Chương 143: 4.39 - Johann Martin Fischer/ Myra Fletcher (Barb)

Johann Martin Fischer"You're going to live, you hear me?" Johann Martin Fischer said. Using both hands, he pressed down the gunshot wound on Albert's chest. The young cop, just a year out of police academy and assigned for about two months to their precinct, didn't respond. His face was getting paler and paler. Blood spread beneath him.

"Yo-you're going to li-live," Johann insisted, choking on his words. He didn't talk with this man other than a few greetings along the hallways or when they occasionally were in the same line at their small precinct cafeteria. However, Albert saved his life a few minutes ago. A PCM member was about to shoot him, and Albert leaped to block it. The cop dropped his gun. Johann picked it up and quickly retaliated, dropping the PCM member to the floor with a headshot.

Then he dragged his savior to hide from the ongoing firefight between the BID and police on one side, and the PCM and several monsters—which inexplicably followed their orders—on the other for the helicopter. Johann did help out in the 'main' fight. During the small skirmishes all over the building, he realized the megaphones could control the PCM members, which really didn't need a genius to figure out. After managing to take one megaphone with the help of his fellow lab technicians, he rushed to the rooftop.

The PCM held some of the SVS members captive—he didn't know why—and that included Ramello. With Johann's assistance, the tide of battle turned. He compelled the PCM members, using the megaphone, to destroy the metal boxes and interfere with their signal, causing the monsters to turn on each other. That prompted Auron Cohenn, the PCM leader, to reveal his Adumbrae nature, and save the last box.

The BID didn't have any Adumbrae-fighting weapons; they were only supposed to escort the SVS group to their temporary base of operation besides the LEPD headquarters. The fighting ended quickly after that. Johann couldn't do anything other than hide behind the water tank and vainly try to stop Albert bleeding to death while praying to the Mother Core that the Adumbrae wouldn't look for him. If he did, Johann would immediately bolt and leave Albert behind. But Auron wasn't interested in killing them all.

After he neutralized the BID, he used the megaphone to talk to some people below. Everyone could hear it. Johann guessed Auron was chiding Myra. She should be somewhere in the parking area; he did see her earlier wearing her bark armor, doing her best to protect the building. But Auron seemed to have been talking to several people, not just one. Myra must be with other people, likely Erind because she mentioned she was with her during their call.

If Erind was there, it meant she was forced to use her Adumbrae powers to join the fight. Another person who could be with them was Professor Deslys. The last time he saw her, she was possessed by the great axe they found in Dr. Cornelio's office. He didn't understand what happened back then, but it turned out she was still on their side. Johann shifted his position, placing his knee on the wound. It'd give more pressure to stop the bleeding and buy time for help to come. But what help? Where would it come from?

Everyone here needed help. He heard Auron leaving, the helicopter lifting off the ground. But they weren't safe just yet. The humongous mutated elephant trumpeted and began to attack the building. Tendrils crept over the roof, grabbing anything it could, be they living or dead. Johann at first tried to pull Albert away, but he felt that the body was already limp. He muttered a quick apology and abandoned the cop who saved him. He instead went for the gun on the floor and shot the approaching tentacles.

They weren't particularly bothered getting shot. Some grabbed Albert's corpse, pulling it off the roof. Others continued on to capture Johann. He rounded the water tank and ran to the stairs. He jumped over the deceased and ducked under the tentacles whipping at him. One of the monster bodies he thought was dead suddenly jerked, surprising him. He jumped right and tripped over a corpse. One misstep and he tumbled on the floor.

"Get up, get up," he urged himself. But he couldn't pull his left leg up. Something wrapped around it. He groaned as the coil grew tighter. He was dragged by the tentacle to the edge of the roof.

"Nooo!" he yelled. He tried to hang on, clawing on the rooftop flooring with all his might. Some of his fingernails were broken or ripped off. The pull stopped. He rolled on his back, breathing heavily. A person wearing a mask and torn clothes, possibly a woman from her figure, landed on the roof fence, balancing on it with her feet. She was holding the foreboding great axe with creepy carvings from Dr. Cornelio's office. What happened to Professor Deslys? This woman wasn't her.

"Erind?" Johann whispered as the woman sprinted past him. She spun on her toes, holding the end of the axe's handle, its blade far out, and gathered momentum and air. Twirling faster and faster, she flew as if drilling up the sky. Something shot forth from the helicopter above, connecting with her, and exploded. A smoking Erind fell back down, about five yards from Johann. He tried to crawl to her but she already got back to her feet.

One wide swing of the axe sent a massive gale at the helicopter that was getting further and further away.

"Don't!" Johann called out. The burst of wind that almost solidified into a crescent-shaped blade faded away before it hit the helicopter. Erind looked back at him.

