Ironclad
Member
Cain scanned the treeline with a pair of binoculars, clicking his tongue in mild annoyance. This was taking too long, and they were losing daylight. His eyebrow twitched as the girl's screaming still reached his from inside his truck.
“Remind me to get soundproofing,” he said out loud to no one in particular. He hopped off the bed of the truck where he was standing and strolled over to the door, opening it up to where a screaming Miriam pulled against the handcuff which secured her there.
“Please just let me go, please!”she sobbed.
Sweetheart, ya’ll gotta cut that out,” Cain said calmly, grabbing her handcuffed arm to steady it. Her wrist was red and was forming welts. “Look at that, you’re hurting yourself, now listen to me carefully, I ain’t gonna hurt you, you’re bait, got that? We just need to lure that pet of yers out of the woods there. Bag ‘em, tag ‘em, then we’re all done, and you go on your merry way. I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but it's gotta be done.”
“Please don’t hurt him, just leave him alone,” Miriam cried, her tears shined gold.
“No can do, sister, now do you need water? Need to take a piss or anything? Might be long yet.”
Miriam just went back to her crying and begging and Cain heaved a sigh and slammed the door back in her face, he smoothed his sandy blond hair. He had enough on his plate without this girl making him feel guilty, he then spoke into his cuff microphone.
“Cain here, how’re making out?”
“We’re about a quarter way through our sweep, no hide nor tail of the target,” Titan answered back.
“Well, keep at her, I doubt he’s gone far.”
“You sure you don’t want me over there with you? That crew you got is green as shit, and I got a feeling this catch won’t come quietly.”
“We got it in hand, just do your job,” Cain cut the connection before Titan could retort. He sighed and fished out his cigarette case, carefully taking out a cigarillo and lighting it with a zippo.
He jumped as a roar echoed through the air, one that just about near rustled the trees and set birds fleeing. Cain raised his eyebrows and glanced over at the men, many of who clutched their weapons and nervously scanned the treeline. He suddenly wished he’d kept his main team nearest to him.
Hunt. Find. Kill. Protect. Miriam. Connor breath steamed hot as he ran on all fours like a beast towards her smell, towards the sounds of her crying voice. His vision narrowed, his mouth dripped with saliva, Connor didn't even feel as if he was controlling his body, only that urge, that dark bloody feeling that drove him forward with only the thought of flesh being rendered by sword and by fang.
Connor burst into the clearing like a hound from hell, his sword came free, and he swung it wildly around. Anger overtaking the skill he had acquired as he chased around one man, then got distracted by another. The man ran and dodged and rolled away like frightened chickens.
Cain watched with a raised eyebrow as his clown posse of a B team ran around avoiding this big maniac with a sword. The subject was uncoordinated, and acting on instinct, for the moment he was only a threat if you were too slow. In fact, he didn't even seem to notice Cain as he stood there calmly smoking and watching this tomfoolery play itself out. He sighed and tossed his still-lit cigarillo to the ground. He opened the door to his truck where Miriam was still crying but no longer yelling, she yelled again when Cain grabbed her arm and pulled her out. Immediately the animal stopped and turned to look at them, his eyes black with fury, Cain worried he might not even have the cognitive ability to understand speech.
"Stop, or she dies," he kept it simple, and figured an animal wouldn't understand the concept of a bluff. The thing didn't move. ""Drop your sword." it stared at him, ginger hair a wild mane that hung down, teeth like daggers. Cain spat. "Drop. It" the sword clattered to the ground.
"Good boy. Now you see that cage right there,"" Cain nodded to the back of his truck, where study iron cage had been welding into the bed. "That's your new home, go ahead and make yourself comfortable, and we can call this an early day."
Breath in, breath out, his heart beat like a drum. Kill, rip, tear, flesh, prey all around him. Foot, feed, so hungry, all the time, enemies. Connor wrestled with the urge, but one foot after the other. Staring at Miriam's pleading eyes, he stepped towards the cage and crawled in.
