Going Downhill

I should have done it. I should have destroyed that fucking book.

I tried to. I was about to do it. I was alone, outside the car. Seraph and Kyle were in the gas station, getting some supplies. I was obscured from view, with Burner in one hand, and the book it the other. I ignited Burner, and prepared to set it aflame. But something stopped me. It was a voice in the back of my head, holding me back. It was calm. Gentle. British...

“Don't do it,” the voice said.

“What?” I asked.

“That book will be important for you in the future,” the voice said. “If you destroy it now, and important ally will be lost to you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “What ally?”

“I can't see everything,” the voice said. “But you will need his help.”

“But-,” I began, intending to ask who the voice was referring to, but another thought occurred to me.

Couldn't see everything. That's what the voice had said. IT had knowledge of the future. That, plus the accent, could only mean...

“Ben!?” I asked.

Silence.

“Ben!” I almost shouted. “Is that you!?”

There was no answer. The voice was gone. Just great...

I looked down at the book for a while. If that really was Benjamin's voice, then could he have been right? Had he seen a future where I'd still need this book for something? I saw Kyle and Seraph begin to head back outside. I stuffed the book into my backpack, intending to look into it and make a more informed decision on the matter. We all got back in the car. I didn't tell them about hearing Ben's voice, or that I had kept the book.

It was a couple days ago that we ran into trouble. We had stopped to take a rest and stretch our legs for a moment. It was getting pretty late, and there weren't a whole lot of people out. And then we were attacked. High Blood member's began appearing from the shadows and coming at us. There were eight of them. I knew we couldn't handle this many of them.

“Run!” I shouted.

The three of s turned tail and fled. The High Blood gave chase. We ran down an alleyway. But before we reached the end of it, one of the High Blood appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and stuck out their foot, catching my leg and throwing off my balance. I stumbled to the ground, and quickly picked myself back up. By the time I was on my feet, several more of the High Blood had caught up. Including Reout.

She was standing a couple feet from me, holding Seraph in a hammerlock. Kyle was being restrained by another High Blood.

“Hello, Daniel,” Reout said, smiling. “I don't want this to get too difficult. Just give us the book, and well leave you all alone.”

I summoned Burner to my hand. Kyle angrily shouted at Reout.

“He doesn't have it any more!” he said. “He burnt that thing up!”

“Don't lie to us,” Reout said. “We know you still have it. The Backer made it very clear that you're still in possession of it.”

Seraph gave me a panicked look. I averted my gaze, focusing on Reout. I drew Burner from his sheath and set the blade aflame.

“Let her go!” I ordered.

Reout just laughed at that. Then she glared at me seriously.

“Enough of the games, Daniel,” she said. “Give me the book.”

She slid her hand up Seraph's side and grabbed her in a way that absolutely infuriated me. It brought back a memory that I can't stand. A memory of Red Daniel touching her in a very similar way.

“Or else poor, dear Seraph will have to pay for it,” She said.

The storm above us began crackling with white lightning. He had caught up with us several days ago, but hadn't done much other than that. Now, though, it was growing fierce. It was almost as though it was feeding off of my anger. I saw the blurry, red-eyed figure of Burner materialize behind Reout, with his naginata in hand.

“Burn it hell you Blood Vessel bitch!” I shouted.

As if it were a signal, Burner plunged his spear into Reout's back from behind. With a howl of pain, she loosened her grip, and Seraph broke free. The Vessel restraining Kyle must have let his grip go slack from surprise, because Kyle broke free too and drew a handgun from his coat. He turned quickly and put a bullet in his captor's shoulder.

“Get out of here,” I instructed both of them.

Kyle fired off a couple more shots at the surrounding Vessel's and they both took off. Burner cm to hover beside me, his weapon at the ready. A couple of the Vessel's expanded their blood and slashed at me with it like blades. I swung my sword at the speeding blood. Before the blood reached me, it halted in midair and retreated from the flames. The Vessel's were shocked by this, but I wasn't as surprised. I had already realized this would happen. They weren't intimated by Burner's fire, but their blood was. It was Burner's flames that had killed Red Daniel, and their Red Cap remembered that. I took a few steps toward Reout, who was clutching her wound. I could tell that it wouldn't last for too long. Blood Vessel's heal quickly.

