An Odyssey Towards Death

Darkness; typically it's construed as a place of dread, but not for the red-haired man. Ever since that… incident, the outside world became a place where anything could happen; but not in his murky room. The only things to reach him now were the terrors of his mind, which tormented him whether he was asleep or awake; nightmares of something after him. If he just stayed home, then he would be okay. He wished he could believe that, but with each reoccurring nightmare he got the feeling that the monster was getting closer.
He had no idea how right he was.
Tal'shen needed him. He had worked as a carrier for Lysanna, which meant he would work even better for her. All she had to do was sniff him out.
In the foggy drizzle, Tal'shen peered at the throngs of people who were screaming and running and thought that soon they would serve a purpose; as slaves and as cattle. Now that she was free, every passing second only reinforced her notion and she grew stronger, transforming into a behemoth to stomp her way to her carrier.
Below, Paul and Maya gazed through the hole in the ceiling, listening to the havoc.
"I've failed," Maya muttered.
Paul eased himself to the ground. "No," he said, "we haven't."
She announced heavily, "I want to believe you but Tal'shen and I are connected, all of our kin are, and I know nothing in this realm of rationality will stop her."    
"You brought me back from death; do you think that's rational?" Paul asked. "I know I don't and because of that we have something beyond the rational to fight with."
"What?"
"Me," Paul said. "And if you want proof, take my hand." With nothing to lose, Maya took it. "Hold on tight," Paul said and then lifted them through the hole.
Outside, Tal'shen was nowhere to be seen but her calling cards were everywhere. There were buildings and cars on fire, plumes of smoke in the distance, and rubble that stretched passed the horizon, all accompanied by screams, flashing lights and sirens. Paul wasted no time following the ominous breadcrumbs.
"We need to get to him before she does!" Paul screamed.
"Who?"
"The man who infected me," Paul answered.
A few minutes before they caught up to Tal'shen she reached the red-haired man, stopping for a moment to peer within his mind. He was trying to convince himself it was just another nightmare as he shivered in his bed. With massive arms she tore at the roof, clearing a way for a horde of tentacles. They found him and dragged him out, engulfing him, piercing his skin to pump in a new disease.
Paul and Maya arrived behind Tal'shen and landed behind an overturned car just before Tal'shen turned in their direction. Paul eased around the car and saw the red-haired man being wrapped in her flesh around the chest area. He gazed through the skin and saw countless numbers of eggs depositing themselves in the man's body.
"Maya," he whispered, "I need you to kill him before it's too late. I'll distract Tal'shen."
Without waiting for a response he flew into the air, saying to Tal'shen, "Remember me?"
"Impossible!" Tal'shen raged.
Maya stepped from behind the car during the exchange and waited for a clear shot but Tal'shen's numerous tentacles kept getting in the way. She gripped one of her throwing blades and waited.
"You should be dead human!"
"You've lied before," Paul responded.
"Not this time," Tal'shen roared, and with both hands and every tentacle, snatched at Paul.
Maya took her chance and hurled the blade while Paul dove towards Tal'shen. The blade cut through the man's neck, decapitating him.
"No!" Tal'shen howled.
While her mouth was in extremis, Paul dove inside in search of a single spore; the one that infected him.
Tal'shen raged both in and out, tossing debris at Maya in a blind fury while folding in on herself to look for Paul. But she was too late. He found the spore, it was suspended like a spider web, and tore it free, causing Tal'shen to convulse.
"What have you done?" She screeched.
Paul answered by crumbling the spore before punching a hole through the weakened Tal'shen, who toppled, turning into mush. As the drizzle turned to rain it washed her deteriorating remains into the sewers.
Paul landed next to Maya, pointed at the decapitated body and said, "Cremate it," before rising back into the air.
"Wait, where are you going?"
Paul looked down. "To the Deep. Tal'shen was only the beginning. Lysanna created something else and I need to stop it." He looked through Maya to what she really was and added, "Wait for me."
Paul soared through the air, seeking the beast from his dreams.