by V. A. Lewis
But I remember a different side of her too. I saw her kill so easily. I watched her take lives like it did not matter; she just brutally murdered a man in front of me. Wasn’t I right to be afraid of her?
Shang too. They were Hunters. They dealt with Monsters, thinned out large hordes, and cleared out infestations. But did that include people?
Did their jobs have them hunting people like me down? Like some sort of a Witch hunter?
I wasn’t a Witch. I was a heretic. But in this world without Witches, they could practically be synonymous; the concept was the same. Heretics were killed for doing magic like a Witch was from my world.
And Theodore.
The kind older man was nowhere to be found when I looked at him. It just was not the same. Nothing was the same.
I just bolted out of there. It was not real. None of this could be real; it had to be fake. I did not hear the shouts coming from Rin as she ran for me, nor did I hear the fighting that broke out behind me.
I was reviled. Hated by the world and by gods. Everything spun around me, and those sounds simply disappeared in the background. I ignored it.
Screams and shouts came from somewhere. The sounds of fighting blared in the distance. But—
I just ran.
Hot flashes came over me, my legs were sore, my right ankle ached, and tears blurred my vision. But I continued running Down the street, around the corner, into the alleyway, out to a large courtyard. I ran, and ran, and—
I found myself in a crowd of people.
I looked up and saw many men and women gathered together with city guards around them. I felt my heart relax a little. An odd calm washed over me, as I reduced my pace to a walk.
I wandered through the crowd of faces, my head in a daze as voices spoke around me in a chatter.
"Will we be safe here?"
"The guards will protect us!"
"We have to run—"
"But the slaves are..."
"—the Oligopolis! If we make it there we’ll be much better protected than here!"
"Are you mad?! That’s where—"
"Goddess grace us."
What’s going on? the thought stupidly crossed my mind. Everyone was so tense; the atmosphere reeked of fear and dread. I could almost feel the tension in the air.
All kinds of insane, impossible, possibilities appeared in my head, but none of them were right. I had forgotten what just happened an hour before— that the city was being invaded.
A scream came from a nearby alleyway. Every face snapped in that direction. Except for me.
I bumped into a leg and fell to the ground.
I expected the man to turn to me, and I panicked. My heart rate picked up, as I reached out to cover the mark on my face; the mark of my slavery. But the man did not turn. His face was fixed where he looked.
Slowly, I turned to face the dark alleyway. The empty space that beheld something beyond it. But it did not wait for me.
I was half facing the alley when something bounded out of the shadows. My heart leapt in its chest as though I experienced a jump scare, and a creature that was a mockery of a Human being charged out.
This was not a movie, it did not come out alone; all at once, dozens of Abominations rushed out of the darkness— out of the small alleyways and the side streets— and into the large open space. A hail of bullets rained down on the drove of deformed people and monsters.
I stared aghast as I saw the creatures up close for the first time; from afar, they looked like people with blotted and blue skin in parts of their body, but up close they were much more terrifying. The blue bulbs looked like a mass infestation of mold growing out of a person, and the yellow pulsing cores looked like rotten gelatin— and I’m pretty sure gelatin can’t rot!
Pandemonium broke out, and the crowd began to disperse. Sounds of gunfire deafened my ears, as I waded my way through the crowd.
Fear was building up in my chest again. My heart pounded in my chest, and there was a ringing in my head. I could feel my whole body trembling.
I don’t want to die! I thought to myself.
The perimeter of guards had been holding off the Abominations for about a minute, but then came a different Abomination. It was not just the twisted form of a single individual that approached the plaza, but a perversion of multiple people melded into one monstrosity.
Two Humans and a Chimera were joined together by a large blue mass. The Humans formed the feet of the Abomination, and the Chimera was hanging off the side and being dragged on the ground like some sort of oversized arm.
Half a dozen guards turned their attention to the over ten foot tall creature, and began opening fire at it. Bullets bounced off of the Abomination like it was nothing, as it ran forwards and swung the Chimera at the line of guards.
The Chimera’s tail lashed out like a whip, and the blue bulbous body of the Abomination thinned as a blue layer spread from its head to the tail. The large Abomination broke through the guard’s formation, allowing the regular Abominations into the courtyard.
It was chaos! People were running everywhere, and guards were screaming as they were killed by the swarm of Abominations. I did not know what to do, so I just ran with the crowd.
I picked a random group running in front of me, and just followed them; we ran down an alleyway, out into an open street, turning right down the sidewalk—
And an Abomination leapt out of a side street, tearing into the poor woman it jumped on. Someone screamed as more Abominations poured out of the alleys, and I turned to run across the street.
I turned left at an intersection, then ducked into a small alley. I ran through it, and burst out next to a burning building. I looked up at the fire, then at the people gathered around it. They were only shadows in the fire’s light, but I could tell that they were slaves.
Men and women, all with chains around their necks, were standing around a pile of dead bodies. All of them were bloodied, and a few were still beating at the corpses on the ground. They were yelling and chanting to each other.
