Terror filled Cassandra's soul as she watched the vile creature snarl into the air. The sight of the redheaded fawn as she hovered above it only multiplied the fear that was boiling inside her. Who was this woman?
As the sounds of more creatures erupted from around the town, Lia found her focus solely fixed on her sister; who was still in close proximity to the smaller blonde fawn. "I need to get Leta!" She shouted, sparing Cassandra and Milo only a fleeting glance. "You two need to hide, now!"
The brunette did not want to go alone. "Lia, wait!"
"My sister is over there, Cassandra! I'm not letting her get killed!" She gave no other words before her body de-materialized and she vanished out from view. Cassandra realized that there was more at stake than she could have ever known. This wasn't an illusion. This was real.
Everyone was in danger.
She turned to Milo, ushering him towards Gibbin, who had also just witnessed the scene. "We need to run!"
Appearing before Falena and Narratha, Lia immediately locked eyes with the duo, centering most of her attention on the one who continued to hover in the air. The licker on top of the roof growled as it heard her movement, but the fawn did not falter.
Narratha smiled as she ascended higher, clearing the way for whatever violence would take place below her. "Just the one I was looking for."
"Narratha?" Lia exclaimed, causing the licker to creep up further toward the edge. She readied her powers, expecting it to pounce at any moment.
"I thought you wouldn't have remembered me," she giggled, her green eyes shifting between Lia and the licker. Leta had been cornered by Falena, but the blonde's attention could not be taken away from what was going on around her. The child was too afraid to realize that she had an opportunity to run, but Lia did.
Dividing her attention between all four, Lia found her situation complicated even further by the sounds of destruction that were taking place all around her. There were more of these beasts, she thought. Not only that – they were killing people.
There was no time to waste.
"Call these things back, Narratha!" Lia shouted. The licker made its move.
The monster jumped from the roof of the house, barreling down toward the fawn. She used her powers to freeze its body in a blue aura, but that did not stop its descent. The licker crashed to the ground, and Lia chose to put pressure on it, holding it in place as she shouted at Narratha again. "Call them back!"
"I'm not their mother," Narratha remarked.
"Call them back!" Lia screamed, only to have Falena mimic her.
"Call them back!" The slender blonde laughed, her eyes now completely away from Leta. Without a second to spare, Lia seized the opportunity at hand. She cast forth a swift field of force from her palm, sending it directly at Falena. The fawn found herself swept off her feet, her back crashing into the stone wall behind her.
Narratha only shook her head slowly and rolled her eyes.
Lia made a move for her sister, dashing toward her with her arm extended. The two managed to lock hands just as Falena came to; still somewhat dazed from the blow. She could hear Narratha's groaning right before the two fawn's bodies dissipated into blue particles, taking them away from the fight.
Falena opened her eyes, only to see the hungry licker right in front of her. With a gasp, she braced herself as it lunged toward her, repeating the same move the Lia did as she froze it in the air and sent it spinning away from her. As soon as the beast tumbled and regained itself, Narratha used her magic to grab it, hurling the creature over onto the other side of the house behind them.
Falena, still catching her breath, glanced up at her companion. "She's not going to join us."
With an annoyed glare, Narratha's lip curled up to her nose as she descended onto the ground. "You don't know that…"
Running for cover as quickly as they could, Cassandra, Gibbin, and Milo hurried down the dirt path that led out of the town square. The screams and shouts of the other villagers could be heard, and as the brunette turned her head, she beheld the devastating carnage that Narratha had brought onto the small settlement.
Several more of the red creatures had appeared, having emerged out of blue rifts that were not fading away. The beasts were capable of high leaps, jumping from house to house as they tailed the fleeing townsfolk. One of the animals had already snagged a poil under its teeth, biting down into his leg as it flung him about.
The screaming man was no match for such a ferocious nightmare. The licker slammed him into the ground, rolling around like a crocodile as it twisted his leg into a bleeding, floppy mess. His strained cries of pain could only get so loud before exhaustion kicked in. The licker dragged him along the soil, tearing his left thigh clean off his extremity before it began to pummel him to death with its gargantuan claws. It beat his skeleton to a bloody pulp, carving valleys across his torso before finishing him off with a gory bite to the throat.
It was the first of what surely would be many more deaths, and if they didn't find somewhere to hide soon – they would be next.
"Where is Lia and Leta?!" Milo frantically asked as he looked back at the two fawns who had started this rampage.
"I don't see them anywhere!" Cassandra searched for a building to take shelter in, desperate to get out of sight as soon as possible. "She must have brought her back to the castle."
"No," Milo replied. "She wouldn't do that. She knows those fawns will follow them. She must have a plan."
Gibbin, his sword still firmly grasped in his hand, kept his eyes on the horde of monsters that surrounded them. "Those things are killing people!"
Milo turned his head, watching as one of the lickers jumped from the ground and onto a nearby roof. The impact of its claws decimated the mixture of clay and branches that made up the covering. He could see its long tongue kicking around in the air, striking a portion of the house as it moved about. The effect of the appendage against the house was no different than the strongest man swinging a bladed hammer.
