Slatepocalypse: Unlocked Arcanum

Out on the street there were bikers taking shots at the bell tower from behind parked cars. CJ immediately recast Now You Don’t upon leaving the hardware store. He took it all in as he watched what was unfolding. Wells was trying to force the church door open, and Tobias was barking orders at the five others. Two of which crouch jogged up to either side of the door that Wells was working on. Tobias kept Rubio pinned down with alternating fire from his three goons. CJ knew this had to end soon but his reluctance to kill humans melted away from him once he saw the sorry state of that woman.

First, he’d have to give Rubio the chance to fight back. He cast choking hazard on all three of the goons firing up at the bell tower. That dropped his mana by another thirty points. With that and his expenditure in the hardware store, he was still sitting at ninety mana. As the small multicolored objects made of solidified mana entered the windpipes of the three bikers, all their guns dropped to the ground. They then began grasping at their own throats desperately trying to breath. Tobias noticed they had stopped and spun his head to the right looking at them. That was the same time the effect of Now You Don’t was cancelled on CJ.

“I tried to do this the civilized way, but you insisted on proving me wrong with your barbarism. I’m now a murder and I have all of you to thank,” said CJ in a monotone voice.

“Fuck you, darkie! I’m going to gut your black ass,” screamed Tobias as he lifted his machete and ran full sprint at CJ.

CJ cast smoke screen again engulfing the area around the cars in a thick grey and black smoke. Tobias took several blind swings bellowing like an injured howler monkey. CJ just kept his distance watching the man stumbling around in rage. Then he heard the cracking of wood as the church door gave way. That was enough of a distraction to CJ that he missed dodging the next swing from Tobias. CJ felt a thump on his head as more mana regeneration poured into his body. He hardly had time to enjoy it before Tobias tackled him to the ground.

“Got you now you son of a bitch. Originally, we thought we might have to fight off some more of those flaming pitchfork fucks. I’ll happily carve you up instead,” said Tobias as he slowly brought his blade closer to CJ’s neck.

CJ started to freak out. This man was vastly stronger than he was. With what little kinetic energy was being used, he didn’t think his barrier would help. In his panic he couldn’t gather enough of his will power to cast another spell. That’s when Tobias rolled off of him. CJ heard a thud and then there was no more movement. Gunfire erupted from inside the church. CJ scrabbled back to his feet and cleared his smoke spell. The splinters of the doors lay on the sidewalk. Wells and company were nowhere to be seen. CJ canceled his smoke cloud to see an unconscious Tobias lying on the ground bleeding from a head wound. The barefoot woman was standing over his body brandishing a 2X4 with some blood and hair on it. Elena was finishing off the three choking goons with her chainsaw.

“You said you were going to help. Go help,” complained Elena gesturing to the church with one hand while working the chainsaw blade out of one of her victims.

“Jesus Christ! What have we become?” stuttered CJ as he backed away from the grisly scene.

One of the bikers came stumbling out of the church doors with bullet holes in his chest. He went down to one knee before Monty appeared to fly through the door catching him in the head with a spinning round house kick. It sent the dying man sprawling to the sidewalk outside. Blood fountained out of the man before passed spattering the brick exterior walls of the church. This was turning into charnel house and CJ’s mind couldn’t grasp it all.

“Come fucking down here you sniper piece of shit!” yelled Wells at the back of the church.

Inside the church, Monty was sprinting between the pews and distracting the lone biker who wasn’t Wells. He kept taking shots and swearing at the large hare. CJ entered the church and flung three cards at the gunmen. They were the four, eight, and ten of diamonds. The first two scored lines across the man’s arm but the ten sunk directly into his forehead. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he pulled the trigger twice more as he fell backwards. As CJ leaned on one of the nearby pews for support, he took another one of those hard shots center mass. His mana shot up by twenty points again only this time he barely swayed with the hit.

“Impossible. I know I killed you the first time and I hit you with another critical shot just now. What the fuck are you?” asked Wells while lining up another shot on CJ.

CJ didn’t give him a third opportunity, he dove behind a pew and started crawling. His mana was back up over one hundred. He decided to go ignored again. He stood up and noticed Wells overlooking him as he scanned the room. A plan started to form in CJ’s head. He knelt down and took an object out of his storage. When he popped back up Wells was looking out of the church doors at Elena and the barefoot woman. He pulled a bottle from his bag and stuffed a rag in it real quick. As he went to light it the jack of diamonds cut the piece of cloth closest to his lighter away. That brought his attention back to CJ who now came forward in Wells sight as the effects of the spell were broken.

“How many of my people did you kill? I don’t hear any fighting outside. Just that damn chainsaw engine. How many you piece of shit!? You think you’re a hero don’t you. You may be bullet proof, but I’ll bet you burn really good. I’d much rather hang you for what you’ve done here today but my boys will understand,” rambled Wells as he and CJ circled each other finally switching positions in the church.

CJ was shuffling his cards and maintaining eye contact with Wells. Every time Wells moved his lighter to the remnants of the rag, CJ would fling another card forcing him to duck or dodge. The helmet with the skull on it just stared at CJ for a moment.

“Throw your damn card if you think it’ll get here before I throw this,” challenged Wells.

“That all depends.”

“On what?”

“On weather or not Rubio has the shot and Monty got out yet,” said CJ not taking his eyes off Wells.

It was in that moment Wells realized he’d been had. Playing chicken with the card dealer forced him to forget the whole reason he’d come into the church to begin with, the sniper. Everything happened at once after that. A bunny shot through the church entryway to the outside. Wells lit and tossed the Molotov at CJ before dropping the lighter and speed drawing his Beretta to point it at the stairwell leading up. Rubio had his rifle braced against the curve of the stairwell aiming in Wells general direction. There was blood running down his right arm. Wells smiled under the biker helmet as he realized Rubio didn’t have the shot, but the Molotov didn’t burst. Wells fired at the stairwell at the same time Rubio fired. Wells dove backward noting CJ had one arm up at the exact angle of toss. Then Rubio’s bullet struck, only he wasn’t aiming for Wells. There was propane tank sitting in one of the pews.

The tank exploded making Wells a sticky mess in the now burning interior of the church. Eight pews were blasted apart sending wooden shrapnel in all directions. CJ was flooded with mana before glow of his kinetic shield winked out. He was floored by the air compression and slammed into the wall on his side of the room. His mana was at full, and he had several pieces of wood shrapnel embedded in his body. The pain was excruciating. So much so he couldn’t even begin to force his way out of the rubble. Soon after there was the sound of a loud crash followed by a deep bone reverberating bong as the ceiling gave way.