Re: The Gradual Massacre (GBS2G4) [Round 2: The Museum]
09-07-2010, 12:20 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.
Algernon's first instinct was to yelp in a not-entirely masculine way. His second instinct was to punch his captor in the face.
Considering the face belonged to Death and was, in fact, not entirely a face, this turned out to hurt Algernon more than it hurt Death. Still, the shambling skeleton reeled back in surprise, which allowed the dark-haired man to pull away and continue fleeing in terror. Behind him, he could hear the menacing cloaked figure bark out 'WAIT' but he had no real intention to do so.
Shifting his backpack over in front, Algernon started rummaging through it quickly, really hoping that there was magically something in here that could solve all his problems right now. He was too inexperienced with the whip for it to help, he doubted a turtle or an elephant could be of use, and, unfortunately, Death lacked any eyes for him to shine the flashlight in. As if that would be a permanent solution anyways.
Feeling quite exausted by now from all the running, Algernon glanced back. Death was still quite close behind. He turned around to snap the whip at him, but besides doing a whole bunch of nothing, it allowed him to stumble backwards and slow down. So yeah, bad plan.
His lungs were burning now. He needed to do something or else he would just collapse and then, considering the nature of his pursuer, most likely die. But, you know what, his legs felt like buckling out from underneath him now. Maybe they hated him for some reason. Maybe he wronged them somehow. Either way, he was now breathing heavily and coughing on the floor as Death leisurely approached. He turned to lie on his back when Death arrived, looking as though he was trying to hide behind his backpack, wishing for at least a little more stamina.
Death leaned down uncomfortably close to him. "BOY. I WANT--"
Algernon shoved an empty juice box in his eye socket.
Death paused, evidently unsure whether to feel angry or amused at a man's last desperate attempt to escape him. On one hand, he shoved a juice box in his eye socket. On the other, he shoved a juice box in his eye socket. He settled for a low, raspy chuckle that did nothing to ease Algernon's fears or stop his heart from pounding so damn fast.
"BOY." Death started again, setting the juice box back in his pack again. "I WANT MY ARM BACK."
It was only then that Algernon noticed the skeletal arm that had held tenaciously on to his shoulder ever since it had first grabbed hold. It seemed that Death would have rather let someone pull his arm off than let go of a victim.
"Um, uh," Algernon spluttered, unhooking himself from the arm's grasp. "Blug." Death took this as an invitation to take his arm back and so grabbed onto it. But Algernon didn't let go.
Suddenly finding his voice, he asked timidly, "Are...um...If I give this to you...will you not kill me...?"
"EARLIER, I WAS INTENDING ON INTERROGATING YOU AND POSSIBLY BREAKING YOUR MIND IN ORDER TO GATHER THE SECRETS YOU MAY HOLD AND PERHAPS, IN AN ACT OF MERCY, REAP YOUR SOUL SO THAT YOU MAY NOT SUFFER INSANITY FOR LONG BUT," he added hastily, noticing how Algernon seemed to be hyperventilating now, "I HAVE REALIZED THAT, CONSIDERING YOUR RECENT...AH, ACTIONS, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT YOU KNOW ANYTHING."
"I, uh, um," Algernon said, still focusing on the 'reap your soul' part and panicking thusly.
"DO YOU MIND LETTING GO OF MY ARM NOW," Death asked patiently before, all of a sudden, he was hit by a bullet. Actually, more like several. Death released his disembodied arm and recoiled, letting Algernon's arm flop back across his chest.
Algernon wasn't entirely sure what was going on besides the fact that someone was shooting at Death. And it was apparently affecting him. He wondered how exactly that could be possible but man, he was suddenly feeling too dizzy and sleepy to try to understand this and his head was feeling much too light to deal with the waking world right now. As he nodded off to sleep, he was somewhat aware of someone standing over him, picking him up.
---------------------------------------------
And then he woke up.
The first thing he was aware of was the feeling in his head. It was the sort of feeling that comes with severe blood loss, worryingly enough. But he hadn't been wounded recently, had he? Maybe? Well...there was that bandage still around his head...but he had stopped bleeding there, hadn't he? He rubbed his face, feeling too confused to think about all of this.
The second thing he was aware of was the man crouching in front of him. As he blinked at him, the man seemed to realize he was awake and said, "Are you okay?"
Algernon managed to focus on him. "A-Arnold...?" he asked unsteadily. The face of what was definitely Sir Arnold Scarlet stared back.
Algernon shifted a little blinking his eyes blearily. "I...er...am I dead?"
Arnold barked out a laugh at that. "I hope not, after all the trouble I went saving you."
"But, but, uh, you...I think...something...you..."
"Something happened to me?" Arnold helpfully finished.
"Um...yeah..."
"And what would this 'something' be?" the former knight asked, a little amused.
"Uh," Algernon said, because now that he thought of it, he couldn't really remember. "Er. You...died...?"
"And yet here I am, having just saved you from Death himself. Ironic, isn't it?"
"More like impossible," Algernon mumbled.
"Look," Arnold said, "You must've just remembered something wrong."
Had he been anybody else, Algernon would have questioned how he could have possibly forgotten whether someone had died, but really, he wouldn't put it past him to forget such a thing. So he changed the subject. "...Where's that Death guy...? Why isn't he following us?"
"Beats me," Arnold shrugged. "I really thought he would, considering you've still got his arm."
And that was the third thing Algernon was aware of.
After staring at the arm for a moment, he decided to keep it in his pack. He was feeling too worn out to freak out about it right now.
"Can you walk?"
Algernon tried. It was like watching a newly born fawn trying to stand except with fewer legs.
"...Never mind. We'll stay here. I'll watch out for the others." And Algernon leaned back on whatever it was he was leaning on. He was happy to relax right about now, at least until this strange bout of dizziness passed.
