Other Fan Fiction ❯ The Lost Ones ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"I'm being summoned," Neron told her without bothering to give her any further explanation. He gave her a few more directions, as if he actually knew his way around the city. Finally when they came to a construction site he told her to stop. His eyes were glowing with a faint blue light, and he got out of the car without saying a word. He walked into the construction site and stared, looking for the person who had summoned him.

Mia got out as well, going to the back seat, she pulled out her blade from her bag and moved behind Neron. She grabbed his shirt from behind. It was still day time, but the construction site had been abandoned years ago and it was creepy. "Neron...maybe we should leave..." she whispered while looking around.

"Anastasia," he said, his voice almost trance like as he looked up. The sun was in his eyes, and the glare for the steel girders made it impossible to see all the way up. Even so, he knew she was there. He could feel it.

"Hades. I heard you had awakened." The voice sounded right beside them, though there was no one there.

Neron moved quickly, picking Mia up into his arms he jumped back just as a beautiful woman fell to the ground before them. Her hair was a fiery red which draped around her petite frame. She smiled, her face was as flawless as the rest of her body. "It's been sometime, Hades, or is it Neron now?" She looked over at Mia and flashed a brilliant smile. "I see that you're still out of the loop, which is why I summoned you here. After all, you're too weak to resist it now. Might as well take you out before you become any trouble for me later on."

Mia paled. The beautiful woman gave her shivers. As Mia was set her her feet, she moved in front of Neron. "Please...it's broad daylight out...people live around here. They are innocent!" Neron had told her that the war destroyed homes and buildings. She didn't want to hurt anyone who didn't deserve it.

Anastasia chuckled at this. "These human lives mean nothing to me." She began to float off the ground as the wind picked up. "I was praised as a goddess. I ruled over thousands. These insolent beings are nothing but fodder to worship me."

Neron's blades slid out of his arms as he stared at Anastasia. "Tell me, what's going on. Where are your armies to kill me? What happened to you, Anastasia. Didn't...I mean...." He held his head, wincing as he tried to remember.

"Poor, poor Hades. So much has happened and yet you know nothing. The days of old are gone. We play by new rules now. Forced to hide ourselves, lest the humans wage war against us. Still, I will enjoy doing this." Pointing her fingers outward, electricity arched from them. Neron shoved Mia aside as the energy hit him in the chest and sent him flying back. He slammed into her car door as people walking past stopped to watch. He winced as he pulled himself out of the crushed metal and stood on shaking legs. His chest was torn apart and his shirt was all but non-existent. Despite that, his eyes were glowing ferociously.

He ran toward her, but she just smirked as the earth began to shake. The ground split open while the tremors caused nearby buildings to shake. Soon people were panicking as debris fell and buildings began to crumble. "Fear me," Anastasia whispered.

Mia laid on the ground after Neron pushed her and clutched her chest, feeling Neron's pain. Shaky hands grabbed her phone. She quickly called Keith. "Keith! I'm scared! I don't know what to do! There are people around!" She stood slowly taking deep breath. Looking at Neron, she could feel his adrenaline. She gave Keith the address to where she was. "You have to get these people out of here!"

With the ground shaking, Mia dropped her phone. She ran the best she could towards a group of people and started pushing them out of the way. "Leave! Run!" she urged. Old steel bars came crashing down and she pushed them harder. "Please!"

Keith had no idea why she was calling him. What could he do? "I'll call the cops and tell them something is going on!"

Neron charged as lightning arched all around him. He screamed as the lightning seared his flesh, and his arm fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

Anastasia just laughed as she flew on the wind. Fire began to erupt from the grounds in an attempt to cook him alive. One such blast of fire, caught a gas line which in turn caused an enormous explosion. The flames reached the sky, sending steel girders flying through the air. They crashed through buildings, landed on cars, in some cases they went straight through people.

While Anastasia soaked in the scream and the cries of the people, Neron jumped up onto one of the falling girders. He then pushed himself onto the second one, and then a third, using them as stairs to reach his target. He lunged at her, his one arm thrusting outward in an attempt to get her heart. His blade was just inches away from her chest when all at once he stopped moving.

