Danger in the Shadows Part 1

The earth around the knife sizzles and pops. An acidic smelling steam wafts from the dirt as it corrodes. Asa’s eyes widen. “Acid! It’s Acid!”

“Get up! Run!” He commands and runs off. Mint pulls Iris up by her arm.

“Come on! It’s not safe!” He shouts. Their feet stomp down the path.

“Don’t get hit by those! You’ll die!” Asa yells behind him. SHK. SHK. SHK. Two more knives strike the ground in front of him and searing pain shoots through him as the third grazes his shoulder. He screams as his skin bubbles and melts. Stopping from pain isn’t an option right now!

He resists the reflex to grab the wound and reverses his direction. “Turn around! Go back! There’s more up here!”

Mint and Iris freeze. Mint’s eyes widen with horror. “Asa?”

“What did I say?! Go!”

Mint squeezes his eyes shut and drags Iris by the hand. Asa taps his chest and transforms into his guard. A harsh impact strikes his back as a knife ricochets off his armor. And another. And another. “Shit!”

He covers his head with his uninjured arm. A helmet would be nice right now! He looks forward and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees that Iris and Mint are unharmed.

They’re mostly going after me. Three more impacts on his back. A very small portion of skin stings. My guard’s repair can’t keep up with the damage. The acid’s getting through! A knife hits his chest, then his leg, and his hip.

They’re coming from all directions! He looks to Mint and Iris again. Still no damage. They aren’t aiming for them at all. “Guys!”

Trying to keep up a jog, Iris and Mint awkwardly look over their shoulders at him. Asa draws his travel pack over his head and uses it as a shield. Taking advantage of his slowed pace, knives continue to pellet him. “They’re only after me! Run that way and don’t look back!” He yells, pointing to an overgrown side path.

“But – !” Cries Mint.

“I’ll be okay! Go! NOW!” Three more knives bash his back. One hits his side. How many fucking knives do they have?

Mint’s face crumbles. He squeezes his eyes shut, wraps an arm around Iris, and runs. “Protect Iris!”

If Mint has a goal, he’ll feel less guilty about leaving me. Asa takes off in the opposite direction, where more enemies are. I have to find and subdue them, or this will never stop!

☼

The path isn’t fit for human usage. It’s overgrown with grass and weeds and it’s frighteningly thin. Should they fall, steep, thorny slopes would send them hurdling to the forest floor. Branches, both alive and dead, obstruct their way. Mint isn’t sure when, but at some point Iris had become the one in front.

She was pulling him by the hand and moving at an impossible pace, especially for such dangerous terrain. “Slow – Slow down! I can’t keep up!”

A root wraps around his ankle, knocking his feet out from under him. He feels that sickening sensation of losing your balance, then his shoulder slams into the soil, jerking his neck so hard that it cracks. He can’t tell what’s going on, outside of the fact that the world is spinning.

Things keep ramming into his shoulders, hips, and back with leafy crunches and twigs strike his face, cutting into the flesh. Thorns prickle through the fabric of his gloves and his head rattles with the repetitive blows. At some part of the ordeal, his hat had fallen off. Like any bored, lonely country kid, he recognizes this sensation.

Damn, I’m falling down the hill. He thinks. The tumbling starts to slow and a final, heavy blow wrenches his spine. He lands face up at the bottom of the slope, vision spinning. Damn it! I was supposed to protect Iris!

He forces himself to sit up, fighting through the splitting headache. “Hey, are you okay?”

A woman in a sleek, white cape stands over him. It’s waist length and covers the front of her body. A half skirt of the same color springs from her hips, accentuating her long legs.

They’re hugged by a shiny, pearlescent brown, spandex-like material with orange ribbon crisscrossed down one. A silver band glints on her left thigh. Her purple hair is done up into playful buns, framed by flower like decorations with ribbons that flow down to her knees. Cunning, blue eyes meet his.

She wears an expression that’s befuddled, but also concerned. It looks like he’s interrupted her while she was doing something.

