King Me

The King of Drift

It tore past them straight through the walls, a cacophony of screams and destruction. They were beneath mounds of trash and rubble, and Mr. Sato adjusted a few loose pieces to fully cover them before he spoke, "It headed past where I hid Faust. It is only a matter of time before it circles around to find him." Mr. Sato noted, and Yancey added an And us. inside her head. 

Was this is? Was she going to die here, covered in trash, unable to even stand up to meet her fate with a trace of dignity? Well, if it was, she knew she was honored to spend it with Mr. Sato. He'd been equally as scared as she, and just as out of his element. But he'd stood up to the challenge. Stood up to the challenge, and defeated it, in most occasions. And now here he was, hiding with her on a floor, thanks to some plan she'd formulated without considering any of the factors. And he was going to pay for listening to Yancey Clairvo.

"We need to move," Mr. Sato whispered, peeking his head up out of the trash, "It is fast, but I think it is far enough away for us to sneak to Faust, and get out. Can you stand?"

Yancey knew she couldn't, she could hardly speak, "N-no," 

Mr. Sato nodded, "That is unfortunate. In that case, I hid Doctor Faust in the next room over, beneath the low desk. When I make my move, crawl to him if you can. If not, stay here beneath the debris," 

Yancey tried to question what he meant by this, but before she could Mr. Sato was on his feet. He took a moment to shift debris overtop of Yancey and took off at a sprint out of the door. He was headed for the vehicle. She figured out the plan, "Mist- Sato!" Yancey called, attempting to get up out of the rubble. She could hear the vehicle vrumming to life, and with it's trademark scream, went hauling down the street. Another scream sounded from inside the building, and with a rumble, the monster went tearing back out onto the road. It would catch him before he could even get to the end of the road. 

Yancey forced herself up, crawling on her hands and feet towards the window. She drooped an arm up onto the windowsill, pulling herself up. She ignored the shards of glass that remained, or more couldn't see them until they sliced into her forearm, leaking even more of her precious blood. Come to think of it, she couldn't see out of her left eye anymore from the blood that leaked out of a laceration atop her scalp. But with her one good eye, she peered out into the alleyway. To her surprise, Mr. Sato Hadn't ran. He had the vehicle turned around, facing back the way he'd come. Facing the monster.

Is he planning on faking it out again? Yancey wondered, watching the monster come to a stop itself. The two stared one another down. Mr. Sato revved his engine, letting it roar, enticing the monster. In turn, the monster released a mighty roar, that sickening sound of a distorted elephant, shaking the nearby buildings. And the two, in unison, shot towards one another. Mr. Sato had the vehicle blistering to maximum speed in the space of a quarter-mile. The monster had immense power in its legs, crushing the ground it stood upon down into a crater as it shot towards the vehicle. Yancey couldn't decipher what Mr. Sato's plan was. 

Then again, when he'd looped the vehicle up to the top of the tunnel, she hadn't seen that coming either. So she watched. Waited. The two sped down the road at each other, faster, and yet faster still. And then she understood. He's playing chicken. Except neither one was turning away. They came closer, the gap nearly vanishing, and-- BOOM!

The two collided. Mr. Sato's vehicle exploded into flames, engulfing the creature. They hit with so much force, a shockwave rocked the area. Yancey was knocked out of her place on the window, glass digging into her forearm, gushing blood as she fell back. "Mr. Sato!" Yancey screamed, forcing herself onto her feet. She was woozy, leaking so much blood, too much, but beyond all chances, she stepped forward. She was nearing the doorway, barely stepping outside, when the heat the wreck was releasing hit her. It was like she was in the fire herself, it burned with such a might. But she continued. 

Until a second explosion blistered from the wreck, this time hitting her in the face with a shockwave packed with heat. She toppled back, falling onto the floor of the room she had just staggered out of. "Mr. Sato!" Yancey screamed, unable to even tell if she was actually screaming at all. Her ears rang. A puddle of her own blood was forming beneath her. She couldn't move anymore. She was going to die, alone now, the noble Ren Sato leaving her in a blaze of his glory. A blaze he'd devised to save her. All for nothing. She rested her head on the floor. 

And then she realized her ears where, in fact, working again. She heard that sickening scream, the scream of the monster. It was still alive. She managed to get her head up a fraction, and there it was, crawling just as she had, across the ground. It was badly burned, its legs tremmbling, but it was coming for her. She could accept this. Hell, she wanted it. Wanted to die there, in a pile of trash, in a pool of her own blood, fading away from everything. It crawled, closer, the smell of its burning flesh scorching her nose. Something else caught her ear.

A weak cough from the next room. Faust. The greatest hope for the survival of humanity, unconscious, nothing but a broken shade of a woman standing between damnation and salvation. Not yet. Do this, then go. Yancey assured herself. She slid a hand down towards her pocket, feeling around for the handle of her pistol. Closer the monster stepped, it's powerful scream attempting to shake her. Just as Aurelia's war-cry had. Not this time, you bitch.

She pulled the pistol out, reaching it foreward. Her sight was woozy, and her aim, wobbly at best. But the monster was closer. Only feet away, trying to come back through the doorway it had crushed open just moments ago. BLAM! She still managed to shoot wide, and the creature took a step closer. BLAM! A foot, already fried to a crisp, shattered into a black poof as her shot collided with it. The thing fell, forward, crashing down just a foot away from her. And for the first time, she could see its eyes.

Pained, scared, probably not able to see any better than she could. Maybe worse. They, like most of its body, were burned. Yancey wanted to cry. The head was just in front of her pistol, and with one last click, she blew those eyes away. And yet it lived. It screamed, this time clearly in pain, chattering to itself, "I tried!" "You did. You claimed a foe. Sleep." "I don't want too!" "Hush. We all fall eventually." "I'm scared!" "Don't be. You-" Yancey couldn't stand the conversation, or the state she left the once-proud monster in. 

Blast after blast came form her pistol. She unloaded into the beast's face, sending red streaks of energy crushing away at its head. "I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry! I'm sorry!" She screamed, she wished it was her, she was sorry for what she was doing. It didn't matter that it'd just killed Mr. Sato. That was the game, after all. She wasn't a warrior like Aurelia thought she was. She was a coward. And there, in the midst of her own Insanity, she blacked out.