One hit, and they would be dead.
"Gibbin, if you think you can take one of those things down, it will kill you!" Milo tried to pull the man closer as he began to gravitate toward the town square. It was already a losing battle, as the man knew that his friend would not budge.
"Better me than anyone else, Milo!" Gibbin shouted. "I'm not going to let these things destroy this place. Take Cassandra and hide!"
"Gibbin!" The brunette shouted, but to no avail. He pushed past Milo and began to charge into the square, sword at his side. Milo took hold of her before she could get a glimpse of what was to follow, but from what she had seen, the licker on top of the roof had heard him approaching. Her heart raced at a thousand miles an hour.
This can't be happening! Why is this happening?!
Milo threw open the door to one of the poil homes, finding a family of three taking cover in the corner of their living room. The mother and her two sons shuddered at the sight of the man, who silently closed the door and approached them, his finger raised against his lips.
"Shh..." Milo ushered them into silence after seeing the panic that was in their eyes. Cassandra was the next one in, peering back into the outside as they journeyed further into the house.
The mother tightened her grip around her two children. "Close the door!" She whispered frantically. "You'll draw the monsters in!"
Cassandra quickly turned around and shut it behind her before she moved to rejoin Milo. The two boys nearby were frightened to all hell. Tears were visible as they flowed down their cheeks, but they did a remarkable job at keeping quiet. Perhaps, Cassandra thought, the children were far too scared to even make a sound. She had seen that level of fear in the past, but for it to come from a child was just heartbreaking.
These poor boys…
"What is going on out there?" The woman asked.
"I'm not sure," Milo replied as he hovered over her, eyes shifting between them and the window. He gave Cassandra the cue to shut it and fortify it as best she could. "Just…stay inside, okay? Is there a safer room for us to go to?"
"No," she answered, her head turning in all directions as the fear of the lickers grew. "They can get in from anywhere."
"Alright." Milo took a breath as he stood up and quietly shuffled over toward the brunette, who had found herself in need of help when it came to moving one of the dressers over to the window. She did not want to create too much noise, as the screams and cries of the rest of the townsfolk could be heard close by. The shrieks and howls of the lickers followed them, and the scratching of their claws against the buildings signaled just how close their proximity truly was.
There was no safety in venturing outside, and to be caught inside this home was also a death trap. The brunette whispered as she turned to the owner of the residence, "Do you have any weapons?"
"My husband…h-he has a set of arrows, but I-I don't know where he keeps it!"
"It's okay," Milo added as he helped Cassandra push the dresser across the window. "We'll find it. You and your boys just hang tight, okay?"
"Yeah…" She could only nod, the sweat porously dripping from her brow. Cassandra sighed as the gravity of the situation took hold. She could only fathom how many lives were going to be lost today.
Falena and Narratha continued to watch as the town descended into bloody ruin. The redheaded fawn cracked a wide smile that was brought on by the suffering of those around her. The blonde to her right did not show as much enthusiasm, but her drive to accomplish what they had come there to do would not be diminished.
"Narratha, any sign of the two?" Falena kept her eyes on a swivel as she used her senses to search for the first trail of powers that she could pick up. She had found success in tracking down other fawns in the past, but Lia was something different. She may have been unnaturally powerful, but the woman knew how to mask her tracks.
"Hmm…" Narratha's senses were stronger, yet, she still could not pick up on any hint as to where they had gone. "Keep searching. In the meantime, these animals can continue their slaughter. If that doesn't draw them out…"
"Do you think she will come back to help them?"
The redhead's eyes sat still for a second. "Part of me hopes she does. Part of me hopes she doesn't. One way or the other, we will get what we came here for."
A couple who had been hiding behind one of the food stands suddenly popped up and sprinted across the open clearing. Frightened by an approaching licker, the duo made a run for it, fearing that the beast would have seen them. Narratha caught a visual of the man and the woman as they hurried along and used her powers to create an invisible wall that they could not pass.
"What the –" The man recoiled off the barrier as his wife yelped in shock. As soon as she tried to turn the other way, she was faced with the approaching licker, who had been following the sounds of their footsteps. The monster advanced toward them, crouched down in a pouncing position, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"Danton!" The man's wife called out as she stared at the horrific being just a dozen yards away. Her husband picked himself up off the ground, finding that there was nowhere left to run as the barrier encircled them. He took her by the hand, bracing themselves for the inevitable.
The licker picked up in speed, hurtling toward them faster than ever. It jumped into the air – only to suddenly be pulled away by an unseen force. The creature's shrieks faded away as it was sent across the field, leaving the couple in both shock and with some time to catch their breath.
It was a reprieve that they so desperately needed, but the luck that had come their way was anything but. As soon as their spirits had begun to lighten up, the sight of the two fawns approaching them sent their adrenaline into overdrive. They tried to run away again, but the barriers that had impeded their movement had shifted into an offensive force, knocking the couple off their feet and sending them down onto the dirt.
Falena – who had just performed the takedown – prepared herself for the next assault; only to have Narratha touch down from the sky before her.