Cain nodded to one of his men, and he cautiously approached the cage before swinging the door shut and latching it securely. Cain let Miriam go, and she felt to the ground in a defeated heap; Cain laughed a little and stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked jauntily closer to the cage.
"See that wasn't so hard, could have saved us a lot of time and taxpayer dollars had we done this weeks ago, but it is what it is," Cain climbed up onto the bed of the truck and whistled. "Damn, you're a right piece of work up close, like those old werewolf movies, you the missing link? Beast who wished he was a man and asked the fairy godmother for help?"
Connor curled up inside the cage, already feeling incredibly small. It felt like the crate he'd been shoved in when he was brought here, he leaned against the bars, trying to accept he would never be outside them again. Instead, he began to tremble horribly. The thing inside writhed and twisted, urging him to fight.
"Alright let's get you tagged in case you run off again," Cain said, he whistled and one of the men came over with a long metal rod at the end of which was a clamp of sorts, fitted with a stud that had a reflective orange tag on it. Cain threaded through the bars and pressed the device against Connor's head, pushing him roughly against the bars as he clasped it around his earlobe. "You'll feel a pinch.".
Connor felt his ear stabbed with the stud and a weight pull on it as Cain pulled away, he pawed at the tag as it dangled from his ear. It was heavy, it would always feel heavy, it declared who owned him and that he was not allowed to leave.
"Alright, pack it up, boys," Cain said, he spoke into his cuff. "We got 'em, start heading back."
Miriam was a mess, and she cried endless tears of a sparkling golden hue. Cain sighed as he hopped off the truck and gently picked her up off the ground. "That's enough of that, darlin, we're going to take you back to your pa, and you can move on with your life"
"I can't go back, I have to stay with him, he needs me," she sobbed.
"He's an animal, girlie, he only stuck around 'cause to fed him, and you've done and got yourself attached, now don't kick up a fuss, and come along."
"No!, No, no, no, no I'm not going back, you can't take him, he doesn't belong with you!" Miriam began pulling against Cain's grip. "Connor! Connor!"
"Fucking give it up, you're gunna hurt yourself"!
"Let me go, you're hurting me!"
Connor watched this all, to the thumping of his heart. Mine. She was better off without him. Mine. It was better this way. Mine. Kill. Claim. Hunt. Prey. Miriam's screams echoed in his ears, his heart began to pound and pound, drums. They took home, they took freddom, now they take Miriam. They took what was his. He watched Cain force Miriam to the ground in order to control her.
Take what's yours.
Saliva ran down his fangs, his bones shifted and cracked painfully, his skin stretched under growing muscles.
Eat.
Fury ran through his veins like fire.
KILL. EAT.
His jaw opened, the muscles painfully stretched, Connor howled in pain as his body shifted. Cain and the rest stopped and looked.
PREY, ALL OF THEM PREY.
The bars of the cage groaned with the strain of containing his growing mass. Connor took a look at Miriam, her eyes full of pain.
Her eyes full of fear.
And Connor looked no more.
The hinges of the cage cracked.
A roar tore through the air.
There was once a beast who dreamt he was a man.
But now the dream was over.
And the beast was awake.
Cain watched in horror as the thing transformed, he threw the girl back to the ground behind him as the cage gave way. He barely has time to focus on hardening his skin before he was knocked off his feet and landed hard on his back. The air filled with the sounds of screams and gunfire, Cain recovered quickly just to watch one of his men be dragged crawling and screaming behind the truck. The sound of ripping flesh ended his pleas. The thin jumped over the vehicle, all muscle, fur, and fury, too fast for Cain to keep track of. It pounced on the next man, sinkings its fangs into his chest. Cain rolled under his truck to the other side, right next to the eviscerated corpse of one of his men.
The screams continued, men, the monster, Cain swore he heard the girl scream too. He was frozen, in shock and fear, for a long while before he forced himself to his feet and around the truck. He ran his hands along razors inside his coat and his blood spurt forth forming spears of crystal. The scene was a mess of flesh and gore, blood was in the air. The beast was hunched over, tearing out the flesh from the abdonmen of one of his men, swallowing it with a throwback of its head. He turned and looked at Cain. Eyes devoid of light. Only hunger and rage left in them.
