CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DON'T FEAR THE REAPER
They find themselves back at the research station the same way they left it, in a flash of light.
"We're back?" Davenport blurts out, struggling to stand and covered in wounds.
He takes a step forth but fumbles. Big George grabs him.
"What's wrong, Davenport? You tired?" Big George rhetorically asks as he lends him a shoulder to lean on.
Davenport doesn't answer only breathes deeply, recovering his strength.
George is also tired but not so tired to withhold helping a friend.
Rayne glances back.
He lost another comrade he swore to protect.
The image of Olivia's last gasp is fresh. Too fresh.
I'm sorry Doctor, Rayne says with his inner voice.
Yui notices the troubled soldier.
"We wouldn't have made it without her," Yui says, standing beside Rayne.
"No, we wouldn't. She saved all our lives," Rayne adds, nodding in recognition.
Sometimes just a few words are enough.
"What now, Captain?" Davenport asks in a hoarse whisper.
"We go home," Rayne says.
I hope we can go home, he says in his quiet voice.
They walk toward the elevator through the desolate underwater level of Odile. There are no phantoms to greet them on their little stroll.
Big George searches around for the ghosts but he can't find any.
It feels strangely empty without them, he thinks.
They enter the elevator but this time only four of them.
The elevator ascends.
Big George puts Davenport down.
"You okay?" Big George asks.
"You know me? Nothing can keep me down," Davenport says while sitting down.
"Obviously," Big George adds as he smirks.
Yui sits beside him.
"Hey, how you DOING?" Yui asks doing a bit.
"Never better!" Davenport responds as he raises his arm and attempts to flex but a surge of pain abruptly stops him, "Is that from a movie or something?" he asks, curious about her phrasing of the question.
"My sister was really into this sitcom from the '90s," Yui explains.
"The 90s? That is some old-school stuff. I'm also old school, I watched The Fast and the Furious 13 a couple of weeks ago," Davenport says.
"Didn't that come out in the early 2030s?" Yui asks.
"Yep. 2031, old school," Davenport confirms as he nods.
Yui shakes her head.
Big George puts the Cuban cigar in his mouth as he takes out a lighter;
Rayne turns to him with a short but intense glance.
Big George sighs as he puts back the Cuban in his pocket.
"So you got any family, a girlfriend?" Yui asks, slightly blushing under the scarf. Only betrayed by the upper part of her cheeks.
"Nah. No, girlfriend. I do have three younger sisters," Davenport says as he takes out a photo and shows it to Yui, "See, I got a photo. I told you I'm old school," he adds as he smiles.
Yui looks at the image.
There are four teenagers, one boy, and three girls between the ages of 16 and 18. They are somewhere outside and all four of them are drenched in mud.
"What happened here? Looks like an interesting story," Yui asks, curious.
Davenport remembers...
Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, a lone house stands on a field of mostly green. Its poor condition is all too apparent: rotting wood, worn-out walls, roof missing tiles looking like a chessboard, and empty stables nearby where horses used to be long ago. The forsaken stables are filled with cobwebs and rats.
Inside the house, around a table, four teenagers, two adults, and one dog dine.
The Davenport family partakes in a roasted chicken with some potatoes.
"Jesus Christ Almighty! You overcooked the chicken again!" the older man yells. He takes four sips of beer to help him swallow the dry paltry.
"Can you do something apart from complaining?" the older woman remarks as she lights up a cigarette out of frustration, "Oh, sorry. You can also drink you lazy drunk complaining bastard," she adds, shaking her head.
"Well, how else am I supposed to eat your food if I don't drink? It's drier than the Mojave." he says, mispronouncing the name, "But seriously how hard is it to read the instructions? It says on the box to cook for one hour at 400 Fahrenheit," he adds, mispronouncing Fahrenheit.
"WELL WHY DON'T YOU COOK IT YOURSELF?" she yells.
"BAH!" they both say in unison as they turn from each other.
The man continues chugging his beer and the woman continues puffing her cigarette; both like they're in a hurry.
The three girls from youngest to oldest are Amelia, Mary, and Lyla.
And with them their brother Ash.
"Hey, Mary, how much time?" Amelia asks.
Mary looks at her smartphone's stopwatch timer.
"Two minutes and fifty-one seconds," Mary says.
"Damn! Almost three minutes," Amelia whispers.
"I won. You owe me a dollar," Mary says.
