1x1 with Cloudsong

[Leviathan]

A 1x1 for myself and Cloudsong. Please do not post here unless you're one of us.

[Leviathan]

The young man ran through the night, his heart racing and his mind spinning. Hie entire world was crumbling around him, both figuratively and literally. As the built man continued to speed through the back alleys (which were covered in debris and trash) he almost wished he could stop for a moment and wonder what this city, along with the other parts of the world were like before the demon invasion, before everything really did turn to hell...

He had been an infant when the demons had first attacked, and so he had little to no memory of what the world was like before this apocalyptic event happened. He had heard various tales from his parents and came to the assumption that the world had indeed once been beautiful. Maybe slightly corrupted by man's hand, but nothing as vile and horrid as what the demons had done. He was almost glad that he had no memories of this "Old World" as they called it, considering that it might try and drag him in the past too much so, and make him feel less suited for this future. In this new time and era everyone had to be on their bests, if you weren't you died - it was that simple. He never had trouble remembering this, as he always seemed to be put in some kind of high risk task. Trivial tasks were for cop-outs, right? He had always been labeled a dangerous soul due to his gift to always find trouble, sometimes without even trying. Anyone that knew him well, knew that they shouldn't trust him with anything too important, as he would fool it up someway or the other, this he took as an offense, considering that it wasn't his fault that he sometimes bit off more then he could chew, it was just something within his genes. But this time though, this time Archer wasn't sure how he was going to get out of it.

You see the humans had created a sort of Safe Haven underneath the city, it wasn't much but it offered them some protection from the dangers above, but of course sometimes people had to be sent up to check things out, or gather some supplies that were needed. This time it turned to be Archie's chance to go up, which was good he supposed, he needed some time out of that cell that he had been placed in. Yep, you heard right - a cell. He was a Flawed, one of the many humans inflicted by the demonic presence, and who slowly became ghouls to serve the demons with their entire being. He didn't know how he became inflicted with it, and in all honesty he wasn't sure he wanted to know, all he knew was that now he was seen as a ticking-time bomb, and someone that would be nothing less than a wild animal in a matter of a couple of decades. It was a frightening thought, becoming one of those terrible abominations that had once been indeed people. That was why he did whatever he could to make sure that he didn't think of that outcome, that he didn't live in the distant future but instead the here, and now. Some might argue that this was why he was reckless in so many ways. As if testing his luck before he would face an enemy that he would not be able to destroy, no matter how hard he tried. Eventually he was going to end up as a mindless slave of the demons, and he just had to accept that. Of course being Flawed had its advantages as well, because of the growing demonic presence within you, you began to develop powers, not like flying or x-ray vision mind you, but more so things like being able to control and read emotions/thoughts, or being able to warp and land in a place that you so desired. Because of this the Flawed were kept as guards for the regular humans. More like we're kept as guard dogs. Archie would normally think in disgust of the living conditions that he and the other Flawed had to live through. He still had some time before he would start to change, why treat him like dirt now? They aren't very smart Archie, you should have realized that by now. That was true - in part anyways.

Bringing himself back into reality though, Archie was a bit... preoccupied at the moment. He had managed to sense a group of demons closing in onto the haven and when he went to investigate... well... I can't help it if I sneeze loudly! There was nothing that I could do to stop it! Dammit nose, you're going to get me killed! Yes, he'd sneezed just as he was about to examine the demon's camp. He had luckily managed to run off without getting melee attacked by any demon, but the creatures had sent their hellhounds after him, and now he was trying to get away before the canine undead managed to rip him in half. Crap, crap, crap, crap! He thought as he swiftly turned down an alleyway (and by swiftly I clearly mean slam into the side of the alley wall, as he was running too quickly.) He turned to look over his shoulder in which he saw that the dogs were still coming at him; there had to be at least ten of them, all different sizes, the largest being the size of a small tiger or lion. If one of those things had a hold of his neck, or any main sector of his body, he could wish his life bye-bye. And he didn't want to die, not yet!

