[Captain America Crossover Fic] Golgotha Tenement Blues- Chapter 2
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Extreme violence, rape, adult language
Chapter 2- Dead Souls
//Hey//
….
//Hey, wake up. It’s time.//
Time for what?
//Time for you to go to work. You have a job to do, now BREATHE!//
The bottom dropped out of the world and, once again, he was falling at supersonic speed. The tiny pinpoint of light was rushing up to meet him, blazing in intensity as he got closer. It grew brighter and brighter still until there was a quick flash of dread that he would be incinerated. Light that intense had to be hot and soon there was nothing but the blinding glow.
And then, suddenly, it was black once again.
He found that he was laying flat on his back with his right arm resting on his chest. The sounds of his breathing were exceptionally loud wherever he was. Once again he lifted his hand up to touch his eyes to make sure that they were open. His left arm wouldn’t move when he tried and when he reached over with his right, his hand closed around an empty sleeve.
“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed…” he quoted sarcastically into the empty air.
//You had better get a move on. You don’t have too much air left.//
“Where am I supposed to be going?”
There was that annoyed sigh again.
//You can’t stay here. You need to push upwards with all your strength.//
“Uh, I apparently only have one arm?” He was slightly amused by the fact that this particular revelation didn’t bother him as much as one would think. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
//It doesn’t matter. You’re much stronger than you were before. Now-push!//
James shrugged. “If you say so.”
//I know so. Get going!//
So, he did. Reaching up with his right hand, he moved slowly until he touched something soft and silky less than a foot above his face that gave way to something harder beneath. He kept applying more pressure until he heard wood starting to creak.
//Yes, keep going.//
He pushed harder and the wood began to pop and snap. Dirt rained down onto his face and he flinched badly.
//No! Don’t stop. Keep pushing!//
James heaved with all his might and the wood barrier gave way in an avalanche of wet dirt. It quickly filled his mouth and nose, choking off the little air he had. Despite finding himself in such a dire situation, he didn’t panic. An odd calm settled over him and even though the soil above him was quite heavy, it wasn’t densely packed. In one fluid motion he was able to sit upright and get his legs underneath him to practically launch himself upwards. Clawing his way with one hand, he burst through the surface like Aphrodite born from the mud.
He gasped the sweet night air and hacked the putrid smelling muck from his lungs. When his body finished its convulsions, he dragged himself the rest of the way out of the ground. He found his legs were rubbery when he stood on them and managed to make it only a few steps before they gave out and he latched onto the nearby limb of a small dogwood tree to keep from crashing back down to the ground.
He turned his eyes upwards to the nighttime sky. It was raining. His breath plumed a cloud when he exhaled, but he didn’t feel cold at all. He could feel the cool dampness sinking into his skin, but other than his body registering the temperature, it didn’t affect him. Then he saw it. Silhouetted against the bright harvest moon, a shape flew towards him. James watched as a large crow, black as pitch, landed on the branch next to him. Its wings made no sound. If it weren’t for the way its eyes glinted from the low light, he would have thought it a hallucination. Until it cawed…loudly.
//Hello James. It’s nice to finally see you…in a manner of speaking.//
It was the same voice that he had been hearing in his head. It was coming from this bird. Or not, really. The bird didn’t make a sound, but the voice was still inside his head.
//Yes, you are correct. I’m inside your head, James and you are inside mine.//
“What does that even mean?” he said out loud to the crow.
//Oh, time for show and tell already? Alright…close your eyes.//
James eyed the bird skeptically for a moment before he complied. The minute his eyes slipped shut, he was greeted by the sight of himself clinging to a tree. “What the fuck?” he screeched, staggering backwards on unsteady legs before sitting down hard on the ground.
//I know it’s weird the first time, but you’ll get used to it. If you think that’s impressive, wait until you see this.//
He closed his eyes again as the crow took flight. It was like watching himself on television, but sharper. As the image of himself became smaller as the crow spiraled higher and higher, he found that he could still make out the finer details like the texture of the tree bark and the silver hoop earring in his left ear. Now given the benefit of an aerial view, he discovered that his location was that of a cemetery. He could easily make out all of the rows of headstones and the larger mausoleums. His stomach lurched as the crow darted to the right and looped around to land back on the same low branch as before.
James had once gone on a virtual rollercoaster ride at a mall. Even though the whole contraption moved in time to the video, you didn’t actually do any of the loops and big drops no matter how much your brain thought you did. This was very reminiscent of that. Even though he wasn’t the one who flying, he felt the pull of gravity break in the pit of his stomach as though he was. He could feel the crow smirking.
//Come on, you can admit it. There’s no one here but us. That was pretty awesome.//
“Yeah, I guess.”
//Hard to please, aren’t you? Well then, how about this?//
The bird cocked its head to the left and quickly to the right. James felt his lungs tighten with a sudden sense of impending doom when the crow stretched its body as tall as it could make itself and began flapping its wings. When it cawed, James felt it reverberate through his entire body.
