Tomas sat up sharply at the sound of heavy knocks against his bedroom door, bleary-eyed and struggling to adjust to the darkness. He guessed that it must still be early in the morning, far too early for his Mother to be waking him up. The door opened to reveal a bulky silhouette that struggled to fit through the narrow doorway between Tomas' room and the corridor.
"Wake up Tommy, pack your things... we need to leave."
Tomas fought off the residual sleepiness fogging his head and yawned deeply. His Father grabbed a backpack from the floor that was nestled amongst the clutter near his bed, tossing it towards him in a hurried manner.
"Tommy! Wake up! Something's happening at the edge of town... something big."
Tomas shook his head and pushed himself out of bed, groggily packing a random assortment of clothes, writing materials and other personal knick-knacks. His Father only ever became this worried when there was a Grimm incident, however Tomas had experienced so many false alarms by this point that he presumed it was nothing but an overreaction. After all, the militia never let the Grimm get through.
After lacing on his work boots and buttoning his jacket, Tomas glanced to the opposite end of his room, his eyes having adjusted enough to allow him to make out the empty bed normally occupied by his older brother.
"Where's Rot?"
"Already out there with the militia." His Father grabbed a second bag from the far neater side his Brother claimed and began to stuff clothes inside it. "He said that the Grimm were acting up more than usual and to head into town just to be safe; if you're packed grab your lantern."
Tomas reached towards his bed side table and shook the dust lantern perched on top of it, basking the small space in a dim, orange glow and revealing his sweating Father who was frantically fastening the straps on his Brother's bag.
"Arthur! I've packed for me and Juno..." Tomas' Mother walked up the short corridor of their house and peeked a head into the room. "Tommy! Good lad, come out and look after your sister, would you? I want to grab a few more things just in case."
Tomas nodded and walked towards the doorway, tensing as he caught the worried look on his Mother's face.
"We'll be leaving soon son, get your sister ready..." Tomas' Father gently pushed him out of the room and followed briskly behind. "Morgan, grab whatever you're getting quickly, the Grimm could be here any minute!"
Tomas shuffled over to the front door where the small frame of his sister, Juno, was slumped over sleeping soundly and clutching a blanket that was more patchwork than one solid piece. Tomas smiled and slid down next to her, taking comfort in her indifference to the situation.
His parents spent a few minutes finalizing their supplies before his Father scooped up Juno and swung the front door open, taking a cautious glance up and down the street before leading the family out into brisk morning air.
Tomas looked up to see the moon, a shattered collection of white marble punctuating the otherwise jet black sky, confirming the early hour and renewing his desire to be back in bed. The light from his lantern did little to pierce the immediate darkness, though this would be of little consequence as all the way down the long street leading into the town centre he could see countless lanterns similar to his own congregating into a single stream that led deeper into the town. That was where the highest concentration of the town's militia were.
That was where it was safe.
Tomas' Father led the family down the street and followed the rest of the neighbourhood in their brisk march towards safety. Tomas recognised a few of his neighbours but no one had the time to spare a glance towards him, instead focusing on getting their own families away from the Grimm as fast as possible. Occasionally, a member of the militia would jog past in the opposite direction and yell orders that most were already following, though none resembled his brother and despite his confidence in their own safety he still worried for Rot.
As they got closer to the town centre, the steady chime of the town hall bell could be heard echoing between the walls of the buildings beside them. This signalled a general warning of a Grimm attack that had pierced the outer defences and posed a threat to the entire town. Tomas felt his stomach swirl as the scale of the situation dawned on him; usually they would evacuate a small portion of the town just in case, but to order the entire settlement to take shelter? He had never heard of it happening before. With each step, the bell grew louder and Tomas' feeling of foreboding swelled as the eerie vibrations of the heavy brass rattled inside his head.
After fifteen minutes of walking they had finally reached the main street of town and the now heavily crowded area was being sectioned off by militiamen into manageable pockets. Grimm attacks were commonplace enough for the population to understand that a calm and orderly entry into designated shelters was far safer than a free-for-all and for the most part the ordeal was relatively calm.
As Tomas and his family shuffled slowly towards their shelter, he took the time to glance around and spotted several shop owners hurriedly barring windows and reinforcing doorways. Such fortifications were also common during a Grimm attack though they were often erected less for the Grimm and more for the opportunistic thief that was brave enough to risk such an endeavour.
At this point, the ringing of the warning bell was near-deafening and the slumbering Juno was awoken in a dazed state, looking around confused and more than a little bit irritable.
"Where's Rotty and Tommy?" she asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and twisting her head frantically.
Tomas' Father stroked the back of his daughter's head and muttered into her ear, seemingly satisfying her curiosity as she arched her head to look behind her Father and smile at Tomas before resting against her Father's shoulder. Tomas smiled back and tried to look assured despite the circumstances, though he was ashamed to admit that he felt less sure with each second that passed.
