I slumped down to my knees ignoring the nagging objection I felt in my thigh - numb with shock, disappointment and absolute terror. So that's it? All the trauma and pain over a core that doesn't even exist?
If only there was a way for me to know that beforehand.
If only there was a way for me to know that entering this stupid cauldron was a horrible idea.
If only there was any kind of sign to warn me of – wait.
Yes, there was a sign. Multiple signs actually. They were shoved at my face one after fucking another the more I get myself involved in this paranormal investigation game. But did I heed those signs? Did I? Like hell I did. That much was quite obvious otherwise I wouldn't be here getting the biggest scares of my life with a piece of junk wedged in my flesh.
The Tenakth outpost. The totem infested forest. The cauldron. The shadow folk themselves. All of them were massive red flags that were being waved at me from miles but did I listen? No… I was engrossed with the idea that something as illogical as re-animated corpses and floating objects had logical explaining. I blame my brain and its practical thinking.
I raised my head and looked around at the final destination in this hell on earth - and perhaps the final destination in my life - my eyes scanned over the walls, the empty pit and the roof. Oh how I wished so bad to go through that roof right now. I wish I had never gotten here. I wish I would have just taken the hint and stayed the hell away. Too bad wishing and regretting won't help me survive what I now consider the most difficult situation in my whole life.
I shakily stood to my legs squeaking a small yelp at the sharp pain in my injury. I gotta pull this thing out and preferably sooner than later. It's probably covered in a shit ton of filth and I'm not in the mood to be infected. If only I had some bandages or any piece of cloth to wrap the wound with, I could have treated it without worrying about the bleeding. But all I have on me for curatives are the medicinal berries, which I dumped a handful of in my mouth to keep my condition stable as much as possible. I chewed half heartedly as I looked around at nothing with tired non focusing eyes. I probably have bags underneath them that could be big enough to fit in a whole new inventory.
Suddenly, I had this urge to just call out to the jinn and ask them for a small favor: "Okay, guys. You win. I give up. Now rid me of my misery." I blurted out loud choking back tears. What's the point of staying alive anymore when there was no chance of survival? I'm badly injured and can't get out so might as well accept my fate and join the other corpses. At this point, every minute I spend alive is only torture. I'm just being weighed down by the nagging horrible reality of the current state and it's beginning to finally take a toll on my sanity.
"JUST FUCKING KILL ME!" I shrieked not having it in me to keep my resolve anymore. The sound of my agonized death wish bounced off the cauldron walls alongside my shaky breaths and unyielding sobs. Never have I felt this devastated in my entire life and, let's be real, I deserve it. I walked into this cauldron with my own will ignoring all the signs that I shouldn't tread where I wasn't supposed to so it's only fitting that I receive the punishment by none other than the ones who had sent me those signs in the first place. Heh. I kinda figured that when I die, I'd die to a machine or even a human who is capable enough to end me. But to die by the hands of the jinn? Wow… Until a few hours ago, I didn't even believe in them or at least wasn't sure they existed, yet here I am, about to finally meet my end by those creatures. I hope they do so nice and quick. I don't want to go through more torture than I already did. Enough is fucking enough.
I stared blankly at the spot where the core was supposed to be. I imaged a machine in the middle of its construction process. I fight the machine. A large pillar emerges with a red override node resided at the base. I imagined my module overriding the node turning it to a shiny blue color and the entire pillar gets covered in cords. Get a handful of overrides. Hightail it out of here on top of an elevator. If only this was what's happening right now. I expected at least to find a dysfunctional core but the fact that it doesn't exist at all feels so wrong. I would have been fine with that too actually. The absence of the core wouldn't bother me as much as the absence of the damn exit.
"Ooohhhh fuck me…" I wept covering my face with my hands. "Get me out. Please. I've had enough. Oh God… please… I want out. I WANT OUT!" My desperate prayers were all I could count on. I'm going crazy and I know it. Deep down, I'm vaguely aware that I have officially gone off the deep end. Who wouldn't in a situation like this – a situation when all the odds are against you with death being the only solution?
