Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Dec 7, 2007 18:49:25 GMT
Professor Hoodham's eyes were calm as anything as they surveyed Lee- a soft sadness peeking through just behind the iris- one Lee could detect despite him being metres away. No more did Lee shake with anger. In fact, it surprised him how calm he actually was. It must be Libba coming through. Her presence was so strong, it was overwhelming. So much so, that he'd just caved to it.
Now, he wasn't sure who was holding the gun.
“So my brother got to you, did he?” Prof. Hoodham's voice was steady, and it put Lee on edge. Was this some sort of trick?
“Your brother showed me the way.”
“Murder… is the way?” Professor Hoodham’s eyebrows rose.
Lee felt a rush of adrenaline- a heated, raging anger beginning to burn and bubble in his blood. So much for keeping calm. “You can talk. War? Sending teenagers to die? You’re insane.”
“As I recall, you and your young friend Jude have already proved to me that whether there’s a ban in place or not, those who are determined to fight will fight.”
Lee’s stomach wrenched at the mention of Jude and his eyes blazed. “Yeah- you’re right!” A spurt of power- and Lee felt his finger jerk back, and the trigger was pulled. There was a strange lurch, and the bullet shot forward as though in slow motion… spinning… spinning…
Directly at Hoodham’s heart.
Spinning. Spinning. And slowing. And stopping.
“What the hell…?”
Inches from the Headmaster, the bullet stopped altogether and dropped, dead, and lifeless, to the floor. Hoodham rose gravely from his seat, stepping forward, and in front of the desk. An invisible force-field was forming around him; Lee couldn’t see it, but he could feel its shimmering power as the waves thumped forward. Like a heartbeat, Prof. Hoodham sustained its thuds.
“Lee, don’t make me fight you,” he said; all trace of softness gone. He was a man now; something perfectly real, and not just some sort of figurehead to hate. A threat. Physically, and magically more powerful than Lee. How could he not have foreseen this…?
“A trick! A trick! Don’t let the old man put you off!”
Lee’s eyes darkened. “Why? Think you can’t take me?”
“Something’s inside your mind. I can see it in your eyes. It’s weakening you- its life force caught up with yours and draining it-”
“Spare the lecture, old man!”
The gun was firing again, each shot melting into nothingness through the thudding, pulsing shield. Each bullet made no difference, and the more Lee tried, the less effect it had. And the whole time, Prof. Hoodham just stood there… watching him. Enraging him.
With a yell, Lee flew across the room to the bookcases and started tossing volumes at Prof. Hoodham. Still no contact was made. Think, Lee. What did he know about force-fields…?
“That’s made for long-distance. Hit him hard. Slice him. Kill him. Cut him open and watch him bleed.”
A knife was drawn in Lee’s hand, and he jumped across the room now, Prof. Hoodham’s eyes widening in shock. Lee crashed over the desk and into Hoodham, and the two collided with the back bookcase and a long mirror propped beside it. There was a smashing of glass as the mirror cracked, and exploded everywhere. Lee pushed forward through the new rubble, his hands scrabbling madly. Then, he found the material of the Professor’s robes, and took a swipe.
The knife froze in mid-air, then, twitching, was wrenched out of his hand and flew bang into the wall, embedded in the rock. Prof. Hoodham was emerging from the books and wood now, his eyes blazing, and his hands wildly fighting. A fist thudded into Lee’s stomach, and he fell back, winded. He pulled another knife, massaging his stomach, and hurled it in Hoodham’s direction.
It missed by mere inches… mere seconds.
“So close…”
Lee roughly flew forward, and dragged Prof. Hoodham free by the scruff of his robe. Hoodham was bleeding now, the scarlet liquid dribbling down his forehead and across his neck- most likely due to the impact with the broken mirror and the severed wood. Lee turned Hoodham over, another knife falling forward with deadly purpose-
Again, freaking centimetres from Hoodham’s thudding heart, the knife froze. Lee’s fingers whitened as they gripped the hilt of the knife, but it was no good. Lee was holding on so hard, he was thrown across the room with it and smashed into the opposite wall, a further bookcase falling as they collided, and serving as a blockade for the door.
As Lee sat up dizzily, Ellie’s high screams began to register in his mind. She was pounding wildly at the door, but couldn’t get in. Trying his hardest to ignore her, Lee struggled upwards, his knife poised again… but Hoodham was ready.
Hands sparking with a strange lightning, his Headmaster raised his arms and smashed them together with a thunderclap. Wind broke forth and free, swirling around the office; and the candles flickered out… dead.
Lee felt himself raised from the floor, the knife melting away as useless as ever. With another, terrifying smash, Lee was thrown against the wall by Hoodham, jerking and kicking uncontrollably as he fought and failed against the thunderstorm. He swirled around, caught in the vortex, and once more felt his whole body scream in agony as he was smashed against the wall. This time he flipped, his back against it, Lee held a good three foot in the air.