Lyla also takes out a dollar and passes it to Ash.
"I can't believe you won again," she adds.
Their mother notices Ash taking the money.
She abruptly smacks him over the head.
"You kids are still betting on us fighting?" she yells as she puts out her cigarette on a dinner plate.
"You always taught me to take an opportunity to earn easy money," young Ash jokes. His mother smacks him one more time. The dog barks.
Two of his sisters giggle while the eldest Lyla shakes her head.
"CAN YOU ALL KEEP IT DOWN!" the father yells.
The dog continues to bark despite the angry man. He turns and gives the dog an evil eye. The dog stops as it lies down with both paws over its head.
Ash looks long and hard around the house as if trying to absorb as much as possible. Trying to take in everything. The small urn said to contain the ashes of their dead grand grandparent but the last time Ash checked inside he saw nothing except ancient candies; almost broke a tooth trying one. Two dream catchers dangling near each other produced interesting theories of ghosts and demons that haunted a good portion of his childhood dreams. A cigarette burn on the carpet where he got his first kiss.... and a cigarette burn. A small hidden compartment in the wall where he kept his stash of weed. Although legal not everyone condones smoking the "devil's grass". And many more. Some good, some bad but all his. He is going to miss it. But most of all he is going to miss his family. No matter how flawed they are.
"I signed up for the military today." Ash says as everyone at the table turns to him, "I'll be leaving tomorrow," he adds, slightly sad but with a smile on his face.
No one says anything. From their wide-open jaws and eyes, it is not far-fetched to assume that they did not expect this.
His father shrugs as he goes to the fridge and takes another can of beer.
"Classic dad," Ash says, smiling.
"Why and when did you decide this? Shouldn't you think long and hard about such life-changing decisions? And what about school?" his mother asks, hiding behind the cigarette and a shaking hand.
Mary and Amelia turn to him; Lyla doesn't.
"Well, I've been thinking about it for the entire last year. So... yeah. To be honest, school isn't exactly my strong suit," Ash says.
"That is stating it mildly," Lyla adds.
"I don't know about this," his mother says as she takes a big drag, almost smoking half the cigarette in one go.
"Ah, let the boy do what he wants. I started working when I was 15 and I turned out okay," his father adds from the comfort of the sofa.
Everyone at the table glances at him.
"Look, mom, we're not the most well-off bunch. And Amelia wants to go to that fancy artist's school. I figured off when I leave there is one less mouth to feed and I can also help my baby sister by sending money and stuff," Ash says.
Amelia jumps off her chair and rushes to hug him, "I don't want you to leave," she says.
"Good. One less mouth to feed," his father yells, putting on a strong front.
"Actually it is two less mouths. I'll also be leaving. I got a job in the city," Lyla says.
Their mother holds a burnt cigarette; the ember reaches her fingers.
"Ouch!" she blurts out, quickly extinguishing it on the dinner plate.
She wants to say something but no words come out.
"Well, I guess you both made up your mind," she says opening an empty cigarette box, "FUCK!" she yells, abruptly storming out.
"Dad?" Lyla turns to their father.
He stands, goes to them, and looks both of them in the eye for at least a good three seconds.
"Good luck," he says as he goes outside.
Lyla and Ash turn to each other with a surprised look.
"He never talked so much," Lyla says.
"Well, if you ignore fighting with mom and yelling," Ash adds.
The four siblings nod in agreement.
***
Mary and Amelia are hanging out inside a small room with two beds and a one a desk. Amelia is drawing a picture of a dragon with a graphite pencil; Mary is lying on the bed browsing through her smartphone and listening to loud country music. Very loud.
Bit by bit Amelia sighs but her sighs drown in the country.
She stops drawing.
"Why must it be so loud and why must it be so country?" Amelia comments, less than pleased.
"Well, we are country folk," Mary adds as she laughs out loud.
"Zeno, pause music." Amelia says as the device on the desk stops playing music, "Zeno, play Flight of the Valkyries," she says.
The device on the table changes the song.
"Oh, yeah this is great," Mary comments, shaking her head.
"You prefer... Did you grow up on a tractor? Did your daddy let you drive?" Amelia mocks the lyrics.
"You don't understand, Amelia! It's cos’ I never rode on a tractor," Mary says with over-the-top acting.
Someone knocks on the door. Ash comes inside.
