Draconic Testament (7 page)

Saturday. Nothing had changed, he woke up with the same depression that he had retired to his bed with. Exams were Monday, and he wanted to have nothing to do with it while feeling like this. There were areas that he definitely had to shape up in, such as Biology, which he had forgotten mostly, due to Veronica, but that could easily be rectified in the time he had now. But, the whole investigation being over, and feeling as if nothing could replace the rush he felt trying to take down bad guys like some sort of hero had put him in an awkward situation. He got out of bed, and put on his clothes from yesterday, not bothering to try to fix his hair, or wash, or anything. He had to go and see if the killer was still out there, if any more glowing silhouettes appeared, just something for him to focus on. He tiptoes down the stair, since the time was 7AM, and his mother was still sleeping. He went outside, and walked off to the Haven. As he got closer, he began to rush, and clamber through the hole, excitement building up, like a drug addict fixing for his next hit. He got to the platform and closed his eyes. Nothing. He saw nothing, except Veronica, but he didn’t really care about her. He cursed, angrily, and put his face in his palms, and rubbed his face. His mood sank back down to depression, as his excitement siphoned away. He could see the glow of the Haven from here… and on closer inspection, he realized that it wasn’t actually a silhouette. He pondered why this was for a moment, thinking that maybe that it was different between people and between areas, but there he realized that the medallion also had a glow, not a silhouette. Was it because the silhouettes were actually human beings, and not objects? Somehow, he doubted that. He could feel this was different. Veronica felt like she was giving off a warning sign, while this Haven seems to comfort him, and make him feel light. He examined the platform, seeing nothing new that he’s seen over the years. Then he tries with his eyes closed, and focuses deep into the haven. He feels something a little different… something that could be manipulated and pulled, much like what the medallion was doing… and he could reach it, with his mind, not physically. He ended up grasping the presence, and pulling it towards him. He felt it enter his chest, and his body began to feel different, but no other noticeable changes than that. And then nothing. Sebastian got angry, stood up, and cursed, throwing the amulet, though the chain caught of his wrist and it went nowhere. He wished the whole world would burn for tormenting him like this and at that moment, a flame sparked at his fingers, and dived off his hands as he tried to throw the medallion. He jolted, and yelled with fright, and the flame hit the platform. The flames started to rise, and was about the spread, so Bastion scrambled to his feet and stamped it out, leaving a scorch mark in the ground. What just happened? He thought of flame as this sort of odd magical presence entered his body, and ended up shooting a fireball? Before he could ponder any further, he tried to deny it ever happened, and went back home. He began to feel... different, after that. His depression began to fade.
Sunday. Weekend had nearly finished, and he had to revise for the exams started immediately next week. Of course, revising was something he was going to have very little time to do, because of course, this is around the time that Talia knows that she is going to get nowhere in the exams without Bastion’s help, so she’s going to drag him to the Haven to teach her things that he already knows. Of course, there usually was a rather pleasant reward for the deeds that he underwent. He felt better since yesterday, though the felt that the Haven had gotten old with him now… he still didn’t know what to do with himself… he felt like having company, having a shoulder to lean on, and he figured Talia would be a good place to start… so he figured he’d set up a pre-emptive strike on her, and figured he would invite her out to revision before she got the chance to bother him later, once he had his claws in the middle of something. Bastion pulled himself out of bed, yawning and cleaning sleep out of his eyes, as he stumbles into his en suite bathroom, going about his daily routines of brushing his extremely sharp teeth that he was so insecure of, taking a shower, drying his hair, adding gel etc. Once he was done, he searched his messy room for his phone, eventually finding it in his jogging bottoms within the laundry basket, and dialled Talia’s number. At this time in the morning, Talia would have her phone on vibrate, and it would vibrate on the bedside table in her equally messy room. She ignores it, but the way she knows it’s Bastion is that as soon as the answer machine comes on, he turns it off and calls again right away. This time, he had to do it three times in a row, before Talia would groan, frustrated, and pull herself over to the bedside table to grab the phone and fumble with the call button. “Herro, Bastion...” Talia yawned, rolling on her back. “Spit it.”
”Well, I figured I’d surprise you and ask you if you want to come studying with me today.” Bastion laughed, as he hears Talia groan again at the reminder of exams. “It’s 8am… Don’t ever talk to me about school, especially exams, at 8am…” She sighs.
”Honestly, Talia, if you don’t make an exception and get your lazy ass up for this one session, you’ll only call back later… besides, we’ll have a lot of time to push up your grades to beyond even a C.” Bastion says.
