5
When your mind first recognizes you’re in serious danger, it’s said there are generally two reactions your body will have: fight or flight. In an instant, a signal reaches your brain and a choice is made between running away, or standing your ground. However, not much is said about the third possible reaction to incredible stress: freezing. When your mind is caught somewhere between fleeing and fighting, you’re left stuck in place with no idea what to do or where to go. A horrible sense of dread fills you as the fuel of adrenaline floods your system, but your engine refuses to start, leaving you with a racing heart and cold sweats. All of this I felt in the split second it took for this…monster to bear down on me.
In truth, I didn’t even know why I was scared of this thing. For all I knew it could’ve been friendly, made out of cotton candy and kitten fur. Something in me, though, something primal, was screaming that it was hostile, predatory. As the entity got closer, its mass shifted, forming long, whip-like tendrils out of the darkness that encompassed it, and wound them back ready to strike. I could only stare in abject horror as the cheers around me were drowned out by my own heartbeat ringing in my ears.
I’m gonna die.
Just then, a flash or brilliant light struck the creature on its side, staggering it for a moment as it writhed in what seemed to be pain. Simultaneously, I heard a deep voice from the back of the gym call out, loud enough to break through my stupor.
“RUN!”
My engine finally turned over.
I spun on my heels, dropped my bow, and broke into a sprint. I had to shove Collin to the side to get past, nearly knocking him to the floor. All around, the din of cheering paused as everyone looked towards the source of the shout. Not a glance was spared for the carnivorous fog on my heels. Can nobody see this either?!
I bolted for the exit, slammed both doors aside, and found myself back in the sparsely-occupied parking lot. As soon as the sun met my skin once more, my Aura exploded into the air in needles of terror and panic. I realized I had no idea where I was or any clue where I could go. Should I hide? Where? Can that thing even be hidden from? A full, vital second spent doing nothing but whipping my head back and forth.
It was a second I shouldn’t have wasted. About six meters behind me, the cloud slipped itself through the steadily closing doors. I barely noticed it in my peripheral vision, and it made no sound whatsoever. I pivoted, coming face to face with the creature again. I braced myself, ready to move as soon as it lunged.
It never did, though. Now, it seemed more wary, only inching its way towards me, slow and steady. I took measured steps backward to match its pace. Any doubts I had left over about its predatory nature evaporated instantly. It was sizing me up, calculating how much trouble I’d be.
It radiated a palpable wrongness. It had no face, no defined features, just a writhing mass of concentrated…void. Yet somehow, judging by how its surface roiled, making constant peaks and valleys that lasted for split seconds, and how it occasionally broke apart in places before repairing itself, it seemed to be struggling. I tried to think of what could hurt it. Whether or not it could even be hurt.
My thoughts were cut short. Its advance became more aggressive, herding me back even further. I reciprocated with a quicker pace. Instinct had a deathgrip on the steering wheel, keeping my gaze locked on the thing I knew in my bones was trying to kill me.
Which is why I didn’t notice it backing me straight into the shadow of a tour bus.
As soon as I left the sun and my Aura disappeared, the monster formed a thin, wickedly sharp tendril out of its own mass, and swung it at me with the force of a speeding truck. I couldn’t react.
The dark blade ripped through me at an angle, slashing me from my left shoulder down to my right hip. I went to cry in pain, until I realized…
I felt nothing. In the most literal sense.
The line drawn across my torso went entirely numb. It wasn’t an icy or electric numbness, but comparable to the kind anesthetic provides. My shoulder and hip shut down entirely, refusing to carry me any longer. My right leg buckled, now unsupported, and I fell to the concrete.
With the last bit of panicked strength I had, I pushed myself along the ground with just my right arm and left leg. It didn’t like the sun. Or at least, it didn’t like that I was in the sun. If I could just get out of this shadow…
Both legs lost all sensation as the thing, now settling on top of me, wrapped them in its gaseous form. I stretched as far as I could, trying to get even a fingertip back into the light. A slash at the wrist made my hand go limp.
I tried. I’d be able to say that much. Not like I had much going for me.
I looked up at my soon-to-be killer, and saw the mist that suffused it draw in on itself, like the creature was unfolding in a way. There, emerging from the center of the perfect dark, I saw a dull, aubergine glow. It grew brighter and brighter, until it revealed an orb, roughly the size of a fist, coming from the center of the creature’s mass. It pulsed slowly with a deep violet color.
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My will was gone. There was no point trying to fight it. I would die here.
I leaned back, and closed my eyes. I decided to reminisce on my life. It’d make all this a lot easier.
Well, I thought, At least it won’t hurt.
The cloud continued to engulf me, rising to my pelvis, then navel, folding itself onto me like a blanket. I could sense the orb getting closer and closer to my chest. The numbness started to become soothing. It offered no warmth, but it wasn’t cold, either. It reassured me that I’d be fine, that I didn’t have to feel anymore.
Nothing would ever hurt again.
Just like falling asleep.
I laid down.
But today was a day full of interruptions.
Behind me, I heard a booming sound, like a hammer on stone, before a raging gust tore over me. Once it passed, I opened my eyes and lifted my head.