"Hey, Mary, Amelia. Get in your swimsuits and meet me outside at 1600," Ash says as he looks on his smartphone to double-check the time, "Yeah. At 1600! That's military talk by the way," he adds.
"Where are we going?" Mary asks.
Ash makes a shush sign with his index finger indicating it is a secret; he peeks at Amelia's dragon picture.
"That is a hell-a cool dragon. Can I have that?" Ash asks.
"Maybe when it's finished," Amelia says. Ash goes outside.
Amelia and Mary look at each other as they shrug.
Outside, Ash and Lyla are waiting for them; both have a full backpack.
"What is happening?" Amelia asks, unsure.
"We're going camping," Lyla says.
Mary and Amelia look less than interested.
"Camping!" Lyla repeats this time adding a bit of over-the-top flair.
Still no reaction.
Ash coughs twice as he pulls out a bottle of vodka.
They turn to each other and smile.
"Camping!" Lyla adds again.
They head toward the woods.
"You know you are promoting underage drinking," Amelia says.
"It's fine. You're 16 and a half. It's only like a year and a half before it's legal for you to drink," Ash adds as he shrugs.
"You know I heard that the drinking limit in the USA used to be 21," Mary says.
The others turn to her, doubting her statement.
"That can't be correct. How could you vote and drive at 18 but not drink?" Lyla comments. The three of them laugh; Mary scratches her head.
She is sure she remembered hearing that?
Did she hear wrong, she wonders?
Somewhere beyond the small forest lies a clearing with a lake. The crystal water reflects the rays of sunlight in a sea of thousand sparkling stars.
Around the lake is a field of vibrant green grass. The hidden little piece of heaven is well bedraggled; parts of the grass are overgrown and the wooden bridge on the water is worn and torn.
"We're here," Ash says.
"Won't mom and dad be worried?" Mary asks, the others glance at her with an are-you-serious expression, "Nevermind," she adds.
"Last one in is a rotten egg," Ash yells as he strips down to his swimming shorts, runs, and jumps into the lake; his sisters follow. All taking great care to NOT USE the bridge.
"ROTTEN EGG!" Mary yells as she jumps in last.
Ash playfully submerges Amelia for a good five seconds.
"You bastard!" Amelia says as she resurfaces.
He turns to Mary.
"No, no, no! Don't think about it," Mary says, backpedaling.
Ash approaches. He stops close to her with a puzzled look.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" Ash asks, confused.
Mary turns around.
Her father isn't there.
Oh no, Mary thinks.
In the next moment, she finds herself under the water.
"I can't believe he got you with that one," Amelia adds.
"I do feel a bit ashamed," Mary says.
Ash looks left and right, searching for Lyla.
"Where did Lyla go?" Ash asks as he takes another look.
Lyla appears behind him.
"Get him, girls!" Lyla says as she jumps on his shoulders, pushing him down. Ash struggles to keep afloat.
Mary and Ameilia jump in to help.
Ash goes under. Revenge!
After the little swim session, they go outside the lake, set up towels, take out a box of cookies, four plastic cups, and open the bottle of vodka.
As the vodka opens they hear a fizzing sound.
The sisters turn to Ash. He continues making the fizzing sound with his mouth.
They shake their heads; he shrugs.
With four plastic cups filled the sibling's toast.
Time slowly goes by as do the cups. Then, cup by cup until an empty glass bottle falls to the ground. Lyla double checks just to see if there is anything inside. There isn't.
"Damn, we are out!" Lyla slurs her words, "THE HUMANITY!" she yells.
Ash abruptly stands, proud and a little wobbly.
"Behold your god and savior," Ash says as he takes his backpack.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Amelia and Mary, the most sober of the lot, giggle at their drunk siblings. In Ash's and Lyla's defense, they did drink the vast majority of the vodka.
After a thorough rummaging, he stops.
"On the first day, God said let there be light and there was light. On the second day, he said let there be vodka and THERE WAS VODKA," Ash says as he pulls out another bottle.
Three empty cups appear next to his face.
The day ends as night comes.
A small campfire keeps their bodies warm and their inebriated faces well-lit. Next to them is an open bag of marshmallows yet only Mary attempts to roast them. She manages a bit too well. Two black marshmallows dangle ON the fire.
"You know, I'm going to miss you guys," Mary says as she points at Ash and Lyla; her fingers slowly drift upwards until they hit her just above the eyebrows.