ꕤ

Asa zigs and zags down the path. The maneuver is working, but not enough. However many knives miss, enough are landing to prevent his armor from repairing fully.

His lower back and uninjured shoulder have also begun to sting. They’re trying to wear me out. I need to find out where they’re throwing from.

That’s easier said than done when you’re under constant assault and can’t even lift your head. He stops to focus on the trees. A knife flies out from behind one.

He moves out of the way just in time. It grazes his cheek, melting the skin. It hurts, but he got what he needed. He spotted one of them. The only problem is reaching them before they can run or attack him at close range.

They purposefully chose positions that give them an advantage. The trees sit on top of a gentle incline of about 2 feet in height. It’s not only hard to spot them, but it’s also very easy for them to reposition if you do. The info that he knows for certain is that one of them is behind that tree.

The tree provides cover, but it’s also a massive blindspot. If he goes around, he won’t land a blow, but if he goes through… He steadies his sword by his side, pointing the blade forward, and charges as fast as he can.

Within seconds, he’s ascended the slope and nears the tree. The sword impales the trunk with a thunk and a man’s shrill voice screams out. Asa dislodges it and the attacker’s body hits the grass with a dull thud. The assault pauses for a second, then continues, harsher than before.

He swings his travel bag around to his front then crouches, side pressed against the tree. The knives pellet the tough leather, melting through it. I have important stuff in there! The Key’s not going to be very useful if it melts, but I’m pinned. I can’t even see where they’re attacking from.

The only place he can see from is to his right, one of the only areas not blocked by the giant bag. There, he sees Iris, standing about 10 feet down the path and staring.

She has a strange look in her eyes. Asa runs to her, ignoring the knives pelting his armor. “What are you doing here?! Run! Weren’t you following Mint?!”

His blood runs cold. Where’s Mint?

Iris runs into the forest. “Wait!”

Asa chases after her.

☼

A man wearing dark blue, light armor stands in the forest shadows, looking out from behind a tree. He’s wearing a stealth Animaguard and intermittently throws a knife out at Asa. A purple nail polished finger taps his shoulder. “Hey, could you help me with something?” Whispers a sweet, playful voice.

He whips around with giant eyes. The caped woman fluidly follows his movement, staying just out of his field of view. From behind, she covers his mouth and slams the back of his head into the tree, sending splinters of bark flying.

She lets out a soft, mischievous giggle and swings back to his front. She looks him in the eyes, pinning him with absurdly strong hands, and drives her knee into his stomach.

He lets out a guttural moan (that gets muffled by her hand) and sinks to the ground, eyes rolling back in his head. “That’s all, thanks!” She whispers.

Mint watches from nearby, a look of concern on his face. He already didn’t like being separated from Iris and Asa, and now he was with this weird, bizarrely strong woman who he doesn’t even know.

She could probably crush his head with one hand, but he’s hoping she doesn’t do that. He points to the strange, tall box sitting on the ground. It’s about 4 feet tall, made of metal, and has a bunch of slots on both sides. “Is this where they keep all the knives?”

“Yup.” She answers. “It’s a lot.”

Mint can’t tell if she’s using such a childlike tone because he’s a kid or if she always talks like that. “Where do they even get this many?”

She places a finger on her chin. “Dunno.” The thought then seems to leave her mind. “Anyways…”

“You see that guy?” She points at another stealth guard user about 20 feet away. He’s too focused on his work to notice them.

“Yeah.”

“Can you take him out?”

“How do I even do that?”

“You saw me do it a few times. Just copy what I did. I’ll take out the others, so you only have to do one.”

“How many are there?”

“There’s eight, but I already took out four, so there’s four left. If you take out that one, I’ll take out the other three.” She waits for his confirmation.

“Okay…” He reluctantly agrees. He’s not very confident.

She smiles brightly. “Great. Thank you!”

She runs into the woods, calling just loudly enough for only him to hear. “See you later. Bye bye!”

Mint looks at the unwitting man with an uncertain expression on his face.