xp_logs | Xbalanque

Sun's about to set in Guatemala, and no one can find Julio. Upon regrouping, they make a discovery that there are in fact, TWO of these creatures running around. Duarte chooses that moment to show up, to make sure no one can leave and spread any stories. Julio shows back up, clearly Not Himself, and Doña Teresa's got one hell of a story to tell...

Morning had come to Santo Tomás, and with it the group from town thinking they would be the bearers of bad news. Unfortunately, theirs was not the worst news. Julio had disappeared the night before, and had not returned. A quick plan had to be made. Find Julio, and get to civilization, where they could call for reinforcements. But the day had sped past with still no sign of Julio, and dusk was fast approaching. Out of options, the group had re-convened in front of the orphanage in order to come up with a plan B.

"So no one's seen anything," Nash said, still imperturbable, if looking slightly the worse for wear after the previous night's close encounter with a jeep. "No tracks. No bits of fur caught on trees..."

Jane shook her head wearily, "No." She'd been everywhere today, almost literally considering how many clouds she'd split herself into, looking for Julio. Jane began ticking off points on her fingers. "No new clawmarks, no recently gnawed goats, no shiny black cats nearly mauling their friends, although that's probably a good thing. He's just gone."

"I guess... better that than the other, yes," Berta agreed, looking worried. "But where do we go to look?"

Nash had been looking vaguely distracted since Jane had spoken up, and shook his head before anyone could answer Berta. "Wait, hold on a second - Jane, black cats? Are you sure? The thing we saw at the jail was spotted."

"Are you sure about that? Because Julio was definitely a black cat. We saw him turn into one, before the little bastard shredded my blue skirt. And yes, I'm still pissed off about that, thank you." Monet sighed. "We can't find him, and even after we do, we've got to figure out how to turn him back. Which, y'know, is probably also going to be tricky. It always is."

"Well well well, what do we have here?" A voice came from the other end of the courtyard. Duarte stood with his armed men. "I see I have my escaped convicts, all in one place. It is most convenient. If you would please--" he gestured for them to move away from the building. Some of his guards entered the orphanage to secure it.

Terry scowled at she was herded and muttered uncomplimentary things in Irish at the nearest guard, infusing her tone with the just vaguest sense of shame and watching the resulting flush burn his cheeks. "Watch who you're calling escapees there, lad. We've done more than our bit to keep people alive. What have you done but get in the way?"

Berta sighed. Get while the getting was good, and it was decidedly no longer good. Even as she shuffled along towards the open space Duarte gestured them to, she wondered if this time her rather abrupt temporary companions would try not to get in any fights. She wouldn't put any money on it. "We're just worried about our friend..." she said, not adding the 'jackass' bit out loud.

The guard who had knocked Kevin out the night previous prodded the boy in the side, trying to get him to move faster. He didn't take lightly to being insulted by idiot gringos, and when it looked like he was going to protest, he knocked out him again. Straight. Neat.

Duarte sighed. "~That was unnecessary. You're going to have to wait to wake him up before you shoot him.~" This is what happened when you hired thugs. "No discipline." he added in English and shook his head. He ordered his men to removed the adults from the orphanage too, leaving the children barricaded inside.

"I am sorry," he added. "If you had just left, this would not have happened. Instead, I am afraid, you will be sending a message." He had his guards gather them in the plaza, guns ready.

Nash was silent, unexpectedly acquiescent until they were grouped closely in the plaza. The rippling of his skin and its sudden rocky solidity wasn't immediately noticeable in the dimness. But when he whirled abruptly on one of the gunmen who came a little too close, the bullets some of the others immediately started firing on him bounced right off.

"Down!"

Berta's eyes had widened at Duarte's words and they left her jumpy enough to react instantly when Nash called out. Reaching out she grabbed the nearest of her companions and pulled them down to the ground, out of the way.

Jane had been poised to transform when Bertha grabbed her shoulder and threw her to the ground. Surprised, she landed badly and something in her wrist popped. Gasping, she pulled it tight to her stomach, too distracted by both the flaring pain and the gunshots overhead to notice the rustling in the treeline.

Duarte sighed and raised his pistol. "~Since you are refusing to make this neat...~" he was stopped by a low growl. A figure jumped out at him from the treeline, knocking the pistol out of his hand and throwing him to the ground. It was Julio. He was shirtless, having acquired another pair of shorts from somewhere, and on his shoulders and knees there were strange red markings. His eyes were still yellow as he looked down at the man on the ground, but there was a foreign presence behind them. Not Julio. Something much older, and angrier.

"~I-I know you. I know you.~" Duarte said, shocked. His men took aim. "~STOP! Do not shoot, stand down!~" he yelled and got to his feet. His men lowered their weapons, confused.