“Daniel!” Kyle's voice rang out from a distance. “Come on!”

I turned to see him at the end of the alleyway, with Seraph a distance farther from him. I turned and glared into Reout's eyes.

“I don't like killing people,” I said. “But I have done it before. And if you even think of laying so much as another finger on Seraph, I will not hesitate t do it again.”

Reout glared back at me angrily. I sheathed my sword and began sprinting to catch up with the others. But someone else had beaten me there.

A large Panopticon Van screeched to a halt a few feet from Seraph, almost hitting her. Three men got out the back, and one of them shot Seraph with a tazer gun. She fell to the ground, convulsing, and the two other men rushed over to her and picked her up. Kyle lifted his gun to try and stop them, but another shot was fired from the driver's window of the van, hitting him in the arm. He cried out in pain and dropped his gun. I drew Burner, and faced the Driver, who had begun stepping out of the car. He took a stance across from me, holding a hunting rifle in his hands.

“Mr. Ferris,” he said, in a soft, kind of French-ish accent. “I'm glad to finally meet you. My name is Meilleur Monde.”

“I've heard of you,” I growled.

“I'm sure you have,” he said. “I would like you and your friends to come with me.”

I was about to tell him to go have intercourse with himself, when a whip made of blood lassoed my wrist. I looked back to the alley to see Reout standing there, with the rope of blood stretching from her palm. She looked pissed. Monde saw it too.

“The High Blood!” he said, turning to his companions. “Fall back!”

The others began loading Seraph's unconscious body into the van. Monde stepped back into the driver's seat, and took one last look at me.

“If you live through this, and want your girl back, then come get her,” hee said. “Your friend Tony knows where I'll be.”

They then took off, taking Seraph with them. I couldn't stop them. One of the Blood Vessel's appeared behind me, and bashed my knee with a metal pipe. I went down, and next thing I knew, Reout was standing over me, glaring daggers down at me. She kicked me in the face, and I lost consciousness.

I came to in a new location. I was in a large room, obviously made to hold a lot of people. The only furniture was some long tables lined along the walls. There was a large, circular indentation on the floor on one side of the room, not too far from me. It was about as wide as a kiddie pool, and maybe an inch or two deep. I had a chain bound to one of my legs. The other end was driven into the stone floor by a spike. Kyle was chained up too, a few feet from me. He was conscious too. His bullet wound had been treated, and his arm was bound up.

“Kyle,” I said. “What happened?”

“The High Blood brought us here,” he said. “I don't know why, but they need you for something. The book wasn't enough.”

I looked to my side to see my backpack lying there. Sure enough, the Bleeding Crest was missing from it.

“How's your arm?” I asked.

“Hurts,” he said. “But t least I got street cred now.”

He cracked a nervous smile, but I could tell that something was bothering him.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

His smile faded as he looked me in the eyes.

“No,” he said. “Daniel...”

As I looked at him, I noticed what was wrong. For just a brief instant, a red light flashed across his eyes, then was gone.

“I think they infected me,” he said.

“Shit!” I hissed. “We've gotta get out of here.”

I summoned Burner to me and tried to cut through the chains with his flames. It id nothing.

“I don't think that'll work,” Kyle said. “That stuff's reinforced Tungsten. I think it's enchanted somehow, too. You can't melt it.”

“Damn it,” I said.

Fortunately, my backpack still had me laptop in it, so I was able to type all this up. This is all my fault. If I had burnt that fucking book, I wouldn't be here right now. Seraph wouldn't have been captured, and Kyle wouldn't be slowly converted into one of the High Blood's Vessels. I need to find a way to escape from this place. I don't know when the High Blood will be back, but I need to get out of here before then. Kyle said the book isn't enough. They need me too. So, that means that if I can escape, it'll throw whatever their planning off the rails. I have to try and get Kyle out too. I got him into this. I need to get him out.

This is all my fault...