Psycher Chronicles

Chapter 59

The Escape (Part III)

Jasmine Sweet

(Six Hours Ago)

Howl!

A deep echoing cry of pain rang out. Pain that was clearly being expressed by a master of unfathomable power.

Hearing the howl, Jasmine felt the unmistakable power and cry of a master many tiers above her own.

Stasis.

Hearing the deafening pain filled howl caused her body to tense up as she realized that this was it, things were nearing the end.

Her body was locked into place, held as if awaiting to hear the inevitable commands. Commands that would seemingly never come.

Worse, her body was caught in a state of slight movement, where only the pace and position of her feet were enough to keep her balance. Should a breeze or anything come at her from the sides, she would easily be knocked over.

“You okay?” Darcy asked, her arms going over to grab the large girl who all but stood in perfect stone stillness. Just as nearly a fourth of those who were in attendance.

Seeing that something was wrong, Darcy reached out to grab hold of Jasmine’s arm in an attempt to keep her from falling.

“Answer me!” Darcy cried out, fear evident in her voice. Just hearing the concern in her voice caused Jasmine to rethink the small girl, that had been seen as little more than a fellow groupie. But at this, hearing her and feeling her warmth against her arm, Jasmine almost felt like she could break free of the mental hold that the terrorizing howl had invoked within her mind.

Meanwhile, while Jasmine and some of her unwitting werewolves were caught still, awaiting a command, anything to break them from the clutches that bound them.

Other monsters in attendance also gave out orders.

Thunderclap!

Lightning split the skies, as dense rain began to fall.

Simultaneously, hundreds of quivering emo teens were released from a mental hold and set loose on the crowd.

That’s when the master who had given out the howl of agony let loose another final and more violent command.

“Fight!”

Hearing the command, Jasmine sprung to life. The tension that had been holding her body in place was now set free, as she was finally able to move on her own.

Rage filled her, as she felt her body growing and changing on its own. Her Lycra leggings and other stretchable clothing began to bend and stretch to fill her new size and dimensions.

With this new command to fight, her body was seemingly able to grow larger and stronger than she had ever imagined. There was an annoying weight on her left arm, that she quickly dislodged by the quick violent shaking of her left arm. Then much as a horse would use its long tail to swat away a fly, so too did Jasmine use her same strength and power to swat away the fly that had been bothering her left arm.

“Oof!” A familiar cry rang out, bringing forth memories within Jasmine’s mind. Memories that were being overridden by the fact that all of her enhanced senses were now sensing the smell of other monsters nearby. Monsters that her species had evolved over time to war and fight against. Monsters that set off mental warnings about possible dangers that would be unleashed.

Dangers that even now Jasmine was turning towards and preparing to strike out against.

ZZAAPPP!

That was until, Jasmine felt an intense jolt of electrical energy course through her. Then in just as many minutes, Jasmine once again felt her body lock up in place. But then soon found the hold, and the unavoidable command from the pack elder to snap in her mind.

Flicker.

The world flickered, as her mind suddenly relaxed from the strain and unavoidable rage that she had been forced to endure. Rage that she had been forced to act upon.

Collapse.

Jasmine collapsed to the ground, her body and muscles twitching and convulsing as she finally felt control of both her mind and body coming back to her slowly, the same way an old computer system would.

From the ground, Jasmine saw Misha first check on Jasmine, going so far as to look into her eyes. Then seeing something, maybe a form of recognition, she nodded.

“Sorry about that, but you already hurt Darcy, and I didn’t know what you were going to do next.” Misha said, her voice calm and incongruous to the violence and mayhem that was happening around them.

“Stop this!” Hasty, or maybe one of her staff was calling out trying to get order over the scene, but something had clearly gone wrong a long time ago.

“Get up,” Misha said, lightly slapping Jasmine on the cheek, a slight jolt of electricity passing in the touch, but not enough to hurt. Instead, this one seemed to help her mind gain control over her body a little easier.

With that Jasmine was able to shake her head and begin to get to her feet.

Now that Jasmine was up, Misha began looking around, and then panic filled her face as she darted off to the left.

In the back of her mind, Jasmine realized that the spot where Misha ran towards was the spot where the annoying pest on her arm got sent.

Only now, that she was finally back in control of her mind did she realize what had been happening. That was Darcy?

Looking over, Jasmine saw the small girl sprawled out over a speaker that had been knocked over. Her feet were up and exposed in the same way that Jasmine remembered the way the only thing visible of the wicked witch of the east was her shoes.

Seeing the same image now, Jasmine shot to her feet and stagger jogged over to see Misha standing over Darcy.

Groan.

Darcy was in bad shape, blood was pouring out of a gash on her head, and Misha was there checking the wound.

A wound that inwardly caused Jasmine to flinch up, if only for a moment. Yet Misha was there, pulling off her outer Hasty shirt and wrapping it around Darcy’s head like a souvenir bandana.

