Ralina could feel the shift, the bone and sinew reforming as her beastly form started to contort back into her human shape. As the change completed, she found herself vulnerable, clothed in tattered remnants. With rapid breaths, she looked up to see the wide-eyed woman she had saved staring at her, a mix of fear and wonder on her face.
"It's okay," Ralina tried to console her, attempting to keep her voice steady despite the raw sensation in her throat. "I mean you no harm."
The woman, slowly regaining her composure, nodded, glancing at the dead soldier splayed across the room. "Are you… Felren?"
Ralina slowly bowed her head as calmly as she could to not further spook the woman, trying to find the words she added. "And a protector," she finally said. "Are you alright?"
Understanding seemed to dawn in the woman's eyes as she nodded, and without further prompting, she stood up, taking Ralina's hand.
Ralina offered her a soft smile urging her to move. "We need to leave this place."
As the two hurried out of the room, a number of dishevelled women emerged from shadowed corners and alcoves, the marks of abuse evident on their faces. But there was resilience in their eyes. Some armed themselves with the weapons of their captors, each one ready to reclaim her freedom.
The group descended to the lowest level, the cacophony of their footsteps echoing through the grim corridors. A flicker of hope ignited in Ralina's heart— this house of horrors would soon meet its end.
However, just as they were about to revel in their imminent escape, the ominous clanging of armour grew louder. Ralina pressed a finger to her lips, signalling the women to stay silent and still. As the noise amplified, it was clear that a group of soldiers were approaching the front entrance at the end of the hall.
Suddenly, a lone figure in tears appeared behind them, wound through the group of women, and ran right for the front door. The familiar shriek made Ralina flinch. "Marcella?" she whispered in disbelief. Why was the snobbish, privileged girl here, and in such a desperate state?
With reckless abandon, Marcella sprinted towards the oncoming soldiers, seemingly heedless of the danger. Orders erupted from her mouth, her voice desperate and commanding. But before Ralina could discern if they were being obeyed, Marcella's form was swallowed by the sea of metal.
With the door now open the line of soldier grew hungry as they spotted the half-naked women in the hallway beyond, with the promise of an appetising feast they eagerly surged.
With no time to waste, Ralina darted forward. She slammed the door shut just in time, hearing the reassuring click of the lock, with the soldiers now securely remaining on the other side.
The group of women exchanged relieved glances, but their ordeal wasn't over yet. Their escape was just beginning, and Ralina was determined to ensure their safety.
The door trembled under the relentless assault, echoing each violent thud from the soldiers outside, desperate to get in. Ralina's heart raced, trying to quickly calculate their next move when a distinctive clank of armour drew her attention. Hope, encased in her gleaming Akanam metal, was running down the hall.
The women instinctively scattered, giving Hope room to move. Without a word, she took position beside the weakening door, using her body and the weight of her armour as an added barrier against the intruding force. However, the door couldn't hold out much longer. It wasn't merely bending now; it was splintering, on the brink of breaking apart.
Ralina's eyes darted around, searching for an alternative escape route. Her gaze went upwards, noting the weak, decaying wooden beams of the ceiling. An idea took shape.
"Hope! The ceiling," Ralina shouted, pointing upwards. "Can you bring it down?"
Hope swiftly followed Ralina's line of sight and nodded, her Akanam metal arms transforming into large, clawed hands. With a swift, powerful motion, she began tearing at the rotting foundation, wood, and plaster crumbling in her grasp.
The building responded with an ominous groan with an unsettling moan. The women began to retreat further down the hall.
The soldiers outside, sensing the impending collapse of the door, increased the intensity of their assault. Just as the door finally swung open, revealing a handful of enraged men, the ceiling gave way. The torrent of debris rained down, burying those who had just made their way in.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
A cloud of dust rose obscuring vision momentarily. The hallway became silent save for the coughs and gasps of the survivors. Ralina and the women she had vowed to protect stood on the far end, breathing hard but safe.
Hope, with the remnants of the ceiling strewn around her, emerged, her armour now dented and scratched but still intact. She met Ralina's eyes, nodding in silent agreement. Their mission had become even clearer now - they needed to escape another way.
“Ah, help me…” groaned a soldier trapped under the rubble.
The group stared in horror at the fallen soldier, pinned beneath the debris, whose once-human eyes now glistened with an inky blackness. Gasps filled the air as the soldier's muscles twitched and convulsed. Before anyone could react, his skin turned a deathly shade of grey.
“Wwhat…” stammered Hope.
The wounded soldier's form stretched and contorted, skin tearing and reshaping, his bones cracking and realigning. His arm, once an ordinary limb, now grew long and sinewy, ending in twisted, claw-like fingers. As the metamorphosis continued, his screams of pain and fury reverberated through the room, sending chills down everyone's spine.