There was an awful, sucking noise, and suddenly there was no wind at all, no noise. Lee’s hands jerked to his throat, gasping wildly, but there was no air to be found. His eyes burned with hatred as Prof. Hoodham surveyed him sadly.
“Don’t make me kill you, Lee.”
Lee couldn’t reply. He was choking already. He couldn’t do anything. The lack of oxygen was making his head spin.
“I will do it, Lee. I will go to any measures to get that thing out of you. Its own life force is wound so tightly around you, it’d be killed to. I’m willing to make that sacrifice, Lee.”
Lee struggled; then, thank god, heard the wonderfully cruel, heated hiss of Libba’s voice.
“KILL HIM!”
Panicking now, Lee forced himself to pull another knife from nowhere. He threw it forward, weakly, and it clattered to the floor, useless. Prof. Hoodham still held him high; eyes determined and ready to kill. Ellie’s faint thudding on the door was barely heard over the deafening silence of Lee’s life slipping away from him…
Lee’s wings ripped madly forth, and suddenly the wind was broken. A sharp spike in its tip caught Hoodham’s side, knocking him back, and Lee collapsed to the floor, gasping as cool, sweet oxygen flooded his lungs once more; providing him with a powerful adrenaline rush. With a growl, and a final, longer knife in his hand, Lee spurted forward like a quick little demon, pinning Hoodham to the floor. The knife pressed against Hoodham’s throat, and almost lovingly, Lee leaned forward with an awful eagerness. A trickle of blood was drawn, enthralling him…
A fist pounded him in the stomach once more, and Lee coughed, rolling over again. Hoodham rolled over too, his hands and feet flying madly in a wild battle with Lee. They locked- fist with blade, and Lee drew blood time and time again… but the purple, violent violet bruises were littering his body now. He couldn’t get a good aim, or lock on Hoodham.
They were an even match. And Libba was giving him hell for it.
Suddenly, a fist closed around Lee’s knife arm, jerking it backwards. The knife was dropped once more- bloody and spattered; but again, useless. Breathing heavily, Hoodham forced Lee’s arm irrevocably backwards- and Lee felt the growing pressure and pain build and build until it could hold no more… and it snapped.
Lee’s arm was broken.
And the pain blinded him.
A final time, he smacked against the wall, but now, he didn’t fight it. Something was slipping away from him, uncoiling and giving up. It was escaping. She was escaping. She was leaving him… and taking him with her… Lee choked, and suddenly, when his eyes fluttered open and he saw Hoodham’s worried eyes, he understood everything perfectly.
“Oh, god,” he gasped, clutching his arm. “Oh, god… she’s gone. She’s gone. Professor… I’m…”
Nothing.
Now, he wasn't sure who was holding the gun.
“So my brother got to you, did he?” Prof. Hoodham's voice was steady, and it put Lee on edge. Was this some sort of trick?
“Your brother showed me the way.”
“Murder… is the way?” Professor Hoodham’s eyebrows rose.
Lee felt a rush of adrenaline- a heated, raging anger beginning to burn and bubble in his blood. So much for keeping calm. “You can talk. War? Sending teenagers to die? You’re insane.”
“As I recall, you and your young friend Jude have already proved to me that whether there’s a ban in place or not, those who are determined to fight will fight.”
Lee’s stomach wrenched at the mention of Jude and his eyes blazed. “Yeah- you’re right!” A spurt of power- and Lee felt his finger jerk back, and the trigger was pulled. There was a strange lurch, and the bullet shot forward as though in slow motion… spinning… spinning…
Directly at Hoodham’s heart.
Spinning. Spinning. And slowing. And stopping.
“What the hell…?”
Inches from the Headmaster, the bullet stopped altogether and dropped, dead, and lifeless, to the floor. Hoodham rose gravely from his seat, stepping forward, and in front of the desk. An invisible force-field was forming around him; Lee couldn’t see it, but he could feel its shimmering power as the waves thumped forward. Like a heartbeat, Prof. Hoodham sustained its thuds.
“Lee, don’t make me fight you,” he said; all trace of softness gone. He was a man now; something perfectly real, and not just some sort of figurehead to hate. A threat. Physically, and magically more powerful than Lee. How could he not have foreseen this…?
“A trick! A trick! Don’t let the old man put you off!”
Lee’s eyes darkened. “Why? Think you can’t take me?”
“Something’s inside your mind. I can see it in your eyes. It’s weakening you- its life force caught up with yours and draining it-”
“Spare the lecture, old man!”
The gun was firing again, each shot melting into nothingness through the thudding, pulsing shield. Each bullet made no difference, and the more Lee tried, the less effect it had. And the whole time, Prof. Hoodham just stood there… watching him. Enraging him.
With a yell, Lee flew across the room to the bookcases and started tossing volumes at Prof. Hoodham. Still no contact was made. Think, Lee. What did he know about force-fields…?
“That’s made for long-distance. Hit him hard. Slice him. Kill him. Cut him open and watch him bleed.”
