(Author's Note: Already everyone, I did TRY to get this formatted with double spacing and all the indentation and everything, but every time I save it, it goes back to being the same thing, and I don't want to mess with it anymore. I'm afraid this is about as elaborate as it's going to get. My deepest apologies)
The shrieking began at dawn.
Kisrel started, rolled on what was left of the smoldering coals, bit back a cry
of pain and was on her feet before the origin of the sound had even
registered.
The first one up, her eyes roved the campsite, taking stock of who was there.
Dom's eyes flew open, pupils becoming pinpoints lost in emeralds in the
increasing light.
"Zavv?" Dom called, foremost concern apparent. It took both of them calling
his name several times before the last true male Al Bhed made his
appearance, rubbing a hand roughly over his face. Kisrel would have felt a
pang of sympathy if she wasn't so vexed. He may have been up all night, but
if he couldn't be counted on when the time came…
By that time, Lesca and Brael (Kisrel had come to think of them as one entity,
the guardian warrior stayed by her side so doggedly) had arisen and were
looking to Kisrel, quizzically.
They were all there and accounted for.
"Who…what is that?" Lesca moaned, a trembling hand lifted to a quivering
mouth. Another spine melting scream split through the air, making everyone
jump.
"This way!" Zavv roared, breaking into a dead run. The rest trailed after
him, following the sounds of distress.
Though most of the hills in this area were rolling and smooth, a steep bald
mountain of a rise came up before them. They slipped, stumbled and hustled
up the slick surface as quickly as rubber legs could carry them. At the top of
the Ridge, everyone stopped, as if they'd rammed into a glass wall.
Kisrel sucked in a sharp breathe; Zavv made a strangled feral cry in the
bottom of his throat. Lesca chanted a prayer, heartfelt, but in total disbelief at
what her eyes were seing.
"Yuna, merciful guardian…"
"Zavv," Dom breathed, "Oh, Zavv, the children…"
For below them, a gruesome tableau unfolded.
At one time, it had been a settlement, not even a proper village, just a few
families clustered together. At one time, a wall (really more like a glorified
picket fence) had surrounded the settlement, providing the illusion of safety.
At one time, kids would have played in dark soil gardens, blessedly
oblivious to the world around them.
Now…
Now the settlement lay in ruins, what few huts and hovels were left were
missing roofs or walls. The surrounding wall had been laughingly tossed
aside, then splintered into twigs to show just how big a joke it really was.
And everything, from the gardens to the water jugs, all of it…was burning.
At first, none of it made sense, and every member of the estranged party
wondered if they hadn't woken up from some surreal dream.
Nothing moved, save when a roof finally caved in, but the screaming
continued, as if the wind itself was crying in unheeded agony.
Then Kisrel saw what had filled Dom with such horror. There were a group
of kids, ranging from late teens to toddlers, feeling the carnage. The bigger
ones led or rear-guarded the smaller ones, goading them on, throwing frantic
glances over their shoulders.
"Where are the adults? If they're all dead, where are the bodies?" Kisrel
asked. As if to answer her, a man, bleeding profusely from the leg, staggered
into their field of vision. He too, seemed desperate to escape something that
they couldn't see…until it came after him.
'It' didn't appear very large at first, running on four limbs, spine arched at an
impossible angle. It wasn't until it lunged, stretching itself out for more
speed that you realized its length. Razor fangs, at least four inches long,
protruded from its mouth, sticking almost straight out. Short spines ran along
its back, tapering into a stubby tail. Its hide appeared to be leathery, hard and
rugged. It's limp ended in a vaguely hand-like extremity, but each 'finger'
was equipped with a wickedly curved talon. It bored own on the doomed
man; injured as he was, he stood no chance against it, and it took him to the
ground in a cloud of dust.
"We must do something!" Lesca cried, but neither she nor anyone else moved
from their position. They were frozen in shock, disbelief, horror and dread,
because somewhere in the back of their minds they knew exactly what was
going to happen.
The man didn't die. Or perhaps he did die, only no one informed his body. It
arced upwards, at an angle no human could endure. There was a gut
wrenching tearing noise, and then the man's torso ripped open, dripping red
ribs glaring in the light. Lesca shrieked and hid her face in Brael's chest,
unable to deal with the macabre sight any longer. It was best for her, too,
because it didn't end there. The ribs, even though they were bone, bent
outward, turning the still thrashing form inside out. There was a crash of
thunder, but the sky was clear. A burst of light blinded the onlookers, and
when they were able to see again, the man and all that he had been, was no
more. Instead, there was only a new, bloodthirsty, roaring monster, desperate
for killing.
