Chapter 7: Stroll

I was already regretting my decision before I hit the ground. I especially did after. My legs screamed upon landing and I lost my balance, slamming my torso into the dirt. It felt closer to solid concrete. Being a magical girl had emboldened me, I thought I could do things most people couldn’t, but jumping from a second story window was definitely excessive. I sucked in air as I reached for my throbbing left ankle; it must have taken most of my weight and twisted, but maybe I was lucky that’s all that happened. I looked up at my darkened window; it seemed dauntingly high from down here. How was I supposed to get back up? Stupid. Idiot. Moron. Rebecca, you damn idiot. Why can’t you think before you act? Why did I have to snap at a fucking god? Idiot. Moron. Now there was really no turning back. I’ll have to wander the night until everyone goes to sleep, wait to slip in through the door. Hope nobody tries to check on me, that they just assume I went to bed early. I’m so stupid, so impulsive, that the very first thing I did was get hurt for no reason. You were just supposed to go for a walk, not injure yourself, you dumbass. Idiot.

I forced myself to stand, ankle protesting, and hobbled along the side of the house, leaning against it to keep weight off my leg. As I approached the front, I scanned the street up and down; it was dark, and nobody was around. I doubted anyone else would be wandering around at this time of night, and the black outfit would make me hard to spot, but I would still have to be careful. Magical girls didn’t often show themselves in public, and I figured nobody needed to see one limping down the street. I probably looked pathetic. I certainly was pathetic. I remembered meeting a magical girl once, back in grade school. Princess Pastry. Her fluffy dress and curly orange hair seemed almost sparkling. She told us good little kids that we had nothing to fear because the magical girls would always keep us safe. Her never wavering smile made me believe it. I had even wondered if I could ever be like her; a shining hero. I knew now that the answer was no. I brushed dirt off my blouse and winced as I stepped away from the wall, dragging myself down the sidewalk. Each step was met with a flash of pain, and I could distinctly imagine that Shiquoth was enjoying every moment of it. I deserved it too.

--------

The walk to the park had been rough. Despite being in no condition to do so, I had forced myself to go as quickly as possible to avoid being seen. There were even a couple times that I needed to hide from passing cars. I had no idea how long it took, but the exhausting journey was over. The dingy sign that read ‘Oak Park’ was entirely unimpressive, yet I was filled with relief knowing I had arrived. I stepped off the path and into the trees before sitting down and finally giving my ankle a chance to rest.

The park wasn’t massive, but it remained a nice, relaxing place detached from civilization. A single path cut across the wide, open field that was surrounded by a lightly forested area. In the center sat its namesake, a large, lone oak tree. It was a popular spot, and normally you could find a few people ambling about, but at the moment it was empty. Not just because it was night, but more importantly because it was still off limits. Most people weren’t willing to go somewhere that was still considered dangerous, even if it had been cleared out. Some did, but they were usually found and sent back by a girl on patrol. That’s why I needed to transform.

Wind rustled the branches above me and traces of dim moonlight slipped through the leaves. It was nice. I didn’t need to think about anything else. Just idly gazing across the field, taking in the moment. Nobody was around, just me and the trees. There was a slight chill in the air, but I could hardly feel it. I absently pondered if the transformation had something to do with it; if being a magical girl meant that, despite being dressed so lightly, you would not notice even what should have been freezing temperatures. It was definitely convenient.

I just sat there for a while and watched the oak tree’s branches sway ever so slightly. My ankle still throbbed, but it wasn’t so bad while resting. The shadows on the ground slowly shifted on the grass in an enchanting performance, and something stirred on the other side of the park. I leaned forward, instinctively trying to get a better look despite the distance, and quietly observed it entering the clearing. Despite the darkness, dim light still reflected brilliantly off the metallic surface as it strutted towards the center of the clearing. Was that a machine? Anxiety rose in me and I quickly stood up to hide behind a tree, wincing as weight pressed down on my injury.

I carefully leaned out from the right side of the tree just barely enough to look at the robot. It seemed small, probably only reaching up to my knees, and had a thin body with four legs attached to it. The only other notable feature was a grey cylinder that protruded from its back and seemed to be constantly spinning, with two red lights glowing on either side of it. Were those its eyes? As it reached the middle of the park, standing directly to the right of the great oak, the spinning eyes gradually slowed to a stop, with one of the dull dots facing directly towards me. Before I could react, a blinding white light enveloped my vision. I yelped and hid back behind the tree. I rubbed my eyes and blinked as my sight slowly returned, a massive red spot burned into the center of wherever I looked. Deep shadow enveloped my space behind the tree as the rest of the forest was brightly illuminated. Is that a spotlight? Did it see me? After another moment, the light vanished and the trees were once again shrouded in an eerie darkness.

I hesitantly peaked back out from the tree, this time on the left side, and saw that the robot was now marching directly towards my hiding spot. I pulled my head back before it could notice. It was definitely interested in me, but there was still distance. I considered running, but the pressure on my leg was violently opposed to that idea. That thing didn’t seem too dangerous, besides the ocular assault, but it could also have some kind of weapon I hadn’t noticed. Hiding wouldn’t be worth the risk; I would have to take it down now while I still had the advantage.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

I tightly gripped my wand, silver digging into the palm of my right hand, closed my eyes, and breathed deeply. In. Out. In. I jumped out from the right side of the tree, pointed the wands grotesque eye towards the enemy, and let loose a beam of light. I squinted and watched as it vaporized the grass a couple feet behind the robot. I missed.

