There was nothing I could do, as I struggled with his continuing tight grip, while looking on in disbelief as she stuffed my dead best friends' heart down Talek's flopped attempts in refusing the silky meat; I teared with the actions sprouting before me.

Had this been what caused her to not take much of anything too seriously; being carefree in her everyday attitude.

As I heard him speak so calmly but with a chill to his tone; It made even more discernment as for Nikki's unusual approaches to any problem that she or we, ever went face to face with. I finally got her; the rambunctious nature she developed after leaving High School... she was, incredibly sub-consciously and interiorly scared of how long she may have left; her mortality... the same fear that any heart beating being carried not far from the forefront of their mind or at least a sane creature.

I got Talek; I understood the madness; the hopelessness he seemed to carry with him. I wanted nothing more than to protect him from all the pain corroding at him; the horrendous family he instilled; the bastard holding me hostage; I wanted to kill him especially – not just for Talek, but for all those who've been altered and tainted in some way without their consent by the sleaziness of monsters that walk this earth; how they still roam without any repercussions is an ultimate slap to any good that remains.

Was this why Nikki had been getting closer to Blayke... had this been the reason why she was gone?

I tugged on my arms to just enough to feel if he still maintained a decent squeeze on my wrists.

Barely any resistance, he must be preoccupied with Talek, to worry about a simple little girl like me...but as I forced my arms free and turned to greet his face with as much strength I cold get out of my small hands, something else hit him from the side...

POW!

– bone cracking hard; a whishing blur of fur whipped by my pupils. A paw of razor claws pushed me onto the ground all in a single motion; digging just slightly into my sternum; bringing spots of blood to soak up and into the thin blue fabric of my buttoned-up shirt.

I tossed my eyes to the blurs of both beings, and found that it wasn't hard to distinguish that underneath those gravy brown wavy locks of sparse body fur and protruding muscles that it had been Ben that had been fashionably late to crashing this party; he and Blayke tumbled and fumbled until they hit one of the tombs at the south end of the yard. Blocks and dust powdered the area and themselves as Ben appeared from the clouded wall; thundering out roars and tearing at Blayke's retaliating hits and humanoid yells.

The group were all directed towards the rumble, while I gathered up onto my feet and ran to Talek; who stood still eerily calmly.

"Talek..." I squealed. "We've gotta go... you hear me!"

He stayed oddly couth with my attempts to get him to comprehend.

"Just a few more seconds..." he confessed.

I didn't understand the meaning behind his cryptic syllables.

"What do you mean... err... what's going to happen in a few seconds?"

The ground shook as I finished the sentence.

SNAPPING!

GRUMBLING!

SPLITTING!

The heat was the first to touch the air and me; it was as if we were in a giant steam room with temperature gage set to hell. Spilling onto the damp ground, only to hiss and crackle with every inch it crawled; reaching beyond us and onward to the entire cemetery.

An aroma then spewed through the rising cracks, reaching down my throat to surely regurgitate anything to come up.

It was as if a volcano were scraping and warping the grounds underneath. A chorus of Howls and screams could be heard elevating along with the array of greens and amber colored haze. Another crackling echoed, as the origin of the sound was made to be a number of mausoleums folding; bending; tumbling brick by cement; exposing collections of a dozen coffins; decomposed bodies... some recently laid to rest, and melting out of their eternity beds poured out and onto the ground.

The werecat, and the louts that had been standing around before were all running; scampering with their one-sided brise fan like tales between their legs and jumping onto any available material that hadn't been gobbled by the fragmenting ground that had grown from inches to feet in seconds. Two even scrambled onto the same door frame, only for one, to knock the male off and instantly engulfed down into the goop below; to be devoured by the ever-changing scenery.

I whipped back to Talek, who had become catatonic; motionless as one of the still erect crypts to the right just earshot of us, buckled then shifted; creating a bigger opening as the door fell onto the cement floor. The smog of colors rapidly gathered like inhales into the contorted building; the green and purple haze began to glow in vibrating shades of red. A dark silhouette became apparent; materializing within the seconds as I watched on. Who was to come through that... err... door?

What do I do! I ran my hands up and through my wild hair, gripping at clumps in attempt to rack my brain...

