Entanglement
Page 17
“How often do you people share bodies and souls?” Mathieu questioned stepping between Mikale and Sergei sharply. His disapproval of Sergei’s entrance sharpened his face and his words. “Who is sharing your body and borrowing your energy?”
“Vevila,” Sergei said flatly as he turned to Haley and cracked a partial smile. It was an awkward, half-hearted attempt at being polite. “What is going on? Why is Stewart in…?” Sergei/Vevila questioned.
“Mikale, his name is Mikale, and how do you know that Stewart is…,” Haley jumped in taking a hard stance next to Mathieu blocking access to Mikale.
“We’ve not much time. Something evil is here, and it will find us sooner rather than later.” Sergei’s voice fluctuated between sounding masculine with a fading Russian accent and distinctly feminine with sarcastic flare. “Stewart cried out, and I felt his…”
“His energy,” Mathieu interrupted, “I was worried how many others may have felt that.” Rounding the bed to the far side leaving Haley between Sergei and Mikale, Mathieu rested his hand on Mikale’s. Locking eyes with Sergei, he opened his posture and openly showed his concern. “Stewart is keeping this… keeping Mikale alive.” Turning his gaze to Mikale for a moment, he slid his hand up his arm. “The surgery went well, but he still struggles. I think there is more damage to the soul than to the body.” Shivers ran the length of his body and culminated at his quivering bottom lip. A hidden pain that Mathieu had, up ‘til then kept hidden well beneath his strong façade, began to show through. “Stewart has much he needs to do in order for…”
“How do you know Stewart?” Haley jumped in impatiently. She was not as forthcoming as Mathieu and anger mixed with fear distorted her face. Pushing her hair back over her ear and moving closer to the bed she surveyed Sergei. “Who or what is here?”
“I believe it’s Devin.”
The name struck Mathieu. He knew the name and knew the reputation that followed it. Rumor had been that Devin was no longer a threat but that Jacob had taken up the sadistic games in his stead. “But I thought Devin was gone.” His own memories of Paris and losing his love flooded his senses. A single tear tried to race its way down his cheek. He wiped it away before anyone else could see it.
“Absent for a moment, never forgot; wearing someone else’s flesh, dead I am not.” Devin’s voice assaulted their ears. Shattering the wood door as he burst forth into the room, he laughed. “Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.” Flashing his shark-tooth grin and rubbing his nipples in a mock gesture of arousal, he spit blood on the floor. “Clearly still in flesh I am, though in a different body with a different man.” Resembling Brennan in stature and physical traits, excluding his filed-down bright-white teeth, Devin raised his arms outward. Posing as a model, triumphantly flamboyant, he ran his tongue along his jagged smile.
Vevila’s fear swelled up in Sergei tensing his muscles till they burned. Haley leapt back stumbling onto the bed as she lost her balance, and Mathieu stood motionless. The room was silent. All the noise from the hallway had faded, and the machines in the room had gone quiet as well. Mikale, still motionless on the bed, appeared lifeless.
Sergei, we can’t let him take Stewart.
I don’t know what we can do to stop him.
“Ohhh, Vevila. I see you found a soul to leech off of. I didn’t take you for strong enough to…”
“What?” Sergei spoke up but it was Vevila using his body. “To not be absorbed by the earth’s energy? Yeah, I managed to keep myself intact enough, you sick fuck.”
“Such words.” Devin puckered his lips. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?” Devin shimmered in close to Sergei so quickly everyone flinched in surprise. “I’m sorry. You don’t have a mother do you; she died when you were young.” Licking Sergei’s cheek, Devin’s tongue left a saliva-blood trail in its wake. “Come now, let’s all play nice. I’ll make you a deal.” His words felt like rancid mud dripping down upon their eardrums. “Each of you can live if you promise not to interfere.” Snapping his fingers, the room pulsed with a red light and disappeared. Screams from the hallway just outside their door faintly rose above the soundwaves that pulsed out beyond Devin’s snap. Moving them outside in less time than they could blink, Devin laughed hysterically. “Don’t bother to resist, you know you cannot win. Just accept your fates are sealed, so the real fun can begin.” As rapidly as he had phased them all outside, he was gone.
