True Geist

Subject: True Geist Mon 29 Nov 2010 - 17:34

Prologue

The fire-station had been notified of the odd explosion that Rivell had created while possessed by the Chaos spirit. By the time they arrived all that remained of the events that occured was scroched rockfaces and the badly injured boy in the center. Paramedics were taken back by the nature of the injury. They were full of speculation about how much pain he must of gone through. The eye was nearly completly gone. Medics were afraid to treat it as it looked as though it would crumble to ash by the slightest touch. The exposed bone and seared cheek muscles were almost too much for nurses and orderlies as he was rushed into intensive care.

Rivell woke up in the hospital weeks later. The fluorescent lighting made his head hurt as his eyes struggled to focus through the gleaming beams. Almost immediatly he noticed the half-image, or lack of a half-image in his vision; he was blind out of his right eye. With a shaking hand he reached up and felt the bandages wrapped around his head, covering his right eye. His other eye was wide with shock as flashes of the supernatural event he'd experienced echoed in his head. It was real, all of it?, he thought as he shifted in his bed.
"Your awake!" Rivell recognized Irena's voice immediatly. He turned his head to the left, over-extending so that he could see her. She wore a smile. One that looked fatigued with constant worry and grief.

Rivell didn't respond. Perhaps it was out of fear, or terror. Maybe he was ashamed of what he'd witnessed and in turn what he'd done. After a solemn moment of silence he remembered Duane, who he'd left waiting on the bridge. He turned to Irena again. "Where is Duane?"

Subject: Re: True Geist Mon 29 Nov 2010 - 18:18

Chapter III: Stoke the Flames
Macy Harrow Memorial Hospital: Burn Ward
9:48 AM, Wednesday

"Where is Duane?"
Irena's expression immediatly turned; the sight made Rivell uneasy immediatly. He sat up in his seat as tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Duane. . ." The weight of the tears gave way and began streaming down her cheeks as she looked down. ". . . Duane's dead! The explosion." She continued through broken sobs. "He fell."
Rivell froze; he felt as if a dagger had just been thrust in his chest. It was his fault, he thought. He was the one who created that firestorm; he was the one who felt like getting a closer look; he was the one who suggested they use the quarry as a short-cut. Rivell looked forward with a blank stare as he fought back his own tears. Duane was dead and he felt responsible.
Damn you!, he screamed in his mind.
[Yes, yes. Damn me. I regret nothing.]; an echo in Rivell's mind. That voice. It was his voice, from before. [except of course, failing against you.]
So it was all real. The demon that had helped Rivell in murdering his father and apparently his best friend was still nestled inside his mind.

Rivell wasn't sure how to take all this information. A spirit trapped in his mind; his father's odd reappearance; and now Duane's untimely death. One thing rang certain, he wasn't alone in his anguish. Without looking he reached out and took Irena's trembling hand in his. She gave in to her emotion, bowing down against his hand, and allowing her tears and sobs to flow freely.

*** Three Days Later ***

A small hand pressed up against the back-seat window, leaving a smeared hand-print, as the toddler watched Rivell walk out of the Hospital doors.
"Ribbel!" She said in her best attempt to say his name as he approached the car. Roana looked back at the child with a smile.
"Rivell comes home today. Are you excited, See?" She asked while glancing at Rivell in his approach. The child responded with a gleeful smile.

Rivell let out a sigh before touching the leather eye-patch he'd been given to keep his eye socket covered. His burns had healed and the skin grafts to his cheek took nicely, yet still it would be hard not to notice the scar tissue and the black leather strap bisecting the wound. He squinted in the sunlight before opening the car door and sliding carefully into his seat. Cybil repeated her brothers name excitement, but she gasped when he turned around, allowing her to see his scars up close. Rivell smiled, and Cybil returned with her own smile, though the distress was still evident on her face.

Rivell turned back around with a sigh, as Roana guided the car out of the hospital parking and homeward bound. She tried remain composed and calm as they traveled; she hoped she could be a pillar of strenth for Rivell but his silence pained her like tiny needles poking at her heart. All she could think was poor boy as they drove home.