A knife was drawn in Lee’s hand, and he jumped across the room now, Prof. Hoodham’s eyes widening in shock. Lee crashed over the desk and into Hoodham, and the two collided with the back bookcase and a long mirror propped beside it. There was a smashing of glass as the mirror cracked, and exploded everywhere. Lee pushed forward through the new rubble, his hands scrabbling madly. Then, he found the material of the Professor’s robes, and took a swipe.
The knife froze in mid-air, then, twitching, was wrenched out of his hand and flew bang into the wall, embedded in the rock. Prof. Hoodham was emerging from the books and wood now, his eyes blazing, and his hands wildly fighting. A fist thudded into Lee’s stomach, and he fell back, winded. He pulled another knife, massaging his stomach, and hurled it in Hoodham’s direction.
It missed by mere inches… mere seconds.
“So close…”
Lee roughly flew forward, and dragged Prof. Hoodham free by the scruff of his robe. Hoodham was bleeding now, the scarlet liquid dribbling down his forehead and across his neck- most likely due to the impact with the broken mirror and the severed wood. Lee turned Hoodham over, another knife falling forward with deadly purpose-
Again, freaking centimetres from Hoodham’s thudding heart, the knife froze. Lee’s fingers whitened as they gripped the hilt of the knife, but it was no good. Lee was holding on so hard, he was thrown across the room with it and smashed into the opposite wall, a further bookcase falling as they collided, and serving as a blockade for the door.
As Lee sat up dizzily, Ellie’s high screams began to register in his mind. She was pounding wildly at the door, but couldn’t get in. Trying his hardest to ignore her, Lee struggled upwards, his knife poised again… but Hoodham was ready.
Hands sparking with a strange lightning, his Headmaster raised his arms and smashed them together with a thunderclap. Wind broke forth and free, swirling around the office; and the candles flickered out… dead.
Lee felt himself raised from the floor, the knife melting away as useless as ever. With another, terrifying smash, Lee was thrown against the wall by Hoodham, jerking and kicking uncontrollably as he fought and failed against the thunderstorm. He swirled around, caught in the vortex, and once more felt his whole body scream in agony as he was smashed against the wall. This time he flipped, his back against it, Lee held a good three foot in the air.
There was an awful, sucking noise, and suddenly there was no wind at all, no noise. Lee’s hands jerked to his throat, gasping wildly, but there was no air to be found. His eyes burned with hatred as Prof. Hoodham surveyed him sadly.
“Don’t make me kill you, Lee.”
Lee couldn’t reply. He was choking already. He couldn’t do anything. The lack of oxygen was making his head spin.
“I will do it, Lee. I will go to any measures to get that thing out of you. Its own life force is wound so tightly around you, it’d be killed to. I’m willing to make that sacrifice, Lee.”
Lee struggled; then, thank god, heard the wonderfully cruel, heated hiss of Libba’s voice.
“KILL HIM!”
Panicking now, Lee forced himself to pull another knife from nowhere. He threw it forward, weakly, and it clattered to the floor, useless. Prof. Hoodham still held him high; eyes determined and ready to kill. Ellie’s faint thudding on the door was barely heard over the deafening silence of Lee’s life slipping away from him…
Lee’s wings ripped madly forth, and suddenly the wind was broken. A sharp spike in its tip caught Hoodham’s side, knocking him back, and Lee collapsed to the floor, gasping as cool, sweet oxygen flooded his lungs once more; providing him with a powerful adrenaline rush. With a growl, and a final, longer knife in his hand, Lee spurted forward like a quick little demon, pinning Hoodham to the floor. The knife pressed against Hoodham’s throat, and almost lovingly, Lee leaned forward with an awful eagerness. A trickle of blood was drawn, enthralling him…
A fist pounded him in the stomach once more, and Lee coughed, rolling over again. Hoodham rolled over too, his hands and feet flying madly in a wild battle with Lee. They locked- fist with blade, and Lee drew blood time and time again… but the purple, violent violet bruises were littering his body now. He couldn’t get a good aim, or lock on Hoodham.
They were an even match. And Libba was giving him hell for it.
Suddenly, a fist closed around Lee’s knife arm, jerking it backwards. The knife was dropped once more- bloody and spattered; but again, useless. Breathing heavily, Hoodham forced Lee’s arm irrevocably backwards- and Lee felt the growing pressure and pain build and build until it could hold no more… and it snapped.
Lee’s arm was broken.
And the pain blinded him.
A final time, he smacked against the wall, but now, he didn’t fight it. Something was slipping away from him, uncoiling and giving up. It was escaping. She was escaping. She was leaving him… and taking him with her… Lee choked, and suddenly, when his eyes fluttered open and he saw Hoodham’s worried eyes, he understood everything perfectly.
“Oh, god,” he gasped, clutching his arm. “Oh, god… she’s gone. She’s gone. Professor… I’m…”
Nothing.
