What Fools These Mortals Be 17

Halfway down the path towards the carnival, Toni froze, her nose to the ground. The zombie and Conrad paused and watched her. She swept her tail back and forth and then wandered towards the forest. Conrad glanced at the zombie and followed after her. She led them on a rather haphazard trail through the forest to the edge of the clearing where the carnival was. They faced the back of the Fight Tent. The loud cheering coming from within the tent made the zombie bristle with anger.

"He's not in there." She and Conrad whispered at the same time. Conrad shuffled with embarrassment and looked at Toni. She tossed her head, giving a wolfish smile. Conrad turned back to the carnival, dark eyes darting across the scene beyond the trees.

"Where is he?" The zombie whispered, leaning down so he could speak into Conrad's ear.

"Not here..." The vampire muttered, "Toni, I don't know where he is. I can't find him."

"Come on, I can catch his scent a little." The werewolf wove through the forest, staying close to the edge. Conrad and the undead man followed her silently, letting her concentrate. They made their way around the to the back of the carnival to the dark parts where the caravans were parked in shadows. Then it was Conrad's turn to pause. He whipped his head around to look into the darkness, tensing as he did so.

"Something really, really stinks..." The vampire muttered, nose wrinkling, "It smells like dead things." And he broke the cover of the trees, running out among the caravans.   

"Conrad!" Toni hissed, "Come back!" But then the zombie ran out past her and she had no choice but to follow. They darted among the caravans and found Conrad standing in front of a small caravan with stained wood and no windows.

"He's in there." The vampire was speaking through clenched teeth, "He's in there and he's bleeding." He raised his right arm, pulled back a tiny lever on his steam-gun, and then let it go. The force of it snapping back opened the catch and allowed a blast of super heated steam to shoot out briefly and smash into the door. The handle snapped under the pressure and clattered to the ground.

"Hanna!" The zombie brushed past Conrad and darted into the caravan. He stopped just inside the door, "Hanna..."

Toni bounded in after him and growled, hackles raised. Conrad wedged his way in as well and his mouth dropped open in shock. His usually dark eyes slowly faded into a muddy red looking color as his temper started getting the better of him.

Hanna Cross was hanging limply from the ceiling of the caravan, suspended there by slightly rusty chains clamped to his wrists. His head was dropped down, his chin almost touching his chest, and his eyes were closed. Dried blood had congealed on the front of his shirt, making it stiff, more of it was crusted on one side of his face, his glasses were gone, and it looked as though there was another jagged cut on his thigh just above his fake leg.

"I'm going to kill the bastards that did this," Toni snarled, showing all her teeth, "I'm going to rip them apart and make them wish they'd never--."

"Toni." The zombie stopped her, "Not now. Later." He reached out to try and do something about the chains when his foot brushed up against something. Glancing down, he noticed a very familiar fedora. How in the world had that gotten in here? He remembered the scuffle in the Fight Tent. It had probably fallen off. But then, what was it doing in here?

A loud clatter made him look up. Conrad was tugging on the chains, teeth gritted as he attempted to yank them from the ceiling. All he succeeded in doing was making a lot of noise and jerking Hanna around. The young red head groaned and raised his head a little, his gaze sweeping blearily across the semi-darkness of the caravan.

"Hanna." The zombie stepped forward and Hanna's hazy blue eyes found him though they didn't seem to be focusing at all, "Hanna, say something. Tell me you're alright." The young man's face seemed to crumple a little and he turned away, muttering, "What?"

"I'm sorry..." Hanna was whispering, his eyes closing again. Conrad had stopped yanking on the chains to listen and Toni's ears were pricked forward, "I'm sorry...I'm really, really sorry..."

"Wh-what are you saying...!?" Conrad's fingers were still tight around the metal chains but he was staring at Hanna, "What are you saying you're sorry for? We...we left you behind. I left you back there..." His voice quivered and he cleared his throat, "Hanna, we...I should be the one apologizing. I left you back there...to this!"

"I'm really sorry..." Hanna kept saying, "I'm really, really sorry..."

