Henry laughed when the top of his thigh pulled away from his hip. The torso that had been hanging on so tight went flying backward. The end of Henry's leg sailed outward as the torso drooped toward the floor, but nothing sprayed forth from the freed limb.
"The countdown begins!" Ernie cheered below.
The anchoring point now gone, Henry shot upward. The torsos above bent higher, teasing the ones above who tried to reach for him. One below, now inspired, grasped onto his remaining leg, halting his ascent. Those above missed him by a few inches. They kept waving their hands downward, believing there was a chance, but he descended a ways.
"Haha! Look at how greedy they are!" He roared.
"I say they're taking their sweet time." Ernie snickered.
"Ah!" Henry called, "You must be talking about that time with the mist maidens."
The torso that still had a hold on his right arm was also inspired. Having reestablished itself, it bent itself backward, putting everything it had into pulling on its catch. This caused Henry to drift in that direction, but there were points of newfound inspiration all around him.
"Funny they call themselves maidens!" Ernie laughed.
"What about this mist part?" Henry laughed back, hearing the threads in his sleeve ripping.
"Right?" Ernie called. "As soon as they found us, they might as well have renamed themselves!"
There was a loud pop, and Henry was sailing off to his left while his right arm was racing the other way.
"Yeah!" he cheered. "Blistering gales!"
The group of torsos that still had him from above had to stabilize his position while the one below was still determined to have his remaining leg.
"More like biting squalls!" Ernie offered.
"Ha! Flurries!" Henry offered back.
"I like it!" Ernie shouted. "Biting flurries!"
"Cut you right in half, they did!" Henry laughed.
He shot upward when his other leg popped free, sending the determined torso flying backward.
His other limbs were still floating about the wall of torsos. No longer interested in the main body, they grouped themselves around these morsels, tugging on either end.
"They keep pulling the wrong one!" Ernie laughed.
"Saving the best for last!" Henry called.
One of the nearby torsos wrapped both arms around his chest. This had anchored him in place again. The torso that had grasped his head on either side hadn't lost its hold despite the turmoil. It saw its opportunity and began pulling once more. At the same time, two torsos were pulling on his remaining arm.
"Which goes first, ya think?" Ernie asked.
"This guy above seems pretty focused." Henry laughed.
"Or maybe they're just that vicious!" Ernie added.
"I was beginning to get that vibe." Henry grunted.
It was when Ernie saw a certain smile come upon Henry's face that he knew which team won. The creaking break came first, and then Henry's head left his neck for heights unknown. As fast as it ascended, Ernie caught a last glimpse of his final expression. It was that specific smile.
How fitting, he thought, and lifted his free hand. Henry's remaining arm was still attached, but his hand loosened its grip. The rifle he thought he'd have to replace dropped free. In the few seconds it fell toward Ernie, the holes left in Henry's body swelled with a bright light. Beams of the same color shot forth, causing many of the surrounding torsos to lean away with a hiss. Those that still had a hold on him let go to bend backward. The only one that stayed was the torso that had wrapped its arms around his chest as the light within
spilled forth.
The rifle landed in Ernie's outstretched hand right as the space above disappeared inside a swelling luminescence.
"And here we go." Ernie chuckled, hunching down as everything around him rumbled.