by C T Scribe
Marco knew exactly what was choking him, but he couldn’t stop to ask for help. The demon inside The Tall Man’s mind didn’t appreciate the intrusion. They needed him awake. They needed someone strong enough to fight with them. Marco saw Tye get dragged down. He hated to think the thought, but on his own Tye was probably dead. They weren’t trained enough for this. All they’d done so far is take down one fren with a little luck, and run for their lives. Marco could sense the insanely strong monster below him. His aura completely covering Tye’s own. If he was alive Marco couldn’t tell, but he had more pressing issues. The demon was doing more than strangling him. It was stealing his power. Even now he could feel his phase two deactivate. His eyes grew heavier by the second. The others didn’t know what to do. How could they break this hold in phase one. The demon siphoning his strength was the most powerful presence he’d ever felt. Even in his dormant state this power made the monsters below seem weak. Marco had to face the fact that he would die here.
Tye ran straight for the hulking fren ahead of him. His speed had slowed since this all started. He felt sluggish. This reminded him of fourth quarter training in his past life. He could do this he told himself. His own demon now silent in his head. As he approached, he split his weapons. A in human form continuing the frontal assault. B jumping off the wall to the left to attack from the side. He mimicked the maneuver from the right. Whichever way the fren attacks the other two could land blows on him. This was something they rehearsed many times. Over and over they trained similar scenarios in The Dragon’s Head Gym. This would work. For a moment the monster made eye contact with him mid air. His eyes were dull. The eyes of someone who was not threatened or amused. The eyes of something far superior. Tye couldn’t track the movements as the beast spun tornado-like in place. The wind it created levitated them for a fraction of a second before its tail sent them flying hard through the air. Craters forming at each impact point. A&B did not move. He called them to return to him, but they did not come. Through blurry eyes he saw his best friends and protectors lay puddle-like feet away from him. Every part of his body felt broken. The voice in his mind somberly whispered to him, “you should have run.” This was all he could do. Tears streamed as he thought of Mari. A rage he would never heal from avenging her. That fire inside was overcast by the overwhelming fear as the monster took slow deliberate steps towards his unmoving body. This was all he could do. This was the end.
The earth shook as the fren approached. Tye closed his eyes accepting his fate, but the monster had other plans. Bellowing at him to wake up, the force of its voice opened his eyes. The fangs so close to his face dripping drool onto his body. It hulked over him in complete dominance. In a softer voice Tye could barely attribute to the thing towering over him it spoke. “You are no match for me child. I could sense your confusion when you saw the true me. That imitation from before wasn’t me at all. Our shifter likes to experiment, but even in my form she had little more power than any of my pack above us. I grant you this small mercy because you didn’t flee. You have honor until your last breath.” With that the fren stopped speaking. Tye’s blurry eyes couldn’t make out what was happening. The fren let out a roar. It wasn’t returned. He heard the crunching of feet as it moved away from him quickly. He heard whimpers from above. He felt the fren several feet away from him shuffle about in rage. Marco must have gotten free. They need to run. They need to save themselves. A panic swept across him. Not for himself, but for the others. What were they thinking trying to rescue him. They needed to get the Tall Man to safety. He yelled for them to run. He yelled, but his broken voice, barely a whisper, did not reach them. He wasn’t close to them by any means, but watching them die would be worse than his own death. His death would follow. The frens pressure was crushing him as it raged. They would all be dead soon.
Marco was near death when the demons hold released him. He saw the girl in the raincoat, a new terror instantly replacing the last. She grabbed The Tall Man with ease as she lifted him to stare in his eyes. “Still losing in there I see,” the words spoken as a thought to no one but herself. She shoved his limp body to the gentle giant. With a flick of her hand water slashed through the wall. Without looking at them she said, “run if you want to live. There are more of them out there. Don’t fight just run.” With that she jumped down the hole Tye was pulled through. Marco had never felt this weak. The dark skinned girl lifted him from under his arm to help him move. The twins led the way through the wall and into the outside world. For the first time since the turn they were back in the outside world. Everything was changing.
It must have been a battle. He had no idea how Marco could fight this thing that completely throttled him. He wasn’t jealous. He just didn’t know how he could last this long. His eyes heavy and blurry couldn’t see the fighting around him. He called for A&B again, but realized they were already there. Still puddle-like they blanketed him. He wondered how long they had rest atop his body. He let them be a small comfort as he was now attempting to prop himself up. Focusing on only his eyes he looked to the fight before him. Everything still blurry. Rocks littered the ground. He focused harder. More than rocks. He asked A&B to send whatever energy they had left to his eyes. The blobs listened, and then vanished after their final deed. The sensation odd as a cooling energy flowed from his chest up his neck and face before reaching his eyes. He owed them so much. His eyesight sharpened some. Still blurry, but with improved vision he saw these weren’t rocks. They were dozens of monster heads. His eyes widened in terror as he took in one final sight. A giant ice shard sticking through the large fren’s gaped mouth. Standing to the side of him peering down was the girl in the raincoat. The one who put The Tall Man in a coma. What was she doing here? Why had she saved him? Was she going to kill him next? The questions flooding his mind were silenced as she removed the hood from her head. He new that face. He dreamt that face. He cried from the memories. It was Mari.
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