I had planned to post this sooner, but procrastination set it. Chapter three is here, that's all that matters.
I've never struggled this much to write a chapter. It's been a long time since I've written a chaptered fic. I really pushed myself to write this, even if it's very little.
This chapter feels rushed, but at least I got it done.
Enjoy chapter three.
7 stared down an alleyway, arching a stitched brow. She saw an overturned black car, a tire missing, its windshield demolished; a headlight shattered. Broken pieces of glass glistened in the faint sunlight, no doubt what remained of the windshield. She turned away, and sauntered off, her feet plunging into the snow.
Glancing to her right, the building she walked past didn't have much of it left. Only a chunk remained, and the window frame was only half standing. She watched as 5 sauntered out of the building's doorway. Or what remained of it.
"Did you see anything?," she asked, looking over at 5.
"No," he answered, trudging through the snow.
She huffed a breath, turning back toward the road.
"Well," she said, "there's still more places to check."
"What if they made it back home?," inquired 5, catching up to 7's side.
7 walked over a broken piece of cinderblock.
"Well—"
Before she could answer, a crash grabbed her attention. She, along with 5, stood in silence, weapons held at the ready.
The overall silence was eerie with the buildings standing, their windows dark, feeling as though they stared down at him.
"Listen," said 7.
5 clutched his knife.
A second passed in silence.
Then another noise echoed, following by a sound that sounded like glass shattering. 7 screwed her pupils, on the other side of the sidewalk, a car tire rolled in the snow. The tire rolled, getting covered in snow in the process. It hit against a lamppost, prompting it to fall over, motionless.
"What do you think caused that?," asked 5.
7 observed the tire cautiously, then looked at the direction from where it was thrown.
"Let's find out," she replied.
The two ran through the snow, their weapons held, ready to fight. 7, lowering her bird skull, quickened her pace, then stopped when she saw what threw the car tire. A beast—a Cat Beast—slunk out of the corner of a building. Its glowing red eye stared at the snow, jaw open; clawed feet sinking into the powdery white. 7 stood, optics daring to penetrate the beast with her stare. The Cat Beast turned its head, spotting 7 and 5.
The moment it saw them the moment the Cat Beast charged at them.
7, gripping her spear, ran towards the Beast. Behind her, 5 charged, holding his knife, kicking snow as he ran.
The Cat Beast, upon reaching the stitchpunks, swatted a claw. 7 ducked, missing it by a microsecond. 5 was a few yards away, holding his knife, he saw his opportunity and took off his quiver. Setting it down on the snow, he reached inside, pulling out his crossbow. He grabbed ahold of a nail, and placed it into the crossbow. 5 turned back at the Cat Beast, who was being distracted by 7; the white stitchpunk had the beast chase her through the snow. Holding the crossbow, he waited until the Cat Beast turned its head. 7 ran underneath the beast...the beast turned around, glowing red eyes staring down at the female stitchpunk.
5 held the crossbow, counting the seconds to the right moment. He pulled the trigger, and watched the nail fly towards the Cat Beast's face. The nail plunged itself into the beast's left eyes; a screech escaping the beast's mouth. Standing up on its hindlegs, the beast used its front legs to swat at the nail lunged its eye. The Cat Beast shook its head, letting an earsplitting yowl.
7, running towards the beast's hindlegs, leaped, and used her spear to slice off one of its hindlegs. The Cat Beast wobbled before falling down, head thrashing. Before either of the two stitchpunks could intervene, the beast made a clumsy effort to stand up, leaping in an attempt to walk. 5 watched it hobble in the snow, shaking its head to remove the nail in its eye.
"Come on," said 7, "I have an idea."
5, wanting to question her plan, strapped his quiver on, and followed 7 down the western path.
Wherever the Cat Beast was going, it wasn't going to stop them from finding 1 and 9.
The silence was absolute, but even so, it was the loudest sound 1 had heard. He, and 9, cloistered themselves underneath the bed, having heard the Canine make its way up the staircase. The plan was to hide under the bed until it was safe to leave, and it felt like an eternity in this case.
The Canine had slunk into the bedroom, looking all around. 1, from underneath the bed, peeked as best as he could to avoid being spotted. He could see its metallic legs walk around the room, sharp claws lethal to cut through his fabric. The beast hadn't taken notice of the two stitchpunks yet.
"How long is it going to stay there?," asked 9 in a whisper.
1 turned to look at the Canine's legs, turn to the right. From the angle he was looking, 1 deduced that the beast was near the window.
"I'm not sure," whispered 1, pupils narrowing.
9 held his lightstaff, ready to use when the need arose.
