Monday, September 26, 2005

Unleashed It was like the nightmare happened all over again. I remember I started getting wary when Justin said he had been having strange dreams. “What do you think it means?” I asked. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve been feeling weird for the last few days too. Kind of how I felt before....” He didn’t need to say anymore. “Do you think it’s..... him?” I asked. “I’m not sure,” he said, “but whatever it is..... it wants out. Incubus has been under lock and key for a long time now. I thought I had control of him, but it’s gotten harder lately. It like he’s trying to wear me down.” “Justin,” I said, “you’ve beaten him before. You can do it again.” But he scoffed and asked, “When?” Was he messing with me? “That night the AMP was here,” I said. “Don’t you remember? You fought him and won. You came back.” But he shook his head. “I didn’t win that night, Aisha. You did. November 2nd, the only reason I was able to come back was because of you. Incubus has already proven that he’s stronger than me. I can’t do it alone.” Now I was mad. “Oh, that is bull! Justin, when are you going to stop lying to yourself?! You’ve been strong enough to keep him repressed till now, right?! You have the power, I can feel it in you! Don’t you ever doubt yourself.” I almost felt like slapping him; bring him back to his senses. But I put my hands on his shoulders and reassured him, “And even if you can’t do it alone, who said you had to?” He looked up at me looking like a lost puppy. I hugged him gently. “I love you, Justin. I will always be here for you. Don’t ever forget that.” Then he wrapped his arms around me and held me tight like I was his mother. “Silly boy,” I laughed. “You take so much looking after.” I stayed close to Justin the rest of the day. We were going to get through this together. After our talk, he said he felt a lot better, but he seemed very uneasy. He looked exhausted, his heart sped up, his breathing became heavier, and he was sweating a little. At times he looked like he was ready to pass out. But as night came, he calmed down dramatically and started to appear normal. Soon it came close to Kida’s bedtime. “I’m gonna go check on Kida. You gonna be OK?” I asked. Justin sat on the bed and with a confident smile responded, “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” His tranquil demeanor comforted me and I was off. I peeked into Kida’s room. She was laying on her bed reading manga while Ozz and Gummy were playing game-boy. “Alright everyone,” I said, “lights out.” Ozz quickly complied and shut off his game, but the others.... well. “Aww mom!” Gummy whined. “Mom, just another thirty minutes?” Kida pleaded. Then Ozz “TKed” her book out of her hands and closed it. “Ozzy, you buzzkill!” she screamed. “Lights out,” I said firmly. Kida sulked a little, then slipped under her covers grumbling, “When are they gonna stop treating me like a kid?” I switched off the lights and whispered, “Goodnight, Kida.” “Goodnight, mom,” was the muffled reply. After saying goodnight to Kida, I started walking back to our room. Then suddenly, I heard a voice coming from the end of the hall. It sounded like Justin’s singing. “Where once was light, now darkness falls. Where once was love, love is no more. Don’t say goodbye. Don’t say I didn’t try.” The song was coming from Justin’s room. The melancholy lyrics prepared me for the worst as I slowly opened the door. All the lights were out and there was a large dark figure sitting on the bed. “Justin?” I whispered. The shadowy figure lifted up his head and replied in a gravelly voice, “No, my dear.” “Who are you? Where’s Justin?!” I yelled. “He’s stepped out for the moment,” the voice hissed. It couldn’t be. Justin was fine just a moment ago. My eyes grew with fear. “It’s you. Incubus, you bastard! Let him go!” The monster laughed. “Wrong again, sweetheart!” He stood up and stepped into the moonlight. “You have me confused with my brother,” he said. As I took a closer look at the monster, I could see that it wasn’t Incubus. This was a new creature. Incubus had coarse black hair, red eyes, three fingers, and two large spikes on his back. But this monster had soft brown fur, yellow eyes, five fingers, no spikes, and could talk. He was also taller; 7 feet at least. He looked like your garden-variety were-wolf. “Then who are you?” I asked. He sounded almost like Justin but spoke with a sickeningly vain elegance. “You may call me Ravage,” he said as he bowed lightly. I should’ve just kicked him in the teeth right there. “I am not as strong as my brother and certainly not as arrogant. He is a brute, a bully, and a mindless berserker. Whereas I, I am more.... controlled.” This son of a bitch loved to hear himself talk. “Basically, he got the brawn, I got the brains.... and the good looks. Wouldn’t you agree, my dear?” The bastard stepped towards me and stroked my face softly with his paw. Bad dog. I scratched his arm deep and he recoiled in pain. Naughty naughty. “Don’t you dare touch me!” I growled. He snarled at me as he watched the blood flow from his arm. But then his sneer slowly faded to a wicked grin. “Temper temper, kitty,” he said. “Hath not a demon hands or eyes? If you scratch