For a moment I panicked, not daring to stop the beam but not knowing what to do. The robot stopped its advance as well and slowed its spinning crimson gaze to face me. Oh, couldn’t I do that too? Carefully, I adjusted the beam’s direction until it made contact with my target, and the metal began to quickly melt. It crumpled to the ground and my light followed it, making sure that nothing but the legs was left. Even then I still continued to fire for a few second before finally ceasing my attack. There was a hole left in the ground where the machine used to be. I breathed a sigh of relief, rested my hands on my knees, and then second-guess the motion as I shifted my weight back to my right side. Limping over, I inspected the damage to make extra sure the robot was gone. It was.

That was definitely easier than before. Sure, it had scared me at first, but it never even had a chance to attack. So much for the god’s omen. Maybe I really could do this. When I was a magical girl, nothing else needed to matter. Just me and the enemy; I only had to focus on that one thing. I just needed to sit back, watch the stars shine, and maybe kill a robot if another one shows up. Just like before, except next time I’ll be ready.

So I went back to my spot in the trees and waited. Anxious at first, waiting for something to pop out at any moment, but soon I realized that wouldn’t be the case, so I relaxed. I didn’t know if there would even be another fight, or how long until there was one, so no reason to be so on edge; I just needed to enjoy the evening.

Everything was at peace. If someone were to pass by, they might not even notice there had been a conflict to begin with. It was nice. Branches swayed and leaves rustled. Sticks snapped and a lone owl hooted. A little red light danced between the trees.

Wait.

I sat up straight and watched as the glowing dot weaved its way through the brush, circling almost invisibly around the western perimeter of the park. Was it west? Or just the direction on my left? Not the time for this, something was coming. I put weight on my right leg and stood up, raised my wand, and carefully shuffled back. I needed to keep distance and get a clear view of it. The trees were in the way, but I couldn’t afford to approach it. I would just have to wait for it to come closer to me, as agonizing as that was. I worked my way behind a tree to use as cover, with mostly unobstructed vision of the west. I would be able to see it before it saw me, or at least I should be able to. I watched and waited.

Waited.

Waited.

Palms sweating.

Waited.

Waited.

Icy silver shaking in my grasp.

Waited.

Waited.

Trees whispering around me.

Waited.

There! The red dot peaked out from one of the trees and seemed to sweep the area before the rest of its body emerged. It was large, standing at the height of my chest. The one eye sat in the middle of its head, above what looked like a long, wide mouth filled with layers of jagged teeth. The head was attached to a short, sturdy neck that connected to its main body. Its front most legs bent forwards, and about a third of the way down the torso’s length seemed to be a flexible segment, which it used to turn towards me. Behind that its remaining bulk was supported by another four legs that extended outwards.

I raised my wand and fired, grazing the side of its face, but it quickly jumped backwards and out of sight. Shit. That was not good. I didn’t think they could dodge. Okay, okay, breathe, Rebecca. This is fine. It’s scared of me. I just have shoot another beam next time it shows itself. I still have a range advantage.

I carefully watched the area it emerged from, fingers strangling metal, all eyes forward, when I noticed the red glow in the corner of my vision. Emerging from the woods and slowly closing in on me. It chose to leave cover? I guess it wasn’t as smart as I imagined. I thought I would have noticed it try to circle around that way, but it was no matter. A twig snapped nearby, but I couldn’t lose my focus. I needed to break this thing before it could get any closer. I took aim and the metallic roar of a chainsaw fired up behind me. I flinched and spun around, finding myself face to face with the machine.

No. Not the machine. Another machine. Its hideous maw opened wide with countless outer fangs spinning at a sickening speed while the long inner spikes pointed resolutely and dangerously towards me. I tried to spring back, away from that monstrosity, but my ankle yelled out in condensed agony as it failed to apply any force. I stumbled, and the robot lunged forward, sinking its harpoons into my left calf as its teeth sliced away at the surrounding flesh. I screamed, but it was drowned out by the deafening noise of motors hacking away at my body. I tried to bring my arm around and aim my wand, but the robot suddenly dragged me backwards and the metal escaped my grasp. I could feel each sharpened blade of steel slam into the bone while it was crushed by the vise-like grip, and then the machine lifted its front legs off the ground and began to twist its body at the center. The robot rolled its weight to rip my leg from where it belonged, sinew stretching, tearing, and snapping in one excruciating motion.

The robot lurched back as my lower leg was torn away. It righted its front half as the vicious teeth continued cutting into my discarded flesh and splattering gore indiscriminately. I was left screaming on the ground, tears running down my face. Yet, for some reason I could not fathom, the machine had stopped moving. It just stood there watching me. And then in the distance, somewhere vaguely behind me, two more sawblades roared to life; one towards the left and one towards the right. So its friends were going to finish me off.

Shit. Fuck. Fuck. My hands desperately searched through the dirt around me, but I couldn’t find my wand. This was it. I was going to die. I was going to fucking die. Day one of being a magical girl and I was already dead. I suffered a lifetime of pain in a single day and was about to fucking die. There was nothing I could do. There was no hope to survive. I could only wait for this nightmare to finally be over.

Wonderful. Your insolence has dismembered you. Recover the lost limb. I cannot make you a new one.