As we still wandered for about an hour or so–we soon came across scattered objects all over the area, though limited–parts of lanterns and cloth could be spotted. It was then splattered blood could be sensed within the horrid sands, drips became splashes–and splashes became puddles. Within those puddles of blood laid bones–bouts of ligaments and pints of flesh. “G-God..” was all Dax could say, everyone else was silent. “W-We should probably get out of here..before whatever creature comes back..” exclaimed Alaine, “Yeah, you’re right..” walking through the scattered bones and objects coated in degrading blood–the group could only clutch their hands and avoid their gazes at the ground. Finally passing the parts of pinted flesh and puddled bones–the wreckage was now kept to a minimum as we trekked farther and farther from the desecration of fresh graves. Faltering a little behind, the sense of being watched soon overwhelmed my sense of unease which only grew thicker and thicker–choking me in a sensation of infuriating uncomfortability. “Dax..” I slightly whispered, “following–us..” signing my fingers of trouble, I stuck an expression of weariness–Dax looked at me with straining eyebrows, “I understand–get into position..” He soon looked towards the front where Alaine was and gestured commanding hand signs to get into position. She nodded his way–it was then he looked back at me and said, “Alan, mind helping Linden with his luggage? Looks like he needs a break..” Alan nodded with affirmation. Finally lifting the weight off my shoulders–I had the freedom to glance back at the direction of the unwary; there in the distance stood the monster that I saw from the night before. The hair on my skin only stood still as I recognized the blue hue of its eyes; I could only shake in fear as I remembered the unknowable power the creature showed. Looking at Dax I could only express the emotion of fear; KABOOM! The sounds of thumping sands could be heard from a distance–I turned back with fear and sweat before twisting my head fastley in front of me. There I see the creature, its lean yet muscular body towered over everybody else who stood around it. In its hand–the creature held the beast along with Alan. With its sinister and decrypted smile–its head vibrated and shook slightly as to assign that whatever this creature is–its no longer anything human; With it holding one of our allies within its grasp–and its showcase of unknowable power–we all stood still as to figure out what else to do. Alaine struck first. SHHK! The sound of piercing flesh and horrid screams could be loudly heard, everybody instantly fell on their knees as they covered their ears from the weaponizing scream; Alaine however, held on–her grip tightened onto the blade as she gritted her teeth before the stumps of her ears started to bleed. Struggling, the beast moved with much force–ignoring the penetrating blade in its torso. It clawed at Alaine–spraying blood before it started to aggressively shake again. The creature also bled but whatever came out was a fully black goo which smoked and puffed as it touched the sands–soon all traces of its blood disappeared into thin air. I could only watch with one eye open–with my hands on my ears as the creature still screamed to its delight; Alaine at this point was phasing in and out of consciousness–her ears were full of fresh blood and her grip loosen with each enduring vibration the creature admitted. At this point I could only watch–that was until I started running towards the creature; unable to stop my own momentum; the base of my ears vibrate violently as I grabbed the creature and tumbled down the cliff–but just before we tumbled I pushed Alaine away with my foot; essentially kicking her onto the ground before the creature and I fell onto the exciting sands.
