Rocks bounce across the dead grass. Feet tear the soil from its resting place. Legs fight fiercely to move. Torsos shift to find our what is moving. Lungs inflate and deflate rapidly. Hears beat wildly.
All while it moves. All while it chases.
TITHBURRSSSH
Dirt spurts lightly into the as the round tears through the brown flesh. While I sprint forward I drag my gun to me and attempt to reload. I dart past a tree, and attempt to duck. Branches sadly still manage to smack my face as I sweep past the barky structure. Wind rushes all around me, and the path fades from my sight.
Without hesitating I leap forward. Pain radiates from my shoulder as my side smashes into the dirt. The air above me bursts into a torrent of activity. I can feel it moving all around me. Wind dances across my rolling body. Suddenly, jolts of pain rush down my right arm.
As I roll to a stop, I notice a sickeningly black limb reaching down for me. Drips of fresh blood drop from the fingertips. The claws stretch down to finish the job, but its lunging attack drags it over and past me.
I grab my arm in attempts to stop the increasing warm sensation. From the looks it the blades just barely scratched me. Slowly I pull myself back to my feet. My eyes scan wildly back and forth as I hunt for the hunter.
Again it leaps. Jon jumps to the ground, his stomach crashing hard. Soaring feet above him, the creatures and his razor claws reach desperately to find their mark. CLANK. Sparks radiate from the circular disk resting on Jon's back. Again the monster missed.
It vanishes downward again, leaving the average black shadow on the ground to show its existence. I stop in my tracks. My eyes are focused upon the patch of black. It doesn't move. Wait. No, it shoots to the left. It stops.
In a flash it darts to the right.
"Mark, you twit, run like a coward!" Jon screams as he shuffles to his feet.
Shooting across the ground it heads straight for the unmoving fool. Suddenly there is some life in the boy. He throws his shield to his front. Massive, bulky arms brace the metal as he stands his ground.
"Will you move?" Again Jon yells to his brother, but again, his brother does not move.
Instead, he does something I did not expect. Taking off in a dash, he runs head long at the cloud. Sprinting quickly, he approaches the target. Closer the two move. Soil bursts behind the man, a trail of dark drifts in the wake of the Corrupted.
Explosion of darkness rips from the ground. Leaping high, the figure makes his move. Shield at the ready. Sword pulled from the sheath and left to glint in the dull light. Mark makes his attack. Smashing together, the cloud almost absorbs the man. The shield lands firmly in the center of the mass. The blade swipes fast against the blur of black.
Nothing.
The cloud rushes straight past the warrior. Neither one's weapons strike the other; the monster blades missed, while the tangible weapons of the boy did nothing to the untouchable matter. Bursting into the ground again, the form takes to flight. Zig-zagging through the trees, it shoots off. It heads for Nathanos.
Holding his ground as well, the undead fool braces his bow at his side and lets loose a shot. A whistle rings loudly from the slender wood. The tip guides the prefect item devastatingly towards its target. Closer, the arrow and cloud come together.
Bullseye!
The arrow nails the fiend directly in the center. But nothing. It keeps moving. The arrow did nothing! Oh no, it is closing in on him. Emerging from the ground the figure leaps again.
Stepping forward, I let loose a cry. "Move, Nathanos, move!"
Almost as if he actually listened to me, he leaps upwards grabbing a hold of one of the thick branches. Pulling his body upward, he easily averts the creature below. It vanishes once again. Then it slows. Moving to the side it appears to be searching for…no…
It takes off at an unbelievable speed. Dodging the trees, it moves towards the slower target. The older man cannot move like the rest of us. There is no way he is going to be able to make it. You must give him aid. He must help the man.
Reacting fast my legs hear my voices' commands. The ground's unwillingness is nothing for my determination. Faster I approach the man, but the figure is too fast. Drawing near, I am too late. Bursting from the ground the figure shifts forward in its diabolic path. Its blades glisten from light unseen, sparkling their deadly teeth.
It moves closer. The air reeks of the death coming. Then Carlin reacts. Spinning, he moves his shield beautifully. Bouncing uselessly, the weak stabs of the monster do nothing to the man. However, this time, it seems the Slayer has found the one he truly desires.