“Shit!” Haley looked up to the hospital. “He’s going to kill Mikale.”
“I’m afraid it’s much worse than that.” Mathieu sprinting for the doors shouted. “He means to torture him first.”
##
Queasy from the jump, Devin hunched over momentarily. The whole room felt as though it closed in upon him. Each breath felt labored and insufficient. Goddamn physical bodies. The fire alarm screaming in his ears and the sprinkler system that randomly began spewing water at his return further shortened his patience. Spitting blood from his already darkened lips, Devin caught his breath and forced himself upright.
“Tell me, Mikale, is being human always this fucking hard?” Laughing in jest, Devin stepped closer to Mikale and laid his right hand upon the patient’s leg. “I think we should find a more private place to play.” Running his fingers the length of Mikale’s leg to his groin, Devin giggled. “We can’t have as much fun here with all these eyes.” Tapping Mikale’s privates just beneath the stale-white hospital blanket, he leaned in closer to his victim’s face. “Plus, I want to take my time enjoying you.” Cracking his neck to one side and grimacing, Devin scolded the air with his eyes. “I need a much quieter place to disembowel you.” Straining his sightline towards the ceiling further than a human neck would normally allow, he continued, “Can’t a devil get a little peace and quiet?” Losing his patience, Devin puffed his chest, spread his arms outward and screamed, “GODDAMN SILENCE!” As though the whole hospital bowed to his request, the room went quiet. Nothing could be heard. The screaming, the machines, the hustle of security and firefighters all went inaudible as suddenly as hitting the mute button on a remote. “Thank You.” Devin bowed in a gesture of gratitude. “Let us take our leave.” Moving to snap his fingers again he paused staring at his digits. Mesmerized he rolled them over one another watching his dampened fingerprints softly send signals to his brain, Brennan’s brain. Unwelcomed knowledge pricked his mind.
The two jumps, one of them carrying three corporeal beings, had proven to be more draining than he had anticipated. Devin’s assumed unlimited access to power had proven itself useless against the realities that Brennan’s body was not a well spring of ethereal juice. For fuck’s sake. Understanding he had drained his host’s body of too much energy, he realized he could not transport him and a guest from the hospital. Devin dropped his arms to his side. Being far weaker than he thought possible, his face contorted with anger. Having just wasted his reserves on silencing the room and barring the door closed, Devin knew he was left with only two options: make his exit sans Mikale, or stay there and exact his bloody wrath much more quickly than his sadistic mind wanted.
“Well… FUCK!”
##
“WAIT!” Stewart forced Mikale’s body to bolt upright from the uncomfortable bed that stiffened his host’s back. It’s Vevila. He tried to continue, but the energy within him weakened forcing him to fall limp back into the thin, plastic-wrapped mattress before the words could be made a reality. Goddamnit! Heat flushed Mikale’s body. Stewart knew he was too weak to hold his friend present and exert his will upon aching muscles as well. He was trapped. Mikale? Whispering to his host’s soul, Stewart reached out for his friend’s life-force. I really need you to come back to me now. Fear gripped Stewart. He was aware how much pain Mikale suffered. The physical discomfort would surely leave its mark, but it was nothing compared to the damage his soul had endured. Please. Begging the emptiness within Mikale’s shell, Stewart wept. As energy, there were no physical tears to cry, but Stewart’s own life-force undulated under
the overwhelming emotions that swirled within him. It carried with it everything he could remember crying to be like. Trying to open Mikale’s eyes, Stewart pressed his will upon every cell within his host’s body. I know the silence calls to you; it calls to me, too. But you cannot answer that call just yet Mikale. There are people here that need you. Pausing to attempt movement again, Stewart felt his power drain so rapidly he was certain he would drift off into nothingness. There are people here that love you. Rebalancing himself within Mikale, he conceded there was no way he could affect his friend’s physical body any longer. I love you. A myriad of different feelings and emotions flooded Stewart at his words. A ripple of energy distinctly his own, but not of himself, rushed over his entire being. Though he never openly admitted it, Stewart had wrestled with the idea that he could love again, truly love another being. Losing Kyna had shredded his hope that love of any kind could ever really be possible again. Many times before this moment, he had recognized that he felt love for Mikale and for Brennan but accepting those feelings and allowing them access to the core of his soul had always remained a distance he hardly felt the desire to cross. I know that you hurt, that love feels foreign and unattainable, but I promise you this world is better with you in it, and the gifts you bring will not go unrewarded. Another ripple of energy flooded Stewart, but it was far stronger and deeper than the first. He could feel its origin was from within himself and Mikale both. They were becoming fully intermeshed again. He was no longer a stranger in a strange land, but a welcomed visitor invited into a sacred temple. There seemed to be a third entity present as well, but Stewart didn’t have the reserves to ponder it beyond acknowledging its lack of probability. If it presented itself, again, they could deal with it at that time.
