Chapter 9: Real Nightmares
What was out there? Elaine questioned as the reddish haze quickly retreated back into the hole with her.
“I did not see it… it just felt like it looked straight at me.” Sera responded as her bits of what Elaine thought was her head turned towards her. It was almost like Seraphion had become slightly more corporal showing limbs and what would seem like a head.
Can you take another look?
“I’ll try.” Sera stated with resolve back in her voice as she moved towards the entrance, moving like a red fog through the narrow gap. Physical objects did not seem to hinder her movement at all. Though it seemed that it should as much as Sera made extra sure not to disturb things around her.
Elaine waited silently her blackened palms gripping the hard wood tightly, sweat beading on her forehead as she waited for anything to be said. She didn’t even want to blink as she stared through the hole at the beautiful sky. The suns light completely dissipated, yet with how clearly she saw the trees just outside the hole she knew that there would have to be some sort of celestial body in the sky that was reflecting the light. That’s when something had happened.
“Holy Shit!” Seraphion called out as the night was lit up in reds and oranges. Elaine could smell the burnt brush and ash and the slight heat that rolled past the entrance. “It fucking shot fire at me!” I cannot go back to the cave… if I do it will know that my human is there. “Do not come out. Do you understand human!” Sera commanded not knowing what to do next as the night sky lit up again.
The human in the hole was petrified. Did she just say that it shot fire at her? Did something have a flame thrower out there? Was it some kind of soldier setting the forest ablaze? Her mind raced as she wanted to look outside to whatever was causing Sera to say such things, what kind of animal could do this? And why would a voice in her head be afraid of something like this.
That’s when she felt pain. It was as if something had singed her insides, but not in a physical kind of way. Her left leg burned from the inside and caused her to kick out and a cry of pain escaped her lips. That’s when she also heard Seraphion scream in pain. What ever was attacking her could actually touch her. With the burning sensation it was apparent that what ever kind of fire this creature was using it was different in the sense that it could damage exposed souls.
“WE MUST RUN!” Seraphion exclaimed as she flashed inside the hole and into Elaines soul space. “It knows you are here!” She urged as she frantically shifted herself inside of Elaine.
“What is out there, Seraphion?” Zee asked fear in her voice.
“A monster.” She whispered back.
Elaine didn’t know what to do. She had thought that this hole would be her saving grace for the night, after all she hadn’t even went to sleep in the last twentyish hours. This day night cycle was mentally draining. That’s when she heard something else… it was chilling to the bone as she heard the soft steps of something approaching, her heart racing as she heard claws scraping across the ground.
It Cried out as if in pain… and it almost sounded just like her when she had felt the fire burn her inside of her left leg. That’s when she heard creaking of bone and flesh leaning over closing off the light from the moon above. What she saw made her scream in pure terror. It was a furred and scaled head that closely resembled that of a jackal, its eyes where like burning luminescent coals with no other discernable features… just glowing ambers framed by the night sky. That’s when it screamed back at her in the same way she had just screamed! All she could do was scream back, fear taking over as she shoved the spear tip through the hole and at its face.
The creature though expecting an attack quickly retreated making a cackling sound as it slowly faded away. Then all was quiet. Eerily quiet. Too quiet, not even the sounds of insects could be heard any more. Nor the small sounds of distant animal calls. Something that she had heard from time to time whilst walking through this death world like forest.
Do you think its gone? Elaine asked trying to get her breathing under control.
“Well I am not going out there to check human.” Sera responded, rubbing at her leg where she could see where the creatures’ flames had burnt her. “I refuse to go out there again.”
“Yes… but it knows that we are here. Do you think it was scared off with your pokey stick?” Zee asked as she too sounded scared. “Is it actually safe here?”
Elaine didn’t want to think about it… but she knew she had to check. She couldn’t stand staying trapped in what could be her grave. With her hands shaking and her breath coming in fast ragged breaths she turned her body around in the cramped hole so that she could look outside. Her spear at the ready just in case it was just outside.
