Any - and Everything Pt. 01 Ch. 04

Since Mike's eye had exploded, his 'pacifying' ability was fading away. Everyone was starting to gather and panic at the sight of Mike's blood. "Please, I'm the school nurse," pleaded Ms. Robinson, as she passed Mike's left arm around her neck and brought him to his feet. "Let us pass so I can bring him to the infirmary."

As she said that, the bells letting everyone know the lesson, and therefore the day had ended rang through the school. "Please, make your way home and stay safe. Now I really have to take him into my care," she added as she made her way through the crowd of students.

Mike let himself passively get dragged around, even though he was still conscious. "Eleanor, please come with us. We have much to talk about."

"I"m sorry I couldn't help you earlier, Eleanor,' said the nurse in an apologetic tone. "I was leading my own investigation on Mike's ability since you passed by the nurse's office. I'm the one who healed your 'injuries' by the way."

As she said that they just reached the door to the infirmary. Ms. Robinson was still carrying Mike by holding his arm around her neck. Since they left the gymnasium, he hadn't shown any reaction.

When they were inside, the nurse sat Mike in one of the beds and went to one of the medicine cabinets to sort between her supplies.

"Ms. Robinson, how do you know about magic and everything?" asked Eleanor.

"Please, call me Lucy. To answer your question: it's because I'm a mage myself. I'm a druid, to be more precise."

"Druid?"

"That means I master Life Magic." As she said that she prepared a beverage, by meddling with multiple 'medicine'.

"You used the word 'esper'. What does that mean?"

"To use magic, most humans have to train and master the use of mana to do what we call a 'spell'. Those humans are called 'Mages'. Sometimes the mana inside a human has a unique way to create magic on its own, making it easier for the host to use it. The actions performed are then called 'ability' and the wielder is called an 'esper'.

Mike had two abilities. His left eye could send a tiny part of his mana into another mana-wielder's body and prevent them from modeling their mana, and therefore, using magic. His right eye sends a powerful wave of mana around him that 'pacify' any sapient being to let him do as he wishes with them. His first ability interfere with the second, making it impossible for him to use them both on the same person.

As you saw, an esper who tries to use his mana differently without proper training may suffer severe injuries."

She finished her sentence almost at the same time she finished her concoction, then she drank it all. Eleanor looked at her in disbelief. She thought it was for Mike. Lucy noticed her look and explained herself as if reading her thoughts. "It's a potion called 'Catalyst'. It allows me to enhance the use of mana. I'll need it to cure him."

She approached Mike who still hadn't moved from his place and put her hand just on what was left of his eye, while carefully inspecting it. "I won't be able to restore it, but I can stop the blood..." She was interrupted in mid-sentence.

Eleanor was behind her so she could only see what the problem was when Lucy turned around. She had a trickle of blood running from the corner of her mouth and the handle of a pocket knife sticking out of her stomach. Eleanor could see the life vanish from the woman's eyes as the nurse fell to her knees and then to the ground.

Mike then kneeled over the warm corpse to take the knife back. As he turned toward Eleanor, his face was distorted by pure hatred. and a bit of madness. "One way or another, I will take what I want. No matter how many enemies I have to make!"

Eleanor was terrified. She was staring at Ms. Robinson's lifeless corpse when Mike tackled her to the ground. Before she knew it, she was facing upward and her left hand was nailed to the ground by Mike's knife. She screamed as a sharp pain irradiated from her hand.

Mike then grabbed Eleanor's free hand and pinned it above her head. "Now, I will finally have what I craved for all these months."

Eleanor was struggling with all her might. If piercing a knife through her hand wasn't enough, he was now planning to pierce her with his dick. As she moved, she sensed the blade of the knife wiggle against the palm it was passing through. She quickly stopped but continued to scream and tried to use her free hand to repel Mike as he was starting to unbuckle his pants.

As she close her mind to try and evade the dreadful situation she was stuck in, her thoughts wandered toward Riley. She thought one more time how funny it was that someone she barely even talked to became so important in her eyes.

