FicWad

-Jason looked around at the dusty bones resting all around what had once been his best hope for victory. All around him his men were pulling in tighter, trying desperately to hold back the relentless onslaught of demons that were closing in on them. Guns blared with flashes and loud retorts while demons fell by the hundreds, but they just kept coming.

-The demons were blown apart and shredded to pieces by the ceaseless gunfire, but still they came ever closer. Even Kikki was being overwhelmed, though she seemed to enjoy the challenge. She swung her staff wildly, crushing skulls and sending demons flying through the air. One beast in particular she took special pleasure in dispatching. She swung her staff and knocked the legs out from under it. Before gravity could bring it to the ground, Kikki batted the demon into its brethren. The monster shot through the others like a cannonball, clearing a path through them that was quickly resealed with fresh beasts.

-Jason observed this and got an idea, a crazy idea that just might turn everything around. “Kikki, can you use that staff to get me into the castle?”

-“Um…sure,” Kikki answered. She held out her staff and said, “Hop on.”

-Jason thought that Kikki answered the question a little fast, but he didn’t have time to come up with anything better, so he jumped onto the outstretched pole and Kikki launched him at the terrace where her master watched the battle in the distance. Jason soared through the air with Jeffery square in his sights, but before he could reach his target, a gargoyle swooped down at him. Jason swung his blade and cut the creature in half, but the impact changed his trajectory, and he crashed through the castle’s outer wall.

-Jason landed in loose soil, broken stones he had crashed through falling around him. He picked himself to find he was in the middle of some kind of arena that was reminiscent of the roman coliseum, only smaller. Jason looked around for an exit; if he was going to save his men he would have to kill Jeffery quickly.

-Before he could find a way out, Jason heard something behind him. He whirled around to see a familiar wolf standing glairing at him. The beast that stood snarling at Jason wasn’t Marrow, it was Oakram.

-“I’ve got a bone to pick with you, human,” Oakram growled as he continued to approach Jason slowly. He spoke without moving his mouth just as Marrow did. His fur was marked with the scars from their last encounter, and drool was dripping from between his large teeth. His hateful eyes were fixated on Jason as he began to circle the lone human.

-“Didn’t I kill you already?” Jason asked, keeping his eyes on the beast and reaching up to take hold of his sword once again.

-“The master didn’t approve,” Oakram answered. “Life and death are his to command, not yours. He graciously decided to reward my years of service by giving me a second chance at killing you.”

-Without further warning, Oakram dove at Jason with his mouth wide open. They snapped shut like a vice where Jason had just been standing. He jumped sideways to dodge a downward sword strike from Jason. The second that Oakram’s paws touched down, his claws dug in and he went for Jason again.

-Oakram was much faster than before. Jason didn’t have time to defend himself as the large wolf’s head rammed into his chest. Jason was thrown back into the wall, the stone crumbling under the impact. The scar-covered wolf came at Jason again with his mouth open and eager for a meal.

-Jason jumped up just in time to avoid the attack. Oakram’s sharp fangs crunched down on a mouthful of rock, shattering the stone chunks into dust under his strength. Jason landed behind the wolf and took off running. Oakram had already turned halfway around, so Jason wouldn’t have succeeded in an attack even if he had tried.

-Oakram chased after the human, confident that the man was being a coward. He was consumed by the thrill of the hunt, of running down his prey, of killing his opponent. He was faster than Jason, and he knew it. He closed the gap until he was close enough and then lunged at Jason’s back. Oakram was only inches away when Jason spun around too quickly for the large wolf to react. Jason’s sword swung upwards and sliced Oakram’s head in two as the wolf’s body slammed into him.

-Jason pushed Oakram’s corpse off of him. The two halves of the wolf’s head slumped away from each other as blood spilled out. Jason spun his sword and re-sheathed it before walking away from the body, but he didn’t get very far. Wet, squirting noises and a rustling sound made Jason turn around to stare at the white wolf’s body as it convulsed. The exposed tissue of the two partial heads pulsed and swelled until they had formed two whole heads.

-Oakram twisted his necks from side to side, popping bones loudly as he adjusted to the change. Jason watched in disbelief as the two heads turned to face him, all four eyes glaring at him. Jason heard a door creek open from the darkness, and then he looked around to see half a dozen other wolves come skulking out of the shadows led by Marrow.

-Oakram’s two heads turned in unison to look at his mate. Marrow tilted her own head as she examined his new appearance. “Interesting,” she said as the other wolves surrounded Jason. Marrow turned her attention back to the human and snarled, baring her large teeth.

-Jason was surrounded; he could hear the soft steps of the wolves behind him as they all inched in closer. He gripped his sword and gritted his teeth. Every second he wasted on these monsters, more of his people died. He needed to finish this quickly and get to Jeffery.

-Several of the smaller wolves lunged at Jason, but he jumped straight up to avoid them. The beasts all slammed into each other, except for Oakram who had waited until Jason was in the air. The scarred wolf leapt up with both mouths wide open. Jason tried to strike the animal down, but Oakram was too fast. His two heads bit down on both of Jason’s arms, and the entangled couple slammed into the bleachers.

-Jason’s arms were pinned, but Oakram couldn’t attack any other part of his body without releasing him. Jason refused to cry out in pain even as Oakram’s fangs sank deeper into his flesh. From between Oakram’s necks, Jason saw Marrow jumping in to finish him off. Summoning up all the strength he had, Jason bent his knees and kicked against Oakram’s stomach as hard as he could. The two-headed wolf was sent flying into his larger mate, leaving one of his k-9s in Jason’s arm. The two wolves slammed into each other and then crashed through a stone pillar, collapsing a part of a ceiling as they were buried in the rubble.