As he escaped the alleyway and ran out into one of the main roads that ran through the city, a strange compulsion ran through him, chilling his veins and making goosebumps emerge from his skin, his neck twitched and rolled in response to the strange feeling that had overcome him, and he came to a stop. He heard the hellhounds behind him come to a stop as well, and he heard their growls crawling into his ear, each sound they made was like a hammer against his skull. It hurt, everything hurt, sound, smell, touch, everything was hurting him. He shut his eyes in a desperate plea to end whatever had consumed him before it got him killed, and he rubbed his eyes, feeling the burning pain being pushed out of them and into his head. What had happened to him? What was going on?

Suddenly a new feeling washed over him like a typhoon, his eyes widened, as he quickly turned to face his enemies, and he charged at them. He had no knowledge at the time, no thoughts, nothing, just the impulse to kill, yes, kill everything that hurt him. He needed to destroy them all! He lunged forward as one of the hellhounds leaped at him, he found himself thrusting his hands towards the dog, and within seconds a bright blue flame engulfed it, and another one of the hounds which had been in proximity to the blast. He was confused, a bit startled, but he needed to keep alert and focus on the enemy. The canines seemed a bit withdrawn now, and backed off slightly. One of them however still felt the need to charge forward. For this one a strange urge passed through him, and he suddenly had control of the dog's movements, and thoughts. It was incredible, terrifying, but still very intense. Instinctively he ordered the mutt to turn against its fellow hellhounds, to which the dog actually did. The others seemed a bit confused now, as their former comrade attacked them, slaughtering one of them with a swift move of its talon-like claws, and then both falling to the ground lifeless. Archie supposed the dogs had some sense now, as they tucked their tails within their legs, and started to run off back into the alleyway. He wouldn't allow that though. And with a upward motion of his hand another blue fire appeared, burning all the hellhounds into their gruesome deaths. As soon as he became aware that the dogs were all defeated, the strange feeling left him, and he fell to the ground on his knees, his vision blurring. Something wasn't right.... Wh-what... had.. happened.. t-to.. him?

That was his last thoughts before he passed out.

[cloudsong]

The sound of footsteps haunted Nerea as she crept behind a pile of overflowing dumpsters in an alley of the deserted city. In all of the years of solitude that she had endured her whole life, it always still felt like a novelty when she actually came across someone. The city, although teeming with the few terrified citizens that were still alive, seemed hauntingly silent at all times of the day. Of course, she knew why - everyone knew about the demons that were slowly seeping up from their hellhole in the depths of the earth. She had seen a few in her time, but had never actually been a part of the resistance that took place in the safe house under the city. It was only until recently, that she had very suddenly found herself so alone on this path, for her lifelong companion had been murdered only a year before by a group of hellhounds. He had been a boy of her age: Jack, a man with a fiery personality that matched his orange hair. The two had met up all those years ago, and had pledged a lifelong alliance for the remainder of their lives here in this prison. Although it had been a morbid pact, the two had spent nearly ten years together, and had formed a close bond in that time. Nerea still felt a gaping hole in her chest whenever she thought about the man, for he had been her only anchor to sanity. He had accepted her - curse and all, and she had loved him for that.

Nerea had been cursed on that fateful day (nearly seventeen years prior) that her parents had been murdered by the demons. Although she had only been five, Nerea remembered it clearly to unnecessary detail. It had been a sunny day - a day dictated by God, as her father had always commented about heavenly scenes such as that. Her family had been one of the few that had successfully ignored the turmoil that was taking place so close outside of their open doors. They had ignored the coming of the demons, and Nerea only realized now that her family's death was only something that was to be expected. They hadn't been careful enough - hadn't taken enough precautions to keep their location hidden to the outsiders.

The demon that had taken her father's life had spoken with blue flames. Nerea remembered how she had not cried as she watched her parents fall, and then her brother Toby. She had been too shocked to shed tears - too confused to cry. The demon had mistaken her silence for arrogance, and had cursed her to feel the wrath of the demons for the remainder of her days. It was a curse that would cause Nerea to spastically go into attacks of intense pain - agony that seemed to be the bending will from the creature who had murdered her family. A reminder of the demon - a reminder that she would never be free.

