The very shadows summoned forth for the sake of her trial, had apparently done a fair job of masking her presence. But the words and directions from the slimy turd of a cousin, brought their attention to her existence, disrupting that fragile protection. Now revealed, her form was discernable to even a casual eye that knew what to look for, against the shifting shadows and surroundings.
All their gazes turned from me to the odd shape just a few meters away. Through my limited spacial awareness, I could feel the general shape and elation of Joel behind me, as he continued pointing his hand toward his cousin.
Any positive feelings that I might have engendered towards Lynette’s cousin in resisting the torment visited upon him, were now gone with this betrayal. The traitor directed the targeted attention of these wolfen from him and me, to his beleaguered relative. She was already suffering from the late-stage effects of the shadow stone assimilation nearing its completion, but now was unknowingly drawn into an altercation that had nothing to do with her!
I felt my teeth clench tightly in gritted fury, at these words and actions.
Only my deep caution against the active threat from the four wolfen, kept me from turning to bash the head in of this miserable excuse of a sentient being.
I pride myself in normally being a rational minded person, one who doesn’t often jump to deep impacting conclusions. I usually refrained from taking a firm side in most any altercation, before I felt I had a good grasp on the general situation from multiple sides. Were it not for my recently gained empathic ability to sense the emotions of Travelers and other less assimilated beings in close proximity to me, then I might have given more pause to feel things out.
However, all that I had felt from Lynette in the before and now, had been genuine and pure. From what I believed, reinforced with my empathic feedback, she had not brought any of this upon herself. She was a complete victim of circumstance. Others simply saw her and desired to exercise their lust for power and other degrading intents upon her. I felt something else entirely.
With deep conviction of the wrongness and evil about to be committed, my own feelings of protectiveness and determination grew with frightening fury to clash against those who sought to harm my self-appointed charge. This was not going to be a peace-making session that other more soft-hearted individuals would optimistically and fatally hope for. This was where I was putting my heavily refined sense of justice on the line against a sexual assault in the making.
Gritting my teeth and shifting positions to place myself between the four wolfen and the form of the shivering girl, I cried out with a growl in my own voice. “Over my dead body!!”
The energy within me roiled at my words as it was stirred up by my heightened emotions! Cascading chills and warmth shot through with lightening and the other assimilated elements, rampaged through me. What it lacked in mass from reality, it made up for in sheer clarity and intensity.
“Come-on, we can take him!” The cry to stir up his companions came from the scraggliest wolfen of the group who did not recognize me. The two who had shown some recognition of my identity appeared on the cusp of giving into peer pressure despite their misgivings.
The other wolfen, sporting a greyish fur coat and shifty eyes also not seeming to recognize me, gave out an appreciative whistle after peering more intently at the huddled figure of Lynette. *WHewOOO! * “That is a fine lady!” He cried out with excitement.
The eyes and ears of the other three wolfen perked up with hungry delight at seeing such a tasty morsel within their grasp. Any reservations from before appeared to have been discarded as they jointly charged at me, seeking to take down the only visible obstacle in their way.
Each of them expertly wielded their spear as they dashed forward in a loosely organized formation. I gritted my teeth in frustration as they appeared to have been through several clashes on the frontlines based on their cohesion. I was more than ready to give up my life in protection of my charge. However, making an actual difference by taking all of them down with me in order to save her in the end, was a far more difficult task.
I mean, what use is being a hero if you still fail to be a savior before you fall? Simply dying for another, in my eyes is not enough. It must make a difference!
The numerous sessions I had trained with Monroe and his many employees in various forms of combat, had instilled within me a great confidence in defeating someone at my level in a one-on-one. Hand to hand, various weapons, and the basics of differing styles of martial arts had been hammered into me with great repetition. My previously under-stimulated muscle groups had been targeted with surgical precision through acupuncture and katas. The massive improvements I had undergone with agonal baptisms by elemental assimilation were fine tuned to answer my call as they were improved in strength, resiliency, and reflexes.
