"Gah!"
Mr. Sing glowers up from his spot on the floor. His teeth are pointed, filed to sharp points. There is an insane gleam in his eyes and as he squats on the floor, he does not look completely human. There is something unnatural about him.
"Fools! Was it you who unleashed the chitteling darkness? Was it you who killed my mother and opened the gate with her blood. There are things in the darkness that must be fed but now all the world shall be meat! Leave me that I might escape the fate that is coming. I know all my wives lie dead and there is nothing left for me here! You are too late for my ride is even now coming!"
More than anything, Kenny wants to run. He fumbles about his pockets and realizes that he has no weapons. This...thing in front of him recalls the image of Port Truman and the undescribable creature that destroyed the ship there. Is there a connection?
Without thinking, Kenny backs away and looks around for something to use to protect himself.
Carlotta shudders and recoils, grasping her head briefly before coming to her senses slightly. "Can you stop it??? If you can't, I swear to god I will kill you." Carlotta's eyes burn feverishly, clearly not the eyes of a reasonable woman.
"Stop the work of my mother? Her lifetime's achievement? The work of a hundred years? I wouldn't even if I could. My only regret is that it was unleashed too soon before the suja were fully called. But you cannot stop it. Only fire can turn back the chitterers in the black, the spawn of the darkest holes. Naja no Janny! Kixchik no kenny! All this shall be devoured for his pleasure!"
He rises to his feet and adopts a defensive stand. His sharp teeth shine in the candlelight, so broadly is he grinning. He seems quite clearly insane and the only wonder is that he managed to put up such a good front of normalacy
Carlotta moves around to the stoves.
Kenny sees what Carlotta is doing and adopts a fighting stance. He circles around to draw Sing's attention away from Carlotta. He will take a total defense action if Sing attacks and will try to lead him around the room. If Kenny comes upon anything that he can use as a weapon he will grab it.
Mr. Sing does not attack. He seems to be content to allow time to progress, as if he is waiting for something.
Kenny spots a couple of knifes, a rolling pin and a large wok.
While moving through the kitchen, Carlotta grabs any long handled instruments and bar towels that she can reach.
Kenny grabs a knife in each hand, the largest ones he can find. If Sing still shows no aggression Kenny will slash at him with one knife. Kenny fights like a cornered rat, more out of desperation than will.
There is a whole fryer full of oil embedded next to a large flat stove-grill which itself is next to six burners with heavy woks on them. Carlotta also sees plenty of rags and hot pads here and there, not to mention a heavy steel spatula and plenty of wooden utensils.
Mr. Sing easily dodges the weak knife thrust. "You cannot kill me," snarls the strange man. "You are too weak willed and soon I shall not be here anyway."
For a moment Kenny thinks about the possibility of being charged with murder for this and for Sing's mother. But his fear overrides his caution and he slashes about again. He tries to maneuver into a position where he cannot see Carlotta.
damage
Carlotta grabs the longest handled utensil she can find, next grabbing a rag and knotting it around the end of the utensil. She shoves it into the oil and then attempts to light it up with the stove.
Carlotta grabs the longest handled utensil she can find, next grabbing a rag and knotting it around the end of the utensil. She shoves it into the oil and then attempts to light it up with the stove.
Kenny scratches Mr. Sing's bare chest but the man hardly seems to notice it. His attention seems suddenly distracted.
"Now it comes!"
Carlotta starts trembling, trying to accomplish her task faster.
Kenny nearly in a complete state of irrational panic now. He tries again to stab Sing while at the same time trying to identify the noises he hears.
There is a whirring of some sort outside the back door of the restaurant. It sounds something like an insect of unusual size. Perhaps Kenny hears a scream too, of abject fear. Mr. Sing easily dodges the blade and then begins moving towards the back door of the kitchen at a quick trot, grinning maniacally the whole time.
"I shall ride the wind... away... Away from the darkness into the darkness..."
There is a whirring of some sort outside the back door of the restaurant. It sounds something like an insect of unusual size. Perhaps Kenny hears a scream too, of abject fear. Mr. Sing easily dodges the blade and then begins moving towards the back door of the kitchen at a quick trot, grinning maniacally the whole time.
"I shall ride the wind... away... Away from the darkness into the darkness..."
"Not if I stab you in the back first, you won't" Kenny thinks to himself. He will think of an explanation for this later, if he survives.
More than anything, Kenny does not want to look out the window and see what is making the noise. He has seen so much already and fears losing his mind at this point. He is looking at the floor more than at Sing's back and using his other hand to restrict his field of vision so that he does not see the source of the sound.
Kenny misses badly and Mr. Sing throws open the door to the outside. It is growing dark outside as the gathering clouds help to hide the light of the setting sun.
Carlotta stands, strangely calm, ready to try and flame out whatever comes through that door.
Kenny sees what Carlotta is doing and stops in his tracks.
"I thought you were trying to set the building on fire. Wasn't that the plan?"
Nothing comes straight through the door, what ever is there seems content to wait outside for Mr. Sing... at least at the moment. There is still a strange sort of vibrating hum, made louder by the opened door, but Kenny, who is closest, is of course averting his gaze so he can't make out what it is.
Carlotta has a makeshift torch now alight but she has not yet seen what is outside either.
As the hum continues, both reporters suddenly hear a crash from the closed door to their right, the door leading down to the hidden office room. It sounds like there might be something down there, wrecking the book shelves and the desk.
Carlotta is about to reply to Kenny when she hears the noise from downstairs. She glances around in panic before backing up to the deep fryer and reaching in with a nearby pot and throwing oil liberally onto the floor and the counters of the kitchen. "Kenny get behind me!" Carlotta intends to open the door and make a break for it, shoving fire in the face of anything in their way, before throwing the torch back into the kitchen.
