VESSEL

WE RAN INTO SOME TROUBLE. LIKE, HUGE TROUBLE.

WE CONTINUED OURSEARCH FOR SILVERMIST, WHEN THIS GUY SHOWED UP. HE WAS DRESSED ALL IN RED AND HAD RED EYES AND HAIR. HE LOOKED ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE DANIEL.

“Hey there, pal!” HE CALLED TO US. “You down for a little party I'm throwin'?”

“Who all's invited?” ESTREN ASKED SUSPIIOUSLY.

“Oh, that's the best part!” THE MAN SAID. “It's just gonna be you and me, big boy!”

“Doesn't sound like much of a party wityh just two people,” ESTREN SAID.

“Oh, trust me,” HE SAID. “It'll be a party!”

WE DIDN'T GET ANY TIME TO REACT. HE WAS UPON US ALMOST INSTANTLY. HE HAD HIS HAND AROUND ESTREN'S THROAT AND WAS SQUEEZING TIGHTLY. I TRIED FORCING MYSELF INTO HIS BODY, NUT IT FAILED. THERE WAS ALREADY ANOTHER POSSESSER INSIDE OF HIM, AND IT FORCED ME OUT. I WAS THROWN BACK INTO ESTREN'S BODY. IT WAS JUST AS I FEARED FROM THE BEGINNING. THIS GUY WAS A BLOOD VESSEL.

HE JERKED HIS HAND QUICKLY, AND ESTREN'S NECK SNAPPED. HE DROPPED US TO THE GROUND. I'M SURPRISED ESTREN WAS ABLE TO SURVIVE THAT. I GUESS CARDS CAN LIVE THROUGH A LOT OF PUNISHMENT.

“See?” THE GUY SAID. “One hell of a party, right?”

HE LIFTED HIS LEG AND SMASHED HIS FOOT DOWN ON ESTEEN'S CHEST, BREAKING SEVERAL RIBS. HE WAS LAUGHING LIKE A MANIAC. HE RAISED HIS LEG AND STOMPED ON US AGAIN. THIS TIME, SOME OF ESTREN'S BROKEN RIBS PIERCED INTO HS LUNG. ESTREN GRABBED HIS CUTLASS AND MADE A WEAK ATTEMPT TO SLASH AT OUR ASSAILANT, BUT HE SIMPLY GRABBED THE BLADE IN MID SWING, ALLOWING T TO CUT THROUGH HIS SKIN. HE TOSSED OUR SWORD ASIDE. BLOOD- OR, MORE ACCURATELY, THE RED CAP- BEGAN FLOWING FROM HIS OPEN WOUND. IT RE-SHAPED ITSELF IN MIDAIR, TAKING THE SHAPE OF A SWORD, BEFORE SOLIDIFYING INTO SHINING SCARLET CRYSTAL. HE STABBED US REPEATEDLY IN NONVITAL PLACES, TRYING TO MAKE US HURT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, BEFORE HE POINTED THE TIP OF HIS CRYSTAL SWORD AT OUR HEART.

“Before I kill you, I'm going to tell you why I'm doing this,” HE SAID. “You see, I'm from another universe. In my world, I was forced into one of the Game Master's tournaments. While I was there, I met a man named Doug Franklin. We begame friends. Perhaps even more than that. However, as fate would have it, we were pitted against each other in the final battle. I beat him. I beat him black and blue. But I couldn't finish it. The rules dictated that I had to kill him, but I didn't have it in me. I just couldn't do it. So do you know what he did?”

“What?” ESTREN ASKED WEAKLY. A LOOK OF ABSOLUTE DISGUST CAME OVER THE MAN'S FACE.

“He had one of his servants hold my eyelids open while he slaughtered Doug in front of me,” HE SAID. “I wanted to kill him, but I got pulled nto this world before I got the chance. And od course, the Game Master in this universe is already dead, but I'll settle for the next best thing; His servants.”

“If that's true, why would you tell Amy about the Hostel so she could find help for Al?” ESTREN ASKED. 

OF COURSE. I  DIDN'T THINK OF IT AT FIRST, THIS MUST'VE BEEN THE SAME BLOOD VESSEL WHO ATTACKED AMY.

“Simple,” THE MAN SAID. “Your brother was the one holding my eyes open. I don't want him to die of some illness. I want his death to mean something. I was to fight him at the peak of his power. I want to face him in a battle of great proportions, in which only one of us will live to see the end. And once I kill you, he'll have all the mitivation he needs to face me. NOW DIE!!!”

HE WAS JUST ABOUT TO THRUST THE SWORD THROUGH US WHEN THE SOUND OF A GUNSHOT WAS HEARD, AND HIS NECK SNAPPED BACK. HE SEEMED CONFUSED. HE REMOVED THE BULLET FROM HIS FORHEAD, AS IF IT WAS NOTHING.

“Who the f--- just shot me?” HE DEMANDED.

MORE SHOTS WERE FIRED. HE SEEMED TO BARELY FEEL ANY OF THEM. HE RUSHED AT THE PERSON FIRING. ESTREN MOVED HIS HEAD AS MUCH AS HE COULD. WE COULD SEE HIM STANDING OVER A WOMAN, WITH A HAND AROUND HER THROAT.

“You're a feisty one, aren't you?” HE SAID. “I think I'll have some fun with you before I rip your face off and feed it to you.”

I TOOK OVER AND FIRED A BALL OF FIRE AT HIS BACK. I DON'T THINK IT DID HIM ANY DAMAGE, BUT IT GOT HIS ATTENTION AND ALLOWED THE WOMAN TO BREAK FREE. SHE RUSHED UP TO US AND KNOCKED US OUT WITH THE BUTT OF HER RIFLE. NEXT THING I KNOW, WE'RE WAKING UP IN A SLENDER PROXY HIDEOUT IN A BED. I TOOK CONTROL OF ONE OF THE PROXIES WHO WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO GET CLOSE SO THAT I COULD WRITE THIS POST. I THINK I'LL GO BACK TO ESTREN'S BODY AFTER THIS. WEARING THIS HUMAN BODY... IT SUCKS. THIS GUY IS PATHETIC WHEN COMPARED TO ESTREN'S STRENGTH. I DON'T CARE IF HIS BODY IS BROKEN TO BITS RIGHT NOW, I STILL PREFER IT TO A HUMAN BODY. BESIDES, HE'S GONNA NEED MY POWER TO RECOVER FROM THIS.