"Mm?" I raised my tear streaked face from my hands as I felt some kind of movement behind me and without thinking I turned around to find a shadow figure right at my face. Before I had a second to react, I felt myself getting shoved from atop the platform without being touched. In the few moments it took me to fall to the ground down there, all I could think was 'am I finally going to rest?'
I landed on my back with a loud thud and an 'omph' from deep inside my lungs before rolling on my side. Good thing I rolled on the side opposite the one where the metal piece is otherwise it might have gone straight through my thigh and right the other side of it. Add that to being trapped with a bunch of ghosts without any access to medical treatment and only then would death be the only cure for such a case. The rough landing had literally knocked the breath out of me that I had to wheeze in a shaky breath as I rolled on my stomach. I wanted to get up but even the thought of doing so made me feel even more exhausted. I'm just so done by now. I wonder if I'm going to see Maki soon. I want to go to him and tell him that I'm sorry I couldn't save him on time.
It's okay… I will meet him soon… everything is going to be fine now. I thought amidst the ringing in my ears as I awaited my imminent demise. Then, just as I slowly began to cave in, I suddenly raised my head and perked up as I saw something through my slowly blackening vision. No, it wasn't 'something'.
It was someone!
What's another human doing in here? As much as I didn't care about anything anymore, I couldn't help but feel my curiosity spark at the sight of another living being in here with me. The figure was dressed like an Utaru. He was walking with his side facing me. His back was hunched and his face was covered in shadows. He was walking just far enough from me so my Focus light wouldn't reach him entirely so I only managed to see bits of him. And that's when a dreaded question popped into my head: what if he was possessed? Living or dead, the jinn get ahold of whoever enters their territory. So what would it matter if that was another person? Sooner or later, I'll have to run an arrow through his skull in case he starts funny business, which raises yet another question just as dreadful: do I even have the strength to fight back? I knew I'd be too shaky to nock an arrow to my bow, much less fire at where I need to aim. My best bet is to just prepare the spear and wait for him to make a move. At least when he runs over to me, I'll be waiting here ready with the sharp pointy tip to impale himself on.
I slowly raised myself up so I was seated on my knees but before I pulled out the spear, the person slowly turned in my direction to face me and when the Focus light fell on his features, my eyes almost popped out of my socket and rolled away when I saw who that is.
"M-Maki?" I croaked. The supposed-to-be-dead Utaru didn't respond. "Maki, y-you're alive… what happened… how did you get here?" I strained through heavy breaths. "Maki. We need to leave… Do you know a way out?" I was practically crawling towards what I considered my savior, who was focusing in and out of my gradually blurring vision.
There was still no response from the guy but I was too out of it to know that something was badly wrong. Instead, he slowly moved his head and looked at me with the most crocked grin I have ever seen. "Please, I'm badly injured. Got some bandages or someth – huh?" I stopped myself halfway through my cries for help when he made no move and kept wearing that demented facial expression shooting me with those predatory looks. It finally clicked in my short-circuited brain:
That's not Maki.
The real Maki is and will never be here.
"Who… are you?" that was my last question as I fell to my side in an unconscious heap.
The warm golden rays of the early afternoon sun reflected off of the fur of the lonely rabbit as it was aimlessly hopping in search for whatever keeps it sustained. The clueless little creature made a few more small pounces before one final screech emitted out of it as it laid on its side; eyes no longer staying on the lookout and nose stopped twitching as a stain of blood started to form on its light brown fur from which an arrow was jutting out.
"What, that all you managed to get for us?" I ignored the teasing as I approached the rabbit and picked up the arrow with my kill hanging from it. "I mean I was expecting a boar or at least a pelican but this little rodent is going to last us for like five minutes."
I turned around with a smirk to face my companion who was wearing, besides the playful smirk on her face, the trademark Greek armor her world is known for. The tiara headgear from the amazon armor set shone brightly in the sun and below it was the face of none other than the one and only:
Kassandra the Eagle Bearer.
"Someone's being greedy." I mumbled.
"I'm not greedy. I'm hungry!"
