FAITH
FAITH (after an idea by Nesciri)
Every body was still and tense as they waited for
the next thing to happen. They didn't have to wait long as a lantern flared
up and exploded sending golden sparks raining down on the floor. Little cinders
floated in the air and gave the room an eerie dusty look.
Lou clutched at Kid and he tried to shake her off. He would never have done
that under normal circumstances but he needed to be absolutely prepared for
Yellow Crane. He could not fight her and hold on to Lou at the same time.
The front window suddenly shattered sending glass
flying into the room. A large piece caught Jimmy just above his eye and he whirled
around to avoid more glass. Cold air blasted inside the room causing the stove
to glow bright red before burning out. Jimmy wadded up a bandana and held it
pressed to his forehead. The door flung open and there she was.
Cody was the first to react and he threw himself
at her. He didn't think of her as a woman anymore. She was a monster that had
to be destroyed. He tried to get his fingers around her throat. He was going
to strangle her for everything she had done to him and his friends. He felt
no remorse or hesitation but an only an overwhelming desire to finish her off.
Just as he had a grip around her neck, an unseen force grabbed him and flung
him backwards across the room. The others watched in horror as Cody flew the
entire length of the room and crashed into the cabinets that lined the wall.
Doors flew open and the contents spilled out onto the floor. Cody lay limp with
his head at a funny angle at the bottom of all the debris.
Jimmy wanted to run to Cody but knew that if he
hesitated, Yellow Crane would have them all. He grabbed his gun and was going
to shoot her. Six bullets to the head and chest ought to do her in. He cocked
the gun and took aim. She was only a few feet away and it would be easy. Yellow
Crane pointed a finger at the weapon and it flew from his hand and slid across
the floor toward Yellow Crane. He made a move for it but she kicked it out of
the way.
That was enough for Kid and through an unspoken
agreement, he and Jimmy attacked the woman. Kid picked up a chair and was going
to hit her over the head with it. He was stunned when Yellow Crane stretched
her arm out toward him. Kid tried to let go of the chair but he could not. Some
force had the chair and it had him. He felt utterly powerless as he smashed
the chair into Jimmy's chest. Jimmy flew backwards as the wooden shards of the
chair splintered across the room.
"God, Jimmy!" Kid tried to get to him
but he felt the same unseen force grab him by the belt and drag him across the
floor. He clawed at the floorboards but it was no use. Lou ran over and pulled
at Kid while tears ran down her face. Yellow Crane laughed as Kid finally stopped
sliding. Lou and Kid sat huddled on the ground clinging to each other as they
watched Yellow Crane step over to them. She placed a hand on each of their throats.
They waited and they realized the air was being sucked out of them. They couldn't
breathe. Kid watched Lou's eyes grow wide in terror as she gasped for air. Kid
could see her lips start to turn blue as small red veins burst in her face.
He watched in horror as her eyes rolled back in her head just before she passed
out. He so much wanted to tell her that he loved her but he couldn't. All he
could see was the room growing ever more faint and the only thing he could hear
was Yellow Crane's demented laugh. Then there was nothing.
While the horror was unfolding across the room, Ike had run over to Buck's bed and was trying to move him. The others might not know, but Ike did. Yellow Crane had come for Buck. When he saw Yellow Crane step over to Kid and Lou, he stopped what he was doing and ran at Yellow Crane. He saw Kid slump to the ground and realized that he was the only one left that had a chance of killing Yellow Crane.
Now she looked at him with sharp disdain. Her nostrils were flared and she sneered at him as if he were nothing. Ike looked around for a weapon and decided that it didn't matter. He was going to fight her with his soul and he wasn't sure he was going to win.
