Just Checking Up! Part Fifty-Nine: Locked in a Much Hated Prison!

Silks:

Stirring awake, not many people were around. Squinting my eyes, there was an off color to my wallpaper. What fresh hell was this, I wondered while swinging my feet over the edge of the bed. Limping over to the window, horror mixed with panic upon a sea of stormy weather. Fog spread out as far the eye could see, my fang sinking into my bottom lip. How did I get here? Where was everyone else? How much time had passed? Approaching the door cautiously, my knee ominously. A long sigh drew from my lips, a glimpse of my hand answering my question.

“Dark veins?” I uttered numbly, the exhaustion swallowing the adrenaline whole. “Has it been a week already? When did I get here?” Everything tripled, the door flying open, a cloaked elemental getting struck by one of my panicked lightning attacks. Dropping to the floor in a heap, a spin of my wrist had the cloak floating over me. Creeping down the hall, immense agony seared in my veins. Fighting the urge to scream out, that cure better work out. Well, if this demon made it home. Stumbling to a clumsy stop in front of the way out, a chill ran up my spine. A blunt object whacked the back of my skull, a sickening crack crumbling me into a useless heap. Struggling to focus, a pair of worn black boots stepped into view. None of the voices sounded familiar, the words faded in and out before a severe darkness stole me away.

Sitting up weakly, several cloaked figures were staring me down furiously. Ruby eyes refused to leave mine, the silky burgundy nightgown flowing over me not feeling so cozy at this moment. Every attempt to move failed, black iron chains rattling away. Fuck, they caught on. Coughing up inky darkness, the sheer amount proved to be more than it had ever been. Dying, I was dying. What a lovely place to do such a thing, I thought sarcastically.

“Giving up isn’t an option.” The dark side of me whispered in my ear, a translucent hand resting on my shoulder. “Sure this loser stole you out from underneath everyone’s nose but you can get out of this craphole. Allow me to lead the way.” Nodding once, my reflection in the mirror frightened the hell out of me. Deep black bags hollowed out my eyes, the pitch black veins making my skin look even more ghostly. Midnight black lightning crackled to life, the lightning forming into lilies. Pushing through the sheer agony, confusion mixed with wonder. Kicking up the petals for me, bright lights had me squinting as she dragged me to the window. Placing me on her back, one look back was all I received before her heels pushed off the ledge. Landing gracefully in the biggest sea of fog, her form began to glitch out. Pleading with her not to disappear, that fell on deaf ears. Fading away back into my head, my body hit cold dirt with a loud thud. Scurrying behind a tree, involuntary tears stained my cheeks. Why did this have to hurt so bad? Staring down at my arms, needle marks threw me off. A bit of the fog cleared, a decaying mental hospital towered into view. Trapped demons tapped on the windows, the need to save them all shifting my priorities. Summoning my carved wood, the failure to appear didn’t shock me in the slightest. Dirt dug into bare feet, no plan coming to mind. Supposing it was a winging it kind of a day, something had to give from it all.

“Found you!” An old Hollywood female voice announced as she leapt onto my back, a needle getting jammed into my neck. Not another fucking needle! Jet black shadows retreated from my veins, the damn leg finally stabilizing. Dollzy flipped over my head, Rip spinning me around to face him. Any anger melted away, relief finding its place.

“Funny to find you where we needed to go. What’s with the creepy hospital?” He inquired while examining me for any major wounds. “Turns out this is only a temporary solution but the true one must be brewed in there. Thank goodness you are alive and well.” Burying me into a desperate bear hug, the veins began to darken once more. Grumbling into his chest, nothing in my life could ever be that simple. Bad luck must really adore me, her slender fingers always gripping onto me.

“How are you so calm?” I queried into his chest, my fingers clinging to his simple black dress shirt. “Also I have no power left to fight.” Showing off a cool woven basket on his back, pride shimmered in his eyes. How can I forget that they were working on such a fine gift? Climbing in without a single request, his hands cupped mine tenderly. Summoning his own flames, scales crackled to life into dual curves. Ice glistened at the end of his curved blades, his eyes darting between Dollzy and me. A screech echoed behind us, a strange silence washing over the dimension.

“Who did you piss off?” He asked in another bout of welcome relief, his loving gaze meeting mine. “Considering how long you were gone, any fights we had before are miniature issues at this point. My Queen, my heart belongs to you and only you.” Resting my chin on his shoulder, Dollzy summoned her army of dolls. Pointing to the electrical box, an idea came to mind. Rushing over between the patrols of masked orderlies in fifties’ style uniforms, black lightning danced to life on the tip of my finger. Ripping it open, one zap sent immense power through the hospital’s veins. Pulsing a few times, shadows devoured what once illuminated. Glowing eyes of all colors darted in our direction, my lips pressing into a thin line. Running towards the back, a broken window had just enough room for us to break in. Slipping in with ease, Dollzy flooded in with her dolls in tow. Hitting cracked black and white diamond marble floor, a gruff groan slipped out of his lips. Soaking in the morgue, his hands rested on his hips. Tearing open random body drawers, the two of them were seeking out something. Too exhausted to care, the dried blood on the back of my head began to irritate me to my core. Plucking out a couple of demon bones from the back, the two of them pounded their fists. Jealousy flashed in my eyes, a shake of my head shutting that down. Shoving everything off the table, Dollzy and him went to work on setting up a potion brewing station.