"Well, if you're not satisfied, you can always get your own meal." I said as I playfully shoved the arrow holding the dead rabbit at its tip to my otherworldly friend's chest. "Just don't mistake the machines for food. This stuff is not edible."
"I don't remember being as dumb as you." She retorted with a chuckle.
"Then prove it and get us something bigger to feed your starving ass." I said as I turned around to check for more victims.
"With Icarus's help, I'll get that done in no time." At the mention of said name, I heard the owner of it screeching in the sky high above us until he swooped in and landed on my arm.
"Good boy." I patted the large golden eagle nestled on my forearm. "Are you going to help poor Kassi hunt for food? You know she's too stupid to get something done right herself."
"Asshole." Retorted Kassandra with a playful tone. I let Icarus fly off my arm and turned to watch him soar high up. If he could live up to his namesake, he could have reached the sun with how high he's flying. "Tala?"
"Hm?" I responded as I felt the assassin wrap her arms around me from behind.
"Get us something to eat or I will eat you myself." she mumbled as she nuzzled my shoulder.
"Eat my ass then."
"Hehe." She chuckled before humming contently and felt her lips kissing my neck. "Another thing though. Just do me this one small favor."
"We can wait until we get to my bed." I chuckled.
"Talanah…" she said sounding awfully serious and I knew something was heavily off.
"Kassi?" I asked anxiously.
"Wake up."
"Huh?"
"Wake up!" I turned around to face my lover and screamed at the sight of her distorted face. Her face was white pale and her eye-less sockets looked like they were covered in heavy ink which was dripping down her cheeks. Her nose and lips were missing revealing a set of bare jaws that moved up and down as she spoke the next simple two words:
"WAKE UP!"
The bright lights of my flashback were replaced by the stale darkness of real life bringing me back to the horrible merciless reality I'm currently putting up with. A reality I wished so bad to not be a part of and stayed in the one where I get to hunt for breakfast with my Greek lover.
The moment I got of sleep - more like faintness - has refreshed me enough to stand up to my feet properly without getting dizzy. I carefully and slowly lifted myself up while making sure not to put too much pressure on the bad leg. If I don't want anything to do with my current situation, I gotta do more than just wishing. I wobbly took my first step and – wait! I suddenly remembered before I lost consciousness… with a horrid gasp, I whipped my head over to where I had last seen the guy who looked like Maki but definitely wasn't him to see that he was gone. I wonder what he was doing when I fainted. I didn't get possessed while I was out, did I? Maybe the possession is like a disease: the symptoms appear later. Or maybe I'm perfectly fine as in totally not possessed kind of fine and that I should stop adding scary thoughts to the bullshit I'm dealing with right now.
I limped around desperately, badly hoping that I could find any sort of exit. I circled around the wide hall checking out the walls for ropes or any sort of handholds I could climb up on. I was even dreading another encounter with Not-Maki fearing he might pop out of every corner I approach. By the time I was done with my search for escape, I was panting and sweating. Normally, I'd make it through cauldrons without breaking a single sweat – okay, maybe a few here and there. But this… this is definitely beyond normal thanks not just to the jinn, but the lack of proper ventilation and my injury which is literally stamina consuming. Speak of literally the devil…
"!" I gasped hard as I heard something moving in the dark with me. "Oh no, not again. Not now." I whispered in a panic as I dove to the nearest heap of bushes which luckily there was an abundance of in this chamber. What is it this time? A shadow? A moving mutilated corpse? Maybe just a piece of scrap that can easily impale me through the spleen. I sat there trembling and thinking about the terrifying possibilities. It has got to be one of them. No better alternatives, I'm afraid. Nothing good will ever come out from the noise I just heard, of that I'm certain.
