Eldon wakes up to find that Areth's sacrifice has made him impervious to death, but not pain. Still hurt by what he sees as Gloria's betrayal, he must fight past his anger if he is to escape the burning White House.
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Chapter 15
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Going Ogre-board
Someone groaned nearby, but the sound reached Eldon's ears as a distorted and hollow moan. Light flickered from the other side of his eyelids, making it difficult for him to get some rest. The groan sounded again, annoying him. He was getting some good sleep in, until that moaner decided to be rude and not stay quiet.
"Would you knock that off? I'm trying... to..." he trailed off as he opened his eyes and looked around. Smoke billowed up from a couple of fires. The fires were all that was giving him light to see by, but it was obscured from all the smoke and dust in the air. It looked like a bomb had gone off, and pieces of timber and support beams were scattered everywhere. Eldon realized that it
had
been a bomb that did this. Areth's sacrifice could be the only reason he was still alive.
Eldon coughed, and pain seared his stomach from the movement. Looking down, he saw a large metal pipe pinning him to the floor, and protruding from his abdomen. Blood soaked what little remained of his clothes, marring his exposed skin. He couldn't see past his waist because of a large metal beam holding him also holding him down. He couldn't feel his legs, and hoped that his lower body was still attached.
"Who—who's there?" a man's voice called weakly to him. Whoever it was sounded pained and out of breath. Eldon suspected it was the person who'd woken him with his groaning.
"Eldon Lance," he replied, then added, "I'm Ambassador Snow's son."
"Fuck! It's one of the freaks," Eldon heard the other man mutter before raising his voice. "Do you know what happened? I was escorting one of the senators when, shit, I don't know what happened."
Anger boiled up in Eldon at the other man's words. "Gee, I don't know. Let me use my freak abilities to know everything. I'll just call on all the mystical powers I have at my beck and call to answer all your questions. Tell you what. Since I have a couple brain cells to rub together, I'll use them to guess an explosion went off."
"No one likes a smartass, kid," the man responded, then broke into a fit of coughing.
"No one likes a bigot," Eldon said back when the man finished coughing. "And don't call me kid. I'm twenty-four, not fourteen. I've probably seen more action than you have."
"Who pissed in your Cheerios?" the other man asked between coughs. "I'll have you know I fought in two American wars, and saw shit that requires above a Top Secret clearance just to mention."
Eldon felt anger burn hotter through him. Who was this man to mock him? He had no idea what Eldon had been through in the past few hours. He had no idea what kind of pain and loss he'd suffered. How dare he treat Eldon like a child!
"Have you even taken on three ogres with only a sword in your hands?" Eldon demanded. "Or watched an entire city pillage, rape, and kill itself because it had no choice but to reveal what it truly was? Everyone baring their deepest darkest secrets to one another, destroying lives and loved ones?"
"Relax, would ya?" the other man tried to chuckle, but it turned into hacks and coughs. "No, I haven't fought ogres since they're not allowed to come here. We've both been through some shit. Can't say I'm happy having one of your kind in here with me, but at least you're a soldier and patriot. I've heard how hard you've worked to protect the president. I might not like what you are, but I can still respect what you've done."
Eldon almost told the man that he was no patriot, but just following his sense of duty. He held back at the last moment. The pain in his stomach from the pipe sticking out of him stealing his breath might have had a little to do with his self-control as well. He gripped the pipe, and gasped as he yanked it out, hard and fast. Blood spurted up from the wound for a brief moment, before the wound shrunk, sealed, and healed. He filled his chest with air slowly, testing the spot with his fingers. The skin was smooth and slick with blood, but no pain. He chucked the pipe with his other hand, and propped himself up to look at his lower body.
"Shit, man! Careful where you're throwing stuff. Sorry I offended you," the other man grunted and Eldon heard some shuffling from the direction where he'd chucked the pipe. "I didn't think you were that touchy."
Eldon ignored him as he looked at the beam crossing his hips. He couldn't sit all the way up, but could see that his pelvis was crushed. There were perhaps a few inches between the floor and bottom of the heavy object. No wonder he couldn't feel his legs. He wasn't worried about permanent injury. If he could get out from under it, his body should return to normal. On the other hand, he was afraid of the amount of pain he would feel until his body recovered.
"Say, any chance you can help me out over here? My arm doesn't seem to be working right."
Eldon continued to ignore the other man, instead pushing his weight against the beam. It shifted slightly, but hit something else and refused to move.