The paralysis that had taken hold of them all faded. Lesca dried her eyes
with the back of her hand, an oddly comforting, if childish gesture.
"Zavv, we can't just leave the children to be slaughtered," Dom said, firmly.
Kisrel glanced at her, a bit surprised. She hadn't thought that the beautiful Al
bhed maiden had such altruistic instincts. Hating to seem like an ogre, but
needing to be the voice of reason, Kisrel intoned:
"But is it possible for us, five that we are, to take on what use to be the
ENTIRE village?"
Dom snorted, sounding more like her usual self.
"That's assuming her Royal Highness here could even fend for herself. Or
you, for that matter," she sneered. Kisrel folded her arms over her chest in a
silent challenge. Lesca dusted off her skirt, looking even more feminine than
usual.
"Don't worry about me, Miss Dom. I do know one or two things BESIDES
how to dispose of blasphemes t-"
Zavv put out an iron bar of an arm to stop Dom before she leveled Lesca.
His eyes raged azure fire though. Kisrel glanced back at the battlefield
below.
"This is doing nothing to help them. Now we all have to go together, so
LET'S GO."
The last two words were laced heavily with command, and the others
responded, snapping to attention, and putting aside their petty altercations.
Going down the Ridge was far faster, and in its own way, far easier, than
going up had been. A few times, the rocks would slide loose, and one of
them would tumble, rolling over and over down the hill, before picking
themselves up and resuming their run.
When they were still yards away, the smell hit them, almost knocking them
backwards, so strong, it was like a physical force unto itself. It was a mix of
life and death, of past and present, joy and carnage. And the shrieking in the
air never stopped…
They trudged on, all senses put on hyper awareness. A sound would be
heard, and they'd all whirl, ready to face an oncoming attacker, only to find
out it was just a piece of debris falling, or something breaking. It was fraying
all their nerves, but they didn't dare let down their guard, even for a moment.
No one wanted to be turned into a monster.
The screaming stopped, or at least quieted enough, so that now it resembled
a pitiful whisper…a crying in the dark.
"What is making that sound?" Kisrel asked, her eyes scanning for its source.
Lesca delicately raised one shoulder.
"Perhaps it is the souls of those who have been destroyed here."
Dom gave her a 'You're not helping' look, but was otherwise silent.
They eventually reached the last place they had seen the children, and as they
entered the clearing, they picked up the pace, determined to reach their
quarry before the demonic creatures did. The last of the buildings, more
accurately, ruins, behind them, the five took quick stock of their
surroundings. The valley was empty, and nothing stirred on its surface.
Then suddenly, Zavv smiled. Kisrel looked at him, exasperated. He found the
oddest things humorous. He winked at her and put a finger to his lips, then
stealthily moved ahead. The rest stayed behind and watched in a mix of
bemusement and annoyance. He was just a lone figure, striding out,
completely exposed. Then suddenly, he swooped down, and picked up what
looked to be just a clump of dirt. A trap door swung open, and several high
pitched voices screamed. Zavv knelt beside the opening. From their position,
his companions couldn't hear what he spoke to them, but it quieted them
down significantly, and then he carefully put the trapdoor back down, before
returning to his bewildered fellows.
"What-how…?" Lesca couldn't even get the questions out coherently. He
gave her a brilliant smile, shrugged and said:
"I'm an Al Bhed, I know how to hide. And a lot of settlements like this one
had special hiding places in case of raids by marauders or-" he glanced at
Lesca and his smile faltered just a bit, "-other people who might wish them
harm."
Her innocent expression let them know she had no idea what he was
referring to. He shrugged again.
"It was just a matter of finding the right patch of dirt."
"What did you tell them?" Kisrel inquired. Zavv's eyes hardened.
"To stay where they were until it was safe. Until we had dispatched the…
monsters."
"Do they know what they are? Or what they use to be?" Brael spoke for the
first time. Zavv shook his head.
"I don't think so."
Brael hefted his sword.
"Then let's get this done with and pray they never find out."