Metal flashed and the smell of ozone tickled my nose as I took the lead spear with my staff, attempting to break their formation. Mister scraggly was the one at the forefront who appeared to be the most unhinged of the quartet. His eyes turned wild as he struggled to push his spear past my guard.
Taking advantage of his underestimation of my strength, I thrust his spear wide and slammed the other end of my staff into the V of his rib cage. He went down hard and didn’t move again.
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The other three who had been further back in the formation, came to a sudden faltering stop. Having seen one of theirs be taken down so easily gave them pause. I could see it in their eyes. Their slacking desire to further engage, however, inversely pumped me up with excitement. I felt like I had a chance at this now!
I was unfortunately to be disappointed.
They had apparently learned more than basic charge techniques in the military, as was reflected in their now far more warry approach. Two of them began to harry me while keeping their distance. Their spears, having greater reach than my staff, made for a formidable blockade to their more fragile bodies. The third, avoiding me entirely, went for Lynette’s still form.
Fierce anger burned through me at their lack of fair play. It was bad enough that they were ganging up on me, but even worse, they were stomping over the unwritten rules of engagement regarding innocents. I have a strong sense of ethical fairness and when someone dares to impugn upon my honor in terrible ways, there are no holds barred.
Swinging my staff in a wide arc to knock back those harrying me, I then dashed to the still form of Lynette and the approaching wolfen. Surprised by my sudden moves, the single beastman barely got up his spear up to block my approach. *Clang!* *Clang!* *Whack!* . . . *Clang!*. The furious impacts of our two weapons rang near unceasingly. All this while, the other two had already rushed to join in on the clash.
I knew I had to make a bold move to stop things before they escalated further. Swiping hard with my staff and knocking two of the spear heads aside, I was forced to grasp the third spear head with my bare hand!
Despite my reinforced flesh, the sharp edges of the metal bit deep into my skin!
Caring not for the sudden flaring pain, I gripped down hard and ripped the spear from his hold! This further damaged my hand, but I cared not for such in the chaotic moment.
The fallout of my rash decision allowed me to pull the unsteady wolfen towards me before he released his grip. Falling to my feet, he scrambled out of the way just as I was about to bring my staff down on his back.
“Dust it all!” I cried out in frustration!
He was saved from any follow-up attacks as my attention was forced away by the two whom had now, more fully re-joined the fight.
Growling in anger at this development, I strove to stay close to Lynette’s still form, even as I attempted to keep anything from interrupting her assimilation. She appeared so close to the end! I only needed to hold them off a little longer!
Agonizingly soon it seemed, she would be safe enough to log out and not fail the elemental trial that she put so much value upon. My anger seethed as I knew that the one causing her to risk herself for such growth was the same one who threw her to the wolves.
Gripping my staff tighter, I felt my warm blood oozing out of my left hand, making it slick to hold.
The grey haired wolfen also appeared to realize that their window of opportunity was quickly closing and he called out. “Hey recruit!” I felt Joel straighten up at attention in my sphere of awareness. “You’d better help in taking him down, or else we will make your life utterly miserable at the war front.” The wolfen’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Ya catch my drift?”
Fear, depression, and anxiety seethed over me, originating from Joel’s form! Then, I sensed something rushing at me, . . . but it was too late.
*Crack!* My vision went white as something hard impacted the back of my head. The world spun before me and I fell. *Hugh!* Impacting the ground, the air was forced from my lungs and I struggled to get a bead on where everyone was. I pushed myself up to put up a semblance of resistance.
I don’t know who it was, but someone got ahold of another rock or maybe used the same one, and again! Standing impotently amidst the swirling surroundings and spots in my vision, *Crack!* my scull was again assaulted!
My vision went black, and I struggled fiercely to stay awake. My limbs were unresponsive and my thoughts were sluggish, but I wasn’t out!