"I want these two," she said with her back toward the blonde. A bloodthirsty smile was drawn across her face as she approached them casually.
"Go for it," the fawn replied.
"Please!" Danton begged Narratha to show them mercy. "You don't have to do this!"
A chuckle rattled under her breath; her smile wide as ever. "I know."
Narratha's palms became engorged in a flurry of blue fire, her eyes mirroring the same glow as she advanced closer. With a swift movement, she took hold of the man with the force of her powers, levitating him in the air at a fast speed.
Paralyzed from the crushing force of her might, he could only pinch out a faint grunt before she swung him back down onto the ground. A cloud of dirt kicked up following the impact, increasing in height as she repeatedly bombarded the planet's surface with his body. Bones and blood vessels shattered under the monstrous strength that the fawn's magic was able to enact. His wife could only stand there and cry as she watched her husband being battered to death in front of her.
When the dust settled, his body appeared contorted in the most unnatural of positions. Streaks of soil covered his skin and clothes, dampened by the bright blood that had been pushed from his nostrils and ears. As Narratha walked past him and closer to the woman he had loved, she stuck out her left hand and blasted a wave of blue fire, setting his corpse ablaze.
Her screams devolved into babbling words with no comprehensibility as she cowered in the face of the killer. Narratha had not spared the man a single glance, focusing all her attention on her next kill as she converged upon her. The aura of her large, white fur cape created an imposing figure. She extended her hand again, sending tendrils of power along the woman's body and pulling her throat into her grasp.
With her magic elevating her strength, Narratha proceeded to choke the woman with a single arm, using her abilities to elevate her victim's body off her feet. The poil squirmed around in her grip, powerless to fight back as her face became blue. The strings of energy compressed her neck so greatly, that her consciousness had started to fade. Narratha only lightened up on the pressure as she wanted her prey to be well aware of what was about to come.
Placing her free hand upon the woman's stomach, the fawn took the time to listen to the rapid rhythm of her heartbeat. The ensuing thumps kicked off like a machine gun as the redhead smiled at the sound of its music. As soon as she had heard what she wanted to hear, she sent a powerful shockwave through her hand that obliterated the poil's internal organs. Her gut became distended and rigid, quickly turning a dark purple as her fluids exploded all around inside her.
She would only spend less than a minute going into shock before the explosion inside her took her life, but Narratha cared not to admire the final strings of her existence. She released the dying poil to the ground, stepping over her body before her feet once again took to the air.
"How they have long forgotten what we are capable of," she remarked.
Falena, incapable of levitating, increased the pace of her walking to keep up. "Forgotten, they have."
As they progressed further into the town, the two encountered yet another licker that had been ravaging the area. Its face covered in blood from a deceased poil nearby, the creature tore the forehead off its latest kill. The body was far too eviscerated to discern whether or not it had been a man or woman – not that either of the fawns cared. They had sent the things here for one purpose and one purpose only.
To destroy.
Hearing the approaching fawns, the licker turned away from the corpse and sprinted toward them; its tongue lashing out, hoping to spear its next catch. Narratha's face grimaced as she unleashed her magic upon the monster, lifting it from the ground and holding it in the air. Using both hands to tighten her grip on the ravenous carnivore, she had found its use already expended.
There were still more at play in this town. One less would not matter, she thought.
The redhead grunted as she brought her fists together and pulled them apart; tearing the licker into two. Its guts erupted out of its split stomach, spilling down onto the surface of Locwitary as her magic separated it completely. She tossed both ends in opposite directions and sent them skidding across the dirt.
Falena approached her, her green eyes fixated on the dead beast. "I don't trust these monsters."
"Neither do I," she calmly replied.
"When you discovered them, did they ever indicate that they could be domesticated?" Falena sounded quiet, almost as if she was entirely unsure of Narratha's decision to utilize creatures from another world in the assault upon Acomb. She thought it would have been easier to simply rely on their powers, but the redhead had insisted on weaponizing the creatures instead.
"Not in the slightest." Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the fallen licker. "Feral things they are."
"Did you bring them because of Lia?"
"Falena…" Narratha turned around and poked her in the center of her chest with her finger. With was a subtle tap, but a stern one, nonetheless. She dwarfed Falena by almost a foot, given the blonde's naturally shorter stature and frame. It often resulted in a sense of intimidation whenever she got up close and personal with her. "What would happen if one poil's arrow finds its way into your sternum, hmm? Would your powers somehow mitigate a ruptured heart?"
Falena hung her head with a shy voice, "No, Narratha."
"We have never dealt with an entire town before," she explained. "I've come too far to allow one lucky hit on their part to end our lives. Granted, these poils seem to possess few weapons." A grim smile drew along her freckled cheeks as she surveyed the helpless settlement, still in the process of being massacred by the lickers. "Such a pity, is it not?"
Cassandra and Milo had been hunkered down with the family for several minutes as the man tried to formulate a plan. The children were scared, and their mother was hardly any better. The brunette took it upon herself to try and comfort them, but in times like these, there was only so much that she can do.