I peeked through the bushes to look for the unwanted newcomer but I couldn't see anyone among my shaky Focus light. But at this point, I knew better. I swept the surrounding area with my light for as far as it could reach and even when it all went quiet again, I was still pretty terrified of leaving my current spot. And I almost did when I jumped at the sound of something metallic rolling across the floor until it reached my current position and came to a sudden halt as if it was grabbed by an invisible hand (which it probably did). The rolling object was just a metallic pipe that probably got clutched off the ceiling or something. No… it wasn't any metallic pipe. It was a handhold; a means for transportation. My heart rate spiked as I began to understand what this probably means. Not only did it stop specifically in front of me but it had to be a handhold out of all things. You know, the handhold is supposed to help me climb. No handhold. No climbing. If this isn't a coincidence then it's a dreading message that portrays how helpless I am and it must mean one thing: You can't escape.
My heart couldn't beat any faster as reality kept weighing down on me as heavily as a Thunderjaw. I'm badly injured, trapped with the jinn and can neither run nor hide. To top it all off, they must know about my presence. I must have been found at some point before I hopped in among the bushes. I mean I've been unconscious for a good time while out in the open. And after that I was moving around and didn't even bother hiding until I heard the noise. Surely, they must have seen me and probably gloating at my condition.
What now? What now? What now? What now? It's like my brain has crashed and could only repeat the mantra that's being rolled through my mind in a panicky repetition. I sat there trembling with wide eyes waiting for what's going to happen next. What's the point of hiding? They know I'm here. Sooner or later, one of them is going to grab me by the hair or toss sharp items at me if not possess me. This is not a 'what if' scenario anymore. It's definitely no coincidence that this piece of handhold got thrown right in front of me out of all places in this large hall.
I waited. And waited. And waited. Not daring to move a finger. With zero idea of how much time had passed. The suspense of not knowing whether there's a jinn hiding out there or not is murdering me. That's when I couldn't take it anymore so I crawled to the opposite end of the shrub line so I could move around without being seen. I can no longer walk while crouching thanks to my thigh's condition so the least I could do is crawl on my hands and knees, and while it still hurts, this position helps distribute my weight for a more bearable pain.
Clang
Oh dear. What has moved this time? As much as I didn't care to find out and focus on finding an exit, my curiosity compelled me to peek through the stems and out to the large core-less hall.
And I saw it.
The massive shadow figure with the weird distorted limps and head. At the sight of that thing, I shrunk further in my hiding spot among the red plants. Even though the paranormal creature had no discernable feature whatsoever, I could sense the amount of evil aura emanating out of its ghostly ass.
This was enough incentive to stay as low as possible and never get up under any circumstances. And… to be frank, I'm not even sure why I even bother trying to survive anymore. I know I'm just delaying the death bell and even a few moments ago I yelled at the jinn to finish me off. But I guess my survival instinct is forcing me to hang on to what little hope I have left. But what good would that squat hope do? Even if there's an exit, not only am I too weak and injured, but I have that thing to worry about. And yet everything in me is telling me to keep trying.
Ok, I just have to rely on the hiding spots and perhaps move around while remaining hidden and hope that thing doesn't sense my presence but if it did – well, let it happen. I'm as good as dead anyway. I crawled on my knees feeling my thigh stinging slightly with every step. I was sweating like a waterfall and breathing became more and more of a chore. And even though there isn't any dead bodies here, it reeked so bad that I feared I might get dizzy and faint again. I shakily crawled my way while remaining inside the bushes, panic slowly arising as I see more and more of the jinn around me. Everywhere I check from inside the bushes, I see more shadow figures popping up from everywhere from all shapes and sizes.
I crawled to a corner beneath a large structure and while the bushes ended there, I still remained shielded from the outside. I sat against the wall hugging my thighs and I checked the metal piece that's lodged in the left leg. The bleeding has stopped but it still hurts and I'm sure I was gonna get infected sooner or later. And even if it did, so what? I have the jinn to rid me of my misery anyway. Absolutely hopeless, I buried my face in my knees.
That's when I officially gave up.
There's no way out. Nothing but death for me here. Guess this is how I will end, huh? I'll get killed by a bunch of stupid ghosts and mutilate my corpse for shit and giggles.
BANG!
"Aeh!" I yelped louder than my stealth allowed when the large metallic plate I'm hiding behind got knocked on releasing a loud echo throughout the jinn infested hall.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
No, please. I chocked back on tears as my pleads went unannounced in fear of exposing myself more than I already am. Stay away… but the banging persisted and louder than ever. There's no denying it. They know that's where I am. The message is quite clear in the banging:
Come out here and play.