“What the-“ was all he could get out before the pain started. It began small, like how a burn wound would before the intensity steadily grew. The suit jacket and dress shirt that was underneath were in tatters and seemed only to still be on him through sheer force of will. James grabbed them both in his right hand and pulled. They came away from his torso easily. The jagged stump that was revealed made him gasp. But then, right before his eyes, long black protrusions began to burst out of what was left of his arm. It felt like his veins were injected with lava. He could hear his own flesh tearing as more and more of these black spikes shot out from his arm.
He screamed then, with his mouth wide as all the agony he could offer poured out of it. The black spikes swirled in double helixes until a form could be recognized. When his voice gave out, James watched in mute horror as a jet-black humerus bone coiled down into an elbow joint, into a radius and ulna, and all the way down to a wrist and an actual hand with fingers. What he thought were spikes unfurled from their sheathing as downy feathers that wrapped around the newly-formed bones like bandages. The pain began to taper off slowly and he could feel his heartbeat slowing with each gulp of air.
//Try it out.//
To his utter amazement, the arm made a fist when he tried. The feather-bandages split open when James’s flexed to reveal a pale-skinned and muscled arm that looked almost exactly like his old one. There was one notable difference, however. His old arm didn’t come equipped with talon tipped claws, his new one did.
// Sorry, I can’t make it like it was. I have to work with what I’ve got.//
“It’s okay,” James offered as if he had any right to be choosy and reached out to brush away the rest of the feathers with his other arm.
//I think you’ll be happy with my handiwork. This one is better than your old one…stronger. You’re going to need it.//
“Yeah?” James barely spent a glance in the crow’s direction. He was still too mystified by the fact that he just re-grew an arm.
//Yeah. Now, come on it’s time to go.//
Cradling the new arm to his chest, he rose on still unsteady feet. When he attempted to take a step, his knees buckled and he had to throw out an arm to keep himself from going down. The crow took off towards the main gate of the cemetery. James took another step and then another. His legs shaking like a newborn calf.
“Why are my legs so weak?”
//You haven’t used them in a year.//
A year? Had it been that long? The crow was waiting, perched on the huge, iron gate while James stumbled along. The more he walked, the easier it became and when he finally caught up to the bird, he was only slightly limping. The crow took off down a nearby alley as soon as he was out of the cemetery and onto the street.
“Where are we going?” he asked as he did his best to keep up. It had only now occurred to him to question what exactly was happening here.
//Home.//
TBC...
Warnings: Extreme violence, rape, adult language
Chapter 2- Dead Souls
//Hey//
….
//Hey, wake up. It’s time.//
Time for what?
//Time for you to go to work. You have a job to do, now BREATHE!//
The bottom dropped out of the world and, once again, he was falling at supersonic speed. The tiny pinpoint of light was rushing up to meet him, blazing in intensity as he got closer. It grew brighter and brighter still until there was a quick flash of dread that he would be incinerated. Light that intense had to be hot and soon there was nothing but the blinding glow.
And then, suddenly, it was black once again.
He found that he was laying flat on his back with his right arm resting on his chest. The sounds of his breathing were exceptionally loud wherever he was. Once again he lifted his hand up to touch his eyes to make sure that they were open. His left arm wouldn’t move when he tried and when he reached over with his right, his hand closed around an empty sleeve.
“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed…” he quoted sarcastically into the empty air.
//You had better get a move on. You don’t have too much air left.//
“Where am I supposed to be going?”
There was that annoyed sigh again.
//You can’t stay here. You need to push upwards with all your strength.//
“Uh, I apparently only have one arm?” He was slightly amused by the fact that this particular revelation didn’t bother him as much as one would think. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
//It doesn’t matter. You’re much stronger than you were before. Now-push!//
James shrugged. “If you say so.”
//I know so. Get going!//
So, he did. Reaching up with his right hand, he moved slowly until he touched something soft and silky less than a foot above his face that gave way to something harder beneath. He kept applying more pressure until he heard wood starting to creak.
//Yes, keep going.//
He pushed harder and the wood began to pop and snap. Dirt rained down onto his face and he flinched badly.
//No! Don’t stop. Keep pushing!//
James heaved with all his might and the wood barrier gave way in an avalanche of wet dirt. It quickly filled his mouth and nose, choking off the little air he had. Despite finding himself in such a dire situation, he didn’t panic. An odd calm settled over him and even though the soil above him was quite heavy, it wasn’t densely packed. In one fluid motion he was able to sit upright and get his legs underneath him to practically launch himself upwards. Clawing his way with one hand, he burst through the surface like Aphrodite born from the mud.
He gasped the sweet night air and hacked the putrid smelling muck from his lungs. When his body finished its convulsions, he dragged himself the rest of the way out of the ground. He found his legs were rubbery when he stood on them and managed to make it only a few steps before they gave out and he latched onto the nearby limb of a small dogwood tree to keep from crashing back down to the ground.