As soon as she poked her head out she could tell that the immediate area was clear. She was looking for those nightmarish amber glowing eyes. Without seeing them she quickly pulled herself from the hole beneath the tree, feeling slightly foolish for thinking that anywhere on this death world would be safe. She only thought that because so far everything that she had spotted seemed to want to kill her. So far she was right. She moved quickly towards the center of the clearing where the dead kitty… was.
It was gone now. It was here when she crawled into the hole, now it was gone a gore trail leading off into the woods to her left. She looked over there trying to spot what Sera had fought with trying to decern its location so that she could slink away if it was eating. She saw nothing that’s when she felt something hard hit her in the back causing her to lose her footing as stumbled forward.
She quickly turned around to face her assailant her spear pointing towards the direction of the attack, yet what she saw was not that of the glowing amber like eyes but the four dead eyes of the cat like creature that was once here. Her eyes grew wide staring down at the decapitated head, that’s when she heard movement to her left as the creature that could only have been born of nightmares rushed from the woods low to the ground its clawed hands held to either side as fire built up in its jaws. It was soo fast that all she could do was stare with utter fear in her eyes as the fire erupted from its wide open jaws coming fast at her.
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“MOVE HUMAN!”
“MOVE GIRL!”
The voices demanded.
She snapped out of it at the last second darting in the opposite direction of the gore trail and to the left of the Nightmare. Yet that was the wrong move, the creature had purposely directed her movements and shifted its weight to meet her movement, its long claws reaching outwards towards her exposed left side. A wicked look in its eyes as it cried out once again in a nerve wracking cry that resembled the first time Elaine had made a noise.
The claws dug into her side but its momentum was faster than Elaines and it had misjudged her speed, only causing shallow wounds. Elaine couldn’t help but cry out in pain as she used her right hand to hold her side, her left still gripping the makeshift spear. She didn’t even have the thought to try to strike at it as it flew by back into the woods, making pain-like human sounds followed by cackling once again.
Then silence.
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING! Elaine cried out in her head. Her heart racing as she charged through the underbrush of the forest trying to escape the creature. She didn’t even want to think of it as a animal. Hell she couldn’t even think in any rational kind of way. All she knew to do was run away from it. Her side hurt and her breathing was rapid and not paced, wearing her out fast. Fear had gripped her mind and body and she acted just like any other prey animal would. All she could do was run, run away from certain death.
I’m Going to Die! I’m Going to Die! I’m Going to Die! I Don’t Want to Die! I Don--- she kept repeating in her head running blindly through the forest. Her eyes were wide, her breathing rapid, her heart racing, sweat pouring from every gland on her body as her body pumped as much adrenaline as it could produce. Primal fears coming to the fore front of her mind, the instinctual fear of things in the dark.
She didn’t even hear the voices in her head as they screamed at her trying to warn her of what was coming. Her mind space was too cluttered with her thoughts of certain death.
The creature had kept pace with her watching her from the shadows of the trees that was to her right. It smiled at the hunt, smiled at the smell of fear and desperation. It had been confused by the haze like creature, but decided that it must have been some sort of defense mechanism of the weird looking creature in the hole. The lightly colored creature that it was stalking was making this too easy.
Elaine saw a bright light to her right and she quickly changed her direction trying to get away from the flames that had just appeared before her path. The human like cries echoing across the forest. What she hadn’t expected was that this creature was faster than her and again came at her from her left side. With wide eyes she saw the creatures mouth open wide going for her throat, as luck would have it though, she had stumbled on a exposed rock and tumbled to the ground. Her mind racing at the shock of hitting the ground so hard. She rolled a few times her grip on the spear loosening and falling away. The thought of losing her only protection caused even more panic as she came to abrupt stop against a largish boulder.
She looked around terror in her eyes, breath ragged with her chest heaving rapidly. WHERE ARE YOU!
