Every piece of guilt mingled with each moment of desperation, threatening to swallow him whole.
The creature’s claws continued to slip down Jim’s body, disconnecting from his wounded flesh for only an instant. The instant was all Jim needed. The stupefying paralysis fled from his rigid muscles, and he was free to run again.
The rampant feelings of freedom, and warm blood dripping from his wound, fueled Jim as he ran. He didn’t know how much longer, how much farther, he could keep the husks behind him. But the faint glow of firelight informed him of life lingering in the distance. He forced his legs to move faster, pushing the Hero quickly towards exhaustion.
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One Hero gave Emma a drink from his canteen. She had dropped hers while running, needing to relieve herself of the small weight. She offered a nod to the dark-haired man and drank deeply. The rejuvenating waters helped slow her breathing and calm her pounding heart.
Emma handed the canteen back to the jolly looking man. “Thanks, um?” She tried to think if he had told her his name.
“You won’t remember a name in the heat of a husk attack. And if you’re lying about the attack, you’ll be thrown in the darkest prison pit we can find. So, names won’t be given tonight.” He gave a big toothy smile.
“Oh, okay….” Emma looked the Hero up and down, focusing on the double-sided ax that was sheathed on his back. “Lumberjack.”
A rumbling chuckle erupted from Lumberjack. “That’s a good one!” He clapped Emma on the back, “You’re Fencer then, eh?”
Emma gave a smile and nodded. She looked over the other Heroes.
Two of them looked East. One was very tall and heavily muscled; he had a burly brown beard and a scar that ran from chin to chest. Grizzly. The other, an equally muscled woman, had dark hair chopped just below her ears and bangs that tickled her forehead. Helmet. Grizzly and Helmet held spiked shields that reached a head above them, the metal looking as thick as Emma’s outstretched arm. They must weigh a ton.
One Hero was staring down the sights of a rifle. Emma had seen a few guns like that before, mostly in the hands of Heroes that passed through her childhood town. He’ll be Scope. Scope prodded at the sight of his gun, adjusting circular dials on the sides minutely.
The final Hero was an easy one. She had two identical, and deadly, looking swords strapped to her back. Emma was sure the Hero had them specially made to mirror each other. Twin.
Helmet made a small coughing noise, and the others began to move. Scope loaded a cartridge into his weapon, pulling the slide back with the slick sound of metal on metal. Twin and Lumberjack picked up heavy crossbows from nearby the fire, placing bolts in front of the taut bow strings. Helmet and Grizzly stood shoulder to shoulder, planting their heavy shields into the dirt. Emma squinted towards the East and took a step back at the sight she saw.
There was Jim, sprinting for his life as the three husks nipped at his cloak only a few feet behind. The husks were even more terrifying than Emma had imagined. From this distance they almost looked human. They were bipedal, and their arms and legs looked to be similarly proportioned. But as they came closer their human façade decayed.
Remnants of hair, from lives millennia ago, stuck to their graying flesh. At each end of their fingers, foot-long talons threatened any who dare stand in their way. But, Emma decided, the most disturbing thing about them was the way they ran. Instead of smooth and fluid movements, the creatures seemed to twitch and skip. It reminded her of the puppet shows that she had loved as a girl.
Jim grew closer. She could see the strain in his face and…the blood. So much blood soaked his clothes and his shirt was barely more than tatters. Emma’s eyes teared. He did this for her, had got hurt for her, and he still might die. All for her.
“Ready.” Helmet raised her voice. “Fire!”
The sound of thunder and the feeling of rain washed over Emma as Scope released a bullet into a husk. The shot hit the creature, tearing its arm from its body and throwing it to the ground.
“Get another shot ready,” Helmet commanded. “Crossbows…now!”
Lumberjack and Twin pulled their triggers and the bolts tore into the second husk just below its knees. The monster fell but continued to crawl after Jim.
“No time for another crossbow!” Helmet shouted, “Unsheathe and get ready.” Twin and Lumberjack threw their crossbows onto the ground and did as Helmet commanded. “Final rifle. Now!”
Scope released another shot, flinging the final husk into the dirt. Emma gave a breath of relief. Jim kept running, quickly gaining ground towards her and the Heroes.
Then, Emma watched in terror as the first husk was back to its feet, muscle and synapse twining together where its arm had been removed. Emma watched in curious horror as the arm stitched itself together and the monster began to run again. Then, like flowers budding from the dirt, the other two husks rose from the ground. All three were running again, quickly gaining on Jim.
Helmet and Grizzly tilted their shields away, opening a gap between them. Jim flung himself through the gap and the shields slammed together with a twang the moment he passed. Jim landed hard on his side; he took a brief glance at the small patrol. His eyes paused, his expressions growing with relief, when he saw Emma. But the moment was short-lived. Jim got back to his feet and put his body against the shields, just as the three husks smashed into the waiting wall.
The Heroes grunted with effort as the massive force pushed against their protection. Lumberjack and Twin stood slightly behind, their weapons ready to strike. Scope stood next to Emma and held a long pike pointed towards the incoming enemies.
“Get ready!” Helmet yelled. “Release!”
Helmet, Jim, and Grizzly jumped backwards, throwing their shields at the enemies beyond. The shields fell away, the husks on the other side staggering due to the sudden weight. The Heroes pounced at the small opening, swiping their weapons at the husks’ legs and torsos. Emma looked in awe at the beauty the Heroes each had while fighting. Every movement, every attack, every parry, seemed coordinated between the never-speaking fighters. When one attacked, the other would take a defensive position for the attacker. When one was forced to dodge or parry, another would move to protect their flank and strike back. It looked like a dance, only with much more blood and many more weapons.
But, for every attack, the husks seemed ready. They moved with erratic and sudden speeds, blocking every blade that searched for their necks with unnatural ease. They stepped past the fallen shields and began to advance, forcing the Heroes to step back farther and farther. Emma shook away the fear that had kept her planted in place and stepped into the fray.
Emma had to focus on defending. She kept her position behind an attacking Hero, her weapon guarding their sides. The beasts were moving too fast for her attacks. She had tried a swipe at a husk’s neck, but its claws deflected her blow easily and it swiped for her exposed chest. Grizzly’s blade caught the claws just before they impaled her and ripped her in half. She decided then that her skills were better set on defending the rest of her group.
The seven people fought against the three husks. They outnumbered the creatures two-to-one, but the fight never felt in their favor.
Emma heard Jim scream “Wait!” as Grizzly attacked at an open husk.
Grizzly’s sword seared the air and connected with the monster’s exposed shoulder. The husk fell back, pulling Grizzly with it out of position. The other husks were waiting, they pounced on Grizzly in an instant, shredding his flesh from his face and belly. The bearded Hero fell, dead, little more than a pile of clothes and gore.
Emma saw a fury manifest in Jim, the same fury she had seen just before he threw her to the ground the day before. The night seemed to grow even darker as he began a rage-induced offensive. He pushed two of the husks back with his blows, knocking one off balance