The Hole in the World

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon watched as a customer exited the E-Z-Mart with a bag of sour cream potato chips and an orange juice. He juggled the juice into the crook of his arm and opened the bag. She heard him chewing from across the lot, unaware that anything peculiar was happening in the alley to his left. In fact, so long as nobody needed a pay phone, they wouldn’t find it.

Of course, that didn’t mean that nothing would find them.

The slayer rubbed her bare forearm. “Cold air. Do you feel that?” She looked at Cian. They stood on the pavement at the foot of the alley. He had been insistent that they go immediately to assess things, and that urgency worried Rhiannon because he was never that rushed about anything.

Comments

The Hole in the World

[cian_oneill]

"Aye," the Were replied, his head turned toward the alley, chin lifted as he sniffed at the air. It was still there, and he'd been able to finally describe it to Rhiannon as mothballs. "Like y' Nan would use in winter," he had added, the memory having taken so long as it had been suppressed with all the other memories of his parents' families over the years.

He rolled his shoulders as he looked at her and took a step into the alley, walking into the darkness. "It's commin' fr'm down here." He could still see, more clearly than most, but as he made his way into the alley he frowned. There was something further along, on the wall, that wasn't making sense.

It was a real darkness, nothing in it discernible, even to his eyes. He slowly walked toward it, taking his hands out of his coat pockets and letting them hang loosely by his sides. As he drew closer his frown deepened, and the odoour grew stronger.

Re: The Hole in the World

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon followed him, walking soft on the pavement so as not to disturb anything lurking in the alley. Her eyes adjusted quickly and she saw it, too: A blacker-than-black rectangular shape on the wall. It reminded her of a caving field trip she’d taken as a little girl. The children had been instructed to shut off their flash lights to experience pitch black, an absence of light so profound that it seemed to have substance.

“Cian,” she put a hand to his back.

She recognized the cold air slipping past her ears, that otherworldly smell. It was a portal.

Rhiannon immediately looked overhead and behind them. She dropped to pull a knife out of her pant leg.

"What the hell is that doing here?" she murmured.

Re: The Hole in the World

[cian_oneill]

Cian stiffened a little at her words, all his senses screaming that something wasn't right, that what they were looking at was not meant to be there. And that it had something to do with what he witnessed earlier.

Even without asking he knew whatever it was was not good. His stance widened a little as if bracing himself when he felt her drop, his instincts getting him ready to shift, his leather jacket now hanging open.

"What is it?" he asked, not having ever seen anything like it before.

Re: The Hole in the World

[rhiannon_lee]

“It’s a doorway,” she said. “I’ve heard there are rips between worlds, accidents, but that looks pretty intentional,” she said, keeping her voice low. Her eyes had adjusted enough that Rhiannon saw the artwork, too. “From the looks of the spray paint, I’d say someone opened it from this side.”

There was blood on the pavement, left behind by the victims he spotted earlier. Why the police hadn’t cordoned off the area, she wasn’t sure. Unless they had and any tape was later removed.

Re: The Hole in the World

[cian_oneill]

The smells were causing the hairs on Cian's skin to stand up, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to figure out if there was something moving in the inky black void, or if it was just his imagination. He felt Siofra stir, sensing an air of discontent and wariness and acute distrust.

"What the hell is on the other side?" he growled softly, a deep furrow formed in his brow. "'nd who'd do this? 'nd more importantly, how d' we close it?" Again the odour filled his nostrils and his nose screwed up as he turned his head slightly, as if trying to avoid the smell. It again took him back to his home, early in his childhood, and something to do with his maternal grandmother. "Y' ever seen anythin' like it before?"

Re: The Hole in the World

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon looked around the alley for a piece of trash, anything disposable. “Kinda. I stepped through one once,” she said. “Except I knew where I was going.” The slayer found a crumpled beer can and picked it up. Using caution she edged closer to the portal and tossed the can underhanded into the void. “To close it we’ll probably need an experienced witch. Or the person who opened it in the first place.”

She wondered if Elfleda had anything to do with it.

“There’s someone I can ask. She carries some risk but it’s worth it, if there’s a demon ripping people’s faces off.” She eyed the Were cautiously. Should she ask him to meet Elfleda with her, or was that just unnecessarily putting Cian’s name on the dark woman’s radar? Protective instincts battled with good sense. “I don’t know if she’ll close it – she tends to want something in return – but who knows? Maybe she’ll tell us what it’s for.”

Belatedly she thought of Whistler. Would he know anything?