For a moment, she felt disconnected from the violence her body was facing outside of her own mind. Lucy's death, the blade piercing her palm, and even her own screams seemed to come from miles away from her.

This illusion of inner peace shattered when she felt something enter her private parts. As she came back to the real world, she noticed that, without any preliminary, Mike had ripped the mini-shorts that served her as panties and was currently fucking her... No raping her.

The realization brought her a wave of nausea as tears started to flow and her screams intensified. Desperate and in great pain she started to call for the person who swore to protect her. "Riley! Please, save me! I beg of you, please come and save me!"

She repeated those words like a mantra as her vision was blurred with the sight of another place. A dark room where she was standing with a black bald woman. Was it Riley's sight?

She couldn't wonder for long before the pain of Mike's constant and brutal back-and-forth. Her pleas and calls to Riley continued as if it was her only protection in this desperate situation. Her nausea became unbearable as she was clearly restraining herself from vomiting.

Suddenly, the feeling of invasion stopped and her screams were replaced with Mike's. It took her a few seconds to realize that Mike wasn't on top of her anymore but rolling over on the ground.

He was screaming like hell, and his skin was roaming with glowing red string lights. As if flames were flowing through his veins. "It burns! It burns!" Mike screamed without a stop. Eleanor used this time-out to take the knife out of her hand.

Then a human figure she couldn't recognize passed by her and kneeled next to Mike still rolling onto the ground, acting like his body was on fire. As the figure who was a human bent over to whisper something in Mike's heart, Eleanor recognized her. It was Ms. Dimitiadis, their science teacher.

Eleanor couldn't hear what she said to Mike but when she finished he whimperly nodded. She then took a tight stone collar from one of her pockets with what seemed like runic signs on it. This reminded Eleanor of something but she couldn't quite remember what with the pain and exhaustion she was feeling.

Ms. Dimitiadis locked the rune collar around Mike's neck then her hand went on fire as she applied it against Mike's heart. His screams intensified as he was taken in a maelstrom of fire. When the flames died, Mike was unrecognizable. His legs were replaced with a tornado of fire and smoke, and his skin was bright red and roaming with strings of flames. His fair was a shade of orange and yellow and covered with flames too. Mike has become an efreet.

"Why? Why did you give him more power than he already had?" Eleanor pleaded.

"Oh, don't worry, with this collar around his neck, he's just a meaningless little slave." With those words, Ms. Dimitiadis touched a flat stone that she took from another pocket of hers, and Mike reverted to a human form. "Rule number one, slave: only use your efreet magic when directly ordered."

Eleanor recognized who she was. The rune collar, the forced enrollment, she was one of the Efreeti. Shuddering with despair at the thought of what they have already done, she let out another silent prayer. "Riley, where are you? Please, come back"

As if to answer her, a sudden noise rang through the school's hallways.

As soon as the teleportation ended, Riley rushed toward the front door. It was already so long since she pleaded for him to come. He could never forget the despair he felt from her. Hoping he wasn't too late, he kicked through the locked door to force it open and make his way inside the school with Jezebeth at his side.

Wow!

That sure took me a while to write, sorry. With all the projects I have besides this one and the start of a new term in my studies, I have a hard time finding time to write. So, unfortunately, I'm afraid it won't get better for the next few months. I'll do my best to keep you informed on my bio page, though.

As I said, the non-consent theme shouldn't become a habit, although I won't censor it if it has to happen. Be aware, though, that the Horror side (when a character dies or is severely injured) on the other hand, will become more recurring.

As my story tends to be credible, if not realistic, I can't let my characters magically go uninjured. We have to understand that this is a cruel world and that anything can happen at any time. So considers this is fucking Game of Thrones: anyone can die at any moment.

Now that the boring stuff is said let's get to what's interesting,

Next time in Any- and Everything:

It's time to learn what was Riley's side of the story. As a reminder: he has the objective to find the two runes located in the state he's currently in, in order to unlock their entry in his Guidebook.

Where are they located? Why did he need an axe? And who is this Jezebeth who stood by his side when he went to rescue Eleanor?

Stay tuned and find the answers in the next chapter.

Take care and see you around.