Creeping to the forest’s edge allowed the men to grasp what little they could of the situation. The dark clouds above the thick trees created a darkness Dan had never experienced before. He had grown up in Louisiana’s suburbs and was never more than a dozen steps away from a light source at any given time. He was starting to rethink what “dark” meant.
Bob held up a hand as they reached where the sand ended, stopping Dan. They stood along a few sporadic patches of grass in awe. The “rain” wasn’t normal rain by any means. Besides falling from clouds, the rain above the forest was deep crimson. Everything was covered in the red dye, and the smell of iron permeated the open air.
“What is this?” Dan asked, looking to the only man who held some semblance of information about the situation.
Bob was hesitant. “It’s blood.” He bent down and plucked a blade of red grass, quickly throwing it back. “Even the grass is off. It feels serrated.”
Dan looked to his feet, glad he was wearing proper work boots. Shaking his head, he said, “There’s no way we are going through there, right?”
Just then a flash of light blanketed along the forest’s interior. The sudden light highlighted the rain, allowing them to see the horrid color through the darkness. The endless void of trees revealed a bustling ecosystem of moving shadows and dreadful dips and valleys.
“Okay, Dan,” Bob began, a frown on his lips. “We either camp out on the beach and hope the sirens don’t come back, or we venture into the dark forest with unnatural clouds flooding the area with blood. Either way, we need food.”
An explosion shook the ground, followed by three quick flashes of white light.
Bob nodded to the sudden rave. “We will have to see what that is, as well.”
“W-what, uh, do you recommend?” Dan asked, reeling his mind to stay focused.
He wanted to run away screaming, but he was pragmatic enough to realize that was foolish. He also wanted answers, but he got the feeling Bob was working with about the same information he was. Dan sighed as his stomach rumbled. A flash of light cast a long shadow of a crooked branch into the sand. He repressed the urge to shiver.
“We go in,” Bob said plainly.
“What about the blood… rain? You threw our food out because George’s blood got on the supply.”
The militaristic man tried to hide his guilty expression. “I thought we’d be rescued pretty quickly once off the rig. Half a day until the search boats or helicopters found us. If I had known we’d end up here, I would have thought through the choice more. I probably still would have thrown it out, however.”
“Why?” Dan chided.
He pushed down his anger. He wasn’t mad at Bob, but rather the situation. He found himself cradling his core, finding relief in its calm song. The more he unconsciously harnessed his newfound power, the more he could hear. Dan’s body was slowly piecing his mind back together, which acted as a volume knob for his core.
The song was getting louder.
“Blood beasts are known for their corruption. I thought that if we came into contact with even a molecule of its blood, we’d be turned.” Bob gestured to the blood rains. “This doesn’t seem like a blood beast.”
Dan took a deep breath and nodded. He was thankful for the military man, even though the situation seemed dire. Simply having someone around was like the guiding stars in the sky above. That thought pulled Dan’s attention. He looked to the sky one last time, seared the triplet of burning gas into his memory, and walked through the curtain of rain with Bob at his side.
As soon as the pair crossed the boundary, Bob shoved Dan with a powerful push. Dan tripped over himself and fell, scrambling away from his attacker. Bob counted aloud to thirty before nodding, sighing in relief, and helping his victim back up.
“Sorry. If the rain infected us with the blood beast parasite, then I wanted at least some room to work. No need for us both to die.”
Dan stared at the man. “You thought that if I turned into what took over Lambert, you’d be able to kill me because you had a few extra feet to work with?”
Bob smirked. “Yeah, it would have given me enough distance to draw this.” He scrounged the back of his pant line, removing a bright orange flare gun.
The low light caused Dan to freeze up, thinking that it was a real gun. He was about to berate the man for not just shooting Lambert, but the thought died off. A new one did form, and with it a bundle of hope. If someone showed up, someone who could help them, then a flare would be a great tool. Maybe Bob’s organization would arrive, they seemed to know about the rig, they must be looking for Bob, right?
“Bob… are there people looking for us?” Dan asked, his tone reserved but still hopeful.