"Why the hell are you apologizing!?" Conrad let go of the chains and grabbed the front of Hanna's coat, pulling the red head up so that he was looking Conrad in the eye, "Why the hell are you saying you're sorry!? Damn it, it's my fault! My fault, you fucking hear me!?" Hanna just stared at him dazedly and the vampire shook him a little, "Answer me, Hanna!"

"Conrad!" Toni jumped up and put her paws on Conrad's arm, pressing her weight down on it until he let go of Hanna, "Calm down, everything will be alright. We'll get him out of here and to Worth's and then everything will be alright."

"We have to get these chains off of him." The zombie murmured, "I don't know if I can do it. Conrad, can you?"

"That's what I was trying to do." The vampire grumbled, "I don't know. Move." He reached up and grabbed the chains again. Then he set his jaw and pulled as hard as he could. There was a creaking groan and then a snap and a clang of metal as the chain broke in half and sent little bits of metal tumbling to the floor. Hanna sagged lower to the floor but his right arm was still caught in the other chain. He looked very sad dangling from the ceiling by one arm. Conrad hurriedly reached over and snapped that one as well and Hanna fell towards the wooden floor. The zombie reached out and caught him before he fell, hoisting him into his arms.

Hanna gave another weak moan and opened his eyes a crack. This time, they did focus on the zombie, "J-Jericho...? Is that...is that you?" Hanna's voice was weak and hoarse and tired.

"Yes Hanna, it's me."

"I...I thought you were...I thought you were dead..."

"But Hanna," The zombie responded with a tight smile as they stepped carefully out of the caravan and started making for the woods again, "I am dead."

"Y-you know what I mean...!" But the red head smiled a little. Well, that was something, at least.

"Fuck!" Conrad shouted, ruining the moment completely. The zombie looked up from Hanna's battered face to see a couple unfriendly men blocking their way to the forest. One of them had a hefty steam rifle and a large pack on his pack while the other was carrying a regular shotgun loaded with gun powder and iron bullets. Toni skidded to a halt beside Conrad and growled, showing all her teeth and the zombie stopped in his tracks. His grip on Hanna tightened.

"Back up," The undead man whispered, "Back, we'll take another way out." But as they turned to head in another direction, they found themselves surrounded by men with guns of various sorts. A few of them even had swords or daggers at their sides.

"Gabriel...?" Hanna murmured and the zombie turned his attention back to the red head in his arms, "Wh-what's going on...?"

"Nothing we can't handle, Hanna, it's alright." The zombie replied, "Conrad, take Hanna."

"What!?" The vampire sputtered indignantly, a slight note of panic in his voice, "I've got a steam gun why should I take him!?"

"You're steam gun only works at close range." The zombie handed Hanna off to Conrad, "I don't want them getting that close." He reached into his trench coat and withdrew two revolvers, one in each hand. Conrad stared at them questioningly, "Ples has a rather significant gun collection." Was the response.

"C-Connie, are you...are you alright?" Hanna had noticed the transfer and was looking up at the vampire with lidded and glazed eyes.

"Damn it, Hanna, now really isn't the best time." Conrad was looking from one man to the other. None of them were moving; they were just keeping their guns trained on the group. Toni snarled and snapped at them but they gave no response.

"What do they want?" The zombie wondered aloud, the revolvers at his sides.

"They do not want anything." Said a voice, "I just want my Elementalist back, thank you." A man in a familiar, dark violet coat was striding towards them through the circle of armed men. His blonde hair was slightly ruffled and his green eyes were dancing angrily but there was a charming smile on his face.

"Your...?" Toni said and then her hackles bristled, "You. You're the one from the Fight Tent. You're scent was all over that caravan! You're the one that kidnapped Hanna!"

"Now, now, let's be civil about this." The man said, still wearing his charming smile, "You've trespassed on our carnival grounds, stolen from me," He eyes lit upon Hanna, "And are no doubt planning to assault my men. So how about a deal?" Conrad bared his fangs at the question but the man acted as though he hadn't noticed, "You give me back Cross and I'll let you go with your lives."