"I don't get paid enough for this."
The first spike pierced the beasts shoulder as it charged, Cain rolled to the side as it punched. It turned around and pulled the spike free, tossing it aside. Cainclasped the other spike in his ahnd and willed more blood from his body, his vest beeped, the spike crew long and thin thio a sharp blade reminicent of a rpaier. Cain took a defensive stance. The beast stalked around him slowly, smarling as it approached where the longsword rested. Cain rased an eyeborw as it picked up the blade and adopted a comptent stance.
They faced each other now silently, circvling around, surrounded by blood and death. Man watched beast. Brown eyes met green. Until with a breath, they both lunged forward, Connor's sword came down in an overhead arc, Cain raised his blade to meet it as he twisted around to the side. His left fist cmae up in an uppercut, a spike growing from his open wound. Cain opened flesh just underneath Connor'es eye before he was shoulder checked away. Cain slide backwards but maintained his footing, Connor clutched his eye. Taking the inititive Cain rushed and struck forward with a flurry of thrusts. Connor barely fended him off, until Cain feigned and landed a blow into Connor's right shoulder.
Connor roared and knokec Cain off his feet with a powerful punch to his head. Cain landed in the dirt and just barely rolled away as Connor swund his sword down at him. He jumped to his feet and Connor advanced on his swinging wildly and svangely, with Cain deflecting each blow deftly and skillfully. But he was forced to retreat, and couldn't keep this up forever. Connor locked blades with him and physically pushed Cain, his feet dragging in the dirt as they met each others gaze in a haze of snarls and anger. Connor's left hand left the hilt and he swung his fist at his head again, Cain ducked over the blow while maintaining contact with Connor's sword. He raised his head back up just to meet Connor's forehead slamming into his own.
Cain jerked back with a cry, his crystalline blade clattered to the ground. Connor's sword swung in a upward arc towards jhis face and Cain pulled bac, the very tip of Connor's blade caugh the flesh aling his eye and drew blood there. Cain flitched back again and could not recover enougb before Connor buried the blade deep into his shoulder until it met bone. Cain collpased under the weight. Looking up at the beast snarling above him. He spat blood at him.
"You'll live with this one," Cain snarled and laughed, gurgling on his own blood until he lay still.
the beast that was Connor stood over him, gulping air, he snarled at the corpse before limping away. The ground was littered with bodied, Connor sniffed where was she, where was she?
He found Miriam laying in a pool of Gold, her eyes staired blankly forward, and her stomach was torn open by a blade. His blade. The beast nudged at her, sniffing at her flesh. Nothing. Only the smell of death and her smell, the scent of sunflowers. Some sembalcne of Connor remained, and thats what willed him to gently remove the gold earring from one of Miriam's ear, before tearing off the tag in his own ear. The stud left a hole in his ear, one filled by the earring. With that, Connor reatreated, and the beast was alone.
It snifefd around, electing to grab one of the corpses in its mouth before limping off into the woods. A trail of blood following him.
Cain came to as his vest finsihed restarting his heart, he gasped for air painfully. Everythign hurt. He groaned and rolled over on his side before pushing himself off the ground into a sitting position. He looked around, the scene hadn't changed much, save for the beast not being there. He tapped the mic in his cuff.
"Cain here, where the fuck are ya'll?"
"Just missed us, we're giving chanse, the thing is headed north."
"The girl?"
"Too late, boss, nothing we could have done."
"Yeah,"Cain cut the connected and took a breath before he slammed his fist into the dirt over and over "Fuck!" he shouldn't have gotten that girl involved, that was on him, the whole damn mess was on him. He got to his feet and limped over to his truck. That damn animal, the damn hellsapwn. Cain didn't care look over the clearing, where he knew the girl lay, he only hoped it had been quick for her. He wished he'd been quicker for her.