"They have hostages," he blurted out. He was about to mention Ramello's name, but there were other survivors within earshot.

"Don't kill them, whoever you are." Erind turned to the helicopter, back at him, and nodded. The building quaked. The gigantic elephant battered it. It raised its massive trunk and curled it backward, its tall shadow covering them. And then it descended. Johann scrambled to move away, but Erind stayed. He saw she stood still, almost smugly, staring up at the trunk in defiance. It slammed down on her with great speed.

At the last second, she raised her axe, not to cut it, but to block it with the face of the wide blade.

"No!" The trunk lifted. Johann saw there was a hole. It smashed Erind right through to the floor below. Before Johann could think of worrying about her, she jumped back up as if nothing happened. And the great battle between Erind and the elephant monster began. Johann's mouth gaped as Erind zipped across the rooftop, his eyes barely able to catch her, sending wind blades at the furious titan. She slowly chipped away at the mountain of flesh like a sculptor whittling down a slab of marble.

She also saved other survivors from getting taken by the tentacles. He rushed to help the nearest person limping to the stairs, Detective Linette Klein. She was just visiting their precinct and got dragged into this crisis. He offered his shoulder to her, and they both hurried to escape the increasingly dangerous battle between two powerful monsters. Yes… Erind is also a monster. An Adumbrae. He shouldn't forget that even if she helped him. But he was still grateful to her. Very grateful.

He looked back just as she managed to chop off the trunk. It landed with a mighty crash on the rooftop. He and the detective stumbled. Would the building collapse? The elephant bellowed in pain, nearly shattering his eardrums. Very grateful… and very afraid of Erind. Myra Fletcher (Barb)"Dammit, there's no end to these disgusting things," Myra Fletcher exasperatedly grumbled as her fist connected with the rubbery flesh of the hundredth tentacle.

That probably wasn't an exaggeration as they kept on coming for her and the unconscious Professor Deslys lying on the steps to the precinct entrance behind her. She lifted a large piece of concrete that got knocked off the building when the colossal elephant monster slammed against it, and chucked it at three more tendrils snaking towards her. They were squished under its weight, putrid flesh and black blood splattering everywhere.

"What the hell do I do now?" she wondered out loud, yelling at more tentacles coming. They reminded her of the multiplying heads of the mythical hydra. The problem was that these weren't mythical at all. After Erind had climbed to the roof using that freaking axe with mysterious powers—if it could even be called a climb, more like spinning through the air—Myra was left to take care of herself and her severely injured teacher.

She guessed Erind tried to catch the PCM leader, Auron Cohenn, who turned out to be behind the ongoing insanity around them. Judging by the BID helicopter flying away, Erind failed. The revolting elephant monster Myra estimated to be about twice as tall as "Marco", the bull African elephant that was the local attraction of her hometown zoo, worked up a fury and attacked. Definitely not like the zoo elephant Kelsey loved to feed when they were kids.

It repeatedly hit the roof with its trunk, rammed the side of the building with its head, and raked the walls and windows with its trunk. A silver lining in the face of this behemoth of destruction was that it captured the other monsters with its numerous tendrils, lessening Myra's problems, and began to swallow them in its weird lamprey mouth, a black hole lined with rings of jagged teeth. The diet consisting of its fellow monsters was very different from the fruits and vegetables Marco loved to eat.

Myra had a feeling they were next on the menu. Amid the chaos—raining debris, unrelenting tentacles, and smaller monsters that escaped the elephant monster's grasp wanting to get a bite of human flesh before they were eaten—Myra carefully picked up Professor Deslys, hoping she didn't injure her any further, and looked for a nearby safe spot… relatively safe spot. She found cover beneath the sturdy and thick cantilevered roof over the main back entrance of the building.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. And now, here she was fighting while mulling over whether she should break inside. Professor Deslys definitely wasn't going to be okay out here, and she just couldn't carry her and run away far from the elephant monster's grasp. I actually can. But Myra wanted to stay and fight, and also find Johann. She gritted her teeth… if he's dead, I swear, everyone is going to pay! If only they could take shelter inside the police station…

which would just result in a bullet fiesta. To say the cops inside would be unwelcoming was an understatement. There was already some shooting going on the other side of the roll-down security shutters blocking off the doors. Myra was sort of confident she'd survive running through gunfire unless there was a lucky headshot, but Professor Deslys wouldn't. She did want to save her teacher. I'm one of the good guys, she reminded herself. The earth trembled.

Myra nearly fell on her butt with the ground jumping up and down. Pillars that were the legs of the elephant monster passed by. One of them hit the overhanging roof, partially crumbling it. She shielded Professor Deslys with her body. The monster trumpeted in anger. Loud crashes above. The building shuddered each time.