Then all of a sudden, the banging stopped and it all went quiet as if I was plugging my ears. I hugged my knees tighter and buried my face between them refusing to raise my head and look. I was just too terrified. I don't want to check behind the plate only to find one of those freaks staring me in the face with non-existent eyes. I wished so badly that this was just a bullshit dream and that I'd wake up in the safety of my room. But I know better than to fool myself. This situation is real. Very real. Everything was.
"AAHHH!" then some ghostly force grabbed me and dragged my sorry butt right out in the open. There wasn't any shadow with me. Not one that I could see anyway but I sure as hell felt it as my body got scrapped along the filthy floor and roughly released me right in the middle of the hollow spot where the core was supposed to be. And that's when I jumped at the sight of a shadow figure right next to me - a complete foot taller than me. However creepy it was, instead of soiling my pants at the sight of it, I felt daring. So out of rage and desperation, I hurriedly limped over to it as fast as my thigh allowed and swung a fist at it with an angry grunt. Since I have nothing to lose anymore, might as well use physical force and see what happens. But the damn thing just dissolved to the ground and out of sight. But forget that guy, there's someone else I should worry about more as I heard eerie growling noise.
"Eeergh." I felt sweat breaking dread as I slowly turned around to find the giant shadow being near the far wall. Did that thing just make that noise? It's just staring at me motionlessly and that in and off itself was creepy. I wasn't sure if what I saw on its face were glowing eyes but I know the light of my Focus isn't reflecting on nothing. That thing knows I'm weak and doesn't shy away from gloating about it. And frankly, I could have handled being stared at just fine but I definitely don't feel the same about things getting thrown at me from multiple directions; rocks, scraps, bones, anything solid enough to hurt. I didn't know if they were thrown by that tower of a ghost or by other ones but the results are all the same. If I don't want to sustain more injuries, I gotta move fast. And so I tried limping in random directions to increase the chance of missing me with the damn rocks and whatever shit getting thrown at me. And so, it's like the entire hall has gone berserk on me with all the re animated objects getting tossed in my direction left and right. And with an injured leg to worry about, dodging and constantly moving ignited searing pain in the wound.
"Fuck off already!" I shrieked at my assailants who definitely weren't having it. "Stop it!" I kept my face shielded with my arms while leaning from side to side constantly in fear of losing an eye or something. And when I ran towards the center of the room, I gasped and jumped back when the coreless spot suddenly erupted in flames. How? There weren't even any fire source or flammable objects. I stood in shock at the large pillar of flame that came out of nowhere. I quickly turned away towards the opposite wall only to find the massive shadow had teleported over there. But then I made the mistake of putting my arms down a little in the midst of all that distraction, so I almost got gored in the face by something that zapped by my head and I tripped on a piece of scrap that got dragged right underneath my feet. And before I got up, I yelped as I felt something dragging me from my ankle in a vice-like grip and literally wiped the floor with me as my entire body helplessly got swept across the hall. I roughly yanked my leg free from the invisible grip but those guys weren't giving me a break that simply.
"Ooohhh!" I howled as I was floating in the air a few feet above the ground. I was in entire shock of what's happening and I was kicking and thrashing before falling to the floor with a loud thud. I raised my head slowly with an exhausted groan. At this point, I'm completely consumed. I barely have any fight left in me. Not like fighting against those guys was going to do any good to begin with.
I really am going to die. My worn out brain racked up what seems to be my final thought. And the jinn seemed to have read it, cuz I felt my body getting dragged slowly towards the flames in the center of the room. Just as I understood what those freaks were attempting to do, I quickly jerked back to action and managed to usher my unsteady legs to stand up again. Even though I knew there was no point of fighting back anymore, something in me simply refused to give them the satisfaction of ironically burning me alive right where the core should have been. The grip got released momentarily and was replaced by a harsh shove towards the fire as if some bully was pushing me from behind. Though I guess I really am dealing with bullies. The push felt like actual human hands on my shoulder and that made it feel even more surreal. As of those jinn can remain invisible and possess solid bodies at the same time.
