Blood Land, J.R. Lawson [electric book reader .txt] 📗

as he looked up at her as well, but he was cut off by her sudden demonic, hellion scream that swiftly escaped her lips.  She screeched, the loudest she could as she felt the massive Ferris Wheel fly over her head and head straight for Dagon.  He, however, had no time to react as the wheel came crashing down on him.  After the collision, it was only silent for a few seconds as the wheel then was lifted again, right above him.  Dagon lay there groaning, hurt but not yet dead.  Nora’s hateful stare was still on him as she made the wheel fall once more, right on top of him.  She kept screaming, as the wheel was lifted and dropped on Dagon several more times, until it was practically not a wheel anymore, but mangled pieces of metal all intertwined together.  Nora felt tears falling down her face as she kept raining blows down on Dagon, not once thinking of stopping.  She was going to keep going until he was crushed, like the bug he was.

“Nora! Stop!” Kale now screamed up at her.  Nora ignored him and kept up her violence.

“Nora!  Stop this!  This isn’t you!  Stop!”

Nora now turned to Kale to look down at him as the wheel took one more crash down on the ground where Dagon lay.  This time, it stayed down because Nora saw the sadness and slight fear in Kale’s eyes as he looked at her.  Her face almost began to soften as well, but anger took over her expression again as she realized out loud, “But he deserves to die!  For what he’s done to us!  Isn’t that why we came here?!  Isn’t that why we’re here?  To end this?!  Once and for all?!!”

“Yes, but Nora, Jesus you’re letting this hate consume you!” Kale argued back.

“No I’m not!”

“You are!  I see it in your face!  I saw it when you killed Kari!  Don’t let this happen to you! For fuck’s sake, I love you damn it…the way you are.  The good person that you are.  Don’t let that get destroyed!”

Nora now turned away a moment as she quickly pondered Kale’s words.  She breathed in the cold air that surrounded them and felt the soft wind that blew through her hair.  He was right.  She knew it.  They had come for justice.  To fight and win.  But she was letting this hatred and revenge and power consume her.  Suddenly, it was then that she felt herself lowering to the ground.  She flexed one foot, letting it touch the earth beneath her as soon, the other followed.  She then turned back to look at Kale who had a soft smile on his face, but still a tinge of worry in his eyes.  She smiled back to reassure him as she then said, “You’re right.  I’m sorry…”

Suddenly, the sound of Dagon crawling his way out from all the twisted metal on top of him caught both of their attentions.  He fell to the ground briefly as he freed himself and then stood up weakly.  He was covered in cuts and gashes that Nora saw were already starting to heal.  He stumbled and staggered as he started to walk toward them, his broken and mangled legs doing their best to heal as he took each step.

“You fucking idiots!” he laughed as he then took a minute to spit some blood on the ground next to him as he talked. The grin he wore on his face was blackened from all the blood on his teeth and lips. “You can’t beat me!  I’m too strong!” He continued his staggering towards them, reminiscent of a zombie from an old black and white movie and as he did, his gaze soon fell on Nora as he then said, “You fucking bitch!  I’m going to make you pay for all of this!  Prepare to watch everyone you love die in front of you!  Then maybe you’ll have some fucking respect for me!”

It was then that Dagon momentarily ceased his steps as he watched Kale, who now moved somewhat in front of Nora in a gesture of protection.  Nora watched Dagon’s slight astonished face for a second before she then looked up at Kale. He didn’t look back at her but continued staring at Dagon.  Nora actually didn’t mind this motion Kale had taken.  She had always wanted to fight on her own and protect herself, it was true, but at this moment she was so tired, so afraid of herself almost that for Kale to step up and silently offer to fight for her now was exactly what she wanted at this moment.  She then reached forward slightly and grabbed his hand, clutching it tightly.  Kale returned a squeeze, as he continued not to break his concentration on Dagon.

It was then that Dagon made a slight chuckle at their appearance before him. “You really think you’re going to protect her?!” he mocked, “It’s you that needs the protecting form her!  She’s stronger than you and you know it!”

“I’m not so much protecting her as I’m not leaving her.  You are not going to get to her.  At least, not before going through me.  And that’s a fucking promise!” Kale’s words came booming out of him with as much absolute seriousness as there could possibly be.

It was now that Dagon stood up straight.  Nora watched him as she peered around Kale and saw that all of Dagon’s wounds and broken bones had healed.  He moved his head from side to side, comfortably cracking his neck and then rolling his shoulders as he then casually said, “Well, get prepared then…” After these words, Dagon’s wings spread and he began to flap them, rising up higher and higher above them. It was once he was way overhead that he shouted down at them, “Because this ends now!!!”