“Sorry it took so long to get to you, Big Sis.” Dollzy chirped cheerfully, her cute hands holding up a filled worn cauldron. “Hopefully this little potion will beat the poison trying to kill you. Also, that lightning show was what it took for us to receive your signal. Lord knows what I would do without you." Adjusting her cute black and white plaid doll style dress via her free hand, stomps echoed down the hall. Ordering her dolls to lock the door, they obeyed without a second thought. Thanking them weakly, a sink into the light basket prevented the coughing fit from painting Rip. Popping my head back up, the flames of his blades heated up the nasty smelling stuff. Ignoring the screeching and snarling on the other side of the door, her dolls kept sending out waves of paralyzing energy. Watching it come to a boil, Dollzy hopped onto his shoulders. Pouring it down my throat, a warmth throbbed in my core. Traveling down to the top of my new leg, her chanting had it glowing to life. Chanting became humming, the humming becoming a song. Purifying it to the point of liking my body, the leg didn’t lighten in color but in its aura. Inky blackness died down, the temperature of my veins dying down. Standing in the basket, joy dribbled off of my chin at the lack of throbbing pain. Pushing off the bottom, an eager Dollzy jumped back upon my less than graceful landing. Smothering her in the biggest hug I could give, her arms snaked around my waist. Rip flashed his genuine smile from behind me, half of his stress melting away. While I may be healed as I was going to be, the lost souls trapped here required a spot of rescuing. Failure to summon my magic didn’t shock me, the other two would have to pull most of the weight.

“Apologies for not being able to help much but I can make a heck of a plan." I spoke gruffly, the blood in my throat getting sucked back into my veins. “Let’s kill this doctor to free these poor souls. Maybe I can cleanse the space at the end of the battle.” Flames of hope roared to life in my soul, a bit of bad luck was never going to knock me down. Screw my hopelessness from earlier, that crap didn’t have a home in my head. A metal door whistled by my head, strange machines humming to life. Dress shoes clacked down the hall, the floor feeling weak underneath my bare feet.

“Trust me, okay!” I shouted nervously, a couple of weakened kicks shattering a couple tiles. “Come get me, my good doctor. Trap him down below with us, ‘kay!” Leaping into the dark, silver retro futuristic lights hummed to life. Inky splatters dotted the wall, horror rounding my eyes. Death rotted the air, a flash of white and sickly gray skin became the last thing I saw before a violent whack knocked me out.

Yawning loudly as I snapped awake, this kidnapping crap was becoming an irritating habit of my enemies. Thrown together machines beeped around me, a wiggle placing me on an embalming table. Coated straps held me down, a butterfly needle glittered in the back of my hand. Leather gloves checked a clear line, a pair of neon green eyes tripling.

“Settle down, Miss Silks!” A smooth male voice sang gleefully, a pair of jet black lips revealing rotting fangs. “We are simply going to work through a few tests. What do you think about my little foggy drug? It really does dull the senses. Anyways, time to collect more samples of your delectable blood.” Humming away, a single bright light flickered ominously as he summoned empty old fashioned needles. Parting my lips to speak, a heaviness silenced me. Panic shortened my breath, the beeping going haywire. Time to make myself known, I thought internally. Midnight black light crackling to life around my fingertips. Sending out a pulse, a cloth hitting my mouth cut that short. Coughing until exhaustion weighed down my eyelids, a cruel slumber swallowed me whole.

Groaning awake, a massive needle wiggled in my vein. Drops of a potion befuddled me, leather gloved hands ripping it out. Unable to scream out, his potion had me paralyzed to the tenth degree. A cruel male voice mumbled under his breath, a makeshift lab clarifying itself. Alarms blared in the distance, red and orange lights coloring the cold silver walls.

“Stay there!” He ordered sharply, an unimpressed expression writing itself onto my features. Where did he think I was going to go? Not one muscle in my body would respond to my desire to stand up. Staring numbly at the ceiling, the alarm began to lead to a major migraine. Ignoring the river of black coating my hand. Move, I screamed in my head. Maybe I could stab my body into a bunch of adrenaline. Extending my claws, a jab into my thighs shocked my muscles out of their numbness. Struggling in the straps, orange flames exploded from my eager palms. Cooking the straps to ash, a roll of the table landed me on the cracking floor. Struggling to my feet, glass shards had me hissing underneath my breath. Using his fucking machine to get to a humming cooler, demon blood of all kinds shimmered in all sorts of experiments. Sliding it open, glass shattered to my feet with every clearing of these freaking shelves. Pausing at the last one, the sight of my name pissed me off. Poking the different colors, midnight black lightning burst from my fingertips. Cooking the samples into ash, another bolt sent his machines into a frenzy. Ripping out the butterfly needle, more blood soaked my hand. Pouring more lightning into his machines, sparks flew into the air until the lights fizzled out. No one poisoned me, I growled irately in my mind. Making my way to the door, another bit of lightning shut down the glitching keypad. Inky drops splattered to the tops of my feet, the back of my hand meeting an obvious bloody nose. Sniffling through a wave of pain, a long sigh escaped my lips. Crossing into a tunnel system, a dull throb threatened to bring me to my knees.