It was impossible to control the attacks, and for many years Nerea could not at all. They would simply come, at the most unexpected times, sometimes when she was in front of others, or when she was curled up by herself in one of the hiding places she would find around the city. She spent seven years like that, in utter solitude. It wasn't until she had met the young red-head boy, who was in a position similar to the one she was in, that Nerea finally found someone to talk to. It helped her, being with him. Jack helped her to discover the triggers for her curse - emotional reminders, usually - and had helped her to control them. Almost. Even now, after years of practice, she would still slip up almost daily, and the pain would shoot through her veins like adrenalin, and she would find herself in a heap on the floor, trembling and utterly lost of control.

It was for that reason that she had never joined the resistance. To be a part of their forces, Nerea knew that she needed to be able to wield a weapon; they all did. But with her curse, Nerea knew that she would only be a disability to them. She had never wanted to put anyone in danger because of herself. Having a weapon in her hands would put herself and those around her, in constant peril. If an attack surged through her, it would be deadly. And like she knew, it was not something she could utterly control. And never would she be able to.

She heard the hellhound's wails clearly from her spot behind the dumpsters, and stayed utterly silent as they passed. If she had learned nothing from the many years of living in this earth, Nerea knew how to hide. She could freeze her body up to almost an alarmingly slow rate, and could disguise her breathing effortlessly. Only when her attacks would take place, was she in danger of being seen from her hiding places.

As the man ran by, closely followed in pursuit by the huge creatures, Nerea inched forward, watching as he slammed rather unceremoniously into the wall in front. He seemed completely terrified, and yet she marveled at his speed. It seemed as though he was going to outrun them.

Until he suddenly turned around, slowly revolving on the spot to face the confused hellhounds. She watched, rather bemused, as the man suddenly changed course entirely, and charged at the beasts, experiencing a thrill of fear upon seeing the look in his eyes. There was something strange about this man that she had not noticed before - something about his eyes. He seemed almost... possessed as he seemingly effortlessly took down the hellhounds.

She found herself nearly slip into another attack as the blue flames suddenly erupted from his palms, and it took all of her strength to control it. Images of her parents' death flashed before her own eyes, and she knew in that moment that this man wasn't - couldn't be human. He was a demon.

And it was in that moment, that she had decided to kill him. It was a foreign feeling for Nerea, to want to take someone's life, as she was usually a pacifistic person. She had never before had the instincts to kill someone without knowing them, but she was so emotionally impacted by the sight of the magic, that she felt almost as if this man had personally offended her. Almost as if he were responsible for the curse that chained her down in this world. She crept forward as he whipped around, the look on his face suggesting prey drive. It was clear to her that he was definitely not human - that he was an abomination. Silently she narrowed her dark eyes, inching forward. She had no idea how she was going to go about this take-down, as it was very clear that with his strengths, she stood no chance. But perhaps it was the fact that she had stopped caring long ago about whether or not she would live or die. It no longer mattered to her, and if she was going to take down a demon in her falling, then it would be worth it.

But as he suddenly dropped to his knees, Nerea stopped dead in her tracks. He had a look on his face that seemed utterly confused, and she herself was stumped. How could a person go from that state, to this human one, in a blink of an eye? It wasn't before long that the man fell onto his back, clearly unconscious, that Nerea crept out of her hiding place, approaching him silently.

She observed his chest rising and falling, not seeming aware of the fact that if he were to wake, her furrowed brows would be the first thing in his view. Upon closer observation, Nerea realized that he actually was rather handsome, and did not seem at all like the demon that had once been attacking the hellhounds. She was puzzled by this, and for a moment seemed to debate whether or not she should suffocate him. It would be easy to kill this man now, as he was clearly unconscious and very vulnerable.

