Chapter 13 – Bleed for Me
"What do you want from us?” Glen asked the man, knowing before finishing the sentence it would not be that simple. While waiting for the reply, he subtly looked between his team trying to get them to spread out. Communicating that with only his eyes was not remarkably effective, but they got the idea after a couple seconds.
“Oh, what do any of us ever really want? Though I don’t think the philosophical answer is what you are looking for.” He said speaking casually as if talking to friends. He opens his hands wide in a theatrical gesture before continuing, “Your little teams are causing quite the commotion in my new neighborhood. I think it is time that stops.”
Everyone across both teams looked on dumbfounded. How could this strange man come before them after everything he has done and make such a bizarre statement as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Glen was preparing himself to reply when Liz surprised everyone by speaking up first.
“What do you really want? You match the description of the man that recently attacked one of the people we have sworn our lives to protect. How can you stand before us and pretend to be human knowing how carelessly you would take a life?” The sneer on her face told everyone how she felt inside, the words did not even begin to cover her real emotions.
At this the man grew far colder and lost his friendly demeanor. Lowering his arms from their raised position slowly he gave Liz a hard look while saying, “Well aren’t you the little bundle of joy? This could be such a pleasant meeting, but you want to get straight to the point. No fun...” As his sentence went on his composure slipped and he looked less and less sane by the moment.
The laughter that started to escape him made no sense to anyone. He was chuckling lightly at first, but quickly it became a full body laugh that had him doubling over. The man started to mutter quietly under his breath getting louder, “No fun. No fun. No Fun. No Fun. NoFunNoFUNNoFuN! YOU WANT TO TAKE IT ALL AWAY FROM ME!”
The laughing abruptly stopped, and he shook his head back and forth as if it clear his thoughts. He looked around as if confused himself for a minute before regaining his composure. “Ah, sorry I lost my train of thought there for a moment. As I was saying, what I would like is for you to stop interfering. You and I are different than those people that you have ‘sworn to protect.’ Just let them suffer a little for me. Once they are out of the way think of how much better life could be. Only taking care of yourselves, and not having all that dead weight pulling you down in to the filth with them!”
Miles spoke up for the first time in this unexpected meeting. “You do not understand. Yes, we are all that is keeping them going. But they also keep us going. What point is there in doing any of this if we are all alone? I would carry this weight every day for the rest of my life to be able to return home and see the faces of my friends and family waiting for me.” He paused for a second as if considering his next words carefully.
“We can’t all be monsters like you. Not caring about who is hurt, hell you seem to take some sick enjoyment in this! What kind of sick person are you?”
The man looked between each of them seeming to think only briefly before answering, “Even monsters have names. Do not be so rude as to call names just because we have a difference in perspective. You may call me Gideon; it is only fitting that you learn my name. Now, are you going to leave this little village and its inhabitants to take care of themselves, as I have so graciously asked you to do?”
“We already gave you our answer. We would die ourselves going down fighting rather than losing even a single person in SkyTop.” Glen yelled back. With the distance between them the volume did not have the impact that Glen had hoped for. He was looking to throw the man off balance with the intensity of his reply. Gideon, however, did not appear to be affected in the slightest.
“So much wasted potential,” was his reply before a large smile appeared on Gideon’s face. “So be it! If you would die for them, then I am happy to oblige!”
Gideon rocked forward over the edge of the concrete he had been standing on without further hesitation. With his knees bent he kept leaning forward until he was parallel with the ground fifteen feet below, and before he had fallen more than a couple inches, he pushed off with more force than anyone could have suspected cracking the ground at his feet. He was rocketing at the group now giving them no time to prepare.
The six of them dove in all directions to avoid the missile of a man flying at them. Even unprepared their years of training kicked in allowing them to quickly get in to a rough formation surrounding him. Everyone pulled out their weapons as quickly as they were able.
Miles and Liz were directly in front of him, while the other four ended up flanking from behind with two on each side. On his left Glen and Douglas stood ready to pounce with their dual swords and long swords in hand. To the right Pirah had her spear pointed to prevent Gideon from moving towards her, while Jordan had her guard raised in to a boxer’s position bladed knuckles up to protect her head and chest.