She remembered what had happened to her own village back home. How the colony of Lycans had descended upon it overnight, slaughtering every soul that had inhabited it. She was certain that no one remained at sunrise, and even if some had, they would not have been destinated to survive for much longer. The villagers had guns. They at least had a semblance of a fighting chance, even though they had been doomed from the start. The poils were a people trapped in time.
This world was medieval, and the monsters that invaded it were otherworldly. Lives were being lost by the minute, and all they could do was hide and hope death didn't find them as quickly as it should have.
I can hear those things outside. They're running all over the roofs. The screams…
One of the boys broke out into a mess of sobbing tears, clutching his mother as hard as he could. "I don't want them to come in here!" She took him against her chest, but the tears on her face did nothing to remove his hopelessness. A child was always supposed to see their parent as an invincible force in the face of danger, and with how distraught this woman was, her sons must have known that the end was near.
Cassandra leaned in, patting their shoulders with a low tone to her voice, "Hey…hey, you're safe inside here. Your mother is going to take good care of you." She turned her amber eyes to the poil whose body shook vigorously. "Isn't she?"
Briskly nodding with sweat still seeping off her forehead, the woman pushed a smile along her face as she held her two boys. "Yes! Yes, I will. We're all…going to be okay. Just like the nice lady says."
Please, whoever is listening, don't let these people die. Please…
"Milo…" Cassandra moved over to him. The man was still deep in thought, but he seemed to have something in particular on his mind. "What's the plan?"
"We need to find those arrows and the bow that this lady says they have. We need to get Lia over here. If she can start rescuing these people, then maybe we can stem the damage."
"Do you think she is doing that right now?"
"I-I don't know." Milo suddenly recalled the two fawns who had ignited this horrific event. "She would have to deal with those women. I hope she can. There's no way that they would just allow her to move about while she took people out of here."
Please be okay, Lia. Please…
"We have to do something, Milo." Cassandra could not keep still. She hated to think that right now, her best friend and love was out there alone to face these monsters. She wished that she had her powers right now; anything that would help her contend with what this world had to face. The malevolent fawns would easily tear her apart if she tried to stop them. It seemed that only Lia could deal with such a threat, but would her powers be enough?
Milo quietly got up and began to rummage through the belongings inside the home. The mother spared him a short glance, but she did not wish to argue with his actions. She knew what he had to have been searching for. Cassandra continued to remain by her side, gracing the hair of the boys with her pale hand as she fought to keep them calm.
"Shh…it's okay," she said. One of the kids let out a soft whimper, which brought a tear to the brunette's eye. This was all becoming so hopeless. If they did not do anything, more people would die. But, if they did try to act, would the loss of life even be minimized?
She did not know.
"Yes!" Milo excitedly whispered as he uncovered an old wooden bow and a set of three sharp arrows from a small chest nearby. It was like a gift from gods of old times as he found themselves at least armed with something to face this madness. The man quickly hurried back to the others, testing out the bow's string to ensure that it was still sturdy. "This looks like it will hold. Cassandra, have you ever used something like this before?"
She recalled a time years ago when she had hunted one of the maids throughout the courtyard of her castle one summer. It was a punishment for some meager little slight that the daughters had searched for to excuse sending a servant to her doom. She had wielded a bow that was found in the attic, using it to end the woman's life with a shot to the spine, followed by an execution shot to the head. Hardly a hunt in truth, and another regret atop a mountain of others, she concluded. However, what she could pull from that violent act was one of the rare occasions she had used such a device. Her skills had been sufficient enough, though a fleeing maid was nothing compared to what these long-tongued beasts were.
"Once, yes," she responded.
Milo paused as he seemed to debate whether or not it was a good idea to give her the bow. He had more experience during his younger years, but she had already proven herself as someone agile enough to face a brutal monster. Dhins were nothing to turn one's nose up to, and though these new animals seemed to be more deadly, bringing down one of the razor-toothed mammals was an extraordinary feat.
If she could do that…
"Here." He handed her the bow and the three arrows. "Keep us safe. I trust you."
She took hold of the weapon, testing it out its pull as soon as it was in her hands. Her palms were unsteady. She was nervous as ever. It didn't matter. Everyone in this house was scared. She could only hope that her shots would be accurate, and that an arrow would kill whatever these creatures were.
"Thank you," she said to Milo, joining him as they all sat together. The entrance to the house had been blockaded, but there were still many avenues through which the creatures could enter. Her mind wandered toward Leta for a second, hoping that the girl had made it somewhere secure. The lack of knowledge of where the fawns were tugged at her heartstrings. She needed them to be safe.
Chaos consumed the entire town as dozens of poils fled from the pack of lickers that hunted them down at every turn. Casualties had already begun to mount as those that were not fast enough became easy prey to the hungry creatures. Some of the kills were quick; poils dismembered on contact from the swipes of their heavy claws or shredded by the force of their powerful bites. Several bodies lay on the ground just a few yards away from Falena and Narratha; who stood by while the scene played out in front of them.
The blonde fawn listened to the cries from afar, some from women and children as the lickers pursued them; voices that were cut short, followed by nothing but a furious snarl. With a small sigh, she kept quiet while her companion gleefully embraced the devastation. Killing was nothing new to her, but this – this was on a whole new scale.