I eyed the flames in terror knowing that one last push and I'm literal dead meat. This is it. This is the end for me. Death would be the only outcome for this ordeal. Like it or not, I have to accept my fate and let the jinn have a barbecue party. If no human or machine could kill me then the jinn will.
And then my eyes happen to catch something that may just be my final chance. Right over there, perched on top of a high platform, was the head of a grimy weed covered Sunwing.
I gasped sharply at the remembrance of something so vital perhaps to my survival. How could I have been so stupid! I facepalmed at the possibility that I could have died because I forgot I already have means of survival. Or at least I hope it is…
So I put two fingers to my mouth and with one deep breath, I unleashed the loudest and longest whistle in my whole life. I whistled as if my life depended on it and it literally fucking did. The screeching whistle pounced off the walls of the wide hall making it even louder.
Tweeeeeeeeeeet
I hope it shows up. I thought as my ear drums vibrated from the force of the sound. And when I ran out of air, I released my finger with a shaky inhale. Then I raised my head up to the ceiling with hopeful eyes. "Please get here. You're my only chance." I pleaded.
I waited for seconds that felt like two hours and I felt completely broken when nothing happened. Then I felt the heat of the flames and stepped away from it but the damn force of the jinn slowly dragged me towards the fire as if they want to prolong the torture and enjoy every minute of it. Guess my plan was too good to be true. I closed my eyes knowing I'm in for hot searing pain before it's all over. As I was drawn closer to my demise, I thought of Kassandra and how she's currently resided in her world, probably doing her thing of assassinating folk for some good cash. What would happen when she checks in on me and notices my absence? She might come to my world, ask around for clues to my whereabouts until she was led to this piece of shit cauldron and she'll have to go through what I have been through to finally stumble upon a scorched body in Carja armor, which would eventually be joined by another body in Greek armor.
I thought of my friends and allies from other worlds and how I will never see them again. I treasure them more than I do the people from my own world. Wonder if they will ever find out what happened with me.
I thought of Maki and how he is doing in the afterlife. Sometimes I'd wonder what death is like and what happens with the soul when it's released from its body. I'll find out soon. Maki, I'll see you in a minute...
"Please have mercy on my soul." My last prayer. My last words.
Then my eyes shot open at the sound of rumbling from above and seemingly the jinn got surprised too when I felt their ghostly grip gone off of me. At that instant, I jumped back as far away from the flames as possible until I tumbled on the floor. I didn't look away from the ceiling waiting for my rescuer to show up. To my absolute luck, the ceiling was weak enough to give way. It was tumbling and dropping lots of rocks, dust and debris that I crawled backwards to avoid having any of that drop on me. And finally, I saw it.
First, poking through the ceiling was the tip of a peak, then the rest of it, followed by a head adorned with blue glowing eyes. The machine wriggled and squeezed its way in until it created a hole big enough to come through and land right on top of the flames instantly extinguishing them. I stood up feeling ecstasy at the sight of my ticket out of this shithole. There among the falling debris remains and the smoke from where the flame has been, was my Sunwing.
No more seconds to waste. I will slap myself for forgetting I have a Sunwing override later. But first: I fuck off from this place. I hoped on top of it completely ignoring the injury in my thigh because this is nothing compared to getting scorched alive for the sake of some evil jinn amusement.
