Children in Time
Chapter 4
David was snooping in the little side office when he heard a door in the main tourist office nearly blow out, or at least that's what it sounded like to him. He looked up with a start and peered in between the lines of the beaded curtain and his jaw nearly dropped to the ground. There was this hulk of a thing advancing on Elizabeth and he had no clue where it had come from.
He couldn't hear a word from her and couldn't tell if she was in danger. Then suddenly he saw it lunge at her and he heard a whimper from the girl that chilled him all the way to the bottom of his feet.
For as much as Elizabeth annoyed the piss out of him, he couldn't just sit back and let something happen to her, especially not like this. Besides, if he had to explain to the rest of the girls that he let Elizabeth be attacked and did nothing, he would never be forgiven, and that scared him more than anything.
Looking around, David spotted another mug next to the half-empty coffee pot. The liquid would work for a defense, but what he needed was something quick, hard, and distracting. He snatched up the mug and sneaked over to the beaded curtain, hoping the thing didn't hear him with all the things that could make noise in this tiny office. Who had offices like this anyway?
David's mind was made up for him to opt for force rather than stealth when he heard a scream come from Elizabeth as the creature dug its claws into her and pulled her in tight. Holy hell it had claws! This thing had fucking claws and had Elizabeth. He jumped forward, and moved in front of the beaded curtain, little clacks reverberating around him as the beads bounced off the wall. David let out a cry and chucked the mug at the back of the creature's head with all his might, which was a lot considering he played high school baseball.
He was starting to regret it as the creature turned around and faced him. It was one ugly son of a bitch. It barely looked human, even though it was dressed in a boiler suit and stood on its own two legs like a human. Its dark eyes seemed to bore straight through him and he swore his heart stopped a moment.
What really pissed him off though was the glistening red he saw around the creature's mouth. It looked just like blood in the fluorescent lights. David stooped down and looked at Elizabeth as she slumped to the ground, holding her shoulder, blood all over her. She looked incredibly pale and did not even look at David or the creature. Instead, David saw her try to pull herself along the wall and away from both of them.
"Oh that is it, you fucking ass! Now you have pissed me off, hurting my friend." David stood up, filling out his entire 5 feet and 11 inches, puffing out his chest. Behind his bravado, his heart thumped what felt like 100 times a second. "Come on ugly! You little-brained cretin!"
David gestured with his one hand, motioning the creature towards him, while with the other hand he reached behind him, back through the sea of beads. His hand encircled the handle to the coffee pot and David gripped it tight. He tried to breathe through his nose, controlling his nerves at what suddenly seemed a really, truly foolish idea.
"Scared to fight a real man you foul organism of shit? Come on, piss me off even more!" He lifted the coffee pot off its warmer and held it, his back against the doorjamb.
The creature inched closer to him, advancing at a steady pace as it worked its way along the counter coming upon the opening next to David. David's breath caught in his throat as he saw just how massive this thing was. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up in his throat.
"Okay ugly, you want to dance? Sorry, not my cup of tea, or coffee." David brought his arm around the wall and tossed the hot brown liquid into the face of the creature.
It howled in pain and clawed and pawed at its own face and he skirted around its outreaching arm and down to the other end of the counter, still stuck behind it. He found himself pinned behind the counter and looked over it at Elizabeth who was huddled against the wall, breathing pretty hard. She was still clutching her left shoulder and he could see blood dripping down her shirt.
Her eyes locked with his and he then turned back to the creature, a sense of determination in him. There was no way he was going to die in some dingy little back office away from all the good things in life. He hadn't even had a decent last meal, and no, a pasty, or whatever they hell they called them here, did not count as a last meal.
The thing, with its teeth bared, all its very sharp teeth, hurtled around the corner of the counter, hitting its side off the sharp edge and yet that did not stop it. It dove for David, and David did the first thing that came to his mind. He vaulted over the top of the counter. His one knee hit the opposite side of the counter, but he was over it.
"Fuck!" David fell to his knees, not quite executing a 3-point landing and ended up in front of Elizabeth. It felt like he might have cracked his kneecap, but he pushed that thought to the recesses of his mind. Her eyes were drooping a little, and whatever fight had been in her was slowly disappearing. "Elizabeth! Get up now!"