Anastasia's eyes glowed as she smiled at him. "Such a foolish attempt," she whispered. "What did you really hope to accomplish by this?"

Neron looked down at all the people. He couldn't see Mia among all the dust and flames. Where was she? Looking back up at Anastasia, he growled in anger. As he did so he noticed black smoke seeping from his lips. Anastasia's eyes widened in fear as she looked at him.

"Nice seeing you," he smirked. With a deep breath he exhaled quickly, black smoke flew from his lips and encompassed her face in the black fog. There was literally and earth shattering scream which followed. Neron fell four stories, landing with a cracking sound as his legs broke. The earth was shaking, pillars of fire erupted from the ground, and lightning crashed down upon them.

Then all at once it stopped. Anastasia's body fell, crumpling next to Neron, the black smoke still encompassing her head.

Mia dodged pillars and jumped over holes in the ground. She made her way to Neron, her car too far away. Sliding to the ground next to him, she cupped his face, feeling all his pain but most of it feeling like a burning sensation. "Nero, we have to get out of before the cops get here. You can't stand and I can't carry you. What should I do?"

His breathing was labored and he was on the brink on unconsciousness. He was a master at dealing with pain, but even he was a little rusty. "Leave me here to sleep," he said, his voice drifting as if he was far away. Closing his eyes, he shook his head, trying to stay awake. "Can you...," he hissed as he tried to move his legs. "Can you drive your car over here?" The path to where he lay was covered in flaming debris and cracked earth, but if she was careful she could make it.

She looked around. "I'll do it!" She left him there, rushing to her car. How in the world she explain the dents to her mother? Getting in, she drove carefully to Neron. She got out and drug him the best she could to her car. Her legs were starting to feel numb. Mostly because she knew Neron's were. Finally getting him in, she backed out, leaving her phone in the dust and throwing her blade in the back. She didn't go to the hotel, instead, she drove to the forgotten farm. It would be the only place no one would look for them. Pull the car to park, she looked over at him. He was sleeping. Getting out, she grabbed her bag from the back and started to work on him while he slept.

Mia had no phone. No way to contact anyone, not that it would matter. Keith was useless to help. It's not like he had a fighter of his own. Her breathing was hard as she tried not to cry while she worked to stop the blood flow on Neron.

Neron woke several hours later. Every part of him ached, and some parts actually hurt. He looked down at the nub which had once been an arm. He groaned. Why hadn't he thought to brought his limb? That would have sped up his recovery time tremendously. At this rate it would take a day and half if not more for him to get his right arm back. He tried to move his legs, but he couldn't. That's right...his legs were broken. He reached out, where was Mia? "Mia?"

Mia had been in the woods gathering fire wood and looking for trees with fruit. She had made a pile of wood inside the old farm house in the old stone fire place. She had also made a small make shift stretcher out of logs and some blankets she had in the trunk of her car. She had her arms fully of apples when she came out of the woods after another trip. It was dark now. She set the apples inside the farm house on a blanket she had. She was glad she had packed so many things for their trip. She had grabbed blankets and pillows just in case she didn't like the ones at the hotel, but now, they were coming in handy. In front of the fire place was a pallet made of tones of blankets and pillows. The house was old and run down, but it would prove to be good shelter. She left the things there and went to the car to check on Neron.

Smiling she opened the door. "You're awake. I'm glad," she said stroking his face. Grabbing the stretcher, she helped him on it, mostly by pulling him.

It didn't wheel, so she had to pull it and do her best. She had to go the back way through the house so she wouldn't have to go out the front door steps. Groaning, she pulled him inch by inch to the house.

He bit his lip and bared the pain of being moved. Once they finally got inside, he took a deep breath of air as he tried to push the pain out of his mind. "How long have I been asleep?"

Mia shrugged. "All day. It's late," she said as she helped him on the blanket and placed his head on the pillow. She moved him up with another blanket and moved to the fireplace. Pulling a lighter out, she started the fire and played with it until it was strong enough. Turning to him she grabbed an apple and handed it to him with a smile. "I'll be back. I want to get some more fire wood so I can keep the fire on all night," she said and stood.

