Where monsters roam
A chase to the fence
The roar echoed from behind me, deafening and disturbing; dangerous and deadly. I pushed past two villagers and sprinted to the other side, weaving and ducking between huts and people. I could hear the booming footfalls and feel the ground shudder beneath my feet. But it was when I could smell the slight decaying smell of the monster that my plight truly began.
Even as I spotted the chain-link fence and turned towards it, I felt a claw whip past me, inches from tearing my left shoulder open. Kari’s teaching came rushing back into my head, and I knew I had to concentrate. What was the thinking pattern? Imagine everything is slowing around you. Alright. I leapt over a small pile of rocks and imagined the ground slowing down in its advance to greet me. Those tufts of grass there had to be moving slower. I landed, and looked back up at the fence. That fence there, it was coming to me slower and slower.
Wait... is that really what I wanted? Grief clutched my heart, and I chanced a look back at the monster.
Aaargh! Its black eyes were inches from mine, and a grin of jagged teeth split its bemused face. I cried out and stumbled. No! See those claws reaching for you, Fulgora? They’re-getting-slower! Think it! It’s all slower! You’ll get faster!
And as I watched, they did get slower. The clawed paw was reaching for me, but I had the time to leap out of the way, and saw the creature’s grin turn to a frown. I spun back around, and saw that fence again. But it was okay, I would get there. I instead looked at the villagers I glimpsed between houses, the villagers than ran not only from the beast, but from the yellow-eyed girl in their midst. They were running slower, too.
I put on a burst of speed and gained ground, no longer feeling the utterly terrifying presence of the monster right behind me. The whole world seemed to be slowing for me, but the fence wasn’t. I was still the same speed, and I could still reach that fence in the same time it would otherwise take. And reach it I did. I stopped, inches from it, and turned to face the monster, ready to back into the fence and feel that wonderful current again.
The beast had stopped. It was fifteen feet from me now, and its grey-ish black eyes that stood out from its shadowy black figure, were warily regarding me. This wasn’t just some dumb beast. It wasn’t going after the other villagers. It was after me. And it wasn’t continuing its crazy attack on me, it had stopped. It was thinking. And that thought scared me above all else. Just what were these things? How come we didn’t know more about them?
Someone’s elongated scream snapped me back. The beast growled and came a step closer. I shied back a little more, sensing that current surging not a centimetre from me. What was it waiting for? What was it thinking? Why had it stopped? But then again, what was I waiting for? I reached back and grabbed hold of the fence, and all of a sudden I was alive. My chest swelled, lungs threatening to burst through my ribs, and every inch of my body seemed to cry out. Current ran through me, leaping about in my body, making me feel light-headed. This, I decided, was power. I felt as though I could do anything. Nothing was beyond my reach. I looked at the beast and imagined it gone. And I reached out my hand, white-hot jets of energy sizzling between my fingers, and I released.
Crack!
This time, the beast didn’t just stumble back. It exploded. One moment it was standing there, watching me with deadly intent, and the next, it was splitting apart into the air, black particles shooting out everywhere. With a whoosh they shot at me, and I lifted my hands in front of my face, but I felt nothing. The particles slowly dissipated to nothing, and I was left standing there in awe. I wasn’t the only one.
Every single villager was staring at me.
Heh. My bad?
Even as I spotted the chain-link fence and turned towards it, I felt a claw whip past me, inches from tearing my left shoulder open. Kari’s teaching came rushing back into my head, and I knew I had to concentrate. What was the thinking pattern? Imagine everything is slowing around you. Alright. I leapt over a small pile of rocks and imagined the ground slowing down in its advance to greet me. Those tufts of grass there had to be moving slower. I landed, and looked back up at the fence. That fence there, it was coming to me slower and slower.
Wait... is that really what I wanted? Grief clutched my heart, and I chanced a look back at the monster.
Aaargh! Its black eyes were inches from mine, and a grin of jagged teeth split its bemused face. I cried out and stumbled. No! See those claws reaching for you, Fulgora? They’re-getting-slower! Think it! It’s all slower! You’ll get faster!
And as I watched, they did get slower. The clawed paw was reaching for me, but I had the time to leap out of the way, and saw the creature’s grin turn to a frown. I spun back around, and saw that fence again. But it was okay, I would get there. I instead looked at the villagers I glimpsed between houses, the villagers than ran not only from the beast, but from the yellow-eyed girl in their midst. They were running slower, too.
I put on a burst of speed and gained ground, no longer feeling the utterly terrifying presence of the monster right behind me. The whole world seemed to be slowing for me, but the fence wasn’t. I was still the same speed, and I could still reach that fence in the same time it would otherwise take. And reach it I did. I stopped, inches from it, and turned to face the monster, ready to back into the fence and feel that wonderful current again.
The beast had stopped. It was fifteen feet from me now, and its grey-ish black eyes that stood out from its shadowy black figure, were warily regarding me. This wasn’t just some dumb beast. It wasn’t going after the other villagers. It was after me. And it wasn’t continuing its crazy attack on me, it had stopped. It was thinking. And that thought scared me above all else. Just what were these things? How come we didn’t know more about them?
Someone’s elongated scream snapped me back. The beast growled and came a step closer. I shied back a little more, sensing that current surging not a centimetre from me. What was it waiting for? What was it thinking? Why had it stopped? But then again, what was I waiting for? I reached back and grabbed hold of the fence, and all of a sudden I was alive. My chest swelled, lungs threatening to burst through my ribs, and every inch of my body seemed to cry out. Current ran through me, leaping about in my body, making me feel light-headed. This, I decided, was power. I felt as though I could do anything. Nothing was beyond my reach. I looked at the beast and imagined it gone. And I reached out my hand, white-hot jets of energy sizzling between my fingers, and I released.
Crack!
This time, the beast didn’t just stumble back. It exploded. One moment it was standing there, watching me with deadly intent, and the next, it was splitting apart into the air, black particles shooting out everywhere. With a whoosh they shot at me, and I lifted my hands in front of my face, but I felt nothing. The particles slowly dissipated to nothing, and I was left standing there in awe. I wasn’t the only one.
Every single villager was staring at me.
Heh. My bad?
♠ ♠ ♠
So the beast is gone. But what happens next? Aren't there more out there, in that wasteland outside that crumbled brick wall?