Protectors- Consequence

Chapter Twenty One: Hell Town

Hell on earth is not what Zachary would have used to describe most places, but the mere fact that the smoke that hung in the town where Adam had lived removed his powers, and the sight of the demonic beasts that prowled in the peripheral were enough to grant the place that name. Endless darkness, generated by that same smoke completely masked most movements, but a flash of yellow eyes had spooked the group, and they had all been separated in the struggle to get away. The air muddled his mind, but he did the exercises that Lochlan had described when he found out about the hallucinogens, constantly shifting his form to reduce the effects. He began to walk slowly through the town, but as he stepped on a loose twig, a loud crack filled the air with noise, and a violent movement to his right sent him sprinting towards the nearest house.

Zachary bounded over the backyard fence, sliding across the grass and straight into the pool, where he lay silent beneath the water, gills forming to allow him breath. The thing that chased him made a noise, a horrifying thing that sent goosebumps down his neck. He shivered involuntarily, and the movement in the water set the thing off, pouncing on the spot where he had been a moment before. A magnificent Koi leapt from the surface, but Zachary was reverted to his human form in the span of a second, hitting the limestone pool deck hard. His powers were weakened, but his mind was revitalised, the cold water's shock bringing him back to his senses. Zachary leapt behind the pool wall, crouching out of sight as the thing stalked from the water, razor sharp claws scraping methodically across the ground. Zachary charged a small ball of lightning Aura with his fingertip, but the water that clung to his skin activated, forcing him to change his skin to an insulated rubber. He spun out from behind the wall, firing the lightning at the thing, which somehow dashed out of the way. That was when he saw its face.

Horrible, jagged yellow teeth stretched between gaping jaws, holding an open, lopsided smile. A foul, barbed tongue lashed around, and the Crown Jewels of the monster's design, two huge, glowing yellow eyes, a cross between an owl and a cat's. Four clawed, lean, powerful legs moved with grace and precision unfit for the snarling face of the beast. Zachary struggled to stand, his fists raised in a desperate final stand against the demon from hell. He jabbed, landing a punch on the airborne creature, but the thing was just too strong, its brute force pushing him backwards as claws tore his trap muscles to absolute shreds. The healing did not kick in, due to the gasses in the air, so Zachary was unable to resist the force of the creature, forcing him to the ground as it tried its utmost to kill. The fight was almost over when a strange figure walked into sight, no, it ran, desperately, as if it were being chased. The sound of gunfire filled the air, and the beast's grip loosened enough for Zachary to force himself on top, pinning it to the ground as his face morphed into that of a crocodile, biting down on its neck with its immense bite force. It was killed, voice box ripped out by the jagged teeth, and as he morphed back, he turned to look at the person who had saved him,

"You aren't the villain, are you?" He asked, as his presumption of the person behind all of the horrors was shattered, "you didn't know about that thing they put in your house,"

"No," The lady whimpered, her face mask protecting her from the smog, "I had no idea. I just want to live a quiet life,"

"What's your name, then?" Zachary asked,

"I swear I'm nothing like my siblings," she replied,

"I don't think that you are," He responded, "you saved me, so even if your siblings are the worst of the worst, I don't really care,"

"My name is Annabelle Stone," She responded desperately, "my brother was the God of Acceleration and my sister was a cultist, but I swear of it, I am not an evil of the Stone lineage,"

"You don't need to explain," Metamorph smiled kindly, "let's just get you out of here before more of these things show up,"

"My house is just around the corner," She smiled back weakly, but it was visible through her mask, "let's go over there and hide for a little,"