The rain is torture. Every drop beating against her back brings new agony. Dizziness threatens to engulf her. No...I must be strong...that creature will not take me, nor Gabriel, she silently vows, gritting her teeth.

Zig-zag zig-zag through a labyrinth of ominous back streets and alleys. Shadows and light, shadows and light as the ceaseless downpour continues to deluge the city. She scarcely notices Gabriel next to her, nor the frowning concern in his eyes as he glances at her from time to time. Buildings, trees, cars, blurred to indistinct forms by the rain, all pass them by, highlighted occasionally by the flashes of lightning.

The familiar bulk of her backyard fence looms up. It cannot have been more than 5 minutes since they left the exhibition gallery, yet time mocks them, by seeming to stand still. Her fingers fumble at the rusted latch of the wooden backyard door. Gabriel's fingers close over hers, startling her. "Best let me do it Bronx, we're running way short on time." A terse nod. The dull throbbing in her head prevents her from retorting as is her wont.

A muted click, a push and they are inside. The rain has not slackened., the smell of wet cement and earth mingling in their nostrils. She motions Gabriel towards a set of french windows and starts towards them herself.

Eerie silence. The dim lights of the living room hurt her eyes. A sudden wave of dizziness and nausea. "Bronx, you all right?" Gabriel's voice startles her from amidst the pain.

"I'll be fine." She shrugs off his hand on her elbow. I can't show weakness...not now...

Gabriel is kneeling on the floor, looking at something she cannot make out. "We don't have all day Bronx unless you want to be dinner." His voice is edgy, slightly irritated.

"I'd welcome the opportunity but it means I get digested with you," she shoots back tersely. She moves to the bedroom. More pain, fresh nausea at each movement.

Shattered glass everywhere. A lingering stench of rotting earth and decay. She fights the nausea and the sudden fear. The beach house key is on the dresser, she snatches it up with bloodstained fingers and grabs her black duffel bag from the hanging peg. Cabinets jerked open, wardrobe ransacked as she rapidly tosses in necessary items.

From the living room, Gabriel's voice sounds, urgent and terse. "Bronx, let's go. Now."

A bright glimmer catches her eye. Her eight-sided mirror on the floor. Quickly she stoops to snatch it up, fingers closing tightly about it. A moment's hesitation, then she yanks open the dresser drawer and stuffs some old books and papers into her backpack.

The howling. She notices it at once as soon as she steps out of the bedroom. Gabriel is holding a small zip-lock bag in one hand, his face tense. "We..."

CRASH The door suddenly splinters with a sickening crack of old wood snapping. A blaze of burning bulbous eyes and there it stands, in all its hellish decay. The stench is overpowering, the crawling feel of evil in the air a tangible presence, chilling, paralyzing, nauseating. The hideous gaze burns into Bronx's own. You WILL be mine...you cannot escape mortal...

Pain. More nausea, waves of dizziness and fear. You'll not have me, hell-spawn...never in this lifetime...Her eyes, bloodshot and defiant, meet the creature's gaze.

Eternity as time mocks and seems to stand still. Her eyes travel the creature's body in horrid fascination. Long, unnaturally thin limbs, a twisted, misshapen torso, a face oddly wrenched out of shape. A grotesque imitation of the human form, made more frightening by the intelligence in the burning eyes. A living nightmare from the depths of some surreal Fuseli painting, blurred and unnatural. Its skin pulsates faintly, unpleasantly reminiscent of an ooze. The fetid stench seems to cloak it in an almost tangible aura, distorting reality upon its every movement. A stench of..putrid earth perhaps, sickly and pungent. A hiss, almost a demonic cackle that reverberates in her head, increasing the agony of pain.

Gabriel's hand comes to grip her wrist in an iron grasp, forcing her back behind him. "Stay back Matsu." His voice, harsh, determined, hurts her ears.

Matsu Kajima...you are mine...I will take you whenever I choose. Her head pounds. The creature's voice drips with malice in her mind, mocking her pain. The burning eyes bore right into her battered, torn body, gloating, laughing.

Anger. She can feel it rising within her, hatred for this thing that feeds on her weaknesses, haunts her dreams. No you will not have any part of me, you demon...you spawn of deepest darkness. Her fingers grasp the cold pristine edges of the eight-sided mirror still in her hand.

A sudden screech from the creature, an unearthly howl. A limb tentacle-like in movement and form writhes towards Gabriel. She turns her gaze to him sharply, tugging at the hand which still has her wrist in an inflexible grasp.

The talisman in his hand glimmers with a bright, almost unnatural luster. Another screech from the creature as it hisses madly. You fools...you cannot destroy me....the hisses screech in her mind, causing her unbearable agony as the throbbing pain in her temples increase. Her hand grips the mirror and brings it up slowly. You will burn in hell, hell-spawn...I'll not bow to your demands...

A step forward. Gabriel's furious growl of "Bronx GET BACK!" she ignores, wrenching her wrist free from his hand. The mirror glints vengefully as she raises it to eye level, facing it straight at the creature. Her soft voice is barely audible above the screeching howls. "Go back to hell, you misbegotten demon..."

The tormented, unearthly howl that follows almost makes her cry out in pain. Her free hand flies to her temple, eyes narrowed, teeth gritting. Another step forward. Gabriel's hand catches at her wrist. "What the hell do you think you're...Bronx get back here. NOW!" She thrusts him away.

Lightning tears the sky again, reflecting in the mirror. The creature hisses demonically, slimy gobs of ooze dripping from the unnaturally long sharp fangs. Another step forward, mirror held out. The creature writhes, as if in agony, the hisses becoming weaker.

