Hellcyon Days Ch. 02

Wide-eyed and speechless, most of the group could do nothing but gape at the beautifully terrifying or was it terrifyingly beautiful entity standing before them. Only the two lovely college women strode up fearlessly to wrap their arms around the gleaming figure leaking pale pink blood, injured by his tremendous impact with the colossal creature, who moments later, collapsed with a pained groan as the iridescent carapace withdrew into his skin.

Cradling the softly moaning man in their arms, the two gorgeous women kept whispering words of thanks and endearment to their savior. They knew what he had sacrificed in his unveiling of his 'monstrous' self. Shaking his head as if to clear cobwebs, the half-naked man stood up with his arms wrapped around his two lovelies, rivulets of inhuman blood leaking from a network of slowly closing wounds, to meet the varied gazes of the other four unflinchingly.

The Amazonian officer had the most confused expression on her face, earlier she had been slightly disappointed when she had detected the pungent scent of sex from the three college students, though she didn't regret coming to rescue the intriguing youth. When she had seen the incredible skill with which the purple eyed man had wielded his bow, a thrill of desire had run through her, tempered with the bitter knowledge that he was taken. Then when the demon had appeared and tragedy loomed, before subsequently getting its face smashed in by the primal awe-inspiring figure, promptly revealed to be the mysterious young man, an even greater stab of her lust, mitigated by a healthy dose of fear, had filled her loins, along with something more mystifying and thrilling. Now her thoughts in a flux, she tried to consolidate her thoughts about Alex and the Alex-creature.

The dark eyed giant and the small gypsy woman wore an almost unsettling triumphant look, as if their expectations had been fulfilled. Both were far from calm, the tiny woman almost vibrating with energy and the large barbarian of a man smiling widely as he constantly clenched and unclenched his large fists.

The middle-aged cop had the most worrying gaze and feelings; he had a wide-eyed look of fear on his face as he slowly got up off the pavement, which quickly morphed into an alternating love-struck and jealous look as he looked between Emily and Alex. The feelings which Alex could sense from him were an ugly mix which only seemed to become more chaotic as the silence stretched.

Alex stared grimly at the silent group, "We've got to get out of here, I'll explain later but now's not the time or place for the discussion." As if to punctuate his words, the rubble around the distant Alex-made hole shifted and an immense silhouette could be glimpsed in the darkness.

"You guys can't seriously be thinking about bring this...monster back with us?" the harshly gesticulating lieutenant shouted. "He's one of those things!"

The brunette amazon moved quickly to cut him off, "Shut it James! If he wanted to kill us, he could've just let that giant beast continue its rampage and he certainly wouldn't have reverted back from that armored form."

Visibly cowed from the harsh logic, the middle-aged lieutenant refused to back down entirely as he glared darkly at Alex, "Look at him, he's already bewitched those two women, why else would they be hanging out with that monster!"

No one was more surprised than Julia when her hand flashed across the brown haired cop's face, cutting off his furious rant, "Stop this stupidity, James! Now let's get out of here before more trouble finds us!"

His uninjured arm raised to clutch his flushed cheek, James turned to the jeep before getting in, all the while muttering under his breath. Julia exchanged a worried look with John and his wife, before they got into the vehicle. Just before following the cops into the jeep, Alex whispered softly to the girls in his arms, "Be careful around James, his thoughts and emotions are nauseating, not to mention unhealthily fixated on you, Emily." Acknowledging his worries with identical frowns, they slid into the backseat.

With a screech of tires, the large vehicle tore off in the same direction from which they had come, just as glowing scarlet orbs appeared in the depths of the hole.

In the car, Talaitha served as a buffer between Alex's group and the brooding lieutenant in the back seat. Though large, there was still insufficient room for 5 people to squeeze into, so the gorgeous university students perched instead on Alex's lap, each straddling a muscular thigh as they fussed over the now barely perceptible wounds as they dried his bare bloody torso with magically appearing rags. Their seating positions fortunately shielding from view, Alex's inexplicable erection which had arisen shortly after his brief clash with the demonic beast earlier.