Carlotta starts preparing to set the room on fire. Kenny's action?
Carlotta starts preparing to set the room on fire. Kenny's action?
Kenny gets behind Carlotta and looks for windows to crawl through.
Curiously, there are no windows in the kitchen, just the door leading outside, the door leading down to the room below and the door leading into the large dining room.
As the flames on the floor spring up, there is a shriek of some sort from outside the building. It does not sound like an animal exactly but it certainly is not the sound of a person.
Mr Sing can be heard to cry, "Kinhxja shinthul haki! haki! haki.... haki"
He continues to repeat this but it sounds as if his voice is receeding further and further away.
Strangely it seems as if he is moving up into the air as he speaks, higher and higher until he cannot be heard over the sound of the now spreading fire.
Carlotta disregards the sounds from behind her, trying to focus her energies instead on getting out of here. She caustiously opens the door, holding her torch out in front of her. If nothing is in their way she will run outside. If there is something she will try to attack it with the torch.
Kenny is nearly in shock at this point. He follows Carlotta more out of instinct than rational thought.
As the two enter into the dining room, the flames curn a little higher in the kitchen. A fire alarm goes off in the kitchen. The flames shine red through the windows of the kitchen doors. Outside, a jagged flash of lightning splits the sky some miles to the west. There is no doubt that the sky to the west is very black and it looks like rain will soon hit the area hard.
The rain should put out the fire when the building goes up. Kenny is slightly detached from the events around him when he thinks this.
The dining room is filled with windows. The one whole wall along which the entrance is located is mostly lightly tinted glass with bamboo window shades.
Carlotta doesnt stop to look around. She just runs straight for the exit.
"Wait, don't go outside!" Kenny yells but he follows Carlotta just the same.
The exit is just as Carlotta last left it. She can go outside if she chooses. Or not if she wants to listen to Kenny.
About to open the door, Carlotta hesitates for a second to look questioningly at Kenny. "Why not?!?!" If he doesn't answer immediately she will run outside.
Kenny stutters for a moment but cannot respond to Carlotta. Then he remembers that the building is on fire and runs toward the door.
Carlotta looks annoyed for a second before, putting it aside and running after him out of the building. She is still holding the torch in her hand.
Calrotta flees the smoking building with a torch in her hand straight towards the gaping firefighters.
A few of the firefighters begin yelling and then rush to get their trucks positioned for putting out the fire. The rest are staring open mouth at something else. Something in the sky beyond the restaurant.
One of the firefighters not staring at the sky yells at Carlotta, as he moves to take away her torch, "You're in big trouble lady!"
Carlotta stares at him for a minute and then starts half speaking half screaming. "No! No! You don't understand!! There's something IN THERE!!"
She points at where the other fire fighters are staring intothe sky "See that? The thing in there is like the mother of that. Its a terrible thing, it can't be let out!! for the love of God, DO NOT PUT OUT THAT FIRE! Let it burn to the GROUND."
A crack of thunder and a tremendous boom of lightning punctuates Carlotta's words and the firemen all stop for a moment and stare at her. She notices she has everyone's attention, including the hotel guests. Several of them seem inclined to believe her, maybe...
Carlotta pulls herself together and stands up straight. "Kenny and I have been in there. We've seen what's down there and it must be stopped! I don't know what it is, I've never seen anything like it, but I am sure its evil and would kill us all if it got out." She looks at the crowd, and tries to look at each of them right in the eyes as she speaks.
"The owner, the guy who shot the cops, he has something sick going on in there. I think he fed some people to animals he has in the basement. I think he let them free and if they get upstairs they will kill all of us."
Neither Kenny nor Carlotta seems to convince all that many.
"Come on men, we have a job to do," says the fire chief.
Meanwhile the sky continues to darken and there are more flashes of lightning to the west.
Some of the firemen hesitate, "I don't know Buck," says one of the firemen uncertainly, "Whatever that was flew off, it shore didn't look like no bird."
Meanwhile the rest of the crowd (the hotel guests) show signs of nervous frustration, there being about twenty of them in total.
"Are those policemen coming out?"
"Can we get out bags out of the hotel at least?"
"Don't go in there. Didn't you hear the gun shots?"
"Is there backup on the way?"
"Honey, why don't we sit in the car, it looks like rain."
"It was a giant insect mommy!"
"Folks! Move your cars away from the restaurant if you would!"
"Is it going to rain?"
"We can't be out here all night."
"Bird? Insect? What did you see? Did you see a man leave ahead of us? Where did he go?"
"Bird? Insect? What did you see? Did you see a man leave ahead of us? Where did he go?"
"He went up in the air," says one child.
"I don't know what it was but it looked bigger when it left."
"Ain't no bird can carry off a full grown man..."
Carlotta begins to get slightly desperate. "It wasn't a bird! It was some kind of freak, some kind of monster and I dont know exactly what it was but I do know that everything down there is much worse then that was. Don't let the fire spread, but please for the love of God let it destroy whatever unholy thing lived down there." She looks right at the fire chief, eyes wide and pleading.
"Down where? If I understand what you were saying earlier, there's a maze underneath here. You really think that the fire will spread that far? Right under our feet? And besides which, the police are going to need evidence. You're already looking at an arson charge ma'am, I advise you not to interfere with us."
Kenny is taken aback at the firefighter's words. He thinks for a moment and realizes that the fire will consume the upper floors rather than burn downwards toward the basement. He is now very afraid and thinks that his only option might be to flee.