~ "Alright guys," said Takyle. "It's been a long day, why don't we try to sleep for 6 or so hours and then we can move on?" Jaden nodded sleepily and pulled his boots back on to grab a few more pieces of firewood before sinking down on top of his sleeping bag and falling immediately into a deep sleep.
What seemed like only minutes later, Jaden was pulled abruptly from his dreams by a shrill scream. He jolted awake and lay perfectly still, his eyes searching the black trees around them. The woods were silent. He had just decided that he must have only dreamed it when another shriek tore through the forest.
The fire had all but burned out, but by the glimmer of light that it cast Jaden saw Andrew's hand move to his knife as he raised himself up. He reached over and tapped Takyle's shoe to rouse her.
"Are you awake Jaden?" he whispered.
"Yes."
"That's the second scream I've heard-" Just then another shriek cut him off. When it died he continued. "That's the third scream I've heard."
"Me too."
"What the hell is it?" asked Takyle. A fourth shriek coming from the other side of the clearing made Jaden jump.
"I don't know, but it doesn't sound human to me," answered Andrew grimly. "Jaden, put out the fire. Takyle, grab a couple of thick pieces of wood that we can use as weapons if we need them." Jaden pulled out his hatchet and loosened his knife in it's sheath while Andrew freed himself from his sleeping bag. Another horrifying scream reverberated off of the hills around them, this time seeming to come from atop the trees.
Andrew was right; it didn't sound exactly human. But it also didn't sound like any animal that Jaden had ever seen. He felt his heart race and a rush of adrenalin steadied his hands. Another scream answered the last one, closer this time, and Jaden was brutally reminded of some of the things he had read about. Demons and harpies, soulless nightmare beings, damned to tread the earth. He reminded himself firmly that these things are not real.
"In a live-sim, anything can be real," his mind answered, coldly. A second animalistic scream joined the first. Either the things were moving quickly, or there were a lot of them. Jaden stood in a triangle with Takyle and Andrew, scanning the line of trees and the deeper darkness between. He whipped his head around when he heard a twig snap and thought he saw movement to his left. There was nothing there. The screams continued, closer together now, and always moving.
"I don't much like being prey," mused the voice in Jaden's mind. He gripped his hatchet tighter, his eyes always moving, heartbeat pounding in his ears.
"Oh just come out and fight already," he murmured aloud.
"Guys, if we do have to engage...whatever this is, stay close. Don't get drawn away from camp by the fight," warned Takyle, hefting her club.
"Maybe they'll just move on and leave us alone," said Andrew.
"Doesn't sound like they're interested in moving on to me, Andy," Jaden whispered. "Sounds to me like they're circling for the kill."
"How very optimistic of you Jaden," said Takyle.
"Well you know me; I try to be a realist."
"Thought you were going to leave that to me."
"Yeah well, you can have the job back if we live through this." Jaden's eyes jerked to the right when he saw a branch move. At first he thought that there was nothing there, and then he saw a pair of eyes, glittering back at him in the faint moonlight. There was more movement beside it and another shadowed form came into view. He heard Takyle draw a deep breath and felt Andrew stiffen behind him, but didn't take the time to look and see what horrors each of them was facing. He knew that the time had come.
The beasts lumbered forward. Nightmare beings they were. Slightly taller than a man, and definitely broader; their shoulders tapered up to a thick, short neck that held a head twice the size of a human's. Two horns, curved like a ram's and thick as the breadth of Jaden's hand, curled out and down, shadowing their faces.
One of them tilted its head back and issued that wretched shriek and they broke into a run. Jaden heard screams coming from behind him as well and felt his mates move to defend. He roared a battle cry in response to the creatures' wail and took four strides forward to meet the beasts halfway.
The first of the two to meet him took a wide swipe with a clawed hand, and Jaden ducked low to avoid it, temporarily throwing himself off balance. He came up on the beast's right and swung his hatchet hard, burying it in the thing's shoulder. The creature roared and whirled at him, jerking the hatchet right out of Jaden's hand. Jaden danced back and watched with dismay as the beast grabbed the shaft of his hatchet and ripped it out of its own shoulder with a jerk, dropping it on the ground. It didn't seem to be that bothered by the wound. The second beast roared and lumbered around its compatriot with surprising agility to take up the fight.
Jaden shifted his makeshift club to his right hand and bolted forward again. The second beast took a swing at him that he successfully deflected with his club, but by the time he pulled the unwieldy thing back to strike, the beast's defenses were back up. The first creature was already on him again, though blood poured from its shoulder, reflecting wet and black in the moonlight.
Jaden ducked another swing from the second beast and drove his club straight up into its groin. From its reaction he could tell immediately that these things had the very same weakness as the one he'd found on Frank Hursey when he was seven and the older boy was trying to beat him up in the alley behind the school. Handy.
Jaden dodged right to avoid the first beast's clumsy left-handed grab and delivered a quick jab to where the thing's kidney would be if it were human. It didn't seem swayed at all, but did turn too sharply to follow him, overcompensating slightly. Jaden took the opportunity afforded him and grabbed its wounded arm, wrenching it around. He heard a sickening pop and the arm became unnaturally loose as the shoulder slipped out of joint. The beast bellowed in rage and whipped around, but by then Jaden had let go and dodged back again.
He glanced over to keep tabs on the second beast and was shocked to see that the creature was already trying to get back to its feet. So they were more resilient than Frank Hursey apparently. For a split second he considered throwing his dagger at the thing while it was relatively still, but just as quickly dismissed that idea. That was exactly what he needed; for his knife to be carried off, buried in the back of some hellish beast. He had no idea what kind of hit could possibly be fatal on these things.
Instead he ran at the first beast, then dodged around the thing at the very last possible moment. He continued at full speed, heading for the second creature on its knees. He raised his club over his head and brought it down with a jarring crash into the base of the beast's scull. The wood cracked, splintering into several pieces, and the beast fell forward. Jaden flipped the jagged piece of wood in his hands over and drove it with all his might into the creature's back. He felt the thing lurch and quiver and then go still. Jaden spun back to face the first beast, his hand reaching for his knife, but he was too late. A deafening roar filled his ears and pain shot up his neck as the creature, already caught up with him, clamped onto his shoulder with a clawed hand. Those things were quicker than he gave them credit for.
The beast lifted him easily off his feet with its one uninjured arm and heaved him away from the creature on the ground. Jaden landed hard on his side and for a moment, lay stunned. He struggled to get back to his feet and pull his knife and found that his right arm was dead numb and completely useless to him. From inches behind him he heard another shriek and rolled over to find the beast with the wounded arm standing over him. It roared again and as it raised its head to the moonlight Jaden finally caught a glimpse of the its face. And he dearly wished that he hadn't. ~
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