Chapter 41 - Labs

Iris

+--

Valkyre hated the place the moment he stepped inside.
No, it'd been before that. Seeing the small, squat building clinging to the dusty, rocky ground, splash of dirty white and steel the only difference from the empty landscape around them. It'd been no trouble to escape from the other hunters, and the city was already long since out of sight, out of mind. They'd travelled hours to get here, the angel having grown steadily more nervous the entire time, made no better by the tense, stretched silence between himself and Raguel, who'd only paid him minor heed as he flew ahead on strong, steady strokes of his inky-black, hooked demon wings.
Outside, the building was obviously in disrepair and crumbling, the sharp corners and edges, clearly manmade, all being roughened down into the same shapeless blocks as the pebbled hunks of stone all around. Entire sections of the area had completely crumbled, sliding down into the dust of the cracked ground with inaudible sighs.
Raguel however had managed to find an entrance to a large section of the infrastructure that was still mainly upright. Valkyre cast the half-breed a sharp glance, frown drawing his lips tight, but Raguel only sent back the faintest of smiles and stepped inside.
The angel followed, cautiously, one hand tightly gripping the thin, light fingers of Iris. The boy had his face set, gray eyes still revealing nothing, but the small hand trembled, clenching fiercely to the other's palm.
He was afraid. There were painful memories in this place, but Iris was still willing to step inside, to return to his hurt and fear.
Iris truly wanted to know who he was.
And, this time, not even Valkyre could stop him.
The angel felt a sense of... loss, perhaps. Fear. Maybe because Iris, so passive, so quiet and silent, had finally stepped forward, loosening himself from the other, no longer so dependent, no longer like a mindless doll...
Valkyre shook his head mentally. No. Whatever it was, he'd follow through. He... He knew Raguel had drawn Iris into his hand, but he couldn't bring himself to tear the boy away. Finally, something that held meaning to the empty-eyed boy... And he didn't want... to hurt Iris, not now, not in this fashion.
Valkyre was going to stay by him, no matter what.
The angel looked up in time to see Raguel slip through the darkened doorway, the interior of the building immediately darkening beyond visibility, contrasted sharply by the light soil around slowly turning to sepia tones as the sun slowly began to sink down to the horizon, signalling the late afternoon.
Valkyre hesitated for just a moment, then stepped inside as well.
Though musty and untouched, the sharp smell of disinfect and iodine still registered to the angel's senses, and he felt his skin break out in goosebumps. Cool air swirled around sluggishly from lower down, kept cold from the hot sun that baked the landscape outside. They had been travelling west, after all, and nearing the edge of the wasteland desert, the temperature constantly rising.
Valkyre's boots clattered loudly on the dirt-swept steel floors as he made his way down the entrance hall, eyeing the scratches on the faceless metal and crumbled pieces of the wall, gaping small and large holes alike, some showing plaster flaking apart from seperate rooms...
"Valkyre."
The angel looked up sharply, seeing Raguel standing at a doorway further down. The other's face also seemed slightly strained, lips drawn tight.
Valkyre picked up his pace slightly, careful to skirt the rubble and ruin as his view dimmed, the light that'd seeped in from the entrance growing fainter and weaker with each step.
"...Do you know where to go, Raguel?"
The half-breed stepped past the doorframe, heading down another long hall, this one lined with doorways.
"Hmph. You forget that I've been here before. The research rooms and databases are further back on the right wing."
Valkyre closed his eyes briefly, willing his feet to follow his commands and his tongue to stay in his mouth. He hated the place. The smell, the square, sharp shapes, the dark hallways. The broken glass and the smashed walls...
The darkness. The splinters under his fingernails, the black sticky stains on the ground.
Up ahead, Raguel pushed open a door, only to nimby jump back as a miniature avalanche of broken edges of plaster and groaning metal crumbled to the ground. Somewhere near the doorframe, a twisted wire sparked, casting the hallway, Raguel, and the ruin into scattered bright white light.
...Camael, the candle whispering silently to itself.
Valkyre's own shadow flickering, dancing on the dirty wall.
And from his back...
The angel's eyes widened suddenly, a cold sweat covering his body, his feet glued in place, an image burned into his mind.
His back... his... ...the feathers... his... wings...
"Valkyre."
Wings...
The angel blinked, blinked again. He blinked a third time, and things finally came back into focus before his eyes, Iris' empty gray cores staring straight back. The boy had loosened their grip, stepping in front of Valkyre's trembling body, staring up at him, small light hand now on his shoulder, pressing to him lightly but insistently.