Algernon's first instinct was to yelp in a not-entirely masculine way. His second instinct was to punch his captor in the face.
Considering the face belonged to Death and was, in fact, not entirely a face, this turned out to hurt Algernon more than it hurt Death. Still, the shambling skeleton reeled back in surprise, which allowed the dark-haired man to pull away and continue fleeing in terror. Behind him, he could hear the menacing cloaked figure bark out 'WAIT' but he had no real intention to do so.
Shifting his backpack over in front, Algernon started rummaging through it quickly, really hoping that there was magically something in here that could solve all his problems right now. He was too inexperienced with the whip for it to help, he doubted a turtle or an elephant could be of use, and, unfortunately, Death lacked any eyes for him to shine the flashlight in. As if that would be a permanent solution anyways.
Feeling quite exausted by now from all the running, Algernon glanced back. Death was still quite close behind. He turned around to snap the whip at him, but besides doing a whole bunch of nothing, it allowed him to stumble backwards and slow down. So yeah, bad plan.
His lungs were burning now. He needed to do something or else he would just collapse and then, considering the nature of his pursuer, most likely die. But, you know what, his legs felt like buckling out from underneath him now. Maybe they hated him for some reason. Maybe he wronged them somehow. Either way, he was now breathing heavily and coughing on the floor as Death leisurely approached. He turned to lie on his back when Death arrived, looking as though he was trying to hide behind his backpack, wishing for at least a little more stamina.
Death leaned down uncomfortably close to him. "BOY. I WANT--"
Algernon shoved an empty juice box in his eye socket.
Death paused, evidently unsure whether to feel angry or amused at a man's last desperate attempt to escape him. On one hand, he shoved a juice box in his eye socket. On the other, he shoved a juice box in his eye socket. He settled for a low, raspy chuckle that did nothing to ease Algernon's fears or stop his heart from pounding so damn fast.
"BOY." Death started again, setting the juice box back in his pack again. "I WANT MY ARM BACK."
It was only then that Algernon noticed the skeletal arm that had held tenaciously on to his shoulder ever since it had first grabbed hold. It seemed that Death would have rather let someone pull his arm off than let go of a victim.
"Um, uh," Algernon spluttered, unhooking himself from the arm's grasp. "Blug." Death took this as an invitation to take his arm back and so grabbed onto it. But Algernon didn't let go.
Suddenly finding his voice, he asked timidly, "Are...um...If I give this to you...will you not kill me...?"
"EARLIER, I WAS INTENDING ON INTERROGATING YOU AND POSSIBLY BREAKING YOUR MIND IN ORDER TO GATHER THE SECRETS YOU MAY HOLD AND PERHAPS, IN AN ACT OF MERCY, REAP YOUR SOUL SO THAT YOU MAY NOT SUFFER INSANITY FOR LONG BUT," he added hastily, noticing how Algernon seemed to be hyperventilating now, "I HAVE REALIZED THAT, CONSIDERING YOUR RECENT...AH, ACTIONS, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT YOU KNOW ANYTHING."
"I, uh, um," Algernon said, still focusing on the 'reap your soul' part and panicking thusly.
"DO YOU MIND LETTING GO OF MY ARM NOW," Death asked patiently before, all of a sudden, he was hit by a bullet. Actually, more like several. Death released his disembodied arm and recoiled, letting Algernon's arm flop back across his chest.
Algernon wasn't entirely sure what was going on besides the fact that someone was shooting at Death. And it was apparently affecting him. He wondered how exactly that could be possible but man, he was suddenly feeling too dizzy and sleepy to try to understand this and his head was feeling much too light to deal with the waking world right now. As he nodded off to sleep, he was somewhat aware of someone standing over him, picking him up.
---------------------------------------------
And then he woke up.
The first thing he was aware of was the feeling in his head. It was the sort of feeling that comes with severe blood loss, worryingly enough. But he hadn't been wounded recently, had he? Maybe? Well...there was that bandage still around his head...but he had stopped bleeding there, hadn't he? He rubbed his face, feeling too confused to think about all of this.
The second thing he was aware of was the man crouching in front of him. As he blinked at him, the man seemed to realize he was awake and said, "Are you okay?"
Algernon managed to focus on him. "A-Arnold...?" he asked unsteadily. The face of what was definitely Sir Arnold Scarlet stared back.
Algernon shifted a little blinking his eyes blearily. "I...er...am I dead?"
Arnold barked out a laugh at that. "I hope not, after all the trouble I went saving you."
"But, but, uh, you...I think...something...you..."
"Something happened to me?" Arnold helpfully finished.
"Um...yeah..."
"And what would this 'something' be?" the former knight asked, a little amused.
"Uh," Algernon said, because now that he thought of it, he couldn't really remember. "Er. You...died...?"
"And yet here I am, having just saved you from Death himself. Ironic, isn't it?"
"More like impossible," Algernon mumbled.
"Look," Arnold said, "You must've just remembered something wrong."
Had he been anybody else, Algernon would have questioned how he could have possibly forgotten whether someone had died, but really, he wouldn't put it past him to forget such a thing. So he changed the subject. "...Where's that Death guy...? Why isn't he following us?"
"Beats me," Arnold shrugged. "I really thought he would, considering you've still got his arm."
And that was the third thing Algernon was aware of.
After staring at the arm for a moment, he decided to keep it in his pack. He was feeling too worn out to freak out about it right now.
"Can you walk?"
Algernon tried. It was like watching a newly born fawn trying to stand except with fewer legs.
"...Never mind. We'll stay here. I'll watch out for the others." And Algernon leaned back on whatever it was he was leaning on. He was happy to relax right about now, at least until this strange bout of dizziness passed.