I had never broken a bone in my life, and it was like someone had set off a fire cracker in my left hand. The Nightmare laughed pulling back his other hand. His fingernails popped off like the cap of a bottle and a long thin spike came out of where the nailbed had been.

I yanked back, but the thing was much more powerful than I was.

In that moment my mind registered a half a dozen things. Elina screamed my name from somewhere off to the side. The Nightmare Colem’s smile was so wide it had begun to tear the skin of his face. Like his nails the teeth started to pop out, his sharp fangs taking their place. His previously light brown eyes began to grow in size and shift to black orbs. I knew what this was, a Skinwalker. No one knew exactly where they came from, but they liked to infiltrate human settlements, and wear their victims skin as their own.

And I was going to die to it. I did not have the power to change that. Okay, what else could I accomplish? Help out the team. If they knew what they were dealing with then they could asses the situation and deal with it accordingly.

I didn’t know exactly which bones in my hand were broken, but thankfully it wasn’t my thumb. A book appeared in my Dreamscapes Dismantle Room, not a Skinwalker one, the human one. I dug my thumbnail into the back of the Nightmares hand, and Dismantled the skin it was wearing.

Degloving is when something like the skin of a finger gets pulled off and resembles a fleshy glove. In only a moment that happened to the entirety of Colem’s skin. Revealing the monstrous form beneath.

Then the clawed hand came down at me.

A shimmer of gold bloomed in front of me like a flower and the screeching of metal pierced my ears.

It was the Helping Hand coin. It had leapt from where I left it in my bag to me and stopped the attack. The gold coin, now in the shape of a dome covering me, shot forward and I heard the impact as the Nightmare was thrown away.

The gold shield condensed back into a coin, floating in the air for a moment before dissolving into nothing.

The Nightmare had been hit into the cornfield, but quickly got to its feet. The skin of Colem the farmer still hung between the Colems clothing and the Nightmare, flapping around as the Nightmare moved.

With its shell off the Nightmare looked ghoulish. It had no skin, but instead a thin film around its body, and I could see the muscles and bones beneath. I couldn’t see its chest beneath the clothing, but its stomach now protruded out as though the Nightmare was pregnant. Overall it was very similar to a human, except for those key differences. It stared at me with large black orbs for eyes, its now skinless smile still on its face.

A light caught my eye and I saw a shower of embers falling to the ground. Just below that my three teammates were running toward me.

“Skinwalker!” I called to them, pulling my knife from the sheath on my belt.

That only made them run faster. The Skinwalker slunk back into the cornfield, its wailing laugh echoing around us.

“Are you okay?” Elina asked, looking me over before scanning the fields.

“Broken hand. I think its my pinky finger’s metacarpal,” I said, pressing my pointer finger into the afflicted area.

Adrenaline was still pumping through me, but a throbbing ache crawled from my hand up through my arm.

“Right, metacarpal, sure. So that's a Skinwalker?” Melanie said, holding her cape in front of her like a shield.

“Yes.”

“What do we do?”

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“Defend from attacks until reinforcements arrive.it's I used the flare. Hopefully, they will be here soon,” Vit said, taking out his kitchen knives once again. “Task. Prevent loss of life, begin.”

Vit’s posture relaxed, his eyes focusing on the surrounding cropland. We heard the ripping of fabric from nearby and both Vit and Melanie attacked. Vit threw two kitchen knives at the area and Melanie pulled out a Sun Stone pistol from her jacket and fired.

A wailing laugh echoed and the Skinwalker flew out of the crops unharmed. It had taken off the clothing, revealing more of its fascinating form and blackish purple Intent was wafting off of it.

Of course I had no time to admire it. Melanie stepped up and her Shifting Cape wrapped around the Skinwalker’s outstretched arm.

Without missing a beat the Skinwalker planted its feel into the ground and yanked back. Melanie was pulled toward the Skinwalker's outstretched claws, but the cape bent over the Nightmare. Melanie sailed overhead and let go of the cape. She landed in the cornfield, disappearing from view.

