Its eyes bulged, its body quaked, and finally the red beast gasped its last. With a blazing red glow, and one last bolt sent from its maw toward the heavens, the creature exploded in a brilliant display. The battle was over, but the ramifications were quickly made clear. The damage to the surrounding area was great, and the body count was hard to determine. It was only then that an all too familiar sound finally began to fill the air: sirens. It was hard to say why the local authorities had waited until now before making their approach. No potential answer to that question would bring any present comfort, but staying to ask wouldn’t help either.
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At that moment, from the ashes of the dead creature, a horrific looking orb appears and floats in place. It jets forward, zigzagging wildly as it races towards its target: Cure Dark. The mass comes within inches of the girl, but then suddenly stops and looks as if it is being pulled away by some unseen force. It jets away from the winged woman and flies off into the night, leaving Alice with a dreadful sort of ecstasy. It was something dark and otherworldly, but her semi-fiend nature would make her long for it. Hopfully she would overcome the “contact highâ€, but how would she deal with such a thing the next time it would appear? Cure Shine would sense the dreaded power and feel the exact opposite from the orb. It would trigger almost all of her fight or flight instincts, and leave her with a sense of doom. Still, it was long gone now though to where was a matter of debate, and concern.
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A motorcycle squealed to a stop at the university entrance as the rider gasped in horror. The damage was far worse than Thomas had expected, and he feared that none of the students may have survived. Racing toward the dorms he was relieved to see several students coming out of hiding, and even more entering the dorms. When the young men and women caught sight of the dean of admissions a few began to smile, while others let out sighs of relief. Thomas was the only member of the faculty that every student knew well, and most treated him with more respect than even Dean Rosencrantz. Oh course, Rosencrantaz was no where to be seen since he lived off campus in a mansion outside of town. That man…Thomas hated that man more than anyone else, but now was not the time for such thoughts. When he arrived at the library entrance, Thomas began the work of rallying the personal still on campus giving each a task. It wasn’t long before some sense of order began to reform from the chaos, and the first police officer had yet to even arrive.
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As Steve made his way toward Ryan, three students who had come out of hiding joined him. Ryan had helped to save them, and they seemed committed to helping him in return. One of the students, a young woman with wavy black hair, spoke to Steve as two male students helped Ryan up gently. â€We will get him to someone who can help, but you need to get out of here. The police aren’t very welcoming of outsiders so they may try to pin this whole thing on you and your friends.†With that the three eased Ryan up, leaving behind his sword without realizing its importance to the injured man. As they sneaked away, the girl turned back with one last comment to Steve in regards to where he could find them. â€The Winter March cemetery…about two miles east of the city. The grounds keeper knows about these things, and said someone would come to fight them someday. I always thought he was crazy…but not anymore. You should meet us there when you can…you can’t miss it….and thank you…â€
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Molly and Gin watch the two riders run off before turning to walk back toward the Black Moor. It had been a long night for them both, yet Molly seemed less stressed and worn than her escort. For a time both were silent, but the red headed girl finally spoke with a kind tone. Her words were meant to bring comfort to the man, though it was hard to say if what she had to say would truly help.
â€The Man in White…he gave you that case didn’t he? Something really bad happened and then he gave you whatever is in there right?â€
Upon his response she could sense his feelings of frustration and dread. She wasn’t sure if her questions were well timed, but if Molly wanted to help than she had to ask. When she spoke next it was with a more somber tone that slowly became more confident. She believed what she was saying, and hoped it would help her new friend cope with his situation. A situation that was far too bizarre to truly be dealt with so simply, but she had to try.
†My grandma used to say that God can take something meant for your harm and turn it into something meant for your good. I’m not sure how you feel about God, especially in your situation, but…whatever is in that case is yours now. Don’t use it because the man in white gave it to you, or because you feel obligated to do so. Use it when you feel like you should, and how you see fit. Who knows…it may take you one step closer to finding your answers.â€
As the two walked they would pass four people walking down the street. Both Molly and Gin would feel uneasy around them as they passed the four. As they did, one of the four would turn back to stare at the two. She was a pretty young woman with long, black hair, a lithe figure, a scar across her cheek and an eye patch covering her left eye. She wore tight jeans, a black tank top, white sneakers, a blue hoodie and wore her hair in a pony tail. She gazed at Molly and Gin with her blue, right eye and smiled before turning away to catch up with her companions. As she did, however, her smile became more wicked as she snapped her fingers.
From the shadows another, less human figure responded to the woman’s gesture and vanished into the shadows. Gin would sense it first as something stalked them from the dark alleyways, waiting to strike out at them. Molly would notice it next and would see the being crawling toward a roof top only to sink back into the next alleyway adjacent to them. As they would break into a run, the creature would make itself known to them. It was human sized, but was mostly black with what looked like stained glass merged with its skin. It had a spider like head, and chased the pair with impressive speed. As it did, a pair of translucent fangs would appear in the air and stab out toward them, barely missing the duo. Whatever this thing was, it seemed intent on catching them, or worse. When it spoke with its distorted voice, a human face appeared in its stain glassed segments almost like a reflection. The face was a young man, grinning widely and laughing hysterically as he spoke.
â€No reason to run little ones! I jst want to play some games with you before eating you up!â€