Chapter 50 #2
One hand left burnt skin behind as it clawed and tried to dig into the ground to break free, just to get at Ollie.
Each time the cluster ghost failed, it released screeches of fury, before suddenly it gave up, rolled, and launched itself at Noble, taking the hunter down to the ground.
As the two rolled violently, switching positions again and again as they fought for dominance, Ollie could only watch, as he was hesitant to get too close or risk being in the way.
Though he couldn’t help but time how long the cluster ghost’s hands directly touched Noble—how long it spent in his head.
Yet Noble never reacted, never flinched at its touch.
He just kept fighting until he managed to get the creature into a headlock.
Now partly immobilized, the cluster ghost shrieked and bucked again and again, trying to crush the witch hunter beneath it, who had also locked his legs around its middle.
Fear for the man, despite all he now knew, twisted in his stomach, as the creature began to claw at the arms around its neck, leaving gouges in its wake when touching the man had failed. In its many voices, it screamed, “WHY ISN’T IT WORKING?!”
Noble let out a breathless laugh. “Doesn’t work on me, motherfucker! Ollie, do it!”
Giving his head a shake, he crawled across the ground.
Hurrying over to them, he didn’t stop, even when his pants tore and his bare legs scraped across the pavement.
Kneeling beside Noble’s head, he pulled out the last potion and uncorked it, but as he went to pour, he hesitated.
He knew he shouldn’t care about hurting or accidentally poisoning Noble…
yet he did. Even now, he was worried about all the blood and the many scratches the man had gotten, and his previous bullet wound… He…just…
“Ollie!” Noble growled, when he didn’t use it.
“I-It’ll…get on you.”
“Just do it!” the man roared, grunting in pain as the cluster ghost slammed him hard against the ground, almost managing to flip them again.
With the hope that Noble’s jeans would keep him safe from the toxic ingredients inside, Ollie stumbled to his feet and threw the remaining potion as hard as he could at the lower half of the cluster ghost’s body.
As it shattered, the purple smoke returned, and Ollie, hopefully, for the last time, repeated, “I command thee, abomination of Jack Hayes. Unmerge what should not have merged, un-trap what has been trapped, and disperse all to where it belongs!”
The cluster ghost let out a terrifying shriek, worse than ever before.
The high-pitched sound almost pierced his skull, and was only getting louder by the second.
Then they were surrounded by a cascade of cracking noises that ended with the creature shattering like glass, becoming nothing but dust in seconds that disappeared between one blink and the next.
Taking a shuddering breath, while swaying a bit as his adrenaline crashed, he looked over at Noble and hesitated once again, unsure what he should do.
“Fuck,” Noble groaned painfully as he sagged on the ground, his chest heaving.
He was starting to wonder if he’d pulled something with how much his left shoulder hurt…
not to mention his right leg. He definitely needed more stitches, and had probably tugged out the ones he already had.
Taking a few more gasping breaths, Noble started to push to his feet, but froze when he locked eyes with Ollie.
The hollow look that had disappeared weeks ago was now back, and the redness underneath his eyes was clearly from crying. Ollie, honestly, looked exhausted, and his clothes were torn, dirty, and soaked from rolling around in the dank, filthy alleyway.
Ollie licked his lips, staring for a moment more, before he softly asked, “How did you know?”
Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, he pushed to his feet, stumbling slightly as his right leg almost gave out.
Noble couldn’t say he was shocked that Ollie reached for him, as if to stop him from falling.
Nor was he shocked when the man quickly tried to cover up the action by winding his hands together tightly. Ollie…Ollie was too kind.
“Jahla called me.”
“Of course—ha…” Ollie said tiredly, before swallowing and rasping, “Thank you.”
Noble knew he should respond, but as they quietly stared at each other, his courage failed him. And then he lost his chance.
“Thank you,” the witch repeated. “But…I… I can’t right now. I’m… I’m not ready to deal with…it.”
He cleared his throat. “Understood. I…left your, uh, messenger bag—along with a bag of your dirty clothes and other things that you left at my house—just outside the alleyway. There are…no cameras in this alley to worry about, and I…didn’t actually hear any sound until I stepped into it.
While I…can’t explain that, it does mean no one should have heard any of what just happened. But…I’m… I’ll just…go.”
With that, Noble turned and walked away. He didn't care that he was limping, he just forced himself to keep walking, even though his heart ached for him to go back. At least…he could be happy knowing he hadn’t been too late… Ollie was safe, and that had to be enough to keep him going.
Opening one of the front doors of the library and walking in, Ollie let it swing shut behind him. Despite finding Red and Jahla sitting there, holding themselves stiffly at the foot of the steps, with worry etched on their faces, he limped past them, saying nothing.
He was tired, and he just couldn’t deal with any of it right now. As angry, hurt, and drained as he was, Ollie was thankful they didn’t try to stop him.
Moving mindlessly, Ollie eventually found himself in the secret library.
He laid down where Pumpkin used to, and stared blankly up at the painted night sky, before slowly closing his eyes and trying not to think.
To not be hurt, for just a moment, by what he could only define as a betrayal by three very important people in his life—even if one of them was a cat.