flowers of poison

Part 86: Shit.

Since this year my twin and I are all settled into our house for Halloween, we are going all out on decorations, well for us, we'll probably give up halfway through and rewatch one of our tv shows. Procrastination at its finest.

______

3: 07 A.M.

Akira P.O.V.

I was forced to stop time, well, slow it. It wasn't even my fault. Ari keeps making way too much noise, and so far I've been able to keep her from getting suspicious by filling her brain with the sounds around us and home she isn't paying close enough attention to tell that the sounds are all in a loop.

But then she just had to launch herself across the stairway and vault off the wall to gain momentum and kick through the metal door right as I'd finally figured out how to get the door open without the power on. So my hand had been forced, and I didn't have enough time to project the sound of a metal door handle breaking through several layers of plaster, wood and dry wall.

I step through as she inspects the door, about to ask her what's wrong only to realize that'd raise more questions, probably in a voice louder than the sound of the door, slowly tearing through the wall.

I shiver and stride past her as she forgets about the door in favor of racing after me, her hand latching onto one of my belt loops and I'm almost certain she's going to pull me back and force me to face her, then we'll have a huge argument and agree to go our separate ways before meeting up again. But she only continues after me, bouncing along a little to cheerily for the situation and if I look closely enough I can see the hint of mischievous calculation.

I peer down the hall and take a left finally entering the west wing with all the dorms. The dorms however come with two guards standing resolutely outside each door on either side, despite the completely dark and to quiet hall, with only the sound of breathing from the guards to fill it.

'Wow, where do they find such dedicated workers?'

'Or is it all in the pay check?'

'Either way...'

I dig through my utility belt and pull out a smoke bomb a flash grenade and throw them both as Ari takes a step back, hiding around the corner for a minute, clamping my hands over my ears, crouching slightly as the blast goes off rocking the floor and walls a little bit as hairline cracks form on the ceiling.

Ari and I dive into the purple smoke, keeping low to the ground and mostly out of slight from the dimming flashes that expose the shadowy bodies, coughing amidst the thick purple smoke that doesn't affect us due to the goggles and masks.

I hold my gun in one hand and staff in the other zapping any who get too close to stepping on me and shooting those too far away to reach. Once the last guard falls Ari and I stand up and the smoke swirls around us, Ari using her quick hands to make it dissipate. And that's when we see her. 

Thin tendrils of smoke curling around her legs and arms as she holds her torn open collar in a shaking fist, sharp fingertips digging into the screeching metal, the lacerations around her neck beginning to bead with drops of golden blood speak of it begin carelessly removed in favor of it just being off. Her dark pink hair is short and fluffy, barely an inch in length and partially covers her top set of eyes in the middle of her forehead. She has six more from the looks of it, all identical blood red, matching the splatter of blood colored freckles across her nose and cheeks. She doesn't appear to have pupils in any of her eyes all one shade of red in this lighting, she has a pair of eyes in the middle of her face, like Ari and I do and the other four are smaller and lined around the bottom edge of her middle eyes, two on each side, resting over the inner part of her cheek bone rather than the crest.