Bob didn’t say anything for a long moment. They had begun to walk through the forest, each of them spitting every few moments to purge their mouths of blood. They didn’t realize it, but both of them were breathing heavily, like they just ran up three flights of stairs. The situation was tense, even for the man who had seen real combat.
“Yes.” Bob said, no fallacy in his voice. “I hit the panic button, so to speak, before Lambert was turned.”
That raised a question, at least to Dan. What happened to Lambert to put him in such a state? He was about to ask, but they rounded a hill and found the source of the flashes and explosions.
In the low valley, a group of hooded figures chased a lone man. The hunters carried long staves with crystalline lights along the handles and top. They all glowed a ghoulish green-red and gave off enough light to see. The light was twisted, however, and gave Dan a headache the moment he saw it.
The leader of the hunters swirled his staff in the air, creating a dark orb of volatile power. The void sphere grew from the size of a golf ball to that of a head. With a great thrust, the figure threw the orb at the hunted. The ball pulsated with purple light as it traveled, continuing to grow in size as it went.
The lone man took a mighty leap, spun in the air, and flashed his hands towards the black orb. A wash of white light appeared from the man’s palms, quickly drifting like a scarf in the wind. The light condensed into a solid wall, forming just before the ball. An explosion occurred from the impact, resulting in a gaping hole. Everything, mainly blood rain and fallen leaves, were pulled into the subsequent blackhole.
Watching the lone man continue to run, Bob spoke in a low growl, “I have no clue what those lights are. I was never trained in this. But one thing is certain, we need to help that man.”
Dan eyed his companion. “You want to help that man? The man that created a wall of light that blocked a blackhole-bomb?”
“We help him, he helps us. Simple as that.”
“Or he kills us instantly.”
Bob turned and locked eyes with Dan. “We need help right now. I’m willing to risk this, but if you say no, then we hide and do our own thing.”
As Dan considered Bob’s words, he looked around. The glowing light from the hooded figures’ staves put a pressure in his head, one he had somewhat grown accustomed to. He didn’t like the feeling, the pain was too real, but it reminded him of his core. He had created an orb of light even if it was only for just a heartbeat. He wanted to create more, to light his path through this bleak forest. The lone man had created a similar light, and that was draw enough for Dan.
He knew that trying to help was the wrong choice, he wanted to feel safe. He wanted to harness the power he knew himself capable of. The image of dozens of eyes watching him in the lifeboat came back to him. Monsters were real, and now was not the time to back down. Dan could only see one path for safety, and he chose it.
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“We help. What do you have in mind?” he asked.
Just then a roar shook the trees and knocked loose leaves. The hooded figures shouted something between themselves and turned towards the sound. From deeper within the forest, an infernal winged monster barreled through the wooden trunks.
It was covered in blood and oozing with open wounds. Its massive frame stretched into the canopy, its head easily shattering the lowest branches as it went. As it crested the opposite hill, a thick wind kicked up. The monster unfolded its wings, tendons and bones snapping in the process. Intestine-like tentacles darted out once it got in range.
The hooded figures scattered, each forming odd colored orbs on the tip of their staves. An unlucky soul couldn’t move fast enough, fear gripping her. She tripped, losing her staff in the process. The monster took no pity, snatching her up with its tentacles and pulling her in close. Her screams muted with a sickening crunch and waterfall of blood.
The lead figure shouted something in a language Dan didn’t understand. He watched them all raise their weapons and send off their creations. Black, red, blue, neon green, and bright blue orbs, beams, and arrows exploded out, all slamming into the monster without recourse. Each color seemed to do something slightly different, but it was enough. The beast died.
The black orb resonated with the other colors, easily allowing itself to consume and grow. The explosion, and subsequent blackhole, sheared the monster in a wide circle. A half-arc of the monster was simply gone, swallowed up by the dark power that the leader shot out.
It was then that Dan made the connection. “Magic,” he whispered.
