From Within

Chapter 1

"I can't hold it back!" Tears and sweat flooded down a muddy and battered face.

"Just a little longer, I've almost got it." It wasn't the response she wanted to hear. For the past six hours she had been put through Hell and beyond with barely time to take a breath. Her torn and bloodied jacket clung to her aching body like a limpet. Shaking arms flung out before her emitted a roaring flame through her hands; crimson eyes burned red.

Through the fire, struggled a fairly pissed off and shrieking Scryx. Its lips pulled back in a snarl dripped venomous saliva through bared, jagged teeth. Grey flesh adorned an oval shaped head, placed atop a burning grey body. It's armour had started to melt away, exposing scarred skin beneath. Pushing through the pain, she sent out a final blast, power ebbing through her veins. The Scryx was strong but she was stronger. A louder screech escaped its lips as it was sent careering backwards. Without hesitation, the fighter sprung forwards, leaping onto the hideous creature. In between her fingers, Fuerza thrummed with energy, pulsing lightly underneath her trembling digits as she forced it between the melted metal and through the Scryx's chest. It's screech abruptly cut short, grey blood pooling around the wound.

Deci's face contorted into a grimace. "Look, you made me break a nail." She held out her right ring finger to the bubbling corpse, half a silver nail hanging by a thread to her nail bed.

"Nice work Gem, I thought it would take you longer than that but it's been a while since you were last in the field." She could hear the smile in the ex-soldier's voice as it came loud and clear through her ear piece.

"James, I swear to fuck if you don't have it after all that you'll be sleeping outside tonight." She hoped that her frustration was carried through enough but she reckoned the exhaustion was more prominent. Bits of rock and Scryx had fallen into her boots during the fight and she could feel blood ooze between her toes. At this point she wasn't sure how much blood was hers. She pushed off matted silver hair from her face as her blazing red eyes dimmed and transitioned to a calming green.

Light outside the crypt had slowly faded away to a dim shimmer. As the sun set, Deci felt her energy sink with it. The Scryx's corpse lying amongst the debris was still leaking although the flow has lessened. On her left hand, Fuerza glimmered at the base of her middle finger. Just the feel of the metal against her skin calmed her.

"James? Tom? Where you at?" She asked over the intercom.

"Somewhere in the middle of about five dead Scryx and like a shit ton of dust." Tom's faded voice was the first to come through. He sounded exhausted too. The last she had seen of him, he'd been trying to fight off two at once while James shimmied along the edge of the crypt. Tom was strong and James had trained them well, they'd both proved themselves to be capable of holding their own in the past, but she always worried about them nevertheless. Maybe it was some sort of motherly instinct or maybe she did really care about them.

Deci's wandering gaze fell once more to the fallen Scryx ahead of her and a shiver ran down her spine. That final blast had come from somewhere deep but she didn't know where. The feeling was almost indescribable but she could taste it on her tongue. It tasted like iron but smelled like honey. It was as if her core had been engulfed in lava and started to eviscerate her from the inside out. The sound of trampling footsteps shook her out of her daze and brought her focus to a slightly dusty but still smiling brunette.

He picked up the pace until he was close enough for her to crumple into him. Relief washed over the pair as they held each other for a moment. No words needed to be spoken, just the feel was enough. Deci tightened her grip on her best friend. She could play it off as being happy to see him alive but she was gently feeding off his energy. A perk of being supernatural meant stealing the life essence from others when needed. After knowing each other for seventeen years, Tom trusted her enough to use him when needed. She felt a light tap on her shoulder and heard a light squeak. "Are you good? I need to like breathe and stuff."