01-16-2021, 10:05 PM
Jay didn’t like the way Nox talked about the horde.
Not because it was a fucking terrifying term. I mean, shit, were they hunting monster locusts or zombies or something worse? Probably worse, knowing Nox.
But it was the way Nox talked about the horde like they were a part of him. Like he knew exactly where to find the swarm. Jay’s concern about his own pathetic life was suddenly tossed to the back burner. This might actually be dangerous.
“No coming back from a head amputation, eh, Nox?” he joked, but something already overtook his friend: a darkness Jay recognized. It was shadows and intensity, rage and hunger all mixed together, a lust for the mission and the burst of hot blood.
He followed along, staying near the Ascendancy, but watched Nox’s back – literally - the man was in the lead. It took a few minutes to orient himself to the navigation on the Land Warriors, but Jay seized the power early on, letting it heighten his senses and hone his focus. He had his own firearm, but he did not intend to use it as Nox said. Edged weapons were stowed about his body similar to the kit he carried in the marines: sheathes and easy-access blades ready for the last defense.
Soon the tunnel system transformed from brick and mortar to limestone and bedrock. The air was heavy and moist like the brush of wind was forever banished from this part of the earth. There was a stink of fungus and rotten things that the power only amplified. They were definitely underground. It was like hunting in a cemetery.
He sensed the coming wrongness before any other sign told him something was coming. Maybe it was Nox’s body language shifting into the defensive or it was some untold curling of the air about their nostrils. Either way, Jay felt the power pulse around all the men, himself plunging into its strength.
In the few moments before the storm descended, he pulled a drink from the flask hidden behind his jacket, making no effort to hide the gesture from any of them. He had a strong feeling he was going taste the snag of teeth in his skin and meet one of Nox’s bullets in the head.
Not because it was a fucking terrifying term. I mean, shit, were they hunting monster locusts or zombies or something worse? Probably worse, knowing Nox.
But it was the way Nox talked about the horde like they were a part of him. Like he knew exactly where to find the swarm. Jay’s concern about his own pathetic life was suddenly tossed to the back burner. This might actually be dangerous.
“No coming back from a head amputation, eh, Nox?” he joked, but something already overtook his friend: a darkness Jay recognized. It was shadows and intensity, rage and hunger all mixed together, a lust for the mission and the burst of hot blood.
He followed along, staying near the Ascendancy, but watched Nox’s back – literally - the man was in the lead. It took a few minutes to orient himself to the navigation on the Land Warriors, but Jay seized the power early on, letting it heighten his senses and hone his focus. He had his own firearm, but he did not intend to use it as Nox said. Edged weapons were stowed about his body similar to the kit he carried in the marines: sheathes and easy-access blades ready for the last defense.
Soon the tunnel system transformed from brick and mortar to limestone and bedrock. The air was heavy and moist like the brush of wind was forever banished from this part of the earth. There was a stink of fungus and rotten things that the power only amplified. They were definitely underground. It was like hunting in a cemetery.
He sensed the coming wrongness before any other sign told him something was coming. Maybe it was Nox’s body language shifting into the defensive or it was some untold curling of the air about their nostrils. Either way, Jay felt the power pulse around all the men, himself plunging into its strength.
In the few moments before the storm descended, he pulled a drink from the flask hidden behind his jacket, making no effort to hide the gesture from any of them. He had a strong feeling he was going taste the snag of teeth in his skin and meet one of Nox’s bullets in the head.
Only darkness shows you the light.