ASCEND INTO DARKNESS
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 10
As Leo hiked further up the Geier mountains toward the looming Falkenrath fortress, he realized that he was no longer quite so fatigued by the endless marching up the rocky, steep slopes thanks to the fibra root. I feel all juiced up, and I'll need that power against the vampires.
"Are you okay, Leo?" Karin asked with concern in her voice. "Your expression..."
Leo grinned slightly as he shook his head. "Let's just say that I'm taking the threat seriously." He fell into silence as the squad progressed past clumps of pine trees and mountainside caves, and by the time the moon rose high in the sky and bathed the terrain with its milky light, Leo and the others had reached the fortress' outskirts.
One of the Rotswand Cathars held up a gloved hand, his stern face fixed on the fortress as everyone else halted around him. "Everyone, ready op," he said in a hushed whisper as he silently drew his sword from its leather scabbard. Pearly white mana glowed to life on the blade's edge.
Leo drew his own sword, gripping it tightly and swallowing. "I'm ready."
"Me too," Rick added, fitting a bolt into his crossbow and checking his sights.
"No, you're not ready yet," the Cathar warned him.
Rick held his weapon defensively to his chest. "Hey! This beauty has saved my hide many times!"
"Keep your voice down!" the Cathar hissed, motioning again with his hand. "Unload your bolt and give me your quiver. It seems that you've never hunted vampires before, boy."
Scowling, Rick removed his loaded bolt and slipped his quiver's strap off his chest, handing it over to the Cathar. The Cathar set the quiver down on the cool dirt road, unclasping a canteen from his belt marked with the collar of Avacyn.
"So, what are you doing?" Rick asked, more quietly this time.
"Making your weapon worth its weight. This is holy water, blessed by the hand of Avacyn herself," the Cathar told Rick, carefully unscrewing the canteen's cap. "Water like this is rare, but I'm not taking my chances up there at that fortress." After setting the cap onto the ground, the Cathar took one of Rick's bolts and dunked it right into the canteen, keeping the bolt's steel tip submerged for a few seconds. He slowly drew the bolt back out and set it aside, drawing another one from the quiver and repeating the process. Ten more times the Cathar did this, then he gently screwed the canteen's cap back on and placed the bolts back into their quiver.
Rick looked awed as he accepted the quiver from the man. "That technique never even crossed my mind. Bolts loaded with holy water..."
The man nodded as he hooked his canteen back to his belt. "Common practice among elite ranged units here in Stensia. I had to take my time, because spilling that water would be a criminal waste." He cleared his throat and surveyed the group. "Now. Everyone ready?"
Everyone nodded the affirmative, so the Cathar took the lead, creeping across the fortress' grounds with a careful, deliberate gait, his booted feet not making a sound. Leo found himself holding his breath as he slowly followed the man, then released it with a whoosh. I'm winding myself tight, he realized, his heart thumping in his chest. Easy does it, Leo. You've got fellow warriors of the Church with you.
It was a mark of the vampires' confidence in their own prowess that there wasn't even a fence around the fortress. However, as Leo and the others slipped into the fortress' shadow from the moonlight, Leo's boot crunched on a thick dry twig.
"Sorry," Leo whispered, wincing at the noise. Abigail gave him an irritated look until she looked down at the twig, and her face twisted into horror. Feeling alarmed, Leo looked down and realized that he had stepped on a dry skeleton's rib. More ribs and pieces of a spinal cord lay on the dry ground amid small bushes and weeds, and a human skull lay a few feet away, its empty sockets staring mournfully him.
"The vampires toss their drained victims out here," the lead Cathar figured, scanning the terrain and finding more human skeletons and bits of peasant clothing. "Don't worry about it. Just don't step on any more bones, people."
This time Leo kept his eyes on the ground before him, evading the crunchy bones that lay everywhere. Fortunately, the group didn't make a sound as everyone drew close to the fortress' ground level. Up close, Leo saw that the building was made of smooth gray stones sealed together with black mortar, and tall glass windows shone with bright yellow light from candles and chandeliers inside the rooms. The lead Cathar slunk toward the nearest window, taking cover outside the view of anyone who would be in the window's room. Leo and the others crowded around him, waiting for his signal.
"On my signal, breach the window and assume defensive stances," the man told the group, his hard eyes glinting from the room's light. "We're taking the bloodsuckers by surprise. One, two... now!"