Seated in front, Julia tried her best to keep her eyes from straying to the magnificently distracting sight behind her, her earlier curiosity in his physique had once again been roused, and she strained to keep her eyes on their surroundings and off the well-built defined frame of Alex.

Managing to return to John and Talaitha's house without incident, the group surveyed their environs carefully before exiting the massive jeep. Heaving a small sigh of relief as his throbbing staff slowly subsided; Alex grabbed the unwieldy haversacks from the car boot, before shouldering the bags and following John into his house.

Julia was acting as the rear-guard, so as she followed, she noticed why the haversack seemed to perch slightly awkwardly on Alex's back. The glorious wings of his hadn't fully withdrawn like his armor; instead they had shrunk and folded up on his back, preventing the backpack from sitting correctly.

Only when they were behind the relative safety of the heavy steel-reinforced door, did some of the tension flow out from the collected people. Their close brush with death had stressed all of them out more than they had realized, and the warm atmosphere of the Miller house slowly relaxed them.

Leading the group to the lounge, Julia began, "Okay, I think we'd all appreciate it if you could tell us what happened to you, Alex."

Leira and Emily were quick to defend their lover, "He doesn't need to... / What gives you the right..."

But Alex swiftly interjected with a rueful grin, "Don't worry girls, I don't mind telling them. I think some trust is in order." Shrugging off his backpack, he spread but didn't expand his wings, "I assume you're referring to this?" Receiving nods of affirmation, he continued, "I'm not too sure what caused this, all I know is that last night, one of the girls on our floor turned into some wolf monster. I fought and managed to kill it, but not before getting injured and knocked unconscious. When I awoke, I had turned into that weird form you saw earlier. Nothing significant happened after that until we met you guys the next day."

Incredible as his explanation sounded, it was obvious that Alex hadn't revealed the whole truth.

Emily quickly cut in, "What my hero here didn't tell you is that he took on our ex-floor mate with just a knife, and that the monster was actually attacking me when he intervened." She wanted to extol more of her hero's actions, but she wasn't stupid, she realized that Alex hadn't told them about his other more esoteric abilities on purpose, so she avoided any mention of them.

"Wait, so what happened to all the other tenants in the apartment building and what happened to his injuries?" the lieutenant barked out from the corner of the room.

This time Leira answered, "Almost everyone went to the party our university was throwing, we just decided to forego the event. Also Alex heals fast," she finished crisply.

"How do you know Alex didn't kill the rest of your friends! He just admitted that he killed one of your fellow tenants, it's not a stretch to imagine him doing the same for the rest!" the green eyed lieutenant raved, gesturing wildly with his hands, his injured shoulder seemingly forgotten.

"Enough of this! You're not making any sense, James!" the Amazonian cop snapped.

"You shut up! I am your superior officer and you will listen to me!" James shouted back with a slightly deranged look, "Look at him! We can't keep him here! The girls can stay but either he leaves or I do!"

The previously silent hulk finally intervened with a gravelly rumble, "Peace, James. Take a deep breath and we can have a calm discussion, no one needs to go anywhere."

The almost maniacal gleam seemed to melt from the lieutenant's eyes as he broke eye contact with the huge man, "Alright...fine," he muttered, before slouching back in his chair almost petulantly.

"Alright, now we can get back to business," Julia continued, "John, I've been meaning to ask you, why have you and Talaitha been behaving weirdly since yesterday? Don't try and bullshit me, we both know you've been hiding something, and I suspect that it's important."

Exchanging an unreadable glance with his wife, John sighed, "I had hoped that we could delay this talk for when we were secure, but I guess now's as good a time as any. You know that Talaitha used to be one of the Romani right? What we never told you is that she...we were cast out from their ranks."

Julia looked askance at the petite grey-eyed woman, who nodded gravely.

"Tal was banished because the families feared her," the hulking man rumbled, "They were afraid of what she possessed... a unique variation of the evil eye."

"The Clans feared her Sight."

-----

"What do you mean Sight? Doesn't the evil eye cast curses?" Julia asked with a serious expression.