Bob didn’t care to watch anymore and slowly moved back into the dark forest, Dan along with him. They traveled quickly, not knowing how much time the monster’s attack gave them. As they ran, both men hesitated at shadows and jumped at nothing. The hellish landscape and lack of light created an enemy out of the forest, one they had to live with.
Dan held on to his core as he ran, finding that doing so pushed his legs to unknown limits. Before the attack on the rig, Dan didn’t call himself athletic. He was an electrician, he never needed to be physically fit for sprints through a deadly forest. That didn’t mean he wasn’t able, he understood that slowing meant certain death.
A dim flash of light caused both men to swirl in attention. A second flash allowed them to see the lone man. He leaned against a tree, holding up his ankle. A third flash was all Dan needed to understand the situation. The man was injured and was blasting himself with the light as either a painkiller or direct heal.
The man wiggled his foot, and refocused on his surroundings. Through the rain, the man looked back in the direction of the far off group. The sickly glow of their staves cut through the dark, easily allowing all to see.
A thread of white bloomed from the man’s hand where it twisted in the air before trailing off towards Bob and Dan. The man swiveled quickly, light glowing into thick balls in both palms. He shouted something, obviously not able to see where they were.
Bob took a deep breath, and stepped forward. Not wanting to be left behind, Dan followed suit. Together they came into the lone man’s artificial light, allowing each party to see the other. The man recoiled much like Bob and Dan did.
The figure wasn’t so much a person, but rather a spindly being of outstretched warts. He was cloaked in shadows and blood, only showing enough skin through its shredded tunic to resemble a person. A ropey mane of prickly hairs topped his head, each oozing clear mucus.
Dan stared at the being, terror bubbling in his mind and belly. He shook his head in refusal, the horrors of the being before him was too much. Even holding his core as tight as he could, he still found himself frozen. Madness was knocking in his brain, threatening to take hold.
The humanoid monster locked eyes with Dan and tilted his head slightly. He spoke some dreadful language that sounded like moths flying into open flames. Cracks and pops highlighted the message, each one donning with power and vileness.
Bob threw up.
Neither Dan nor the man cared to look. Instead a glint of white formed within the being’s eyes. A wisp of light misted through the air towards the electrician.
Feeling no resentment or enmity from the mist, Dan didn’t move. Something deep within his core and shattered mind told him not to worry. Words and images came to him, each taking the form of alien music. Pops and crackles started to make sense, although he understood none of it. He only knew that the being in front of him felt something in him, something Dan felt in the being as well.
It was the feeling of light. Of warmth. Of the stars. They were the same.
A green bar of flickering miasma sliced through the trees. A rift was created between Bob, Dan, and the being. The ground rose up, pushing away the nearby trees and sending bloody mud cascading. The being yelled something which Dan was able to somewhat understand.
Run.
Dan grabbed the stunned Bob, pushing him deeper into the forest and away from those in the hoods. The ground continued to split and form, slowly gaining on the pair and loner. From the other side of the dirt wall, light came into existence. It draped into a downward falling feather before touching the ground.
The rumbling stopped as more light was created in a long flash. This time stairs were formed and the being ran up them, giving it enough height to vault the dirt fence. Dan and Bob both hesitated at his sudden appearance, but it just ran signaling to follow.
They ran for what felt like hours. In reality they only covered the distance of two large hills before they came across a monster. It took the form of noxious bubbles of red plague, but before it was able to do anything, a second monster pounced.
Dan couldn’t see much through the darkness, but the earth shook as the massive monster devoured the bubbles. Pipes seemed to burst with every passing moment, spraying the area in thick bile as a gruesome cry reverberated through the trees. Golden orbs reflected what little light there was, watching the three as they ran. The predator they belonged to didn’t want to give up its meal.
They continued past the monster before the spindly man stopped. He gestured to the monster, and further back in the forest. It was obvious to Dan and Bob what he wanted to do, and they moved. Dan could see it now. The hooded figures would run into the monster, and the lone man would capitalize.