The man whirled around and rammed the pommel of his sword into the window, and the it shattered inwards with a cloud of sharp splintered glass. At the Cathar's lead, Leo sprang into the room, leaping over the window frame and raising his sword for combat. One after another, everyone else piled in and formed a defensive ring, but this large room was empty save for them.
"Lower weapons. We're alone here," the lead Cathar told everyone. "Check for any traps, then move on to the door. Rick, Jorge, Abigail, stay at the back of the group at all times."
"This is where the fun part begins," Karin told Leo excitedly, hunching her shoulders as her fox ears and tail grew from her head and lower back. Her fingernails elongated and sharpened into fox claws, then her legs grew fur and became those of an animal.
"Silence," the Cathar warned, creeping through the room toward the door. Keeping close to the man, Leo gave the room a good look. An empty fireplace was surrounded by small tables and armchairs, and the walls were covered with towering bookshelves teeming with countless tomes. Clearly, they were in the vampires' study.
Unable to help himself, Leo scanned the titles of the books and found them rather repulsive. Ghoulcalling for the Uninitiated, History of the Falkenrath, and Curses of the World were visible on the books' spines among many other titles.
The Cathar pushed on the door handle and swung the heavy wooden door outwards, slipping into the well-lit hallway. Leo joined him, realizing that the interior of this fortress wasn't the dreary dungeon he expected. Rather, wood-paneled walls covered in fancy wallpaper sported mounted candles and expensive paintings. Several closed doors invited Leo to go exploring, but he shivered at the idea of exploring a vampire den alone.
"This way, toward the reception hall," the lead Cathar whispered, leading the gang of nine down the hall. Just as he reached the end of the hallway, someone came from a perpendicular hallway and plowed right into him, causing both to topple to the floor in shock.
"I-I'm sorry, master! Please don't feed on me!" blurted the other person, a young woman dressed in a patchy maid's outfit. She had carried a bucket of water and a few rags, and the toppled bucket leaked dirty gray water everywhere.
The Cathar scrambled to his feet, pointing his white mana-infused blade at the woman. "Who are you?"
"M-Marie. I'm a maid here, sir!" the young woman babbled. "Please don't hurt me!"
"Stop shouting!" the Cathar hissed, offering a gloved hand to help her up. "My fellows and I are warriors of the Church of Avacyn. Get out of the way, because I'm here to exterminate every vampire and Skirsdag cultist in here."
Marie gawked in disbelief, then ignored the offered hand and knelt in submission. "Thank you, kind sir! I've been here so long, working as both servant and food source." Indeed, several recently-healed fang marks were visible on her neck. "Listen... everyone's in the third floor's ritual chamber. The cultists who moved in here, they're doing some ritual with the vampires to summon something. I don't know what, but if you hurry, you can stop them and take them by surprise! Look for a set of double doors."
"Good," the Cathar nodded, pointing back the way he came and lowering his sword. "The window is broken in the study down that hall. Escape while you can."
Marie didn't need any more convincing. She scrambled to her feet and made a mad dash down the candle-lit hall and scampered into the study's open doorway.
"So, to the third floor?" Leo asked the lead Cathar.
"Right," the man said, slowly walking into the vast chandelier-lit reception hall. "Everyone, follow me up this staircase. Weapons ready." He quietly ascended a wide, curving staircase that led all the way up to the floor's balcony with his team crowded around him.
"You know, Jorge," Karin asked him in hushed tones, "if you're a healer, isn't it weird that you smoke tobacco?"
Jorge had gotten out his packet of cigarettes, but decided against it and pocketed it with a shrug. "Constant but subtle healing power infuses in my body. Negates all the harmful side effects of tobacco use like shortness of breath and early death."
"How convenient," Karin commented.
Even though this fortress' interior was one of the most luxurious and welcoming places he had ever been in, he felt trapped, as though a hundred inhuman eyes were watching him every second. He gave Abigail a quick glance, then offered her a small smile. She returned the smile, protective white mana glowing on her hands. "We'll be fine, Leo," she mouthed.
"This way," the lead Cathar announced as the set of double doors the maid described came into view down a wide hallway. As Leo took a few steps closer to the sealed doors, he shivered as he felt insidious red and black mana suffuse the air and cling to his skin. A foul presence lurked on the other side of that door, and Leo found himself clenching his teeth.
