Kate wrenched herself away from Gabrielle and took a step back from the group, staggering heavily against a pillar. The sudden change in height sent the blood rushing to her head, and a dull, pounding ache began in her temples. Her vision swam, colors sputtering and shifting. She shuddered as a chill ran over her skin, soft voices echoing in her ears, slipping and sliding and whispering things she could never quite make out. Her pupils dilated and she glanced wildly around the canteen. The walls were wrong, tilted in unnatural angles, casting shadows that crept and grasped and [i/]moved[/i]. The lights flickered and dimmed, casting a dull, sickly yellow glow. The canteen seemed to stretch, the far end fading into the gloom.
[color=c20000]"Yes, it would do you well to respond quickly. If you go for your weapon again, I will restrain you. Do not test me."[/color]
and as the words left the Drows mouth, her flesh cracked and split, her face peeling open to reveal a twisted mess of melted flesh and bone, broken wires crackling and spitting where the eyes once were. Her limbs were stretched grossly out of proportion, long spindly spikes of bone and stretched, paper thin skin, with fingers that dripped red onto the rusted metal floor. Kate blanched and backed away, the runes on the back of her hand burning brightly. The whispers had grown into a crescendo now, screaming and shouting, chattering in incomprehensible languages. Something wet splashed against her thigh, and Kate looked down. The metal floor of the canteen was spattered with blood, running in rivulets from the corpses that sprouted from the walls like grotesque flowers. Their flesh seemed fused to the metal panels, their faces twisted into contortions of agony. And yet their mouths still moved, murmuring and muttering words that seemed to slip from Kate's mind when she attempted to focus on them.
It was too loud, too loud, [i/]too loud[/i]. And Kate sank to her knees, chest heaving, black blood running from her eyes and nose.
And suddenly everything was quite, the voices silent for once. The canteen was normal, and suddenly, it always had been
And there [b/]he[/b] was, standing next to Aftan, tall and dark and terrible. His eyes were hidden by shadow, and he grinned a sharp-toothed grin, mouth stretched impossibly wide, and The Preachers voice was so [i/]Very[/i] far away.
Kate raised her revolver and fired, the plasma bolt igniting the air as it passed, leaving a trail of tiny, floating stars that flared for a brief second before dying.
But he was already gone, a cold, harsh wind blowing through her, and his laughter echoed in her mind.
