Chapter 20: Spooky, Scary Skeletons

Never had I thought that when I entered the dungeon to search the first few floors I would end up lost and running from a horde of skeletons. Actually, a wave was more like it. I glanced back at the skeletons which were chasing us. It was a chaotic mess as skeletons fell and were trampled until what looked more like a wall of bone continued after us. There must have been hundreds if they were still chasing even after so had fallen or been broken.

"Kai, I can't keep going."

"You're going to have to," I said. "Look ahead."

The path we were on had widened and up ahead I could see a flat wall covered in boney protrusions. There was a gap in between it and the path we were on and I didn't wait before snatching the gun from Dill's hands. "Run and jump."

"What?"

"We can't turn back, jump!"

Dill groaned but increased his pace and a few steps from the gap, we jumped. I grabbed onto a skull and what looked like thighbone while Dill managed to catch himself on an arm. The sound of the wave was still loud.

"Climb!"

With any luck, they'd fall, though I had a feeling that the size of the bone wave would allow some to get purchase on the wall or us if we didn't hurry. Dill struggled and was slower than me as he had to dig in his feet before he could use his only hand. That broken arm would be the death of him if I didn't think of something.

Then the wave of animated bone crashed against the wall. Most fell, but some managed to grab on and begin climbing. I aimed a hand down and used Force Push, taking care not to hit Dill with it. The skeletons that had grabbed on were flung back hitting others and falling to what I hoped was their demise. Again and again, I used it anytime skeletons got close. More and more kept coming, however, and it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. The path was flooded with them. A bone tsunami.

A sudden tug sent my aim off and my Force Push only caught a couple of rising skeletons. I frowned and glanced back to see that the upper half of a skeleton had grabbed onto my backpack. I swore and aimed a Force Push over my shoulder, inches away from his face. The skull cracked apart and its torso was sent flying back.

I didn't have much IE left and I was beginning to think we might not both make it. Luckily the wall didn't stretch up for long. I made it to the top first and used my pistol and Force Push to cover Dill who looked like he was on his last leg. He was breathing heavily in large gasping breaths and his hand was shaking.

I reached down. "Grab on."

He grasped my extended arm like a lifeline and grunted as I pulled him up. He tried to speak but all that came out was a wheeze. I pulled him to his feet and turned. "Come on, we can—"

My words cut off as Dill stumbled into me and we both fell, landing on a slanted surface. We began to slide down and I tried to grasp onto something, but the surface was completely smooth. I was afforded a perfect view of the small platform we'd been on as we slide away.

I knew Dill was young and clearly naive in many ways, but at the moment I wanted to smack him for his clumsiness. If I died, and he survived, he was getting haunted.

There was absolutely nothing that I could grab onto as we slid, and trying to dig my blade in did nothing. It just bounced off the stone which I guess I should have expected, but no harm in trying. On the good side, the slant was getting steeper, but I was worried about where exactly we were headed. It didn't help that I felt the ache of running empty on IE.

"Kai!"

I holstered my pistol, grabbed one of his arms, and pulled him to me. "Hold still."

He was flailing about which wasn't helping anything. His hand caught my chin and I grit my teeth. It didn't hurt, but it was starting to get annoying. "Dill, stop!"

This time my words were a shout, and he stopped. How the hell were we still sliding? It had been at least a minute. How deep were we going to go?

"The compass, check the compass."

His eyes widened, and I glanced down to see it gone from around his neck. I let my head fall back as we counited to slide, and closed my eyes. Chased by a horde of animated bones, and now our only way out was gone. Could things get any worse?

We stopped sliding and were deposited on a pile of bones that dug into my unprotected legs. I winced and stood as Dill frantically searched his body as though he was going to find it in an imaginary pocket.

"It's gone, Dill." And we needed to get going. We were in a circular room full of bones.

"But how will we get back to Razeal?" He looked so much like the young teen he was at that moment, and I calmed myself. I hadn't asked his age, but I doubted he was older than fourteen.

"I don't know but we can't stay here… Oh, fuck."

It took Dill a moment to notice. The bones had begun moving, but not to form skeletons or even towards us, but to the center of the room where a space clear of bones lay. I quickly tried to look for any type of exit but found none.