Unseen by the occupants of the room tears streamed down Mikale’s face. Stewart could not see the commotion in the room, but he knew evil had arrived. Mikale, I fear something truly foul is upon us. We have to leave. Though his energy was waxing and what he felt was hope inspired, Stewart knew they had precious little time to save themselves.
I cannot move. Mikale’s voice broke Stewart’s heart. Soft, tortured, but retaining some courage, it resonated within him. I just can’t. It’s too much.
Then we will weather together whatever is to be rained down upon us.
No, Stewart, you should leave. Mikale could feel the evil presence very near them. Its touch on his leg was vile and sparked a red pulsing light in his body. The image of it burned in his mind. I cannot be sure, but he is not here for you.
Exactly Mikale. He isn’t here for me. Stewart, understanding fully what was about to transpire, concealed his own horror. The malice he could feel permeating the air around them weighed heavily on them both. There was nothing he could do to stop the coming onslaught of cruelty. If he were to leave, Mikale would surely die. I need you to keep your eyes closed. His essence caressed Mikale’s. Blocking his mind in an effort to close off access to the realizations he had come to accept as inevitable, Stewart spread his own life-force throughout Mikale covering every physical aspect of his host’s being.
What? Confusion overtook Mikale.
Whatever you do, whatever you may or may not feel, please just keep your eyes closed. I can shield…
Brennan? Shock and horror pounded down upon him suddenly. Mikale could sense his previous visitor’s essence. It was weak and troubled, but it was unmistakably Brennan. A piece of him had felt completed when Brennan was sharing his physical form, and it was a part of Mikale that would forever long to have Brennan remain within him. He was the puzzle piece that finished the art; nothing could hide, completely, the essence that made Mikale feel whole. But…
Not asking or waiting for permission, Stewart stole up Mikale’s life-force and walled it within his own. Crafting a shell deep inside his own soul and sealing it off from outside stimuli he locked Mikale’s energy in darkness. Forgive me. Cracking his eyelids slightly, Stewart saw a Devin-ized version of his once-friend Brennan, standing over him. This is going to hurt.
##
“Guess we’re staying in to play today kids.” Laughing, Devin ripped the thin blanket from Mikale’s body. “Let’s see what toys we have to unpack.” Violently shredding the hospital gown and bandages from Mikale, Devin gazed down on the beaten naked body of his victim. “There is much to be thankful for this day.” Raising his hands to cover his face, he mumbled under his breath.
Pale and scarred, Mikale’s skin longed for hydration. Intense purple bruises covered his chest deepening in color to almost black near the stitched-up bullet hole and fading to a yellowish green at his waist. Scratchy red markings, from the adhesive bandages Devin had torn away, squared off the stitched wound near his sternum. The ripple of his ribs pushing on aching skin rose and fell with each breath.
“Not quite the looker you once were, huh, lover boy?” Devin delicately, almost lovingly, ran his fingers in circles around Mikale’s bare flesh pausing briefly at each nipple. “I wonder what Jason would think of you now.” Moving his right hand to lay flat upon Mikale’s privates and his left to wrap firmly around his throat, Devin chuckled. “I’ll be sure to ask him after.”
Twitching muscles and gooseflesh ran up and down Mikale’s whole body under the sickening touch of Devin, but there was nothing Stewart could do to stop what he knew was about to happen. Despite the fact that he, too, could sense Brennan’s presence, he was aware how distant it was. Devin’s maliciousness clouded it and soured the air around them. Devin held captive the kind man they once knew. Stewart knew the only hope he had of saving Mikale’s life was enduring the hate that would be thrust down upon them and protecting his friend’s soul from fracturing. I hope I can save him. Doubt cast its ugliness into his mind.