”I don’t need to pass… I have you, don’t I?” Talia growls “I’ll just go on welfare, and eat all your food.”
”Don’t be a little scally.” Bastion huffs “Get your ass up or I’ll come get you up. Call me back in half an hour when you’ve gotten changed, and eaten.”
”Bastion, I can’t be bothered…” Talia moans.
”I’ll carry you there as you are now if you don’t get up!” Bastion prods, determined to win this.
”Alright, alright… give me an hour though, I’ll be there.” She sighs.
”Loooove you!” Bastion coos, then hangs up the phone. He puts it in his pocket, then heads out the door onto his rickety, creaky stairs, and heads down to get some breakfast before pursuing the rest of the day with Talia, trying to keep his mind off the incident yesterday.
Hours passed by with Bastion and Talia as they sat in front of each other, and Bastion flicked through textbooks explaining topics of the subjects in question, and asking her questions as if she were a child in a classroom. It wasn’t anything new, ever since they had been together they had done this for exams that actually mattered. Bastion tried to steer away from Biology, since he had to touch up on that himself, and he didn’t want Talia to get the impression that he was distracted by Veronica, which was the truth, but not in the way Talia would think. “So, Attrition is the friction rubbing away the rocks, like small pebbles rubbing against the surface chipping parts of it off. What’s Corrosion?”
”Bastion, we-“ Talia began.
”What’s Corrosion?” He repeated, demandingly.
”Chemicals in the water melting the rock and stuff.” Talia sighs, bored.
”No, no, eroding.” Bastion corrects her. “Eroding is the right word for it, remember that.”
”We’ve been doing this for ages” Talia sighs again “Can we not… call it a day? It’s 4pm.” Bastions looks at his watch, taken aback. “Ah… so it is, I…” Bastion says, realizing how long he’s spent here.
”Is something the matter?” Talia asks, crawling across the textbooks sprawled across the platform, sitting in Bastion’s lap. “Just… I don’t know.” Bastion says, truthfully. “Depression, fatigue.” Talia raises an eyebrow.
”Perhaps you should loosen up, and if that doesn’t work, see a doctor.” Talia giggles
”Loosen up how?” Bastion purrs, suggestively. Talia giggles and hits him
”I’ll show you.” She giggles, getting up from his lap “Close your eyes.” Bastion momentarily forgot what happens when he closes his eyes, and decides to go along with it. The glowing silhouettes appear in the background, number 3 vanishing off the map as usual. He could sense where he was, the Haven. Then, he could also sense the killer. He hadn’t been caught. For some reason, Bastion felt a little… relieved, and a huge weight was lifted from his chest. The killer was still out there, which meant that all his odd fatigue and depression was being lifted. He wondered if it would stay away if it was him who was the one to catch the guy… but then he realized something that stopped his heart dead. Veronica was nearby the killer, and she was being controlled, mind washed, much like number 2 and the woman he had seen in the parking lot. He couldn’t believe this was happening, and that he had missed it. He had been messing around all day, and now this was happening. He cursed, and tracked where they were going. The school… They were going to the school, since the school is practically deserted on the weekend, and if anyone saw him… “Goddamnit!” Bastion hissed, startling Talia, and he stood up.
“Wha- What’s the matter?” Talia asked, bewildered, hiding her body, as she had taken off her top and bra. “I have to go.” Bastion huffed “Sorry.”. He jumps down off the platform and begins to push himself through the gap in the fence. “You can’t be serious!” Talia growls, picking up her clothes. “Really!?” 