"They're still fighting up there?" Myra stepped outside the shade of the cantilevered roof. She craned her neck, struggling to get a view of what was going on above. But she was too close to the building and couldn't see. Those eerie whistles again! Deep gashes streaked the behemoth's body seemingly out of nowhere. Copious amounts of black blood sprayed forth, a foul rain shower. Accompanying it was a heavy hail of chopped-up pieces of flesh. That had to be Erind. Was she winning?

Myra couldn't tell because the titanic monster was mutating nonstop, sickening growths of flesh and wiggling tendrils covered its wounds, its body beginning to look less like an elephant, deforming into a grotesque blob. The constant thrashing of the tentacles dislodged an outcropping of the second-floor wall. The huge piece of rubble fell straight down on Myra. She quickly moved aside, cursing, "Dammit! Can't watch in peace without getting turned into a pancake."

Since the elephant monster was focused on Erind, its nasty appendages retreated. Myra vigorously shook her hand as if it would bring back her powers. She didn't know what that bastard Auron Cohenn did, but he said it would wear off… as if anyone could trust him.

"Come on, come on," she said, stamping her foot in frustration. She took a deep breath and concentrated on producing bark. If only she could make an armor again, she could cover herself and Professor Deslys and barge in the building. She heard more crashes, wood breaking, glass shattering. The tendrils were trying to get in the building through the windows! Lots of screaming and shooting. This was the perfect opportunity to sneak in; the cops should be busy with the tentacles.

She carried Professor Deslys to the nearest window. Tentacles were thrusting inside, having broken through the barricades. Stupid Reo would surely have a joke prepared for this situation. That thought somehow just made her more irritated, and she kicked the tentacles so hard their flesh tore. She climbed through the opening they made.

"Eaah!" she exclaimed, nearly slipping when she landed. She fumbled to keep Professor Deslys steady.

"Sorry, professor. And what is—? Someone dead." The floor was slick from the blood pouring out the upper torso of a woman. Just the upper torso. The other body parts were flung to the ceiling and the walls. The tentacles had been busy, and this poor woman was at the wrong place at the wrong time, if she wasn't already just by reporting for work today. She might be a secretary here from her outfit.

"Hold it right there!" An angry voice barked from the end of the hallway. A police officer with a frail frame but a formidable and experienced presence had a gun trained on Myra. She had an inkling she had met him before in the few times she had visited Johann while he was at work. A few more harried police officers arrived.

"Lieutenant, was that Marissa calling for help?" said the woman on the older man's left.

"Is that—? Marissa!" She also aimed her pistol at Myra. Others followed suit.

"What did you do to her?" With cops about to shoot, Myra thought of throwing Professor Deslys back outside, but she might—"Stop! Don't shoot!" someone frantically said.

"Joha—?" Myra clamped her mouth shut. Others were around; Johann worked here. She didn't want them to question why she knew him. His normal life would've been ruined by one stupid slip-up. Thank the Mother Core you're alive, she silently prayed.

"I didn't do anything to this woman," she loudly said, pointing at the corpse at her feet to distract them from what she was about to say earlier. She made her voice more rounded to disguise it. Fortunately, she wore a mask beneath her bark helmet so people still wouldn't recognize her after her power fizzled out.

"And I'm just trying to save one of you."

"Who is that she's carrying?"

"Shoot her! We have to—""Don't act rashly."

"But sir, she killed—""I didn't!" Myra protested.

"Liar! Sir, we shouldn't believe her. She's one of them for sure."

"Lt. Tetterton, sir," Johann interjected.

"The person on her shoulders…that's Professor Deslys." Murmurings among them. Myra turned over her teacher so they could see her face. She slowly walked away from the corpse on the floor and lowered the professor to a clean spot.

"Dr. Cornelio's wife! I saw her earlier."

"It's really her."

"Let's shoot! We can't let that woman get away. She might be an Adumbrae."

"No!" Johann yelled. The cops turned to him. He fumbled for an explanation.

"Ah…ah, you might hit Professor Deslys. Yes, that's it! You might hit her."

"But wasn't she controlled by that axe? She could be under the influence of an Adumbrae as well."

"Is she even still alive? The Adumbrae is going to escape. Sir, give your orders—""Everyone shut your traps," the older cop who seemed to be in charge growled.

"You!" Myra jerked up.

"Leave the way you came if your business is done," evenly ordered the man.

"And thank you for bringing Kenneth's wife to us." Myra held up her hands to show she meant no harm and stepped away. Her eyes met Johann's. He subtly nodded. She dryly said, "I'm going out now, back to those tentacles. Yeah, guys…it's great out there—" CRASH! Half a dozen tendrils smashed through a pile of office chairs that covered a window. They roped Myra's body. She tried to pull away, but they dragged her outside. Her head hit the window sill.