All of a sudden, Dagon dove.  He pierced the air as he headed right for Kale and Nora.  Kale, however, took the moment to step further in front of Nora and brace himself for the possible impact.  Nora just hid behind him, not knowing what was going to happen, even admitting to herself that she was somewhat afraid.  Why couldn’t this nightmare be over?

Her question that she was thinking was then soon answered as suddenly and swiftly, Jay and Caroline instantly appeared in front of them.  Nora saw from where she looked around Kale that Caroline held a long piece of metal debris that looked like it had been one of the supports from the Ferris Wheel that had broken off.  She was hiding it behind her back until the right moment.  That moment being when Dagon, who was ascending on them, had gotten close enough before realizing that Caroline and Jay had appeared there and before he could stop himself, Caroline swung the long piece of metal forward, impaling Dagon in midair.

Nora gasped as she watched the scene in front of her.  Caroline stood, still holding the metal rod that went right through Dagon.  She looked up at his face, which was almost touching hers as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Charlie.” Then, in one swift motion, she pulled the pole out, allowing Dagon to now fall limply on the ground.  It was then that Caroline dropped the metal debris, its clang hitting the ground and echoing throughout the fairground as she too, collapsed to her knees.

Kale and Nora wasted no time in running to Dagon, who was now lying on the ground, coughing up blood.  Nora glanced down at the hole in his chest as it was already starting to close back up.  Dagon let out a small chuckle as he looked up at the two of them. “Looks like I’m already healing…and once I’m done—” but Kale didn’t let him finish. He forcefully grabbed Dagon by the hair and lifted his head up. He also crouched a bit so that his face was very close to his and said in a snakelike voice, “How about you heal this, you fucker!” and with one motion, he bit Dagon in the neck, causing him to scream out in agony.  Kale then drew back, ripping a huge gash in Dagon’s throat and letting go of his grip on his hair, letting him fall back down onto his back.

Dagon looked up, first at Kale and then over at Nora, absolute horror in his eyes.  He opened his mouth and gurgled a bit before finally getting some words out, “Please…please…” he choked out.  Nora just stared blankly back at him, a cold expression on her face as she took a few steps over to stand directly behind his head.  He kept looking up at her in a pleading way as he coughed out a few more words, “Please…heal me…heal me…I promise…I promise I’ll…” but Nora cut him off. “There’s nothing in the world that you could promise me that would make me even want to heal you,” she sternly stated while looking down at him unfeelingly, “But…” she then added as she casually placed a foot on one of his shoulders, “I will do one thing for you…” It was then that Nora reached down and grabbed some of Dagon’s scalp, along with some hair, in her hellion claw and in one swift and surprising moment, pulled, powerfully ripping his head clean off.  Black blood spilled and squirted everywhere, as Nora held Dagon’s head in her hand for a few seconds before finally dropping it unceremoniously to the ground.  She then looked over at Kale, expecting to see a horrified look on his face.  She saw it, only for a second, but Kale then looked at her in an almost proud way as he uttered, “Shit, Nora…”

CHAPTER 55

NORA ALMOST TOOK a moment to smile back at him but there was no time as the groans of Jay, who was lying on the ground nearby, was heard by both she and Kale.

“You check on Jay I’ll see about Caroline,” Kale immediately instructed.  Nora nodded as she then proceeded to kneel beside Jay amidst the snowy ground.

“Jay, are you…oh god…” was all Nora could utter as she noticed dark red blood being soaked into his shirt as it spilled out from beneath it.  She wasted no time in ripping his shirt open and it was then that she beheld a huge gash that ran across his chest.  She just knew that this must have been the wound that Dagon had healed.  Now that he was dead, it was bleeding.  Nora knew exactly what she needed to do.

“Jay…can you hear me?” Nora spoke, attempting to get Jay to look at her and stay conscious.  Jay opened his eyes briefly as he looked over at her, pain written all over his face. “You’re going to be o.k.,” Nora continued to encourage, “I’m going to heal you, o.k.?”

Jay just weakly nodded as then Nora wasted no time in cutting herself on the palm with one of her long hellion claws and then letting her blood drip into his cut.

It was then that Nora witnessed something unexpected happen.  She knew what was supposed to happen after healing someone.  Their cut closes up and that’s that.  However, that wasn’t what was happening now to Jay.  His wound did close up, as expected, but