Jumping forward, the Slayer throws his ghostly limbs wildly at the man. He is able to absorb the blows easily, but the creature is relentless. The blades dance mercilessly, and from his stance, Carlin will not be able to sustain this for long.
But I am almost there. Flinging my useless gun to the ground, I grab for my…no…my shovel will be useless. The fight is almost upon me. What do I do?
You must do what you must. He…what? He needs to smash something in the face.
Yes, that is it. Reaching back, I grab the only item I have left, drag it to my front, and ready myself. I will have to use the spade.
Blades still dancing. Carlin still defending. The two locked in mortal combat. Then he falters. His left leg gives way. Falling to the ground, his body exposed to the world. Our friend lies vulnerable. Above him, smoke pukes from the smile on its face. The weapons vibrate in excitement. It gets ready for the finish.
Pulling the weapon to my side, I position it perfectly. I am here.
"Ugly!" The creature does not move, "Your face looks like it needs some reorganizing."
THUD
The flat blade slams hard against the smoky head. It stumbles backwards, moving in a state of disbelief. He almost comes to a stop, but I will not have that.
THUD
Flying for a second time the weapon smashes a chunk of dark air from his existence. Again he stumbles, but this time he recoils quickly. Leaping forward he stabs wildly at me. I pull to the side. I pull back. Move to the other side. In my hands my weapon is ready.
THUD
Black smears the sky as the beast fumbles into a tree. There it rests for a moment. Hatred flows from the dark spots that are its eyes. The line on its face no longer resembles that of joy. Now an ocean of rage boils beneath the cloud.
Suddenly, it lets loose a horrific noise. It tears my skull. It feels as if my eardrums are bursting. It feels as if it is going to last forever.
You must stop this! He must silence it! You cannot just stand there! He will quiet the beast! You will! He must MOVE.
Pulling the blade upwards I slowly bring it to its face. The blade twists until the face of the shovel faces towards the ground. The screech flows readily still. It erupts from his mouth as a tidal wave of terror. I must end this!
You will! He will do it already!
Steadying myself, I glare at the figure through the pain. "I…am…Hope Blackwood." The pain forces me to pause. "It will be my pleasure…to," The blade vibrates before its face. "Bury you."
Wood breaks from the tree. Splinters rain to the ground. The black cloud dances around the metal spade. The eyes are gone. Now the mouth is that of my weapon. I split his head in two.
Pulsing, its body moves violently. Puffs of smoke radiate from its being. For a few seconds, the creature continues onward in this manner. Then, in a spectacle of smoke and awe the monster dissipates, vanishing into thin air. All that remains now is a tree and a shovel.
For a brief moment, there is silence.
You really have to say that? He is a corny one, he is. What? Can a man say what he wants without being judged? You are naïve. He is nuts.
"Impressive, soldier, impressive." A voice comes from behind.
Oh no, I almost forgot! I turn around in a hurry, reach down, and wait for Carlin. The man simply stares at me for a moment then reaches up to take my hand. With a swift jerk he is to his feet.
From my side, Nathanos yells, "Worm…that was very nice, but…did you really just smack a Corrupted soul…" I turn to see him, "with a shovel?"
I cannot help but smile, "Of course. Who would I be if I didn't use my job description to its fullest?"
Shuffling towards me a few weak laughs erupt from the Chapel Brothers. I watch as the smaller Jon carefully pulls the larger Mark. Overall, the two of them appear all right, but I am guessing the mishap with the cloud shocked the bigger one. Who knows? You got it! He…ah, I don't care.
Sweeping across all of them I can see everyone appears joyous - well mostly everyone. There is a slight whimper from the undead being, but we ignore him. Jon rocks Mark in place while Carlin dusts himself off. We stand firmly and in a state of triumph. That was a rough fight. A few seconds of relaxation is good reward. We do deserve it. You all do. He did the work. Yeah, it was your shovel.
Jon gives Mark a firm slap on the chest and laughs. "The big oaf here just got a face full or dark fluff."
Carlin chuckles while he repositions his weapons, "Better than a face full of hate. That thing was rather annoying." He braces his knees. "Thankfully the luck of Hope here got us a blade full of victory."
We all laugh weakly before Carlin sighs and rubs his slightly balding head. Jon and Mark smile boldly, and brace each other with signs of relief. A brief moment of peace.