"No. I can't." Even her voice had lost its normal fight. That scared him. Losing Elizabeth, losing any of his friends, frightened him down to his core. He had lost so much before, and would not lose anyone else in his life without a fight.
"Yes! Get your ass up now, and grab my hand." He swore he could feel the creature's breath on the back of his neck, along with the cold sweat that had taken up residence there. He stood up, favoring his knee and held out his hand to Elizabeth. She meekly put her left hand in his and he yanked her up off the floor. She let out a wounded cry and her face contorted in pain. David didn't care, but turned around as he heard a clattering commotion behind him.
"Shit!" A voice said from somewhere else in the office.
"Hey!" Another voice could be heard.
David turned his head and looked over his shoulder. Behind the creature he spotted two men. One seemed to be dressed for office work and the other looked as if he belonged with any of the garage bands he often went to check out on his free time. The relaxed looking man jumped in front of the creature before it could leap over the counter. He pushed back on the creature's shoulders, stopping it from moving forward. The creature punched out at the man in the black t-shirt over a red long-sleeve shirt. The man took the punch as he moved away and then shoulder slammed the creature, turning it around.
Behind the creature, the well-dressed younger looking man smiled and then sprayed some canister into the creature's face. It looked like he was using mace on it. Whatever it was, the creature let out a howl and hunched over. The man then whipped out a drawer behind the counter and pulled out a pair of large handcuffs and put them on the creature's wrists, behind its back.
"I got it," the man with the mace said as he wrestled the creature back towards the doorway all three of them had come through, a doorway that had not existed when Elizabeth and David had walked into the tourist office.
"What the fuck?" David turned his body around to look at the doorway, and its stone motif beyond the frame. When he turned, he also made sure to stay between Elizabeth and the others as he held her up.
Garage Band Guy pivoted his body and looked at them. He placed his hands on the countertop and his eyes seemed to get even darker. "Damn it," he said as he glared at David. The guy turned back to his partner and then looked back at David. "Get the Weevil downstairs, I got them."
"Fine. I'll let Jack know we got it- wait, Tosh just did. Hurry up." Well Dressed Guy struggled with the yowling creature as he entered the hidden passage and disappeared around the corner.
Garage Band Guy pushed up off the counter and sauntered around to David and Elizabeth. David grew nervous when he saw the gun sticking out of the waistband of his jeans. David started ushering Elizabeth towards the door that led to the outside.
"Sorry buddy, gotta go. It was a real blast," David hurriedly said as he held Elizabeth up under the armpits, nearly dragging the poor girl towards the door, even as she whimpered in pain.
The guy ran around the pair and stood in front of them, blocking the main door. "I don't think so, we need- is she hurt? Did the Weevil do that?" The guy was staring at Elizabeth's bloody shoulder and torn shirt.
David put his arm around Elizabeth. "I don't know what the fuck a Weevil is, but I know that thing attacked her. Leave us alone and let me go, or-"
"Or what? I can help her. I'm a doctor." Garage Band Guy moved David's arm away and took Elizabeth's hand and felt for a pulse.
Elizabeth let out a groan as he touched her shoulder. David didn't know why but he felt the need to trust this dude. The two men lowered Elizabeth to the ground, so she could sit and rest, her back up against the wall. David watched as the man gently ripped the shoulder on Elizabeth's shirt and looked at the gouge. He then watched as the man's head looked away. David followed the other guy's gaze and his stomach dropped. There was a trail of blood; he hadn't realized how much blood Elizabeth had lost.
At the movement next to him, David turned back and saw Garage Band Guy taking off his black t-shirt and then pressing it against the wound on Elizabeth's shoulder. He grabbed David's hand and held it against the t-shirt.
"Keep the pressure on it and don't do anything." The guy then stood up and locked the main door to the office.
Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open and looked at David. "I'm sorry," Elizabeth said.
"Don't worry about it," David said, wanly smiling at her.
Elizabeth reached up and put her right hand over David's and he shuddered as he felt how cool her hand was. She closed her eyes, and David found himself praying that this so-called doctor knew what he was doing. The doctor crouched down next to David and moved David's hand to look at Elizabeth's injuries once more. He then moved the t-shirt back and placed David's hand back over it, pushing down.
The guy tapped a Bluetooth earpiece he was wearing. "Jack, I think we might have a problem here."