"No hesitation" Cain muttered, he caught his reflection in his side mirror, despite his rapid healing a thin scar ran from his forhead - through his eyebrow - and across his eye. Cain touched it. "I swear to God I'll kill that demon."
“Remind me to get soundproofing,” he said out loud to no one in particular. He hopped off the bed of the truck where he was standing and strolled over to the door, opening it up to where a screaming Miriam pulled against the handcuff which secured her there.
“Please just let me go, please!”she sobbed.
Sweetheart, ya’ll gotta cut that out,” Cain said calmly, grabbing her handcuffed arm to steady it. Her wrist was red and was forming welts. “Look at that, you’re hurting yourself, now listen to me carefully, I ain’t gonna hurt you, you’re bait, got that? We just need to lure that pet of yers out of the woods there. Bag ‘em, tag ‘em, then we’re all done, and you go on your merry way. I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but it's gotta be done.”
“Please don’t hurt him, just leave him alone,” Miriam cried, her tears shined gold.
“No can do, sister, now do you need water? Need to take a piss or anything? Might be long yet.”
Miriam just went back to her crying and begging and Cain heaved a sigh and slammed the door back in her face, he smoothed his sandy blond hair. He had enough on his plate without this girl making him feel guilty, he then spoke into his cuff microphone.
“Cain here, how’re making out?”
“We’re about a quarter way through our sweep, no hide nor tail of the target,” Titan answered back.
“Well, keep at her, I doubt he’s gone far.”
“You sure you don’t want me over there with you? That crew you got is green as shit, and I got a feeling this catch won’t come quietly.”
“We got it in hand, just do your job,” Cain cut the connection before Titan could retort. He sighed and fished out his cigarette case, carefully taking out a cigarillo and lighting it with a zippo.
He jumped as a roar echoed through the air, one that just about near rustled the trees and set birds fleeing. Cain raised his eyebrows and glanced over at the men, many of who clutched their weapons and nervously scanned the treeline. He suddenly wished he’d kept his main team nearest to him.
Hunt. Find. Kill. Protect. Miriam. Connor breath steamed hot as he ran on all fours like a beast towards her smell, towards the sounds of her crying voice. His vision narrowed, his mouth dripped with saliva, Connor didn't even feel as if he was controlling his body, only that urge, that dark bloody feeling that drove him forward with only the thought of flesh being rendered by sword and by fang.
Connor burst into the clearing like a hound from hell, his sword came free, and he swung it wildly around. Anger overtaking the skill he had acquired as he chased around one man, then got distracted by another. The man ran and dodged and rolled away like frightened chickens.
Cain watched with a raised eyebrow as his clown posse of a B team ran around avoiding this big maniac with a sword. The subject was uncoordinated, and acting on instinct, for the moment he was only a threat if you were too slow. In fact, he didn't even seem to notice Cain as he stood there calmly smoking and watching this tomfoolery play itself out. He sighed and tossed his still-lit cigarillo to the ground. He opened the door to his truck where Miriam was still crying but no longer yelling, she yelled again when Cain grabbed her arm and pulled her out. Immediately the animal stopped and turned to look at them, his eyes black with fury, Cain worried he might not even have the cognitive ability to understand speech.
"Stop, or she dies," he kept it simple, and figured an animal wouldn't understand the concept of a bluff. The thing didn't move. ""Drop your sword." it stared at him, ginger hair a wild mane that hung down, teeth like daggers. Cain spat. "Drop. It" the sword clattered to the ground.
"Good boy. Now you see that cage right there,"" Cain nodded to the back of his truck, where study iron cage had been welding into the bed. "That's your new home, go ahead and make yourself comfortable, and we can call this an early day."
Breath in, breath out, his heart beat like a drum. Kill, rip, tear, flesh, prey all around him. Foot, feed, so hungry, all the time, enemies. Connor wrestled with the urge, but one foot after the other. Staring at Miriam's pleading eyes, he stepped towards the cage and crawled in.
Cain nodded to one of his men, and he cautiously approached the cage before swinging the door shut and latching it securely. Cain let Miriam go, and she felt to the ground in a defeated heap; Cain laughed a little and stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked jauntily closer to the cage.
