Post by LโEฬแดสแดษดษขแดส on Oct 23, 2018 2:29:17 GMT -5
![](https://i.imgur.com/QF6V4zB.png)
The devil is a gentleman, first and foremost.
As turbulent as his life proved to be, there were times when everything was fine. Times when peace seemed to be just in his reach, times when he could just settle in the arms of someone else and know everything was going to be okay. It was small moments like these that kept him moving forward, step by step. Whether it was Seraphin's warmth and understanding or Taro's protectiveness and caring, he felt at home and safe with them. And here, in the heart of Kyoto, Taro's small apartment was as perfect as any high end hotel he had resided in. It was peaceful and as he drifted off to sleep, he wasn't worried about trouble until trouble came.
And god did it come.
He startled awake not to the sound of footsteps or a telltale creak of a door, telling him that there was someone else here. He was on edge for a completely different reason and a very sensible one at that. Alarms were blaring, ringing and ringing so loud he was certain he was going to go deaf but before he could complain he was already moving - slipping out from Taro's hold to throw on anything haphazardly as he looked at Taro hoping there was some reasonable explanation. He wasn't scared as much as he was confused and a little concerned.
He was more than aware of Japan's earthquake and tsunami siren that warned its inhabitants of the coming of natural disasters but the problem was nothing felt wrong. He had never experienced either before, but he had always assumed he would feel the tremors in the Earth. He had been in a avalanche before and survived to tell the tale, though his companions had not been quite as lucky and that had not only been disorientating and it had been cold. He couldn't remember a time other than that incident in which the cold wasn't a welcomed change to the heat. But this was neither that nor was it what he was expecting and just as he opened his mouth to ask - he heard something amidst the sirens that caused him to shut his mouth immediately. Raising a finger to his lips, he immediately grabbed his shoulder holster and shrugged it on, checking his silenced pistol for bullets before he steadied the gun and slowly headed for the door.
He nodded to Taro, trusting the other man to have his back as per usual. His fingers tightened around the door knob, but before he opened it - a blood curdling scream seemed to come from down the hall and he hesitated. It was easy to imagine that something was going very wrong, but any sound could possible draw the assailant towards them and given Japan's strict gun laws, it was probably going to be easier utilizing a knife so that Taro's neighbors didn't immediately call the police on them. Though, he highly doubted they would be able to direct their time or resources towards Taro's residence in the middle of a national crisis, he preferred to play it safe without wasting any time.
Picking up one of Taro's sharper knives, he tested its weight in his hand as he holstered his gun and silently resumed his position by the door. There it was again. The unearthly sound of something terribly sharp tearing through the floorboards. He spared Taro a glance, certain that the other man had to have heard it as well before he opened the door. He was practiced with stealth and Taro's apartment was well loved so the door hinges didn't so much as creak as he cracked it open. He didn't even have to do more than that as glowing red eyes glanced in his direction but just as quickly as they moved towards him, he had pulled away from the door without closing it abruptly. He steadied the knife in his hand, uncertain as to what was out there but it hadn't looked human.
The form was hunched over in an almost beastly manner and he was certain those had been eyes but then why the hell were there so many. After a few seconds passed, he looked out once again and saw that whatever it was, it was feasting on a woman, sharp unnaturally long protruding canines dripping with blood in the moonlight. It was covered in hair or fur and resembled an animal more than a man, but he was damn sure there was no animal that looked like that. Closing the door silently as he pulled back inside completely he shook his head at Taro. It wasn't worth getting involved in, it was best to wait it out.
He had no idea what the hell he had seen but he didn't want to risk making too much noise or even speaking as he headed back towards Taro's room to organize his tools and supplies. Perhaps there would be news of it on the tv or internet so before he continued to deal with his weapons, he pulled out his phone and gestured it to Taro. He wasn't far too involved with technology, more interested in how to get it to stop working or how to fry the mainframe or cause it to behave abnormally than anything else. That and he understood the applications and importance of it in tracking individuals who didn't clean up their digital footprints well, but that was the extent he involved himself with such trivialities and as far as he was concerned Taro was better with the touch screen keypad than he was. For a man who specialized in all matters involving finesse and precision, he couldn't get the damn buttons to cooperate with him ever.
As he proceeded to check over what he had on him in case things got ugly, he heard the loud scraping sound draw closer and closer until he was sure it was in front of their door. Something large was waiting outside and he could hear ragged breathing from the other side of the door. The scraping seemed to run down the door and then suddenly it stopped for a few seconds before something heavy slammed into it. Once. Twice.
The door held firm.
And just as soon, he heard the scraping again as it moved further and further away - the noise enough for him to stop what he was doing and remain silent and tense - ready in case the door did fall and whatever was out there entered in here. It was still black out, dark and in the early hours of morning. A quick glance at the clock confirmed just as much. It was barely two am. He frowned slightly as he waited for the scraping to get further and further away before the thumping sound seemed to come from a few apartments down. Eventually things were eerily quiet for a heartbeat and then there was an unearthly howl followed by a scream and the sound of frantic running following by the hectic scrambling of the clawed creature.
