Figments3
Date Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 01:10 PM PST
Topic Entertainment


"I'm not going to fight you, Daemon." Like lightning, Javen was suddenly holding a wicked looking gun-like device aimed straight at the figment's chest. "Lauren come here, quickly."


It was probably extreme carelessness to trade the evil that I knew for one I didn't, especially when that one was holding a gun. I saw it as my only chance of escape, and made a desperate dash toward the door. Daemon reached out to grab me as I ran past, wrenching my arm almost from its socket. "Just like that, you would leave me?", he whispered harshly into my ear as he pulled me close to his side. "Put that ridiculous toy down, Javen. You'll only hurt yourself... or her." He shoved me to the floor and lunged at Javen, slamming into him with incredible force. Javen staggered back, the gun went flying across the room. The two combatants were pretty well matched I thought, both lithe and agile, though Javen seemed to be the faster of the two. Watching them was like watching an intricate, deadly dance. I eased my way toward the door, making my escape as unobtrusive as possible. I was almost there when Javen made an incredibly acrobatic roll to where the gun was lying on the floor. He raised the gun to aim at Daemon, who had noticed my flight toward the door and was coming to stop me. Panic-stricken, I grabbed a large, heavy crystal vase that was on a small table by the door and swung it with all my might at Daemon's head. It shattered into a thousand pieces as he went crashing to the floor. He grabbed my ankle and looked up at me, blood dripping into one of his marvelous blue eyes. "You. Little. Bitch. Oh, how you're going to suffer for that." He said no more, for at that moment, Javen blasted him with a brilliant ray of light that caused his body to twitch and spasm.


"Come on!" Javen grabbed my hand and hurried me out the door and down a flight of stairs to an ornate enterance hall. The place looked like a shabby, but once elegant brothel. It was completely deserted. We exited the building and moved toward a futuristic looking black motorcycle. Javen produced a long black scarf and turned me toward the other side of the street.. As he tried to blindfold me with it, I jerked away from him and ran. He moved fast, much faster than I could have and tackled me. Dragging me back to his vehicle, he hissed, "He'll be up and after us in a moment. Now be still and do as I say or we'll both be in for a very bad time. You have to be blindfolded or he'll see where you are and find us."

My breath caught in my throat. "You mean he's not dead?" Oddly, I felt a strange sense of relief.

"No time to talk. Quickly now!" He turned me again, and slipped the blindfold over my eyes. Feeling little more than detached curiosity, I allowed it this time. He guided me to the bike and got me onto it. I felt him get on and the vibrations as it started and we sped away.


My senses heightened through sheer terror, I wondered about this one, Javen. Was he a figment too? If so, what did he represent? My mind froze in shock as I realized he knew my name. I shivered and clung to him tightly as the wind rushed over me. We must have been going at a mind-boggling speed. I wondered if Daemon knew my name as well and why he hadn't used it. Was he really still alive and coming after us? I was becoming convinced that this was no drug-induced dream, that it was completely real. I was a prisoner in my own mind. I had to find a way to release myself or my body would die in the physical world.

The wind moved lightly across my face as we slowed, then came to a stop. Javen's body, held tightly in my arms, was hard and tense. It felt as though he were listening for something. I shivered with the chill of the night. The thin nightgown was little protection against the cold. I felt a heavy leather coat being draped across my shoulders as Javen said, "I think we lost him for the moment. We have a long dangerous time ahead of us and we cannot have him hindering us in any way. I'll do my best to keep you safe."

We moved on, riding through the darkness. It seemed that a long time passed before we finally stopped and he turned the bike off. He took me by the hand and led me with him through a door. With extreme gentleness and care he guided me down a long flight of stairs before removing the blindfold. I stood blinking in what seemed to be a cavern of sorts. Javen walked to a rough crate-like table and lit a candle that rested upon it. As the wick flared into brightness I saw that we were indeed in a cave, the rock walls glistening with condensed moisture. There was an old ragged couch and a couple of seats that had been removed from old cars situated around the crate. Old beer cans and other debris littered the floor. It was familiar as the old hangout my friends and I had used in high school whenever we wanted privacy from the prying eyes of parents. Nobody unwanted had ever invaded this sanctuary. It was a safe place.

I stood silently, hugging my arms against the chill. My bare feet were cold against the smooth stone of the cavern floor. I walked over to the couch and sank down into it, grateful for the chance to rest. Javen came over to where I was and knelt before me, resting his hands on my knees. "It's a good thing I found you when I did, Lauren. When I heard what Daemon was planning I knew I'd have to find you somehow. Now we can start to put things right again."

"Just what was he planning?" I asked. "I've been pulled from one place to the next since I got here and I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation of all of this. How did I get here and why wouldn't Daemon let me go back? It seems to me that if all of this is in my own mind, if my body dies everything here will disappear and be lost forever. Does he want the end of his world?"

Javen's eyes grew cold and fierce. "No. He wants the beginning."



to be continued...
part I here part II here
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