She looks left and right trying to find the source of the "thing" that poked her.
Must have been the wind, Mary thinks.
"Amelia is so calm, man," Ash says noticing his completely stationary and non-blinking sister.
The others turn to her; watching like tourists in Louvre.
There is something in this moment of calm.
Amelia hiccups. There is nothing in this moment of calm.
"Where are we?" Amelia asks as if woken up after a long nap.
"At the lake in the forest?" Lyla says, pouring herself another cup.
She misses the cup.
"Why are we here again?" Amelia asks, still a bit dazed.
"We are having a farewell party," Mary asks.
"You going somewhere, Mary?" Amelia wonders as she turns and thinks for a moment, "That is good. I get the room all to myself," she adds, nodding in approval.
"No, you Picaso wannabe. Ash and Lyla are leaving," Mary sets the record straight as she points to them; her fingers drift again and unintentionally hit her above the eyebrows.
Stupid wind, Mary says with her quiet voice.
"Where are you golbing?" Mary asks as she pauses.
Golbing, she thinks? That's not a word!
"Gloin? Gamling? Glamdring?"
"The word you are looking for is GLOWING!" Mary corrects her as she falls on her back under the sheer pressure of casually sitting down.
"That's right! Where are you glowing?" Amelia asks, happy she finally found the correct word.
"I'm going to the city with Tom. We both got a job there," Lyla says.
"And I'm joining the army. Hooah!" Ash says.
Amelia looks at them for a moment.
She remembers they had this conversation back at the house.
They are leaving!
A tear drops on the towel below her.
She tries to stop crying but in an instant tears cover her eyes.
"Come on, Amelia, don't cry otherwise..." Lyla says as she stops mid-sentence with teary eyes.
Lyla and Amelia hug each other as they let out a good cry.
Ash smiles as he rubs his eyes.
Mary hiccups in the background.
The night turns late and the Davenports get ready to head back.
Ash looks at the lake one more time.
Why not, he thinks as he rushes to the lake and jumps?
Lyla, Mary, and Amelia follow after the same why-not shrug.
The three very wet siblings make their way back home with nothing but a single flashlight illuminating their path. Up above, the moon helps as much as it can. The road home isn't long or complex but the vodka inside their system does little to aid this usually trivial journey.
"FUCK!" Ash says as he trips.
Lyla stumbles over him.
"FUCK!" Lyla yells.
"Ash? Lyla?" Mary yells, trying to find them.
She bumps into Amelia; both girls scream.
Making a step back with feet still slippery from the water they both fall.
"FUCK!" Mary and Amelia yell in unison.
***
Someone knocks on the door.
The father gets up from his couch and opens the door.
"Are the kids finally back?" the mother asks.
"Nope. It's the swamp people," the father says.
"What? Did you say swamp people?" the mother asks as she comes to the door.
In front of them are their children completely drenched in mud.
The mother and father burst out laughing, holding their stomachs and weeping, as their children drip on the welcoming mat.
They manage to calm down after about a good minute.
"I'll get the hose," the father says.
"WAIT!" the mother yells as she rushes back into the house.
She quickly returns with a smartphone.
"Say, swamp people," the mother says as she gets ready to snap a picture.
The Davenport siblings look at each other.
"Swamp people!" they say in unison.
Davenport puts back the photo in his pocket.
"That's a nice story, Davenport," Big George adds as he rubs his eyes.
"Getting emotional, George?" Rayne asks.
"Yeah, Captain. Would give anything to see my girl again," Big George says.
"You'll see her, George. You'll see her," Rayne says as he grips his rifle.
He lost Olivia and Akira but there are still people here who depend on him.
"How's your family doing? You keep in touch?" Yui asks.
"Yeah, here and there. Mom and dad are retired living in the house. Lyla works as an assistant at a law firm, and Mary is a manager in a sports store," Davenport explains.
"What about Amelia?" Yui asks.
"She died a couple of years ago in a car accident. She did manage to get into design and all that arty stuff," Davenport says as he touches the dragon tattoo on his face.
"I'm sorry," Yui says, softly.
She didn't mean to bring up painful memories.
"See this?" Davenport points at his tattoo, "Amelia drew that when she was only 15. She was really talented. I feel like I'm always with her cos' of it. It's kinda stupid," he awkwardly chuckles.