"See that wasn't so hard, could have saved us a lot of time and taxpayer dollars had we done this weeks ago, but it is what it is," Cain climbed up onto the bed of the truck and whistled. "Damn, you're a right piece of work up close, like those old werewolf movies, you the missing link? Beast who wished he was a man and asked the fairy godmother for help?"
Connor curled up inside the cage, already feeling incredibly small. It felt like the crate he'd been shoved in when he was brought here, he leaned against the bars, trying to accept he would never be outside them again. Instead, he began to tremble horribly. The thing inside writhed and twisted, urging him to fight.
"Alright let's get you tagged in case you run off again," Cain said, he whistled and one of the men came over with a long metal rod at the end of which was a clamp of sorts, fitted with a stud that had a reflective orange tag on it. Cain threaded through the bars and pressed the device against Connor's head, pushing him roughly against the bars as he clasped it around his earlobe. "You'll feel a pinch.".
Connor felt his ear stabbed with the stud and a weight pull on it as Cain pulled away, he pawed at the tag as it dangled from his ear. It was heavy, it would always feel heavy, it declared who owned him and that he was not allowed to leave.
"Alright, pack it up, boys," Cain said, he spoke into his cuff. "We got 'em, start heading back."
Miriam was a mess, and she cried endless tears of a sparkling golden hue. Cain sighed as he hopped off the truck and gently picked her up off the ground. "That's enough of that, darlin, we're going to take you back to your pa, and you can move on with your life"
"I can't go back, I have to stay with him, he needs me," she sobbed.
"He's an animal, girlie, he only stuck around 'cause to fed him, and you've done and got yourself attached, now don't kick up a fuss, and come along."
"No!, No, no, no, no I'm not going back, you can't take him, he doesn't belong with you!" Miriam began pulling against Cain's grip. "Connor! Connor!"
"Fucking give it up, you're gunna hurt yourself"!
"Let me go, you're hurting me!"
Connor watched this all, to the thumping of his heart. Mine. She was better off without him. Mine. It was better this way. Mine. Kill. Claim. Hunt. Prey. Miriam's screams echoed in his ears, his heart began to pound and pound, drums. They took home, they took freddom, now they take Miriam. They took what was his. He watched Cain force Miriam to the ground in order to control her.
Take what's yours.
Saliva ran down his fangs, his bones shifted and cracked painfully, his skin stretched under growing muscles.
Eat.
Fury ran through his veins like fire.
KILL. EAT.
His jaw opened, the muscles painfully stretched, Connor howled in pain as his body shifted. Cain and the rest stopped and looked.
PREY, ALL OF THEM PREY.
The bars of the cage groaned with the strain of containing his growing mass. Connor took a look at Miriam, her eyes full of pain.
Her eyes full of fear.
And Connor looked no more.
The hinges of the cage cracked.
A roar tore through the air.
There was once a beast who dreamt he was a man.
But now the dream was over.
And the beast was awake.
Cain watched in horror as the thing transformed, he threw the girl back to the ground behind him as the cage gave way. He barely has time to focus on hardening his skin before he was knocked off his feet and landed hard on his back. The air filled with the sounds of screams and gunfire, Cain recovered quickly just to watch one of his men be dragged crawling and screaming behind the truck. The sound of ripping flesh ended his pleas. The thin jumped over the vehicle, all muscle, fur, and fury, too fast for Cain to keep track of. It pounced on the next man, sinkings its fangs into his chest. Cain rolled under his truck to the other side, right next to the eviscerated corpse of one of his men.
The screams continued, men, the monster, Cain swore he heard the girl scream too. He was frozen, in shock and fear, for a long while before he forced himself to his feet and around the truck. He ran his hands along razors inside his coat and his blood spurt forth forming spears of crystal. The scene was a mess of flesh and gore, blood was in the air. The beast was hunched over, tearing out the flesh from the abdonmen of one of his men, swallowing it with a throwback of its head. He turned and looked at Cain. Eyes devoid of light. Only hunger and rage left in them.