Rivell wasted no time rushing to his room, after the car pulled up in the driveway. He shut the door and twisted the lock behind him before slowly walking to the center of his room. Only a few weeks had passed since the quarry yet it felt like an eternity since he'd been home. He let out a long sigh before sitting down at his computer. He checked his email; nothing. Afterwards, he logged into Universe of Battle, where normally he would be pinged almost immediatly by Duane; not this time, not anymore. Rivell threw his hands against his keyboard tray, causing it to slide to its closed postition before letting his frustration ring out in angry sobs.
[Are you still going on about that?] His voice again, like a torment that won't subside.
Rivells thoughts swirled in fumes of anger. You used me to kill my best friend and my father.
[Your friend got caught in the cross-fire, and if I recall, you killed your father.] His sinister laughter was deafening against Rivell's thoughts, yet his point rang true, to Rivell at least. He did his best to quiet his mind and ignore the demon's incidious rants.

He stood from his computer desk and walked to the bedroom window to the left of his bed. The sun was high in the sky; nearly noon. Rivell reached wide and stretched as he scanned view. Behind his house and backyard was an alley. Just a gapped area between the property lines, the alley served to house everyone's dumpsters so city services had quick access to a large amount of stops in one row. Beyond the alley, the houses on the next block stood lined in a row, exhibiting their backyards along the alley as well. There wasn't much for scenery except the inconsistency of yard arrangments or the scattered toys of a child's backyard adventure, and usually the area was quiet.

As he looked out the window, he caught a flash of light as something passed by his view down the alley behind his house. As he focused, the figure sharpened and releaved what appeared to be a girl about his age running. The manner in which she moved was irratic and forced, as if she were being chased. Within seconds, Rivell's suspicions were confirmed as several black shadows flashed by after her. They were fast and agile, using all parts of the enviornment to move. Only their glowing red eyes pierced the black viel they moved in.
"What the Hell?" He said as he contorted against the glass to watch the chase pass in the distance.
[What the hell is right. Hell hounds to be precise, and it would seem that they found a nice meal.]
"Hellhound!? What. . . It doesn't matter. I'm going."
Rivell looked back at his door to reassure himself that he would go unnoticed for a moment, before pushing his window open.
[Your going to die.]
Whatever

Rivell stepped out onto the first story roof. He carefully walked down angled rooftop before sliding himself feet first off the roof. As he slid down, he caught the edge with his hands and lowered him self down before dropping the last five feet to the ground. He landed on his feet and let him self fall back as his knees absorbed the impact. It wasn't graceful, but effective. He got up with haste and rushed towards the back of his yard. He hoisted himself up and over the privacy fence with ease before running down the alley in the direction the chase had gone.

Subject: Re: True Geist Sat 4 Dec 2010 - 17:36

Chapter IV: Out of the Frying Pan. . .
Montgomery Park
12:47PM, Saturday

Rivell ran for nearly a mile, passing light commercial buildings, and other suburban clusters as he rushed after the pack of wolves. He was amazed to see that not a single person on the sidewalk or in their cars appeared aware of the wolves or the girl. In fact, Rivell was the one to recieve jeers and shouts as he ran, bumping into the occasional poorly placed individual. Are they blind; supernatural hellhounds, people. Rivell wasn't nearly fast enough and in no time at all he was chasing air in attempt to stumble on them again. He gave up, winded and gasping for breath just as he reached the small suburban Montgomery Park. The park was spacious with scattered hardwood trees throughout. The foliage was fairly limited to spacious grassy areas, but there was a botanical garden set off on its own. A small playground, equiped with a four seat swingset, a large aluminum slide, and several smaller metal scructures in varied shape and size intended for climbing and other potentially limb threatening hazards, was set near the chainlink gate at the park's entrance.

Rivell entered the park as he worked to catch his breath. Three weeks in the hospital had left him a lot weaker than he thought. He found a nearby bench to rest and collect his thoughts. He felt slightly defeated, having let them get away. Would she be alright? His gut as well as the demons earlier jeer told him it was unlikely. But apparently not impossible. Whether by coincidence, fate, or blind stroke of luck, a girl; that same girl rushed into the park entrance. She glanced over at him as she ran for her life. The swarm of hell hounds entered soon after. Rivell stood up with a jump, frozen momentarily out of shock and perhaps fearful apprehension. Emotions that soon subsided as his initial goal returned.
"Hey!" He yelled across towards the hounds, who until now appeared oblivious to his presence.
[What are you doing, you idiot?] The demon voice was paniced, and Rivell felt the demon's urge of self-preservation pulsating. I have to help that girl.
[Ignorant child, this is no time for blind courage!]

