Hostel M2

M2-Part XXIX

Chris was scared out of his mind, his breath hitched and his chest tightened as he had come face to face with his end. Throwing his hand over his eyes, Chis gave a maddening scream. His heart fluttered when he felt something sprinkle on his body and he believed it had to be his blood which had spattered on him.

His eyelids flickered open to see the nozzle of Miles' gun pointing at him. Miles shot me! His mind whispered before he remembered he hadn't heard any bangs.

"Are you okay?"

Chris turned his head to see Professor his side, he nodded slightly, "I-I suppose."

"How did you send it off?" Detective Miles asked, staring at Professor.

"Salt, that's what I threw at it." Professor turned to Chris, "that should weaken it, keep it away for a while."- Or so they thought.

A harsh wind swept across them, lifting up dust and debris from the ground into the air like a tornado was forming. There was a re-echo of undecipherable words spoken in a ruthless manner.

"What the hell," Chris muttered; he tried to pick himself up from the floor but pained surged through his body from his left leg and that was when he realized moving the leg was almost impossible. Professor noticed and helped him up, supporting him with his weight.

"You guys go," Detective Maloney said to them, "we'll be right behind you."

Professor Parker nodded, with Chris hanging around his shoulder as they picked up pace away to where the grave site was. Maloney turned around to see Miles' head hanging with his gaze fixed between his feet. The sudden wild calmed down as it fluttered around Miles as though his body had sucked it all up.

Adjusting his body, Maloney walked back to his partner who stood still like a sculpture.

"Come on, we have to-" Maloney gasped and cursed in terrifying shock as Miles rose his head, his eyes had turned totally black and they'd sunk into his skull. His face was now pale with green lines sparsely spread across his veins. He was possessed.

Maloney turned to run, that was when he felt his possessed partner's strong grip on his arm, his fingers pressed tightly into his skin pulling him back. Adrenaline pumped into his blood stream excessively, he threw his arm backward, smacking Miles' face but it didn't help at all as Miles didn't even seem to feel the blow.

Blood splattered out of Maloney's mouth when Miles slapped him with the butt of the Glock 17 in his hand. He staggered back, wondering what had gotten into his partner. Calling out to his partner didn't help either as whatever it was had complete control over Miles who kept coming at Maloney, switching forms between his possessed self and his sane person despite the gun pointed at him. Out of panic, Maloney pulled the trigger. One shot, two shots, three shots.

The wind carried the sound of the gunshots, it resounded over and over the cemetery, loud enough for Professor Parker, Chris and Alex to hear. It made their breathing rate increase as their feet picked up pace while they hurried. Chris found it hard moving fast with the recurring painful surges of pain shooting across his lower body from his leg.

Maloney cursed again under his breath. Somehow, Miles dodged all three shots and the next thing he could think of was to run. Run away from this thing his partner had turned into, run for dear life, run from his inevitable end. His ear pricked when amidst the rushing breeze over his face, he could hear Miles' footstep coming close.

Out of distraction and the tension which had swallowed him, Maloney tripped over himself, landing face first into a cross over one of the graves. He felt the sharp jolt of pain as blood spurted from his chest and gurgled out his mouth, the cross buried into his left chest. His heartbeat slowed down, his breath ceased into shot gasps and light spasms swept across his body. With eyes open, he breathed his last breath.

The thing which Miles had turned into simply walked past Detective Maloney's cold body, not bothering to look at the lifeless body lying there. He carried on into the night with his eyes which was covered in absolute blackness fixed in the distance.

"Hold up," Chris muttered in between gasps, unable to carry himself any further. Especially with the pain he felt. "I can't go on any further, p-please."

"No! You can," Professor said helping him shift his weight to his body. "We're almost there."

"Come on now Chris," Alex said, urging him to keep strong.

Chris pressed his eye lids against each other firmly, biting his lips as the tingly taste of salt from his sweat spread in his mouth. His breaths were heavy and his body quavered in both pain and numbness.

"I thought Marcello said there would be minimum activity h3ere since there isn't much energy to the apparition to feed off."

"Apparently," Professor Parker answered, "with Miles anger stirring every second, it's got enough negative energy to feed on."

"That son of a-" Chris grunted, another flash of pain surging through his lower self.

"We have to keep moving," Professor said, "we shouldn't be too far now."

With that, they started off once more although Chris slowed down their pace. All the time, Professor wondered how they were going to make it out-alive-especially with Miles trying to do his job as a cop. By now, Henry should've almost reached the coffin's remains, that's if nothing had happened to him. Professor pushed back the thought.

After what felt like eternity for Chris whose body was starting to run feverish, the sound of shovel striking into earth could be heard faintly. Elated, Alex picked up her pace further, somewhat causing her father to do so too at the detriment of Chris.

Henry was startled when he turned around from inside the grave where he was to see Alex and the rest approach. He jumped out of the grave to help Professor with Chris. Gently, they set him down to rest his back on one of the grave stones.

"What happened to him?" Henry asked, worried to see his friend in such condition.

"He tripped," Professor said, pulling him away from Chris and Alex. "It could've gone worse."

"And the gunshots?"

Professor arched an eyebrow not knowing where to begin explaining that part. "We have a more limited time than we thought."

He stepped into the circle, careful enough not to break the link. Below were several feet of dug up earth and with the rotten stink of matter that now hung in the air around them, they sure were pretty close.

"Almost there I guess," Henry said as Professor picked up a shovel to join him.

"Almost there," Professor said, shoveling alongside Henry.

Alex's heart fluttered in her chest when the heads of two shoes came into view. She picked herself from the floor where she had been attending to Chris, her body going frozen at what her eyes beheld.

With gentle steps, the creature approached her. Eyes as dark as the night and face as pale as the glowing moon. Her scream got Professor and Chris' attention as they peeked from where they stood in the grave to see Detective Miles at arm's reach with his daughter.

Professor Parker didn't give much to thinking before getting out of the grave, instructing Henry to continue digging.

"She has nothing to do with this," Professor started, throwing his hand over his head in surrender. "Let her go. Please."

Miles didn't respond, his head turned sharply away from Alex who stood shivering in sheer fear to Professor. Like a puppet under compulsion, Miles raised the gun to face Professor Parker.

This is as far as I can go, Professor thought to himself and the next moment that followed happened in bullet time. With one arm, Miles pushed Alex out of the way and fired at Professor's chest.

Alex eyes shone, her scream rang through the air, as loud as the tolls of a cathedral's bells as she watched her father drop to his knees, blood trickling from the hole in his chest.

~*~

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