“I ordered you to stay still, damn it!” A severely injured doctor shouted as he tripped towards me, surprise joining my devilish grin upon my carved wood making an appearance. Orange flames crackled into dual curved blades, his sick smile expanding behind his face. Creepy, I thought venomously to myself. Wondering where everyone else was, a limp Rip and Dollzy tumbled to my feet. Hell no! No one hurt my friends and got away with it.

“They weren’t much of a challenge with your blood coursing through me.” He gloated gleefully, several needles full of God knows what flipping in between his knuckles. “That week of a fangtastic supply really revives a fading demon. Aw, to be young again! Your prognosis is death, Miss Silks. To my favorite dark elemental!” Charging at me, his clumsy footfalls spoke of rather bad damage. Neon green blood splashed my face, seconds existing before his needles would be flying towards my face. Demons of all sorts popped up behind him, his needles shattering a couple of feet from me. Holding him down, tired eyes pleaded with me to fix the issue. Bringing my blades behind my head, swift swings piercing his soul. Burning him from the inside out, glowing green ash coated my bare feet. Spinning clumsily on my heels, the edges of his hospital began to fade away. Bowing down to me, a transparency claimed their forms. Trembling in my spot, they had a part of his illusion. Why did I do all of this? Floating into the sky, a cold sea of ice taunted me. What fresh hell was this? Scanning the wasteland, we were somewhere deep in Purgatory. Shutting down my weapons, several souls floated over Rip and Dollzy’s bodies. Drifting away, loneliness plagued me once more. Plopping down centimeters from them, I pulled Rip’s head onto my lap. Ignoring a bit of a clammy sweat, their safety mattered more. Playing with his hair, a bit of exhaustion weighed me down. Kissing his forehead, a sleeping Dollzy crawled over to me. Cuddling next to me, a shadow of my smile haunted my lips. Maybe Hare will come around to scoop us up, wails torturing my ears. Someone is having an off day, I joked lightly in my head.

“Hey old friend!” Hare shouted in the distance, her ears pinning back at the sight of my new leg. “My oh my, someone did a number on you. Perhaps we should get out of the edges of my little slice of personal Hell.” Ringing her bells dangling on her ears, a flurry of bells tossed us into her study. Books lined worn shelves, a couple of beat up tan leather chairs catching us. Soaking in the Victorian style looking wallpaper, bunnies hopped away. Rip stirred in my lap, his arms swinging me underneath him before his body curled around mine. Approaching Dollzy with a curious twinkle in her eyes, her slender fingers played with the lace of her dress. Guilt devoured me whole, a bit of sorrow lacing her dejected smirk.

“Collect another friend, did we?” She whispered over an ivory brick fireplace crackling to life. “Must you look so guilty? Life stole what we could have had, not you. Fair question? That new leg is due to protecting her, correct? My bed was made long before I met you, remember?” Plucking at the peeling leather, something stung about her words. Neither of us comprehended how close we got in such a short time.

“Hare, there is nothing that would have stopped me from doing the same for you. Venom was about to devour her whole.” I explained myself confidently, an eerie pause tainting the moment. “Hell, I would have taken the hit that day. Your friendship is imp-” Wagging her fingers, an icy breeze lashed my exposed skin. Her kind eyes met my wet eyes, her finger flicking my bell. Something about the jingle brightened my mood.

“Knock it off with that nonsense.” She giggled freely, her body floating upside down. “Anybody willing to run around the gardens of purgatory to heal my friend is golden in my eyes. Have fun and keep visiting me, Silks! My door is always open.” Fresh guilt ate at me, Dollzy getting forced to run around purgatory. The color drained from my features, Dollzy bouncing to life. Landing groggily on the back of the chair, her eyes darted around the space. Absorbing the obvious friendship between us, a coyness had her scrambling behind my chair. Hare floated behind her, that gentle smile melting my soul as they introduced themselves. Opening up gingerly, Rip jerked awake. Smothering me in feverish kisses, scarlet flushed my cheeks. Must he be affectionate?

“Thank goodness you are alright.” He wept sweetly into my ear, his grip strengthening around my waist. Parting my lips to speak, feverish chills beaded on my skin. Remembering that damn needle, a coughing fit led to me growing incredibly weak. His panicked words faded in and out, a rough slumber stealing me away.