"Aaaah!" Down on the ground. She bounced a couple of times on the pavement. Before she could forcefully free herself, she was going up. And then she got stuffed into a slimy opening. Hemmed in all sides. She got squished. Strong forces pushed her down. Sharp objects cut into her skin. Dozens and dozens of them pierced her flesh, scoring her like a slab of roasted pork. Tumbling and tumbling she went as if she was inside a washing machine. The elephant bastard swallowed me? She dropped down something wet.

A puddle a couple of inches deep. It was total darkness. All she could hear were sounds of throbbing, beating, and grinding. And the smell; she breathed through her mouth because she couldn't take it. She was about to puke her lunch out, but the adrenaline rush made her focus on her current predicament. A very stupid one at that. What the hell was this liquid around her? I s this water? No… It was too thick. And hot. It got into her fresh wounds that were still healing. Her skin started to itch. It burned!

Her whole body burned in pain! She furiously scratched herself. Melting threads of clothes stuck to her fingers. And her skin. It was falling off. The acid was getting to her bare muscles.

"I'm getting digested!" she screamed in panic. A bunch of heavy things fell on her. More bodies? They were squirming. She lashed out at them. Her panic turned to anger. She punched and kicked everything she could reach.

"You're not eating me!" The space was becoming smaller, the walls closing in, pressing against her. Rotting corpses of humans and monsters jostled her; she didn't know what else was in there with her. They were all packed tight like sardines in a can. All she knew was that her body was slowly broken by the stomach juices. The walls of flesh spasmed, and there was an ominous rumbling. The stomach muscles contracted, pushing her into another hole to Mother Core knows where.

And she literally wasn't going down without a fight. She urgently tried to find something to grab on. Her agony was pushed to the back of her mind as desperation gripped her heart. She tried to claw her way out, tearing the walls. This is the perfect time for hysterical strength and her lessons with Erind to apply, her brain told her even if it wasn't the time to have such thoughts. She was going into shock. Focus! Focus or you'll die! Air…. Air? Air!

She gasped, trying to inhale as much as she could through her nose and mouth. Oxygen was running out! She had to make an opening soon. Digging through the stomach walls with her bare hands wasn't progressing fast enough. The stomach acid was vicious, burning the flesh off her fingers, the muscles needed to keep on digging deteriorating. Her healing couldn't keep up. She was getting weaker and weaker, the lack of oxygen affecting her. Her amazing regenerative abilities could do nothing in the face of asphyxiation.

Once her brain shuts down, that was it. She survived her fight with the Adumbrae, Bob, her hardest and most dangerous encounter to date… only to get eaten by an elephant monster. No! I'm not going to end up as elephant feces! She furiously started to dig again. She was going to escape. She had to find Kelsey. Dying here wasn't allowed. Something sharp poked her. It was some sort of bone. Many of them in a row. Could be a ribcage of a monster corpse.

She ripped out two and held them tight in each hand with the remaining muscles that could still grasp it. Kelsey, wait for me! Squeezing out her last ounce of strength, she furiously scooped away the flesh. Her mind was becoming deranged. I hate elephants! That stupid Marco won't accept the hay I gave to it. It only eats the food Kelsey gives. I really hate elephants! Dig! Dig! Incredible tremors. The elephant monster must be feeling the pain. She kept on digging.

She didn't know anymore which way was up or down, or if this was the path to freedom. Just dig straight, she egged herself on. And then she couldn't breathe anything anymore. Her lungs begged for air. Needles were inside it. Her whole body pleaded for oxygen. Is this it? Light! Intense pain erupted on her shoulder. Her right arm felt weird; she couldn't move it. But all that mattered was there was light. And air. She stretched out her working left arm out the hole. Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her out.

They both fell to the ground. Her savior started running while cradling her. She blinked trying to see who it was. Only one eye worked, the other blinded by the stomach juices. Her vision was hazy, but she could see a figure with an axe.

"Myra!" Erind said.

"Are you still alive? Yes! Just rest and heal, I'll find a place to hide you." Myra stirred, remembering this was the situation with her and Professor Deslys moments ago. She wanted to smile but her face hurt so bad. Erind continued, "Sorry it took a while. I just couldn't cut its belly open because I might kill you inside." Myra tried to say thank you. What came out was a raspy croak; her throat was damaged by the acid. But Erind understood.

"Johann's the one you should thank," she replied.

"He shouted at me that the mammoth ate you." Thank you, Johann, Myra thought. In the end, he saved her instead of the other way around.