The elevator stops.
Big George helps Davenport stand and gives him a shoulder to lean on.
The door opens.
"I almost forgot. I didn't return the sword to you," Yui says as she takes out the wakizashi.
"Nah, you keep it. If Akira saw how you messed up that bogey he would definitely want you to have it. It was badass," Davenport says.
"We can get that drink when we get out," Yui says as she smiles, slightly awkward.
"I'd like..." Davenport stops mid-sentence as something interrupts him; hollow laughter echoing around them.
Amidst the dark laugh, they hear bones cracking.
Crack! Snap! Break!
The Shadow appears next to them with two glowing blue eyes.
It goes to grab Big George but Davenport quickly pushes him to the side.
The Shadow misses Big George but it doesn't miss Davenport.
It holds him up high by his throat.
"ASH!" Rayne yells as he raises his rifle.
The Shadow obstructs his line of sight by quickly moving Davenport like a rag doll.
Big George stands and picks up the A-100 Typhon.
They can't shoot without hitting Davenport.
The Shadow laughs again.
"You know?" Davenport manages to speak as the creature holds him in a tight grip, choking him to death, "How is it you don't have a mouth but your breath stinks?" he adds as he laughs.
The Shadow looks at the laughing human who is taunting him.
He breaks his neck with a single snap.
Davenport falls to the ground.
His lifeless eyes still watch somewhere beyond.
And yet even in death, there is a faint smile on his face.
Rayne and Big George watch helplessly as they lose another comrade. And like before right before their very eyes.
The same creature which took Akira's life now took Davenports.
And it stands there, laughing at them. Mocking them with the same annoying echoing snicker like being mocked by an entire room full of people.
They are not angry, afraid, or even sad. There is nothing inside except a feeling of an overpowering crushing heat; squeezing and burning.
More and more.
And the culprit is the creature before them.
They need to release the pressure.
They need it to go away.
They need to kill the Shadow.
Rayne fires a single bullet at the Shadow's head. The creature dodges leaving a trail of afterimages. Rayne advances. He knew this would happen. This isn't the first time he faced the creature. To defeat your enemy you must know your enemy. And he knows his enemy.
Rayne shoots two more bullets, one to the left and another to the right; making sure to keep enough space between the shots in the middle.
The Shadow barely moves as the shoots were widespread.
If the creature could think surely it would wonder how did the human miss it? The distance is small and the foe is a trained soldier. Is he not?
The Shadow stops for a moment, slightly confused.
Then, as it turns its attention back to its foe it finds Rayne standing at point blank range.
Rayne shoots the creature in the face with the A-10 gauge shell blast;
pushing it back.
The Shadow raises back its head as its eyes glow and it laughs.
"GEORGE!" Rayne yells, slightly to the left and behind the creature.
The creature looks at the new foe in front of it only a small distance away.
Big George raises the A-100 Typhon.
He squeezes the trigger.
The onslaught of the rapid-fire pushes back the Shadow, one step at a time; Rayne follows the creature as he adds to the bullet storm by firing precise shots to the head.
Despite being pushed and riddled with holes the Shadow continues to laugh all the way until hitting the wall and falling down.
Big George and Rayne come over it and unload everything on it.
Then, they hear clanking.
They're out of ammo!
"George, can you do the thing?" Rayne asks, almost confident this isn't nearly enough firepower to take down the monster before them.
Yui looks at the dead man before her.
She moves her trembling hand forth but something stops her.
Why did it stop, Yui wonders?
She tries again but the same thing happens.
The hand will not move closer.
Why, Yui questions the sudden change, unsure?
Then, she remembers. It is fear. But didn't she manage to overcome her issues? So, why then is it happening again.
One more attempt. Another failure.
She is sure this time.
Behind her sounds of gunpowder explosion echo loudly yet another noise in her head overwhelms it. A piercing buzzing.
Then, abruptly all the noise stops.
"George, can you do the thing?" she barely hears someone say.
Yui turns to the two soldiers standing over the reaper.
Its eyes glow brightly, almost blindingly.
It laughs.
The piercing buzzing noise in Yui's head stops; she draws the wakizashi.
Big George and Rayne slowly retreat as the Shadow rises.
"George, we need ammo!" Rayne urges.
Big George looks at his hands. He tries to focus but the echoing laughter disrupts him. Dust particles gravitate to his hands, almost forming an A-10 magazine; then, they dissipate.
