Devil's Elbow

Act II: Chapter 10

The rest of what was left of the gang looked up, hearing the screams the night gave as they walked closer to its source.

“Guys, am I crazy or did that sound like..?” Vincent said, looking at them.

Everyone looked at the other, not wanting to voice what they knew.

Seth…

“Mica, take my gun,” Shani said, handing it to her and she nodded as he took the machete. “You see anything that isn't me, kill it.”

“And if it is you? Don’t forget, this thing can change us…” Vincent said, reminding them of Cole. Shani looked at Mica, who looked back but didn't seem to want to face that realization he displayed in his eyes.

“Mica…”

She blinked and shook her head. “Forget it.”

“Don't take the risk.”

“Shani, this is insane…” Gavriella said, walking up to the two agreeing with Mica. “You can’t just ask us to kill you-”

“If you have to choose between me or yourselves, do it.” He said, holding their hands in his. “Promise.”

The two swallowed hard and cursed. “Alright Shani. Just be safe…” Mica said, looking into his eyes.

He stared back and nodded and went to where the screams came, machete in hand.

He looked around in the bushes quietly as he scanned the area with his eyes.

“Seth? Bro, you here?” He whispered and looked as he reached near the stream.

Come on, man… gimme a sign.

He looked and saw blood and followed the trail hoping it would lead to his friend. As he reached the end, his goal had been met… though not the way he wanted.

Oh God...

Dropping his machete, what was lying on the ground before him was a fresh human carcass. No limbs. No head. Just what remained of the torso and lower region.

Shani didn't… couldn't believe that this was his friend. Until that is, when he saw his on the torso... a mechanic’s vest with the name “Seth” stitched onto it. He then broke down, dropping on his knees, all the stress coming out of his body in heaving chunks onto the soil.

“Dammit! Dammit!” He quietly wept as it all started to sink in. Three friends… three brothers, he lost and only hours apart from the other… Each one, more painful and worse than the last. He then gripped the dirt and let it stream down his hand, as he began to find his resolve and stood.

“I’m sorry brother… So so sorry…”he said and trailed back to his friends.

Gavriella looked at Mica and smiled sadly at her friend. “You worried? You got that face where you seem distracted.” She smirked.

Mica smiled back at her best friend as Vincent stood guard. “I’ll be fine. It's just…”

“Shani?”

Her response was a curt nod. “Shani,”

“He will be fine. He’s always been a survivor…” Gavriella said, smiling while thinking back on their childhood days.

“You never did tell me how you met, by the way. What, did he save you?” Mica asked, smiling, hoping to get her best friend to be at the very least distracted from their current situation. Gavriella gave a small smile. “More the other way around. I had to save him.” She smiled.

Seven years ago…

It was a typical day for Gavriella. She was never really “popular” in school, but everyone knew her at some point in life. She was an average “B” to “C” student but was still considered a good student by her teachers.

To her, school was like a jungle. With every student there was a hierarchy like a food chain. There were those considered “nerds,” people who left themselves visible to be targeted in the open. And there were the “in-crowds”, predators, people she felt looked down on others and used those they considered inferior to feed themselves their entertainment. And then there were teens like her; the “outcasts.” These animals were those who often remain in the shadows, in the dark, until a predator walks up curiously to antagonize them openly into hostile situations. These people would be equivalent to wolves, spiders, preferring not to be in any crowds, needing only music and art to get through the day.

And at the moment, one of those “outcasts” was being toyed with by a set of “in-crowds.”

“Should have just stayed in your little bubble, bitch.” The familiar bully, known as Kolten, grinned as his friends held a young man by his arms. As Gavriella looked, she recognized the bullied teen, though his face had blood trickling from his nose to his jawline.

“Sorry, but when I hear a jackass making a jackass comment, well… I feel inclined verbally to call them what they are.” The boy smirked. “Can you guess what you are or must I repeat?” He smiled with bloody teeth.

Kolten growled, and in his distraction, the teen headbutted him, his wiry arms slipping away from Kolten’s sidekicks and managed to get two good punches in before they gripped him by his hood and tossed him aside. As he hit the lockers, the boy stood and tackled one of the two boys, getting a few rib shots before being hit in the back of the head and knocked down by the second lackey.

“See, again, with that mouth of yours. We are gonna have to fix that!” Kolten growled and began to stomp on the boy’s face. Impressed at how the boy didn't back down,

“Kolten!” She glared, calling him out.

The bully looked up and recognized her. She was his tutor after all, his father paying her to make sure his grades were good enough to get through high school. And on a side note, he had a thing for the girl, a fact which made her repulse at the thought because, to her, the teen was just a scum who liked to pick on those he felt were less than him.

“G-Gavriella.”

“Are we still on for the meeting in the library? Because I am really getting sick and tired of you not showing up when you are supposed to and if your father were to hear you did not show up, well… I think we both know what would happen.” She said, getting between them and the boy grinning as she was closing the space between her and the bully threateningly.