"No deal." Toni snapped.

"T-Toni, wait...!" Hanna moaned from Conrad's arms, "Toni, he's a s-sorcerer! He's b-b-been stealing magic from p-people! He--!" Hanna's words were cut off by a cry of pain that was echoed by Conrad. The two of them fell backwards to the ground as a blast of red energy struck them. The man in the violet coat had his hand raised and it was smoking slightly. He had fired off that magical attack.

The zombie swung up his arms, both revolvers pointing at the blonde haired man who smiled pleasantly back at him. There was a series of clicks and out of the corner of his eye, the undead man noted that every man in the circle had raised their weapons, aiming them at either Toni or Conrad.

"Drop your weapons, please." The man in the violet coat said with that same, irritatingly charming smile. When the zombie didn't move, the smile dropped a bit and the man's tone took on a dark quality, "Drop your weapons or I will order my men to fire and you will sorely regret crossing me."

There was a groan from behind him and the zombie chanced a glance over his shoulder. Conrad was pushing himself into an upright position, Hanna still splayed across his lap like some sort of limp rag doll. The zombie's orange eyes flicked back to the blonde man who was now matching his glare with one of his own. The tension thickened.

"Drop. Your. Weapons." The man ground out through clenched teeth, "I am giving you one last chance to remain "alive". Do not try my patience anymore, Dead Man." The zombie did not answer, did not lower the revolvers, did not move an inch. The blonde man sighed, "Fine. I'm tired of waiting around. Fire at will."

"Toni!" The undead man shouted as he dropped the revolvers in his pockets, spun on the spot, and dived towards Conrad and Hanna. He felt a sting of agony as a bullet tore through his leg but pushed it aside. He reached out a hand and grabbed the front of Hanna's shirt, pulling the young man off the ground and into his arms. Then he doubled over, shielding Hanna with his body, and made for the forest again. Toni barreled past him on all fours, the back of Conrad's shirt in her teeth, dragging the protesting vampire along as she went.

A wall of steam rocketed in front of the zombie and he turned his back, stumbling backwards through the steam. He felt it sear his skin, burning it, and pushed that pain aside too. He had to get Hanna out. He heard a scream of pain as he cleared the steam and then there was nothing but the wind in his ears, the sound of gun fire, and the angry shouting coming from the blonde man they'd left behind.

He dived into the shelter of the trees and ran. He didn't know if he was heading in the direction they'd come from, he didn't know where Toni and Conrad were, and he didn't know how badly he was hurt. All he could think about was the frail red head in his arms who was barely breathing.

The forest seemed to stretch on and on in the darkness, the rustling branches and snapping undergrowth the only sounds the undead man could hear. But he kept running. He had to get Hanna as far away as possible.

There was suddenly someone running beside him and he turned, ready to fight them off. He stopped when he saw Toni, out of her wolf form, looking hassled and tired. She was breathing heavily and there was blood on her hands and staining the front of her dress,

"This way. I found a way back to town."

"That blood...?" The zombie asked in a low voice, following her through the woods. Hanna was cold in his arms, motionless, his eyes closed.The heaviest bit about him was his steam powered leg.

"Conrad's." Toni murmured, looking upset, "He was hit with a bullet. In his arm. I think it's still in there but he won't let me get it out. I left him at the edge of the woods. He's...getting kind of cranky."

The zombie took this to mean that Conrad was losing control of himself. They broke the cover of the trees and found Conrad leaning against a tree trunk. His eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing, just lying there motionlessly. He stood slowly when they approached, his left arm clutched to his chest, blood staining his front. When he opened his eyes, they were a dark red.

"Come on, we have to get to Worth's." The zombie said in a soft tone.

"Worth...?" Came a weak voice and everyone looked at the red head in the undead man's arms. His eyes were still closed but his brow was furrowed, "Aw no, he's going...to be so...angry at me..." Hanna drifted into silence again.

Toni, Conrad, and the zombie all looked at one another, then back at Hanna, and then towards the town. It seemed darker than before, ominous.

It didn't seem like the safe haven it had once been.