"So many of them are dying," Falena remarked.
"Not enough," Narratha replied, hovering over yet another dead body as they walked along.
"When this is all over, and we have what we came here to find, do you think the world that awaits us will be better?"
The redhead tilted her head to the side as she turned to her. The new look on her face lacked the confidence that she had only seconds ago. "I will not lie to you, Falena; I can only hope so. I will say that any world free from the instinctual desires that either of these pests exhibits would be a world worth fighting for."
"When you killed that tall woman with the long claws, she spoke to you as if she wasn't a monster. Grotesque as she may be, I think there may have been more to her."
Narratha shrugged her shoulder, coming down to the ground as she unsheathed her sword. "Perhaps. I sense there may be more to that world than what it has shown us. I have my suspicions as to how she arrived here, but her presence also signals another suspicion that I should have acted upon sooner."
"What is that?" Falena turned to her with a raised brow.
"The energy…" Narratha raised her palm up in the air, curling her fingers inward as she closed her eyes. "I could feel it in the grass back in that field. Something else had to have come forth from that world, but what? Could it perhaps be the woman who was with Lia beside that behemoth's corpse? I sensed no energy from her."
"Do you think Lia could have been masking it?"
"I have so many questions for that fawn." Narratha swayed her sword beside her, contemplating her next course of action. "This bloodshed is entertaining, but I am beginning to grow impatient."
"Shall we go find her then?"
Narratha smiled as she ran her hand down Falena's long, blonde locks. "You find them. I will follow."
A smile brimmed on her face. "Let's."
Several more minutes had gone by while Cassandra and Milo hid away inside the home. The screams of the outside world had not died off. Part of the brunette hoped that they would be able to ride out the massacre; that they would all be able to step out when the dust had settled and the fawns had gone away. It was a selfish thought, especially for a woman who envisioned herself as someone who would rescue her entire village when she returned home.
If she couldn't save anyone here, she thought, then what chance would she stand back in her world?
Milo held the mother and her children close as they continued to shudder in his arms. His heart broke for what had befallen these wonderful and kind people. None of them deserved this, and yet, here was the reality that they had to face.
"Just breathe, children," he said. "Just –"
A sudden thud sounded on the roof. It caused everyone inside the house to jolt. One of the boys could not stop himself from letting out a scream, only for his mother to cover his mouth. Cassandra quickly turned and aimed her bow up at the ceiling. She did not know what use it would serve, but it felt better than just sitting down like a helpless rabbit. She needed to be ready to fight, and it looked as though a fight was coming soon.
The sound of heavy claws running along the top of the roof carried along before they came to a dead halt. The brunette listened carefully, trying to push past the sounds of the children hyperventilating, or their mother shushing them to calm their nerves. She needed to know where this creature was going, and it did not sound like it had leaped off the home to go someplace else.
The roofs of the dwellings that the poils resided in did not appear to be capable of withstanding a great amount of weight. Parts of the structure had to be weak, and the longer the creature atop stood still, its body began to cause the covering to crack. The ripples of the breakage could be heard down below, exacerbated by the sound of the beast turning around as it stood still.
A sudden thrack – the partial collapse of one of the first layers of branches and clay.
As soon as it broke, one of the boys let out a frightened yelp, and that was the moment that the licker picked up on the inhabitants down below. The monster immediately began to claw its way through the roof, scratching at it wildly as it dug its nails through. Cassandra and the others promptly stood up, but nobody knew exactly where to take refuge.
Milo turned to the boy's mother. "Where can we hide?"
"I don't know!" She cried, causing the licker to screech as it was nearly halfway through the top. Dust and debris were beginning to crumble down onto the floor. Any second now, the predator would break through. "Our closet is filled and –"
An opening in the ceiling came forth, and the licker tunneled its body through as soon as it could; its upper body visible up above. The instantaneous screams of the two children alerted the demon to their location; its mouth open in a display of razor-sharp teeth. Its incredibly long tongue lashed out across the room, causing Cassandra to duck as it nearly struck her head.
"Run!" The brunette shouted as she aimed the bow and arrow up at the creature. A firm drawback of the string and a swift release sent the projectile straight at the licker, piercing the side of its neck as the arrow embedded itself inside. The puncture did nothing to halt the hungry beast as it continued to descend from the top, clawing its way through and falling down onto the floor.
Cassandra and Mio retreated further toward the back of the room; the licker now standing between them and any other exit. The mutated terror snarled while slowly advancing toward them, step by step as it filtered the sounds through its ears – sizing up the biggest potential victim that it could snag.
The brunette prepared another arrow to send its way, but she found herself doubtful of any effect that it would have on the threat. In fact, she began to think that this may be the last action that she would ever perform. Death had to have been just seconds away.
It's going to kill me. I just know it…
Seizing the opportunity while her body was still intact, Cassandra aimed the bow and arrow at the licker again, sending the projectile forward – only for it to leap as soon as she did.
Damn!
