Chapter Thirteen: D.Y.N
"So...what should we expect?".
We've made some good progress after a surprisingly banter filled morning, well morning in their case, still trying to wrap my head around that.
While it may have seemed like alot at the time, the tent's and other item's they had, i should probably ask about that. Where surprisingly easy to pack up, i carried most of it... I'd say to be useful..but i was more forced to honestly...
"The number of nightmares around here does radically differ from time to time, usually their manageable".
With one leading ahead through the fog it was a nice change of pace from having to blindingly wander through.
Though, i couldn't help but feel... uncomfortable.
Eris was trailing behind, two, five and four where Infront talking and that left me in the middle.
With three.
Lethargic, melancholic, seemingly on the verge of suddenly falling asleep and a sense of general uninterest. Few of the words i could use to describe the girl that i awkwardly walked with.
I just hoped i wouldn't have to talk to her, i couldn't really think of anything and i wasn't sure if she'd just say something that probably only made sense to her.
"Hmmm...how did you get that body?".
...Shit.
"...Huh?".
"Considering how you're walking you've been traveling for a full week, without rest. Not to mention how you haven't once slept, it's possible but the human body doesn't function properly after something like that. Its been modified in some manner, right?. Endurance is obvious enough but you'd need to enhance the bodies durability to take into consideration the toll such non stop activity would take on the muscular system and organ's, not to mention the psychological stress from being awake constantly thus facilitating the need to enhance one's mental endurance as well".
...This girl...
I couldn't help but blink, didn't even stop for breath's.
But, three did bring up some things that definitely were concerning.
"...well...i..uh..kinda stabbed myself with this sword i found...if that answers your question...".
"...Hmm, i see".
What kind of answer was that!?.
But, knowing three she'd probably retort with something like that.
I slowed my pace, letting the conversation and myself drift away from having to finish it.
"Am i really making you THAT uncomfortable?".
...I can't seriously be THAT obvious...right?...why do i feel like an open book being broadcasted across the globe twenty-four-seven...
"It's not your fault exactly, it's not everyday I'm around women who're both extremely attractive and extremely dangerous to be around".
Hopefully that sufficed enough as an answer.
Considering how i doubt I'd be getting an answer what with the spikes exploding from the ground.
I dropped everything i was carrying and made a beeline for eris, i could at least protect her while the others handled the nightmares.
"What the hells going on!?".
"An ambush!, everyone be careful!".
The jagged spikes let out cracks as they continued to rise, then they lashed out.
The intoners were already hacking away at the metallic tentacles which attempted to skewer them in response.
But, it didn't matter how quickly or how much the tentacles moved or thrashed about. The five women were practically dancing around them, cutting, piercing and punching everything that attacked.
Their speed, the strength behind every blow...It was in an entirely different league that i could only call super human.
A cloud of dust and dirt exploded behind her.
Shit!.
I got to eris and pushed her out of the way...
In time for the jagged tentacles to skewer me.
"Guh!?".
It was forced up my throat, more and more filled it up. I struggle to cough it out, i practically vomited it all over myself.
That oh so familiar, yet oh so other thing...
Blood.
The crimson fluid was spewed everywhere in my reflexive fit to clear my bodies air ways.
And it glared at me.
The nightmare left the cloud of dirt, it's six red dots looking at me with a silent hate. It's dark, jagged form was another reminder of how alien they were. It's entire lower body disappeared under the ground, the things tentacles were extending from pod like spikes that comprised it's shoulders with more of them stabbed into the ground.
I returned it's glare gladly.
Even though it didn't have facial features besides it's eyes, i couldn't help but feel like the damn thing had a smug look on it's face. Like it thought it had the upper hand because of something that even a bug could do.
With shaking hands i grabbed on to the tentacles piercing through my chest and gripped as tightly as my hands could.
Pulling them was out of the question, so that left me with quite the problem so to speak.
There was one thing i could try, but i wasn't sure it would work.
Damn, the thing was reading to strike.
Claw's bared, it let loose it's fist at me.
And i let loose the sword.
The arm was cleaved in two, the inner half giving way as the spiritual blade carved it's way to the nightmare. It's head and torso two were separated at an odd angle, blood exploded from it's fresh wounds as the things carved up body flopped to the ground.
