While the cats away, the mice run like hell

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

As Calibusk uses Corrine’s summoning circle to jump to Alaska, Caleb reaps the benefits of Travis’ assistance. Free of the spell inhibiting him from siphoning off magic, he draws in as much magic as he can hold onto without concentrating too much, and phases his limbs through his restraints. Immediately he turns to the image revealing the battle between Calibusk and the Outsiders, only to discover that it’s disappearing.

“Dammit,” he mutters as he turns to the new arrivals. We can’t stay here. Assuming Calibusk survives his assault … best not to think about the other implications of that scenario as yet … Assuming Calibusk survives his assault, he’ll return here for us.

On one hand he truly doesn’t have the time for this, but on the other, abandoning two random strangers stranded in Hell is completely out of the question. Caleb runs over to the new arrivals, and begins to hurriedly jostle them. “Wake up!” he says. “We don’t have time to waste, so wake up!”

Comments

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

Caleb sighs as his fingers again coarse through his hair. She might have been trying to hide it, but Caleb can tell that he’s been too harsh with her. After all, Caleb is both trained to and experienced in thinking about these sort of things. Mara, on the other hand, obviously isn’t. It’s not reasonable to expect as much from her.

“Mara... I, uh … If I … I hadn’t meant to be harsh. It was wrong of me. I'm sorry."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Mara sweeps her arms dramatically at the opening. Maybe a couple hours ago she was interested in making nice but right now she's not. It's not that she feels the urge to be particularly mean to him but she'd forgotten completely about the teleportation. It's not something you usually count as a resource, is it? "All yours," she says tiredly. "I just need to sit, that's all. C'mon, let's see if this place'll take us."

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

He lets it go, and nods to James. “Keep an eye on him. If you need me, just run. If I feel you two take off, I’ll return immediately.”

Caleb has the magic illuminate the caver for him, though the fact that he can’t see anything inside is hardly a comfort. There could be something against the wall he’s approaching from, or in an adjacent cavern. Or under the dirt, even.

At least I know nothing incorporeal is in there, he reassures himself. The opening is rather tight, but given that Caleb is easily the largest member of their group, if he’ll fit inside, then both of them will.

Though he emerges on the other side ready to fight, no opponent greets him. After a few minutes of looking around, Caleb not only discovers that, vermin aside, they really are alone, but that the only other way in or out is through a subterranean river running under one of the caverns.

He returns to Mara. “Not only is it safe, but I’ve found fresh water.”

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

The two civilians look at each other and waste no time climbing in after him. James first, and Mara last, watching that nothing follows them in.

Inside, Mara takes a bit of privacy behind some of the rocks, just enough to wash some of the grit off with the water.

The cave seems to have James in better spirits, too. He flops by the water and drinks and drinks and drinks forever.

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

Caleb wastes no time casting the spells that, with any luck, will preserve their lives at least until morning.

An illusion of darkness over the cave entrance, as to avoid having the light draw undue attention.

A ward to deceive locator spells, though with a back door that won’t interfere with holy or green lantern energy.

A scattering ward, to mask both telepathic signatures and the presence of the spells from all but the most attentive mages.

Caleb breathes a sigh of relief, and tries forcing his muscles to relax. After the futility of that endeavor becomes obvious, he, with a groan of relief as he gets off of his feet, sits against the wall. As appetizing a prospect as water is just now, a moment to collect his thought is somewhat more so.

After a minute his eyes find James, still enjoying the water. His impassive face betrays nothing, but a silent fear begins to grow in the back of Caleb's mind. I'm in over my head. And assuming she survived Calibusks second assult, Amelia is going to die because I won't be there when she needs me to be. Some job I did raising her. Then again, what don't I manage to sully up? Why should this be any different? He fights off the urge to throw a rock into the wall, or scream, or do something - anything, really - to vent some of the tension and stress and frustration and fear. Instead he sighs, and then gets a drink of water.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Mara explores their surroundings a little, for a while looking at bits of stone and mineral. Even the grains of stone felt different. She wiped her hand off on her pant leg quite a few times for hours after that.

She knew time was passing but not how much. James's stirring told the most of it. Eventually he'd propped against a wall and dozed off. He looked as comfortable as he'd get but Dr. Zukov looked restless. Mara couldn't think of sleep, either.

"Know any scary stories?" she whispers with a wry grin as she approaches him from across the cavern. "That's the thing to do now, right?"

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

He’s somewhat slow to react to her words, having been lost in though about how to get out of their situation. “Hm? What’s this, then? Oh, right, a, uh… a scary story?”

The startled look fades, and he begins to snicker. “Oh, I get it. Spending the night alone in a cave in the hell, so why not tell scary stories?” He really needed that snicker, too. “I’d love to, but, do I, uh … do I know any scary stories?”

He thinks about it for a moment. “Well, uh, not as such, no. I, uh …. I was never one for sitting around a campfire, you see. Though, I could relay some rather disturbing information about the rocks under your feet.”

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Mara eyes him for a minute. "You're the creepy guy at parties, aren't you?" A smirk. "Yeah, sure, okay. I've got some gallow's humor of my own."

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

“I noticed,” he says, just now remembering the question he had wanted to ask her.

“Gag and drag? So you’re a firefighter, then?”

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Not me," she says with a cynical smirk. "I'm a vet tech for the money, trying to go pro with the women's national swim league of Mass. Every frickin' guy in my life is, though."

Mara picks at some matted bit of auburn hair. "My grandfather, my dad, my brother, my uncle, all of my cousins. I got to be the only girl. Mom says 'make cookies and keep the first aid kit handy'."

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

“Well, that’s not nescesarily bad advice. After all, no harm in knowing how to cook, after all. Especially when said knowledge doesn’t preclude the possibility of engaging in whatever vocation you choose.”

“But yes, the dirt. Did, uh … Did you notice how the sandstorm stopped as the 'sun' went down?”

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

She's afraid to ask. And here she is, stuck in a cave in hell talking to the Creepy Guy from every party. "Yeah, why?"

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

“Well, uh, you see, it’s a matter of cosmological geology. Sometimes, be it for punishment or amusement or what have you, some of the damned are cast into a sort of limbo of nothingness. Their souls die, so to speak, and the magic becomes a part of something larger. Sometimes it can be the personal power of this or that demon, but more commonly, it becomes one with the fabric of this reality. Sometimes the corpses from these souls manifest, often assuming the form of a single grain of sand.

“The, uh … there’s a legend in the pit that the sun is, in truth, not only far closer than it appears, but is also a portal of redemption. If a grain of sand were to reach it, it would, at least in theory, be restored to it’s former state.”

He smiles the smile of someone fighting off a defeated smile. “Remember that sandstorm? We were immersed in a fluidic airborne mass of dead echoes of sentience, all trying to exist again.” For just a moment, his stare is quite vacant.

“None of them will ever make it.”