They left the being and hid among the trees. Bob held the flare gun in a prone position, his elbows sinking into the mud, blood, and grass. Dan, not wanting to be the odd man out, pleaded with his core for the power to wield an orb. He knew his core was still too small, but it was growing closer and closer with each breath.
The hooded figures must have come into contact with the monster feasting. Blues and greens highlighted the underside of the canopy. The being took this as its opportunity, summoning forth white light. The light poured from his palms, acting like water and pooling around its feet. Once enough was created, the white condensed and flew into the air.
Just in time as well. The light formed into a dome just as a black orb came screeching through the air. It collided with the dome, exploding then forming a black hole. Cracks formed along the bubble, but remained strong. A red arrow was next, followed by a blue apparition of a screaming skull. Each rebounded off the dome and fizzled away.
The hooded figures began to surround the dome, each taking purchase around the perimeter. This caused Bob to curse.
“What was he thinking?” he seethed. “They must have killed the monster! The trap was dismantled…”
Dan watched the being and shook his head. Maybe it didn’t know the hooded figures would be able to kill the monster that fast? Or maybe he was hoping for him and Bob to make a move. Regardless, the situation looked dire. Unless...
“Shoot the leader with the flare,” Dan said, finding confidence from his core. “I-I’ll tackle one. Hopefully he can take out the others.”
Bob caught Dan’s eye, and cursed again. It was their best plan, besides running away, but at this point the military man didn’t think they would survive. Seeing the monsters that hid in the forest and the people who hunted them, made Bob rethink things. They were going to die without help, and the only being that seemed somewhat friendly was locked within a dome of its own creation.
“Fine,” Bob called. “I’ll count to ten, then fire. Be ready.”
Dan nodded solemnly and pushed through the thicket. Lambert came to mind once again, along with the image of a dead George. He knew he’d die if any of the magic touched him, be it blackhole, green beam, blue skull. He checked his core one last time, it was close. So close.
The roar of the flare hit Dan’s ears before the light hit his eyes. The sudden bright orange light was met with rapid yelling and retaliation. It took an odd spin, missing the leader figure by mere inches. It did, however, create a diversion and opening.
All of the hooded figures watched the flare screech through the dark forest before crashing against a far off tree. Dan took the moment, tackling the closest one with his full weight. Just then three spikes of white light cut through the inside of the dome, acting like a spear and shield wall. Dan didn’t have the chance to watch, as he was face down wrestling with a brutish being.
Dan couldn’t fully make out what he was fighting, but its skin was much too squishy to be real flesh. Besides that, its cloaked appearance didn’t allow him to see much.
A wave of nausea hit him, blowing him off the downed figure. His head spun from impacting the ground awkwardly, but he had enough presence of mind to crawl for a prize.
The hooded figure’s staff had been knocked from its hands, launching it to the underbrush. Dan moved like his life depended on it, rushing the carved wooden weapon. It continued to glow with odd coloration, even after he picked it up.
A wave of energy entered his body at that moment. He recoiled like sniffing smelling salts, but clutched the staff with white knuckles. His core bulged and for just a moment he felt his surroundings. In his mind’s eye, Dan saw the battlefield.
Two of the hooded figures were skewered by white spears originating from the dome of light. The being inside waved his hands in the air, creating more and more power, but slouching in the process. The leader of the figures twirled his staff, creating a web of black. It shot the web in the general direction of Bob, leaving nothing in its wake.
Bob was dead, unconditionally.
Then the leader turned to Dan.
Dan reacted, spinning and forcing his core to create an orb of light. It formed at the tip of the staff he held, before drifting above his head where it sat, like a street light in the dead of night. He pushed at his core, trying to control the orb. Blood vessels in his eye burst and his nose started leaking, but the orb didn’t move. It only hung in the air, creating white-gold light.
The leader saw this and smirked internally. With a twirl of his staff, a drill of black power manifested and pierced through the dome of light. One of its subordinates shot three red arrows right after, each cutting through the being that created the dome. All of the white light disappeared at that moment, except for that which hung over Dan.
A wallop from behind caught Dan across the neck and head. The figure he tackled stood over his motionless body.