Hiding in an alcove at the edge of the ruined fisher’s building, Jak cocked his ears trying to listen in on the conversation as best he could. They twitched and flicked to catch the sound but it was difficult as the noise of hissing steam and a rhythmic beat drowned most of it out, in addition to being muffled by distance and barriers. He only managed to catch a few fragments, something about a mistress? Rose Box? The new voice that had started talking gave him the creeps, there was just something plain unsettling about it.
Jak didn’t know what exactly he had expected to learn. Maybe that Haggard had become a gopher for one of the slum’s gangs? A drug dealer? Weapons? Maybe just information. This, however, felt much more ominous. He noted in passing how his hairs stood at ends.
“What?! Where?!”
The sudden shout from Haggard echoed through the air and Jak decided now was probably the best time to get going. He had barely turned around to flit out of his hiding place when a voice echoed from above him. It was quiet. And yet, as soon as it spoke, it was as if all other sound had been silenced.
“I see you~”
Jak wasn’t dumb enough to halt in his flight, darting back towards the exit in a full run. But still, he couldn’t help but turn his head to gaze back for just a moment.
Green eyes gazed into a molten ocean of hatred, an endless surface that boiled with the joy of death and despair. It was terror incarnate. And then these eyes imploded into pinpricks of gleaming crimson, the feeling of pure, paralysing terror vanishing within the same moment as it had occurred. Jak gasped for air as if he had been submerged under water. Heart racing he scrambled to push his legs faster than he had ever move before.
“W-what the Abyss…?!”
The Demon cackled as it sped after him, vicious claws of metallic black gleaming within the starry illuminated cave.
“Fuck! The wretch’s gone rogue?!”
Haggard voice echoed muffled from behind them. The wolf and his goons had raced after the Demon after only a short moment of confusion, climbing over the stony barriers. Azure eyes narrowed with rising fury after the wolf cat.
But Jak didn’t care if Haggard had seen him or was rushing after him as well, he just pushed his legs more and more as the Demon hunted after him. Claws swept for his ankles and it was only by mere hairs breadth that he managed to dodge out of the way. The sound of it cooing made Jak shudder in revulsion.
“Sweet, sweet smell~ You will make a delicious meal one way or another~”
Leaping and climbing through the tunnel of ancient piping and dusty vents Jak grabbed anything and everything that didn’t weight two tons or was fixed into place. Loose pipes, rusty gears and metal plates sailed through the air and clattered with deafening noise against the walls and metal as he flung them back against the monster.
Even as it managed to dodge them they still allowed Jak to gain more space. Any exhaustion he would have felt was pushed away by the exhilarating and panic fuelled adrenaline rush burning within his veins.
“You won’t get away! You will never get away~”
The Demon cackled gleefully. It’s voice chirped with a bright giggle.
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“I can smell it. We can smell you~ We have smelled you before~”
Jak’s eyes widened as realisation washed over him. That creepy feeling of being watched back when had still been at the orphanage, when Haggard had suddenly intensified his bullying. Was it… Was that Thing the reason for all of that?!
“You! It was you I felt…!”
No answer came, only a mad laugh as it leaped at the ceiling and began to skitter across it like a demented spider.
But by then Jak had already reached the end of the tunnel and rushed outside. Without hesitation he flitted towards the side of the nearest building and climbed upwards, fleeing to the roofs.
A deep darkness had fallen over the slums as Jak hurriedly climbed to the roofs. The thick clouds of steams had fully covered the sky above and the only illumination that was still left were the glowing buildings of the main city in the distance as well as a weak, amber glow filling the alleyways. It was like the rooftops had become a shattered land of shadows covered in deep cracks, their depths illuminated by magma.
Jak realised rather quickly that he had made a mistake. His eyes still needed a moment to adapt to the lighting, forcing him to slow down. The Demon, meanwhile, rapidly followed after him and didn’t have any such problems.
“What the Abyss do you want from me…?!”
Jak’s words echoed over the Vent Slum as he ran as fast as his feet could carry him. Leaping over the next split between buildings. The amber glow below messed with his vision again as the shadows atop the roofs grew deeper for him.
A low, guttural chuckled echoed through the air. Not from behind but seemingly from all around him.
A pang of panic pulsed through Jak, the young wolf cat whirling around wide eyed. Breathing heavily, he whipped his head back and forth on the look out for the monstrous, unnerving being. The darkness of the roofs. It was the perfect spot for this creature. Its oily black body melding with them perfectly, crimson after streaks of its gleaming eyes dancing mockingly around him. And it only need to close its eyes for a second to vanish entirely.
Damnit, he had really ran right into its perfect hunting grounds. Jak cursed internally. His heart was racing and fear started to creep into his mind.
An eternity seemed to pass as he continued to stand in the middle of a random roof, just waiting for a chance to flee. Twitching at every sound. To see where that monster was. But it wasn’t to be as without warning something hard hammered into Jak’s back, throwing him to the ground.
“Ugh…!”
Jak gasped, the air pressed out of his lungs forcefully. Dazed and panicked, he tried to scramble back to his feet only for the Demon to land atop of him. One hand pressed agains his throat, the other held above. Now its dark, oily skin caught the weak glow of the amber lights below, burning like embers. Its head was right besides his own.
A quiet whisper echoed from its throat. No madness, only fact. The gentleness with which the words echoed at stark contrast with their implication and the monster’s nature itself.
“We want your Soul.”
A weak sob escaped Jak involuntarily as he began to hyperventilate. And then a muffled screamed escaped him seeing the Demon’s other claw rushing downwards, digging into his face. Darkness, hatred, terror and despair pulsed along its grasp. A headache pierced through Jak’s head as the Nightmare broke into his mind.
Desperately he tried to resist, his eyes once again meeting with the Demon’s. The terrifying ocean of magma and hatred once again boiled within its beady eyes. Like a moon sickle of crimson dripping down upon an ocean of magma, contrasting the abyssal sky of charcoal darkness and cracks of burning crimson. And all the while it felt like this darkness, this evil, was trying to burn into his very essence. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. The despair that he felt only adding more and more cracks.
And then the hollowing feeling and overwhelming hatred that had born upon him was ripped out just as suddenly. Hot pain lanced through him as the claws were ripped from his face, cutting deep into his sides and forehead. But right now Jak embraced this pain. It was much better than what he had felt before. It was invigorating, bolstering his determination to continue on in defiance of this creature.
“GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!”
The shout only now registered in his mind and he turned to the side, finally taking note of his rescuer.
A bunny cat whose long and fluffy tail billowed angrily through the air stood protectively over him, her eyes glaring into the darkness. The burning glow of Amber flowed along her right arm as an electric hum echoed through the air. It was the sound of machinery recalibrating themselves. A similar glow streamed out from beneath her feet.