Seeing the state of Darcy, Jasmine could only get close and realize that this was her fault. She had struck this person who was nothing but kind to her, while her mind and body were forced to work against her will.

Tremor thump.

The feeling of movement on the stage could be felt, as apparently part of the audience that had been set into a frenzy now stormed the stage.

Turning, Jasmine saw monsters. There was no other word to describe the once humanoid creatures that now stormed the stage in complete carnage.

Just when Jasmine thought she would have to fight back, to defend herself an intense bolt of energy shot past her right ear and impaled the first pursuer. Then arced out the back of the would be attacker and ended up striking three more people that were all charging forward.

Panic.

The beam was so close that Jasmine could feel the heat all but burning the hair on her head. With the intense beam so close, it was all she could do to gently twist and shift her body away from the path of the beam.

Then once it stopped, she turned to see Misha standing there with her left hand out, like she was some kind of superhero.

More tremors.

Then just as that initial wave was stopped, a second larger wave began to charge. Turning to see the new threat, Jasmine watched in awe and horror as a wall of flames erupted up from the stage, like a miscued pyrotechnic display that separated Jasmine from the lunging humanoid monsters.

A few of the faster bodies were still swept up in the flames. Their bodies bursting through the circular pillar of flame and almost instantly being set ablaze by the intense heat.

Once again Jasmine turned back to see Misha in an intense state of focus. This time she had both hands out, as she focused her attention.

Seeing her, Jasmine could all but feel the energy radiating off of her in waves. Energy that seemed far more potent than anything she had ever experienced in her lifetime.

Jasmine opened her mouth to talk, to say something, anything. But it was Misha who ended up breaking the silence as she stated, “grab her and let’s get out of here.”

Hearing the words, it took a second for them to fully register in Jasmine’s mind, before they finally began to settle in.

Then hearing them, she nodded and standing up began to gingerly walk forward.

For a moment, Jasmine wondered if she would be able to carry the small girl, as her muscles were just now beginning to regain their original strength. Fortunately, the girl was small, that or Jasmine was suddenly a lot stronger than she remembered, maybe it was the lingering traces of adrenaline in her system. Regardless of the reason, Jasmine was easily able to grab and carry Darcy’s small frame in a modified princess carry, not wanting to expose her head to any more trauma.

“You ready?” Misha asked, glancing over her shoulders as she continued to keep the flames high, and all but obscure their movements.

“Yeah,” Jasmine replied, then when she was just about to ask what exactly Misha was doing, Misha spoke.

“Also, know that whatever you see from here on didn’t happen.” Misha stated.

“Right,” Jasmine replied and like Jasmine made what had to be her most memorable exit from a concert ever.

For her part, all Jasmine could see was flames, flames that seemed to move in a clear and concise manner around the three of them. Odder still was the fact that the smoke from the flames never seemed to bother the trio, even the heat of the flames seemed to be directed outwards. This was not to say that the flames were not hot, but rather the focus of the flames seemed to be outwards.

This of course, only lasted through the trek of the stage that had wooden planks set down, likely to lessen the impact of musicians who jumped around and performed on stage.

The moment the trio walked down the stage, everything seemed to change.

First, Misha seemed to know the exact layout of the stage, the exits, and most importantly where each monster lurked.

Boom, boom, pop!

Going out the main exit tunnel, the one that led to where the home team’s lockers would be, there were dozens of humanoid monsters moving and flailing about. Yet, as they got close, to the trio bright explosions in the back or front pockets would erupt.

It was horrible and grotesque, as tightly fitting pants, jeans, and other apparel clearly burst and exploded as they got closer.

Only after a second of recognition and smelling the oddly familiar scent of burning plastic did Jasmine’s mind register what had happened. Misha had somehow caused the cell phones and other electronic devices that each person had on them to burst or explode.

Since these were monsters, or humans that lost all reasoning skills, they never even thought to pull out their phones, apparently.

Instead, they went into a form of rage and destruction that was seemingly unavoidable.

From there, Jasmine mostly seemed to zone out, barely keeping pace with Misha, while carrying the body of Darcy that slowly began to get heavier and heavier.

“Please calm down!” The voices cried out.

By now it had only been a matter of minutes, but the carnage was going full force.

Rumble!

The sound of hundreds of panicking people charging and trampling over each other overhead could be heard as Misha continued to guide them out side passageways that seemed to lead to an auxiliary staff parking lot.

SNARLING!

Just going outside, Jasmine could hear the howl and cries of monsters going wild.

The scent of ozone and unfettered power was pungent in the air.

Thump, badump.

As they got out, monsters from all over began charging towards them. For a second Jasmine wondered why, but then sniffing, she too smelled the unmistakable scent of blood coming from Darcy’s head.

Then just when she thought she would have to do something to help fight off the charging monsters, the strangest thing happened.

Misha held out her hand and caused not one but two armored vehicles to come to life, high beams on instantly. Their lights so bright that they caused the charging humanoid creatures to blink and cover their eyes.