“He-”

“Don't finish the sentence. Just. Get. To. The. Library.” She said, shoving the books to study straight into his chest. Humiliated and angered, Kolten didn't argue and walked off as his friends laughed at him. She then turned to the boy and knelt down.

“I could’ve taken him…” He said, wiping the blood off his bruised face.

“Or get your face smashed into a pulpy mess.” She said and took out a cleaning cloth.

“Should go see a doctor before it turns purple.” She warned him as she wiped his face. “When I have the time.” He replied with a disheveled look on his face.

“So why did you fight him? Kolten has got an entire foot over you.” She smirked as he winced.

“Talked about my mom like he knew her or something, so I decided to stab him in class with a pen. Suffice to say, he wasn’t happy with the end result?”

“Are you always so violent?”

“Only when it is the ones that I care for. If you don't insult them or hurt them, I don't really have a problem with you.” He said glaringly, and she couldn't hide the smile she had and offered him her hand.

“I can respect that.”

He looked at her with a raised brow and smirked, taking her hand and stood. “Name is Deshan Perry.”

“Oh, I know who you are. We have the same class in English Literature. Just glad you remembered it. But Deshan doesn't fit your ... look... Shani, how about that?” She smiled at him.

Present…

“You gave him that name?” Mica smiled surprised.

“Before me, everyone always called him Dee. I felt since I didn't know any Shanis, I would give him that to show how unique he is.”

“You really care for him, huh?” Vincent asked, smiling.

“He is my brother, so yeah, I treasure him. I told you once, he and I would die for each other. I wasn't lying. He and I would, any day, I feel like. That kinda loyalty is rare to come by. Which is why I was pushing you two to date.” She grinned at Mica, who blushed at that.

Vincent saw that and looked dumbfounded. “Wait, you and Shani..?”

“W-well I dunno for sure! I mean we were gonna have a moment before… all of this.” She said, waving her hand through her hair.

“And?” Gavri asked, grinning from ear to ear happily, making her best friend blush.

“And… he was sweet and knew how to-”

“Oh I don't need to hear this.” Vincent said, holding his ears to his head, making the girls laugh. “Virgin ears, virgin thoughts.” Gavriella grinned at him teasingly.

“Man, I don't need this, bad enough my leg is f****d up.” He chuckled until they all heard movement in the distance, making them go quiet with shivers.

“Keep quiet and low…” Gavriella said, crouching down, laying Vincent slowly and gently into the grass.

Mica nodded and gripped the gun in her hand, trembling slightly as she inhaled to gain composure and sighed before seeing a shape move past and aimed before the person saw her.

But just as she lifted the gun, a burnt hand gripped her collar, lifting her off the ground and sending her flying into the open field. She sat up aiming quickly with a fierce stare, sending two shots straight into the figure’s abdomen. The figure growled as it moved swiftly and gripped her by the throat before she could speak. She coughed as a face filled with malice gripped her and, despite looking like a cross between Darth Vader and Freddy Krueger, Mica could recognize the man who was once a friend.

“Cole..!”

Gavriella stared shocked at the remnant of what she knew. The man, who had once caused her so much pain, a face contorted in the same pain she used to feel, standing before her.

What is left of him anyway?

What stood before them was a shell of the man they knew, burnt no doubt by the explosion of the cabin that they escaped. How he survived, she couldn't truly fathom, although the suspicion it was the Entity crept in her head.

“Where is he? Where is Shani?” He asked as he began to clench Mica’s throat, cutting off air. Gavriella glared, sick and tired of playing victim and wanting to stop this suffering.

“Cole!” She shouted his direction and she noticed his body ceased its small sway from his pain and he slowly, and from what she could tell by limited mobility, turned his head and shoulders to look at her.

As she did, she saw his eyes clearer thanks to the moonlight, their sky-blue shade staring with a tenderness she had not seen in a long time.

“Gav?” He asked as he let Mica go, letting her gasp for air. Gavriella fought her gut that was screaming to run and nodded.

“Yes… it's me Cole.” She said as he limped toward her, her body backing away instinctively, which caused his expression to contort into anger.

“You think I am ugly?”

“No, I think you aren’t yourself.” She replied, stopping.

“Not myself?! Look at me!” He said, stepping into the light, his skin charred. “This is all I am! All I was!”

She didn't know why, but something told her that, despite his state, he wasn’t going to harm her like earlier and moved toward him as he leaned away from her quickly and hesitant towards her.

“No,” She said and cupped his cheek. “It's not.” She said and his face softened, down to the point of tears as she held his face. “Gavriella… I’m so… so…”

“Sorry?” She asked, finishing the word for him, to which he nodded in repliance.

“I am too… for what’s going to happen.”

At first, he looked puzzled before realization hit him, making him turn around enraged, only to find Shani shouting as he swung his machete at his charred friend. And then everything faded to black.