The Nightmare tilted its head at the cape wrapped around its arm, its eyes inquisitive. It was learning.

I was able to get a better look at it now. The Nightmare had no abdominal muscles, instead it had a single bulging organ that undulated with a wet sound. Also thankfully it didn’t seem to have a visible genitalia, which could indicate that it did not reproduce like normal mammals.

Melanie’s cape disappeared in a puff of purple smoke and the Nightmare turned its attention back on us.

“I think I will wear you next,” the Nightmare said looking at Elina. Its voice now high pitched like a demonic child.

Elina opened her mouth, closed it and had a decidedly disgusted expression.

“Gross.”

Then the area around them was bathed in light as beams of scorching energy slammed into the Nightmare. Eight armored figures broke through the crops. Before the Nightmare was encircled it fled back into the fields.

The remaining two Champions, ten soldiers, and Melanie followed closely behind.

“Burn circle!” Squad Sergeant Denev ordered.

The soldiers pressed buttons on their weapons and then their guns started to shoot out gouts of flame. They cleared the crops in the vicinity and circled around us with the Champions in the forefront.

“Haro, send a signal flare to the city,” said Sergeant Denev once again. “Type three, class three Nightmare.”

One of the backpacked soldiers pressed a few buttons on their armguard, then pulled a lever on their pack. A firework launched out and into the air popping three times overhead and shining with yellow light.

Meanwhile I used the moment of reprieve to work. Inside my Dreamscape I hastily added to the thin Skinwalker book already in my library. I used my extensive knowledge on human anatomy to make guesses as to some parts, but I spent almost all my focus on modeling the arms and legs properly. Its internal organs were odd, but its extremities were familiar enough.

The crops still burned around them, the crackling of popcorn masking any noise the Nightmare could be making.

The Nightmare burst from the burning crops, spinning its body and carrying something large in his hands. A wooden fence post slammed into the closest Champion and the Nightmare dashed through the hold it had made.

A soldier leveled their weapon at the Nightmare and fired, but it ducked under slashing its claws through the soldiers arm. The woman screamed as it fell to the ground beside her, but the Nightmare didn’t pay her anymore attention. Its gaze never left Elina.

Another soldier stepped between them, but the Nightmare casually flicked its wrist, opening the mans stomach. It moved to swipe at the mans neck next, but Vit, fast as an arrow moved around and caught the wrist, twisting it up so it sliced off a piece of the man's nose instead.

The Nightmare turned on Vit and Elina slammed her club into the Nightmare’s head. The Nightmare responded by kicking back. Once again Vit moved to intercept, this time tackling Elina before she could get hit.

“Please,” I heard a familiar voice say beside me.

Melanie’s Shifting Cape wrapped around the Nightmare’s head, blinding it. Joining in I kicked its legs out from under it. Then I slammed my blade down on the Nightmare’s kneecap. In my haste I had mirrored the artificial seams of a humans skin on the Skinwalkers film-like skin.

The blade landed, missing the target by and inch. Claws raked my shoulder and I was yanked back by Vit.

The Champions arrived then. Swords, spears and hammers slammed down onto the Nightmare. Explosions of sound and light overwhelmed me as the Champions used their empowered weaponry to crush and cut the lethal Nightmare.

Melanie retreated, joining us and using her cape as shield.

Then a hammer was yanked out of a Champions hand and was quickly used to smash another’s helmet with a wild swing.

A wounded Skinwalked jumped on a Champion its powerful hands and claws crumpling the metal like paper as it tried to dig into the armor.

“Fire!”

Eight backpacked soldiers fired upon their ally.

The Skinwalker screeched and leapt off, stumbling as it looked around with malevolent eyes. Blackish purple Intent began to pour out of it in waves and it blurred forward. Melanie didn’t even have time to grunt as the Nightmare slammed into her shield, sending her rolling away.

Vit had to dodge a swipe of its claws but quickly tried to dash back in as the Nightmare stood over me. It raised its flesh and bone foot and prepared to cave my chest in.