us, do we not bleed? And if I bleed..... he bleeds.” He smiled sadistically. “As I said, I’m not as strong as my brother. He is strong enough to heal his own wounds and restrict any pain that he feels at all to himself. I, however, am not. So, whatever I feel,..... your boyfriend feels.” I gasped in terror as I realized what he just said. “So, I suggest you retract those claws before you hurt someone you love.” I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t hurt him or I’d be hurting Justin too. For the first time in my life I knew what it felt like to be... powerless. “I don’t get it,” I said. “If you’re weaker, how come Justin was able to hold Incubus back but not you? How did you take over?” The monster gave a deep bellowing laugh and shook his head. “Silly girl. Haven’t you figured it out yet? He LET me take over! Poor boy couldn’t handle the pain of keeping us locked up for so long. He had to let one of us out.” Sick son of a.... That was not the answer I wanted to hear! “You lie,” I hissed. Then he glared at me hard and his voice lowered. “Don’t insult me,” he snarled. “I know him better than he knows himself.” His eyes were on me for several seconds as if trying to kill me with his stare. But then his sick smile returned. “Don’t worry princess,” he said, “I promised your beau I wouldn’t kill. And he’ll return.... eventually. I’m just here to stretch my legs. In the meantime, be grateful you’re stuck with the lesser of two evils. My brother thrives on death and destruction.” He set it up and waited for me to pose the next question. “And what do you thrive on?” I asked. “...... Getting my way,” he said coolly. “Whatever I want, I take. Whatever I will, I make so. And whatever pleases me,... I will have.” He gazed at me with fierce lust in his amber eyes. “You stay away from me!” I yelled. Then, as if he were trying to get on good terms, the abomination tried to strike a deal with me. “You can use me to your advantage, my sweet,” he said. “I know things.” “Like what?” I scoffed. “Things about Justin, of course,” he said. “How he feels about you; the things he’s too afraid to say. He wants you, Aisha.” “.... I already know that.” “Not in the way you’re thinking. He wants you bad.” He chuckled heinously and continued his perverse ranting. “He wants to do you every way on a Sunday. He wants you to make him howl like the dog he is. Hruf... hruf... hruf...” He started barking and got on all fours. The barking got louder and higher pitched until it sounded like whimpering. Then he started thrusting his pelvis suggestively. I just stood there, aghast by this disgusting and vulgar display. Then his barking finally climaxed in a long howl and he slumped onto the floor. He took a second to catch his breath and then looked up at me with a repulsive smirk. “Was it good for you?” he huskily asked. I was shocked stiff. “You sick freak,” I whispered in revulsion. He gave a wicked laugh and stood up. Then, as if suddenly overcome, he moaned slightly and ran his claws down his chest. “Mmmm. I shouldn’t have done that.” He stared at me with twisted desire. “Don’t you dare,” I hissed. But Ravage began to make his way towards me. “You stay back or I’ll...” “Or you’ll what? You’ll only be hurting him.” He was right. I had almost forgotten. My fear renewed and still in shock by his vile air-humping, I helplessly backed up against the wall. He roughly grabbed my shoulders, pinning me. “Fair warning,” he whispered, “I won’t be gentle.” I tried to struggle free, but as I feared, just like Incubus, he was stronger than me. I couldn’t fight him for fear of harming Justin. And if I called for help I’d wake up Kida. Lord knows she’d be horrified if she saw this. Ravage must’ve sensed this. “There’s no-one who can help you,” he whispered. “Is there?” Again, he was right. “Say it,” he beckoned me. “Th... there’s no-one who can help me,” I said in a small voice. As I said this,... I cried. I had finally come to know fear. And its name was Ravage. As he watched the tears roll down my face, he whispered in my ear, “That’s it. Cry for me.” I closed my eyes and braced myself for the unimaginable horror I was about to receive. But then, Ravage grunted and his grip loosened. I slowly opened my eyes. His face was wincing in pain. “Uhn.... errr.... rrRAAR!” He let go of me and staggered back holding his head as he screamed. “It’s Justin,” I thought. “He’s trying to come back.” But then, Ravage turned his back to me and started to mumble under his breath. “Hrrrr... no.... no.... no....” He kept repeating it to himself over and over. “No.... no.... no....” I was completely confused. Was he fighting Justin? Or did the monster just have a sudden attack of conscience? But then he calmed down and looked back at me with a stone cold expression. “Now if you’d excuse me...” he said gruffly. He jumped onto the bed and opened the window above the headboard. “I have angst to release. Don’t follow me.” Then he leapt out the window and into midnight. What just happened here? He made a complete 180 turnaround! But I wasn’t much interested in a reason. I was more concerned about whatever he was planning to do. Don’t follow me? “....The hell I won’t.”

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