The High School. It was completely silent, the only sound to be hear was the wind blowing overhead. Peering through the rusty gates, the school looked as if it was but a picture, a still image in a very real, sinister world. Bastion felt as if he was looking at the post apocalypse, an empty area that used to be full of activities and innocence reduced to a front for dark horrors. Knowing that he had to enter there, when there was all but about 3 people actually around on this day, bothered him… But if he didn’t, someone he knew would die. He didn’t know, nor like Veronica all that well, but she didn’t deserve to just die. To perish at another’s hands like she was cattle. The gates were locked, and both the fence and the gate had barbed wires over it. So, how did they get inside? Bastion examined the perimeter, going about 1/3 around the fences of the gates till he found what looked like a whole in the fence, a large one. It looks as if it had been both cut, and burnt, since the ends of the fence that were cut were scorched. He pushed through the fence, still feeling some sort of sinister heat from the broken chain link fence, ending up in the teacher’s car park, which was behind the main building. He takes out his Medallion, that had been charged in the early hours of Talia’s revision session, and searched for Veronica. The silhouette was large, which means she was close by, in the assembly hall. The killer seemed to be pacing back and forth, while she was bound on her knees. He was making sudden movements that looked like acts of frustration. He could hear very faint shouting from the echoes emitted from the assembly. Where was everybody? Bastion readied himself, taking a deep breath, and puts on the Medallion he took from the killer’s apartment. He looks around for some sort of weapon to use against the killer. In the corner, next to a dirty drain, were a cluster of iron pipes propped up against the wall, and also lying on the floor. Bastion rummages through the selection, looking for the most useful piece in combat, when he comes across a broken pipe. The pipe was sharp at the end of which it was broken. He thought it was incredible that the school just left this here, but he couldn’t be mad at them right now. He runs up to the double doors with small windows into the main building, but find that it’s locked. Bastion curses, but then remembers some old advice from his history teacher about double glazing windows. He gets his iron pipe and attacks the bottom left corner of the window, and it falls apart, weakened. Eventually, he chips away most of the window, reaches his hand in, and unlocks the door, entering the building. Right now he’s in the office hall, where people come in to request meetings with teachers, to sign in late, etc. He goes down his right, going through a couple of double doors, passing the gym, toilets, stairs to biology lessons. Eventually, when he carefully opens the next door, he hears Veronica yelp in pain, and a man growl questions and curse her. He drops to his hands and knees and sneaks towards the Assembly hall door, looking through the stained glass window. He sees the killer walking back and forth, asking Veronica questions, though the questions themselves are distorted through the door, nothing more than words that turn to unintelligible echoes. The killer has a black cloak on, and he’s holding the sword, though it was odd looking. It looked like a Katana, only the sharp edge that should be the blade seemed to be missing, and the hilt was very thick… however, Bastion also notices something that takes him aback a little. His face… it looks red, he can’t tell through the stained glass window, but it looks as if he’s wearing a mask. Something was not right about it, at all. It didn’t look very realistic... It was... moving with his facial expressions too much, like it was skin-tight. This is Bastion’s chance to be a superhero, to save the damsel in distress from the evil super villain, though he didn’t feel very heroic. He could hear his heart beat rapidly, he was so scared and nervous. He had fought in fights before, protecting the honour of his friends, but never against a man who had killed people, and never with a weapon that could kill. This was not going to be a walk in the park… And he’s likely going to be tortured like the rest of the man’s victims if he fails. Bastion sighs quietly, grips his iron pipe tight, and says a quick silent prayer… And as soon as the red faced man turns his back to walk back across the room, he barges through the door.
He barges through the door, keeping his balance unlike the last time, and immediately raises his iron pipe like a javelin. He never meant to kill him, but it was almost like a predator instinct. He saw a chance for a pre-emptive strike, and he took it. He man is startled and spins around, but as he comes face to face with Bastion, Bastion hurls the pipe with all his might, aiming for his chest. If he suffered a pipe to the chest he might be able to be saved by an ambulance. The pipe comes a couple of inches from the killers chest, and time stopped for Bastion as he prepared himself for a sickening sound, with cries of anguish that he was about to cause, when with amazing speed, the killer smashed the pipe into pieces with the sword. Among the deafening shatter of iron, he hears some sort of crackling, fire-like sound… then he realizes what it was. The rod has extended into some sort of sword, a plasma sword at that! It looked more like a cross between a giant glow stick and a Katana, but from the way he destroyed the iron, what else could it be? Bastion looks with even more horror as he realizes something. The man’s face… it’s red. It’s not a mask, it’s just… red. He man looked elegant, in a way, unlike anything Bastion had seen. His skin complexion, and his straight black hair made him look somewhat... beautiful. Not only that, but he had a small, pyramid tattoo on his left cheek. Veronica gasps when she sees Bastion, but the killer decides he’ll rule out Veronica from ever taking part in the fight, and kicks her in her temple, hard and brutal, in a way that would make Bastion’s mother sick to her stomach. He slumps to the floor, knocked out, eyes glazing over, which angers Bastion. “Leave her alone!” Bastion yells, taking a step forward, but the Killer halts his pursuit by pointing his sword towards him, threateningly. “Who are you?” The man asks. His accent was odd, unlike anything he had heard before. It sounded wrong, like he had learned the full version of English, with all the slang and swear words ruled out, like a Native American. “What are you doing here?” He steps over the Veronica and places his foot on her neck. Bastion knows that if he can simply smash a pipe to pieces, then snapping a small girl’s neck with his foot is hardly going to be a challenge. “Answer me, or you will both be for slaughter!” The killer commands, snarling.