Standing up–I clutched the side of my head as I tried to focus my surroundings; my vision blurred with a black and dijon hue, as I spotted the thing in front of me the creature bared its sharpened human teeth and violently hissed a gurgle within its throat. I finally realized the predicament I was in and the only thing I could do was watch–and yet I could barely even do that. The creature moved with abhorrent speed and knocked me away with the brunt of its shoulder–flying pieces of sand and wind everywhere along with my body. As if made of pure stone I hit the side of a dune with an impacting; WHOOMP!. With my body aching and my head spinning–I could only hold in my breath as to not vomit whatever’s in the pit of my gut. I slowly got back onto my feet to look around for the creature–but it was nowhere in sight; I could only think it was headed towards my comrades. BANG, BANG–BANG, gunshots–I rushed towards the burrowing holes of the cliff the group were on and upon arrival–I spotted an unconscious and bleeding Alaine in the arms of Vanessa–all the while standing behind Dax who held his handgun firmly within his hands–firing upon the monster with quick emergency. BANG–BANG! The lightning bullets only indented the creature’s skin–and it smiled sinisterly as it approached closer and closer towards the whole group. Remembering my own twisted sinister smile–and staining blood I coated with my own two hands, I could do nothing but stand still with a vanquished expression, “Everyone..is going to die..” with almost a pause in time I can only think of how everyone will die brutally–shredded, slaughtered. I could only think of death and death alone; I wasn’t able to save anyone–wasn’t able to help anyone; I was going to break my promise, again. “Live..Linden..” a voice echoed in my head “Live..?” my mind only thought of one thing and one thing only–hatred. The memory faded with ashen particles; then ignition of embers soon emitted a roaring fire–the crippling hot flame within my chest flared as the expression of my face scrunched a disgusting look. Crouching into a squat, I positioned myself towards the monster–my chest burned with negative impulse; and my legs ignited from its hue. THUM! The crackling sound of the sound barrier shook as I flung passed my allies with dashing speed–I reeled back my fist and coiled the might of my momentum until I unleashed it. CRACK! A loud fracturing of bone could be heard from miles and miles away–and yet the beast still stood–feigning injury. It hissed at me and I screamed back, “UURRAAHHH!” I charged–still with a flaring hatred within my chest I rushed, and rushed and rushed. Speed I gained–inertia I befriended; I could only stop upon contacting the monster's hideous face with the whitened knuckles of my fist. I pulled back again and swung, SWOON; topped winds flew at breakneck speeds and yet the monster fled from my offensive strike. It hissed then groaned loudly from its chest, I watched to differ; gaining on all fours–it sped towards me in a zipping manner. It zipped left and right–left and right until, PUNNK–the pit of my stomach squinched as I trouble downing the items that burned within the back of my throat; unable to keep my will to focus I threw up all of the things that were left in my stomach–out came darkened blood and bits of digested tissue. I quickly grabbed the butt of my gun and fired into the monster's face–pulling the trigger every milli-second before running dry of piercing bullets, BANG–BANG, BANG–BANG–BANG, BANG–BANG. Fleeing back to gain some space, the smoke from its burning flesh soon dissipated and from within the shallow shadows of the simmering smolder was part of a skull–the right sided face was torn off from the barrages of bullets yet its skull was no more than perfect. The reddened darkness of its skull wasn’t of blood but of color–I took only a second to look before remembering my hate; I pounced once more–before shouting, “ARRUGHH!” But before I even got to land one single blow–it stuck its claws at me–hitting each vital area within the reaches of my neck and face. The striking of the creature was so dissimilar that the pieces of my hatred fled for only a second–before the realization of death ignited my intention to kill. I swiftly turned towards the beast and sunk the now hardened tips of my fingers into its chest–it roared with pain. Pulling my head as far as I can–I rushed the forefront of my skull towards the creature's vibrant head and, CRACK–the blood which spewed from my forehead only fled for a couple of seconds before it stopped in its entirety. The creature was fine–I pulled back for another, then another–and then another, the corners of my vision became blackened with blood and the straining pain of my skull kept on beating. But I didn’t stop–not for a second, for if I did; “What am I to hate? For will I hate not just myself?” Bloodied and bruised with cuts and fractures within my own head, the pounding pain soon faded as the cold chills grasp the ends of my ears. The winds shook me awake as I kept pummeling and pummeling my skull–with my eyes rolled back, the whites of my sclera soon filled with darkened blood. My body