With another swing i was able to separate most of the tentacle that was stabbed into me from the rest, i could move now but that didn't help having both my lungs pierced through.
I stumbled to a nearby tree, hopefully the others would find me before i bleed out-.
"Bgleh!?".
What.
I looked down.
Punchiering through my abdomen...was...
fucking ridiculous...
A tree branch...
A godamn tree branch.
I let out a pained, wet grunt as i was forcefully picked up...by the tree.
The damn tree...was a nightmare.
/
"He's awake!".
Do they have to be so loud...
Wait...how am i?...
I checked myself over as I sat up, besides my bloody ruined shirt i was practically spotless.
My wounds were gone.
"What happened".
"It was an ambush" One started "This level of coordination and planning isn't normal, to be honest there's much we don't know about them. We were able to take care of the nightmares, even that tree".
"We...we thought you were going to die... Falling a good few feet away from the ground, let alone how wounded you were...but when we found you, you were fine!".
Well, i at least know who woke me up. Two was beside me and was probably taking care of me while i was unconscious, it definitely paid to have someone like her around.
"Yes...fine, but at the moment that's a topic for another time. Can you walk?".
"More or less, maybe we should figure things out at the cathedral, actually how much farther until we get there anyways?".
"Not long now, we've divvied most of our supplies which leaves you with a lighter load. There's no telling if this is superficial or not so don't overexert yourself".
Our conversation over and supplies in hand we continued on our way, but i had this weird feeling. I'm not sure why or how it started, as we kept walking it kept getting more and more harder to ignore, a growing, nagging feeling like...
Like i forgot something.
I'm not sure what exactly...but it felt important, in some way.
Wha?...
This feeling...what...
Suddenly, i was overcome by an absolute miasma. Such dread, pain, rage, despair...sadness?. A miasmic vortex of such intensity that i felt as though i would shatter under it any time now.
"We're here".
I could barely call what was before me an cathedral.
What was before us was a building formed from an amalgam of... bone's. Bone's, bone's, bone's, bone's without number... skeletons without number.
Human skeletons.
Skeletons interconnected and grasping eachother formed it's wall's, the same could well describe the 'cathedral's' tower's, Skeletons joined to form them. Skeletons protruded from the unnatural building, limp and lifeless, some hung from chain's. Worse than this was the rest of the 'building'.
Skeletons of gargantuan size hunched over massive spears that they held onto, And holding those spears as well was what i could only call an undead king.
Horn's protruding from it's head like a crown, skeletal body parts forming something akin to armour across it's form, the rest of which disappeared underneath a sea of hundreds of thousands of skulls.
The overwhelming miasmic storm flowed forth from it, spilling from every nook, gap, cranny and any other space it could spill through. It was sickening, as though my very being was submerged in the vilest of sludges with no reprieve from it.
"Hey, Hades...are you alright?, you don't look so good".
"... I'm fine two, no need to get worried over me".
I was nauseous, i can't remember the last time i was this sick. I couldn't help but find this ironic, i got used to a body that would never experience such things that, i was more or less crippled by something i would normally be able to soldier through.
I was trying my best as we got closer to it, a cold sweat came over me, hopefully none of them would notice.
The double door we came across was ridiculous, it was the size of a small building and like the rest of the damn thing was made of skeletons. There were handles but too high up to grab without something to act as a support or direct access.
"Great, we get ambushed, i almost die and the thing that stops us is a stupid door".
Honestly I'm pretty close to just calling all of this bullshit out, not to mention how I'm also close to vomiting up my organ's and then some.
"And?, it'd be a real problem if the door was trying to kill us".
"Wha?-".
Oh my god.
Did she...did she seriously just...
To my utter shock and amazement, one walked up to the giant bone door and kicked it open.
One kick.
Just one and she got it open.
... honestly, i shouldn't be surprised by what these girl's do, yet i somehow keep getting surprised.
With the doors open we made our way in, jarringly the interior was completely different from the exterior. A stone floor was accompanied by a carpet of some kind that i couldn't see the end of, stone pillars parallel with the stone walls.
And yet...
I was practically at my breaking point, i felt like i was going to drop any second.
The miasma seemed to get worse.
I tried to walk forward...but couldn't, why? i could at least push a few steps out of myself before...ah, so i collapsed...
If that's the case...
Why am i bleeding?...