Pitch-black creatures, their hollow white eyes brimming with ill intent, seemed to stare right into my soul as they stood eerily still just beyond the distant darkness. Everyone came to a halt and looked at the thin shadows.
I swallowed as an oppressive feeling of dread crept over me. I could feel cold sweat running down my forehead. Zoey squeezed her ripped-off arm, or at least what was left of it, to prevent more blood from dripping.
She stared at the abominations ahead, pain and anger painting her features. "Fucking hell…" she scowled quietly. My heart raced as I watched the others slowly take a few steps back.
The rest didn't seem any better. All of them were, if not scared, at least a bit overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. Naturally, not a single person present could have expected the shadows around us to be cursed creatures themselves.
"Of course, nothing ever goes right in this cursed place!" Paul clicked his tongue and then took a metal pipe that conveniently lay right next to him. Holding it like a spear, he was ready to strike at any moment.
"Everyone, grab something to defend yourselves and get ready!" he shouted. Following his command, everyone grabbed some piece of junk that looked like it could be used as a weapon, at least to some extent.
As for myself, I came up with the grandiose idea not to pick up a simple stick but an entire log, since that was what was closest to me. To my surprise, it wasn't as heavy as expected. In fact, it felt rather light. I still got a very shocked look from the rest of the group, though Paul remained utterly focused on the shadows ahead.
But in the end, no one said a thing and just turned back around. We all stood for a while, unsure what to do, because until that moment the shadows hadn't made any move to attack us.
Then another problem approached from behind. Our corrupted friend Jeffrey was slowly but surely nearing the group. I gripped my log and swallowed hard.
"Uhm, guys, we should start doing something, or our old friend will get to us!" I said, constantly keeping an eye on the crippled human whose twisted leg dragged across the stone floor.
It was quiet. I received no answer whatsoever, no reaction from them either.
«Again? Really? If we keep getting stunned by fear like that every time, we won't survive this place!» I thought, gripping my log tighter. I lingered for a moment and then clenched my teeth. Seeing it as the only option available, I pressed forward and lunged my log at the shadowy creature.
Impact came with a loud bang. The shadow erupted into a puddle of black mass, spilling everywhere. For a moment, everything was quiet. Then the abominations turned toward me—every last one of them—and the hollow white dots that served as their eyes ignited into a ghostly white flame.
Bursting out into a frenzy, these things started attacking like wild, hungry beasts. Their maws were wide open, ready to bite down on anything they could get between what looked like sharp, pitch-black teeth. There was no sound from them whatsoever, which made them even more frightening and deadly.
With a wide swing of the log, I took out the first three shadows approaching me. Luckily, these things weren't that hard to kill, if that even counted as killing, because all they did was splatter into black dots of nothingness.
"Wake up!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "These things are easier to beat than you might expect!" I added, trying to shake the others out of their daze.
And just as I hoped, at least Zoey and Paul snapped to attention. However, Zoey didn't look too well. She was gradually growing paler, her skin taking on a sickly, almost ghostly hue. A lake of blood had already formed around her feet, and the stench of iron reached even to me. Her legs trembled as she struggled to hold the small kitchen knife in her hand.
Paul, on the other hand, raised his pipe and shouted once more, "Everyone, snap out of it!" With that, he pushed forward and pierced one of the shadows, which then dissolved into a puddle of darkness.
Thanks to Paul, the rest were shaken awake as well. Bella and Cassandra clutched simple sticks in defense, while Robert wielded his walking stick. I didn't have much time, I was busy smashing nightmares with my log, but despite that, I dared to glance backward.
My eyes landed on Bella, visibly frightened. Her legs were shaking, barely supporting her weight, she had trouble fighting the abominations but somehow managed, just as I expected. What surprised me, though, was Cassandra. She was shaking from head to toe, tears streaming down her face, yet she hacked away at the shadows like a madman. One after another, they disintegrated as her stick viciously tore through them.