"That's the usual kind... and had Tal simply possessed that, she would still have been feared, but left alone. No... she was banished because she had the gift of foresight," John said with a grimace, he continued before anyone could interrupt, "Throughout the ages, there have always been mentions of seers and soothsayers. Unfortunately, one thing they all have in common is the aura of misfortune that surrounds them. The Clan elders feared her ability and its history; regrettably it's common for people to be frightened of what they don't understand. Anyway, my wife's premonitions are few and far between, but they tend to have significant implications. Julia, she foresaw your meeting with Alex and she could feel... the potential that lurked within him, so she warned me against interfering with your meeting. Her vision wasn't too clear, but it did show that your meeting had the potential for great things to come, and more importantly that our lives were safest close to you."

"Wait, you mean Tal saw all this coming?" Julia questioned almost hesitantly, this was the most she had seen her partner speak in a long time.

"No no," the dark haired seer quickly denied, "All I saw in my vision was that your meeting was inevitable and that Alex had great potential. There was also a feeling of great danger, which could be mitigated by staying close to either of you, hugging the eye of the storm as they say."

"Bah, how can you believe this crap," came the mocking remark from the lieutenant, "That gypsy charlatan must have a screw loose somewhere if she believes that monster is destined for greatness. More likely she dreamt up her 'vision' and you people are fools if you believe her for even for a second."

Surprisingly, the only response from the couple was a slightly pitying frown before the seer replied, "You can choose not to believe, but it has landed us here, still alive and well." Turning to face Julia, she said, "Don't get angry on my part, I've faced far worse from my old clan."

To the side, Alex and his girls stood by silently, astonished at how offensive the lieutenant was revealing himself to be, the revelation about the dark skinned gypsy wasn't all that shocking, and actually helped explain their unnatural calm.

"Wait, John, you said earlier that you were both excommunicated from your clan. But isn't only Tal Romani?" Julia asked questioningly.

John nodded his head slightly before answering, "I'm sure you've heard stories about gypsy abductions, well I was 'adopted' by Tal's family when I was very small. Too young to remember my real parents, anyway, Tal was my only true family there so I followed her when she was cast out from the clan."

"Wait, you mean she's your sister?" the reclining lieutenant interjected with a sneer, shooting upright he laughed maniacally, "No wonder you're fine with the monster, you're a sick fuck too!"

Before anyone could respond, James' laughter abruptly cut off as his eyes bulged sickeningly as he collapsed on the floor. Contorting in agony, the lieutenant's body and limbs strained beyond human limits as he let out animalistic grunts of pain. With a gush of gore, the lieutenant's eyes shot outwards on bloody stalks and slimy entrails with gaping mouths erupted from his abdomen. His skin gained a mottled green slimy consistency and his limbs grew boneless and translucent before delicate spines emerged patchily over the entirety of his body. The pale blue uniform slowly dissolved revealing his now grotesquely deformed body as the James-creature heaved itself ponderously to what passed as its feet and its pale yellow intestines emitted pathetic squeaks from its many mouths.

Everyone had backed away during the hideous transformation and when the disgusting slug-like monster lurched toward Emily, the many barrels pointed in its directions spat out a hail of lead, splattering green ichor everywhere as the bullets punched through its monstrous body.

Even as great splatters of its inhuman form were torn away from it, the James-monster seemed unfazed as it continued its thankfully slow trudge toward the terrified redhead. Noticing the ineffectuality of his arrows, Alex swooped to pick up his wooden staff off his haversack and stepped in front of his red haired lover, who had unknowingly trapped herself in the corner as she backed away.

With a great yell, he swung the stave horizontally in a great arc, which struck where the lieutenant's chest would have been, hurling the slug-beast to the opposing wall with his inhuman strength. The creature slammed into the solid wall, almost splattering apart on impact, before sliding down to the floor, a bone-thin effigy of its previous self, much of its slimy mass littering the lounge.

Alex looked down at the smoking tip of his wooden stave as the Amazonian cop tentatively approached the seemingly dead creature and before he could yell out a warning, its slimy entrails leapt upwards to wrap around the brunette's arm. As she yelped out in surprised pain, Alex threw his wooden stave like a javelin, staking the James-creature's skull to the wall and causing the constricting lengths of intestine to abruptly loosen their stranglehold.