[Leviathan]

Archie's mind flashed with strange images, some he could pick out as being a war scene, with the humans versus the demons. The demons violently dominated the lesser race quickly, and millions of lives were lost as the brutal monsters started to slowly take over (and conquer) the earth. Everything had gone into the ashes now, and everything that was done, every thought that was thought, somehow related back to the terror that the demons had caused, and the brutal siege that had fallen upon the earth. These visions were memories from some of the demons, he knew that demons could joint thought processing, and that if they wanted to they could tap into another demon's mind and emotions. He figured that this had something to do with him being Flawed, however whether he was being tapped into by another demon, or if he was doing the tapping, was not known. All he knew was that the sights were horrible, and the blood and fire soaked into the depths of his mind, scarring him, and forever making his mind a cage to these memories. He would almost like to think that it was the fear and the sadness that caused him to snap out of these thoughts, and to be dragged back into reality. His mind softly being dragged out from out of the demon's memories, and into the cold harsh sense of reality. But... there was something strange going on near to him.. Or more or less it felt like there was someone close to him.

As he opened one eye quickly he saw the figure of a girl looking down at him, her eyes seemed to be viewing him as if he was some kind of alien creature, and she was wondering what she was going to do with him. Did she see me fight? Did she see me use my powers? She's not part of the rebellion, or at least I've never seen her before. What if she's someone that kills all the Flawed that she meets. What if she's trying to figure out how to kill me right now? His mind was paranoid, from the fact that he had just finished a fight, and that he had seen terrible images in his mind. He was unstable right now, and his mind was barely his own. His sanity was slowly dripping away, and he felt as if he couldn't tell this apart from some kind of crazed daze. So Archie did what he felt would be best in this situation. To attack. Pushing himself up with lightning speed he launched himself at her, taking her down swiftly, and pinning her between himself and the ground. He placed both of his hands on her arms, to help trap her down in case she tried to squirm her way from under him. He locked one of his knees against her lower abdomen and though he wasn't pushing down hard in that area, it let her know that he wouldn't be afraid to jab her if she tried to escape from him. If she was smart she would just go along and do whatever it was that he asked of her. Then, if everything worked out (and his mind had become at least semi-stable at this point) he would let her go. She didn't seem like any kind of demon, but in times like this humans could be just as much as an enemy as those abominations from hell.

Glaring down at her, his eyes wild and feral he shouted; "who are you? What are you doing here? Are you with the resistance?" His tone was that of a demand, and that he would likely hurt her if she didn't answer him. Archie was so stressed out that he wasn't above hurting a girl, he wasn't above hurting anyone if they posed a possible threat to him. Had anyone seen him behave like this however, he would likely be in a lot of trouble. Women were the most important people to most of humanity's staggering population. Without them, there was no way that there could be any army to fight against the demons with. Ninety percent of the population of people on earth were all male, considering that the demons took most of the females to help them breed up their own army of powerful hybrids. He'd heard of those creatures, and knew that they were a very powerful force to be messed with, no wonder that the demons took the females. But now any and all females that the resistance knew of were guarded like royalty, and usually have many warriors to watch and protect them. Some would call this sexist, but Archie would rather be in their situation, than being treated like a rabid prisoner. With that thought in mind it occurred to him that this female was alone, and that she had no guardsmen to watch her. That meant that she couldn't be part of the resistance, and that she had to have been traveling on her own. "You're not one of us," he spoke with a growl. "And you're not Flawed." Flawed, like demons, could tell where each other were, and could tell if a person had the infliction in their blood. This woman did not, however she did have some kind of demon's touch, but still she was quite definitely human. "What are you?" He bunched up his eyebrows in concentration trying to figure out what exactly had been done with her.

[cloudsong]

From where she stood, in her hesitant position looking down over the unconscious man, Nerea could see clearly that he was not in a gentle slumber. His eyes, although closed, twitched tirelessly, as if he were having a nightmare somewhere down in his dreamworld. For a moment Nerea wondered if the more human thing to do would be to wake him. But that thought was quickly revisited when she realized bitterly that this man was not human. He most certainly was a demon in disguise, and she had thought to kill him. As she knelt down however, her hands extended towards his neck, there was an instant when she actually felt capable of doing it - of enclosing her fingers around his neck, and suffocating him. He never would even wake to see the daylight again. Or she could plug his nose and mouth, and hold him down until he choked. She could dump over the huge dumpster over him, crushing his body by its force. Hell, she could think of a thousand ways to do it.

