the creatures. “Any ideas, Mr. Gray?” he asked, shouting over the sounds of gunfire and the grunting of Eun.
Instead of answering, Lazarus took action. He avoided the worst part of a swipe from his opponent’s claws, ignoring the stinging pain as a gash was opened up on his shoulder. He dove into the room, headed straight for The Unnervum. The monsters had seemingly emerged from nowhere but he suspected that they did have a point of origin: the same one from whence the blue energy had come.
Catalyst saw what was happening and inwardly flinched. He had wanted to be the first to handle the cursed object, not out of personal hubris but because he feared the effect it could have on the others. Still, there was no turning back now. He brought up an arm and blocked a punch from his enemy, the force of the blow sending a shock of pain that went all the up to his head. “Hold them off for a minute more!” he yelled to the others.
The advice was unnecessary. Each of the Assistance Unlimited members were doing their utmost to defeat the creatures. Samantha had abandoned her pistol and was using judo to toss her opponent to the floor. She kept it there with a flurry of kicks but she knew that the monster would inevitably rise.
Morgan, meanwhile, was in a bad way. A powerful blow to the side of the head had rocked his senses and left him dazed. Now he was trying to fend off two of them, as the one that Lazarus had abandoned had now joined the creature he’d been fighting. The two of them raked Morgan’s flesh again and again, ruining his shirt and leaving glistening red lines on his skin.
Eun saw all of this and lowered his shoulder, driving like a football player straight into the side of one of the monsters. It drove the beast into the one next to him and both toppled over. The young Korean spun about just in time to catch the arm of his own enemy, the claws of which had been just about to descend in a killing blow. “Not trying to rush you, Lazarus, but this isn’t going well!”
Lazarus heard his friend’s cry but he couldn’t move any faster than he already was. The air around The Unnervum was as thick as molasses and every step he took required a tremendous burst of strength. It seemed to take forever before his outstretched hand seized the crystal ball and yanked it off the pedestal.
That simple action had an immediate effect. The creatures that had been bedeviling his companions vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. The strange energy distortion that had surrounded The Unnervum was gone, as well.
But the worst of it was what was happening to Lazarus. He screamed, a soul-rending sound that was unlike anything his friends had ever heard from him before. They stared in horror as he fell to his knees, the strange crystal ball held tightly against his chest. His eyes were open but they were completely white, with no sign of the mismatched green and brown orbs that they were normally.
Samantha rushed to his side but she was prevented from reaching out to him by Catalyst, who swept her up into his arms.
“No! Do not touch him! We have to trust him to come through this on his own!”
“But what’s happening to him?”
“He’s communing with The Unnervum. It’s showing him something. I don’t know what it is but we have to pray that it’s going to help us get some answers.”
* * *
The mind and soul of Lazarus Gray were now some place beyond the mortal realm.
He stood before a lake of some kind but it was not water that lapped at the shore. It was thick and pus-like, with an odor that reminded Lazarus of an open sore. The sky was a muddy brown color and was completely featureless. The landscape was cracked and dry, with only a few dead trees to be seen.
Standing on the other side of the lake, far enough away that some aspects of his appearance were uncertain but close enough that Lazarus knew their voices would carry, was a man. He was dark-skinned in a swarthy way and he wore a suit of the darkest
Instead of answering, Lazarus took action. He avoided the worst part of a swipe from his opponent’s claws, ignoring the stinging pain as a gash was opened up on his shoulder. He dove into the room, headed straight for The Unnervum. The monsters had seemingly emerged from nowhere but he suspected that they did have a point of origin: the same one from whence the blue energy had come.
Catalyst saw what was happening and inwardly flinched. He had wanted to be the first to handle the cursed object, not out of personal hubris but because he feared the effect it could have on the others. Still, there was no turning back now. He brought up an arm and blocked a punch from his enemy, the force of the blow sending a shock of pain that went all the up to his head. “Hold them off for a minute more!” he yelled to the others.
The advice was unnecessary. Each of the Assistance Unlimited members were doing their utmost to defeat the creatures. Samantha had abandoned her pistol and was using judo to toss her opponent to the floor. She kept it there with a flurry of kicks but she knew that the monster would inevitably rise.
Morgan, meanwhile, was in a bad way. A powerful blow to the side of the head had rocked his senses and left him dazed. Now he was trying to fend off two of them, as the one that Lazarus had abandoned had now joined the creature he’d been fighting. The two of them raked Morgan’s flesh again and again, ruining his shirt and leaving glistening red lines on his skin.
Eun saw all of this and lowered his shoulder, driving like a football player straight into the side of one of the monsters. It drove the beast into the one next to him and both toppled over. The young Korean spun about just in time to catch the arm of his own enemy, the claws of which had been just about to descend in a killing blow. “Not trying to rush you, Lazarus, but this isn’t going well!”
Lazarus heard his friend’s cry but he couldn’t move any faster than he already was. The air around The Unnervum was as thick as molasses and every step he took required a tremendous burst of strength. It seemed to take forever before his outstretched hand seized the crystal ball and yanked it off the pedestal.
That simple action had an immediate effect. The creatures that had been bedeviling his companions vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. The strange energy distortion that had surrounded The Unnervum was gone, as well.
But the worst of it was what was happening to Lazarus. He screamed, a soul-rending sound that was unlike anything his friends had ever heard from him before. They stared in horror as he fell to his knees, the strange crystal ball held tightly against his chest. His eyes were open but they were completely white, with no sign of the mismatched green and brown orbs that they were normally.
Samantha rushed to his side but she was prevented from reaching out to him by Catalyst, who swept her up into his arms.
“No! Do not touch him! We have to trust him to come through this on his own!”
“But what’s happening to him?”
“He’s communing with The Unnervum. It’s showing him something. I don’t know what it is but we have to pray that it’s going to help us get some answers.”
* * *
The mind and soul of Lazarus Gray were now some place beyond the mortal realm.
He stood before a lake of some kind but it was not water that lapped at the shore. It was thick and pus-like, with an odor that reminded Lazarus of an open sore. The sky was a muddy brown color and was completely featureless. The landscape was cracked and dry, with only a few dead trees to be seen.
Standing on the other side of the lake, far enough away that some aspects of his appearance were uncertain but close enough that Lazarus knew their voices would carry, was a man. He was dark-skinned in a swarthy way and he wore a suit of the darkest
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