"Be careful," he warned, taking the apple in his hand he tried to push himself up on his elbow. "There's no telling what might be out there...and right now I'm in no condition to protect you."

She smiled. "I won't be far." She walked out and went to the woods again. Gathering all she could carry, she came back. She had been gone for less than ten minutes, but she quickly left again. She made about ten trips to the woods until her arms were sore. There was enough wood to last days. Sitting in front of the fire, she rubbed her arms and warmed her body.

"I'm sorry you got so hurt...but at least there is one less to worry about. I lost my phone, so we are on our own. I don't think I should have drug Keith into this. He can't help much and I would just worry about him if he happened to be around if we got into a fight." She pushed her hair behind her ear as she stared at the fire. "A lot of people died today...I know some people got a good look at me. I'll be all over the news and so will you. We...won't be able to go into to town."She put another log in it.

"I found a river not far from here." She handed him a bottle of water. "One thing I learned from my father is that you should always have water in your trunk...you never know when you'll need it. I have a few cases of bottled water but when we run out, we can go to the river and refill them maybe catch some fish when you get stronger."

"I'll be back to full health in about two days." He fiddled with the water bottle before finally managing to get a drink. The water tasted great to his sore throat. When he saw the look of surprise on her face about his recovery time, he just chuckled. "The hardest part will be healing my bones and arm."

"I managed to kill Anastasia through sheer luck. Just one of many." he shook his head and laid back down. "One of a hundred."

Mia looked back at the fire. "I see," she said slowly. "Get some sleep, I won't go to the woods anymore tonight."

He bit his lip. "No, I should stay up a little longer." He rubbed his bandaged nub as he looked over at her. "I must thank you for getting me to safety. In my condition it would have been easy for someone to have finished me."

"Don't thank me, Neron...or Hades...whichever you prefer. We are a team. It's not like I would have left you there." She moved next to him and laid down on top of the covers so she would disturb him.

He smiled. "Hades was a name given to me long ago by one of my masters back in Greece. Neron is the name you gave me, so Neron I shall be." He rolled over, groaning as he did so. His good arm hugged around her and he pulled her close for the warmth.

"Are you cold?" she asked. Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed another blanket and put it over him. She tried not to be so distant, but her mind weighed heavy. She could only hear the screams of innocent people. All she could see was the blood washing the busy streets. None of them saw it coming.

He didn't reply. Within seconds he was asleep again, his body demanding that it be healed. unlike her, the thoughts of innocents dying did not bother him. He had seen countless thousands, millions even die within the prospect of this war. A few more would not matter.

Mia pulled his arm from her and placed a pillow in her spot. Moving back over to the fire, she watched the flames dance about while feeling completely alone. Even though Neron was with her, she knew she would never get use to the fact that innocents were going to die and she would have no one to understand her. She longed for someone to tell her what to do and how to be a better master. Now that she wasn't in town anymore, she couldn't see Keith and hopefully, he wouldn't look for her. The cops were probably at her apartment and would trace her phone to Keith. She prayed that Keith wouldn't tell them anything, but if she were him, she would probably be freaking out and would spill her guts.

"You're so predictable, Mia." Keith lit up his cigarette, chasing the smoke away before exhaling and letting the smoke fill the air. "You should have just gone to the motel like I told you. Instead you took a detour and what did that get you? You got into a supernatural fight and now you're sleeping here in the middle of nowhere."

Mia jumped at his voice. Rushing to him in tears, she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Keith..." she whispered against him. "How did you find me?"

"Geez, if I knew that I'd get this kind of reaction from you, you should have found this guy earlier." He rubbed her back with a smile. "You look like hell."

She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I feel like hell. Why are you here? How did you know I would be here? I've never brought you here before."

He shrugged and blew smoke into the night air. "Call it an educated hunch." He motioned to the seat by the fire. "When did you get to be so survival friendly?"

"Dad taught me a lot when he came back from Iraq the first time," she said. Taking the cigarette from him, she took a drag and moaned then threw it in the fire. Blowing out the smoke she glared at him. "Don't smoke. It kills."