But for some reason, Nerea did not. As she looked down into his face, taking in his features, there was something there that almost seemed familiar. There was an expression on his face that made her realize that she could not take his life. Almost as if she knew him from another existence. Jack. Although ridiculous, Nerea couldn't help but be reminded of the man who had been her life for so long. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that this was not the same person - that this man had to be a demon - but at that moment she was too blinded by emotion that she could not listen to the more rational side.

He came to life with a gasp of breath, and Nerea felt herself instantly on-edge once more. As he blinked twice, their eyes interlocked, a foreboding feeling shivered through her, and instantly she felt herself needing to run. This creature now was awake, and as she had seen before, there would be no chance that she would win a battle against him. He was just too strong. She had lost her chance.

Of course, she only got one step backwards before he had risen at the speed of light, and had tackled her almost effortlessly. Humiliated and honestly quite terrified, Nerea struggled against his grasp, trying desperately to get away. And then the questions began, and he had dug his knees into her lower abdomen, and Nerea knew that there was no way out. She felt her terror multiply as he demanded to know if she was part of the resistance, and something inside of her snapped. "Get off of me," she snarled, her voice shaking with an emotion that was hard to make out - was it fear, or pain? - and she seemed to be fighting off something from within. Her body shook uncontrollably as she attempted to control the rising pain that was beginning to pulse through her veins, and she bit down hard on her tongue in a desperate effort to control the curse, trying her hardest to breathe in deeply. Blood was slowly beginning to trickle down her throat from the place she had bit her teeth down into the sides of her mouth. It caused her to choke slightly, but the racking coughs brought back her control, and after a moment she seemed once again in control. The fire that had momentarily been clouded by pain returned to her eyes.

"Flawed? What the hell are you even... I'm human, you goddamn imbecile..." Her words, unlike her glare, were weak at best. She still continued to control from the after-effects of her episode, and was making an obvious effort to ignore that fact.

[Leviathan]

The girl seemed to have some spirit in her, as she attempted to try and get Archie to release her from the hold that he held her in. Of course he had strength on his side, and even though she put up a nice fight, he was able to keep her pinned down. The taint in his blood made him considerably stronger than most humans, and it made him quicker to react, and think. Even though it was a death sentence, at least he got a couple of good things out of it. Even with the other "true" humans using him and all the other Flawed as nothing more than servants, having to do whatever their masters willed of them. It was a bitter reality that Archie hated, the fact that he was seen as nothing more then a tool to be used, and discarded when it became a bit of a danger. They make me sick, I'm not even sure why I went to them anymore. I would have been safer - in the long run, had I just stayed out by myself. Or at least if I had of left when they discovered I was Flawed. Though that was a nice thought, he would have never been able to escape once he had been announced as a Flawed. He had only been fourteen at the time, but he knew that people would have no regrets shooting the young boy version of himself down if he was caught. The Flawed were viewed just as demons were, only with a bit more leave with the fact that they could think of their own for awhile. The random outburst of demonic powers he had just displayed earlier had been strange, he knew that it happened to some of the older Flawed, but he couldn't remember anyone around his age having any breaks of random power. That was why he had been so unprepared when it had happened, not that anything he would have known would have helped him when the powers ran through his veins. It had been a feeling that words couldn't even touch on, and it was something that he both wanted to experience at very moment of his life, but at the same time never again.