My emotions and the power within me were going rampant with my lost vision and motor control. Everything was too loud with the ringing in my ears and fear in my heart.
I had failed. . . And now Lynette was going to suffer!?!
I was close enough that I could feel the three approaching the young girl. Small consolation that I had been able to take out one of them when those remaining could still do so much damage to her.
Her cousin, also barely within my sphere of awareness was apparently watching on as they began defiling her. Smug delight colored his emotions as the rough hands of the wolfen pawed over her clothed body. My somewhat returned hearing translated what my darkness filled eyes could not see.
The breathing of the wolfen quickened in excitement as they perversely explored their victim.
The ever-present fear which I had been feeling from Lynette during her trial had faded briefly, and yet now came back with a resurgence!
I believe that the trial was now over, but did she know that?!
“Lggg Ut! . . . Lggg Ut!!” I cried the words Log Out to her, but my mouth much like my body and vision was not working properly. My own log out countdown timer showed up in my upper left vision despite everything else being foggy. I pointedly ignored it, refusing to turn away and escape from this situation.
Perhaps she heard me, and perhaps she didn’t, but I did feel a shift in her emotions. It became more muted and dead inside. It was not muted like she had left, but like someone who was giving into the inevitable and given up. The short-lived hope which she had not experienced for far too long prior to visiting this new world, had been extinguished.
I would not stand for that! If she wouldn’t fight for herself, I would fight for her!!
Tears of rage and desperation rolled down my unseeing eyes, even as I mentally and emotionally flung about my powers. I was desperate to make them manifest as something, anything more than trapped energies.
I felt beyond sick as the perversive lusts coming from the wolfen and the voyeuristic delights of Lynette’s cousin crowded around me. Her own apathetic and muted emotion continued to batter against my soul and psyche in sharp contrast. Sour bile filled my mouth as my stomach heaved, my blind eyes stung, and yet the remainder of my body refused to obey me and get up!
I desperately reached out to the emotions of the wolfen in hopes that I might be able to strangle them into submission, but nothing passed beyond the confines of my skin. I was like a receptor satellite, forever incapable of any outgoing transmissions, reactions, or overt actions, and cursed to only feel everything around me in overwhelming clarity.
I felt myself begin to shatter, as more terrible things were done to this poor innocent girl which I was powerless to prevent. I could not tell how far they had gone as her emotions remained consistently numb, but the growing excitement and thrill pouring off the trio of wolfen and her cousin was unbearable.
A sense of pressure cracks began to form somewhere, and I felt as if I was going to burst!
Suddenly, I felt a spike of fear and caution stab through the emotions of those experiencing their peak and heightened thrills. I could hear swearing and muttering before the sound of multiple pounding boots disappeared into the distance.
I, in my incapacitated state was left there feeling only the numbness spreading forth from Lynette and my own strained emotions. Searing anger at my own helplessness continued to course through me like a red-hot knife, but the cracks that had been forming somewhere indeterminable had ceased their progression. The impetus for such had ended, as the poor girl appeared to no longer be in any further danger of assault.
Still, my soul continued to weep for her. . .
I hated my current impotence, but then an idea pushed through the haze of my thoughts. Maybe I could do something on the other side. . .
Giving a quick plea to whatever altruistic or compassionate powers that be, that nothing worse happened while I was gone, I did then log out.
After the rapid transfer back, I wasted no time in pulling up the interface available inside of the capsule and made a quick damning report of the situation to my liason, flagging it with the highest urgency I had on hand. Then, I immediately initiated the return to my dazed and still form, hoping that I returned in time and with strength to protect her. . .
As soon as the flash of light passed and I was again in my currently disabled body, I heard that which the wolfen and Joel appeared to have been scared off by. . .
The pounding of hooves faintly filled my ears which gradually grew louder. The neighing of horses and the shouts of their riders calling them to a halt, echoed around me.