Winds of Change

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

~Severus and Wesley don’t move until the convulsions and vomiting diminish and the sores begin to heal. While the sickness lasted, they had felt like they were being turned inside-out through vomiting, and with tender sores, the thought of crawling across the rocky landscape of Level 2 wasn’t appealing, if it had had any appeal to begin with. But now Wesley and Severus begin their journey once again. They stay on a low and straight course; in this way, they are relatively safe from the natives and their electrical touch, and most of the wind passes harmlessly over them. But they soon realize that they must have been in the eye of the storm, as the winds pick up and press closer upon them, regardless of how flat they attempt to be.

Snape’s cloak is both their undoing and their good fortune. A particularly strong gust catches the voluminous folds and draws them both back into the buffeting storm. Once more, they are swept helplessly along, clutching desperately to each other’s arms, and are carried higher than ever before. Snape is glad that his cloak doesn’t fasten at his throat, or he would be choked, but as it is, the cloak seems to be cutting into his armpits. From this height, Severus and Wesley can see that Level 2 is nearly completely surrounded by towering cliffs of jagged rocks that help to keep the winds swirling; there is a relatively small break in them that had allowed their direct passage from Level 1, which can be seen from their vantage point as the winds spiral them back towards their native level. They can see the inviting glow of the buildings below. Snape still doesn’t feel quite like himself, and as he looks down, and perhaps that is why he can’t help but yell out a quip.~

I CAN SEE OUR HOUSES FROM UP HERE!

~He’s not sure if Wesley has heard his comment over the deafening roar of the wind, but the next moment, it doesn’t matter. They are swept past, and Snape knows that they will continue to spiral unless luck or their own ingenuity comes to the rescue. Snape doesn’t really believe in luck. With much effort, he reaches up and gropes blinding for the edge of his cloak; perhaps if he can draw it back in, they might get some control over how quickly and how high the wind will carry them. He grabs an edge, and almost instantly, he feels a jerk as the cloak stops whipping randomly and billows like a sail, pushing them instead of dragging them. This would not be so bad, Snape thinks, if it weren’t for the fact that he’s facing away from their forward motion and can’t see to steer.

A particularly strong gust carries them over the jagged edge of a peak, just barely. But now they have a different, if not predictable, problem. They are no longer over Level 2, and with no wind to sustain them, they are falling at a speed that Snape would rather not contemplate. There isn’t anything to do but close his eyes and hope for the best which, as it turns out, wasn’t as bad as it could have been, at least for himself. He lands with a jarring crash onto something monstrously huge but squishy...and terribly foul-smelling. He has landed face-first into what apparently is the bloated, decaying carcass of some giant beast. For a moment he can only lie there, but the wiggling of maggots against his mouth and the stench soon make him stagger shakily to his feet. Ignoring the pain of his bruised and likely broken body, and wiping putrifaction and insect larvae from his face, he carefully sits up and looks around. Level 3—they made it past the second level and into the third. He looks around, concerned, for Wesley.~

Comments

[deadwesley1.livejournal.com]

That, or the corpse over there with the hollowed out chest cavity. Run for it, and I'll keep them back for you until you've safely made it.

*He hefts his toothsword masterfully*

We can formulate a more far reaching plan once we're secure.

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*Snape quickly weighs his options; run towards the slightly closer hollowed chest cavity, or the high ground of the monstrous corpse that's a little farther away. He doesn't like the thought of being trapped in the cavity if they should be outnumbered, and the smell of being inside a rotting corpse...was there ever a choice? He gritted his teeth and ran to the bloated corpse and started climbing, keeping part of his attention focused on Wesley, in case he needed help.*

Run, Wesley! I'm climbing up now!

[deadwesley1.livejournal.com]

*Wesley only half notices Snape's decision, engaged in combat as he is with the gluttonous shades. There are five of them now, and the only saving grace for Wes is that they're having the same bizarre difficulty with their motor skills that he is. He has become an accomplished fighter, and if he weren't impaired he would be having no problem whatsoever. As it is, he's managing to hold his own but he does have to keep shaking zealous shades off his tooth where they've bitten and won't let go.*

Snape! Are you there? Can you see the horizon? Can you see the far edge of the level? Look for more mountains- larger ones! They should appear to be huge, daunting cliffs...