When she said that she was a human Archie was furious. Of course he had known that! But what else was she? There was something altered in her blood, something that made her differ from all the humans that he had ever met, something that made her seem like she had been touched by the hand of evil. That would make sense, if she was Flawed, but she wasn't. She told the truth when she announced herself a human, and he knew that. But that just made the young man even more angry, angry enough to lift one of his hands off of her arm, and it smack her with his backhand across her face. "I know that you fool!" He spat, his temper was quite high right now, and anything that she said would probably be used against her. "But you're off... There is something... strange about you. You have been corrupted by a demon. How? I don't know, you're not Flawed which is the only inference demons and humans have." Archie paused for a moment, his eyes still showing that he was desperately trying to figure out what was going on with this girl. One thing that he knew was that she was pretty, had seen been part of the resistance a lot of the other men would probably be fighting over who got to hook up her, as most of the males did do when a new female came to the camp. The Flawed never had anything to do with the females, which Archie didn't mind, he had more troubling matters than who's going to get started on making the next generation. In fact if you asked him, humanity was putting their effort in the wrong place, the demons were too powerful, and it would take too long to regain a large portion of humanity's numbers again. Long enough for the demons to wipe out all the struggling survivors. They needed to advance, they needed to come up with ways to take the demons down, and slaughter them all, that was the only thing humanity could do if they wanted a fighting chance.

"I suggest that you tell me what the demons have done with you before I loose my patience." He jabbed his knee hard into her gut, as his eyes began to fill with a deep and dark rage. He was not in the mood for this human to get all technical with him, he just wanted to know whether or not she would be a threat to the resistance, if she was he'd have to kill her, if not he would likely just let her get on her way and leave it at that. She'd better answer me straight this time, otherwise I'll have to get her a bit of a rough time. Not that Archer was the type to worry about hurting someone, it was becoming in his nature to become more and more numb to others and their emotions. This was a good thing, especially in a time like this, where you had to do what you could, no matter the cost, to make sure that you were safe and alive. Though being Flawed had it's awful endings, he couldn't help but wonder if that's what kept him alive for this long, when everyone else he knew died around him. Maybe that was an awful way to look at his luck, however it made more sense than he just managed to be lucky for so long. Maybe being Flawed did have its advantages. "So?" He snarled, as he looked at her. "I suggest you choose your words wisely, I'm not someone who'll take lightly to any jokes."

[cloudsong]

Nerea couldn't keep the shock from registering on her features as he brought his hand down and struck her face. What kind of a monster was this, to be hitting a person simply for telling him to let up? His harsh touch seemed to stop her body almost instantly from its spastic trembles, and after a moment Nerea was still once more. The look on her face was one that suggested utter fury, and she found herself clenching her hands into fists underneath his grasp. She felt almost drained of strength after having resisted the curse, and also utterly humiliated that she could be held down so easily. This man didn't even seem to be putting any effort in as he held her down. Obviously she was not any match for him at all.

As he warned her not to try and make a joke, Nerea was half-tempted to make one just to spite him, even if she naturally never would make a light comment to a person like him. Let him kill her then, and perhaps finally she could die with some dignity. Perhaps she would finally be able to get away from this hellhole. For a moment she wanted to tell him this, but she was silenced once more when he violently dug his knee further into her body, and her eyes met his cold, unforgiving ones. She didn't allow herself to flinch - didn't allow herself to move a muscle. Instead, she just glared at him, biding her time as she tried to think of something to say that would bring him down.

"Like I would tell you my life story," she hissed suddenly, not seeming to be threatened in the slightest by his words. It was a matter of pride for her, and for that reason she refused to tell him that she was cursed. She refused to let him have that satisfaction of knowing what was wrong with her. The fact in itself that there was something disturbed within her was enough to make her refuse to respond. "You're the one who seemed to be touched by evil back there, and I don't see you giving me explanations of what you are. You're the freak here, not m-" Her heated words were cut off by the sudden flash of pain that ran through her body like electricity pulsing through a charred cable. She squeezed her eyes shut, and her body stiffened up as she fought it once again.

It took her a few moments to regain control of her muscles, but when she did, Nerea felt herself beginning to tremble once more. Never before had she had such bad attacks - it had been years since she had been so easily controlled by the curse's bending will. It was almost as if this man brought out the worst in her. Perhaps it was because of the close proximity of magic that he contained, or perhaps it was just that she was incredibly emotional at that moment after having been reminded of Jack. Either way, it was impossible for her to deal with the fact that this men held her down, and she didn't lower her glare even once.

