Chapter 38: Distraction
Using Beatrice’s natrual passive regeneration trait, Dante used what little time he had left in this girls injured body to patch her up. The faint dark glow rippled across Nellie’s skin as the magic worked, cuts sealed shut, bruises lightened, and the blood that once streamed from her cheek faded into nothing but a faint smoke as heal face was shown. Her breathing evened out, weak but steady.
"That’s better." Dante murmured, glancing down at her. "Now then, as promised... I’ll leave you to get out of here, then we will talk when you sleep." His form flickered faintly before fading into the air like smoke scattered by the wind.
A few seconds later, Nellie’s body twitched. Her fingers jerked once, then again, and her lips parted as she gasped sharply for air.
"Ahhh... Her voice cracked, shallow and hoarse. Cold rain poured over her face, trickling down her temples and into her eyes. She blinked rapidly, her vision blurred by the water and the faint haze of pain.
Her entire body ached, her chest heavy, as her limbs felt sore, and her throat felt raw. The concrete beneath her was freezing, soaked through with muddy water and blood.
"Urghhh... She groaned louder, clutching her head as her memories started to slam back into her mind.
The robbery, she and her group tried to do.
The sirens, and being aphrendended by two exorcist.
The ambush, and them fleeing when that crazy bitch, blow up the the building with them inside, killing the most of them.
Her trying to save her little sister, as they both split up to escape.
The flash of light, then nothing but pain and darkness.
One by one the Memory of Dante and Female Exorcist fight came at her, one after another, fast, and disjointed, the sound of a axe blade ripping through the air, and Dante one sided beat down, as she sent exorcist flying through multiple building’s even breaking her arm.
"What... did I...?" She muttered, breath trembling as she pushed herself upright with shaking arms.
Her gaze drifted to the street ahead, where the Exorcist’s body lay crumpled. The rain had already begun to wash away the blood, but it still ran dark down the cracks of the pavement. The metallic scent clung thick in the air.
She swallowed hard, staring at the crimson trail as it snaked toward the gutter of the building and even higher. Her pulse raced, disbelief tightening her chest.
Slowly, she turned her head to the right. The building beside her was torn open, concrete bent inward, a clean circular hole punched through as if something had exploded from within.
Steam and smoke hissed from the cracks, the smell concrete and blood mixing with the rain.
Her heart hammered in her throat. "No... no way, so that thing really saved me." Her fingers trembled as she pressed them tighter to her chest.
But shocked soon turned to worry, as her mind finally locked in on to what mattered most to her in this moment.
"Ahh... I need to find Emilia. Ahh, fuck... why do I feel so tired?" She reached for the memory again. As she recalled the female exorcist saying that Loid was chasing the other female. "Shit, Emilia, being chase!?" She said as she tried to move, she had to find Emilia, and quickly. As panic flooded her, but the muscles in her body wouldn’t obey, they where way to sore to move properly. "Oi, weird voice! Are you there?" She begged into the rain, voice raw with desperation. "Help me find Emilia. Lend me your power again please."
Silence answered. But this time around, her mysterious helper did not answer her called, as the spirit remain silent, or was not even here, only the steady drum of rain and the distant wail of sirens.
"Hey, spirit you there." She called out again, but like before received no answer, and it become apparent, that Dante was not here with her anymore. "Ahh, shit." Her knees gave a little; exhaustion buckled her. Still, she forced herself up and started to limp west, each step a small victory. She muttered like a prayer, hysteric in her tone. "Damnit. Dammit. Damnit... I need to find Emilia. I need to... She called out, desperate to save her sister
THUD
But Her body surrendered, as pain flared through her legs and ribs; she hit the pavement her arms touching hard ground. Tears mingled with rain as she lay there for a moment, her breath shallow, the city’s chaos muffled around her. But her sister, Emilia, was all that mattered. She pushed herself up again, dragged one foot, then the other, moving until the burned outline of the shop rose into view, about five minutes walks from where she was previously.
The building in the distance was a black maw, smoke clawing up into the sky. Firefighters swarmed to hot structure as they work together to put the fire caused from the massive explosion that happened earlier, hoses snaking across the street, connected to various fire hydrants, steam hissing where water met heat. A crowd pressed beyond the tape, shocked faces watch as the old building went up into flames, as the low hum of gossip, a dozen cellphones capturing the ruin.
"Oh God, what happened here?" Someone asked nearby, her voice small and stunned at the sight. "It’s those savages from T.D.O.H. again." A man answered. "They’re causing trouble everywhere, robbed Mr. Jamey’s place and left it a mess, however where not sure if they are the ones that cause the fire."
Near the storefront, an older woman grabbed the shoulders of a dark-haired man who cradled his head in both hands. "What tzzhe fuckkkkk... who did this?" He shouted, his voice breaking. The police tried to soothe him, but he was clearly hyperventilating over the destruction of his business. "Mr. Gildford, please, calm down." A female officer said, her hands placating.
"Don’t tell me to calm down!" Gildford snapped, his eyes wild with range, anger, regret, and sadness. "My insurance will only cover half of this. After repairs I’ve got basically nothing left...nothing! You hear me? Nothing!" He staggered toward a police car in a rage. "I’m going to kill that bitch, let me at her!" The cops blocked him while saying "She is the only remaining suspects left."
"She is going to pay for these damages, I am not playing let me through now." But the officer, prevented him from crossing, going as far as to give him a warning. Nearby, other officers hauled bodies into an ambulance seven in black body bags, lined up like grim trophies. Nellie’s stomach turned. The heist would have been huge, and they would made enough to finally escape this city, and start fresh somewhere else, until those exorcist had torn through them on sight. "Fuck, those guys where like family, shit, I am sorry guys, I am sorry, this was all my idea, and look where my stupid idea got us."
She said to herself, as her gaze snagged on the police cruiser. Inside, under the flashing lights, Nellie spotted a young woman strapped in the back seat... "Emilia!" She said with thankful smile, she had guess the worst might have happen. But thankfully she was alive, breathing hard, eyes open but dazed. Nellie’s chest surged with relief so strong it nearly lifted her to her feet. But every muscle screamed; the aftereffects of possession and the trauma of survival weighed on her body, making her sore and fatigue.
"Emilia." She whispered again, softly, her voice thin. "Thank the Greats... I need to get you out." She scanned the crowd, uniforms, reporters, gawkers, and a ring of cops too tight to slip through. How the hell was she supposed to reach the car, she wondered.
"I need to save Emilia, but with those guys in the way, I can’t... No, don’t despair just yet, I just need to cause a distraction." She said as she looked around, them she started to walk up the street, as she keep looking for something, then her eyes went on a man who parked her car, and came out of it with a bag of groceries, as he open the trunk, and started to put her bags in the corridor of his apartment, seeing this chance, she sneak to his car, and began to hack wire it till it started. "HEYYY!!" He shouted in anger chasing Nellie but it was too late.
"Here goes nothing." She said, as she began to drive the vehicle, putting it in reverse, crashing into other cars, as she drove up town, escaping the man pursuit, and went around, at full speed, she was a block away from the incident, as she started to speed up. "This is going to hurt like a motherfucker."
VROOOM!!
The tire skid on the asphalt, as the old car began to head toward, Jamey. "What the fuck he yelled." At this point Nellie skillfully roles out of the car, without making anyone seeing her, and the automobile, fly towards a lot of people, as they got out the way, even Jamey manage to dodge, as the car a cement block on the break left behind by Nellie speeding up in the distance, as one officer said.
"Chase that psycho down."