Shadowgirl cantered lazily down the abandoned dirt-beaten path, forced onward by the distant desire to finally return home.
The night of reveling in the spoils of battle had worn away at her energy, and now her footfalls were but heavy shuffles skidding noisily across the compacted dirt.
A gentle breeze ran its cool fingers through her hair and nipped solicitously at the nape of her neck, causing chills to run up her spine. Shadow drew her grimy jacket tighter around her frame, relishing all the warmth it provided on such a dreary night. In the distance, she distinctly recognized the faint outline of her cozy abode and sighed with relief. A single light flickered weakly from within a single window screen, ushering her forward with its gentle glow. The trees all about her whispered softly, their leaves dancing in the wind as she passed them by. With each step she took, the sense of longing in her gut churned all the more prominently; the need to collapse onto her giant bed becoming more of an impulse with every passing moment.
She could smell earthy scent of fallen pine trees and drank them in as she cast a glance to the clear sky overhead--a stark contrast to the thick vegetation just several paths over.
She also thought she could still smell the acrid stench of fresh blood and rotting flesh,
but knew that chenhsi’s corpse would have been disposed of by that point.
Shadowgirl finally made it to the base of the steps leading into her home. Her hands plunged into her cavernous coat pockets, groping for her keys carelessly. The loud jingle of the key chain concealed the set of gentle footsteps echoing through the trees just from Shadow’s left flank, and her distraction ensured the advancing figure remained unnoticed. Birds fluttered from their branches and took to the sky in a wave of panicked squawks, feathers showering upon the shingled roof and drifting down the small brick chimney.
The presence towered over Shadowgirl from behind as she finally fished out her keys and slid it silently into the lock. Turning it slowly, she pushed the door open and made a motion to cross the threshold, only to cause the figure behind her to spring into action.
The groggy girl felt the numbing blow to the side of her head almost instantly, nails digging into the wooden door for leverage as she slumped to the ground,
knees failing her and her balance completely rendered askew.
She gasped in pain as her face brushed against the wooden planks that made up the walls of her home, and her leg stung from where she had cut it on a jagged edge on one of the steps. Her attacker let out a soft chuckle before holding the spiked bludgeon in his hand aloft once more, poised to deliver a swift strike that would render Shadowgirl lifeless. The dazed victim yelped as the rusted tip of the spikes glistened ominously in the moonlight, and screamed as they fell upon her with blinding speed.
The cry of terror shook the woods, and mixed harmoniously with the bellowing roar of pain that ripped forth from her attacker’s throat moments after. The eyes she had unknowingly willed shut opened again, gazing upon a scene of absolute carnage.
From her attacker’s arm protruded a sleek, wooden arrow shaft; the arrow head itself burying deep into the exterior of the house. Blood gushed from her assailaint’s forearm, tainting her front steps a crimson hue that inevitably washed over her as well. The figure towering over her continued to shout as he attempted to pull the arrow free, but just as his fingers brushed against the feathers at the end of the bow, another arrow whistled through the air with blinding speed, shimmering for a moment before coming into contact with the figure’s unharmed shoulder. The tip of the second arrow tore away its target’s skin, pulling tendons and fibrous strands of muscle from their place before pinning the person to the house. Another blood-curdling cry escaped the hunter-turned-victim’s lips as more blood began to font from the fresh wound, bits of muscle flapping grotesquely in the wind.
By this time, Shadowgirl had regained her senses, though shock compelled her to remain where she was. The club that would have dealt her demise had fallen to the ground and now rested silently against its owner’s foot, drenched in blood that spurted through the air. Shadow reached for the club, to deal the finishing blow to the unfortunate attacker whose fate had dictated another outcome of his cruel intentions. But before she could wrap a shaky grip around the grooved handle of the weapon,
Another hand shot outward and pulled it into the air so that all she grasped was bloody dirt.
The second figure held the bludgeon aloft for a moment or two, before refastening the quiver of arrows held in his other arm to his thigh and repositioning the string of his bow so that it fell across his chest. With both hands free, Shadowgirl watched as Kloud wrapped his hands firmly around the club, and swung it with all his might.
The first swing struck the screaming attacker in the stomach, a single spike piercing flesh and snagging on the lining of his stomach and pancreas. The bellowing cries abruptly stopped as another swing found its target: a lung, which forced the air from the unknown figure’s throat. Blood pelted the ground as if it were falling from the sky, and a distinct hiss of stomach acids loomed through the air. The figure leaned forward as if to nurse his wounds, only to have the club brought down once more, with a savage yell from Kloud, upon the back of his head.
There was a gruesome tearing noise as the spikes pried the figure’s head from his neck. The club became lodged to the decapitated victim’s back, and his head bounced once, twice, three times, before rolling to Kloud’s feet. Shadowgirl jumped backwards as Kloud moved, but calmed when he grabbed the masked head from the ground, removing the dark cloth that concealed the person’s identity in one swoop.
Both Shadowgirl and Kloud gazed upon the face of
, whose countenance was one locked in absolute agony and horror.
Blood spewed from the headless body, splashing against the walls of the house and nearby trees for what seemed like eternity. Kloud gazed down at the head in his hands, then over to Shadowgirl whose face had became a sickly green tint. A moment later, Shadowgirl doubled over, knees buckling as she blacked out. Kloud shook his head softly before chucking the ornament in his hands into the woods. He then wrapped his powerful arms around Shadowgirl’s form and dragged her inside.
“No more alchohal for you. . .”
Kloud whispered as he shut the door and advanced further into the house to find some medicine for the girl.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Orangepenguin’s head crashed through the trees like a fallen meteorite, snapping branches and removing leaves as it plummeted towards the earth. It landed with a thud and rolled down a hill studded with rocks until it finally came to a rest at the base of the hill once it was stopped by another object.
The head had been barricaded by the mangled body of Cybele, whose corpse had been dragged through the forest by a pack of wolves before being abandoned due to its raunchy smell. Orange’s face brushed against Cybele’s, the sticky blood of his fresh wound bonding to hers that was crusted with layers of dried blood and brain debris.
Orangepenguin, shot with arrows before bludgeoned to death.