Lost In The Sunshine State: Part 2 (Krows POV Extra)

               Lost In The Sunshine State: Part Two


Krows POV EXTRA
I step out into the hall after I hear Soul's steps fade. I know that voice from before. Both of them. Kaz, short for Kasper, is the Rat I am here to kill. The other, that's Befoul. Crap.... This is bad. I pull my hood up and walk on down the hall while staring at my phone. I am not actually doing anything but I am trying to blend in. It isn't uncommon for demons to wander aimlessly around The Underground. I must really be off my game if I didn't even notice Soul was following me. That was way too close. If we got caught here it would be a slaughter house.
I hold my breath as I walk past them. I am shaking. I really want to run because I know the further away I am, the better. Nothing is more suspicious than running. I listen to their footsteps.

Step


Step

----

They stopped. I walk a little bit faster now.

"Hey!" Kaz calls from behind me. I hesitate and then stop.  I hear his light footsteps approach me from behind.

"Which room are you looking for? I have never seen you before." He asks as he comes to a stop. I turn towards him a little bit but keep my head tucked.

"Eh, I am new in town. Just here for the weekend. Do you know where the Serpens room is?" I ask quietly. I take this moment to get a good look at Kas.  His outward appearance is definitely that of youth but his eyes reveal intelligence. His eyes are glaring at me, gauging my intent.

"Yeah... Let me walk you down." He mumbles while deep in
thought. He starts to reach for my hood.

"Kasper, don't tell me you are going to run off with some punk when we still have business to attend to." He threatens. The voice makes me shudder. It is his playful voice, the one that sounds delightful but has that murderous undertone.
Kasper's hand falters and I seize the moment.

"Nah its fine. I will find it on my own." I say and turn to walk away. Sticking around would have been dangerous. I know he saw me shudder. My nerves ease off a bit as I approach a door near the curve of the tunnel. This is the Serpens room, I can tell by the smell. I don't like snakes but I can manipulate them to my devils desire so their room is my safest option. Befoul and Kas are about to head up the stairs so I should be safe. I knock and the door cracks open just a little. I can hear laughter from deeper within the room. Snakes are always partying. To my horror I recognize the face behind the door. Nagahebi. His eyes go wide when he sees me.

"KROW?!" He exclaims loudly. What is going on?! All of my least favorite people in one place.. Is there a Nightmare convention I didn't know about? There is no way Befoul didn't hear that.

"Naga.." I mumble. I am in shock as well. I falter just enough to see Befoul and Kasper turn the corner. I take off at top speed deeper into the tunnels. Naga steps out into the hall and looks at the others.

"Krow?!" He yells questioning. DANG IT! He could stop saying my name... Not that it would make a difference now.
These tunnels are almost pitch black. Crows have great eyesight but not in the dark. Cats, rats and snakes however...

"Oof-" I accidentally knock into something, or someone. I don't stop to see.  

"WAIT!" I hear one of them yell from behind me.

My lungs are on fire. I don't think I can do this for much longer. Geez... You don't fight for your life for a few years and you get weak.
I slip into a side room and shut the door behind me. I brace myself against it. I am breathing heavy so staying quiet is a hard task.
I hear the first set of footsteps go by. That must have been Nagahebi. He is probably the one that I wouldn't mind seeing... I barely hear the second set of footsteps. The lighter steps and the fact that they were faster than the third person means it was Kasper. The rat can scurry faster than the cat when it fears for its life. The third set of steps is approaching. A slow and luxurious pace. What does he have that the others don't?... A nose.
His knuckles rasp against the door. Like hell I am going to answer the door for him!

"Open up. If I get loud the rest of them will come back. I seriously just want to talk." He says in a voice I haven't heard before. What is that? I go against every shred of common sense that I have and open the door. He instantly shoves his way in. He grabs my throat and pins me to the wall, eyes glowing. This feels so familiar. I grip his wrist with one of my hands and use the other to reach and grab a handful of his hair. My theory is that he wont try and pin down my hand if I am willingly grabbing him.

"Just wanted to talk, huh?" I choke out. He isn't choking me but he is restricting me. He doesn't say anything. Just stares. I tug on his hand a little but it doesn't budge.

"You let me think you were dead." He says quietly. I seriously don't get what's going on here.

"and?" I mumble.

"I guess you don't know anything. A deviser always knows when their sycophant dies. I... kept in touch with Valkry to inquire about your well being." He says delicately. That sounds more like he did something horrible to Val but I am totally ok with that. I just wish I had been there to see it.

"Eh... oops?" I say puzzled. I am waiting for the psycho mood swing. This is frustrating. In the past I would have just sat here, telling him what he wanted to hear until he let me go. I am a different person now. More independent. I take care of me. I am no longer confined by the leash of a pet.
I yank harder on his arm.

"If that's all you wanted to say then let me go! I have business to take care of." I let my frustration leak into my voice. He tightens his grip and moves closer so that we are nose to nose.