Julia collapsed to her knees, cradling her injured arm to her chest, the many slavering mouths on the monster's bowels had gnawed almost to the bone and her wounds glistened sickeningly with green ooze that made her flesh smoke slightly.

Emily leapt into action, quickly appraising the cop's wounds before yelling out, "We need a bathroom and a first aid kit if you got one!" Alex reacted quickly, scooping the Amazonian cop up bridal style, before following the hurried directions of Emily and Talaitha. He had seen the smoking holes in the floor and furniture caused by the slug-creature's ichor, and he knew that its contact couldn't possibly be healthy.

They raced to the bathroom, where Emily drenched Julia's wounds with soap and water, carefully scrubbing the viscous slime off the wounds with proffered towels, trying not to get any of it on her own hands.

Talaitha rushed into the room and handed over a first-aid kit, then stood by mutely with her husband, staring anxiously while gnawing on a thumb as the nursing-major tended to their friend. By now, the redhead had managed to clear most of the gunk from Julia's wounds, but the brunette cop had fainted, which wasn't a good sign. By itself, the injury caused by the small inhuman maws shouldn't have been that serious, so the fact that the amazon had been knocked unconscious meant it was more than likely the slime had been toxic.

As she finished cleaning the lacerations with the supplies from the first-aid kit, Emily covered the cuts liberally in antiseptic cream before wrapping the cop's arm in bandages. By now, Julia's pallor had become frighteningly pale and she shivered constantly. Emily nodded to Alex, who carried the limp body of Julia carefully back to the lounge, laying her gently on one of the clean futons.

John and his wife paced about frantically, but there was nothing they could do as they looked helplessly on. The once confident figure of the brunette cop looked frightfully small and fragile as she lay on the thin mattress.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" the once seemingly imperturbable John growled out worriedly, "There has to be something! Hospitals are out of the question since they were the first places to go down!"

Emily's features were tensed with anxiety as she racked her brain for some way to help the cop, before she turned to the distressed couple, "I think I may know a way to heal her." She then turned to Alex, "But it involves Alex."

Horrible realization came over his features, "No, you can't be suggesting that? We don't even know if it'll work and... it means... that I'll...have to cheat on you..." he trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Talaitha cut in.

This time it was Leira who spoke, "Alex's changes were ...more than physical. He gained the ability to heal, but it's got clear restrictions. To put it bluntly, he has to be having sex with the subject he's trying to heal."

Unexpectedly, the grey eyed woman didn't seem surprised by the revelation as she nodded, "I knew there was more to your story, well, in normal circumstances, we wouldn't even be having this conversation, but I think we all know this is far more the norm," she heaved a sigh, "Do you have any sexually transmitted diseases or problems?"

"What- You can't be serious!" Alex exclaimed, before he turned to his two grim faced lovers, "Both of you can't possibly be fine with this."

Glancing briefly at her best friend, Emily spoke, "Alex, we've known you for more than three years and you've got to know that there are a large number of women after you. We've known from the beginning that we'd have to share you, so this isn't exactly a tough decision to make. A woman's life is on the line here, she may hate you for this later, but we know you've never been one to shy away from ire."

The whole time, the injured cop's partner had stood by mutely and now he broke his silence, "I hate that we've got no other choice, but if this is her only chance for survival, then I support the plan. Well, it's not like she doesn't like you," he finished almost jokingly.

Alex stood there for a moment in contemplative silence, and his decision was spurred on by the harsh breathing of the injured cop.

"Alright, I'll do it, but I'm not going to do it here. This place stinks of death," he sighed, before gently gathering Julia up in his arms and striding towards the doorway. "Don't follow me," he cast over his shoulder as he headed for the guest bedroom.

Inside, he gently set Julia down upon the four poster bed, before beginning to gently remove her uniform, taking care to avoid her bandaged forearm. He tried to behave as clinically as possible, but his inner furnace was slowly cranking up the heat.

As he forced down his beastly instincts, he was unable to suppress the blood rushing to fill his lower head, which resulted in his rapidly engorging member ripping its way out of his already tattered shorts. Alex suppressed a grimace as he tore off the unsalvageable garment before turning back to the half-naked Julia.