Face to face Miles and Liz were the first to attack. Liz swung her hammer with her full weight at Gideon’s stomach hoping to do enough damage to take him out in one swing. Miles didn't wait to see the result before launching himself forward to get in striking range with his shorter sword. Neither hit had the effect they had been after.
Liz’s hammer was smacked away as if it were a child’s toy. Gideon moved with a fluid like motion inside the hammer’s range, striking the handle up with enough force to almost knock it out of Liz’s grasp. Though she wasn't disarmed she was wildly off balance and left unguarded for Gideon’s counterattack. His open palm slammed in to her chest with enough force to throw her back several feet in to the stone wall of the canal. Blood slowly started to leak from her mouth.
Miles’ short sword had time to land while Gideon was striking Liz, but the slice was ineffective. It appeared as though the sword would seriously wound Gideon who raised his arm to block the downward slice, but the blade stopped in his skin after easily shredding through the suit’s sleeves. A metallic screeching sound could be hard at the blade slid down Gideon’s arm, the sound of a blade being sharpened.
As if swatting a mosquito, Gideon back handed Miles who could not comprehend what he just witnessed. The smack landed and Miles jaw shattered like breaking glass, his head whipping back as if slapped by God himself. Miles hit the ground like a sack full of rocks, he was instantly unconscious and completely out of the remainder of the fight.
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Glen and Douglas had not been idle during this, but neither had been quick enough to react to the brutality that Gideon brought to the fight. They had closed the distance and were swinging with reckless abandon by the time Miles and Liz had been taken out.
Glen and Douglas attacked with all the raw physique they could bring to bare. Douglas with a longsword and Glen using his two shorter blades, hoping to get an advantage in power or speed respectfully. Gideon turned to face them with a smile as if anticipating the challenge.
Douglas swung hard from below hoping to bisect Gideon cutting him from hip to shoulder. Gideon avoided the telegraphed swing with ease by simply turning his body and leaning with the strike so it with smoothly over him passing right in front of his face.
Glen tried to take advantage of Gideon distraction by darting past him, then immediately land two quick slices to unprotected side and legs. At this point they just needed to show him down. Glen could see both teams working together was not going to enough, there were already down by a third of their people.
Flowing like water and twisting his body to avoid Glen’s slices, Gideon turned the movement into a surprise attack to hit both of the men. While spinning, the monster of a man shifted his balance to one leg and extended the other in to a kick. He threw a punch in the opposite direction towards Glen at the same time, never slowing down for a second.
The kick landed with full force on Douglas, though by letting go of the long sword he was able to get an arm up to block his stomach at the last moment, protecting his vital organs. His forearm snapped as if it were a twig being stepped on by a giant.
Glen was only slightly luckier. With his much smaller weapons he was able to reposition his swords to deflect the punch just slightly. The hit still connected, but it was only a glancing blow. Still the power contained was enough to dislocate his right shoulder and a cracking noise rang out.
It wasn't enough to take either man out of the fight entirely. Douglas was knocked on his back clutching his broken arm, Glen was kneeling holding his shoulder trying his best to clear his mind if pain. Glen’s vision was beginning to blur as he tried to regain his focus, he could only barely follow what happened next as Jordan and Pirah attacked.
Jordan lunged with her bladed knuckles trying to score any hits at all with her flurry of blows. Pirah Jabbed forward several times with quick spear thrust, timing her strikes in between Jordan’s to try and catch Gideon even once. So far only Miles had landed even a single attack, which didn't appear to hurt Gideon in any way.
Gideon contemptuously smacked away Jordan’s hands as if they no threat to him at all. Even with the nonstop onslaught coming from the two he seemed to be growing bored of this fight. Not a single party member had really pushed him at all. His casual smile he had worn the entire fight was slipping.
Pirah realized that they were losing this fight and they might all die here, she decides to use their emergency option, knowing that once she did all the rampant in the area would be drawn to them. It was now or never with over half the team down, it was only her and Jordan left.
While Jordan did her best to keep Gideon distracted, Pirah reaches under her cloak and pulled out the team’s only firearm. They were given it even though it was a rare old-world artefact due to the nature of their group and its mission specifically hunting dangerous aberrant. She had not intended to use it on this mission, but it seemed unavoidable in this moment.