[Leviathan]

Archie had to give the girl respect for the fact that she was acting cool under the pressure that he was no doubt putting on her. She seemed to be strong-willed enough not to give into what he was saying, which even though it showed that she had guts, wasn't the best reaction that he was hoping for. I'm going to enjoy beating your face in, you're a threat to me, and to the others, you gonna be. That means that I'm going to have to destroy you until you give me the information that I need. He let a small grin crawl across his face as he thought the slightly sadistic thoughts that rolled around in his head. He wasn't usually a bad person, but the fact that he was still getting over the events that had just unfolded, well.. he didn't feel quite like himself. It's better this way, this way I don't have to worry about anyone other than myself. He let out a small chuckle as he shook his head, "tut-tut. That wasn't what I was wanting to hear. Now you're going to have to pay until you tell me what you are, and why you're here." He wasn't going to add how she was close to the resistance camp, on the off chance that she was just wandering through, and happened to get too close. That would be a foolish mistake on his part, and he would no doubt regret it later. He was just about to go in for the first punch of many when something seemed to shock his mind. Some sort of feeling that made him feel like he was on a radar, and that there was something closing in on his location. He was clever enough to figure out what was going on. "...Demons." He thoughts out loud, his posture instantly tensing up with a newfound fear that rammed him weak. He had just finished fighting (and killing) the hellhounds, and now there was going to be more of them? A good guard would stay and fight, but there were too many of them getting closer, and closer. He would be slaughtered without mercy if they found him. They had no qualms killing a Flawed.

Quickly he pushed himself up and off of the girl, standing up with great haste as he felt the demons distant presence. Something started to pound in his head, and suddenly a vision of the demon's marching down the path towards him and the girl was seen. There was a large hoard of them and they were chanting something in the demonic language over, and over again. Because of the infliction he could pick out one of the words that they were saying, which was: "kill, kill". However the others remained unknown to him. Though given the circumstances it wasn't like he was dying to find out what they were saying. He would have to run away quickly before they got here. Maybe he could make his way back to the resistance's camp, and hide out there, and explain what had happened. He would be in trouble for not fighting and dying like was expected if a Flawed was put into this situation, but he would not care. It wasn't like being possibly tortured, or beaten was new to him. And in the greater scope of things he would rather get a beating than be slaughtered anyways. If I run now I'll be able to get back to the camp in time. The area will be swarmed for the next couple of days though, and we'll not be able to come back up to ground level. Hopefully the demons will leave in the span of a few days, and we'll go back to searching for things up here. He wasn't going to even think of the possibility that the demons would get too close to the camp and be able to sense the Flawed. He prayed that, that wasn't going to happen, or he would no doubt he killed (by the humans if not by the demons) for bringing the monsters to the camp and exposing one of the last havens that the humans had.

About to run off he had one last thought; the girl. She's going to be shredded if she stays here, and even if she manages to escape now, the demons will no doubt spread themselves over this territory, and she'll be located. There will be no way that she'll be able to even have a fighting chance if they figure out that she's a human, and may pose a threat. Part of him wanted to just run off and not let the girl near to the camp, but the human in him knew that not doing so would be one of the most cruel things that anyone could ever do. He had enough humanity in his heart to be able to put aside the differences, and to lead her to where the resistance was being kept. Turning to look at her, he blinked once, his face falling in a darkened narrowed state. "I suggest that you follow me if you want to get out of this alive. There is a resistance underground camp nearby, which will get us away from the demons if we hurry." It was up to her whether or not she followed, and if she didn't, well that was her call. Spinning around on his heel he started to run away from the direction that the demons were coming in, and to the direction that the camp was located. The images of the demons chanting, following were still chilling in the back of his mind. Everything that had happened in the last few minutes had happened so quickly that he had not been able to fully understand it yet.

What was he becoming?