The family came to halt behind a long line of people leading to one of the larger shelters found in town, designed to hide up to five hundred people comfortably and ensure their safety from any type of Grimm. However, the line ahead of them was long and Tomas wondered if there was truly be enough space to accommodate such a large number of people. Apparently he was not the only one noticing this issue; as time dragged on and more people joined the line, worried murmurs began to hum between the rhythmic chimes of the bell.
"...taking too long..."
"...already in the town..."
"...not enough militia..."
"GRIMM!"
The shout echoed across the street and silenced all conversation amongst the crowd, even the bell seemed to delay its next chime as nearly a thousand people packed into the wide street turned towards a horrified individual pointing back towards the street that Tomas' family had come from. The inky darkness prevented most from seeing it initially, the brightly lit main street giving the impression of utter black outside of its radius. Then slowly, two red glowing orbs pierced the darkness, barely a foot off of the ground but burning with a hatred that only the Grimm could muster.
A single 'Swarmer' emerged from the darkness, it's thin limbs scrabbling against the cobbled street, face contorted into a snarl like a vampire bat with long ears and jagged teeth laid in several serrated rows throughout its oversized mouth. It's skin was hairless and tight against its stick like limbs which were bent at unnatural angles and appeared to twitch incessantly as if the very act of keeping balanced was a chore that required the utmost concentration. Dozens of long, thin talons protruded from each of its flat paws, like thorns growing from a leaf.
For a moment nothing moved. The smallest pin could have dropped and the sound would be deafening compared to the stillness that swept over the terrified crowd. None dared make a sound for fear of incurring the inevitability of what came next. Tomas glanced towards his Father who clutched Juno tightly in his arms and braced himself to run wherever he could, fixing his own gaze at Tomas as if willing him to do the same.
The Swarmer's eyes turned to the man that had alerted the crowd to its presence and screeched an ear splitting cry. Out of the darkness behind the screeching beast came another Swarmer with its own cry to add to the concussive chorus , then another and another. More came from the dark until the street was lined with the tiny creatures.
Tomas took a breath, the world seeming to slow down as the man in the Swarmers' sights finally lost his nerve and turned to run. The moment he took a step, the Swarmers charged forwards and bellowed another scream, causing the crowd between them and Tomas to surge backwards in a terrified stampede. Tomas froze in place, unsure of what to do and, in his hesitation, was knocked on his back from a retreating citizen. He was immediately swallowed in a flurry of legs and dropped belongings as the crowd sprinted as fast as it could away from the Grimm. As he hit the floor he released his grip on his lantern, the glass containing the fire-dust shard splintering as it clattered against the cobbles.
The Swarmers surged forwards after the fleeing citizens, the largest Grimm taking the lead and ploughing into the man that had witnessed their approach, followed closely behind by three others that brought him down and tore into him without a moments hesitation; talons slashed across the man's back and the petrified screams of the unfortunate spotter phased in and out against the hums of the still ringing bell.
Tomas attempted to find his feet several times but with each attempt another fleeing citizen would bowl him over in their panic, with the third try knocking the wind from his lungs and leaving him struggling to breath. The cries of the hunted man died down after a few moments and as the last dregs of the retreating masses filtered down the street, only the messy feeding frenzy of the Swarmers was left to witness. He could hear the shouts of his parents behind him as he struggled for breath, their frantic cries becoming quieter as the stampeding mob forced them away from the Swarmers and consequently further from him.
As he pushed himself upwards onto his hands and knees, gasping for breath and bleary eyed, it dawned on him that all that was left in the street was the now unrecognisable body of the unfortunate man, the Swarmers and himself. As the smaller members of the Grimm pack scurried around the corpse, picking the left over scraps that the larger pack members had left behind, the more dominant Swarmers turned their gaze onto Tomas.
His thin frame would be little more than a light snack to such a ravenous group of monsters, but Tomas knew that Grimm rarely discriminated between those available for their consumption. Especially when they could not fight back.
Tomas tried to stand and run but stumbled over the cobbles, his vision swirling as he fell. He surmised that a passer-by must have knocked him on the head in the panic, though the reason didn't really matter anymore. Another shriek from the Alpha Swarmer renewed the pack's frenzy, their bodies visibly shaking in anticipation.
As the Alpha scrabbled over the uneven cobbles Tomas frantically looked around for something to protect himself with, spotting the lantern to his left and reaching desperately for its handle. As the Grimm pounced and spread it's talons for the kill he grabbed hold of the handle with his left hand and swung with all his strength in an arc over his head, feeling a solid connection followed by a searing pain across the back of his hand as the already damaged glass shattered and pierced the dust crystal within. A fireball surged out of the lantern, swirling around the Swarmer and coating it in an impossibly hot blanket of scorching fire. It shrieked in pain as its flesh was turned to ash and its eyes shrivelled in their sockets.
Tomas cried in pain and retracted his hand as the dust burned away above him and startled the remaining Grimm into a brief moment of pause. He looked back towards the pack and saw another Grimm snarl, calling out to rally the rest in a renewed charge towards him. There was nothing left to use, he was alone.
Tomas took one last look at the shattered moon in the sky and closed his eyes.
Terrified of what came next.