1 let out a low gasp, pupils widening. 9 turned around, optics widening when he saw the Canine's snout in close proximity. Its left claw reached under the bed; the paw, although it didn't graze 9, it was close to grasping it, and it would lead to both his and 1's demise. He crawled away, as did 1, being careful not to drop his lightstaff. 9 glanced over his shoulder, watching as the Canine pulled its claw out, scraping against the carpet.
He reached the farthest side towards the left, hoping this would be safest until it left. 9 scooted towards 1, who wrapped an arm around him. Both kept strong eye contact with the Canine's legs, waiting for its next move.
He waited.
The Canine leaped, landing on top of the bed, seeing a shift in the mattress. 9 held on to 1 tighter, optics focused on the frames supporting the mattress. He counted the seconds, making sure to time it to the right moment. A growl escaped the Canine's mouth, followed by the sound of fabric being torn.
9 was about to stand when he felt 1's hand grab his shoulder.
"Wait," he uttered, optics locked on the bed.
9 looked, crouching back down, optics blinking.
A second later, the Canine jumped off of the bed, landing squarely on its four metallic legs. It's tail swished back and forth, scraping against the mint green carpet. Both stitchpunks stared at it, fear circulating in them.
In a nanosecond, the Canine turned around, snout reaching underneath the bed, growling gutturally. 1 fell back, holding 9 close to him. The Canine reached in, close to grabbing 9's foot, who just as quickly drew his legs in. 9 freed himself from 1's hold, and stabbed his lightstaff against the beast's muzzle. The Canine pulled its snout away, yelping.
9, in his brief triumph, huffed a breath, as he turned to 1, who gave him a panicked look.
The Canine reached under the bed, claws scratching the carpet. 9 charged to the other side of the bed, ignoring the growls from the beast. He ducked his head, rolling out of the bed, then stood up, optics searching all around the room. He looked down, spotting the pair of scissors on the floor. Stooping down, he looped is arm around one of the holes of the scissors.
"1!," hollered 9, rising to his feet.
He slid the scissors underneath the bed, watching it as they hit agains the wall beside 1. The elder stitchpunk, while keeping watch on the beast's claws, grabbed the scissors. Holding them over his head, he stood up halfway, and plunged the blades into the Canine's clawed foot. The beast retracted its paw, letting out a yelp. 1 crawled out from under the bed, watching as the Canine fell back, kicking its legs.
1 turned to see 9 appear from behind the bed.
"Come on," he rasped, "now's our chance."
1 glimpsed at the Canine before looking at 9. The beast was struggling to get the scissors out of its paw, obviously distracted from capturing him and 9. He regained his composure and ran towards the open door with 9 following behind.
The two ran down the hall, making their way toward the staircase. Descending down the stairs, even paced at first, was quickened when they heard a howl from the Canine. 9 looked over his shoulder as he stopped briefly to listen. He turned and continued his descend down the stairs.
He and 1 reached the bottom step, where they heard a noise. A noise that was not from the Canine upstairs. They both turned their attention to the open doorway, curious but cautious. 9, though reluctant to, gripped his lightstaff and prepared to venture outside.
"Let's go see what's out there," he said.
1 snapped his head back at the stairwell, thinking back to the Canine. Knowing the beast would go after them, he turned away, joining 9 outside in the snow.
Stepping outside, the frigid cold enveloped him. The sun shined through the clouds, providing as much light as it could. 1 spotted 9 standing on top of a rock that was half-buried in snow, staring straight toward the west. From the way 9 was standing, he was looking at something 1 couldn't deduce. He trudged through the snow, feet plunging into the glittering white. He joined 9, stepping onto the rock, turning his head in the direction 9 was looking at.
"What do you see?," he asked.
"I'm waiting to hear it again," replied 9, holding his lightstaff close.
1, wary of the Canine's presence, glanced back at the house. He looked up at the window, at the room where the Canine was. He didn't know how long it would be until the beast found them. But, nonetheless, he waited with 9.
A roar echoed from every corner. 1, grabbing at 9's shoulder out of reflex, stared down the road. He knew this did not come from the Canine, so there must be another beast lurking in the snow.
In a split second, he and 9 watched as what looked like a Cat Beast made its presence known from a leftward path. Looking more closely, 1 also spotted two more figures he recognized. 5 and 7.
"Let's help them," said 9, jumping off the rock.
1 glanced back at the dilapidated house before joining 9.
"Guys!," shouted 9, waving an arm.
5, ducking from the Cat Beast's swatting paw, turned and saw 9 running towards. Looking past him, he spotted 1 trailing along.
"7, look," said 5, motioning towards the arriving stitchpunks.