Re: The Hole in the World

[cian_oneill]

Cian was both relieved and a little wary, knowing only too well that Rhiannon's world would have led her to meeting all types and he did wonder what type of woman this was, and what the risk would be.

And what she would want in return for doing something that would close this thing. He turned his head to look at Rhiannon and an eyebrow lifted.

"She'd be fine with leavin' somethin' like this open?" he asked, already a little more wary of this woman's intentions. He looked back at the opening before adding, "... wonderful."

Re: The Hole in the World

[rhiannon_lee]

"The thing is, she's from hell."

Rhiannon chewed on her lip and touched the cinder block wall. Her fingers explored the rough edge where wall gave way to empty air, so she nearly got hit in the face when the can returned from the void. It can clattered against the opposite wall of the alley.

Re: The Hole in the World

[cian_oneill]

It happened quickly, but Cian jumped to the side anyway, only just managing to stop himself from shifting. Again he looked at her and the first remark, 'I guess you're not talking metaphorically,' died on his lips. Of course she meant the real thing. His lips tightened and eyes narrowed as he stared into the darkness, his hand reaching out to take hers.

"Did she make this?" he asked, his voice a little tense, "'nd is it likely there'll be more?"

Re: The Hole in the World

[rhiannon_lee]

“I don’t know if she did this,” Rhiannon stooped and picked up the can. It was cold but dry, newly crunched with a sharp edge. “Seems weird to just leave it unattended. But… she might know who did it. I dunno. Maybe we should focus on closing it and pray we’re not trapping someone on the other side. Fuck.”

She sighed.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter. Collateral damage. I’ll um… I’ll call a Slayer I know and tell her to be on the lookout for a face-ripping spirit thing. How many people do we know who can help us watch this massive hole in the earth until it’s closed? There’s Valerie… Whistler…”

Re: The Hole in the World

[cian_oneill]

Cian thought for a moment. "There's Echo," Cian added, thinking of who they could call on, and frowning as he recalled the strange night out in the desert when the meteorite had come down.

He was still convinced the creature was the result of some massive gaseous form of LSD trip, and when he'd told Rhiannon, and they had gone out to the site a few days later, all they'd found was a shallow crater with smashed rock at the bottom. It was difficult to tell what had happened, and Cian was convinced it was all just something they had imagined. He tried to remember the names of the others there. "And this ... woman... the one I told y' about out in the desert that night when the meteorite crashed. Sabco, or Sabra I think it was. And there was a guy," he added, "c'n ask Echo if she knows him. She seemed to."

Re: The Hole in the World

[rhiannon_lee]

"Alright. And if you know anyone into magic, you might want to tell them. Even if they can't close it, they might've sold something suspicious. Plus... something like this probably kicks up a bunch of magical dust. It could interfere." She looked at the air above them, as though that supernatural energy was something that could be seen.

She squeezed his hand.

"I'll take the first shift."

Re: The Hole in the World

[cian_oneill]

"Y' sure?" Cian said, frowning for a moment. He knew where Echo lived, down in Searchlight, but the only thing he could think of to try and find the others was to go to Ragnarok and ask around there. Or Seventh Circle.

"Should y' be tryin' to contact this ... woman, from hell?" he asked her, not really wanting to leave Rhiannon alone for something like that as he followed her glance up into the dark sky.

Re: The Hole in the World

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon chewed on her lip. There was a pay phone nearby and she had committed most of her contacts’ numbers to memory. “I’ll start with the easy ones: Valerie, Whistler, maybe even Julianna. I’ll wait for you to look for Elfleda. I don’t want her to know who you are, but… it’s better if you’re with me. You can talk sense into me if I get reckless. Maybe we’ll get lucky and we won’t even have to ask her.”

She regripped her weapon and gave Cian a quick kiss.

“I love you. I’ll be careful.”

Re: The Hole in the World

[cian_oneill]

He grimaced at the thought that Rhiannon didn't want this Elfleda to know who he was - not because he felt she was hiding anything from him, but because the woman caused Rhiannon to be that concerned about them meeting, and that she could make Rhiannon be worried about being reckless.

He glanced at the blackness and back at Rhiannon, the image of the two skinned heads wandering into his mind. "Not sure luck's on our side right now," he told her quietly, giving her hand a squeeze after the kiss.

"I love y', too, 'nd I'll be back as soon as I can," he returned, rubbing his thumb lightly across her knuckles before letting go her hand and heading toward the mouth of the alley. First stop would be the bar, then the club, and lastly, if he needed to, a trip back to Searchlight to round up Echo.