"Get me out of here!" on my command, the Sunwing flapped its wings and gradually began its ascent to where it came from. "Later, fuckers!" I hollered with both my middle fingers waving around because this is clearly how I feel towards this garbage cauldron and all the stupid jinn in it. But apparently they didn't take to my perfectly understandable gesture kindly because they started tossing rocks, scraps and all sorts of hard objects at me. I quickly shielded my face with an arm while shielding my injury with the other one. Thankfully, the machine isn't affected by any of that of course and kept on flying up as steadily as ever ignoring the onslaught. But the jinn seemed to have noticed how they're not doing any damage because the projectiles began to increase in size, developing from small dead machine remains to long pipes, beams, metal arms and even an entire machine part. I grimaced as a Shellwalker's shell got flown right beneath us barely missing my machine's leg. But suddenly we got hit and this time, my ride felt it. And guess what? It was the dead Sunwing's head that hit the living one. Quite ironic that the very same piece that inspired my idea for survival is the one that hinders my escape. I yelped and impulsively held on to my mount's neck as it staggered and almost hit the wall scraping it with the tips of its wings causing small sparks to fly off and start a fire in the bushes below. Then all of a sudden, the flames erupted violently and rapidly spread everywhere even on the cold hard cauldron floor. And that's when I knew these newly formed flames aren't natural. This is the doing of the jinn literally adding fuel to fire.
"Please, big guy. Hang on." I urged as I patted its neck in encouragement. I was horrified of something going wrong at this point. What if my machine got damaged enough to not fly anymore? What if it began to lose altitude? What if I fell off to the scorching flames below and it wasn't quick enough to save me?
"Oh shit!" I quickly ushered my mount to a side swirl to avoid that large Bellowback getting thrown at us. And I gasped sharply as I felt a piece of metal hitting my thigh too close to the one lodged in my protesting flesh. That's it. We have to move quicker than that. Any extra second wasted here means imminent death, for both me and my machine. "NOW!" I hollered with all my might and the machine dashed the last few feet to the ceiling. With its long pointy peak, it penetrated the hole (ok, pause) in the ceiling followed with the rest of its body with me on top of it. I clenched my teeth while shutting my eyes tight as I felt the metal piece in my thigh getting scrapped repeatedly as my machine made its rough exit. The last thing I saw was the massive jinn looking at me among the hell with amber glowing eyes before it disappeared out of sight. And finally, we're out.
The night air has never felt this refreshing before. I took a few deep breaths of air that's not polluted by the stench of decomposing bodies or jinn ass. But this was not a moment to celebrate my survival. With a command to my Sunwing and it pushed a giant boulder right on top of the hole. Can't have anybody fall in there by accident, break a leg, then get tortured by those bastards. With that taken care of, I dismounted my ride then limped away for a few steps before I took a seat relishing the feel of grass beneath me, not believing what just happened – shocked by the revelations. The jinn are real. They attacked me, terrified me. And just when I thought I wouldn't make it out of there, I get rescued by my own machine. I felt its heavy steps as it crawled towards me before surrounding me with its wings with its head on top of me.
"Thank you." I said to my machine looking up to it gratefully. "If you guys had genitals, I would have found you another Sunwing to fuck." It made a small peeping robotic sound in response. I didn't really care if it understood what I said or not but I know it deserved it. I got up and mounted it again before it flew off into the beautiful nightsky. I felt completely numb but it was for an entirely different reason than the first. This time, I was numb with joy and disbelief that I actually made it out when I was quite confident that I was going to face a horrible death. I could only imagine what could have happened if I hadn't overridden a Sunwing before arriving – oh my God. I for sure would have joined the other corpses in that over-sized graveyard, after getting burned to a crisp of course.
I survived… I survived... The thought kept repeating itself in my head in the most pleasant mantra that doesn't involve panicking this time. I looked beneath me to the vast lands of the Forbidden West as I hung on to my mount's neck feeling the revitalizing air rush past me. Freedom has never felt this precious to me. I may have been in perilous situations multiple times before but they either included humans or machines, neither of which was something I couldn't handle. But what happened to me back then was nothing like I have encountered before nor was it something that I could have fought against with a spear. Those were entities living in their own dimension, possessing powers unfamiliar to any human.
Furthermore, I was trapped, under their mercy with an injured leg to boost. If there was an exit, I could have made my way out promptly ending the terror. But I was tormented; both physically and mentally, until I had my machine to bail me out. When I think about it, I actually got out by chance. That's why I gotta make sure to never ever go through an experience like that again. I got lucky this time and I'm not about to push it. Simply because there's no guarantee I'll always have a Sunwing override on me in a traumatizing emergency such as this.