The white stitchpunk swiveled around, seeing 1 and 9, while also stealing a glimpse at the Cat Beast. She ducked, and somersaulted, avoiding the beast's thrashing head. 7 landed on the other side of the Cat Beast, watching it struggle with the nail in its eye. The female stitchpunk ran toward a nearby car tire, then leaped high, spear pointed at it. Her spear landed in the Cat Beast's nasal cavity, prompting the beast to stand on its hindlegs with 7 still holding on to her spear.
Turning to 5, 9 sidled up to him, saying, "There's another beast."
"Where?," asked 5.
9 pointed behind him, at the rundown house.
"There," he said, "in that house."
"Is it another Cat Beast?"
"No, it's—"
"A Canine," interjected 1.
9 turned back toward the house, fearing the worst.
"Yeah," he spoke, "it's in there. I don't know how long until it comes out."
1 stepped toward.
"I'll keep watch for it," he said, "you distract the Cat Beast."
9 bit his lip, looking back at the Cat Beast, which was focused on 7, who ran far enough to lead it from the others.
5 scanned the snow-laden town, looking between the spots that weren't taken up by a vehicle. A few yards away, he spotted what looked like a piece of barbed wire extruding out of the white snow. He walked up to the spot, prompting 9 to follow. 5 picked up the piece of bared wire, noting that it was long, and could be put to good use.
"You hold one end," said 5, looking at 9, "and I'll hold the other."
"Right," said 9, dropping his lightstaff. He sidled to the right, grabbing the barbed wire until he found the other end.
With both ends held, he and 5 walked towards the Cat Beast. 7 did well in holding her own, and had managed to dislodge her spear and was now standing on the nail that was impaled through the beast's eye.
5 and 9 stretched the barbed wire, backing up as far as they could. 7, seeing what they were planning, jumped off from the Cat Beast, landing in the snow. The beast, not noticing the barbed wire, tripped over it, getting covered in snow. 7 saw this as her opportunity and leaped, ramming her spear into the Cat Beast's neck. The beast let out a shrill cry, legs kicking at the snow. 7 plunged her spear deeper, seeing electricity crackle from the spot. She twisted the blade, seeing the beast's head disconnect from the neck. With one final blow, she knocked the beast's head off, watching it fall into the snow.
7 jumped off from the Cat Beast's carcass, turning her attention to 1, who was staring at something she couldn't guess.
"We're not out of the woods yet," said 5, gathering beside her, holding his crossbow.
"1?," called 7.
1 head her, but didn't answer. In all this turmoil he nearly forgotten about the Canine. He kept watch at the house, waiting for it to reveal itself once again.
He sighed a breath, optics locked on the house's destroyed entrance. In a millisecond, he saw a shape slink out of the entrance, recognizing it as the Canine. 1 saw that it managed to dislodged the scissors he stabbed it with. The beast stared straight at them, ready to take them down.
The Canine charged through the snow, tail swishing side to side.
1 looked down at the snowy ground, seeing something glint in the light. He crouched down, picking up to see that it was a knife. He stood back up, facing the Canine. When it was in close range, 1 held the knife over his shoulder, like a javelin. The beast let out a growl, which then turned into a roar. 1 threw the knife, watching it fly through the air. The knife plunged itself into the beast's right eye, causing the beast to stand on its hindlegs. A paw swatted at the knife.
"Now!," shouted 7, looking over at 5.
Nodding, 5 grabbed the barbed wire with 9 holding the other end. They ran toward the Canine, stretching the barbed wire as far as they could go. The moment the Canine stood back on all fours, the moment the two stitchpunks used the barbed wire to trip it. The beast landed on the snow, a cry escaping its mouth. The Canine's tail swished back and forth; 7, seeing her chance, ran over towards the tail, spear at the ready. She reached the beast's tail, plunging her knife, slicing the tail off. The beast shrieked, kicking snow with its feet.
7 jumped on the Canine's back, avoiding getting knocked off. She held her spear keeping her optics focused on the beast's neck. Carefully as she could, 7 crouched to avoid falling, holding on to the beast's spines. Once she made her way to the beast's neck, she leaped, slicing the Canine's head, resulting with the beast's body falling over.
7 jumped off the beast's body, giving it a blank glance belfry turning away. She lifted her bird skull, looking from 5 to 9. Her optics landed on 1, who had virtually gone unnoticed. The elder stitchpunk glanced at the dead Canine.
The four stood in the snow, the algid air seeping into the cores. The ominous aura from the ramshackle town sent chills down the 7's spine, who gazed from one end of the sky to the other.
This was reason enough to return to the library.
Chapter four will be the last chapter. I didn't plan for this fanfic to be very long, just to be entertaining enough to keep the plot going.
Again, I'm sorry that this chapter is short. I really did my best with this. There's still a lot to fill in, hopefully, we get to know in the next chapter.
Thank you so much for reading. I really appreciated it.