Irritation, joy and fear flashed through the arsonist's mind at the sight of Alice Thornhill standing just to the side behind him. She looked at him just like she did earlier when she held him by his throat and it unnerved him to the core. The fact that she was alive after everything was beyond proof there was something more unnatural, more inhuman, about her than just her disturbing eyes.

"Never met such a virago....." he started mumbling as he watched her slowly moving closer, he began to rush the plan of getting his dark green Cotroen open so he could be well on his way.

Then a growing realization struck him, the sound around him had stopped, he could see the wind blowing the trees around in the area and saw them sway but they made no sounds at all, the keys in his hand even after fishing them out of his pocket and fumbling them were unnervingly quiet even after he shoved the correct one into the door's lock, the loose keys which jostled with each other and bumped into the side of the door made not a note or chime, he could hear no sound around him at all...

Not his heart that he knew was now beating like a galloping racehorse. Not even the panicked gasps of breath leaving his mouth were heard.

It seemed as though the whole world had become mute.

The lack of sound, started to effect his body's movements throwing of the gait of his limbs, his balance, it seemed to shift like a rolling wave as his legs started to wobble. Vertigo quickly settled in as his body's equilibrium pulled him from side to side. It was only a glance at the door as this was happening that made him realize that Ali was even closer behind him.

He jumped and rolled to the side away from both her and the car, he lost his balance as he launched to his feet but quickly put an arm down for support he aimed his gun.

At nothing.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up, his body twisted forward in a second tight roll as he came up into a crouch, he fired. No noise came from the gun as it discharge twice. His jaw locked as perspiration trickled down his back in waves, as he battled the growing nausea that his movement produced, he could almost taste his breakfast again before forcing down the gaging reaction that was building.

Nothing was in front of him but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glimpse of the leather coat Alice was wearing earlier flowing in the air, just moving behind the car.

Beads of sweat raced down his face and arms as he shakily stood keeping a level gaze on the car, more so who he now believed was behind it. He slowly shuffled his feet, his breath and balance both short of what he needed but if she was somehow making or using this silence like a weapon then he would have to push through and hope it would dissipate, one of the biggest problems with his job was he had to be flashy but still remain quiet but with whatever was happening here he could had no choice but to finally cut loose.

'Okay, maybe she's not a virago but she's still way too violent and scary to ever be an expert. Just who is this girl?' The arsonist thought as he tried to get his body's coordination to work in soundless environment.

He used the time he had to fish out a second grenade from the backpack that came off his shoulder during his second roll on the ground, other than the remaining grenade he had in the bag was a device he had intended to use at her farm later in the evening.

'Just shoot her, blow her up or do both, then go burn down her farm. No that's just spiteful ......just burn her barn.' He stopped his mental musings as he saw movement behind the car.

He pulled the pin and threw the grenade over to the other side of the car while scrambling away and keeping an eye on the area.

Then she moved much faster, more graceful and more exposed than he expected but in the end he still pulled the trigger, three rounds left the gun in quick succession as he moved back and to the side trying to keep her pinned down near the car.

It seemed to be working to some degree, after the second bullet hit her just below her left shoulder he hoped near her heart but just below the colar bone exploding in a pool of blood and gore she'd stumbled back a few steps off balance but no real emotions of damage seemed to register on her face, also the fact she wasn't going down was really starting to scare him.

Then the grenade exploded.

The Cotroen's long body jerked sideways as one side lifted into the air hang vertically, it didn't roll over but as it crashed back to the ground all the windows shattered and fractured in one way or another before it settled back into place. The arsonist saw Ali launched from the blast into a nearby tree with a big impact and then the sound came back.

"Not sure if that's anticlimactic or something but..." The arsonist said happy to hear the sound of his own voice.

"Miss Thornhill.... no... Alice, I think I earned the use of our first names, we've been through alot together especially doors...ha... get it cause you hit me through a...ah well...good times." Never taking his eyes off her motionless form as he quickly made his way back to his bag for his last grenade.

"Well I'll just make sure, I watched enough horror movies as a kid to know at this point either you finish the job or you're just begging for trouble." He pulled the pin on the grenade and lobbed it at her prone form. "In your honor I'll make sure to burn your whole farm down, you earned it."

He waited for the explosion, then rain fell. He blinked the water out of his eyes as the grenade exploded.

Everything was back on track except he couldn't hear the explosion. He didn't understand but every thing was so heavy as the rain beat down on him, the gun slipped from his grasp clattering noiselessly next to his car. He turned trying to lift his hand to reach for the key still in the car door only to realize his body was falling to the earth.

----------------------------

["What!!"

"Wait...."

"Is that my body?"

"Am I dead? How...."

"That's not possible.......this can't be real."

"If I'm....no.... if I'm here how can I be there..."

"If my body's there....how are you holding me?" The adversary asked frantic as he looked down on his rapidly cooling body.

It was rushed but after fully experiencing the power of that object of thunder and fire the foe had to be subdued.

So a distraction with the rain to blind then just grab his spirit letting his body succumb.

"Ah, I understand, so what happens to me now?"

She blinked, her head turned sideways looking at him oddly like if the answer should be obvious.

Then her mouth opened wide, far wider than a normal person's should, to make room for her fangs, not her wards but hers. For the first time in an age she fed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"

Now that her domain was once again secure and she had devoured her prize, she could finally sleep.]