A sharp intake of breath from Gabriel. "Not bad for a novice..." His hand comes to rest against the small of her back. Another step forward, together this time. Talisman and mirror. Pain wracks her body, oddly enough Gabriel's touch is comforting. Even in the midst of this nightmare she marvels. I must be going crazy...to think of irrelevancies like this now...

The creature's head droops, almost as if dispirited. The screeching is weak and raspy now. Another step forward, and it flails back with a strangled hiss. Its elongated, misshapen head jerks up and catches in the exposed wiring of one of the ceiling lamps.

Sparks. A bone-chilling screech as the flailing creature attempts to free itself. Smoke and a horrible smell of singed decay, inhuman howls tearing through the air, a sizzle and a sudden roar as the creature's head is engulfed in flame.

The gasping cry comes from her own lips, the voice of a stranger. Gabriel's hand grabs her blouse, jerks her back. The smell chokes the breath from her lungs, horrible, a tainted conglomeration of burning humus, dead earth, decay. The pain in her head increases a hundredfold. A thousand red-hot needles pierce her back with agony. Oh god what living hell is this...

Smoke. Soft, horrible popping sounds. The creature starts to shrivel even as the flames spread, parts of its body dropping onto the floor. Squirming limbs inch, worm-like, across the hardwood, soft plopping noises as the innards seem to ooze out and mutate into shapeless blobs of distorted yet still terribly human body parts.

Gabriel's hand grips her wrist, jerks her forward. "Come on, move it lady..." Dimly she is aware of the creature stumbling towards the splintered door, the severed scorched bits rolling with it in a horrible, undulating mass. My paintings....oh god thank god....my paintings aren't on fire...

A torrent of rain slaps her in the face, making her gasp and blink. She does not remember stumbling through the shattered remnants of the door. Pain rips her body apart with vicious claws. Gabriel's fingers grip her wrist still, a reminder of reality. The ominous stench of rotting earth and burning assails her senses. A thrill of horror snakes down her spine.

It writhes, horribly misshapen, a surrealistic skeleton of scorched smoke and decaying stench. The rain has doused the flames, charred wisps of gore and ooze dripping to the ground in sluggish plops. A menacing hiss, stronger in intensity. A shriveled gnarled stick of a limb stirs. Another hiss.

A sharp tug on her wrist. Gabriel. "We're going to have to make a run for it Bronx..." His voice is tense, gritty. The rain beats on her throbbing wounds, every nerve screaming in agony. A terse nod; she does not trust herself to speak. Her fingers tremble, icy against the cold surface of the mirror.

A howl, a sudden dark blur as the creature lunges. Its coordination is oddly out of kilter, as misshapen as its appearance. The overpowering reek of long dead bodies, tainted earth and musty decay a shroud that chokes her.

The mirror gleams cold and bright. Somehow her leaden arms raise it above her head as she screams into the rain, "Leave...me..BE!" Her voice is hoarse and strained, even to her own ears. Dimly she feels Gabriel jerk her forward; a leap and a stumble as she falls against cold hard steel.

An inhuman shriek, followed by a screech and a hiss of malignant frustration. Gabriel's arms suddenly swing her up, setting her onto his bike. His arms come around her; a sudden sharp pain as he bumps against her back. "Hang on Bronx..." His voice is gritty, tense.

Another chilling howl; from the corner of her eye she sees the creature fall back with a hiss of pure rage. The sudden roar of the bike's engine startles her; one hand presses tight to her temple, a slight whimper of agony escapes her lips. Pounding pain. A sudden blinding rush of wind, a tremendous jerk that sends her forward against the bike's controls. "This may hurt some..." Gabriel's voice is dry, taut and humorless. A sharp turn; a sudden stench of decay that almost seems to brush her face, a lingering screech of pure fury that slowly echoes away into the beating rain.

"That was to close for comfort." Gabriel's hand touches her cheek for a brief moment, a gesture of rough tenderness. "You all right?" The air is clean and cold, the rain slackened to a hard drizzle.

A quick nod; the slight movement sends agony through her head. "Yeh...I'm fine." No weakness, not now...I have to find the beach house...I can't give in...

Strong...I must be strong. "Follow the road Gabriel...all the way till you reach Atlantic Avenue, turn down..." A fit of coughing wracks her frame. "Turn down 24th Street." She is trembling hard now. Cold, aftermath of shock, fear. Her voice quivers on the brink of a stammer. "24th Street...a..all the way down, second t..turning on t..the left. Down th..the dirt path to the end."

She does not see Gabriel's face, drawn with concern as he looks down at her, eyes softened. "Down to Atlantic, turn on 24th, down till second left turn. Down dirt path. That right?" She nods once, not trusting herself to speak. Her arms wrap tightly around herself, she is shaking hard. "Then get some rest. I'll wake you when we get there."

She nods slowly. The rain patters down on her cold face. I can't show weakness...I must be strong....I must...be...strong...

"Bronx....Bronx..." The voice seems oddly far away. Gabriel's voice. Pain floods her senses, forcing her into consciousness. "We...we're not...moving...." she murmurs through numb lips.

Strong arms slip around her, lifting her up. "We're here Bronx. Where's your key?" Her fingers are like ice, dull, unresponsive. She fumbles in her pocket, pulls out the small bunch of keys. Her head is pounding, her back raw with agony.

A squeak, a creak. Darkness. Silence. Gabriel's voice muttering. A sudden blinding flare. He's found the light switch...her brain reasons numbly. The familiar objects slowly emerge into focus the Hung Liu painting, the calligraphy, the bamboo sofa. She feels herself being laid down gently. The pain almost makes her cry out, her eyes water. Then everything slowly slips into merciful unconsciousness...