The Angel's Stone

Chapter 24.

Dew drops the size of hail clung tightly to individual strips of grass, sinking into Natascha's shoes as she stepped on them quietly. Dylan traced behind her, his hair metallically pale in the moonlight. The night outside the Institute was still and knowing, though dark and secretive. It was as if someone had stopped time from continuing, put a dam over its flow, and it was just them and the fireflies lighting up the atmosphere like fallen stars trying to climb back up into the sky. Natascha crept across the lawn and through the street. Dylan stalked close behind her.

"Where do we look first?" She asked, her voice disrupting the quiet of the night. Dylan hesitated.

"They could be anywhere. We could try in the sewer. Demons like dark and wet places," he replied, though he didn't seem very fond of the idea. Natascha had to admit climbing into an underground toilet didn't seem like the best place to spend her night, but for Angel and Wayne, she'd jump out of a plane without a parachute.

"Okay," she told him. "Lets go."

They migrated to the middle of the street, and, after checking for cars, lifted the heavy, circular plate covering the sewage area, and jumped inside.

It was like being trapped inside of a garbage can full with trash. The potent stench made Natascha's nose wrinkle, begging to shrivel up and jump off her face, and the only light throughout the tunnel was the beam from outside, streaming in through the hole which they entered through. She fumbled for her steel, when Dylan rested a hand on her shoulder (making her jump) and told her he had brought a flashlight. He pulled something out of his pocket, Natascha heard a click resound through the smelly air, and a thick, yellow beam shot through the dark. She stared at his barely-lit frame, the light catching his smile.

"What?" She asked, trying not to pinch her nose.

"I didn't even have to jiggle the batteries," he replied, and started ahead.

•••

The tunnel was split into thirds: two walkways and a pit of sewage in the middle. Natascha and Dylan scouted the left side of it, shining the flashlight mindlessly as though it were a mundane game of hide and seek. They traveled like this for forty-five minutes, pausing and checking for clues every few feet, before something black darted in her strong peripheral vision. She whipped around. Dylan's flashlight and a "What?" followed her, but the beam of light only illuminated the path they had taken.

"Nothing," she replied, relaxing. If there had been something there, Dylan would've noticed it. He's been training for this stuff since he was twelve- she would be surprised if he didn't. They continued walking, Natascha pretending to not've seen whatever passed her vision.

~~~

Half an hour later, they debated on weather or not to turn back around.

"If we're this far into it, just think about how long it'll take us to go back- Marlene'll wake up and know we're missing-"

"You agreed to come with me," Dylan retorted. "And I would let you go back, but if you happen run into trouble- if any of us do-, it'll be all my fault."

"She's clearly not down here. We could go back up and continue looking for her above ground, if you must-"

Suddenly, Dylan's flashlight flickered, and died out, plunging the tunnel into utter darkness. Natascha made a noise of surprise, and Dylan cursed as he struck his flashlight multiple times, trying to get it to work. After seven hits, it flickered on again, but only for enough time to materialize a massive, hairy beast from the darkness.

Something made Dylan grunt, and the flashlight went skittering abruptly into the sewage pool. There was a sickening crack from ten feet away, and suddenly the only movement came from behind Natascha.

"Dylan!" she screamed, and ran towards the sound in which the crack came from. She overestimated the distance, however, and found herself tripping over him. Dylan made a small noise of detest, and clutched his stomach.

Natascha leaned against the wall and fumbled for her stele. The demon drew close, spitting and making strange, clobbering noises. Hoping she was thinking of the right image and the dark didn't mess her up, she began to carve a night vision rune into her inner arm, the fiery burning piercing her skin the least of her problems. The tip of the stele lit up while it drew, and she could barely see the outline of what she made, but it was enough to see that she had drawn correctly. The rune sank into her skin, and everything around her seemed to focus into a fuzzy sort of view-

The demon hissed. Natascha saw the frame of it's figure lunge at her, and she dived out of the way, narrowly missing the sewage pit. The stench drifted into her nose, and she sneezed.

There was a strange, growling noise emitting from the demon, and when she turned, she could see it better- a strange, hairy beast with a long, curved tail that hung perched above it's body like a massive scorpion. The bladed stinger dripped a bright, lime-colored poison that had the texture of syrup.

Natascha made a noise that sounded like a gasp mixed with the sound of a dying whale. Fear gripped her as she scampered to the wall near Dylan, where it slapped her across the face again that he was probably stung, probably dying right then. She had to make a decision, but was caught between saving herself and staying with Dylan.

Rearing back it's tail, the demon gave a final hiss and plunged its tail in Natascha's direction. Natascha screamed and dashed out of the way, her heart pounding. She didn't want to die, but she didn't want Dylan to die. What would she do? If it came down to it, would she die so he could wake up?

A bright light flashed. Natascha's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and the stinger shot toward her in a dark blur. Someone screamed, but it wasn't Natascha, and the sharp point sank into skin.

Her eyes widened as she looked to make sure she saw things correctly. She didn't feel any pain- didn't even see the stinger pierce her- and wondered what was going on. It was only when a figure slumped to the floor in front of her, and a voice- Marlene's, but where had she come from?- screamed from far away, "Daddy!" that she realized Austin had took the sting for her.