One of the boys screamed as soon as it took to the air. The large animal grazed Cassandra with its shoulder as it flew past her, knocking her to the ground. As she landed on the hard floor, she turned her eyes and witnessed the unfortunate and the unimaginable.
The licker collided with the mother and her two children, taking the trio down with it as they crashed into the stone wall. The predator flew into a hungry frenzy, swiping and biting at the first thing it could grab.
That was when she heard the soul-shattering cry of a scream that she had never heard before. Her heart sank as she recognized the immense pain that had to be experienced by the one who shouted it; the throes of death close by. The licker pulled its head around, revealing one of the boys to be lodged in the snares of its many teeth; clamped at the shoulder with its lower jaw hooked into his collarbone.
The boy flailed around as the licker dragged him across the floor. The child could not have been much younger than Leta, and the sight of him being battered by the vicious monster was devastating. The boy did not stand a chance. The licker swung his body upwards and slammed him down, using its heavy claws to press down on his head before tearing a massive chunk of flesh and bone out from his body. The kid was dead in an instant, and his mother's reactive screams sealed the rest of the family's fate.
The licker dropped its kill and ran toward them, swiping at the last remaining child with its claws. It seemed to have not even known that the child was there, but as soon as its talons struck his face, they sheered the front portion of his skull clean off, bursting his forehead into an array of pink brain matter. The mother only had a second before she found her throat caught in its bite.
Blood erupting from her pierced jugulars, the poil was pinned against the wall. The licker compressed its jaws as hard as it could, easily bypassing every muscle and tendon in its path. It tore her throat away, swallowing what it had taken and returning for a second bite. As soon as its teeth gripped her cervical spine, decapitation was quick to follow.
Cassandra had barely gotten up from the ground by the time the carnage was over. The beast had made such quick work of the family, and it was nowhere close to done when it came to killing. Milo grabbed her by the arm and brought her to her feet, ushering her to the door as they retreated. The exit to the home was only a dozen feet away, but the licker was already onto their trail.
It's turning around! We're not going to make it!
She prepared her final arrow, standing still as she drew it back and aimed it at the creature's blood-soaked face. There were no seconds to spare this time. She let go and sent the arrow forward; piercing the licker's brain.
It did nothing.
Oh no…
Milo pulled her across the room. "Run! Now!" They were already at the door by the time the licker took off after them. The duo pushed through the exit without a second thought. The sound of the beast colliding with the wall beside the door frame rattled their ears as they sprinted ahead. A close call with death.
Too close.
Breaking out into the outside world, the two were met with the sight of Acomb falling into ruins. The devilish creatures with the long tongues leaped from building to building, chasing after and devouring any villager they could sink their teeth into. Screams filled the air as men, women, and children were all on the menu. Some tried to put up a fight, but what good was resistance against an overwhelmingly powerful thing like them?
Cassandra could see the way Milo gazed at the town he once helped. He had seen destruction before, but never like this. If it wasn't for the ongoing need to keep moving, she imagined that he would have fallen to his knees then and there. But, they had to run, she thought. There was no time to stop.
The licker recovered from its tumble, following the sounds from the outside as its head and arms popped out from the opening of the door. Cassandra and Milo both turned around in unison as they heard its growl picking up in volume. The arrows embedded inside its head and neck were still there; examples of a primitive age failing against an otherworldly threat such as it. It was already beginning to lurch forward by the time the duo ran off.
Milo was not a fast runner. His old age had to have been catching up to him, as the distance between himself and the brunette began to widen. Cassandra turned around once she lost him in her peripherals, which caused her fears to skyrocket. She did not want to leave him to suffer at the beast's hands.
"Milo?!" She wasted her breath, causing her further exhaustion. It didn't pull him any closer. The licker was gaining ground; seconds away from catching him.
The animal jumped into the air – only to be caught in a blue field.
What?
With a shout signaling her arrival, Lia appeared out of the blue; arms extended in front of her as she froze the demon in its tracks. The licker fought against the invisible restraints that encapsulated its body. It held no understanding of what was happening to it – only that its prey was getting away.
"Lia!" Milo called out to her as he and Cassandra stopped running.
The fawn said nothing as she used her powers to compress the licker into a broken mass, crippling its body under the massive, crushing force of her abilities. Blood seeped through its burst skin, which her fields of power contained into a compacted, red ball. As soon as she released her hold on the now-deceased creature, they watched as it crashed onto the ground before them.
"I need to get you all out of here!" Lia turned her head, eyes firm as ever as she made her way to them.
"Where's Leta?" Cassandra asked.
"I hide her away, somewhere Narratha will not find her," the fawn replied.
"Who is Narratha?" She questioned her.
"The fawn who brought these monsters here," Lia explained. "They're from your world, Cassandra. I can sense it. She opened up a door to it, somehow." A series of shrieks and snarls in the close distance stole her attention for a second, right before she returned her eyes to the brunette in front of her. "What are these things?"
Her voice frantic as ever, Cassandra could barely think straight, "I-I don't know!"
Milo got close to the two of them, gesturing to the rest of the town as his hands landed on their shoulders. "We can't leave. There are still people that need to be saved!"