The lead Cathar pointed at the door, weapon at the ready. "Leo, breach that lock with your red mana and break the doors open. You and I are taking point."
"Got it." Trying to ignore the flip-flopping of his stomach, Leo widened his feet to secure himself in a steady stance and raised his left arm, red mana flowing through his flesh. A sword composed of red mana came to life in the air, and with one sweeping gesture, Leo sent the arcane projectile straight at the door's heavy iron lock. With a loud hiss and blast of splintered wood and molten iron, the blade exploded and released wild red energy everywhere. Charging straight at the door, Leo kicked out his foot and smashed the heavy wooden doors inward with a smash.
At once, the foul aura-like magic from the room intensified, seeping out of the inner chamber like a noxious gas. Leo coughed and stumbled, his eyes watering against the evil power in this room. Luckily, his bold entrance completely took the room's occupants by surprise, a quintet of black-robed Skirsdag cultists and well over a dozen pale-skinned vampires. A throbbing orb of mingled red and black mana floated among them, tendrils of mana flowing from everyone's hands to the sphere.
"Attack!" thundered the lead Cathar. As one, the rest of Leo's group let loose with a wary cry and stampeded into the room, weapons flashing through the air. The vampires and cultists broke off their ritual, causing the mana sphere to distort and collapse into wisps of dying mana. Collectively screeching in bloodlust and anger, the vampires all bared their huge fangs and hunched into aggressive postures. The five cultists drew back, gathering demonic magic at their fingertips.
The vampires thundered across the room with their fingers outstretched like a predator's claws, hunger gleaming in their black and gold eyes. Within seconds, holy steel sword blades clashed loudly against tough vampire fingernails and fangs, filling the room with shouts and struggling bodies. One man after another from both sides fell in the vicious melee, vampire and Cathar and cultist alike.
One vampire, a broad-shouldered man with a short tuft of a beard, snarled and pounced on Leo like a feral cat. His family's affinity for flight was evident in the light, effortless nature of his pounce, and Leo barely brought his flame-infused sword in time to block the vampire's assault. The vampire's heavy body crashed on top of Leo, forcing both men to the floor in a desperate life or death grapple.
Wow, he's strong! Leo thought with alarm as he struggled to hold back the vampire's fangs and sharp fingernails. His muscles burned with the effort of restraining the vampire, but the immortal bloodsucker chuckled deeply as he wrenched Leo's arms aside with inhuman strength. Giving the vampire a fierce snarl in return, Leo tensed his muscles and flooded red mana into his left hand, his fingers sizzling with arcane flames.
"Urgh!" the vampire grimaced as Leo's fiery fingers slashed across his face, leaving smoking scars on the immortal man's pale, cool skin. He clapped a hand to the burn wounds, his dark eyes bugging out in fury.
"How d'ya like that?" Leo sneered, ramming his flaming fist into the vampire's gut. Grunting from the impact, the vampire angrily swatted aside Leo's hand and seized the Cathar's head, ramming it onto the hard wooden floor.
Leo saw stars explode in his vision as his skull smacked against the floor, and it was all he could do to not shout in pain. His whole body feeling numb and feeble under the vampire's heavy body, Leo jabbed his flame hand out again, hoping to strike a lucky blow. I can't even use my sword in a grapple like this!
The vampire laughed as he evaded the blow, then he seized Leo's shoulders and lowered his burnt face toward Leo's neck, pulling back his lips to expose his pointed fangs. Leo gasped and strained against the vampire's grip, painfully aware of how exposed his soft neck was. The vampire's fang tips started to puncture Leo's skin...
And the man howled loudly in Leo's face, his eyes once again bugging out of his head in shock. This time, he slumped over weakly and tumbled onto his back, gurgling up blood. Slowly, Leo struggled to his feet, aware of how badly his body was trembling from adrenaline and terror. He raised his sword to fend off the vampire again, but the broad-shouldered bloodsucker lay limp, his black eyes glassy and staring at the ceiling. One crossbow bolt had pierced his skull at the left temple, emerging from the right ear. What was more, the man's brain and muscles sizzled and popped from the arrow's passage, and Leo realized with a jolt that Rick's holy water-infused bolts had done the trick. Amazing, Leo marveled.