“ELAINE!” Seraphion screamed, using her name for the first time. “Get your spear its to your left!” She yelled and ripped herself from the soul space. “Go and retrieve your weapon!” With that, Seraphion rushed into the wood line towards the creature willing to buy Elaine as much time as she could. She had known where the creature was and went straight for it.
I AM WRATH!
She screamed in her own head her body starting to materialize. YOU HURT “MY HUMAN!” she screamed aloud for the first time.
That’s when her body started pulling itself together from the cosmic energies and ambient mana in the air, forming her glorious frame. Her body was wreathed in a fire like aura her blackened wings looked like the furnaces of hell itself all along her feathers. She had long dark brown hair similar to Elaines with fiery red eyes. A vicious snarl splayed across her face doing little to though to hinder her deep tanned complexion. She wore tight fitting black armor that looked both like a dress and metal plates at the same time. Both her hands glowed with blackish red fire, drawing from the various mana in the area, and from her very own soul space.
“YOU WILL FACE MY WRATH!” She lunged forward grabbing the startled creature around the throat pushing it against the tree it had attempted to use for cover whilst watching its prey. Though this creature knew how to fight. It raked both its claws against the backside of the arch angel ripping into the armor as it roared in her face summoning up its own fire.
Seraphion was not going to have any of that. Her rage was too great and ignored the rivulets of blood that sprouted from her backside, her own cosmic power of Divine Right of Wrath poured through her hand around the neck of the creature. Causing the roar to turn to pains of anguish. She stared into its eyes as her other hand clamped around the mussel of the creature. “Burn Bitch!” She commanded the mortal creature as flames erupted around the two of them.
If Elaine had been of sane of mind at the time she may have paused in pure wonder, but with the previous command of the voice in her head she searched for her dropped spear until the night lit up like the sun. She feared the creature had launched another attack at her and turned to face the light to see in which direction it was coming. Instead all she saw was reddish black flames that towered nearly twenty feet, and a blinding light. The howls of pain from the creature made her clamp her hands to her ears and shut her eyes. If this was how she was going to go… there would be no way of stopping it. She was after all only human, how could she compare to something that could breath fire?
When the light cleared all she could see was fire all around where the towering inferno was. It reminded her of her last moments on earth. She stood shakily as she stepped forward slowly noting the charred remains of what she could only guess was the creature that had attacked her. Red cracks all along its skin from where it seemed to catch fire from within.
What happened? She thought rationally for the first time looking around for something.
“I happened… I…” Sera said weakly back in Elaines soul space.
Elaine felt the presence of Seraphion, it was weak and tired. She didn’t even notice when she had come back. Are you ok? She asked tentatively.
“Shes asleep for once.” Zee said softly. “She was amazing, and was willing to sacrifice herself for you to live for a few moments more.” Zee had moved the sleeping form of Seraphion to her fluff and was petting her hair… she was deathly pale and she could tell that she had expanded too much energy. “Let her sleep. She’ll be fine in a bit Elaine. For now you need to dig… like a bunny, and stay hidden.” She mused comforting her fellow arch angel.
Elaine nodded and went back to the large boulder and started to dig with her clawed hands, with a thought she gathered up some wood and brush and spread it around the entrance and tried to hide the hole. She was terrified, and could only listen to the soothing murmurs of care in her head as Zee took a bedside like manner for Sera.
The human stayed awake for as long as possible, her eyes never leaving the entrance to her hole waiting for those amber like eyes to peer in once again, yet… it didn’t take long for the exhaustion to kick in as she drifted to sleep herself. Her body hurt and she hadn’t even recovered from any of the wounds she had suffered over the past day and night. Her body needed to heal, and the adrenaline that had once coursed through her body had come to its end. Sleep was the only thing that could have happened.
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She may have feared the amber like eyes… but the eyes that were watching the whole scene from a tree branch far above watched throughout the night, waiting for the bipedal creature to come back out from its hole. It felt the rage from the other creature and knew not to tempt fate unless it wished for death.