a thousand instincts (#1)

Ready For Action (43)

Aeress

       Her skin was so lovely and dark, almost having a sheen to it. Her eyes, without light but so kind and warm. Like always, Aeress was reminded of a steaming cup of dark roast in the morning on the countryside. So peaceful and pure. 

     "Follow me!" She grabbed a hold of Aeress and yanked her up effortlessly. 

     Aeress followed behind. "You shaved your head?" She commented on her obvious buzz cut. It suited her. Most things did anyway. 

     "Aeress, what the hell are you talking about?" She shouted. "We have to get out of here! This whole place is gonna go!" 

     Aeress shook her head as she stumbled forward. And finally it felt like the cotton had been pulled from her ears. Everything amplified, bombarding her every sense. The screaming, the fear. She felt it all. 

    She stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn’t believe her best friend was really standing in front of her. But she didn’t have the luxury of twenty questions at that moment. “Shaya, I have no idea how the hell you could have gotten here, but I can’t leave them. I must help them.” 

    Shaya didn’t seem very understanding. She never really was. “We gotta get out of here.” 

    “I can’t abandon my people. I won’t.” 

    “Fine, but we have to hurry.” 

    Aeress nodded and they got to work, snatching up anyone who was immobile or unable to save themselves. Some she hefted over her shoulder while dragging others across the floor. Each time, she threw them out of the nearest exit, with the knowledge that some of those bodies were inanimate. Shaya never once shied from her side, and Aeress kept looking her way to make sure this wasn't some hallucination. 

     They hurried as the walls around them whined in protest under the attacks. 

     Her muscles burned and she gritted her teeth as she travelled in and out of the battle field. Her body wasn’t exhausted from exertion but from shock, protesting every step of the way, yet somehow still running smoothly like a well-oiled machine. 

     Aeress was about to go back in until Shaya kept a firm grip on her. "The flames are too great, you've helped enough!" 

     "No, I-" 

     "Run!" People were screaming over and over as they fled. 

     Aeress swirled around and gasped as she watched the building began to crumble. "No!" Aeress yelled in despair, reaching out but knowing full and well there was nothing else to be done. 

     "C'mon! The rubble is gonna crush us, Aeress!" 

     Aeress felt a sense of depression fall over her heart as she watched the place which held such a tender place in her heart become destroyed. All of the art, the wealth, and the memories dedicated to not only her but the rich history of werewolf society. And it all vanished into billowing clouds of grey. The sound of the loud crash would always haunt her, she knew this. 

     So they ran off into the safe distance, farther away from memories Aeress would never forget. 

     The both of them collapsed onto the ground, between the trees, as many of the hundreds who luckily escaped did. The grass was dewy and cushioning. Aeress felted enraged as a light coat of ash began to cover every inch of her island. The alfresco was quickly tainted by the violent attack. 

     "Are you alright?" Shaya inquired, wiping the sweat from her forehead. 

     She stood back up, wishing for her sword, not surprised as the weapon appeared in her grip. Once she made the initial contact with the weapon, now it would never leave her. "We are still under attack, I must help however I can. You stay here, comfort those still living." 

     She looked in the direction of the crumbled building, steeling her heart against the hurt which began to rise. Times of sorrow would have to wait until the threat was neutralized. So Aeress gathered herself and demanded more than what she felt she could possibly provide. Her feet carried her in the direction of the gunshots. 

     She knew Warrick was not dead. The reason was unclear but she allowed this to comfort her as she dove head first into danger once again. 

     The sounds of battle gathered in front of the temple. She reached this area in minutes, something impossible to be completed by an average human. Though she was not too prideful to admit that the frequent force of bodily trauma and excessive exertion in the past couple of weeks was beginning to take a toll. 

     Her eyes burned from the heavy smoke and ash. Her lightly-tinted blue skin turned grey, caked by old fire and the dust of crushed stone. The smothering sensation of being covered by an odorous gunk left an unsettling sickness in the pit of her stomach which only worsened with each inhale she took. Her vision was fuzzy, but quickly adjusting and sharpening to the new environment. 

     Her ears picked up the sounds of colliding beasts and booming firepower. Lights went off as triggers were pulled. 

     In an ironic way, Aeress was brought back to that night in the club, when it all began. Bullets flying, confusion fueling the instinctive responses and retaliation of violence. And most of all, Aeress stood in the middle of it, but this time she was not a damsel in distress and she would not hide under some booth table, awaiting death, only to be reborn into a completely new reality. 

     This time she was armed and ready for action. This time she would be feared. 

     So Aeress got to work, dodging bullets with whip-like speed and taking down any and all enemies. She wasn’t kind or forgiving, no, she channeled this build-up of emotion and released it upon the poor souls. Some were disintegrated by her flames while others were simply wounded. 

    When those around recognized her, more and more creatures began to target her with their teeth and claws. She absorbed the pressure and returned it tenfold. She was a dancer, leaping and twisting, but with savagery which resembled the godly beast within. Her sword slashed, defying gravity and hitting each mark she wished. Flesh broke and blood followed, flooding the metallic taste and scent of the crimson liquid into the wound-up atmosphere. The aroma intensified everyone’s thirst for blood, especially hers. 

    When the group of attackers eventually depleted to nearly zero, she held one by their throat with her claws threatening to tear the flesh. “Who sent you!” 

    The beast gasped and fought instead of answering, transforming into his human form. “Fuck Godhead, I don’t serve you!” 

    “Then who do you serve?” She growled out, feeling as her patience wore more and more thin. “And try to recall who holds your life in their hands before you insult me again!” 

    He paled. Coward. “I serve Jonah! I do not serve you, false god.” Her blood ran cold at the name and then his face suddenly went flat. 

    Her eyes widened as she heard a pin being pulled. “Grenade!” She screamed, tossing his body into the air. The explosion had a deadly force. She landed in the dirt, feeling the flesh on her arm as it sizzled. The scent made her sick. She patted away the flames, coughing. 

    The sky was darling and a crashing thunder soon followed. Aeress sighed as she felt a pouring rain followed. She stayed in the dirt as it became mud and allowed herself to be cleansed. The fighting quieted and she knew it was over… for now.