"Leo! They're getting away!" Abigail shouted, bringing Leo back to the battle at hand. The roof of the chamber had parted into two hatches that opened skyward, revealing the star-studded night sky. Cool night air washed into the room with a breeze, and the surviving Falkenrath vampires were busily soaring through the open roof and to the open sky. Each vampire had a pair of leathery bat-like wings sprouting from their backs.
"The cultists are dead, but our job's not over yet," the head Cathar told Leo, pointing at the cultists' corpses. "Those vampires won't let us escape as long as they still live. We've got to take them out!"
That was fast, Leo thought, looking at the cultists' limp, bleeding forms. All of them killed while I struggled for my life... well, they were a priority target after all.
With a dreadful whooshing sound, fist-sized fireballs rained from the overhead vampires' hands and exploded in the room, forcing everyone to throw themselves to the floor in cover. Leo took quick inventory of who was left: himself, Abigail, Jorge, Rick, Karin, the lead Cathar, and one other Cathar with a sword.
"Quick! There's got to be another way to the roof. Let's go!" the lead Cathar ordered, aware that the Falkenrath vampires overhead were tossing more fireballs at their land-based foes. Everyone scrambled out of the room and back through the hallway, and after a wrong turn, the lead Cathar found his way to the fortress' emergency exit, leading his men up a circular flight of stairs toward a wooden hatch. Throwing the hatch outside, the Cathar led his team up to the stone-tiled roof where the vampires were waiting.
"Looks like you don't leave a job half done, human," one of the vampires sneered, gliding a few meters in the air with his five surviving fellows. "Admirable, but whether you flee across the fortress grounds or face us here, your death will be the same."
The vampire flinched when another of Rick's holy water-infused bolts whooshed right past him, vanishing into the night air. Shouting in defiant anger, the vampire flapped his bat-like wings and plunged toward the clustered humans, destructive fire magic seething in his hands. The other vampires joined him, swooping down upon the humans from different directions.
Abigail thrust her open hand into the sky, conjuring a collar of Avacyn that clamped itself around one vampire, trapping him in place. The winged vampire snarled and struggled in the arcane restraint, but he couldn't break free. Meanwhile, the other vampires slashed their hands through the air, peppering the rooftop with fireballs. The Cathars dodged and jumped to evade the flames, but the explosive fireballs still threw Leo and the others right off their feet. The vampires descended on their prey, all drawing ornately-decorated swords from their belts and swinging wildly.
One vampire, a woman, sneered as she hefted her sword downward with inhuman power. His nerves tingling with alarm, Leo scrambled out of the way, letting the vampire's blade clang against the rooftop. He swung his sword at the vampire's exposed arm, but she recovered faster than Leo expected, her own sword blade easily blocking Leo's attack. The vampire flapped her wings, gliding up and into the air. Now smiling with glee, she flapped her wings and swooped in rapid circles around Leo, deftly slipping in and out of Leo's sword range. She rapidly slashed her sword every which way, always getting out of reach just before Leo could land a counter-attack. Leo grunted with strain as he jabbed his sword repeatedly at the vampire, but her tightly-controlled flight kept her well out of harm's reach.
"Damn it!" Leo muttered through clenched teeth as the vampire scored repeated blows against his flesh. Leo panted and felt sweat streaming down his face as the vampire's blade cut into his arms, chest, and neck. He stumbled back from the bloodsucker, clutching at a cut on the base of his neck. "J... Jorge!" he howled.
The vampire swooped at Leo, her sword extended for the kill. Before she could land a blow, a crossbow bolt grazed her shoulder, its holy water sizzling into her flesh. Howling in pain, the vampire pumped her wings and drew back, scowling angrily.
"Hold on," Jorge panted, breaking away from the rest of the battle toward Leo. He pressed his hands against Leo's neck wounds, his white mana rapidly repairing Leo's arteries and sealing the broken skin. Jorge extended his white mana aura, the magic seeping into Leo's other wounds and sealing them tight.
"I can't keep this up," Jorge huffed as he wiped his brow. His stylishly slicked hair was unkempt and his face was sweaty. "This fight is a fast and tough one. Don't get yourself hurt! I'm almost out of mana."
Leo could hear his fellows fighting furiously against the other vampires and nodded tightly. "Okay. I'll finish this freak off and join the rest of you."