Lia's green eyes flickered with the sense of duty that she held over her shoulders. She nodded adamantly, though her frown carried a hint of hopelessness. "I've already saved some people while I was with Leta, but Milo…"
He hugged her tight. "I believe in you, Lia. I always have. You've made me so proud."
Her arms wrapped around him, enjoying the precious seconds that this disaster afforded them to be together. With the way that he held her, it was easy to rest her head against his chest. She blew out a soft breath, just as she had done with her mother back all those years ago. It took a lifetime for someone else to fill that role, but he had done so over and over. She lovingly spoke as her cheek laid against him, "Thank you, father."
Cassandra turned around to face the rest of the town. "Lia, where should we –"
An unseen force bombarded her body, lifting her from the ground and sending her across the dirt and grass. Cassandra felt her bones erupt in pain as she struck the ground and rolled around; the town of Acomb spinning wildly as her vision rolled.
As soon as she stopped, she found her field of view in a blurry daze, which was awoken only by the ensuing struggle nearby. She shifted her head to where the others had been, wondering if Lia and Milo were okay.
That was when she witnessed the redheaded fawn standing before them – sword in hand.
Lia was quick to stand and get back up on her feet, while Milo laid not too far away, coughing and groaning from the impact that he had suffered. "Narratha, stop this!"
The fawn spared her only the most fleeting of glances before she set her sights on the man. A hateful scowl befell her face as her brow tensed. Cassandra could see her fists clenching as she stood there, contemplating whatever it was that was on her mind.
Narratha's upper lip rose as she spoke, flashing her teeth at Milo as she took a step toward him, "You…"
Lia's palms glowed with an intense blue fire. She was ready to fight Narratha then and there, but chose to give her one last chance to put an end to all this. "Talk to me, Narratha!"
She turned her eyes to Lia at that very moment, glaring at her just as angrily. "Do you dare defend him?! After all he has done to us?!"
"It wasn't his fault!" Lia shouted.
The redhead's voice grew eerily calm as she took yet another step; her sword swaying at her side as she did so. "Not his fault?" She looked back down at Milo, who was still regaining himself; laying half-turned on his left side. "Have you forgiven him for that day?"
"I have."
Narratha's eyes locked with Lia's. "Then tell me: how can one be forgiven, if they were never at fault to begin with?" The fawn before her fell silent, trapped within the trickery of her words. "Do you see now? Do you remember?"
"You don't know what you're doing, Narratha." Lia tried to stay composed, but her fingers could not stop twitching. She knew that this was going to end in a fight. She could only hope that she was wrong again. "This – this isn't right. None of this is."
Cassandra got back onto her feet, but she dared not intervene. She knew that this woman could split her apart within seconds if she tried. It was best to let Lia handle this, she nervously decided.
"What is 'right' anymore, Lia?" Narratha advanced closer, but stopped as soon as the fawn put up a force field that shielded Milo from her. The redhead tapped it with the chipped tip of her sword. A small hum came out from her parted lips before they pulled into a smile. "I struggle with believing that you still adhere to everything our elders taught us, while at the same time, assuming that this man has clouded her judgment."
She graced the forcefield with the edge of her blade, skimming along it as she circled toward her left. "You know, now that I've said that out loud, I think they are one and the same. Would such a destructive person want anything else but for a fawn to cling to their ways?"
Panting as her heart raced, Lia followed her with her eyes, saying nothing as she listened on.
"That is exactly what he would want, Lia, and you know it." Narratha stopped walking at that very moment. "Now, I offer you the chance to break away from those chains. You know what his people did to us that day, do you not? Do you miss your mother? Do you love her?"
"Do not bring my mother into this, Narratha…"
"You do love her; I can see it." She turned her eyes down to Milo, who was now beginning to get onto his feet. She tapped the forcefield again with her sword, checking its integrity for the time being. "Would you have spared the poil that murdered her?"
Lia took a breath. "You know that would not come easily, but, I would have to try."
"Hmm…" Narratha appeared displeased. "Then, why did you kill that loathsome beast just seconds ago?"
"Because –" Lia stopped speaking, aware that Narratha was trying to lure her into another trap. Silence did not curb the redhead's ego as she smiled back at her.
"Ah…do you see now?" Narratha held her arms out against the massacre unfolding behind her. "If this man is not at fault for bringing a horde of violence into our commune, then am I to blame for what these creatures are doing right now?"
"We can talk about this after you dispose of these monsters!" Lia shouted. "Send them back!"
Narratha shook her head. "Don't make that choice, Lia."
The fawn prepared her powers for the fight that was seconds away from happening. She could see the look that Narratha had on her face. The woman was poised to commit her next murder. "Please, Narratha!"
She lowered her head for but a second; defaulting on her only other option. The option that she began to crave the more she thought about it. "I had such high hopes for you when you were growing up. It is a shame to see such power wasted…"
Narratha sighed, only for her mouth to curve into yet another smile. A low giggle kicked out from under her breath. "Falena…"
The blonde fawn suddenly appeared from behind Lia, her body exuding blue particles as she came into focus. A loud shout burst from her lungs as she hurled a fistful of energy her way, striking Lia in the gut as she turned around to face her.