This was all the vehicles needed, as they seemed to shift into gear by themselves and violently sped forward before plowing into and through the mob of monsters and fleeing concert goers.

Shock.

Jasmine could only look on in shock at that, but then looking she saw the eyes of Misha glow brightly as she realized that Misha had just killed those people by driving a car over them.

“Holy shit Misha!” Jasmine exclaimed.

Pausing for a second, Misha turned, her eyes still glowing as she turned to Jasmine.

“What would you have me do?” Misha asked.

At that Jasmine just paused, then seeing the cars that were still going wide and mowing over and down more monsters.

Even now the bodies that had been run over slowly twitched and seemed to reach up, as if guided by either cartoon violence or some unearthly power.

“Nothing,” Jasmine finally stated, realizing that the horrors of this night were somehow just beginning.

“Okay, you still good?” Misha asked.

Pausing for a moment Jasmine wondered if she was still good, but then she wondered how could she be good? She had been mind controlled, electrocuted, and then watched phones be used as miniature explosives to disable people, then what was likely the worst case of road rage possible.

Then to make matters worse, Jasmine could feel the adrenaline that her body had been using up until this point slowly wearing off.

“No, I could use a rest,” Jasmine said.

For a moment Misha just stared at her with an, are you serious look, but then seemed to look around as another vehicle came to life. This was one of those reinforced hummers, you know the ones that are extensive gas guzzlers and completely impractical for anything other than apparently surviving an apocalypse.

The vehicle that randomly sparked to life zoomed through the parking lot and stopped right in front of Jasmine.

“Hop in.” Misha stated, before jumping into the front seat.

Pausing for a moment, Jasmine wondered what she should do with Darcy.

“Should I buckle her in?”

“I would,” Misha stated. At that, Jasmine just nodded then as soon as the door was closed behind her they were off, twisting and swerving through the parking lot.

VROOM, vroom, vroom.

As they moved, Jasmine heard more and more vehicles purr to life as they made their way through the parking lot. While Jasmine didn’t know what was happening, she knew that her first priority was to get Darcy strapped into the back of the car. From there, she then felt her own body getting jostled about, and immediately began strapping herself in. Well she tried to.

Ultimately it wasn’t until her third full attempt that she was able to get enough slack in the seatbelt to wrap over her lap before Misha cut or violently turned the wheel, implementing the automatic locks on the seatbelt.

Looking down, Jasmine almost felt jealous of Jasmine, who had one of the center seats that was not susceptible to the odd restraints.

Then seeing Darcy still getting jostled about, she reached over and snuggled the small girl against her chest, before taking a moment to look forward and see what was happening.

Before her was something out of Mad Max, or some other violent racing movie, where three vehicles were charging forward, clearing roadways and causing a path to be clear, as each vehicle seemed to sacrifice themselves to clear a path.

Then finally, they found themselves outside the mall, in the now vacant overflow parking lot that still held one Mustang GT.

“How did you?” Was all Jasmine began to say, but then just stopped asking questions as she didn’t want to know at this time.

Instead, all she did was follow Misha who once again seemed to be doing something completely crazy.

Seeing the vehicle, Jasmine felt both joy and a sense of relief wash over her, as she knew this car meant safety.

As they approached, the Mustang purred to life, as if ready for their immanent departure.

“Grab her and let’s go.” Misha stated, jumping out of the vehicle that apparently could stop immediately.

Misha’s driving skills once again impressed Jasmine as she went from nearly forty miles an hour to a complete stop in with only inches of space between the doors that would be opened. This way the distance they had to carry Darcy’s body was almost nothing.

“What, huh?” Darcy cried out, her hands trying to seemingly fight off Jasmine’s hands that were attempting to unbuckle her.

“Come on, we are almost done.” Jasmine said, her tone soft as she wanted Darcy to work with her, rather than against.

“What, what about the concert?” Darcy asked, her voice groggy.

KA-BOOM!

At that, an eruption of what had to be a bomb going off within the stadium could be felt even from the distant parking lot.

“Yeah, let’s just say it was a blast, and get out of here.” Jasmine stated.

“Okay,” Darcy stated a bit melancholically as she followed Jasmine and seemed to be able to ease her way into the back seat of Misha’s car before passing out again.

The moment everyone was out and clear of the vehicle, Jasmine couldn’t help but turn to Misha to wonder what they should do with the car.

Then as if reading Jasmine’s mind, she watched as Misha’s eyes once again glowed, though slightly dimmer this time as vehicle sped off and accelerated, before catching flames then crashed into a building.

With that Misha visibly looked to deflate for a moment.

“Can I do anything?” Jasmine found herself asking the obviously tired looking Misha.

“Do you mind driving for a bit?” Misha asked.

And then hearing the question for what it was, Jasmine let a smile fill her face as she would finally get her own chance to drive the Mustang.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Jasmine said, not realizing exactly how disastrous those words would be.