"Do you remember what I said I would do if you ever ran away?" His threatening growl is prominent in his voice. My body trembles. It is an automatic response that became habit after years of abuse. I can see the pleasure in his eyes. He is sadistic as always.
I can feel his breath on my neck....
My neck! Souls bite mark is there! If he sees it..

"Wait, If you knew I was alive then why didn't you come after me?" I ask trying to divert his attention. He pulls back a little bit.
What is this hesitation?

"You're special." He whispers.
"After our fight you left me laid up in the hospital for a few months. The doctors were so intrigued by the type of bacteria in my wounds. They kept hounding me about what type of creature caused them. I don't know what you are and I don't care. I know now that I shouldn't have kept you cooped. You should be at the head of this war, with me."  He says intently. I tense up at his tone. I am vexed with myself. All of those horrid memories are flooding my head. I want to curl up and make myself smaller. I want to disappear.
No, that's not right. I wanted to disappear. I have a job to do here.

"What war?" I ask. I steel myself and look him in the eye.

Nothing.

"What war, Befoul?" I ask again, asserting myself a little bit more.
His eyes flicker for a moment.

"You've changed. I like it. A war has been waged between demons. Currently the Panthera are trying to overthrow the Canis and the Ursidae. Once we rule the food chain we plan on throwing humanity for a loop." He says sinisterly. For a moment his attention wonders but he snaps back to the present.

"What does that have to do with me?" I ask him. I'm not one of those species nor am I a rival to them. My arm starts to tingle as it goes numb. I let go of his hair and let my arm fall to my side and try to shake the feeling back into it.

"I am almost done being patient. I have waited 3 years, Krow. I can't be responsible for what happens if you make me wait longer." He threatens me while avoiding my question. I notice that he is getting closer a tiny bit at a time. I take a deep breath.
I raise my hands above my head and clasp them together. I bring them down as fast as I can and hit him in the wrist, forcing him to let go of me. The shocked look on his face makes me pulsate with joy. I dash back into the hallway and take off in the direction I came from.

"CATCH THAT RAPTORE!" Befoul's yowl echo's through the hallway and leaves a ringing in my ears. I have but one priority now. I need to make sure he doesn't find Soul.
I skid to a halt as I approach the stairway. There is a welcoming party of about seven Rattus(Give or take a few other species).  I go to change my direction but there is another group heading towards me.
I am cornered.
I have options, I can either get caught and tortured or I can kill some people and get caught and tortured. Killing myself isn't an option. I'm not capable of that.
So I fight.
I reach and pluck two feathers, one for each hand, and I charge the group by the stairs. They aren't expecting me to do something stupid so thankfully I catch them off guard. The first one turns and looks at me with a mix of terror and confusion. I stab my feather into his eyes and watch him pull back in pain.
I notice that most of these guys are young. Too young for their own good. I think I get what's going on but I don't have time to think about that right now. Another kid starts to lunge at me and I side step him, whacking him upside the head as I do so. Someone grabs one of my arms from behind and I dive my feather into my captors arm. They pull back with a yowl of pain. I turn to see the face of Kasper whom brings a swift knee to my stomach. My body falters from the force. I grip my stomach as I hit my knees. It is pretty low to use a cheap trick like that on someone who is out numbered. Though they are Rats...
I leave one arm wrapped around my stomach and flip off Kasper with the other hand. He smirks at this pathetic display.
"Eh?!" I exhale as a hand slides through my hair and yanks my head backwards. It's Befoul. He isn't ticked, he looks amused.
That is much worse.
Befoul shoves my face to the floor and places a foot on the back of my head. I can feel him apply a little bit of pressure at a time, slowly grinding my head into the floor.
I think I finally get why he is restraining himself.
There is an audience.
I take a deep breath and move. I twist around bringing my elbow up and driving it into his ankle. He was putting more weight on that foot than he should have so he tumbles forward as I roll out of the way. As I jump back onto him I can hear the others gasping. I start pounding into his face as fast and hard as I can.
Here it comes.
He catches my incoming fist and twists my arm fast and hard, making my back arch and my movements go stiff. He flips me over and thrusts my arm up into my mid back. If you have ever had this done then you know it makes you unwilling to move anything else. His head stoops below mine as he whispers into my ear.
"You have no idea what you have just done." He growls silently, his breath tickling my ear. I see a droplet of blood splat down in front of me. The crimson against the cold hard cement makes me happy. I feel like, just once, I got to win the fight. Then again I am the one being pinned.
I grin proudly. My body aches and is tired but I can accept this defeat.
"Kasper, take our intruder to the interrogation room. I will deal with him after the meeting." He says impatiently. They clumsily exchange me from one set of hands to another. Kaz drags me down the dark hallway away from any candle light. As he pulls me away I turn to admire the uproar I seemed to cause. I identify two unmoving bodies and two nursing wounds. Befoul is standing amongst them and stands out like a skyscraper among farmhouses.
His dominant stance is glaringly obvious. I see the little trickles of blood outline his gruesome features.
I think I might actually be a demon, because man I wanna see all of these schmucks bleed....

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I cackle as Kaz drags me down the hall.