later stopped moving on its own accord and my consciousness started to fade. Until a coursing pain shocked my entire body–starting from the core of my skull into the pits of my stomach; hunger very soon overwhelmed me and I did what I didn’t think I could do. I bit into the creature's shoulder and clenched the muscles of my jaws with all my might–before I ravagley tore off a piece of the creature before swallowing it greedily. The creature now stood still knowing that parts of it had now been devoured; I went for a second bite–but before I could sink my teeth within its flesh again, the creature–with immense strength tore me off and fled backwards to gain space. Gaining my foot hold again I stood still realizing what I’ve just done; reality hit me like a revving truck, my stomach now held the flesh of a monster–with it a slight surge of energy coursing through each fiber of my muscles and tendons. I now gained a new refreshment; the monster roared vigorously–as a sign to show its infuriation and hostility towards my actions. I could only clamp my fist as the flame within my chest grew stagnant; POOM! The creature launched itself at me, Fwoosh!–Its claws struck towards my right side. Though fortunately I stepped barely in time to dodge it, Whoomp! Kneeing the creature in the stomach it only looked up with no effect. POW! I struck it in the head with my fist–but before I got to pounding the creature with my bare hands–bullets sped past hitting its mark, BANG–BANG-BANG, looking back I saw Dax holding his handgun at the ready. He quickly reloaded the empty mag and sucked in a new one into the butt of his gun. BANG–BANG–BANG–BANG–BANG, his trigger finger was on full auto, BANG–BANG–BANG–BANG. The creature shielded his eyes for a moment before screaming at Dax with annoyance. It was about to pounce; though right before it got into position I spotted Alaines’ broken short sword which was lodged into the middle of its torso. I reeled back my arm and plunged it into the stagnant wound, PLK–the creature cried sounds of pain and looked at me–its eyes filled with hate and anger; I half heartedly returned the gesture–by gripping the blade within its torso and swinging it to the side, SHLIK. A nasty noise of flesh, innards and metal meshed–fell onto the sands, PSINK– the creature's side was ripped anew and soon it’s weight folded its body towards the ground. POOMSH! I vacantly stood for what felt like minutes before I looked up at Dax and he–the same. “H-Holy..f.uck..” he breathlessly exclaimed. I didn’t say anything–I couldn’t say anything, what was I to say after my savagery towards a monster that could have killed me two times over; and yet for some reason it had little interest in my existence. Dax soon stumbled towards me with a winded expression and voice of concern, “Linden..y-you..okay?” I barely nodded with dulled eyes. I opened my trembling jaw and said, “I..I-I..” but before I got to express my ravagrey–a familiar echo was calling from afar, “Dax!? Linden!? Where are you!?” it was Alan–the sound of his voice distracted us for moments before leading us towards his position. “Ah! Dax–Linden, there you are! We have to hurry.! Alaine’s wounds won’t stop bleeding! And she’s beginning to lose her mind!” His face was pale and his expression was scarce. Dax looked worried yet determined, he turned to me and said, “Come on–let's go” I nodded without a hint of hesitation. Sprinting towards the cliff I soon realized the hefty distance to where I fought the cryptid being–the feeling of emptiness and quiet entered my mind–although the beating of my heart paced faster as the life of my comrade was in danger. Gathering upon the cliff the group huddled a bit around Alaine who still sat in Vanessa’s arms, “Just..Just hold on a little longer okay Alaine?” Her eyes gazed with a faded consciousness and uncertainty, “Xavier..what’re you..doing…here..?” Dax rushed towards Alaine and couched next to Vanessa, “Where’s the wound?” he hurriedly asked. She pointed at Alaine’s shoulder, four claw marks sunk deep into her flesh and blood–bled heavily into the sands. Tsshk! The sounds of tearing cloth grabbed my attention, “Here, let's quickly put pressure on it.” Patting down harshly, Dax laid his hands on the covered piece which used to be a part of his sleeve, “A-Augh..!” Her cries of pain shocked her into reality, “W-What? Dax..?” before she somberley fell back into unconsciousness. “Alaine..! Don’t you go closing your eyes on me..!” Dax frustratingly shouted. As I watched my comrade-Dax desperately try to save Alaine, all I could do was watch and stand still–despite the chances of her survival at hand. Unresponsively I walked over without an expression; tearing off the judgmental scarf which once held my neck hostage. I gently bent over next to Dax. “I’m not going to stand around any longer..” with a determined look Dax took the scarf which opposingly sat in the palm of my hands and soon it was wrapped around Alaine’s shoulder. Lifting her limp body onto my back I could only look forward with determination to continue, “Alright, lets go” Dax commandingly announced.
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