Through the fire, smoke, and throbbing walls—Calypso only just realized in this moment how hard this rescue was going to be.
She approached a few feet before the building’s wooden and steel throat. Feet away from the trapped crowd of people, nearly buried deep within. How they were illuminated by what she could only figure to be a brilliant, orange core that was below, deep within the living structure.
It was the perfect backlight, to showcase the absolutely terrified expressions of the victims once they laid their eyes on her.
The realization caused Calypso to suck her fangs. Always something in the way.
“Please—I understand that you’re afraid, but take our hands!” Calypso turned backward, urging Natalie to the fray.
The fly monster girl was peppering the flaming structures, in an effort to curb the fires. She landed on her feet, rushing in. She slowly approached the hole, slowly reaching out her furry hand.
“We’re the good ones, we promise,” Natalie quickly added as she did.
The living building shuddered, adding to the distress that was felt radiating from the pit.
Calypso took each immediate person in. A middle-aged office worker. A trendy 20-something that had all his clothes rendered to tatters. A skater. Some mailman. Student, cashier, jogger. A blur of simply normal people.
Rendered into fearful, clawing, feral animals. Despite the differences, the faces, the body types—they were clawing against one another with the same, wide, empty eyes. But the moment ones on the “top” trained those eyes on the monster girls, it became a fruitless and wild scramble.
Natalie instantly backed away. “Even if we invoke firefighter rules—once we try to yank a couple, the others’ll pull them down—say nothing about them trying to kill us—”
“Almost as if y’all were better off with me here~”
Sal stormed into Calypso’s field of view. Too fast to reach for her cousin’s now-gun-strapped back as she made her way forward. Adding to the distraction, she heard the soft, squelching footfalls of Gale coming behind her.
“S-sorry—” Gale positioned herself beside Calypso’s side. “Like, you know more than anyone that she’s unstoppable when her mind’s made up—”
“…Holy cow. Mr. Lessick! Mr. Lessick—it’s me, Sally Grimes!”
Calypso watched as Sal waved, then knelt down. With her advanced sight, she saw that it was the mailman she gauged before.
“—Yeah! Y-you’re the Grimes’ kid!” a guff voice, strained from screaming, rang out. “Get outta here—there’s no point, those freaks are right behind you, RUN—”
“As they were literally sayin’—” Sal cut him off, adding authority in her tone. “—They’re the good ones, good monsters—and are here to save y’all. Grab onto the ones that actually have places to grip at and hold on to dear life!”
Of course, there was instant reluctance. But between being the only human of Calypso’s number, and the sudden tug from below—causing a chorus of screams… There was no more debate.
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“Mr. Lessick” was the first to reach for Natalie, the latter using her wings to propel them both. Sal provided support, helping the victims into the arms of Natalie.
Calypso guided Gale into the center of the building. For every sudden shudder of life, Calypso slashed and Gale smashed with her thick fists. Cutting and punching so violently, not only craved more space for the victims to move, providing the escape that these people needed and lessening Natalie’s workload. It got to the point of the building started to develop wooden-based cuts and bruises.
“How many so far--?” Calypso asked as she scanned the battered environment.
“Most of ‘em are out—” Sal answered, grunting as she pulled another person out. “Half tempted to tell ‘em ta’ run for the goddamn hills—”
“—Already did—” Natalie chimed in, as she zoomed back into the fray. “Pointed towards Albuquerque and every…”
Calypso instantly gauged the new threat. She only knew Natalie only for a little while, but she does not trail off.
Her question was answered with a sudden tackle on her side. The skeletal monster girl growled as she looked down, only to be faced with a gibbering half-human, half-Bat Subsumed visage.
“FUCKIN’ HELL, YA’ BAT BASTARDS ARE JUST AS ANNOYIN’ AS REGULAR ASS ONES--!”
Calypso knew that Sal had both the weapon and drive to hold one of them off, but she had to spring into action. She once again faded into her primal thoughts and plunged her wild blade right into the center of her Bat’s head. Using the wound as leverage to fling the body away to rush, glance at the new madness before her.
An entire hoard were climbing out of the hole. Their laughter colliding into a deafening chitter, with one of their numbers on top of Sal as she tried to wrestle out of it.
Logically, even in high-tension situations—one should recall every single second due to the agony behind it, being fully aware of the stakes, as they were on the verge of happening.
But in Calypso’s mind: one moment she was gawking at the sight with her dark eyes glowing with intense hatred—and the next, she stood behind the Bat Subsumed—her claw, not the blade, punctured its chest. It caused her to shake her head, blink. Take in the fact she literally blacked out in rage.
Thankfully, Natalie already fluttered into the scene, grabbing Sal and dragging her away. “C’MON, NEXT SLASH MOVIE ICON—WE HAVE SEQUELS TO MAKE--!”
Calypso felt the damned begin to scratch at her, and she proceeded to sprint away seconds later. Joining the others back onto the streets, looking about to see if there were any stragglers that might be caught up in this soon-to-be-bout. Thankfully, Natalie’s offers did pay off.
Now that was done, she turned all attention to Sal. Who was simply shaking herself of black goop, while getting herself ready.
“Thanks for coverin’ me in that filth, Cally…” Sal sighed, as she loaded her shots. “I already got enough in my eye…”
Which made something click into place, for Calypso.
“Your eye, Sally…” Calypso pointed with her claw. “There IS less of it, that corruption, now.”
Sal froze, then gently put to fingers under the said eye. The black veins were only localized in her sclera, versus leaking out of the eye entirely as it was previously.
“Well hell—” Sal grinned, now holding her gun with vigor. “At least Moses knows what she’s talkin’ about--!”
The Bat Subsumed horde thrust themselves out of the burning building. So giddy that they were struggling against one another, trying to scale the other so they can get out first.
“Wish she tossed that book with you…” Gale pouted verbally. “Me and Natty don’t even have cool monster powers like Cal here…”
“And then there’s the super secret page that could be there that tells us how exactly we can kill the Subsumed—in one fell swoop or something—” Natalie added. “How to exactly stop the Terrortide, how to track some insane bitch by the stars—the works, really. Anything in that book would’ve been great.”
The skeletal monster girl began to open her maw, to supply her cohorts with the information that at least worked for her.
“…Ain’t that it, right there…?”
Calypso then clamped down, and wanted to sigh.
But there was no point to waste any energy that isn’t beneficial to the current scenario. She turned her head to where Sal pointed, and lo’ the Tome was right there on the streets.
Moving. Twitching.
And soon, bursting—the pages turning rapidly. The crackling of energy poured outward, forming a shape before the girls.
What that shape became, it stopped the horde in their tracks. Gawking with mouths agape.
“HEY GUYS,” Melissa huffed, trying desperately to raise onto her clawed feet. Her grin was wide with her sharp teeth very visible. “HOW’SIT?”