"George?" Rayne says, hurrying him up.
The Shadow looms over them.
It is ready to strike.
Suddenly, a wakizashi appears from nowhere as it cuts it once, twice, thrice; the Shadow grabs the blade, a couple of inches away from its head.
Yui screams, using her power to push the blade.
Big George closes his eyes.
He tries to remember the feeling he had when he previously managed to wisp away objects.
Someone whispers to him. He can't make out the voice or the words.
"It's okay, dad," the voice says as he feels a small hand on his shoulder.
The Shadow grabs the wakizashi with both hands ,and shatter the blade from the handle.
Yui grabs her head and screams.
She falls to her knees, trembling.
The Shadow approaches her.
"HEY!" Rayne yells as he reloads both the 5.56x45mm NATO and 12-gauge magazines.
He rushes at the monster shooting one bullet at its head.
The Shadow evades again leaving a trail of afterimages.
Rayne appears at point blank range from it.
"Predictable," Rayne says as he blasts it in the head with a 12-gauge shell.
The Shadow falls back a step.
Rayne shoots two bursts at its left leg; two bursts at its right leg.
It tries to raise its arms but one burst hits its left shoulder and the other its right shoulder; another shotgun shell in the torso makes it fall back, hitting the door behind its back.
Rayne puts the rifle on its head and fires a gauge shot.
Then another. And another. The mag ejects from the riffle.
It falls next to the empty shells on the ground.
The wounded Shadow looks at him with glowing blue eyes.
"I'm not done yet," Rayne says as he places the rifle on its neck and squeezes the trigger unleashing the remaining twenty-one bullets.
The eyes stop glowing.
But only for a moment. The glow reappears.
"Can you fucking die already!" Rayne says.
The Shadow grabs his leg and with a single squeeze breaks the bones.
Two pieces of the bone stick out of his bloody leg.
Rayne screams and falls to the ground.
Big George, holding the A-100 Typhoon, appears near him typing something on the door keypad; the door opens.
It's hard for Rayne to notice due to the pain but George is bleeding from his ears and head.
The Shadow rises.
Big George turns to the monster as he unleashes all the bullets into it; pushing it into the room.
He turns and types something on the keypad.
The door begins to close.
"Captain, look after Marlene," Big George says as he drops the machinegun and salutes his Captain.
"WAIT, GEORGE!" Rayne yells, trying to follow his comrade but the broken leg slows him down.
"Thanks, Kendrick, for the code," Big George smirks, "And sorry Marlene I won't be able to see you again," he adds, sitting down on the floor and closing his eyes.
Dust particles appear inside the room coloring it in glowing sapphire.
Then, the particles flood the room with frag grenades; all of them without pins.
Big George lights up his Cuban and takes a big drag; he exhales the smoke with an ear-to-ear smile.
The Shadow goes for him! But before it can reach him the frag grenades explode.
The loud explosion echoes throughout the research station making it quake for a moment.
"George," Rayne softly says, looking at the damaged door in front of him.
His entire team is dead. He said he would protect them. What a joke, Rayne laughs at his own incompetence.
The door opens as smoke comes pouring out.
"Is he dead?" Yui says as she approaches.
She can't see inside but the answer is more than obvious.
"Miss Yui, you're alive?" Rayne blurts out happily surprised.
"Kinda," Yui adds.
"You're bleeding!" Rayne says noticing the cuts and bruises that adorn her small frame.
"It's just a flesh wound," Yui jests, Rayne looks confused, "It's a joke from a movie," she adds.
Rayne doesn't get the joke.
Yui notices the broken leg; she cringes away from the unpleasing sight.
"Can you walk?" Yui asks, trying not to stare.
Rayne tries to stand but doesn't manage.
"Wait," Yui says as she looks around.
Somewhere nearby amid the desolate station, she finds a small pipe that has broken off the installations.
She gives him the pipe; Yui tries to help Rayne stand but can't force herself to make physical contact.
"It's okay," Rayne says, noticing the uncomfortable, shaking girl.
"Where to now?" Yui asks.
Good question, Rayne thinks. Is it over or not?
Rayne laughs as much as he can considering the pain from the broken leg.
"Let's just go outside. I could use some fresh air," Rayne says.
They take a step forth as something stops them- unusual laughter. Sounds like someone laughing inside a tunnel?