Pirah took aim and fired the last bullet that had been left after Douglas had given Bryan the other five. She aimed for his heart hoping to stop the beast that had raged through their group without slowing. She was having trouble getting a clear shot, Pirah was afraid of hitting Jordan.
As Pirah pulled the trigger Gideon seemed to sense it, with speed that transcended anything humanly possible he grabbed Jordan’s wrist and forced her in from of him as a shield. The bullet pierced her chest spraying blood and kept traveling all the way through.
The bullet hit off center in Gideon’s chest and rather than killing him it got stuck in the bone of his sternum. For the first time he looked angry as he howled in pain. His blood began to run down his chest ruining his suit and soaking in to the ground around him.
Jordan was dying in front of him, but still tried landing a hit on him with the blades strapped to her fist. While keeping his eyes on Pirah, still holding on to Jordan’s wrist he punched Jordan in the face hard enough that she was dead instantly. He let unceremoniously fall to join the bodies laying all around.
After what felt like a long eternity, but in reality was no more than twenty seconds, the first words were spoken since the five began.
“You dare?! You think you could kill me with something so weak! You disrespectful piece of SHIT! I'm done playing with you… you… fucking children. You know nothing of the world. And I will not be the one to teach you. Die here knowing that this changed nothing. You're useless tower in the sky will be the next to fall, and I'll enjoy watching it burn.”
Within a blink of the eye he was in front of Pirah and began to beat her. After the first hit she fell to the ground, but unlike before he didn't stop there. His calm appearance from before had gone, now Gideon was displaying the cruel bloodlust he has kept hidden.
Hearing Pirah whimper after each hit grounded Glen. He couldn’t sit there as someone he once loved was beat to death before his eyes. He pulled his last weapon from it’s place on his back, and extended it's retractable shaft to it's full length. With a running start he lunged at Gideon holding his spear in his one good hand while driving it forward.
He knew it was destined to fail, but damn it Glen had to try! Gideon again turned around with ludicrous speed and made to catch the weapon by its blade. He wrapped his fingers around the spear tip, and watched as it… didn't slow down as all.
The spear plunged deep into Gideon’s chest. He was completely shocked, unable to comprehend that a simple spear had injured him when the gun was unable to. Three times he had been hit, and twice he had been made to bleed.
Gideon, in visible pain and anger, grabbed the handle of the spear and pulled it from his body. When he pulled it out viscous blood showered Glen. That his thrust worked stunned Glen entirely, in the moment of indecision Gideon kicked him in the chest with enough strength to throw him twenty feet straight back rolling to a stop just before hitting the other wall.
Glen was covered in cuts and deep lacerations from rolling across the concrete; his arm was visibly swollen with several fractures and breaks from being thrown back violently and landing on the side that had been hurt earlier in the fight. The pain was too much for him and Glen began to blackout.
Gideon looked around while still bleeding, the wounds on his chest already visibly starting to close before saying, “Well well well, maybe this town can be more fun than I thought. I have not bled for what feels like a hundred years.” He blinks a couple times and starts laughing before saying, “Hell maybe it has been a hundred years. I think you have earned a reward. Six months.”
Liz and Douglas are the only two still awake, Liz stuttering managed to ask, “Six months?”
Gideon replies, “That is how long you will have to get stronger. If you manage to survive your new friends here, I will be back to test how strong you have become.”
With that Gideon turned to walk away as if he no longer cares about anything going on around him. He seemed unbothered by the trail of blood he was leaving behind, but after only thirty feet the drops had stopped falling entirely.
Liz was the first to get up, as she rushed to check on Glen. Douglas found his way back to his feet and he made his way over to triage Pirah. Miles was still breathing when they made it to him, but Jordan never had a chance.
Their seven-person team has gone to five, and Pirah had been hurt so badly they don’t know when she will be able to wake or move on her own again. Douglas carried Pirah, Liz and Miles help get Glen back to his feet after a short while. The five of them begin their slow limp back to Skytop, knowing that though they may only be about twenty city blocks away from home, that the trip was likely going to take them hours.