Malum Resurget

Mike made his way back to the school on foot, leaving the Rover and its bald tyres with the Vicar as he returned for some answers. His pace was slow, conserving his battered energy, but he still tried to pass through the town's centre unnoticed, despite his tall build combined with long jacket and woollen hat, an oddity in the early autumn heat.

Above all he tried avoid looking at their faces, seeing every sin writ large upon their faces, a curse of his profession.

Finally reaching the school he realised he was too early to talk to anyone. Sighing he went to sit on a nearby park bench, pulling a small leather bound book form his ever present sports bag, settling in to wait.

[Tammika]

As she past the familiar markers she knew she be at the school in no time, but she was getting tired. Fen regretted leaving her cousins behind no matter how much the voice inside her told her they had something to do with the strange events.

Her breath was like daggers as her feet dug into the earth running at full speed. The sound behind her grew and she no loner looked back, just straight ahead at the memorial statue for park. Just past it was the school. Uniform jacket flapped open, hair flying, she was crying and babbling hysterically as she approached the park. "Oh God, oh God, somebody help me. Please help me.."

Mike Heard the girl mere moments before he felt it, something nasty pushing at the firmament. He snapped the little book closed and dropped it into his pocket.
He looked round, spotting the girl pelting along a track heading to the school, and behind her, something seemed to skim through the air, a haze leaping form shadow to shadow, ever closing on the girl, the one from the boiler room yesterday.

His mind span. The gun was out, it was day, and the locals would probably not understand what he was shooting at. Holy water and charms were out, this thing seemed not to holey exist in the corporeal world, and time would be wasted.
He was left with one option.His hand darted into the sports bag, and drew out a Gurkha Kukri, all 18 inches gleaming oddly in the morning light.

Several strides took him towards the girls path. She spotted him and stumbled forward, crying out just as the thing leapt, and Mike swung his blade, all happening within a second.

There was the sound like gas hissing from a bottle, then something, maybe the creatures head flew over the girls shoulder, a ghostly image that flared to ash when it entered the sunlight.

There was a sub-harmonic scream that shook the metal of Mike's blade , and whatever had been chasing the girl backed off a step, but still clung to its un-life. They had a second, but nowhere near the time needed to get to the school. Looking round wildly, The Hunter suddenly grabbed the back of the girls uniform and hauled her away from the Shadow thing as it charged again.

He sprinted sever meters to a small bridge, leading to a little pagoda on a tiny island in a duck pond. Depositing the girl in the pagoda Mike turned to take up a guard stance with his Kukri on the bridge.

The shadow charged right up to the bridge, but stopped. It seemed to look down at the flowing water beneath the bridge, then let of a rattling hiss, unable to advance.

"Are you OK?" Mike asked the girl, just barely turning his head to regard her.

[Tammika]

Fenella stumbled in the pagoda, hands reaching out saving her from a face plant on the floor. "No, I'm not okay?" Anger and fear made Fen yell at him, but she added in a slightly calmer voice, "I mean.... yes I'm fine, but what is that... thing?" She spoke of the creature, but looked at the weapon he held in his hands. When it didn't come any closer she whispered, stepping up behind Mike. "Why does it just wait there like that?"

Mike pointed down at the Water "Non-physical creatures from beyond this realm cannot cross flowing water. Their life force would be pulled away from them and drag them back to they beyond."

He took his eyes of the creature for a moment before continuing, so l;ong as it cannot reach us we are safe. Did it touch you anywhere, or did you touch it in any way?" He said, his eyes showing more concert then he had the night before.

[Tammika]

"Wha.. ? Beyond this realm? Non physical? This is crazy. this is just crazy!" Fen was terrified of the things she had seen today and the day before, even the strangeness of her family over the past few weeks, but what he was trying to tell her she could barely comprehend.

"No. I don't think so. Uuuum, I don't know! The only thing that touched me is you, and I think you ripped my uniform! I only have this one jacket you know."

Mike gave a small grin, of all things, although there was a bitter twist behind it. Even when looking reality in the face most people tended to either ignore it, deny it or go mad. This girl had the first two down, But hopefully could avoid the final step.

"Sorry about the uniform, but I though you could stand some wear and tare over that." He gestured to the hazy creature, prowling the end of the bridge with a soft hiss. "As to if it exists, this may be proof enough." he pulled a 2p from his pocket and flicked it back over the bridge. There was a rush as the thing came forward,then a flash as the coin hit. The coin flared bright, then fell to the floor in a metallic drizzle, spraying behind the monster on the wooded path.

Mike just raised an eyebrow at the girl for confirmation.

[Tammika]

Fen yelped and hoped back . "All right. Fine! It exists. I don't have any doubt of that! It's still crazy. Can you make it not exist? That would be even better ya know."

Mike turned back towards the bridge and the horror beyond, "No. The little bastard does not exist here in in this world, it is really only a projection from the beyond, so i can hurt it, but not kill it. I thought maybe with some other weapons, but I don't think the local constabulary would appreciate me shooting at what is essentially mist in their park. We'll have to wait it out." He said looking up at the slowly rising sun, "It can't stand light, so in under an hour it will have to move away, then we can make a break for the road."

He had just finished speaking when the creature began emitting an odd keening noise. Mike widened his eyes, "Oh bugger." He said quietly.

[Tammika]

"Oh yeah, right, just an hour. That's lovely. In the meantime I'll probably die of a-" The noise started. Between the change in the creature and the tone of his voice, Fen felt her heart sink. "Oh bugger what? What?!"

Mike's only answer was to throw himself backwards, literally jumping onto the girl and pushing her down, just as a demonic bolt pierced the air, sizzling like a cut in the fabric of reality itself.The bolt would have slammed into the pair, but at the last second it rebounded off a blue sphere, flying off into the morning sky.

The creature screamed, its essence torn by its assault over water, suddenly blowing away like a rag in the wind.

Mike rolled off the girl and glanced at where the horror used to be, then looked back at the girl, "You really have bad luck."

[Tammika]

Fen was already screaming and ducking when Mike grabbed onto her and pushed her the rest of the way to the ground, making himself a shield for God knows what. Again her knees were scratched and bleeding, both of them now since the scab from the day before tore open. Her head throbbed as she rolled from her side to her back.

"No you have the worst luck." She lacked the energy to yell so her sarcasm has less bite. The sentence wasn't even true. She did seem to have horrid luck but it started when she came here and had something to do with the weekly meeting her cousins sneak off to at night. "I was fine until I met you."