The angel shook his head, glanced around. Raguel was coming back to them, almost melting into the black around if not for his pale skin and colored eyes.
"...Are you okay?"
Iris' voice, soft but... caring. Concerned.
"I... I'm..."
"Valkyre? What is it?"
Raguel now, stopping, studying him carefully, fine eyebrows arched.
The angel swallowed dryly, then shook his head, finally breaking his limbs out of their freeze and stepping forward again.
"...Nothing," he muttered, wiping at the sweat on his brow.
Dream. Dreaming.
He was confusing reality with his dreams.
He'd been young. Who knew what he'd really seen, and what he'd only imagined?
Valkyre followed Raguel into the room, skirting the pile of crumble still settling its dust, only to realize that it was merely a passage again to somewhere deeper, further inside the compound.
The angel edged along, fingers finding Iris' hand again, hoping the boy wouldn't notice the shake to his own limbs in the dark, in the stilted air and the tense, thin atmosphere.
Valkyre blinked sharply, trying to focus his eyes and adjust them to the dark. He closed his eyes momentarily, only to open them again and realize that what he'd thought were merely shiny steel walls were actually windows.
And there were small enclosed spaces on either side.
It was like a row of... cages. Of glass.
And in the one right next to the angel, there was something sprawled in its center.
A body.
Valkyre froze in his steps, chills running down his back. A leg. An arm. A...
He ripped his gaze away, forced himself to push ahead with his legs, fingers tightening their grip roughly around the wrist in his hands, refusing to look to either side.
"R-Raguel-!"
His voice was hoarse, choked. The other turned back, merely glancing at him before stepping on, expression void of emotion.
"Ra...!" Valkyre stumbled on, hearing small gasps from Iris, running breathlessly behind him. Running with him along this hellish corridor, images whirling past, each clawing at his vision, demanding his attention.
The angel pulled his hand from the boy's, his blood still thundering in his ears. He reached out, sharply grabbing Raguel's shoulder, whirling the other around, pinning him against the glass, which rattled and clattered at the movement.
"Goddammit, stop!" Valkyre's breathing was rapid, his eyes not seeing the pale yellow and deep red before him, but other shadows and images caught as if from a nightmare film still playing before his eyes, images from mere instants ago.
"What... What the hell is all this??"
Raguel stared back at the other, face completely empty of emotion, not even minding of the angel's fingers digging sharply into his shoulder, of the arm pressed heavily over his chest.
Calmly, he said, "This is the lab, Valkyre."
The angel pulled his arm back sharply, scowling. "This... this is madness," he hissed, eyes trained on the half-breed, not daring to look anywhere else. "This..."
Raguel moved suddenly, almost too quickly for Valkyre to see, abruptly bringing his face inches from the other's, eyes narrowed, sharp and bright, his pale, sharp canines flashing as he spoke.
"You think I like this, Valkyre?? You think I want to be here??? You have any idea what I see here???"
The angel stared back, stunned by the sharp ferocity and the bright, glowering eyes that bore straight into him.
Raguel, seeming to have caught up with his emotions, turned around abruptly, letting out a ragged breath.
"H-Hurry," he muttered, stepping away again. "We should get what we need and leave as soon as possible."
Valkyre hesitated a moment longer, still surprised. Raguel... he was...
"...Valkyre..."
The angel glanced down at Iris, whose small fingers touched his limp arm, looking up at him imploringly.
Valkyre let out a soft sigh, allowing himself the tiniest luxury of reaching out, touching the boy's cheek, brushing at the soft light hair.
"...C'mon," he murmured, voice barely audible. "Let's get going."
He could see the fear in the boy's eyes, knew that he'd seen the same things beyond the glass. ...But there was no turning back now, and Valkyre swore to bring Iris through this all, safely, no matter where they ran.
If only he could know how long it would be.

+--

AN: I hate my chapter endings. So cheesy. >>;
Well, another chapter! I've got some more insinuations in this one, and soon to come up, action~! Hopefully something quite interesting will happen quite soon too, I hope. It's been in my head so long, I can't wait to get it out!
I'm sorry to say, but Raguel's personality is rather hard for me to define as of now, so his actions may seem a bit vague and odd. I'm not sure whether he should be more well-rounded, or perhaps more evil-like and aloft... it's a tough decision.
Well, anyway. More character recycling coming up, and, seriously guys, this is just so cool, how far we've gotten. Well, school's going to start soon, so work might slow down... then again, it might speed up, depending on how interesting the plotline is [laugh] (And, well, it's pretty interesting right now, just so y'know. ^_~) and schoolwork and whatnot.
Thanks to all who comment, and I promise to turn out some more chapters soon~! ::bowgrovel::

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment