Chapter 5 — Monsters From Hell
[Arc 1 - No Light Left For Us]
….
"Bil-bil-billich!"
Thin voices chirped from beneath the soil— not guttural, not monstrous… but shrill and childlike. Almost cute even.
Atop, the moon sang.
[Rejoice Severants, for you have been blessed with the thrill of blood]
Raven, however, felt no such temptation to soften, only a pure apprehension spiking through his chest.
The tongue coiling around him tightened, its slick surface twitching as if savoring a meal already claimed. It lashed with renewed hunger.
'Faster..'
'I need to be faster. I don't think I have much time before becoming monster food.'
Cold seeped into his bones. He gritted his teeth, summoning every ounce of his mordant will, and god—did he have plenty of scorn and spite to burn.
One.
Two.
Three.
Mist first. Then Hayden. Then Zoe. Each jolted awake as a fistful of dirt slammed into their faces. Yet there laid an issue. Getting to Roy was a bit of a problem, seeing as he was the furthest from him. But Raven was determined to wake all of them up.
Moral dilemma aside, there was safety in numbers, however fragile those numbers were. He didn't have to like them; he just needed them alive to provide assistance when needed.
He scooped up another ball of dirt, arms trembling.
'We are running out of time here, Roy. Wake up!'
He hurled it.
Luck held. The dirtball squared Roy right in the eyes—a clean hit. Yet the boy didn't flinch. His eyes remained serene as he continued to sink into the hungry soil.
'One more…'
Raven reached for another clump of earth, his heart a mess of hope and irritation.
Suddenly, a scream split the air.
Then an explosion.
The earth shattered as if struck by god's fist. Waves of fire cascaded from above, devouring through the tall grass in greedy tongues. Flames spread with horrifying speed, feasting in mere seconds.
"Oh shit! What was that?" Raven breathed.
Heat brushed his skin—thankfully, he wasn't at the center. However, that didn't seem to matter much. Safety was temporary.
The earth beneath him began to thrash. Agitated squeals rose in a deafening chorus as the monsters below reacted to the fire with pure, unbridled rage.
Then— it happened. The earth birthed its nightmares… or rather, they burst forth!
Like a fish leaping out of a pond, dark shapes shot out from the dirt.
First one, then another, then ten, then a dozen… they spilled out in numbers writhing silhouettes clawing free of the earth like prophecies of the end times.
[Gluttonous children of the Earth]
"Holy mother of God…"
They were small. Gnome-like.
And wrong.
Their slick bodies glistened with a wet sheen, forged from sharpened edges meant for rending flesh. Their frames bore an uncanny resemblance to humanoid dolphins twisted by a sick creator. Their mouths stretched too wide, shrinking and expanding as they chewed on human flesh.
Blood sprayed in wild arcs as they fed, tiny bodies wriggling with delighted tremors, their eyes glittering and joyful.
True horrors. Monsters born from the bowels of Hell!
[Rejoice]
Raven moved.
Instinct took command.
He pressed into the ground using it as leverage, and launched upwards. The ground cracked beneath as one of the horrors lept after him, shrieking.
Human and monster collided midair. But humans were never meant to rule the wind. Thus the sky favored neither mercy nor mankind.
Gravity reclaimed him.
Raven found himself plummeting towards the wide, waiting beak of the monster. Without thought, he threw his hand in a desperate, reflexive shield. Instantly, a sickening crack echoed through his arm, pain rattling through his bone.
"It's over…"
[Rejoice Severants…]
At that moment, the world went silent.
All Raven saw was the gaping, expanding maw of the monster; rows upon rows of mudcaked teeth unfurling beneath like a moth's wing.
Raven closed his eyes.
There was no clever retort nor dry wit, this time.
This was the end.
….
The air shrieked.
Something tenacious tore through it and slammed into the monster, a force so violent that it sent the creature tumbling far into the grey grass. The impact cracked like thunder.
Then he began to fall—only to crash into the shaky arms of Hayden.
The boy staggered under the weight, eyes hollow, rimmed with grief and exhaustion. He looked like someone who had just seen the pits and paid its price.
He slumped sideways into Zoe's shoulders, breath uneven, gaze drifting somewhere distant. In that distance, a familiar scream echoed, reaching its peak. Then it died. Crunches swallowing it whole.
"Oh goodness, you are alive," Mist said as she guided him to his feet.
"Y-You did that?" Raven blinked hard.
Mist chuckled. Remarkably, she seemed the least bothered by the ensuing darkness. "No. That was all Hayden. But, we can catch up later. Right now, we need to leave!"
In the distance, several of the gnome-like horrors turned their slick heads towards them.
They had been noticed.
"R-right…" Raven kept himself together. He shut his eyes for a moment, then he opened them with a much clearer focus. "Left. We have to go in that direction."
"Why?" Before Mist could speak, Hayden peeled away from Zoe's embrace and queried.
"A forest. Look… we have to leave now. Mist was right. More monsters are locking onto us." Raven frantically told them.
Ignoring the throbbing pain in his broken hand, he pointed at a silhouette already dashing through the grass. Explanations could wait later. If they didn't move right now, he suspected there would be no later.
Hayden hesitated. His jaw tightened. "What about Roy? We can't just—"
"He's gone." Mist's words were as sharp as broken glass.
"What?"
"He's fucking gone. You heard him. You heard him scream. You heard his bones snap and then the chewing. And yet you still think he is alive?" Mist hissed, "Look, we can't save anyone. We can only help ourselves. So, if I were you, I would be thinking of how to preserve my little life."
Hayden opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was drained. He lifted his gaze instead— up towards the red moon. Its red pulsations were faster now, swollen and rhythmic, as if amused. As if laughing. Laughing at their helplessness.
He gritted his teeth.
"Why left?" He asked Raven again, quieter.
"It's hard to explain. Just believe me. That is where we want—no, need to be."
The decision was made in a heartbeat. They put everything into their legs, sprinting after Raven as he carved a path through the towering, grey grass.
[Rejoice Severants, for you have been blessed…]
Raven tuned out the panels, and its irritating voice.
Behind them, enraged squeals ripped through the field. Suddenly, the sky thundered once more.
Beams of fire erupted in the clouds and explosions bloomed in the distance. Rampant magic fought against the nightmare and the world erupted into chaos.
"Bilich!!"
Raven glanced back.
The monsters were retreating towards the camp, deeper into the inferno. It seemed whatever was happening back there was more interesting than they were.
After a grueling sprint, a silent forest appeared in their view. For a second, relief washed over them.
Then Raven gasped. A lone creature had stayed on their trail. And it was gaining.
Instantly, they hit their final gear, lungs burning as they ran for their dear lives.
Raven was the first to reach the treeline. He ducked behind a massive trunk, hiding as he watched the monster get closer and closer.
'What should I do? Think.'
Hayden, Zoe and Mist burst into the forest moments later. And then, abruptly, the monster stopped.
It skidded to a halt at the very edge of the grass. Its beady eyes watched them from the plain. It didn't growl. It didn't lung. It just watched.
"Bililich!"
With a final squeal, the creature turned tails and bolted back towards the flames and terror.
The group collapsed, gasping for air that suddenly felt so thin.
Four ragged breaths breaking through the silence of the woods.
They had survived.
They were alive.