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*Snape looks around and spots smudges that might be gray cliffs on the horizon, but the next moment, when he looks back at Wesley, he decides that the more immediate concern is to assist his comrade. Taking a deep breath, he plunges his hand into the spongy body beneath him and pulls out something soft and squidgy, probably some part of an organ, and lobs it at the shades. He reaches in and finds himself up to his shoulder in rotten flesh as his arm goes deeper than he'd intended, of its own accord. Still, he grabs whatever is available and starts throwing gobbets of putrid flesh and bits of bone, hopefully giving Pryce the opportunity to either attack or flee.*

I think I see them, but they're quite a ways off, *he calls down.*

Is this helping you at all? *he adds, throwing another bit of rotting internal organ down.*

[deadwesley1.livejournal.com]

*Wesley's stomach churns and he grimaces, wrenching the toothsword from the mouths of one the ravenous shades and swinging it in a ground-clearing arc.*

It's positively revolting, but in a slightly beneficial way, *he calls.* The poor devils are just opening their mouths and letting you lob the flesh in.

He stabs the tooth at one still enticed by the promise of fresh meat, and it shrieks piteously. Wesley almost feels bad for it until it latches on to his toothsword once more and throws itself to the filthy fetid ground, taking Wes with it. Immediately he's set upon by three of the five shades, Wes stabbing frantically and striking out visciously with his foot, snapping it out and drawing it back in quickly lest a shade clamp down.*

Head for the cliffs, I'll catch up to you.

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

I am NOT getting separated from you again! Besides, do you think these five are the only gluttons in Hell? What happens if I meet up with more--or you do?

*He pauses to grope around inside the carcass, grabbing what seems to be an intestine-whether large or small, he can't guess, but it feels large enough. He starts pulling out lengths of gut like a magician pulling out silk scarves from his sleeve. Coils of it slither down the bloated corpse and fall to the ground below. He follows, dragging the intestine, which he flings awkwardly towards the melee, his arm flying wildly with the throw, as if he overcompensated. In fact, his arm has overcompensated by itself, but Snape is undeterred.*

Try giving them this!

[deadwesley1.livejournal.com]

Don't worry about me, *Wes calls again. He doesn't know how good Snape might be in combat without a wand. He seems resourceful enough...

Wes catches at the intestine and uses it to garotte two of the shades together, leaving them clawing and choking at his feet. He hates to admit it, but it somewhat feels good to be in a melee once more, stretching his muscles and taking down opponents. He had become ruthless in his life, fighting the forces of evil with equal cruelty and indifference, which, he muses, is probably part of the reason he's here. But how else do you fight such an omnipotent foe but to strike back in a similar manner?

He's managed to beat down the five shades suitable for escape, and he doesn't hesitate to scramble to Snape's side and beat a hasty retreat, matching his pace to Snape's. He glances at the tooth weapon; it's mauled and chipped, and he doesn't know how much longer it will last as a weapon.*

Let's just focus on getting out of here. Level 4 might not be quite so antagonistic...

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, I imagine that from now on, the people and the neighborhoods are going to be so much more pleasant.

*He pauses, then adds,*

But at least the next level won't be full of mindless, cannibalistic shades trying to eat us.

*He notes Wesley's rather battered tooth and knows that his rib is also cracked from the last shade he'd pummelled.*

And let me know if you see a suitable corpse for more weapons. I think ours are wearing out, and frankly, I wouldn't mind having something to take with me into the next level, either.

[deadwesley1.livejournal.com]

*Wes is running, probably faster than Snape with his bad leg and certainly faster than he should be with the impaired motor skills, but he wants to take advantage of the downed shades. He is looking for weapons, a comes to a slippery halt near a more modestly sized corpse, digestive goo flipping up as he skids.*

This is perfect! Help me rip open the arms!

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

The arms? What's in the arms?

*Despite his confusion, he helps tear at the decomposing flesh.*

[deadwesley1.livejournal.com]

Just be careful of the poison.

*After a cryptic pause, Wes tears out a long, thin, whiplike bit of cartilage, turning his face away from the operation. Snape sees he is careful to also extract what looks to be a venom sac, firm and full, attatched to the end of the bit like a perfume atomizer. Once the organ is removed, Snape can see that it's stronger than it looked, and Wesley seems determined to use it like a fencing foil.*

It's a specialized bone in this species. There should be one in each arm. The toxin is powerful and should still be quite effective. It's deadly.

[severus-snape1.livejournal.com]

*Snape sighs and shakes his head slightly, but manages to free the second bone and sac.*

You realize I have no experience in weapons, except for a wand. When we have a moment when we don't fear for our lives, you probably should start giving me lessons.