[cloudsong]

As a slow, malevolent grin spread across his features, Nerea felt herself inwardly repulsed. It seemed as though the prospect of beating her up was one that he looked forward to - almost as if he were happy that she had not complied, as it would give him the reason to do so. She pressed her body further down against the cold pavement, wanting to make the distance between them as far as she could, even though she knew that the proximity would not change. Her face was taut with carefully composed anger as he continued to speak, saying with a smirk that she would have to pay for her disrespect. For some reason, she felt no fear from his vicious warning, nor did she feel at all tempted to apologize. Instead, she just continued to glare at him, watching with interest as his anger suddenly turned to uncertainty.

Demons? The single word he uttered caused her to instantly pale, and she momentarily forgot her anger. She knew the creatures of course, and what they were capable of. She also knew that she stood no chance against them, and apparently this boy thought the same. As he quickly released her from his grasp, standing up, Nerea slowly pushed herself up on her hands, in an awkward sitting position as blood rushed to her head from rising. She listened as he told her of the resistance's camp that was nearby, a look of uncertainty painted on her features. Of course she didn't want to believe him - he had pinned her to the ground and had threatened to kill her without pretense. But then, she also knew that he had nothing to gain by telling her that he would take her to safety. As he had made clear earlier, he would enjoy hurting her.

Nerea watched as he took off down the street without another word, and she seemed to hesitate, looking first in the direction that he had said the demons were coming from, then towards his running form. It seemed for a moment that she wasn't going to follow, but then silently she rose to her feet, and ran after the man, ignoring the jabs of pain that greeted her from her feet soundlessly hitting the pavement.

Of course, she couldn't keep up with him very well. She was weakened from the attack, and he was much faster. A look of determination was clear on Nerea's face however, as she followed. Determined to stay alive against the odds, as she had her entire life. Indeed it was an accident that she had made it so far as a woman, without being killed or captured by either side. But now, maybe there was a chance. Maybe this was her chance.

[Leviathan]

Soon Archie managed to hear the sounds of the girl's footsteps behind him, he glanced over his shoulder for a quick moment to see her running after him, however it seemed like she didn't have the speed that he did. Plus he had just attacked her, which had probably left her flustered. She better no fall too far behind unless she wants to be demon kibble. He thought, his eyes narrowed as he continued to run. The demons were getting much closer now, and he could hear their shrieks in the distance. That made him wince slightly, he didn't like the demons, and in truth they terrified him. The thought that he would someday be a husk of their own use made him feel sick in the stomach. But he had no time to think about that, he needed to get out of here, and get to the safety that the resistance camp offered. It was that much further now, and he hoped that he'd be able to make it there before the demons found his trail and started to follow it. Don't even worry about it Arch, you're going to make it. No problem, there's nothing that's stopping you from getting to the camp safely.

After about another minute of running he saw the distant mound of debris that shrouded around a small trapdoor that they had built, that lead to their underground world. Without hesitating for even a moment he ran up to the door which lay on the ground, however it was hidden by debris, and would not be seen if someone had not known it was there. Quickly he flicked up the hatch that remained on the door, and he pulled up on the dirty handle, exposing a set of stairs that spiraled down. He actually found it hard to understand why the demons had yet to find this place, however he was not going to argue, if they were too stunned to understand how a door worked, then that was fine by him. We're lucky I suppose.. Yeah, luck is about the only thing that we've had since all this has started. He thought, a bit of sarcasm mangled around his thought. He was probably the furthest person from being lucky that had ever existed in the world. "Make sure you shut the door when you get in, the demons may be too stun to realize the closed door, but they might see that something's up if it's wide open." He didn't turn around, however he addressed the girl with a rough, orderly voice.

Walking in and down the steps, he could make out the slight haze of the torches that were kept deeper down the stairs, as he made his descent he soon saw the torches which lined the walls of the stairs, sending out the scatter ember or two, which at some points almost even hit him. Finally when he got to the bottom of the steps he walked out into the large camp which was being used by humans. There was about eighty humans here, plus fifteen or so Flawed like him. They all had tents set up to sleep in, and they used firepits as their only source of heat and light. Over on the far right of the large room there were large cells which had been made to keep the Flawed in. He hated the thought of going back into one, but knew that he had to do so.

But first, I've got to report this.