207 CHPT 207: Lasting Torment.
Reminders.
An object with a certain history tied to it functioned as just that. A blade, an object destined to be soaked in blood functioned as her reminder. Her reminder that a monster posing as a young Assassin classed Hero hunted her— he hunted her just as intently as she hunted for profit, loot, power and influence among all Raiders.
On the very field she broke out of the base and stepped into, there were reminders everywhere. Reminders and omens of a future over saturated with one color.
Red.
***
"Rikah!….Come on!" One of the Raiders yelled back to her, snapping her out of her fearful trance while she stood just outside of the base, eyeing Bane of the Undead with a look of dread.
She looked up with a sunken face and lifeless eyes— she looked like she'd aged ten years in a matter of seconds simply based on the plethora of negative emotions that swirled within her like a hurricane. To her surprise, the Raiders that called to her looked the same.
The dried blood of humans covered their faces— but beneath, their skin was white as a ghost. They no longer looked at her. Instead, they eyed something above.
"W-what…?" She weakly asked.
The Raider who called her only moments before lost his ability to speak, settling with pointing instead.
She stood frozen for a moment before willing her jelly-like legs to move out from under the base and see what everyone was looking at.
It didn't take her long to find it— him. She knew what she'd find. No screams, no running. She was already trapped. Trapped ever since he found them and killed the one in the way of his revenge.
On the second floor of the base balcony, he crouched on the railing eyeing them all from his vantage point like a beastial gargoyle straight from her worst nightmares.
Another reminder caught her eye. One object functioning— symbolizing, as two very different things for the wearer and witnesser.
Four dirty Bronze Hero tags.
For the wearer they were a reminder of naive innocence being washed from him in a flash. A small spark of light taken from him in the face of a realistically cold and dark world. He didn't have to know them all that well for it to have an impact on him. They were Heroes. They were murdered. Not by the Monstrous entities he'd read about as a child, but by the entities he encountered every day. Humans.
For the witnesser they held a history that invoked a very different volley of feelings. Once being seen as gravestones on a necklace— they were now an omen of death as they hung over the powerful chest of the monster. A reminder that she only got four. Four tags. She had let one survive. And she'd regret it. She knew she would as her eyes connected with the monstrous being high in the night sky. He looked horrifying.
Steam rose from his swelling fur covered shoulders and powerful legs in the cold night air while his savage green eyes zeroed in on her similarly to how Hawk's eye their prey. Every few milliseconds his claws would extend and stretch over the wood and metal beams like some sort of giant panther. The sound created a scratching rhythmic pulse that gave her goosebumps the size of warts.
He looked different compared to the last time she'd seen him. Worse. More like the cunning animal from the stories her grandmother told her who hunted them for fun instead of food. Hell, he looked even worse than that. His fur was black as night, doing nothing to hide the energetic twitch of his muscles while the wolfish smile of his maw extended from beneath the shadows of his hair. Since she last saw him, the only thing that hadn't changed were his eyes. Those eyes that somehow looked scarier than the monstrous body he'd grown into.
In less than two months, he'd changed completely. There was no trace of the person she'd seen before, no resemblance to Carter Greyson.
She was completely frozen— locked in his gaze. All she could do was watch as he raised his snout towards the moon and let out a bone chilling howl.
The somber song of the hunt rocked the field and surrounding forest as if it was lined with vengeful magic.
The sound— infected with the angered roars of a man and snarls of a monster ended. Only to be copied by the many beings waiting at the edge of the forest.
Their wild eyes glinted from the shadows before they let out their own feral blended howl. They were everywhere. Red fur and slitted eyes glowing from the dark of bushes. Brown coats and thin bodies stood next to trees. Long veiny limbs, silver fur and the baleful yellow eyes of an angered Wolf. They all stalked the edge of the forest in silent numerous packs conjoined as one. One unit, on one hunt.
WoOsh!
"AHHH!"
The human cries of the Raiders behind hit her ears abruptly as all manner of canines exploded from the woodlands and began to rip into the Raiders like they hadn't eaten in days.
Rikah's previously frozen state was thawed in an instant by the massacre taking place behind her and left her running frantically towards the forest despite her fellow Raiders being ripped to shreds only meters ahead.
On each side of her, chaos took place on the field. Coyotes and Wolves circled man and woman while Foxes and Wild Dogs tore at ankles and bit into human limbs. She tried to keep her eyes forward and focused on the forest, but their screams drew her attention every time— almost making her forget what was behind her.
"Shit!" She cursed before turning around and checking if the monster was still on the balcony….he wasn't.
Her eyes frantically darted all across the clearing behind her while she ran until she spotted his dark 8ft tall figure walking calmly through the mess of brutalized Raiders to her left while fingers, hair, blood and clothing were thrown through the air indifferently as the canines ripped their way to the sweaty flesh that stunk of fear beneath.
"STAY BACK!" She roared before facing the front and running harder than before.
They continued like this across the entire field. She'd run for a few feet, look behind and find him closer than before— still walking on monstrous humanoid hybrid legs in seemingly no rush. Yet, his face held the rage his body lacked, which was somehow more unsettling.
After finally entering the forest, the game ended for better or worse. Probably worse. But she didn't care. Escaping was all that mattered.
She kept that in mind, clearing half a mile before turning back and seeing nothing but darkness. The madness was far behind her and salvation was just outside the forest. Soon enough, the blood curdling screams of fallen Raiders would fade out of existence.
"Yes…than—"
Thud!
Shlck!
As she turned to continue running, her face collided with something that felt similar to the steel beam she was only recently tied to— only this hard surface was covered in fur.
She stumbled backward a step, coming face to…chest with the one she was sure she escaped.
Up close he was even more terrifying. His skin black and hard as stone, tiny flecks of human blood splattered his fur that was striped a deeper shade of black in places like the fur of a shadowy tiger. The green orbs that filled his eye sockets glowed with the thrill of the hunt and his teeth shined with the clean coating of his frothy saliva. The overwhelming fear his presence induced took ahold of her heart in a firm squeeze.
The squeeze tightened as if in direct response to her thoughts, causing her to try and step back further only to fail and feel a shocking amount of pain run through her entire being. Her eyes never moved from the monster as she coughed, watching in slow motion as blood fell from her mouth and onto his chest.
"Wha—…."
The blood continued to spill from her mouth while she confusedly grabbed at her pained chest, only to realize something was already there.
The monster's muscle bound right arm was raised towards her chest with his hand completely plunged inside holding her warm beating heart in a tight grip. It wasn't just fear that gripped her heart, but the hand of the beast in front of her as well. She could almost feel his fight to restrain himself. He wanted it to last.
She looked up just in time to hear him let out a snarl and speak one word in an unnatural base heavy voice.
"...Rikahhhh…."