"You still with me, buddy?" the other voice nagged at him. Eldon was his buddy now? What a prick. "I can hear you moving around over there. Listen, I don't mean to press you, and I'm sorry for my choice of words earlier, but there's a fire over here that's getting awfully close. I would rather not become extra crispy."
Eldon closed his eyes for a couple seconds, gathering his courage and blocking out the other man's groans and coughs. He was really getting annoying. For a split second he debated on telling the man that he preferred his secret service agents to be medium rare, and he would be there in a bit.
Discretion is the better part of valor,
he told himself and kept his mouth shut.
Taking a deep breath, he shoved hard against the metal beam. Even with his enhanced strength, it lifted up a couple inches, then struck something else and refused to move any more. He held it there, his arms straining, muscles bulging. Sweat dripped from his head as he looked down to see his pelvis inflate and expand, taking up the space he'd just freed. Realizing his opportunity, he slid his lower body out, until the beam slipped in his sweat-slickened hands and crushed his shins.
"Argh!" he screamed as black spots swam in his vision. Sensation had returned to his lower extremities just in time for him to feel that. What else could go wrong today? He fought to remain conscious through the torment, mentally forcing back the darkness before it could overcome him.
"I take it you're not in much better shape than I am," the other man stated while Eldon tried to catch his breath.
"No shit, Sherlock," Eldon gasped as he looked down at himself. "What was your first clue? The fact that I'm in here, or was it the scream of agony that gave me away?" So much for discretion. He knew his father would be disheartened with his choice of language, but didn't much care right then. In fact, other than making it out of here alive, there wasn't much he cared about anyway. Gloria had abandoned him, saddling him with two other women. While he had to admit he cared about them, Gloria's departure left a hole that the other two couldn't fill. To make matters worse, one of them was already taken, and engaged. The other was an ex-girlfriend that he'd never truly gotten over, despite him being the one to break it off.
If he could still change forms, he could shift into a smaller shape and slide out. Of course, if he could still do that, he wouldn't have survived the blast that destroyed this wing of the White House. Areth's sacrifice was turning into a blessing and a curse.
"Still with me, buddy?" the other man asked, his voice full of hope as seconds of silence stretched on and Eldon contemplated his situation.
"Don't call me buddy, either!" Eldon snapped and wiped a fresh sheen of sweat from his brow.
"Damn. Don't remember hearing about how touchy you were," the man groaned. "Look, man. Help me get out of here, and I'll praise your kind from here 'til Sunday. I can't do it on my own."
"Oh yeah?" Eldon sneered. "And if I don't, then what? You'll continue to curse my kind? Hell, I don't even have a kind! I'm the only one of me. Even my sister is different."
"No, if you don't then I'll be dead, and you'll prove my opinion of things from your world not being worth the attention they've been getting lately."
"First of all, we're not things." Eldon tried to push against the beam, to try to get it off his legs, but it wouldn't budge again. He needed to get out of here. He didn't doubt that he would survive this, even if the building burned down around him, but he didn't care to suffer the pain of burning alive. "I believe the president wanted to call us Lydonese. We might not be human, but that doesn't mean we're not people."
"Uh, yeah. Sorry. Got some changes to do to the way I think, I guess." Eldon heard the man panting for a moment before he continued. "Ugh. So... I guess you're as stuck as I am? Well, at least I know I'll be dying next to a patriot. I want you to know I really respect what you did for President Louise. I admit I didn't vote for her, and I don't agree with all her policies, but she's proven to be one tough lady. I... Whew, that fire is getting close..."
Eldon wished the man would just close his trap. He didn't want to listen to him. He didn't want to be stuck in this burning building, hearing some guy who didn't care about magical beings, spouting off about crap that Eldon couldn't care less about. He just wanted to get his legs free. If he could shift forms, he'd already be partway there. Maybe his ogre form, to move the beam? Wouldn't that give the other man a fright! Of course, knowing his intelligence level in that form, he'd likely eat the Secret Service agent. Serve him right for his rude comments.
No, he'd be better off changing into a snake and slithering out. He wouldn't need to be worried about being cold blooded. It was plenty hot in here. If he were a snake, he could slip out from under the beam, and then go over and bite the rude man. He deserved it for his comments.
His forked tongue slipped out, tasting the air to see where the man was. His body slithered across the uneven ground, unsure of which direction to go. All he could taste was smoke and fire. His natural instincts were to run from the conflagration, but it was all around. He couldn't see very well in this form....
In this form?