"I don't get paid enough for this."
The first spike pierced the beasts shoulder as it charged, Cain rolled to the side as it punched. It turned around and pulled the spike free, tossing it aside. Cainclasped the other spike in his ahnd and willed more blood from his body, his vest beeped, the spike crew long and thin thio a sharp blade reminicent of a rpaier. Cain took a defensive stance. The beast stalked around him slowly, smarling as it approached where the longsword rested. Cain rased an eyeborw as it picked up the blade and adopted a comptent stance.
They faced each other now silently, circvling around, surrounded by blood and death. Man watched beast. Brown eyes met green. Until with a breath, they both lunged forward, Connor's sword came down in an overhead arc, Cain raised his blade to meet it as he twisted around to the side. His left fist cmae up in an uppercut, a spike growing from his open wound. Cain opened flesh just underneath Connor'es eye before he was shoulder checked away. Cain slide backwards but maintained his footing, Connor clutched his eye. Taking the inititive Cain rushed and struck forward with a flurry of thrusts. Connor barely fended him off, until Cain feigned and landed a blow into Connor's right shoulder.
Connor roared and knokec Cain off his feet with a powerful punch to his head. Cain landed in the dirt and just barely rolled away as Connor swund his sword down at him. He jumped to his feet and Connor advanced on his swinging wildly and svangely, with Cain deflecting each blow deftly and skillfully. But he was forced to retreat, and couldn't keep this up forever. Connor locked blades with him and physically pushed Cain, his feet dragging in the dirt as they met each others gaze in a haze of snarls and anger. Connor's left hand left the hilt and he swung his fist at his head again, Cain ducked over the blow while maintaining contact with Connor's sword. He raised his head back up just to meet Connor's forehead slamming into his own.
Cain jerked back with a cry, his crystalline blade clattered to the ground. Connor's sword swung in a upward arc towards jhis face and Cain pulled bac, the very tip of Connor's blade caugh the flesh aling his eye and drew blood there. Cain flitched back again and could not recover enougb before Connor buried the blade deep into his shoulder until it met bone. Cain collpased under the weight. Looking up at the beast snarling above him. He spat blood at him.
"You'll live with this one," Cain snarled and laughed, gurgling on his own blood until he lay still.
the beast that was Connor stood over him, gulping air, he snarled at the corpse before limping away. The ground was littered with bodied, Connor sniffed where was she, where was she?
He found Miriam laying in a pool of Gold, her eyes staired blankly forward, and her stomach was torn open by a blade. His blade. The beast nudged at her, sniffing at her flesh. Nothing. Only the smell of death and her smell, the scent of sunflowers. Some sembalcne of Connor remained, and thats what willed him to gently remove the gold earring from one of Miriam's ear, before tearing off the tag in his own ear. The stud left a hole in his ear, one filled by the earring. With that, Connor reatreated, and the beast was alone.
It snifefd around, electing to grab one of the corpses in its mouth before limping off into the woods. A trail of blood following him.
Cain came to as his vest finsihed restarting his heart, he gasped for air painfully. Everythign hurt. He groaned and rolled over on his side before pushing himself off the ground into a sitting position. He looked around, the scene hadn't changed much, save for the beast not being there. He tapped the mic in his cuff.
"Cain here, where the fuck are ya'll?"
"Just missed us, we're giving chanse, the thing is headed north."
"The girl?"
"Too late, boss, nothing we could have done."
"Yeah,"Cain cut the connected and took a breath before he slammed his fist into the dirt over and over "Fuck!" he shouldn't have gotten that girl involved, that was on him, the whole damn mess was on him. He got to his feet and limped over to his truck. That damn animal, the damn hellsapwn. Cain didn't care look over the clearing, where he knew the girl lay, he only hoped it had been quick for her. He wished he'd been quicker for her.
"No hesitation" Cain muttered, he caught his reflection in his side mirror, despite his rapid healing a thin scar ran from his forhead - through his eyebrow - and across his eye. Cain touched it. "I swear to God I'll kill that demon."