«I surely didn't expect that. Crazy what grief can do to you…» I thought, astonished by the young ladies' resolve. But that was the end of my little observation as a new wave of shadows approached me.
With a click of my tongue, I lunged forward and swung the big log as if it were some kind of greatsword. I managed to destroy two of the thin, dark figures but missed the third by a hair's breadth.
«Goddammit,» I thought. With all my might, I jumped to the side before its sharp, claw-like hands could slash at me. I got away with just a minor cut on my left side, but it still stung like hell.
I staggered a little, so I didn't notice the other shadow behind me, and once I did, it was too late to dodge. «You can't be serious…» I thought while helplessly watching the terrifying maw closing in on me.
But then, its head exploded. Robert had slashed it with his walking stick, causing the shadow to collapse into black goo.
"Go, child. Stand back up, we're not letting anyone die here!" the man growled as he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to my feet. I gave him a quick nod and a simple "yes!" before turning back to slay another pair of monsters.
With ragged breath and a slight burning sensation in my lungs, I forced my feet to dig deeper into the ground, sliding back a bit by sheer force. I gritted my teeth and blocked the swarm of shadows pressing against the only thing that separated their hungry maws from my strained face: my trusty log.
With a loud scream, I flexed my arms and pushed as hard as I could, taking a painfully slow and unsteady step forward. "Get out of my fucking way!" I shouted, pushing even harder—my slow, unsteady steps gradually becoming faster and more stable.
I watched as the first row of nightmares lost their ground and began getting pushed back, eventually getting squished by the incoming horde behind them, and me, who pushed against that horde with my mighty log. A grin appeared on my lips as the black goo splashed onto my cheek and then disappeared without a trace.
«Good, these are just mindless and fragile beings... they aren't dangerous, there's just a lot of them…» I thought, silently enduring the endless onslaught of shadows pressing against the log.
«I can't hold this much longer. How many of these things are there?» I had to do something—and fast—before I crumbled under these abominations.
I glanced sideways, catching sight of Cassandra, who was still furiously hacking at the shadows. She had just pierced the eye of one with her wooden stick that once belonged to a broom or something. It was my only chance to get some help, because Bella was busy protecting the one-armed girl while Paul and Robert were way too far away to hear me in this chaotic mess.
I groaned and then shouted loudly, "Cassandra, I could use some help!" Despite being in a violent fit of rage, she heard my call, her eyes widened slightly before she rushed over to me. She swung her stick, almost hitting me if I hadn't ducked in the last second, but thanks to that, I got an opening. I jumped back with my log, causing the entire crowd of shadows to stumble and fall forward.
"Got you!" My grin turned dark, and before these bastards could stand up again, they got to feel the wrath of my log crashing down on them.
My lungs burned and my breath came in short, ragged bursts as I watched the goo slick across the stone ground. Wiping the sweat off my head, I turned around and dared to see how far our old friend Jeffrey was from reaching us, and I didn't like how close he was one bit. I could clearly see the flesh of Zoey's arm being ripped off its bone by the teeth of the corrupted human. Seeing him chew on the bloody flesh made me feel a little sick.
The old me would have probably thrown up, but I'd seen or done more disgusting things before, which was good, because for once I got to keep the contents of my stomach.
«Oh oh… We need to get out of here!» I thought, ready to lash out at the shadows again to create a pathway toward the gate. But then I was stopped by the terrified screech of one of our fellow survivors.
I spun around just in time to watch Zoey being pushed by one of these shadows that clung to her like a leech. The knife lay plunged into the ground, long forsaken. She was barely able to fend it off with her one remaining arm.
Without thinking, I pushed myself toward her.
Bella did the same, with a panicked expression and her stick raised high in the air as she tried to get close, to save her. But we were both too late. The abomination opened its unhinged, unnaturally wide jaw and devoured the black-haired girl whole. No scream, no struggle—she was just gone.
The world stopped.
My eyes widened in fear and… and sorrow. I felt a hot tear run down my cheek as I let go of the log. A sense of defeat washed over me—I was frozen in place once again.
