“Be wary of the River Man, whose clothes stand dry, whose hair hangs wet. Be wary of the River Man, whose visage you must not forget. Be wary of the River Man, whose song will dampen heart and mind. Be wary of the River Man, whose victims are always hard to find…”

~Unknown

In the stories, time moves at a snail’s pace to accommodate fast paced action. There is a surge of adrenaline or something that lets the protagonist analyze the situation and devise a path to victory within the moments between a second. Reality was not as generous. It all happened so fast. One moment Jusep was awkwardly walking towards me, ready to reconcile. The next…

I had never heard anyone scream like that before. It was desperate terror, raw and primal, the kind that cannot be captured by actors on a screen regardless of their accolades. It ripped its way from a child’s throat as a mass of dark red fur obscured my view of whatever horrors it was inflicting.

And I. Just. Watched.

I was frozen. I silently screamed at my body, begging it to do something. Jusep’s shrieks gripped me in bonds unbreakable. Each second felt like it stretched for an eternity, and I finally realized my misconception of time dilation in a crisis. The seconds stretched, but my mind was not free to act or behave. It was a prison, trapping me in the moment without my consent to suffer it a million times slower and a million times over.

Move! Move! Move!

My impotent pleas were similarly doomed to echo uselessly through my mind.

Move! Move! MOVE!

Heat. Fire. It rushed from my navel like a geyser. It flooded every inch of my body. It didn’t erase the fear. It didn’t undo the sudden tragedy. It only broke their hold over me. I felt that I could act despite them, their presence just one more barrier I needed to overcome. I knew, instinctively, that this was Perseverance. Never had I felt such a sheer quantity of energy come from the Skill.

I had one chance. I had to move.

So, I ran.

I want to say that I took a moment to take stock of the situation. That would be a lie. If I argued that whatever creature was mauling Jusep was easily ten times my size, you might forgive my cowardice. You might even agree that I made a sensible choice. Even if I bravely charged into the fray armed with a rock and good intentions, chances were all I’d accomplish was pissing the thing off.

Instead, I ran because I was scared. I didn’t want to die. Not again.

I broke back into the clearing. Tears streamed from my eyes. My heart thundered its inner ear percussion. I didn’t hear screams anymore. My vision narrowed to a point. My panicked mind replayed the moment that thing attacked. It was so fast.

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I can’t outrun that thing. My only chance to get away hitches on Jusep keeping it busy long enough for me to-

I looked back. I can’t say why. Guilt, probably. I shouldn’t have looked. I should have kept running.

The creature that ambushed Jusep was approaching the edge of the foliage. It padded slowly, as if hesitating to leave the safety of the canopy. That hesitation allowed me to separate some details from the mass of monster. It looked like someone had crossed a stoat with a panther. Long body, bushy tail, massive claws, the whole, terrifying package. I saw it. It saw me. Predatory instinct took over. It blurred into motion. I turned away from it to make one last desperate dash. I knew it was futile, that I was only buying myself an extra second or two of life, if that.

I need to fight.

Another surge of heat washed through me. It was enough to help me gather my courage. I turned to face my death head on. I still had the rock in my hand. It was stained with blood. My blood. I’d squeezed it so tightly as I ran that it sliced my palm. Strangely, I felt no pain. It was a flimsy weapon. It was all I had. It would have to do. The beast leapt from far further back than I thought it would. Its body seemed to coil in the air, like a deadly spring. It made a sound that I can only describe as snarling-chittering. Claws extended. I braced myself. Idly, I wondered if I would return to The Nothing when I died again.

From overhead, a silver streak collided with the creature in mid air, interrupting its pounce and sending it to the ground. The newcomer planted themselves firmly between me and the stoat-panther. It scrambled to its feet and hissed. My breath caught in my throat. A well of emotion I thought lost to me returned in full force. Hope.

Vigil had arrived.

***

The creature began to stalk around me, circling like a shark, searching for an opening. Vigil denied it. He growled, low and rumbling. There was a weight to it, a promise of unspeakable savagery if it was ignored. Hackles were raised. His metallic fur looked like thousands of needles, raised and deadly.

Tense seconds passed as the standoff continued. It was the stoat-panther that broke it. It sprang into motion with the same sudden intensity as its initial ambush. Like a constrictor, it tried to coil around Vigil. I heard a grinding sound over the snarls and yips, like someone aggressively scratching their ceramic plate with a knife and fork. I had trouble keeping up with their movements. It was too frantic to take in every detail. Growls met snarls met tooth met claw. It all happened within seconds, but Vigil was able to land a decisive strike. His teeth sunk into the creature’s shoulder, metallic canines suffering no resistance as they punctured flesh. Vigil thrashed his head to dislodge the creature and moved to deliver a killing blow.

That’s when the second one appeared.

It exploded into the clearing. Blood stained its muzzle. It was bigger than the one Vigil was already fighting, matching the massive dog pound for pound. As it ran its fur started to release wisps of smoke. With a flash, the panther-stoat ignited. Flames engulfed its body and it gained a sudden burst of speed. A smoking trail followed its wake, the spring grass thankfully damp enough to avoid total combustion. Vigil was unprepared for the ambush. The creature leapt. Its claws glowed bright orange as they sunk into his metallic flank.

Vigil yelped in pain. I smelled burning flesh.

“Vigil!” I called out. I couldn’t help it. It hurt to see him get hurt. He was only in that situation to protect me. Vigil’s yelp turned into a snarl. I saw his fur suddenly braid into spines like a porcupine’s and go rigid. The stoat-panther yowled and was forced to disengage. The smaller of the pair couldn’t put weight on one of their front legs, but Vigil was also favoring his uninjured side.

Vigil still made sure to place himself between me and the creatures. I was terrified. I was useless. Vigil was hurt and probably in agonizing pain. Still, he protected me. I wanted to help. I needed to. I desperately racked my brain.

“Go on! Get out of here! Just go!” I yelled at the two predators. I waved my arms to try and seem intimidating. I didn’t care if they got away or not. I just didn’t want Vigil to get hurt anymore because of me. I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me. “You heard me! Go! Just Go!” My voice was hoarse.

The stoat-panthers froze. Did it work? Did they somehow understand? Would they- A pair of hands scooped me up into a tight embrace that I recognized immediately.

Mom!

Tina had somehow caught up to us. I began crying into her chest, completely overwhelmed by emotional whiplash. It might have been my underdeveloped brain running haywire, but some part of me was certain that, with her there, everything would be okay.

“It is okay, my Will,” she soothed. I felt more than saw her shift her gaze to the creatures, still eerily still in her presence. When she spoke, it was with a cold anger I didn’t know she was capable of.

“Vigil… Kill.”