"Julio!" Terry started to say but something killed the name before it passed her lips. She looked around as the guards backed off and wished for the hundredth time this trip that she spoke a more useful second language. Reacting to the stand down, if nothing else, she ran to Kevin, trusting that she wouldn't get shot before she could check to see if he was still breathing.

"~How did you find me?~" Duarte demanded of whoever was behind Julio's eyes. "~Answer me!~"

His answer was a low cackle. Doña Teresa was there, unconcerned by the mayhem around her. She stood next to Julio and gave his arm a friendly pat. Duarte made to go after her, but was blocked by Julio, who growled threateningly. Duarte backed off, waving at his men to lower their weapons again. He cleared his throat and waited for the woman to speak. She did, finally, and with Berta's help translating, a very strange story began to unfold for Elpis.

"~Do you remember me, Señor Duarte? I remember you. You came to my village, twenty years ago. High in the mountains.~"

Recognition dawned in the man's eyes.

"~You and your soldiers, you burned my son in front of me. He and his wife. Everyone. Men. Women. Babies. Why? We were no threat to you. We were farmers. We wanted to be left alone.~"

"~That's not true!~" Duarte spat. "~We saw what you were doing! The altar! The skeletons! Your sacrifices to your heathen spirit! We were doing this world a favor!~" He shook his head angrily and turned to the rest of Elpis. "Do you know what she did? She killed my men. Their spirit killed us one by one, chased us. Hunted us. I escaped and I was cursed! Like poor Sanchez, whose stinking corpse you brought me yesterday. Cursed like she did to him!" he pointed at Julio. "~Poor bastard. It's taken me years to learn how to control it. Human by day, beast by night.~"

Whatever was currently possessing Julio laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound.

"~He is not cursed.~" Doña Teresa said. "~He is a good boy. He is doing me a favor and letting the Spirit walk again. When the Spirit has finished he will leave the boy alone. And I would have helped Sanchez too, had he not attacked me,~" Doña Teresa added haughtily. "~I summoned him after you killed Mendez. I would have freed him. It is no matter. But you, you have corrupted your punishment. How many have died to keep you from changing, Eduardo? How many have you killed to keep yourself in power? Dr. Mendez was no threat to you, you pathetic little man. It's time to return to the gods. They've been waiting for you.~"

With that, the sun set fully, (though with the cloud cover it was hard to tell) Julio dropped into a runner's crouch, his eyes never leaving Duarte's face. His expression clearly said: 'You're about to die, bitch'

Duarte shook his head. "~No choice. None. None at all.~" he stripped off his shirt and removed a small charm from his wrist. And then, he changed. Bones and skin twisting themselves into a new and much larger shape. A spotted jaguar, lean and thin, and he lunged at Julio, who remained still on the ground.

But within the space of an eyeblink, Julio leaped forward as well, and when he collided with Duarte, he a much bigger, black version of the creature Duarte had become.

This seriously cannot get any weirder, Jane thought as her body melted to mist under Bertha's protective arm. I mean, what next, vampires? She drifted across the ground to the nearest guard, and began to envelop him in an oxygenless cloud.

Berta started as the girl she'd pulled down basically dissolved in her arms. This situation had started bad, and now it was rapidly becoming well beyond her ability to fix. Rolling over she scrambled out of the open space, finding a small patch of cover and ducked behind it, gaze shifting from the well-armed men to Julio. Or, well, the Julio-thing. Definitely time for someone to be doing something, but not, Berta thought, her.

Nash had made some very simple and swift choices, once Julio had engaged Duarte. Duarte was no longer in a position to give orders, so he seized on the confusion among the guards and focused on taking down one after another before they could do more than begin to react.

As Nash started to move, Terry did the same, turning into the nearest guard and disarming him in a few quick movements, leaving him to gape at the small girl that he'd doubtless ignored as a physical threat before now. Infusing her voice with command, she started ordering the rest to lay down their weapons, brandishing the gun that she'd taken.

Of the two creatures, the black one was the younger and stronger, and it wasn't very long before powerful jaws sank into the back of the spotted creature's neck and it snapped cleanly in two. He fell to the ground, human and dead. The second creature backed away, and Doña Teresa approached it, waving her hands like she was shooing chickens. The creature exhaled, and blew away in a wispy black cloud, leaving Julio. Who also dropped to the ground, completely unconscious, but still breathing.

While the rest of Elpis finished capturing and subduing the rest of the guards, Doña Teresa removed the blanket from her shoulders and draped it over Julio, almost tenderly, and gave his cheek one final pat.

"~Good boy,~" she said.