He paused until he was certain whatever it was was gone before he resumed his activities, laying out his two silenced revolvers and assortment of knives. Something told him he should have brought heavier and better guns, but then he wasn't sure if they needed firepower or stealth for whatever that was. As he fixed up his clothes and the minutes ticked by, he was finally certain that it was gone.
Looking towards Taro, he raised an eyebrow before speaking in an even more quieter tone than he usually did. "So? Is there anything on the news?" Either they were bound to leave soon or they weren't. He paused for a moment before continuing. "I saw something out there. It wasn't natural Taro, it was something that looked... well." He laughed but there was no amusement, "It looked like something from those bad science fiction films, I think it's gone now."
Even as he waited for Taro to answer him, he was fishing out his phone to see if there was anything on it. The first thing that alarmed him was the number of text messages he had received from Seraphin. They were clipped and short at first, requests for him to call her as soon as he could that devolved into messages saying that something was wrong there and that something was outside. There were other messages detailing screams and the last message she had sent him was 'I'm going to take Jerome and his family into the safe room for now until I'm sure its gone. Contact me soon, Mi Vida. I'm worried.'
His immediate instinct was to call back immediately, but as he continued to look through the messages that had been sent to him less than a few minutes ago - the oldest of them only half an hour ago when the sirens blared - a growing sense of dread was filling him as contacts from around the globe were sending messages telling him to go underground and others yet asking him if he knew anything about what was going on. He was still for a moment before he slowly raised his head to look at Taro.
"What are they saying?" He inquired once again, a hint of concern lacing his words even as he was already mentally cataloging everything he needed to take with him. He didn't want to leave without Taro, but if Taro was determined to stay for his family - then he was going to have to leave alone. He wasn't going to make that ultimatum right now, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He was going back for his family one way or another and Japan? Japan was Taro's home.
He wasn't selfish enough to demand Taro to drop everything to follow him on what could possibly be a fruitless journey. So he settled with what he had to know, mind occupied with a dreadful coil of fear for Seraphin and his childrens' well being. Even as he waited for an answer, he moved over to the window the look out at the dusty grey streets. In the illumination of the street lamps, he could make out contorted corpses and large splatters of blood. It was void of a lot of several cars while others were smoking from collisions. He was not one to jump to conclusions, but this was well and truly what the face of an apocalypse looked like.
He sucked in a harsh breath even as he continued to stare outside.
He hesitated briefly even as he saw one of those things run rush from one building complex over to the next - too fast to make out any important details. "Come take a look outside, Taro. You'll want to see this."
And god did it come.
He startled awake not to the sound of footsteps or a telltale creak of a door, telling him that there was someone else here. He was on edge for a completely different reason and a very sensible one at that. Alarms were blaring, ringing and ringing so loud he was certain he was going to go deaf but before he could complain he was already moving - slipping out from Taro's hold to throw on anything haphazardly as he looked at Taro hoping there was some reasonable explanation. He wasn't scared as much as he was confused and a little concerned.
He was more than aware of Japan's earthquake and tsunami siren that warned its inhabitants of the coming of natural disasters but the problem was nothing felt wrong. He had never experienced either before, but he had always assumed he would feel the tremors in the Earth. He had been in a avalanche before and survived to tell the tale, though his companions had not been quite as lucky and that had not only been disorientating and it had been cold. He couldn't remember a time other than that incident in which the cold wasn't a welcomed change to the heat. But this was neither that nor was it what he was expecting and just as he opened his mouth to ask - he heard something amidst the sirens that caused him to shut his mouth immediately. Raising a finger to his lips, he immediately grabbed his shoulder holster and shrugged it on, checking his silenced pistol for bullets before he steadied the gun and slowly headed for the door.
He nodded to Taro, trusting the other man to have his back as per usual. His fingers tightened around the door knob, but before he opened it - a blood curdling scream seemed to come from down the hall and he hesitated. It was easy to imagine that something was going very wrong, but any sound could possible draw the assailant towards them and given Japan's strict gun laws, it was probably going to be easier utilizing a knife so that Taro's neighbors didn't immediately call the police on them. Though, he highly doubted they would be able to direct their time or resources towards Taro's residence in the middle of a national crisis, he preferred to play it safe without wasting any time.
Picking up one of Taro's sharper knives, he tested its weight in his hand as he holstered his gun and silently resumed his position by the door. There it was again. The unearthly sound of something terribly sharp tearing through the floorboards. He spared Taro a glance, certain that the other man had to have heard it as well before he opened the door. He was practiced with stealth and Taro's apartment was well loved so the door hinges didn't so much as creak as he cracked it open. He didn't even have to do more than that as glowing red eyes glanced in his direction but just as quickly as they moved towards him, he had pulled away from the door without closing it abruptly. He steadied the knife in his hand, uncertain as to what was out there but it hadn't looked human.