“Where should I start?” Devin surveyed the whole of Mikale, pausing briefly at his bellybutton. “I think maybe we’ll start with the soft spots.” Gliding his hand up from Mikale’s genitals after a light pat to them, Devin lingered through the pubic hair that had once been so well maintained but now grew thicker. Pressing his fingers in deeper as he neared Mikale’s navel, he inhaled deeply. “Are we ready to start, can we now begin? Oh, the pain I will impart, will surely bring a grin.” Forcing his middle finger down into Mikale’s belly, Devin broke through the flesh with the ease of a needle into a vein. Blood bubbled up from the wound as he retreated back enough to add his index and ring finger to the attack. With all three fingers he pressed forcefully inward until Mikale’s skin tore away allowing full penetration. “I’m three fingers deep.” Devin cackled rolling his head in a full circle. “What’s that? I’m sorry what did you say?” Leaning down to Mikale’s face without removing his fingers from their task, Devin questioned. “Oh, you want more? Harder you say?” Speeding up his repeated assaults, he kissed Mikale’s dry lips. “Hmmm, you little whore.” Retrieving his bloodied fingers, Devin held them up to his face as he returned to a fully erect stance. “I think we should root around for that pesky soul of yours, don’t you?”
Still struggling to keep Mikale guarded against Devin’s attack, Stewart writhed under the pain being inflicted. So long without a physical body to care for, he had forgotten what the extremes of sensations could feel like. He knew the human shell could withstand a great deal of pain, on a theoretical level, but experiencing it was far worse than he could have ever truly imagined. His own death had not been that painful in comparison. Hunger, cold, the occasional bout of blue-balls, was the reference point he had grown accustomed to; this was something he knew would test his sanity. Every nerve within Mikale’s body screamed in agony. His muscles went into spasm, his skin screamed, his every fiber cried for a reprieve, and all of it Stewart kept from his host, his friend. Transitioning from section to section, from cell to cell, Stewart blocked it all from going any further than his own life-force.
“Come now.” Devin slapped Mikale leaving a bloody print on his cheek. “You need to wake up for this.” Smacking him again but harder, Devin jumped up on the bed straddl
ing Mikale. Leaning down propping his chin up on his fists and his elbows on Mikale’s chest, he continued. “Wakey, Wakey, eggs and bakey. It’s no fun without the shakey, shakey.” Struck with fierce anger at his victim’s lack of response, Devin sat upright and brought his fists down hard upon Mikale’s chest bursting open the stitches that held the bullet hole closed. Blood bubbled up from it and down Mikale’s chest to the side of the bed. “Goddamnit, wake up!” Shifting his weight forward to balance over the top half of Mikale’s torso, Devin laid his index and middle finger firmly at the edge of Mikale’s left eye. “I’ve very little time left, before I must egress, should I take a souvenir with me, no or…” Pressing downward hard enough to push his way past Mikale’s closed lids, Devin spat, “YES!” His voice became mechanical and deeper echoing throughout the room.
Fear of the uncertainty regarding how much more he could withstand before failing to dam up the tortuous battering on Mikale’s body, Stewart screamed out. It was unrecognizable as human.
“There you are.” Devin huffed lifting his fingers from Mikale’s eye. Blood rose to the surface quickly swelling the area and discoloring the skin. “This is what I wanted Jason to see.” Wasting the energy he had left, Devin contorted his body in unnatural movements and molded it into Jason. “Now you can fucking die.”
Pooling the last bits of his own energy, Stewart whispered. “Fuck you, Devin, he will not see your grotesque display.” The words and effort to vocalize them drained Stewart beyond what he could maintain. His own entity began to drift away. He was becoming part of his host. His identity, his own self-awareness, would soon disappear into Mikale’s dying body. Had he protected Mikale enough to ensure his soul would remain intact, he wasn’t sure. But his final thought was enough to comfort his own passing. Mikale did not suffer the sight of his love hurting him.