing him to search for something fast.

"Gotta find something, gotta find something, I need something I can use against that thing... that thing that looks like it could be a woman but isn't-

Bryson's head began to throb all of a sudden. He placed a hand on his forehead, trying to keep himself together.

"Jesus... I feel nauseous. It is 'cause of that Stand? Nah, can't be. My brain's just overworking itself. But not enough."

After literally shaking the sick feeling away, he continued to search for a weapon that he could use against Nourhanne. Anything that would give him a fighting chance until Monica joined him while simultaneously keeping an ear out for any signs of his 'host'.

"Bryson... Bryson!" A voice called from outside the room, somewhere in either the hallway or the foyer.

"Shit... is that Monica?" Bryson asked himself. "Almost forgot about her. Yeah, it's gotta be her. That's her voice, alright. It can't be the vampire, it doesn't know my name. Ah fuck, Monica's still trying to look for me... didn't she follow me, though?"

"I can't see you, but try following my voice! We weren't supposed to split up, why'd you run off before me?" Monica said.

"Wait... what? I'm certain she ran with me away from the couch. Was she not following me? Ah, it doesn't matter. She sounds pretty close, I'll find her quickly," Bryson said.

He returned to the door without opening it. He put his face close to the tiny gap between the door and the doorway and spoke.

"Oi, I'm here! Get over here. Don't let that thing follow you!" Bryson exclaimed.