"If we die, we die free!" A man raised a fist.
Then, as though it were some sort of cue, the first Abomination bounded at them. The slaves picked up arms, and fought back against the coming death.
I only stopped to watch this happen for a second; I turned tails and ran away from it. I could hear fighting in the distance: screams and shouts filled the air; gunfire echoing in the distance; and explosions occasionally shaking the earth.
But I continued to run.
I found myself at another junction, and looked around. Straight ahead, dead bodies littered the ground with Abominations roaming about. And to the left, a small caravan of people were being assaulted by Abominations from all sides. I looked to the right, and saw no Abominations.
So I turned right.
I ran down the street, following it as it slowly narrowed. There was a dead end with only a left turn, so I took it. I continued down the path, before finally reaching the end of it.
I looked up and saw a large structure before me. One of the biggest in all of Bys. A massive jewel shaped amphitheater stood rising up hundreds of feet off the ground. And it was desolate.
The corpses of city guards were strewn about the base of the stadium. I froze, and turned to run—
Then I realized I was alone; I did not know when that happened. I turned around and stared at the dark streets all around me, each one of them possibly holding horrors unimaginable.
I’m going to die—
"Hey, kid!"
I snapped my head to the source of the voice. A woman looking to be in her late twenties or early thirties stood with a large group of people. They were all armed, and the woman had a spear rest on her shoulder.
She approached me, and I backed up.
"There’s no need to be scared. You’re a slave, right?" She raised her hands placatingly, then pointed a thumb back at herself. "We’re all slaves too. Gladiators, actually. But same thing y’know?"
Slaves? Did they kill all these guards? I shook my head. There was no time for this! They were coming! Those creatures were—
The woman continued, and I realized I wasn’t talking.
"We don’t know what’s going on, we just heard the city bells go off and thought it was time to break out. There’s more of us still in there,"— she nodded at the stadium— "but we can take you in."
I couldn’t speak. Why couldn’t I speak? I was breathing too heavily. My throat hurt too much. I— I was catatonic?
"Hey Em, I don’t think she can talk. Maybe she’s mute or something?" another woman piped up from behind her.
"Oh? Well it’s fine—" Em was halfway speaking when an inhuman screech came from the distance. "What was—"
I picked myself up, and ran.
"Hey, wait! Where are you going?! You’ll be safer with us!"
I ignored her, and bolted out of there. As I did, Abominations poured out of the shadows and assaulted the gladiators.
"Sacred piss! What are these things—"
I continued to run, panting heavily as the air left my lungs. My legs burned! I wanted to collapse. I wanted to…
I was limping.
I steadied myself on a wall as I limped down a street. I just wanted to get away from all this: it was too much for me.
I continued to make my way to… somewhere. And eventually found myself in a large plaza. There was a large statue in the center of the square, and a massive clocktower just behind it.
Dead bodies were piled up all around me, and I paused and stared at one of them; there was a small yellow protrusion growing out of it, and it almost looked like the core of the Abominations. But it was tiny, smaller than my fists, and neither was it glowing. However, it was still there.
And all the bodies had them.
I collapsed next to the statue, and sat there for a moment. Only a moment. Because a group of Abominations ran out of the shadows, with millions of chittering noises echoing in the background.
I got up in a panic, as they charged like mindless beasts towards me!
No!
I wanted them all to go away. I don’t know why; whether it was instinct or out of panic. But I raised my hand, and swiped in their direction.
And then, a blue bolt of energy flew out like a baseball. A magic circle rested on the palm of my hand, as I continued to flail at the Abominations in a frenzy as they approached. Bolts of magic flew almost naturally, striking the Abominations down.
Only three of them fell, but there were hundreds more! One got close to me, and I covered my face in a panic. A small bolt of fire flew out and knocked the Abomination back. It laid on the ground, burning and screaming as it slowly died. But still, it tried to get up.
But still, it tried to move.
It began crawling, and I screamed once more. I threw another ball of fire at it, killing it this time. I heaved a sigh of relief, then realized there were many more coming. I looked up—
And saw the Abominations passing me. The Abominations came and went in droves, crossing through the courtyard to somewhere further in the city. They were ignoring me!
I watched in silence as the Abominations continued on, heading to some point in the city. Then, the ground shook. I felt myself stumble, and fell to the ground.
My gaze shifted to the source of the rumbling; at the direction of the coming Abominations. I watched a massive figure make its way through the city.
A giant amalgamation of countless bodies of Humans and Monsters crawled through the streets of Bys. It stood at over 60 feet tall, held together by the blue bulbs that all Abominations were infested with, and with a massive yellow core in the center of its being. Dozens of massive blue tendrils dragged the massive monster into the city, shaking the ground as it did.
But something was different about this Abomination. While all Abominations were a single or handful of bodies joined together, all of their bodies' faces were covered. However, with this many beings meshed up into a single mass, it was impossible to block out all their faces.
And what I saw was eyes. Countless eyes from countless bodies, all of them looking out of the single mass. But they were not normal eyes; they were all glowing red.