The women around Ralina began to panic, their eyes darting around the room for an escape route. Some clutched onto their makeshift weapons tighter, while others muttered prayers under their breath.
From beyond the crushed walls, a chorus of similar groans and crunches filled the air, signalling that more transformations were occurring outside. Ralina gulped, realizing the magnitude of the situation. If there were truly a hundred soldiers outside, and if all of them were undergoing this monstrous transformation, they would be vastly outnumbered.
The creature, once a soldier, began to tear itself free from the rubble with newfound strength. It growled menacingly; black eyes fixed on the group. Ralina took a defensive stance, ready to protect the women behind her. They had to find a way out, and fast. If they remained cornered in this hall, they stood no chance against the emerging horde of creatures.
The hallway echoed with the frantic footsteps of the fleeing women, their breaths coming in quick, desperate gasps. As they rounded a corner, Marge, the sullen matron of the establishment, blocked their path with a fierce glint in her sunken eyes. "What's the meaning of this?" she demanded. “Why aren’t you fulfilling your duties? Back into the beds!”
The atmosphere grew even more charged. The hallway, filled with the fleeing women and the grim-faced Ralina, became a pressure cooker of emotion. Instantly her patience snapped, her anger at the matron intermingling with the raw urgency of their escape. Without warning, she lunged at Marge, gripping the matron's neck, and lifting her off her feet. Her voice, thick with fury, sounded more like a roar than a human's shout. "WHERE is the other exit?!"
Marge's expression crumbled under the weight of Ralina's rage. With eyes widened in fear, she quickly pointed towards her service counter. Behind it, hidden from immediate view, was her private quarters. "Through my room," she stammered. "There's an exit there."
The women surged forward, their only focus being escape. As Ralina pushed Marge through, Hope, her armour clinking with each movement, shut the door to the matron's quarters and began to secure it behind them. She threw a glance at Marge, her eyes full of urgency. "Quickly, open it!"
Marge, still disoriented from the confrontation with Ralina, fumbled with the keys. The distant growls and thundering footsteps of the transformed soldiers grew louder, the sounds of chaos rapidly approaching. The latch clicked.
With the exit finally unlocked, the women spilled out into the night. But Marge, whether from shock or sheer stubbornness, lingered in her quarters. She glanced back at her domain, seemingly unable to comprehend the gravity of their situation.
Ralina, having ushered the last of the women out, turned back to see Marge still inside. Without a second thought, she slammed the outside door shut, the click of the lock sealing the matron's fate. The monsters' roars echoed from inside, followed by Marge's horrified screams.
The group didn't stop to look back, driven by sheer adrenaline, they fled into the darkness, leaving the horrors of that place behind.
The illusion of escape quickly shattered around Ralina and Hope. They realized the nightmare that had been contained within the walls of that wretched establishment had spilled out into the streets of the city. The sheer magnitude of the horror was paralysing.
Every corner, every shadow seemed to hold a new terror. The monstrous transformations hadn't been limited to the soldiers in the establishment. Every soldier in the city had been changed, their forms twisted into nightmarish versions of their former selves. The familiar sounds of a bustling city were replaced with the cacophony of despair - screams of terror, pleas for mercy, and the unmistakable sounds of a massacre.
"We have to head to the Amber district," Ralina rasped, trying to project a sense of calm she didn't feel. "It's our best chance."
But panic had taken a firm grip on the rescued women. With wide-eyed terror, they scattered in every direction, their instincts for survival overriding any sense of order or unity. The once united group was disintegrating before Ralina's eyes.
As Ralina tried to corral some of the fleeing women, a chilling presence drew their attention. From around the corner, a creature emerged, its form elongated and nightmarish. At least seven feet tall, its limbs were eerily thin and seemed too long for its body. Claws, long and sharp, adorned its fingers. But it was the face that was truly terrifying. Distorted and stretched into a grotesque smile, rows of sharp teeth gleamed in the dim light.
Hope shifted into a defensive stance, her Akanam armour coming to life around her. Ralina, though still reeling from the previous confrontations, gathered her strength and prepared herself. The two stood side by side, a beacon of defiance.
The creature hesitated, sizing up its potential victims. Its hollow eyes flicked back and forth between Hope and Ralina, clearly evaluating the danger they posed.
Everything seemed to freeze in that moment.
"Ready?" Hope whispered, clutching a long needle, poised to throw.
Ralina growled in response, her body rapidly transforming into her powerful lioness form. "Always."
And then, with a guttural growl, it lunged.