Black Plague

Chapter 48

The sense of relief was short-lived, an overwhelming sense of dread soon took hold as Jessie watched as a beast rose above and leaped at Lilly. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the monster unfurl his petal-like head revealing rows of blooded teeth, the eyes in between showed pure hunger. Her screams shattered his shock-fueled mind and he held out his hand, not sure he could conjure a tendril in time to save her.

Kill

A single thought crossed his mind before a torrential storm of tendrils burst forth from his hand, easily reaching and killing the monster going so far as to stake it to the adjacent wall. Jessie smiled before he found himself being pulled by the multitude of tendrils now hunting down the Undead Lullaby as if they were alive. He pulled back his hand as he tried to regain control only for the first monster to fall, something was different about this one's death. It had invigorated him, giving him another boost to his smoke reserves.

"Guys, I can't stop them!" Jessie cried out as he was pulled forward by the hungry tendrils he sent out.

He felt another person's arms wrap around him as the next monster fell, he could feel himself grow stronger and a sickening sense of power washed over him. He could feel the pain of those he was killing, every stroke, every death blow filled him with the pain and anguish of those he killed. He cried out as the horde began to run away in vain as his tendrils claimed more lives, every blow devastated Jessie. Tears streamed down his face as he begged for help anything to stop the onslaught of pain he was causing, the pain he was feeling. More arms desperate to pull him back shouted as they struggled against the power of the smoke.

"Jessie please focus, work through the pain. Center yourself to this moment!" Plague said as he grabbed hold of his killing hand.

"I can't!" Jessie screamed. "I can feel everything! I'm not strong enough."

"Find a center, anything to bring you back!"

Jessie turned to see Plague struggling to pull back his arm, gritting his teeth he stared back at Jessie.

"You can do this!"

Another wave of pain reared its head as the tendrils neared the end of the horde, now coming for a horrified Starkiller. The music box now rested on the ground as he stood frozen in place. Seeing the end of their hunt near the tendrils shot forward aiming straight for the short man, in a last-ditch effort Jessie pulled back turning his eyes to his friends desperately holding him back. He looked through watery eyes at the extent they were going through to help, faces battered and broken as they strained to pull back the smoke. His eyes turned to Lilly in the back who had stretched herself thin to be the anchor of the group holding onto the hangar doors behind them.

The same strange feeling of admiration washed over Jessie as the pain suddenly subsided, the tendrils no longer pulled him. The others fell back as Jessie stood, perfectly in control of the smoke, of himself. He turned to see he had stopped them just short of piercing Starkiller's forehead, a thin stream of blood trickled down as he looked up at Jessie. He stared down at his hand before dispelling the smoke, a thin trail seemed to remain as he placed his hand at his side.

In stunned silence, Starkiller looked up at Jessie unable to say a word. As he regained his composure Jessie watched as Travis reappeared before slamming Starkiller in the head with a fire extinguisher, unsure of what to do next Travis walked back through the sea of dead bodies toward the group.

"What the fuck was that." Sarah asked as she helped Toby to his feet.

"He lost control, simple as that. Now let's go!" Plague said as another wave of tremors shook the very foundation of the hangar.