Episode CXXXII - A Sacrifice That Came Too Soon.

In many ways it was always night time in Fracture.  The rows of streetlamps and the dark ocean sky with its living constellations of bioluminescent stars created the impression of a glittering evening, glamorous and eternal.  So when the lamps began to dim and true night set in amongst the streets of the underwater metropolis, it had a sinister effect.

“What’s happening?” Sarah asked as the street they were walking down began to grow darker.  It was like a shadow passing over everything and it made her deeply uncomfortable.

She looked to Dimsun for an explanation, but the usually loquacious Spiketail was wreathed in solemn silence, his dim eyes even less bright than usual.

"I think there's some kind of day/night cycle here," Diana replied instead, "this must be the city closing down for the night."

"It's... unsettling," Sarah said, looking around.  Where once the streets had been bright and vaguely utopian, now there seemed to be shadows in every corner, spreading out of alleyways and spilling onto the streets in thick pools of blackness.  "Anyone could hide in this."

"Then I suggest we keep our wits about us."  Diana tapped Dimsun on the arm, making the Stoneskin glance towards her in confusion.  He nodded after a moment, however, and the trio made their way onwards into the darkness of the city.

At first Sarah's fears that someone might be hiding in the growing shadows seemed unfounded and they continued on through the streets of Fracture much as they had before the sudden nightfall, with only a slight decrease in the speed of their progress, and, when they finally did come across some of the city’s inhabitants, there was no possibility of them being missed.

The explosion was their first warning.  It roared from somewhere ahead of them, rocking the glass panes of all the nearby windows in their frames and sending up a cloud of smoke and dust visible only by the orange glow beneath.  Sarah and Dimsun froze to the spot, instinct telling them to find cover, to wait whatever was happening out, to gain more information before pressing on, but Diana had other plans.  As soon as the rumble faded she was running on down the street and her companions were forced to folllow, even if it seemed to Sarah that her feet were having trouble catching up with the rest of her.

As they ran they heard other sounds: shouts, screams, blasts like heavy gunfire, the crackle of electricity, roaring flames.  It was clear that whatever had caused the explosion was far from over and Sarah wasn’t entirely sure it was something they should be running towards.

And then the street ended in a jumble of burning rubble and debris with only a narrow path possible through the middle, framed by fiery beams and precarious slabs of brick wall.  Diana was already crouching through the gap before either Sarah or Dimsun could speak.

“Do we follow her?” Sarah asked.  Dimsun shook his head, but whether in answer to the question or in refusal to answer she wasn’t entirely sure.  She stared at the dangerous pathway and tried to work out if she could make it through safely.  If she wanted to.  Diana had already disappeared through a wall of smoke and there was no way to tell if she was still alive or not.  Beyond the rubble a battle raged on.  Curses and violent discharges erupted over the rooftops.

“Oh, screw it,” Sarah said at last and, not even glancing Dimsun’s way, she entered the perilous debris field.

The sense of heat and danger was immediate.  Flames crackled above her, masonry crumbled to her right and, for a moment, all she wanted to do was bolt back into the relative safety of the street.  But Diana was somewhere ahead, she knew, and so she pressed on, moving as quickly as the space would allow, crouching, nearly crawling sometimes, picking her way carefully and trying not to think what would happen if one of the beams gave way.

It felt like a very long time before she reached the place where Diana had disappeared, passing through the smoke herself into the unknown.  She regretted it instantly, finding herself lost in a choking fog of darkness which seemed to stretch on infinitely ahead of her.  Her only points of reference were the muted orange-red stars which seemed to hang around her, the source of all the smoke and the place she knew she least wanted to head towards.

I just have to keep heading straight, she told herself, it can’t be that much farther, really.

And yet as she advanced, trying to keep low where the air was cleaner, but coughing nevertheless, the smoke only seemed to get thicker, until it was hard to see where the flames producing it might be.  She could still hear the fire, and feel its heat, but she could see nothing at all but thick black smoke.