Too brief, if you ask me. Again, there is a mild cry from behind. Carlin turns to me, but a sudden change in his expression is concerning. He takes a step forward, and his eyes lock with something behind me. I figure it is Nathanos. You are the master of the obvious. He is the captain of observation.
Carlin comes to my side, but is unable to speak.
Nathanos yelps and beats him to it. "No!" Marris screams loudly, "No, no! It returns!"
My head twists as I look to him. His hands are wrapped around his head again. He rocks back and forth like he had done earlier yesterday.
Carlin replies, "What are you yelling about, Nathanos?"
Nathanos shakes to the sides, all while attempting to hold his head. "The voices are back! We must move!" He moves to the side then stumbles forward.
While Nathanos moves, Jon speaks up. "Where do you expect us to go? We are not exac…"
Marris' eyes dart back and forth, "We…we must see her! She will give us time to gather ourselves!" Looking around he searches for something before talking again, "Andorhal! We must go to Andorhal!"
Waving his hands, Carlin does not seem to like the answer, "You fool, do you not know what rests there? We would not make it past the first buildings…"
A thought crosses my mind, and sadly I feel my mouth open "I am betting there is nothing there." And there I go with my rebellious tongue again. That was supposed to just be a thought. You would want that. He just needs to speak up more often.
Instantly Carlin turns to me, eyes narrowed in a combination of rage and confusion. "Do you really want to test our luck with that?"
I shrug. "I just beat a ball of air with an old, dusty spade. I would have to say our luck at the moment seems rather good."
He does nothing at first, and then sighs loudly. "We…I…this is against my better judgment, but…" he pauses, "I guess you two are right."
His eyes drift quickly to the brothers. They throw the old man shrugs and nods. Next his vision passes by Nathanos. Finally he looks over to me and sighs again.
"Ok, lets go. Let us hope our luck is still good."
Before the rest of us can even say a word, Nathanos begins off with his dog close behind. I look around for mine, and quickly notice it hiding behind a tree. Not much of a watchdog.
I head off towards the city just in the distance. Sadly, I do not get far before I notice Nathanos take to a fast jog. I am not sure why, but he is moving fast. Carlin is moving close behind him, and it appears that the Brothers are both now capable of moving alone. Looks like I am going to have to run again. You look like you need it. He is not running, why?
I am off. Running quickly, I attempt to keep up with the few ahead, but they are moving insanely fast. Sprinting now, the four of them - even Carlin – move at a ridiculous speed. The city is grower fast, we will be there in no time, but why so fast?
"What is with…" I break to catch my breath, "the running?"
Ahead of me, Carlin simply shrugs while the others just try to keep up with the speed runner leading us. From the corner of my eye, I catch sight of a large, brown object slowly passing me. Looks like Wriggler decided to come from his hiding spot.
We come to the outskirts of the town, jumping over bits of debris that are the remains of it. I jump over a large wooden table, dart past a shattered wall, and slide through the remains of what was once an entranceway.
Still ahead of me Carlin speaks. "This is impossible…" he pants, "Nothing is here. Nothing." He glides past another ruined structure and takes to the road.
Jon then laughs. "Man, I would have never been able to walk down this street before. The undead roamed it constantly!"
I am not sure what they are talking about, but the vacancy of this town is definitely noticeable. A few bodies and broken skeletons litter the streets, but overall, nothing remains active. We spring past a large fountain, head past the Town Square and head straight for what appears to be the inn.
In a matter of seconds, Nathanos comes to the door of the building, and waves to us, "Move you slow fools! Head inside!"
He darts inside, followed by Carlin, the Brothers, and…blast you Watcher! You almost tripped me! Followed by lastly…me. I come to a slow jog upon entering. You move more like a fast turtle. He moves like a dead cow. Shut up.
I come to some stairs, move up to the over story, and rest for a moment. After my two second break, I head to the right, pass into a dark room, and then…into an oddly illuminated room. This does not seem possible. It is as if a fake light is drawn to this room.
Looking around, I sweep all the walls, and then to the floor. There, standing maybe two-feet high, a small figure rests. She has red hair, freckles, and has to be the smallest thing here. She is a gnome, and from the look on Nathanos' face, that is the reason we are here now.
Before any of us can talk, she giggles a tiny squeak then speaks. "Took you boys long enough to get here." She pauses. "I have been waiting."
R