I stared at the Abomination, and it stared back. All it’s eyes locked on me as it made its way past me, then turned away. But as it did, a single tendril lashed out towards me.
I flinched and covered my eyes. However, I was not it’s target; the Abomination struck at the statue behind me, toppling the nearly equally tall figure, collapsing it to the ground.
That was it.
The ground trembled from the destruction of the statue, but it continued on. I was alive.
I’m alive!
I threw my hands up in the air and fell on my back; I was so happy, I was laughing maniacally! I did not know why they ignored me, but I was saved!
A glint of red shone at the corner of my eye, interrupting my reprieve, and I turned around to face it. I looked up at the massive clock tower before me, and saw him.
On the giant machine used to tell time. On the device made possible with the workings of many cogs and gears for it to function. On the clock tower, stood a titan.
A giant dressed in silver armor. Someone I had seen before: my twice savior, and a messenger of the false god.
There, on that clock tower, stood one of the three men who visited me the night my mother died. And the message to me was clear.
Was it something you’d understand if you were from this world? Or would only someone from my world get it? I did not know.
I turned my head to a building in the distance; to the ziggurat of Bys under siege from the massive Abomination and countless smaller ones. Then back to the messenger standing atop the clock tower— a giant contraption made by men. A machine.
The message was simple. Meant for me to understand. To comprehend.
Deus ex machina.
God from the machine.
I got up, and limply made my way out of Bys.
The End of
PART TWO
Chapter 23: Interlude II - Hunters
"Do you see it?"
"Uh, I think— I see it."
"Nn, now aim carefully. And don’t miss this time!"
"I’ll try."
"No! Don’t try. Just do it!"
"I— yes."
"Good, now shoot!"
The young man nodded his head, and pulled the trigger. There was a sound, then a bolt of bright blue energy flashed through the air, flying straight at its target.
A four legged animal, standing at around four feet in height, and almost twice as long across, snapped its head to the side. The deer heard the gunfire echo through the forest. It saw the bullet whizzing past trees and bushes. It only took a second to blink, then it jumped to the side.
Blue energy splashed on the ground where the deer once was. A loud sigh came from the thicket where the young man was, and he watched as his quarry fled into the distance.
"Damn it!" Feri dropped his rifle, threw his hands in the air, and slumped over. "That’s the third one today." He turned to his companion and exhaled. "I’m sorry, Rin. I should have—"
"You did great, Feri!" the Cat Beastkin interrupted him. Rin placed a hand on the young man’s shoulders, and grinned. "Nn, not everyone can just pick up a gun and become a master at hunting. Not everyone is like me, after all!"
"I know. But if you weren’t with me— you’d have got them all by yourself. And you’d be back at camp by now. And we’d all have food! I’m not a Hunter, like you. I’ve just been a... burden… to all of you..." The former slave trailed off.
The catgirl blinked, and looked at Feri. He was crestfallen.
His face was overshadowed by his long hair, obscuring part of his face. He had one arm crossed around his chest, tightly grasping at the other. And his gaze kept flickering away from the young woman to the floor, never lingering in one spot for more than a second.
Rin sighed. Then she smacked him hard on th
e back.
"What are you talking about?!" the young woman nearly yelled. She grasped the former slave by the shoulders, and forced him to make eye contact with her. "How can I be wasting my time when I offered to come with you? I mean— sure, I’d have been done hunting an hour ago if I went by myself— but I’m literally spending my time on something I wanted to do! I’m not wasting my time at all!"
Feri recoiled from both the hit and the shout. He raised his hands up to protest, but the catgirl continued.
"In any case—" Rin paused to take a deep breath, then spoke in a calmer voice, "You’re the one who volunteered to go hunting yourself. You could have just let others do it, but you wanted to help. Don’t call yourself a burden when you’ve been trying your best!"
The Cat Beastkin crossed her arms. She stared at the young man challengingly.
Feri met her gaze, and he felt… happy?
The former slave was not sure how to describe the feeling, but he certainly did not feel upset at the scolding. He was used to being yelled at, however this was different. He nodded his head slowly.
"I— you’re right. Thank you. I’m sorry for—"
"And stop apologizing! Don’t say ‘sorry’ unless you’ve actually got something to apologize for! Got it?" Rin stamped her foot down, and half-glared at him.
Feri paused. He stared blankly at the young woman. Her words slowly sunk in, causing him to stand up straighter. He inhaled deeply, and spoke in a more confident voice.
"Yes. I got it."
The catgirl nodded to herself. "Nn, that’s better."
Rin turned away from the former slave. She bent over to the ground, and picked up his fallen weapon.
"Now let’s continue,"— Rin handed the man his rifle— "then maybe, we can get back to camp before the sun sets."
Feri watched as the Cat Beastkin spun around and walked off by herself. He stared down at his rifle, then back at Rin.
"You coming?" the young woman called out in the distance.
The young man quickly slung the rifle over his shoulders, then hurried after his companion.
"I’m coming!"