Burning Village - 1760, NOV 5th
Debris flew everywhere. The mother and daughter were bombarded by chunks of brick, splintered wood, and bits of metal shrapnel. Both their ears were ringing and only the tinnitus could be heard. With the floating dust and insulation particles, their eyes were burning and itchy; nearly impossible to open. While the foul smell of burnt fiberglass and plastics intermingled with freshly upturned dirt, burning wood, and faint sea-salt air.
Gradually, the chaos ended. The child managed to open her eyes and see the destruction laid out before her. Fire and smoke had replaced the lighthouse, her sanctuary was gone. What was once her greatest comfort now laid on the ground as various pieces of rubble.
From the corner of her eye, the little girl noticed flickering sparks. Turning her gaze downward, she saw her tiny night light snapped in two. Tears welled up rapidly, but before she could shout her mom yanked her up and rushed out of the burning bedroom. The acrid smoke burned the little girl’s throat as the mom staggered her way through the blackened clouds. Slamming the front door open, arms feeling heavy and burned, both mother and daughter took in lungful’s of fresh air. Once she regained her vision, she couldn’t believe what she saw. Flames, the entire island was in flames.
Stunned, the mother didn’t notice the kid turn her tear-stricken face from the safety of her shoulder. Glancing upward, only the child noticed the swirling vortex of crows flying high above. They flew under the smoke covered sky; its tranquil navy-blue replaced by hellish black. Reapers of death, they circled above the duo with gazes looming ever closer. To the little girl they were darkness itself, come to take her. With the strongest fear she had ever known, she tightened her tiny grip onto her mother’s dress. Burying her head into her mom’s shoulder, the frightened child was paralyzed with bone chilling terror.
Gazing at her child’s sudden shaking, the mom placed her hand on the back of her daughter’s head. She knew this was terrifying to her little joy and it broke her heart. However, their safety was paramount. The island was small and the village smaller. It wouldn’t be long before flames encompassed everything. If she could get to the nearby docks, they would be safe from the fire. Gently, but tightly, holding onto her daughter she ran towards the boats. A blur of anchors, nets, buoys, and fishing rods flashed past the mother and daughter.
The island was an endless inferno, flames clawed at the sky, it almost felt like the island was engulfed by hell itself. An inescapable miasma of burning fish filled the air. Making her way through the small village, a ring of fire spiraled in the sky; and the tornado of crows continued to follow above. Finally, she made it to the edge of the village. The docks were just around the corner.
While the mom cautiously peered around, the child managed to pry her eyes open for just a moment. Perched on a ledge nearby, the gaze of a crow bore into the soul of the little girl. Frozen in fear, she stared into the dozens of unnatural rings in that entity’s vibrant yellow eyes. It stared back at her silently… Angrily. A wave of ominous unease washed over her. Submerged her. The crow filled her with fear. It filled her with a sense of impending disaster. Suddenly, the mother ran around the corner and headfirst into the barrel of a rifle.
Locked in place, the mother could see a lump on the ground. Her eyes flickered down, she saw the painter from earlier. Drenched in a pool of his own blood. Standing above appeared to be a person clad head to toe in heavy armor. Garbed in death was a behemoth of a soldier.
Most eye catching was the armor itself, pitch tar black with highlights of fiery orange. Such a stark contrast only amplified the expression of dread on the ghastly faces borne upon this armor. On the knee-guards were the pain-wrought faces of people in agony; so intense that the skin of their cheeks were ripped to reveal the teeth hidden behind. Tormented beyond human recognition, almost as if melting from the fire themselves, these faces were locked in time during their most tortured. The helmet itself had great demonic horns, an alarming orange visor as long as snake fangs, and shrapnel-like jagged teeth of an upper jaw where the wearer’s chin should be. Finally, the simplest face was on the chest. It was a vivid static-screen white, with an arrangement of teeth visible within its melancholic screaming mouth and tear stained eyes; it was also the largest.
Lug nut bolts dug deep into the armor from the top of the shoulders. This made it appear as if the armor was permanently fused into this person’s body. Their forearm-guards turned into long spikes beyond the elbow. Various wires attached these forearm-guards directly into the flesh of the biceps; piercing the ballistic fibers. Finally, this soldier was outfitted with many grenades, a knife, pistol, wrist mounted grappling hook, and of course the rifle; still aimed at the mother’s head. As she stood there motionless, the soldier slowly began to draw out the knife from the sheath on his back.
