EVERLAST ISLAND – unknown location (Valmak. Cameron. Stack.)
(Excerpt from a book/story I've been working on. Slightly re-worded to better fit the perspective needs of this challenge. I think it may have made the scene better. )
-=[VALMAK]=-
He knew Stack had fallen asleep and barely noticed the water cooling in the tub, until there was a loud clack of sound followed by shattering glass from somewhere else around the house. It startled her-- he knew because he could feel it as he reached out to the cells in her body, forcing her out of the tub while he grabbed a robe for her from the other room. He kept her mouth shut and vocals frozen but gave her control over the rest of her body as she regained her awareness.
“Put this on and stay away from the windows. This is the safest house on the Island, that I know of, but she can still break the windows out.” ValMak said as he walked into the bathroom and tossed her the large white cotton robe. Immediately bending down to tie the boots he's started to put back on, he released her from his control entirely. Another clack and shatter punctuating his point before Stack could take the breath to reply.
“Who?”
“Cameron Ashcroft, she's the only one I know who's been on this Island longer than I have.. and... the last few rounds haven't been kind to her-- though at least she hasn't died again.” He reflected in a pause as he stood up and glanced at the buxom brunette stranger still digesting the fact that he came from a different reality, in a different time, than she.
“Wait, she's died and came back to life?”
“She.. heals, look I don't have time to explain-” As he spoke another window was broken, he watched Stacks confusion morph into angered irritation. “Just stay out of sight, if she doesn't know you're here that's a good thing.” He assured her, giving her a nod and turning to leave.
“Why don't you just use your ability on her?”
“Because she could teleport me from this house and hunt me down, or just wait until I release her to hunt me-- I can't hold her forever.” He replied a little tiredly, pausing again in a half turn to face her.
“The Island gave her a trigger for your... implant, and you pissed her off?”
“No, the Island didn't, she learned it from a man who died a few days ago, last of us beside me and her.” He growled, gritting his teeth as another window shattered. “Please.” He offered in a final plea for her to stay put as he turned from the back bathroom toward the front porch of the house. The closer he got the more he could hear the little crazy woman yelling for him to come out. “Alright!" He shouted as he opened the door and pushed the screen door hard enough to smack it against the wall, "But I swear if you try to attack me I'll let you hunt me down and I'll kill you in the worst of ways.”
-=[CAMERON]=-
“You have any know to the pains I've been done-snuffed Juju?!” Cameron shouted in the sometimes hard to comprehend jumble-tongue, throwing another rock to break another window just because she could. She watched his behemoth body walk to the edge of the steps with a primal grace she hated and loved to see.
“What do you want Cam? I stayed out of it last time and you're still ready to rip my head off.”
“Point, you outswayed the round, I had the think we're reckoned as tandem-walkers.” She snapped with a bit of scorn, tossing her head to the side like a twitchy animal, subtle snarl and all.
“You're a lunatic! You're manipulative and impulsive and you don't listen for shit. You've been doing things your way so long you don't know how to be someone's partner.”
“You bruise my red-pumper, Juju.” She quipped with mocked sadness as he descended the steps to face her head on. Every part of him screamed controlled lethality and irritation-- an intimidating sight for most but Cameron stood her ground like a brick wall, even as he barked back at her. Dark eyes scanned him over, noting that as usual, he didn't really bother with weapons.
“Quit calling me that, you have no right!”
“Stone you and your ritual-kind, it's non-purpose on this sea-mountain peak. You blink through four cycles-- fireworks to you, but my continuum's gone up-side twenty-- and never to my know there been a Nolander but you, Juju. Sos no ritual-kind swoopers to shield your hyde. Your back-age doing and faiths are absent matter, exceptioned-single for no-knows-what the Makers thunder up on the lot; AND coin-flip you missed the print... got a baker's half of new mopes in effect, not the duck-down in your box." She pointed out, gesturing to the house like she knew he was hiding one of the new arrivals in there, even though the Island wouldn't let her enter that particular house. "This earth mass hasn't homed nine, back times the Hunt, pre your landing, and all swears on me, it was a red-wash.” The black haired woman cussed at him up onto her toes. Cameron had no qualms getting right up into his chest, staring up at his face like she was twice as tall as she was.
“Why do I feel like you helped make it that way?”
“Mayhaps on me, but dues to the Makers touch. This land spawns the torment, eats on friction.” Cam reasoned with a snake-like swivel of her head to give her words motion.
“I think you like it here and --”
“Cut yer tongue!” She snapped, interrupting him and pushing him with more strength than most women her size would have had, enough to make him take a step back and growl at her which only riled her more. Nearly black eyes locked on him as she coiled ready to fight, but held still long enough to let him speak.
“Then work WITH me to counter the Island's tactics, not feed into them!”
-=[STACK]=-
“You should watch who you're pushing.” Stack said from the doorway, standing in the cotton robe tied tight around her body, immediately getting the attention of both of them as she squinted, surprised to find it daylight outside. Stack felt short beside ValMak but looking at him in front of the woman he called Cameron, she could have been mistaken for a child. She stayed in the shade of the porch and visually inspected the little woman's fighting stance while she let her own arms dangle at her sides.
“Juju's tandem to squint-looker there?”
“You spend as much time in dark alleys," Stack began, not allowing ValMak the chance to answer Cameron's question to him, " hotels, houses, cabs, bars, brothels" she rambled off crossing the porch to the steps, "and basements as I have-- with eyes as blue as mine-- and see if you don't squint when the sun comes up." She swallowed her anger and let her casual nonchalance carry in both her tone and stride toward the duo. ValMak immediately sighing at her about his orders.
“I told you to stay inside.”
“She already knew I was in there, didn't see a point in hiding.” Stack reasoned, glancing between him and Cameron, lingering on the black eyed woman.
“What, no whites for my hyde? No terrors chill your spine to looker-lock my husk?”
"She doesn't look scary enough for you?"
“Thanks" She said to ValMak, knowing he must have caught her confusion and didn't hesitate to offer a translation. Looking back at Cam she smirked, "Oh I can tell you can hold your own Zombie-Xena but I've been breaking bodies since I was a child ... and it wouldn't take much to crumple you like an origami turtle.”
“Stop, both of you, this is exactly what I'm talking about.”
“Stop what? If she's a pain in your ass and a catalyst to the Island, why not break her neck, chop her into little pieces and bury th-” Stack's words were cut off as Cameron lunged at her with a heated vengeance she'd never seen in someone before. Instinct kicked in and she deflected, throwing the woman toward the ground and feeling her rip at the robe on the way down, exposing her injured left shoulder. Knowing that ValMak WOULD try to stop her, she swung her fist back and clocked him in the nose catching him off guard in a lean down and sending him to the ground in the other direction. Before Cameron could get back on her feet, Stack was on top of her, catching her fist and breaking her hand before crushing her windpipe with a swift precision strike. As Cameron's body convulsed with the devastation under her, Stack gripped her head and snapped her neck, glancing back to ValMak who was just getting up. “Seven hundred eighty three.”
“That your body count? You're going to need those skills, once she wakes up, you'll be her next target... You can try to cut her up and spread her pieces about, but I heard the Island put her back together and she killed the last person who tried it."
Stack's mind raced, blue eyes staring up at the large man who seemed as sad about what she did as he was curious of how she'd handle it. Her extended silence was broken by a final question and statement from him, one that would force her to look at her stay on the Island a lot differently.
"Can you come back from the dead? Because she's going to want to kill you.”
|| another-proser ||