Jorge dashed out of harm's way as the vampire woman charged again, her fangs bared in fury. Leo stood his ground, raising his left and and pumping his holy red mana into the chilly air. Four glowing blades of red mana materialized, shooting through the air at the incoming vampire. The vampire swooped past the blades and leaped at Leo's exposed left flank, a hiss escaping her throat as she jabbed her blade at Leo. Jumping away from the vampire's sword attack, Leo curled his fingers into a fist and focused on his mana projectiles, guiding them through the air.
I just have to occupy her for a second, Leo thought, raising his sword as the vampire landed and charged once again. Leo brought up his sword to deflect the vampire's own steel, letting his blade slide out from the vampire's to avoid contending with her superior strength. Again and again Leo fended off the vampire's attacks, watching his mana swords fly right toward the vampire's exposed back.
With a snarl of recognition, the vampires whirled around and beheld the four incoming projectiles. With a blast of her own fire magic, the vampire obliterated two of the mana blades while dodging a third. The fourth blade, meanwhile, stabbed right into her gut, a blow that coincided with Leo's own sword attack. Throwing back her head, the vampire howled as the two mismatched swords pierced her flesh, drawing blood and burning her skin and muscles.
Leo drove his sword deeper into the vampire's body, pumping his red mana into the steel edge when he realized that the vampire was still able to resist his attack. Growling in pain, the vampire managed to lash out her hand, faster than Leo expected. A sudden stab of pain surged through Leo's nerves as the vampire's flame-infused fingers gouged deep into his belly. Leo collapsed like a rag doll, falling flat on his back as the vampire's fire burned into his thick coat and skin. His fingers fumbled over his coat's buttons, undoing them one by one. He tore his coat right off, feeling constricted by the burnt and sweaty thing.
Luckily, the vampire was in even worse condition. Groaning weakly, she fell to her knees as Leo's mana blade and sword burned deep into her body, and she swayed for just a second before slumping onto her side in death. The red mana sword dissipated in seconds, leaving Leo's steel weapon still stuck in her chest.
Gritting his teeth against the pain of his burns and wounds, Leo sprang to his feet and hobbled toward the dead vampire, gripping his sword's hilt and wrenching the weapon free from her cold body. His head throbbing, Leo whirled around and saw that the rest of the Rotswand Cathars had fallen, including the leader. On the other hand, most of the vampires were now dead too, their winged bodies strewn across the castle roof.
"Leo! Are you okay?" Abigail called over, her sweaty face showing her exhaustion and stress.
"Y-yeah," Leo panted, jogging toward the remaining combatants, his wounds burning with every step. "Let me help out!"
"Damn you humans! I'll suck all your blood!" howled the toughest vampire, his body plated with red-colored armor and a longsword in one hand. One of his other fellows was still alive, grappling with the fox-mode Karin. The tough vampire charged through the air, fireballs shooting every which way from his hands.
Not looking forward to getting burned again, Leo scampered away from the vampire's flames, channeling the last of his fire magic into his hand and hurling two red mana swords at the incoming vampire. Caught by surprise, the vampire snarled as one magic blade stabbed into his chest plate while the other grazed his shoulder. Rick loosed another crossbow bolt that punched into the mana blade's area of impact, deepening the injury.
"Enough!" the vampire barked. With a blast of his own flaming magic, he vaporized Rick's bolt and wiped out both of Leo's mana blades, resuming his headlong dive. Abigail conjured a shimmering white mana barrier in the vampire's way, but the Falkenrath monster shattered the barrier with one swipe of his sword. He soared right past Leo and the others, his blade slashing through the air faster than anyone could see. Abigail shrieked in pain as the vampire's sword hacked into her chest, and bright red blood seeped from the wound at once. She pitched forward, crumpling face-first onto the cold stone roof.
"Abigail!" Leo sprinted toward his fiancee with no regard to his own safety, blood thundering in his ears. How dare that bloodsucking bastard hurt her?
"Damn it!" Jorge howled as the vampire's sword stabbed into his chest, and the healer slumped to the castle roof, shaking and oozing blood.
With a victorious cry, Karin finished off her vampire foe with her savage fox claws, hurrying toward Leo's side. She trembled from head to foot and her body was covered in scrapes and cuts, but her eyes burned with determination. "Guys, let's finish him off and go home!" she told Leo and Rick.