From the smoke, a Shadow crawls out.
The lower half of its body is missing, its torso riddled with shrapnel’s, a small part of its head missing, and only one eye glowing.
"Run, Yui, I'll hold it off," Rayne yells but before he realizes Yui is not next to him.
She walks toward the Shadow.
Yui raises her hands as an invisible force raises the creature and slams it on the left wall, then on the right wall. She turns toward the broken wakizashi; it flies toward the monster as it thrusts inside its neck.
The blade moves horizontally trying to decapitate it but the Shadow grabs the blade with one arm as it pushes itself toward Yui with the other.
The blade burrows to half of its throat. Yui is almost there!
Then, the creature grabs her leg.
Feeling the touch of something she loses control of her power.
"YUI!" Rayne screams-
She turns to him and smiles. Then blood obfuscates the smile.
Yui falls dead.
The creature laughs again as it sets its one glowing eye toward Rayne.
Rayne tries to limp away but he falls.
He turns back toward the wall; the broken bones prevent him from crawling any other way.
Rayne crawls back as the Shadow follows, closing distance.
He bumps into something.
It's Davenport's body!
The Shadow grabs his healthy leg; moving in for the kill.
Rayne smashes the blade of the wakizashi with the pipe; burrowing it deeper into its neck.
The Shadow releases his leg as it focuses on the blade. It tries to protect itself.
"Why..." Rayne smashes it with the pipe again.
"... won't..." and again.
"...you..." and again.
"...just..." and again.
"...DIE!" and one last time.
The Shadow grabs the pipe away from Rayne and throws it somewhere far.
Rayne remembers something.
He quickly turns to Davenport, as the creature is on his back, and takes the flashbang. Rayne pulls its pin and jams the grenade into its neck.
The flashbang explodes covering the world in white.
Its one glowing eye stops glowing.
A piercing noise screams inside Rayne's head.
As it subsides absolute silence follows.
He screams but he cannot hear himself. There is no sound.
He opens his eyes but he cannot see. There is no vision.
Broken and tired he laughs a voiceless laugh.
Finally, I can rest, Rayne thinks to himself as he takes a deep sigh.
I'm sorry, everyone, I failed you but I tried. I really did try.
Rayne covers his eyes with his arms as he laughs.
Somewhere in the white abyss, the Child appears.
"You've done well. When we come for your kind you shall make a fine addition to us," the Child speaks.
"I can hear you?" Rayne blurts out as he stops surprised for a moment. He can hear himself? He is standing without a single wound, and talking to the creature before him.
"I'm talking inside your head," the Child explains, "I will reconstruct your body as a reward for helping us kill our foe," it says, raising its arm toward Rayne.
"Wait!" Rayne yells, the Child stops, slightly confused, "You said you will reconstruct me? Can you reconstruct the others?" he asks.
The Child stops for a moment, surprised at the human's request.
"It would be possible if their essence remained but as soon as they died their essence was devoured by the others. That is their way," the Child explains.
"What if it wasn't?" Rayne asks.
"They always devour. It is their way," the Child says.
"Can you check?" Rayne says.
The Child pauses for a moment at the ridiculous notion.
They always devour it is their way.
"Very well," the Child says as it closes its eyes.
Then, it opens them wide and its mouth.
"Most peculiar. Their essence is still here," the Child says, still unsure how such a thing is possible.
"Can you reconstruct them?" Rayne asks.
"I can but I will need materials," the Child says.
"What materials?" Rayne asks.
"You." the Child points at him, "I can use your materials, your essence but then you will die," it adds.
"How many can you bring back?" Rayne asks.
"All five of them," the Child says.
Rayne bursts out laughing.
The Child observes the unusual being, tilting its head left and right.
"Do it then," Rayne says.
"You would sacrifice your life for others?" the Child asks, unable to perceive such an action.
"No, not for others. I would sacrifice it for my friends," Rayne adds.
The Child ponders this illogical decision for a moment.
Yet no matter how hard it tries the answer eludes it.
And so does the term friends.
It raises its hand as Rayne floats up.
Thousands of rays of white light pierce his body as Rayne screams.
Then, he goes silent and vanishes.
Outside the research station, four helicopters approach.
Big George, Davenport, Akira, Yui, and Olivia step outside.
Olivia takes out the small rectangle-shaped black box and flings it into the lake.