-Jason didn’t wait for the two demons to dig their way out. He jumped over to the fallen pillar and then up through the hole in the ceiling. No sooner had he passed through the opening, than the debris on the ground exploded, uncovering the two angry beasts.

-Marrow sniffed the air and looked up through the hole to see Jason peering down at her. She snarled up at him but did not dare follow. One member of her pack, however, had no reservations in pursuit. The black-furred wolf jumped onto the pillar as Jason moved out of sight, and the wolf shot up after him.

-“Wait,” Marrow barked, but it was too late. The moment the pup disappeared from view, Marrow’s pack heard the distinct sound on metal ripping through flesh and the yelp from their impatient companion before his body fell back into view, cut in half at the waist. Its lifeless corpse fell to the dirt, its blood soaking into the loose soil. Marrow howled with anger, and the rest of her pack did the same. Despite their loss, they would not be making the same mistake as their dead brother; Jason had escaped them.

-Jason continued through the winding corridors, hoping that the twisted silhouettes he saw in every shadow were just figments of his imagination. Small, grotesque vermin scattered for cover as Jason’s steps echoed through the deceptively vacant halls. He walked down a few steps and found himself standing before a large wooden door covered with scratches and blood stains.

-Jason’s impatience overrode his apprehension as he placed his palm against the damp wood and pushed it open. He walked into a dimly lit room lined with shelves containing all manner of disturbing objects floating in jars and resting in dust, some of which twitched as he walked by. Jason could hear someone, or something, moving around on the other side of a large tank that contained black liquid and some creatures that squirmed up against the glass.

-Jason slowly drew his sword and crept around to discover the source of the noise. What he found nearly made him vomit. A man was strapped down to a table cut open from his collar bone down to his groin. Large fishhooks embedded in his flesh held open his chest cavity, and several metal spikes had been driven into his organs. His eyelids were held open in a similar method, and I.V.s were stuck in his arms and legs.

-Jason stared at the terrible sight, wanting to help but too shocked to move. A shuffle of movement off to one corner caught his attention, and Jason saw the one-eyed woman he had fought along with the rest of Jeffery’s generals. She was connected some wires to a small box, and when she had finished, she flipped a switch.

-The tortured man screamed as his body shook wildly, held down only by the straps on the table. Electric sparks arched from his limbs to the metal table and surrounding surfaces; one bolt even touched the tip of Jason’s blade, sending a painful sting up his arm. Jason stumbled away from the terrible sight, his face twisted in terror and disgust. The woman turned off the switch and the man’s body relaxed. Jason could see his lungs expand and deflate, his heart pounding, even his intestines and stomach moved with slow, sickening undulations that made Jason want to gag.

-The woman walked over to the poor man and asked, “That was electricity.” she reached over to a nozzle. “And this is the acid, try to tell me which hurts more; this is very important.”

-“And why is that?” Jason asked as he stepped into view. No matter how unsettling the situation, Jason couldn’t let this continue.

-The woman turned sideways to look at him with her good eye. “The master is always looking for new ways to inflict pain and suffering upon the human race. I’m in charge of research and development. My name ifs Scylla. How would you like to help me in my research?” Scylla reached inside of her coat and pulled out a coiled whip.

-“I don’t think so,” Jason answered as he narrowed his eyes.

-Scylla’s whip lashed out at Jason’s face, but he managed to dodge it and lunged at her, swinging his blade at her throat. Despite Scylla’s restricting choice of clothing, she moved very fast, jumping away from Jason and countering with another crack of her whip which split the skin on Jason’s left cheek. Jason chased after her, slashing and stabbing, but Scylla managed to backpedal every time and draw blood from Jason with her whip again and again.

-Jason’s blade cracked the floor once more, and another lash mark found its home on his neck. The wounds were nothing more than an irritant to Jason, healing almost as fast as Scylla made them, but all the running around was starting to tire Jason out.

-Scylla hopped away and twirled her whip casually with a grin on her face; she seemed to be enjoying herself. Jason was forced to pause a moment while his cuts healed up. He was breathing hard and sweat was dripping off his chin. “You’re pissing me off,” Jason said, panting.

-“And you’re boring me,” Scylla shot back. “Is this really the best you can do? The master would have ended this in two minutes, but you can’t even land a single blow with your sword.”

-Jason smirked. “Then I guess I should try something different.” He grabbed one of the beakers resting on the shelf left of him and threw it at Scylla. She tried to dodge it, but Jason swung his sword and shattered the glass, spraying her with the clear liquid. She screamed as steam rose from her skin along with the smell of burning flesh. Large blisters appeared on her cheeks, and her clothes began to disintegrate.

-Jason didn’t waste any time, he stuck at Scylla with the full force of his blade. She tried to block the attack by pulling her whip taught, but Jason’s sword cut right through it and into Scylla’s left shoulder. She tumbled backwards as blood sprayed out of the gash. She groaned as she tried to get up, still unwilling to surrender. She managed to turn over to her back, and Jason could see his sword had cut halfway down into her chest.

-“So much for you,” said Jason as he stood over Scylla with his sword raised and ready to deliver the final blow. He swung down, but his blade was deflected by a luminescent barrier that had appeared around the woman. A white portal appeared below Scylla, and as she sank into it she said, “It appears my master has different plans.”

-Jason screamed and swung down at Scylla again with all his might. His blade shattered the barrier, but it was too late. His sword embedded itself in the stone floor, and Jason was alone once again.