He turned his eyes upwards to the nighttime sky. It was raining. His breath plumed a cloud when he exhaled, but he didn’t feel cold at all. He could feel the cool dampness sinking into his skin, but other than his body registering the temperature, it didn’t affect him. Then he saw it. Silhouetted against the bright harvest moon, a shape flew towards him. James watched as a large crow, black as pitch, landed on the branch next to him. Its wings made no sound. If it weren’t for the way its eyes glinted from the low light, he would have thought it a hallucination. Until it cawed…loudly.
//Hello James. It’s nice to finally see you…in a manner of speaking.//
It was the same voice that he had been hearing in his head. It was coming from this bird. Or not, really. The bird didn’t make a sound, but the voice was still inside his head.
//Yes, you are correct. I’m inside your head, James and you are inside mine.//
“What does that even mean?” he said out loud to the crow.
//Oh, time for show and tell already? Alright…close your eyes.//
James eyed the bird skeptically for a moment before he complied. The minute his eyes slipped shut, he was greeted by the sight of himself clinging to a tree. “What the fuck?” he screeched, staggering backwards on unsteady legs before sitting down hard on the ground.
//I know it’s weird the first time, but you’ll get used to it. If you think that’s impressive, wait until you see this.//
He closed his eyes again as the crow took flight. It was like watching himself on television, but sharper. As the image of himself became smaller as the crow spiraled higher and higher, he found that he could still make out the finer details like the texture of the tree bark and the silver hoop earring in his left ear. Now given the benefit of an aerial view, he discovered that his location was that of a cemetery. He could easily make out all of the rows of headstones and the larger mausoleums. His stomach lurched as the crow darted to the right and looped around to land back on the same low branch as before.
James had once gone on a virtual rollercoaster ride at a mall. Even though the whole contraption moved in time to the video, you didn’t actually do any of the loops and big drops no matter how much your brain thought you did. This was very reminiscent of that. Even though he wasn’t the one who flying, he felt the pull of gravity break in the pit of his stomach as though he was. He could feel the crow smirking.
//Come on, you can admit it. There’s no one here but us. That was pretty awesome.//
“Yeah, I guess.”
//Hard to please, aren’t you? Well then, how about this?//
The bird cocked its head to the left and quickly to the right. James felt his lungs tighten with a sudden sense of impending doom when the crow stretched its body as tall as it could make itself and began flapping its wings. When it cawed, James felt it reverberate through his entire body.
“What the-“ was all he could get out before the pain started. It began small, like how a burn wound would before the intensity steadily grew. The suit jacket and dress shirt that was underneath were in tatters and seemed only to still be on him through sheer force of will. James grabbed them both in his right hand and pulled. They came away from his torso easily. The jagged stump that was revealed made him gasp. But then, right before his eyes, long black protrusions began to burst out of what was left of his arm. It felt like his veins were injected with lava. He could hear his own flesh tearing as more and more of these black spikes shot out from his arm.
He screamed then, with his mouth wide as all the agony he could offer poured out of it. The black spikes swirled in double helixes until a form could be recognized. When his voice gave out, James watched in mute horror as a jet-black humerus bone coiled down into an elbow joint, into a radius and ulna, and all the way down to a wrist and an actual hand with fingers. What he thought were spikes unfurled from their sheathing as downy feathers that wrapped around the newly-formed bones like bandages. The pain began to taper off slowly and he could feel his heartbeat slowing with each gulp of air.
//Try it out.//
To his utter amazement, the arm made a fist when he tried. The feather-bandages split open when James’s flexed to reveal a pale-skinned and muscled arm that looked almost exactly like his old one. There was one notable difference, however. His old arm didn’t come equipped with talon tipped claws, his new one did.
// Sorry, I can’t make it like it was. I have to work with what I’ve got.//
“It’s okay,” James offered as if he had any right to be choosy and reached out to brush away the rest of the feathers with his other arm.
//I think you’ll be happy with my handiwork. This one is better than your old one…stronger. You’re going to need it.//
“Yeah?” James barely spent a glance in the crow’s direction. He was still too mystified by the fact that he just re-grew an arm.
//Yeah. Now, come on it’s time to go.//
Cradling the new arm to his chest, he rose on still unsteady feet. When he attempted to take a step, his knees buckled and he had to throw out an arm to keep himself from going down. The crow took off towards the main gate of the cemetery. James took another step and then another. His legs shaking like a newborn calf.
“Why are my legs so weak?”
//You haven’t used them in a year.//
A year? Had it been that long? The crow was waiting, perched on the huge, iron gate while James stumbled along. The more he walked, the easier it became and when he finally caught up to the bird, he was only slightly limping. The crow took off down a nearby alley as soon as he was out of the cemetery and onto the street.
“Where are we going?” he asked as he did his best to keep up. It had only now occurred to him to question what exactly was happening here.
//Home.//
TBC...