| Chapter Six: The Master's Chambers By Richard LeBlanc After a short jaunt through more trapped territory - the two vipers pressed on. Neither of them knew what to expect - nor what they might find - but they would both be damned if they allowed any of this carnage - this desecration - this nightmare made real - go unpunished. "Dumb question for the year," Corwin began. "I am sure you filled that quota by now," Calloway rebutted. "You think the boss might be holed up in his chambers?" he asked - ignoring the rogue comment. Calloway looked at the bloodstained walls and shook his head. Everything he knew was in a state of flux and chaos. "To be perfectly honest - I have no fucking idea anymore. I have spent the entirety of my undead life preparing for a war in the service of a man that - taught me everything I knew. Now - I stand in the shadow of a once wondrous place. A place that has been reduced to vandalized ruins. That man that taught me so much - wants me dead. The war that we have been preparing all our lives for - failed because - we weren't ready," Calloway remarked. "Kind of ironic - isn't it? Snake spent so much time fucking everyone else that he never saw them lining him up," Luther remarked. Calloway sighed and frowned. "The ghost walks with us?" Corwin asked. "Unfortunately," Calloway answered. "You going to flip out again?" he asked. "I saw that - you went totally fucking psycho back there," Luther remarked. "I - was unprepared. The images from my mind - the nightmares - the pest - it overwhelmed me," Calloway stated. Luther mockingly cried. "I feel so sorry for you," he mocked. "Tell me - about these nightmares," Corwin requested. "Why?" he rebutted. "Dreams are said to be a window to the soul. They may mean nothing - they may harbor some obscure clue," he rationalized. Calloway shook his head as he leaned against the wall behind him. "All of them - or just the most recent?" Calloway rebutted. "Highlights from all if you can," Corwin replied. "Since when did this quack become a shrink?" Luther mocked. "Most of them are the same. Only a detail or two ever changes. The main factor is - that - the temple falls. That - everyone perished," he replied. "Everyone - except you?" Corwin asked. "More or less. In one there were bodies pinned to the walls. Messages were written in their blood. In another - I was garbed as a temple guard. Why - I can not say," he began as he closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. "In one the elders awoke," he added as he tried recollecting more details. "The elders? What makes you think it was them?" Corwin asked. "They had - an aura about him. It was old and powerful. His eyes were cold. The minions serving him were like mindless beasts," he replied. Corwin blinked as he leaned against the wall behind him. "What are you thinking?" he asked suspiciously. "I don't know. But - if this was some divine warning from Set - I can't make heads or tails of it," Corwin stated calmly. "How deep," Luther remarked. "The only constant elements in all are - that - you were alone - that the temple fell," Corwin stated. "Yes," Calloway answered. "The last one - you say it was more vivid - more - detailed than the others?" he asked. "Can we talk about this another time?" Calloway suggested as he walked over and towered over Corwin. "Fine - I'm just trying to help you make some sense of all this," he replied - sliding to the side and backing away from him. "If I need or want your help - I will ask for it," Calloway stated sternly as he led the way down the corridor that Snake's inner sanctum was. Corwin shrugged his shoulders and followed. "I know - maybe he is a traitor Calloway? Hell - if I was surely he could be. You can't trust anyone - assassins can't afford the luxury of trust," Luther remarked. Calloway shook his head as they followed the trail of broken bodies that followed the corridor. "They were forced back," Calloway stated as he looked at the damage that was done to the walls by weapon's fire. "Looks like they took a few of the bad guys with them," Corwin remarked. "They didn't take enough," Calloway rebutted. "Well - then the task would fall to the clean up crew - and low and behold - two of the," Corwin began but stopped. Calloway looked over his shoulder and looked to see what shut him up. "What's?" Calloway began as he walked over and looked at what Corwin was staring at. "Sally," he muttered. The body of another viper - one almost as good as him lay motionless on the ground. Her body shot up and burned in many places. "Okay - now - I was pretty confident before," Corwin remarked. "They were not expecting trouble," Calloway stated as he looked over at Corwin. "We are," he pointed out. Corwin sighed as he armed his gun and shook his head. "Remind me how that is supposed to reassure me," he asked. "Your sense of humor seems unaffected," Calloway pointed out as he motioned for Corwin to follow. The two made their way down the corridors and halls until they reached the rooms where Snake resided. Calloway tensed up when he saw the condition it was in. "Messy," Corwin muttered. "This was a message," Calloway stated as they hesitantly made their way in. the floor was ankle deep with blood and ash. Dozens of bodies looked as though they had been shredded and gutted and left to die. "You think?" Corwin asked. Calloway slowly knelt down and put his finger to the blood. He then moved it to his tongue and spat. "This shit is tainted," Calloway said as he got up and looked around. "That would mean no," Corwin stated as an object landed on the floor by them - splashing them both. The two looked down at the metal object that had a small red flashing light on it. "Flash grenade," Calloway muttered. Corwin knocked Calloway aside as the thing exploded under him. "Corwin?" he called out. He was seeing spots for a few seconds. "Caught us napping the little fuckers did," Corwin hissed. He concentrated for a few moments until his eyes were healed. He looked over his shoulder and saw intruders getting ready to lob more grenades in. "No you don't," he hissed as he raised his gun and fired. One kindred exploded in a ball of flames. "We have to get out of here," Calloway muttered. "The way we came is out. If you have any suggestions please - don't be selfish," Corwin stated as some bone fragments and other things rolled over to where his foot was. He looked down and saw that one of the things was a grenade. "Oh shit," he muttered as the thing exploded. Calloway watched as the viper was flung from where he was standing into the far wall. "Okay - that - really hurt," Corwin muttered. Calloway rolled over grabbed the shotgun he dropped and shot the intruders that hoped to slip in amidst the confusion. "Heal up already - we have to get out of here," Calloway ordered as he kept shooting until the others that were present were sent scurrying away. "Would that I could hero. That fucking blast messed me up," Corwin muttered as he looked over at the fellow viper. "Your dreams - in them - you faced whatever happened on your own. My place is here. Go - I will - distract them so that they will not be able to follow," Corwin stated seriously. "You sure it has to be this way?" Calloway asked. "Set only knows - and right now he isn't being talkative," he replied as he opened his coat to reveal a makeshift bomb. "You know - I had this made up for you - in case you came after me. I knew that you liked to get up close and personal. So I figured that - if I was to go down - I would take you with me. Funny how things work out," he added. "It will not be in vain. I will find him - and we will make all of these maggots pay for their crimes against Set," he reassured. Corwin quietly laughed as he made his way over to where a toppled over desk was. Calloway helped him move it over so that it was in a more useful spot. "Whatever. Just get the fuck out of here," Corwin rebutted with a smirk. He watched as Calloway hurried over to the wall and vanished via a secret passageway. "I should have stayed at home," he muttered as he looked to the end of the hall. There stood another hunting party. "You want some you fucking bitches? Come get some," he mocked as he fired. The hunting party charged. He was able to take some of them out before they got close - but the rest drew ever closer. It was then that the desk was kicked over and he found himself pinned to the blood-soaked floor. "You - would be Corwin. Our people missed you the other day," the leader of the pack smugly remarked. Corwin giggled as he moved his head to the side touching it to his shoulder. "Well - you might of missed me you stupid fuck - but know by Set - that I will not miss you," he concluded as he jerked his head to the other side. The vampire looked down and saw the flashing light on the assassin's chest. "Take," he began as a powerful explosion rocked the room - causing the roof to cave in on them all. To Be Continued... |