The black smoke covering me was dispersing, fading into the air like the golden mist of my Aura. Chunks floated upward like wet tissue paper, breaking apart smaller and smaller until they couldn’t be seen. Is it dead? That is, if it was ever alive, in any sense.
I touched my chin to my chest, only able to move my neck and face at this point, to look directly ahead. My first thought: Who is she? My second: I’m really getting tired of seeing new shit.
Before me stood a giant of a woman, about my age but around four inches taller. She wore baggy jeans and a tank top that revealed pale arms covered in scars, and loaded with a sculpted musculature. Long, waist-length hair burned a brilliant red, with gentle waves that evoked images of a dancing campfire. One look, and I knew she was strong.
But she wasn’t just physically striking. Her Aura also glowed as bright as mine and the strangers back in the gym. Yet hers seemed more defined, somehow. Especially around her arms, where it formed into a sort of translucent, phantasmal shell. The hands looked human, until the fingers extended outward into sharp, bestial claws, each as long as a dagger. In one hand, she held the orb the void-creature was hiding in its core. I saw a flash of contempt on her face as she squeezed, cracking and eventually shattering it into miniscule pieces that dissolved into nothingness.
Her task complete, the Aura shell dissolved, and she turned her attention to me. I caught a glimpse of her irises.
Gold. Entirely so, with no trace of any other color.
I let my head hit the ground once more as I heard her footfalls steadily approach me. She called out, “You alright over there?” Her voice was low, but pleasant, like a stiff mattress, with a soft, mellow rasp.
I only groaned in response.
“That’s about what I thought.” Her steps got closer and closer until she halted right next to me, and squatted down, leaving just a couple inches between our faces. “Judging by the eyes, though, you’re definitely one of us.” She squinted. “Or, at least, half.”
Holy shit, I wish I could move. “You’re really going to make me ask who ‘us’ is?” Seriously lady, personal space! “Do you know the other three people still at the range, by chance?”
She finally gave me some breathing room. “Oh, so Cassidy’s idea worked. You did end up spotting their Lumen.”
I didn’t even ask. “Is there a way to fix the ‘I can’t control any of my muscles from the chest down’ problem?”
“Hm? Oh yeah, one sec.” The woman slid her hands under my limp body and, rather effortlessly, scooped me into a bridal carry. Not like I had much dignity in the first place. She walked me out of the shadow of the parked tour bus and back into the sunlight.
Sensation started to return as soon as the light hit my skin, and the numbness was completely gone after about ten seconds. I wiggled my fingers and toes as my Aura reappeared. Questions nagged at me again. Later.
“All good?”
“Yeah, I can move again.”
“Good, ‘cause we gotta get going.” Her grip on me tightened as I tried to return to my feet. “That wasn’t the only Daemon you attracted here with your little stunt.”
My apprehension grew as she turned around and faced us back toward the gymnasium. “Hey, first of all, I can walk, and second of all, who said I’m going with you anywhere?”
“One, it’s faster if I carry you, and two, I’m about to bring you to the only place in this city where you aren’t going to get attacked, so I’m not asking permission.” She crouched down, preparing to jump. “Now hold on tight.”
Something about the way that golden energy started swirling around at her legs told me I should shut up and listen. Embarrassment and inhibition took leave as I wrapped my arms around this complete stranger’s shoulders for support, as I braced for god-knows what.
In an instant, just after the sound of cracking pavement bombarded my ears, we were airborne. The autumn wind turned hostile as my face was driven into it against my will, leaving my skin raw and tears streaming from my eyes. I looked down from where we hung in the air.
She had jumped. Merely jumped, and we were a good thirty meters above the range. We were headed for the rooftop of the building directly behind it.
I felt the distinct yet unfortunately familiar feeling of reality cracking again.
The woman landed, somehow absorbing the entire shock of the impact with nothing but her legs as she skidded to a stop, leaving a noticeable trail of destruction in the tiling. “You alright, newbie?”
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! At least that’s what I was thinking. All I ended up saying was “mhm.” as my eyes went wide and I felt my legs shaking. I was fairly certain I was in shock.
Her eyes went wide as she finally slowed down long enough to think. “Oh shit, I just realized you still don’t know my name.” She smiled down at me. “I’m Ariel! Nice to meet ya.”
“Aiden,” I squeaked out, still recovering from leaping higher than any human should ever be able to. “Aiden MacRae.”
“Well Aiden,” her tone held a hint of teasing, “We still have a ways to go, so keep holding on!” She took a running start and prepared for the next leap. I flexed every muscle I could, squeezed my eyes shut, and prepared for liftoff.
I’m adaptable, right? I can adapt to this no problem! I got used to having night vision and weird archery magic, this’ll be a piece of cake!
“Hey, I’m gonna toss you for a sec!”
“What!?” Before I knew what was happening, I was lobbed into the air like a sack of potatoes, weightless. I watched as in a split second, Ariel engaged another one of those cloud monsters directly below me, reformed her claws, and charged through with all the bravado of a rhinoceros. She came out the other end with another of those violet spheres, which she shattered like glass between both hands. Then, as soon as I was level with her, she caught me in the same position, like I weighed nothing.
This is going to be tough.