The Orb And The Onslaught {COMPLETE}

thgualsnO ehT

    Quentin chuckled in response to her words, he knew her well enough not to take offence to every little thing she said. She was just beginning to outline her plan to him when something soft brushed against her leg. She stared down to see a black and white cat gazing up at her with wide, green-yellow eyes.

    "Ah Nathan, right on time as usual. The plan is still on, we should be off."

The cat stared for a second and then looked to Quentin as though inspecting him for problems. 

    Cats weren't allowed in the home, there was a strict 'no pets' rule enforced by Ledbetter. Not that Florence was going to part with them, no matter where she was or who said otherwise. All three of them had come to her on the same day, exactly a week after Bernard's passing. 

     They just turned up in her garden and stayed there day and night, doing various things but never leaving. After a while she began to feed them and soon let them into the house, they'd stayed with her ever since. 

     She didn't tell anyone except Quentin but somehow, the cats seemed to understand her when she spoke to them and she knew things about them that others didn't; like what they wanted or things they were trying to tell her. She hadn't been sure at first if she'd lost her mind from the grief, but the cats were a great comfort to her so she didn't question it too much.

     Quentin didn't treat her like she was crazy or question it when she told him about their interactions. He was a little wary around the cats afterwards but he just accepted that the cats needed to be with her and didn't snitch to the rest of the staff or Ledbetter; at those times Florence found him to be such a blessing. 

    "Oh he's coming with us, I've decided that he could be very useful," Florence answered the unasked question. 

Nathan appeared to be satisfied by her response and rubbed against Florence's legs, she smiled softly down at him. 

BOOM!

    Their sweet moment was suddenly cut short when the sound of an explosion blasted the corridor followed by a chorus of screams. The three of them moved around the nurses station in unison to see what had just happened. Ms Ledbetter and a group of nurses and carers were stood at the far end of the corridor with their hands out in front of them, screaming at the top of their lungs. 

    "Is this part of your new plan?" Quentin asked suspiciously. 

Florence shook her head, "No, it isn't... but we have time to go see what on Esothiea just happened." 

      She headed down the corridor with Quentin following closely behind. Nathan had already disappeared and Florence knew he'd be waiting for her once she was ready. Despite being much shorter than Quentin, Florence was quicker and arrived first at the scene. Even Florence was taken aback by the sight in front of her and she had seen a lot of strange things in her long life. 

      The lounge they were stood in front of looked like the site of a bomb detonation. Everything in the room had either been smashed to pieces or charred by some unknown flame, but that wasn't the strangest part. In the middle of the debris was a space that was entirely clear of any mess.

      In the centre lay a gruesome pile of dead birds and in what Florence was certain was their blood, words were scrawled around them. 

'The Onslaught Comes' 

Florence could understand why everyone had freaked out, this wasn't a common thing to see anywhere, let alone in a retirement home. 

     Suddenly, the sound of glass breaking and shouting could be heard from the next corridor and then the next. All around them chaos was erupting and for once, Florence wasn't the one causing it. Without hesitating, Florence rushed off to investigate and Quentin was forced to follow after her.