I felt like screaming, but with a defeated sigh I pushed it down and pulled the pistol from my holster. I walked over to Dill and offered him the weapon. "Take this and back me up."

He was crying, but I couldn't spend any time comforting him. I sheathed my blade and pulled my shotgun out.

Bones surged towards the center, animating and attaching to one another. A shape surged from the mass of bones and when it stilled, all the bones that weren't attached fell, lifeless, to reveal the skeletal monstrosity at the center of the room.

There was a dripping sound and faint smell which I recognized as urine. It only took a glance to see that Dill had pissed himself. I couldn't really blame him.

It stood fifteen feet tall, held aloft by four legs which were positioned like a lizard, outwards of the body, not under. To complete its lower half it had a long tall tipped with a long bone saw that ended in a spike. Its torso was the upper half of what I imagined the skeleton of a giant might look like, except this giant had six arms with each pair ending with a different weapon. The highest pair ended in bone mauls while the middle pair ended in pincers. And the last and lowest: Scythes.

Death. I was looking at death.

No IE left, only a shotgun with a few rounds loaded and I doubted I'd have time to load more. The scimitar was tiny in comparison to this bone abomination and without heavy impact, worthless. Every part of my body, every instinct, everything in me told me to turn and run, but there was no exit, no running here. No flight to be had, and so that left me with only one choice; fight.

I pumped the shotgun and prepared to die fighting.

The first shot sent bone fragments flying from its torso, but the creature didn't flinch or even react. Its attention wasn't on me, but on Dill as though it could sense the fear coming off of him. Mist swirled around it, moving through its empty ribcage and heads. A ring of skulls surrounded a center skull that had six eyes and pointed teeth. It opened its maw and mist poured out towards me.

I had touched the mist when I had been walking, but that had looked normal. This mist was icy blue in color and moved like a living serpent slithering across the floor, bringing with it a wave.

It surrounded me but didn't move in. If I'd had force push then maybe I could have blasted it away, but all I could now was keep my shotgun steady.

"Kai!"

I cursed and took a step forwards. My shoe touched the mist and even through the material, I felt a cold, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. The ice-cold touch of death surged up my foot until the sensation ran through my whole right leg. I fell to a knee and bit down a scream at the stabbing pain.

A scream was cut off halfway followed by the impact of something hitting the ground.

I closed my eyes, but that didn't stop the tears that ran down my cheek. I took deep breaths and when I opened my eyes my vision was blurry. I swiped the tears away and found the mist moving away. Back and back it went, converging on the abomination.

It stood still, staring at me. Then it lifted its right pincer in which was held a headless corpse.

I hadn't known Dill for long, but I had liked him. He'd sort of been like the annoying little brother that I'd never had. Now his body lay limp and nearby in corner of my eyes, I could see his head. As if things couldn't get any worse, the mist began to swirl and enter his corpse. I stood and fell onto my stomach. My right leg was numb. I couldn't feel it.

I dragged myself forwards using my elbows and aimed the shotgun. I fired and a part of its face shattered. It didn't react.

Dill's body began to change. His flesh began to visibly age. From young to old to wrinkled to dust. Until all that was left was bone. The pincer opened, unceremoniously dropping the skeleton to the ground where it shook before pulling itself to its feet. I heard another sound and turned to see Dill's head, which was now just a skull, rolling across the ground. It stopped near the headless skeleton who picked it up and attached it to its neck. Mist bloomed in its empty eye sockets as it turned to stare at me.

A sob echoed in the room and it took me a moment to realize I was making the sound. Mist flowed across the ground and I shot and shot until all I heard was a click. Of course, the bullets did nothing. Almost as if it wanted to torture me, the mist only touched my limbs, leaving my torso and head free. The pain was excruciating, but through it all, I was able to watch Dill's skeleton as it walked over to me, painfully slowly as if it wanted to prolong this torment.

This had to be a nightmare. Things couldn't have gone this wrong. I had just started to live for myself. To be happy.

It stopped in front of me and leaned down. I was unable to see what it was doing but it all made sense when it rose with the scimitar in hand.

The last thing I saw before I died was the edge of the blade as it swung for my neck. Almost mockingly, my last thought was of a stupid song I'd sung the one and only time I'd gone trick or treating with my uncle.

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[Ending scenario 7,274,102,123 - 13]

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