And then the rumbling of  masonry grew louder and Sarah froze.  Something was coming down, but she couldn’t tell which direction she needed to go in to stay safe.  Do I run?  Am I safer staying here?  Fear gave her a boost of adrenaline, but with no idea how to make use of it she only felt more and more helpless.  Her skin began to glow.

There was a sudden rush of debris.  Bricks and burning wood began to rain down around her and she knew it would only be moments before something came crashing down onto her head.  She put her arms up above her, preparing for the blow and hoping her Slayer strength would see her through.

Then something came barelling into her from the side, something solid as rock – a wall?  She felt the force pushing her away, knocking her over, but rather than the crushing weight of another piece of building, she found herself lying free of the debris, smoke rising up past her so that she could see and breathe at last.  She rolled over, trying to regain her feet and get a sense of what injuries she might have sustained.  Her side was bruised, but otherwise she seemed to be okay.  After a couple of brief coughing fits she managed to regain control of her lungs as well and then she was able to stand, take stock of the situation and work out what had just happened.

She was standing at the edge of a large square.  Somewhere on the other side of it the battle was still raging.  She could see figures running through smoke, backlit by flashes of light.  Some of them seemed to be carrying pistols, others were armed with more complicated weapons.  She saw something that seemed to be discharging chain lighting and something else which might have been a flamethrower.  None of them seemed concerned about her.  They were too focussed on their enemies, running backwards and forwards through the chaos.

She turned around and looked back at the way she had come.  There was no way she was returning in that direction.  The collapse had turned the narrow passageway into a solid wall of smouldering rubble.  She was wondering how Dimsun would reach them now, when suddenly she saw something that took her breath away, made her heart seem to stop beating and brought a terrible burning sensation to her eyes which had nothing to do with the smoke.

A claw protruded from beneath the rubble.  Covered in dust, it looked even more stone-like than usual especially now it lay so still.  There must have been many tonnes of brickwork, plaster, wood and tile towering over it.

Even so, Sarah’s first reaction was to call to him, “Dimsun!  Dimsun!”  She was still glowing with her enhanced abilities and instinct brought her to the edge of the wall, tearing at pieces of rubble with her bare hands that she might dig down to her friend.  He was strong, after all, and those slate scales must be good for protection.  She remembered the rock which pushed her out of the way, felt the solid bruise on her side and found herself digging faster.

The wall began to rumble again as she pulled stone from it, but she barely noticed, she was just focussed on rescuing her friend.  His claw didn’t move, but she was sure he must only be unconcsious.  I have to reach him, she thought, he saved my life – I have to do the same!  Beams began to fall around her, plaster dust fell like snow, small rocks bounced off her arms and she kept on digging, even though much of what fell only served to fill the hole she had been making.

“I’m coming for you, Dimsun!” she called, “I won’t be long!  Hold on in there!”  Her words came back to her muffled and indistinct.  She had realised she was crying.

A large chunk of brickwork landed right beside her, knocking her back several feet.  She scrambled upright, ignoring the pain and tried to reach the wall again, but something held her back.

“Don’t,” came Diana’s voice from behind her, “he’s gone.”

Even as the huntress spoke another pile of rubble fell, covering over the place where Dimsun’s claw could be seen and forcing the two women to stagger backwards into the square.

“He can’t be gone,” Sarah whispered through her tears, “he can’t be.”

“There’s nothing we can do.”  Diana wasn’t crying, but her voice had a hollow tone to it that Sarah hadn’t heard before and there was something about the way her deformed arms wrapped around Sarah’s shoulders which spoke of the most desperate grief.

Oh, God, Sarah thought, how could you?

“On your feet!” came a voice from behind and Sarah glanced behind to see a figure carrying and enormous gun and pointing it their way.  With the smoke in the air and the flames flickering behind them it was impossible to tell any more about them.  “I said on your feet!”

Slowly, as if waking from a dream, Sarah and Diana rose to their feet and turned to face the stranger.

“You weren’t involved in the fighting, were you?” the stranger asked.  “Who are you?  What are you doing here?”

And all Sarah could do was cry.

FIRST EPISODE

PREVIOUS EPISODE

NEXT EPISODE
FULL ARCHIVE