Soldier escape - 1760, NOV 5th
Without turning her head, the mom could see all the rowboats on the island gathered into one massive bonfire. Two more soldiers guarded this area, one of which was executing a line of familiar faces. Shadows danced from the flickering flames. Combined with the faint lantern light nearby, she could barely make out the faces of her neighbors. With a loud bang, the nearest person sitting on their knees fell limp. Blood leaked from the hole in his forehead, but the dancing lights weren’t strong enough to reveal his face. Shocked out of her stupor, the mother focused on the soldier before her. The knife was fully drawn. An anglerfish was deeply engraved upon its blade.
Without hesitation the mom grabbed the rifle, with an uppercut like motion, and kicked the soldier. She dashed madly back around the corner as the soldier quickly regained footing and fired. Bullets ricochet and chipped the nearby walls. Ash and soot filled the grimy air around her as she desperately searched for an escape. The bullets stopped and the mom felt fear welling up inside her. Before she had a chance to think, she ran to the safest thing she saw. She ran back towards their house.
Barely making it to the hill, two soldiers had gained sight of her. One approached from the side and fired its wrist mounted grappling hook. The wire missed her and wrapped around the nearby tree in the front yard instead. Snapped in half by the retraction of the wire, only a stump was left behind. As this wire retracted, a third soldier approached. The same one with the engraved knife. The anglerfish soldier. Only this time, with a Gatling gun.
Anglerfish - 1760, NOV 5th
Bullets rained above the mother as the Anglerfish soldier opened fire. Soaring overhead, a crow watched as the mother and daughter tried to outrun molten lead. From its perspective, the fire of the village cast an insidious shadow. It almost appeared to be a dark anglerfish, with its jaws wide open; teeth chasing after the woman and child. Little did they know, from the eyes of the bird, the glow of the front door they were so desperately running too… Was the antenna.
Moon behind the crow, darkening its black form, it released a loud echoing caw. Three bullets pierced the chest of the mom. All that remained of her right shoulder, left kidney, and right hip was a long bloody like chain from where all three bullets exited her mangled torso. Falling on her knee, she let out a dying scream. Nevertheless, she mustered the strength to shield her child and stand back up.
Gathering the last of her energy, she made it to the door and slammed it behind her. She slid down the door, leaving a blood trail, as bullets flew by where she was a mere split second ago. Sitting on the floor for a moment, she placed her hand over one of the wounds. Removing it, the entire hand was red. She looked down to see heaps of blood pouring out of the injury. Gazing at her child, she saw the small girl shake with tears in her eyes. Her little face scared and confused. Gritting her teeth, the mom forced her head up. She saw an unnaturally long twisting hallway. No matter how hard she tried to focus, the dizziness felt like it was getting worse.
Noticing the look on her mother’s face, the kid turned to stare down the hallway… But only saw the short straight path to her bedroom door. Picking up her daughter, the mom began the long trek down the spiraling hallway. Blood splashed on the ground in large pools as she walked, it coated the crayon drawing of the family, and her hand smeared its prints on the household portraits.
Vision blurring and distorting, breath short and rapid, the mother tripped. The kid bounced as she hit the floor. Tears blurred her eyes as she stared at her motionless mom. She tried to crawl towards her, but lost her balance multiple times. Eventually, she made it to her mother and shook her. For a moment, the mom didn’t stir, and the child started to whimper. However, before she began to cry, the mom raised her head. The little girl held a bittersweet expression. A small smile of relief that didn’t completely obscure the overwhelming fear and sadness. Weakly the mom raised her head and struggled to reach for the door.
Since the explosion, the room had become dark. Dust drifted about slowly in the faint sources of light. All that could be seen was the abysmally black closet ahead. Weakly, the mom shuffled towards the closet, tripping again. She forced herself to stand, struggled to place her hand on it, and mustered the strength to open its doors; wind blowing her hair back.
She picked up her still weeping daughter and placed her in-between the clothes. Staring at the shaking child, tears fell down the mother’s face. The pain of her wounds started to fade, and she felt cold. Then there was a warmth. It was an all-encompassing warmth that flooded her entire body. It was the boundless love she felt for her little girl.
The pain of losing her was infinitely more intense than the feeling of the wounds. She looked directly at her daughter, face suppressing agony and sadness.
“Mo-mommy and daddy love you. We love you very much..." She said, "Mommy needs you to be quiet, stay very quiet, ok sweetie."
The mom started to slowly close the closet doors.
"I love you... Goodbye"
The doors closed. The light disappeared... There was a brief pause of silence. A few moments passed. Then, there was a loud bang.
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