The tough vampire whirled around, fangs bared in a delighted smile as he whirled his sword through the air for intimidation. "You won't leave here alive, wretched mortals," he leered at them. "My kind is on a whole different level than yours. Give in to despair!"
"Sorry, pal, but I have a sacred duty to defend humanity from the likes of you," Leo challenged the vampire, raising his own sword to the ready position. "Come and get me!"
With a hungry snarl, the vampire swooped toward his prey, wings pumping through the air to speed himself up. Karin raised her fox claws and Leo gripped his sword tightly as the vampire closed in on them, and the vampire swept his longsword through the air with a whoosh. Karin's claws and Leo's sword met the vampire's blade, and the two of them strained to keep the vampire's sword at bay. They're so strong, Leo lamented as he trembled against the vampire's attack. He felt himself and Karin slowly get pushed back from the superior strength of their foe.
Chuckling in contempt, the vampire bared his teeth and swung his sword upward, knocking Leo's sword and Karin's claws away with a mighty blow. The vampire swept his sword back and forth between Leo and Karin, determined to cut both of them down at the same time. Karin cried out as the vampire's blade cut into her thigh, and Leo rushed to her defense with a fierce jab attack. The vampire grunted when Leo's sword stabbed into his haunch, punching through the armor and drawing blood.
"Not bad, whelp," the vampire taunted, reaching out and seizing Leo's sword. Leo panicked, desperately tugging at his sword to free it from the bloodsucker's grip. The vampire tugged back, drawing Leo within a few feet of him. Then, the vampire's claws gashed right into Leo's chest with a burst of blood, and Leo's vision flickered in agony as the vampire's strong fingers cracked one of his ribs. Leo's hands slipped off his sword's pommel and he realized that in a few seconds, he would definitely be dead.
"Raaaah!" Karin pounced on the vampire like an animal with her claws flashing through the air. The vampire growled as Karin's fox claws slashed at his face, tearing up his skin. Leo coughed and flooded his right fist with the last of his red mana. His whole body shook from exhaustion and blood loss, but Leo gritted his teeth, remembering his oath to protect humanity from the likes of this vampire.
It's now or never! Leo thought, slowly ambling toward the vampire with the intent to punch the bloodsucker's face in. However, the vampire kicked Karin's belly with a solid thump, sending the fox girl tumbling heavily across the castle roof. She came to a halt facing Leo, her eyes glassy and her body limp. She still breathed, albeit weakly, proving that she was merely unconscious.
The vampire slowly walked forward to meet Leo, clearly exhausted but triumph gleaming in his eyes. "Time to die, whelp," he sneered, raising a fist. Leo grunted in response, raising his own flame-enhanced fist to eye level in preparation to strike.
Rick struck first.
"Aaaaaargh!" the vampire shrieked as the wounded archer came up from behind, a crossbow gripped firmly in his hand. Rick jabbed the holy water-infused steel tip into the vampire's ear, drawing a rush of warm red blood from the wound.
"What, no crossbow?" Leo blurted.
"Too weak... to draw the string back!" Rick called back. "Need... more blunt methods."
Snarling, the vampire whirled around and jabbed his claw-like fingernails into Rick's chest, then threw the archer to the floor. Rick collapsed into a heap, blood leaking from his fresh injuries.
That distraction was all that Leo needed. With a low growl rising in his throat, he drew back his flaming fist and took a step closer, thrusting his knuckles right at the injured vampire's face. At once, the vampire's face crumpled under the arcane blow and exploded into flames. The vampire didn't even have a chance to cry out or speak as he died, his armored body crashing down onto the stone roof. Leo reached over and wrenched his sword from the vampire's flesh, but a spasm wracked his body and he dropped the weapon again. Leo's legs wobbled, then he collapsed to his knees as his stomach churned in a sickening way.
I've lost so much blood, Leo realized faintly, his head tilted back as he stared at the starry sky. But... we did it. This Skirsdag base is officially... shut down. I never thought that so many human deaths had happened because of the Falkenrath family. They're even stronger than I thought. Then he pitched forward onto his belly, all strength lost from his body. Abigail's limp form lay nearby, and Leo felt drawn to her, thinking that if he could get to her, everything would be all right. He slowly reached out an arm and started to drag himself forward across the mossy stone roof, praying that this wouldn't be his last day to live.
