Jacky kicks over a small metal trashcan; he rummages through splintered cabinet doors; they are empty and full of broken glass, dust, and dead flies. He leans against a wall and slides down into a seat.
There’s nothing here. We’re low on food and water; it will get rough out here.
“You’ll have to learn how to hunt then.”
Hunt with what? I don’t know how to make weapons, and I don’t even know what to hunt.
“You could hunt rabbits? Foxes, wild pigs?”
I don’t even know what half of those animals are. Can’t we eat those Terrors? They don’t disappear like horrors; they lay and rot away like anything else. Can’t we eat those Terrors?
“I’ve never thought of eating them, but if we must, we can.”
Jacky kicks the door to the outside; it swings open and smashes against the wall. A small culdesac lies before Jacky; he throws his hood over his head and slings his duffle bag over his shoulder. Pulling out his pack of smokes, he fumbles them into a puddle, and his lighter falls too, crashing onto the concrete.
That was my last pack and only lighter….
“I’m sure one of these houses has those things and what not?”
Forget it; I’ve been meaning to quit anyway.
Jacky scratches the back of his head. He wanders further into the town, keeping himself close to the walls of any building he comes across. Looting through stores for food, Jacky scrounges together a meal, albeit small. After eating, he continues to the edge of the city.
We’re getting close to the coast. We should be there any day now.
What do you think happened to everyone out here? Did they all drop what they were doing to live on the Warpath?
“Possibly, it is surprising that nobody else is out here. Abandoned cities and towns, even the wildlife has gone. I can only sense the presence of Terrors out here; some are close but shouldn’t be an issue.”
We must be one of the first to ever escape in a long time. Why is it now those Terrors show themselves to the Warpath? Why have I never seen them before?
“Terrors are unpredictable. I have never seen any as large as those that breached the War Bubble before. Terrors are attracted to essence; they feed off it. Ages ago, Terrors used to hunt and eat humans; they still do; however, they collected their essence. Horrors have a great amount of essence; therefore, we ring any nearby dinner bells. The angels may have been battling these Terrors for some time now, trying to keep them out of the Warpath. However, I only recently sensed their presence outside the War Bubble.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Jacky kicks a few rocks along a dirt path; he keeps his head on a swivel, looking out for any Terrors.
“It’s all speculation, Jacky. I’m just as curious as yourself; you will soon have your answers.”
Jacky stumbles at the sight of a tiny Terror jumping out from a bush. It’s roughly the size of a dog; snarling at Jacky, it begins to walk towards him.
“Oh, a small one! You can take him.”
I can’t fight that thing! Are you crazy? Do you want us to die? Get out here and kill this thing!
“Jacky, you’re a real drama queen, you know that? Fine.”
Jacky throws his duffle bag and coat to the ground. The Sabred Prince emerges from Jacky, the little Terror yelps and runs off before a fight ensues.
“I didn’t get a chance even to fight it, Jacky. There goes lunch too.”
On second thought, they don’t look too appealing, that one’s flesh was rotten and hanging off the bone. He looked more starved than us.
“Speaking of food, like I said, dinner bell. Shit!”
A group of Terrors rampage through the town behind the Prince. Many of them screech, breathing fire and swinging around weapons. The Prince breaks into a full sprint in the opposite direction; a large field separates him from the next city.
At least this is the way we were heading anyway. I know this isn’t exactly the right time to ask this but what happens if these Terrors manage to kill you?
“They consume essence as fuel. If they kill me, I die for good; that means you too.”
Oh, nice. Why did you bring us out here!? I swear we were better off biding our time in the Warpath.
“We will have this discussion later when I’m not being chased by blood-thirsty monsters created by the life essence of this terrible rock called Earth!”
The Prince slides to a halt, a Terror resembling the arm bladed one from many towns before rises from the tall grass in front of him. The Prince looks behind him; the other Terrors catch up to him. Many appear as decaying tribesmen made of animal parts, hoisting spears and swords as they surround the Prince.
The Sabred Prince sighs and activates his ice abilities; his claws glow crystal blue. The bladed Terror lashes out first, cutting the grass as it approaches. Aggressively, the Terror swings away at the Prince. He masterfully evades the bladed arms; behind him, another Terror slices at him with its swords; the Prince jumps to avoid the attack. Landing behind the bladed Terror, the Prince grabs its upper arms with all his hands and rips them from the Terror’s body. He kicks the Terror to the ground and throws the bladed arms at two other Terrors piercing their skulls with extreme accuracy.
Only a few more left.
The Prince lunges for the closest Terror, reaches out with his claws, and reaps them across the side of the Terror, causing the thing to turn into a solid piece of ice. He bashes it with his fist until it explodes, dark black guck seeping into the ground. The other Terrors run off scared, dropping their weapons and high tailing back to the previous town.
Look, you scared them off! That’s a first.
“I don’t believe they were scared of me, boy.”
The Prince turns around, and a flying Terror wielding a golden laced trident soars from the next city into the field. It lands and approaches the Prince. The Sabered Prince takes a few steps back.
“This might be the end of the road, Jacky.”
Can’t I give you some of my essence? It seems like now is definitely one of those times!
“Heh, now probably isn’t the best time to mention that it isn’t possible with a possession-type horror to do that. Other horrors can do that, but not me. I will slowly gain back my original form in due time.”
What! You wait till now to tell me this!
“Sorry. We’ll try with what we got.”
The Prince sprints towards the Terror. The Terror raises its trident thrusting it at the Prince. He pivots and dashes to the right, avoiding the trident he attempts to run around the Terror. The Terror whips a huge tail around and crashes it into the Prince, sending him flying back across the field. There is no going around this beast.
The Prince stands, holding his chest; he heaves and coughs blood. His eye is beginning to swell shut. The Prince roars and charges the Terror head-on, brandishing his claws; he narrowly avoids the trident thrusts. Jumping up onto the Terror’s face, he jams his fist into its eye socket, flash freezes it, and demolishes the organ. He jumps from the Terror’s head, landing on his feet; he rolls away from the Terror as it lashes out furiously.
Do the other eye! Kill him!
“I’m working on it! Huh!
Another horror appears from the tall grass. The horror looks almost identical to the Sabred Prince, although she has the head of a lioness rather than a saber tooth tiger. The Prince watches as this new horror pounces at the Terror’s throat; momentarily, the light fades away as if an eclipse be fell the field. The head of the Terror falls onto the field, black blood squirting from the Terror’s body. The horror walks over to the Prince and extends her hand.
“Good to see you again, Àrsaidh.”