WHACK!

finally slamming my hand across his face; hoping that that would wake him up!

It had some effect as my hand was snatched in mid air by his as he examined me; exploring my body as if he'd just now ever caught a single glance of me.

"Talek... please! ... don't you leave me...I" my voice cracked. "... I can't lose you too..." I dropped my head with the abundance of exhaustion that hit me all at once with one a heaving toss of forty boulders.

"I'm not going anywhere... Danni." The sweet; soft nectar tone poured down my earlobe; enticing the exceptional and vulnerable state I had confessed.

"... but stop whacking my face with an open palm... shit hurts." He complained; pressing me gently against his sternum bone (yes, I am that short). But his eyes made out the scenery unfolding all around; as I followed suit.

The continuing fight between Blayke and Ben; the louts from the group staring him down earlier now flailing in numbers as a few still lasted from the disintegrating earth; to the rumbling noise's spewing and howling beneath the cemetery grounds.

He returned his frantic eyes to me, only to replace them with a tempting feeling; as if he had missed me; of course, it had a been almost two days since we had been in each other's presence.

But this honeymoon phase would have to be put onto the back burner as we needed to get away from here as quickly as possible or we'll end up (continuing to be entwined in each other's arms) down there.

"What do we do?" I whimpered into his chest.

He flinched us both to the right as a translucent gust rushed out of one of the many openings' spider webbing across the land as it all had the resemblance of a bladed grass platform surfing mountainous waves.

I lifted my head upward to get a reading of his reaction; but with my fraction of size compared to his stature, what I got mostly was of his strong chin and impossibly long eye lashes sprouting from those Amazonian eyes.

"Talek!" a voice could be hurriedly whispering among all the chaos reigning. I whipped my head to the source of the husky voice. I could barely make out the form of the body through hall the hazy smoke crawling; but then complete coherence of the lean body as a streak of lightening hammered across the skyline. "Jensen!" I huffed.

He waved us on repeatedly, motioning for us to get to him as quick as possible. Talek gripped my hand, readying a stance to run, just as I refused to head towards anywhere near Jensen; not with what happened earlier. "He's one of them..." I insisted in a hush-like voice. Afraid that any in higher in tone he'd hear my words.

"Danni... no..."

"But you didn't see him..." I said cutting him off. "What he did to those people on the train... your brother was controlling him... err... he's connected to Blayke somehow..."

Talek softened his gaze from confusion to understanding. Pressing me once again against his sternum.

"That's part of Blayke's ability..." He clarified.

I backed from his embrace; puzzled as to what that precisely meant.

"You mean, he can actually control him...anyone... whoever he likes?"

"No... no... not exactly."

"He has to have a connection... an intimate one... they have to exchange blood for blood; or some version of bodily fluid in order for there to be any kind of controlled ability."

I was aware that my eyes had grown three times their size; how did that have any shock value on me? I guess I wasn't expecting Blayke to be a player of both fields – who knew? Of course, anyone that 'pretty' can't be a one hole, wholly straight shooter.

"It wears off after so long... how long...I've no clue... but, Jensen was with me not that too terribly long ago... so perhaps a day or so, it can be triggered." He shrugged.

I glanced between him and Jensen; hesitant to make the wrong decision; but when I came back to lay my eyes on Talek for the second time, I had no reason to not believe him. "I trust you..." I answered.

A brilliant little shine sparked in his eyes but was soon foreshadowed by the landscape rocking and clashing even harder together like demented puzzle pieces that didn't quite fit but was being forced to bend to an acceptable shape.

He gripped my hand and off we were over elevating rocks; cackling and grabby corpses; one female corpse only identifiable by the blue dress she adorned, ripping open my shirt of pale blue; exposing myself to the rising temperature and elements salivating at the chance to gulp us down.

We ran until we were hitting wooded planks; we were sprinting over a tiny bridge that connected the woodland area just off the north side of the cemetery.

Just as we ducked into the dome of the cavern, I turned back to see what had become of Ben, but the view was so constrained by the thickness of the smoke, there was nothing to see but the sheet of murk. Though I could hear a fight and clatter still rumbling just beyond the other side – somewhere, I hoped he was alright.