The form was hunched over in an almost beastly manner and he was certain those had been eyes but then why the hell were there so many. After a few seconds passed, he looked out once again and saw that whatever it was, it was feasting on a woman, sharp unnaturally long protruding canines dripping with blood in the moonlight. It was covered in hair or fur and resembled an animal more than a man, but he was damn sure there was no animal that looked like that. Closing the door silently as he pulled back inside completely he shook his head at Taro. It wasn't worth getting involved in, it was best to wait it out.
He had no idea what the hell he had seen but he didn't want to risk making too much noise or even speaking as he headed back towards Taro's room to organize his tools and supplies. Perhaps there would be news of it on the tv or internet so before he continued to deal with his weapons, he pulled out his phone and gestured it to Taro. He wasn't far too involved with technology, more interested in how to get it to stop working or how to fry the mainframe or cause it to behave abnormally than anything else. That and he understood the applications and importance of it in tracking individuals who didn't clean up their digital footprints well, but that was the extent he involved himself with such trivialities and as far as he was concerned Taro was better with the touch screen keypad than he was. For a man who specialized in all matters involving finesse and precision, he couldn't get the damn buttons to cooperate with him ever.
As he proceeded to check over what he had on him in case things got ugly, he heard the loud scraping sound draw closer and closer until he was sure it was in front of their door. Something large was waiting outside and he could hear ragged breathing from the other side of the door. The scraping seemed to run down the door and then suddenly it stopped for a few seconds before something heavy slammed into it. Once. Twice.
The door held firm.
And just as soon, he heard the scraping again as it moved further and further away - the noise enough for him to stop what he was doing and remain silent and tense - ready in case the door did fall and whatever was out there entered in here. It was still black out, dark and in the early hours of morning. A quick glance at the clock confirmed just as much. It was barely two am. He frowned slightly as he waited for the scraping to get further and further away before the thumping sound seemed to come from a few apartments down. Eventually things were eerily quiet for a heartbeat and then there was an unearthly howl followed by a scream and the sound of frantic running following by the hectic scrambling of the clawed creature.
He paused until he was certain whatever it was was gone before he resumed his activities, laying out his two silenced revolvers and assortment of knives. Something told him he should have brought heavier and better guns, but then he wasn't sure if they needed firepower or stealth for whatever that was. As he fixed up his clothes and the minutes ticked by, he was finally certain that it was gone.
Looking towards Taro, he raised an eyebrow before speaking in an even more quieter tone than he usually did. "So? Is there anything on the news?" Either they were bound to leave soon or they weren't. He paused for a moment before continuing. "I saw something out there. It wasn't natural Taro, it was something that looked... well." He laughed but there was no amusement, "It looked like something from those bad science fiction films, I think it's gone now."
Even as he waited for Taro to answer him, he was fishing out his phone to see if there was anything on it. The first thing that alarmed him was the number of text messages he had received from Seraphin. They were clipped and short at first, requests for him to call her as soon as he could that devolved into messages saying that something was wrong there and that something was outside. There were other messages detailing screams and the last message she had sent him was 'I'm going to take Jerome and his family into the safe room for now until I'm sure its gone. Contact me soon, Mi Vida. I'm worried.'
His immediate instinct was to call back immediately, but as he continued to look through the messages that had been sent to him less than a few minutes ago - the oldest of them only half an hour ago when the sirens blared - a growing sense of dread was filling him as contacts from around the globe were sending messages telling him to go underground and others yet asking him if he knew anything about what was going on. He was still for a moment before he slowly raised his head to look at Taro.
"What are they saying?" He inquired once again, a hint of concern lacing his words even as he was already mentally cataloging everything he needed to take with him. He didn't want to leave without Taro, but if Taro was determined to stay for his family - then he was going to have to leave alone. He wasn't going to make that ultimatum right now, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He was going back for his family one way or another and Japan? Japan was Taro's home.
He wasn't selfish enough to demand Taro to drop everything to follow him on what could possibly be a fruitless journey. So he settled with what he had to know, mind occupied with a dreadful coil of fear for Seraphin and his childrens' well being. Even as he waited for an answer, he moved over to the window the look out at the dusty grey streets. In the illumination of the street lamps, he could make out contorted corpses and large splatters of blood. It was void of a lot of several cars while others were smoking from collisions. He was not one to jump to conclusions, but this was well and truly what the face of an apocalypse looked like.
He sucked in a harsh breath even as he continued to stare outside.
He hesitated briefly even as he saw one of those things run rush from one building complex over to the next - too fast to make out any important details. "Come take a look outside, Taro. You'll want to see this."