Despite the wind being knocked out of her, Lia was quick to grab Falena by the throat, much to the fawn's amusement. The blonde's hands shined with a blue aura as she pressed her hands against the sides of her adversary's head. Locked in place, the two struggled before the accomplice shouted out a vital piece of information to Narratha, "The child is in the basement of one of the houses near the perimeter! I can feel it!"
Lia's eyes erupted into an adrenaline-fueled fury as she realized how much control of the situation she had lost. Falena regained the upper hand, kicking her off her feet before the two landed on the ground together.
That was when the blonde used her powers to dispel the two of them from the current location – removing the forcefield along with it.
Narratha's eyes narrowed on Milo as she advanced toward him. Cassandra began to get closer, desperate to help him, but the man quickly shot a glance that demanded she stayed away. The redhead had not seemed to pay her any mind during the interaction, and he wanted it to stay that way.
Frozen in place, Cassandra could only watch as Narratha swung her sword and slashed the side of his left thigh, opening up a valley of red in its wake. Milo's face pressed as he groaned, falling onto his heavily-bleeding leg. Her sword raised, finding itself pressed up under his chin.
"You don't know how long I have dreamed of this moment," she said to him.
"I did not know how evil those men were," Milo replied as he looked into her vicious, green eyes. "I should never have brought them there. But, sadly, I did…"
She removed her sword and used it to hack at his right hand; cleaving his thumb and obliterating his palm. The blade was deathly sharp and severed the skin and muscle without resistance. With another grunt, Milo took the pain as best he could, reeling his cut hand against his chest.
The horror that Cassandra felt inside was exponential. Her body shivered at the inaction she performed. After all that man had done for her, she could not just stand there and watch him die.
She's going to kill him!
"Stop!" She shouted at Narratha, which acquired the redhead's attention. With a perked brow, she turned her head at Cassandra. The way she looked at her signaled a mild annoyance, rather than concern of a genuine threat. Nevertheless, that did not mean that she wasn't willing to demolish anyone who came across her path.
Milo could feel the impending sense of doom around him. It would take almost nothing for Narratha to kill Cassandra on the spot. She would not be swayed by words, and even worse – appeared to take enjoyment in the destruction around her.
He could not let her perish.
His hand reached out, taking the redhead by the wrist. Her eyes snapped toward him, infuriated that he would even dare to touch her. She bared her teeth as she yanked her arm back, before dispersing immediately.
Milo fell forward as she vanished out of view – much like Lia had done when Cassandra first tried to swing her sickle at her. The brunette was left to scream at the futility of his action, watching as Narratha suddenly appeared behind him, angry as ever. Her left hand cast forward, sending a burst of blue fire that pulled Milo's body up onto his feet.
With her right hand – she drove her sword straight through him.
Narratha screamed at him as she yanked the blade out, "You will feel every ounce of the pain you wrought!" She spun him around with her magic, facing him as she used her sword to pierce his stomach before she lifted him into the air. Milo shuddered under the trauma, only flailing around as much as he could when she compressed her magic against his arms and legs, bending and shattering them beyond their limits as she crippled him above her.
The magic around him was too great, but he was able to scream just enough to let out a hint of the pain that he was going through.
Falena and Lia reappeared not too far away; the blonde pinned under her foe's grasp, having lost their one-on-one fight. Lia's eyes turned toward the sight just a few yards away from her, widening at the shock of it all. Narratha sensed their arrival, but she did not turn her head. Her attention was all on him.
Cassandra could only watch with tears in her eyes as the scene played out slowly in front of her. Seconds became hours, but yet, as slow as its pace was, it all happened so quickly once it was all over. Narratha sheathed her sword and brought her hands together – just as Lia let go of Falena and tried to use her powers to stagger her.
It was too late.
Narratha screamed in fury as her fists clenched and pulled away. Her arms shot down to her sides and she bowed her head.
Milo was instantly dismembered – torn limb from limb.
Narratha calmly stood up, glaring at his hovering remains that were still enshrouded in a blue ball of fire. There was a slight pinch of hatred still left in her brow, but the deed was now done. She had nothing else left to say.
"No!" Lia fell to the ground, crying as she watched the man who held the role of her father die before her very eyes. Cassandra lost control of her legs as well, falling onto her side as she covered her face in a tearful state of shock.
As the brunette struggled to regain herself, Lia's sorrow transformed into rage, and she went on the offensive.
"No!" She screamed again as she dashed forward, dispersing into a plume of blue particles; reforming inches away from Narratha. The two fawns collided as she crashed into her. Lia used her powers to push her body off the ground, taking the redhead along with her.
As Cassandra realized what was going on, she knew that she could not remain where she was. Falena got up from the ground, eyeing the other two fawns as they fought in the sky. The blonde was still incredibly dangerous, and she would not think twice about slaughtering any friend of Lia's while she battled Narratha.
I got to run! I need to find Leta! Milo…Milo…I'm sorry…
NOTES:
Rest in Peace, Milo.
Full chapter notes will be posted on Chapter 35.