Rivell took no heed to the demon's warning as he continued flailing and drawing the attention of the attacking horde on him. It didn't take much; within moments Rivell was completely surrounded by the beasts. The demon's emotions and fears were becoming stronger and more desperate. Rivell scanned the area for the girl. Gone; hopefully she was far away now
"Come on then!" He shouted, squared off with the creatures. They eagerly accepted his challenge. One of the beasts leapt at Rivell, clipping him in the arm. He fell to the ground with a whirl before the rest of hounds piled on him. Rivell struggled to free himself as the beasts clawed and bit him. Deep wounds were cut or punctured all over him. This fight was lost before he even began.
[I refuse to let your corpse be my final resting place. Forcing my hand, then? Fine. This is going to hurt.]
As soon as his voice faded from Rivell's mind, he was racked with the all too familiar pain of his face burning. He forgot about the hounds and pulled at his eye-patch, which had begun to melt only making the pain worse. As soon as he pulled it off fire filled the eyesocket. It whirled around inside, whips of flame licking at his cheek as the flame spun and tightened into a small glowing orb floating like a burning iris. As if by some miracle, Rivell's vision was restored. This flame gave him as much sight as he'd ever had with his real eye, yet with it came something Rivell lacked. Knowledge of abilities he'd never seen, skills he'd never used, and power he'd never dreamed of having.

The pain from the burns subsided, and the ripping and clawing took the helm in his pain receptors. Refocused he felt the urge to fight; the demon's urge to live bellow in his gut.
[You feel it right!? So what are you waiting for? Save yourself, imbecile!]
Rivell didn't need any further direction. "Get off of me!", he shouted as his body was surround in fire. It whirled around tightly as it quickly shot vertically. Once above the pile-up, the whirling flame expanded it's rotation forcing all the hounds back. Rivell fought his blood soaked body to its feet as his weak fire tornado faded.
[That the best you can do?] The demon taunted Rivell. Shut up.

Rivell took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He let the years of martial arts training he'd recieved from his father fill his mind, the sentiment behind those memories filled Rivell with regret but nevertheless, Rivell was focused and ready. He released his breath before making a charge at the nearest hound. With a running start he leapt into the air and sent a flying kick directly at the beast. The impact exploded in a flash of flame before Rivell's kick passed easily through the hound. Rivell landed on his front foot with a slide as the hound dissipated in wisps of black smoke. He used the slid to spin around to square off with the group. The rest of the group took the attack as their cue to make their move, putting Rivell on the defensive. Rivell let them come, felling one after another with well placed punches and kicks, each strike embued with the same effective burst of flame that took care of the first one.

It wasn't until Rivell had finished off the last one, that he noticed the searing pain and weakness fading over him. The blood around him only reassured his worry as he dropped to his knees. The vision in his right eye faded back to nothing as the strange orb in his eye socket dimmed and then extinguished.
"That was. . . amazing." Rivell said through winded breaths. He just stared at the ground holding himself up on his hands and knees. Blood was still dripping off his forehead creating dirty clumps on the ground and from several deep wounds on his legs and torso. Before long even his current posture became too much for him and his arms folded and he rolled over on his back.
[Too little, too late, I'm afraid. I told you that you were going to die; we're going to die.]
He was right and Rivell knew it. He felt his limbs going numb; cold and his vision was blurry. He moved his head in a slight motion that faded an shifted his vision in dizzy waves before he let his head fall weakly to the side. He turned his head once more to the sky as he looked at the glaring sun in the sky. The blurred glare of the overhead sky was shaded by a sillouette above his head. The forms twisted and contorted as Rivells eyes rolled back in his head. All faded to black.

Subject: Re: True Geist Mon 6 Dec 2010 - 14:46

Epilogue

Death come for us all. For Rivell it was no different; the boy bled out onto the ground where his battered body layed. Unlike most, Rivell's story doesn't end with his life, rather it is only beginning. Due to the spirit within, a terrible and unexpected paradox has formed; Rivell cannot go to his eternal home, for the demon within belongs elsewhere. Forced into limbo, Rivell's eyes slide open to the changed world around him.

"Deliverance is at hand."

END ACT II

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