Pathetic, really. Just a while ago I said we couldn't keep freezing up like that, and now, just half an hour later, I stood like a stone statue once more. But what was I supposed to do even though she was pretty annoying and got on my nerves more than anything else? In that short time we spent together—even if it were only two or three days—she grew on me, and I somehow cherished her like a big sister.
Seeing her get eaten like that left me empty. I unconsciously clutched my chest, wrinkling my stained shirt. My knuckles turned white from the force I was exerting. «No no no no no!»
My eyes wandered over to Bella, who covered her mouth with both hands and had already plummeted to the ground. The others didn't even bother to turn around, busy fending for themselves. Then my eyes went back to the shadow.
«This isn't real, this can't be real!» I tried to deny it, and before I knew it, I was screaming a single word at the top of my lungs.
"NOOOOO!"
I felt my chest tighten around me as if trying to squeeze me to death. But something else boiled up inside me, quickly overshadowing my sorrow. With shaky hands, I gripped my log and lunged forward. My face felt like it was lit on fire, the only thing keeping it somewhat cool were my tears, which rushed down my cheeks like an endless flood.
There was a single thought that filled my head, crushing this thing in front of me, avenging Zoey. I stopped caring what would happen to me or what was going on around me. For that moment, there was only me and the creature I wished to slay.
But before I got the chance, the shadow's hollow white eyes suddenly turned purple. It looked over at me, its expression was the same as before—nothing had changed—but for some reason, it looked terrified.
Then it exploded, and through came the black-haired girl with a bit of black goo seeping from her mouth. She was drenched and even more ghostly pale than before. I stopped in my tracks, my mouth hanging open, unable to believe the sight before me.
«She… She really bit through the abomination? She ate it from within?» I stood in place, my grip on the log loosening ever so slightly, a heavy weight lifting from me, allowing me to take a deep breath again.
Then something even stranger happened, one that left me more speechless and overwhelmed than witnessing a human consume a nightmare. The void didn't dissolve as it should, instead, it ascended like black smoke and entered the girl through her mouth, nose, and eyes, seeping into her very being. She didn't scream or struggle, though it looked like she was gagging.
After every last bit of smoke disappeared into her, She coughed furiously and plunged to the ground. At the same time, her arm began regenerating, but not with normal flesh. It was made of the same material as the shadows, oozing from her open wound like black blood slowly taking shape.
As she looked up, her shaking, glassy eyes met mine, no longer the beautiful onyx they once possessed, but a radiant shade of purple that seemed to glow dimly. We stared at each other for a while without saying anything.
For a fraction of a second, I thought I could hear her thoughts. «I'm scared, what is happening to me?» The soft, frightened voice rang clearly in my head, yet her lips remained shut, trembling and blue.
An eternity seemed to pass. I simply could not comprehend what had just happened. Then I was jerked back by a rough hand, letting go of my log and watching it fall to the ground in the process.
"Get away from her, boy. It's dangerous!" Paul hissed, his eyes filled with disdain as he glared at Zoey. I glanced back at her, her eyes widening as she tried to crawl over.
Paul positioned himself between us, raising his pipe. Zoey flinched and then, in a shaky voice, said, "N-no, it's me, I swear I'm not one of those monsters!" She swallowed hard, hoping we'd believe her, but, sadly, no one did. Well, no one expected me.
Even Bella was inching back, unsure of what to think. She held her stick tightly, though she wasn't ready to strike. "Tch, yeah, as if we'd fall for the same shit twice!" Paul spat, his face contorted in pure anger. Yet there were traces of tears in his eyes, betraying his strong facade.
He was sad too. Losing another member of the group had taken its toll, perhaps even more so than on us, because he somehow felt responsible. He had made himself our leader and was probably blaming himself for not being able to protect her. He wouldn't show any weakness in front of the rest, or rather, he couldn't, for fear that we might give up as soon as he did. Paul gripped his pipe tighter and, after a moment, spoke:
"Move even an inch closer and I bash your goddamn skull in, you parasite!"