Round Two

As her countdown ended, Elizabeth pushed off the ground.

Stay low.

Stay silent.

The plan replayed in her head: get the drop on the goblin, wrestle it down, and buy Rianne time to get her holy tome.

Simple, unless things went wrong.

Still, there is no such luck for her.

The goblin, unfortunately, wasn’t as clueless as she had hoped. The goblin was already turning before she had fully cleared the bushes. A raspy growl tore from its throat as it swung its dagger up.

So much for a surprise.

Still, Elizabeth didn't slow down. Instead, her stride accelerated.

The goblin's lips peeled back in a grin as it recognized her. Another foolish prey in front of it.

Elizabeth didn’t hesitate. She raised her arms and dove straight at its dagger with a yell.

Elizabeth’s right hand met the weapon mid-lunge. With her palm open, she let the dagger stab clean through it.

“Grhh—!” Elizabeth clenched her teeth, ignoring the pain as blood streamed down her wrist, but she didn’t pull back.

Her fingers curled tightly around the goblin’s hand, trapping the blade where it was. Blood dripped down her wrist and onto the forest floor.

“Heh,” she muttered. “Let’s see you run away this time. It's time for round two.”

The goblin's eyes widened, panic flashing across its face.

The goblin screeched, scrambling to pull its arm free. It grabbed its own wrist with its free hand and began yanking, trying to pull back from Elizabeth’s hold. Its feet scraped the ground in desperation.

But Elizabeth wouldn't let the goblin go that easily.

It twisted, jerked, even tried to spin out of her grip. Useless. Her body weight kept her steady; her wounded hand still clamped down like a vise.

She lunged forward again and grabbed its other arm. "You're not going anywhere," she hissed, her voice low and menacing.

“Now, Rianne!” she shouted.

“On it!”

Rianne burst from the nearby bush, dashing for her holy tome that lay on the ground from their earlier death.

The goblin saw the bushes move in the corner of its eye. A flash of anger crossed its face as it recognized who it was.

It went wild.

Screeched, twisted, kicked—anything to escape.

It knew what would happen if Rianne managed to heal Elizabeth.

Snarling, it lunged with open jaws, trying to bite Elizabeth’s forearm. But she kept adjusting her position, barely keeping ahead of it.

As they wrestled, the goblin’s foot caught on a large tree root. It lost its balance, and with Elizabeth pushing forward, they both tumbled to the ground.

Elizabeth landed on top, pinning the goblin beneath her. Blood from her palm dripped onto the goblin’s face, streaking its green skin with red. It squirmed, but she held both its arms down, refusing to loosen her grip.

The goblin thrashed, then shifted tactics. Then the goblin reared its legs and kicked her in the gut with both feet.

“Grk—!” Elizabeth doubled over, gritting her teeth through the pain; she scowled. “You—!”

It kicked again, but this time she was ready. She shifted her upper body just enough to move out of reach.

Elizabeth smirked. “Heh. Short legs.”

Then, with a quick jerk forward, she head-butted it.

“ARGH—!

Bad idea!! bad idea!!!

“Okay, that hurts,” she muttered, blinking back the sting. The goblin might have been small, but its skull was solid. She had hoped to deal some damage with the headbutt, but clearly, that plan had backfired.

She had been wrestling the goblin in a stalemate for what felt like forever, and it was starting to wear her down.

She needed Rianne... fast.

As if on cue, a warm glow spread across Elizabeth’s body. The pain eased slightly, especially near her injured hand.

“I’m here!” Rianne called, panting, one hand held over her open tome. A soft halo of healing energy surrounded them both.

The goblin turned its gaze toward Rianne. It screeched in fury, baring its sharp teeth at Rianne.

“Come help me hit this guy in the face!” Elizabeth shouted, still struggling to keep it down.

“Ehhh? B-But it’s… it’s disgusting! Rianne face winced as she got a closer look. The goblin’s face was blood-smeared and furious, its eyes burning red, its teeth bared like an animal.

“Then do you want to hold it instead?” Elizabeth shot back.

Distracted, Elizabeth took a kick to the ribs that knocked the breath out of her. She coughed up blood, spraying onto the goblin’s face.

“Ugh!!! Fine!” Rianne snapped her tome shut and ran over.

“Here!" Elizabeth shifted her head just enough to expose the goblin’s face. "Hit it now!”

Rianne raised her tome, eyes squeezed shut, and swung down with all her strength.

Wait...

Oh, shit!!!

Elizabeth ducked just in time. The tome slammed into the ground an inch from her head. The goblin dodged, too, jerking its head to the side.

Good thing she was paying attention. If she hadn't looked up, the heavy corner of the book would have cracked her skull. Instead, it just whistled past.

“D-Did I hit it?” Rianne asked, still not opening her eyes.

Elizabeth burst out laughing. “Hahaha! You almost hit me! Open your eyes!”

“But it’s so gross!” Rianne cracked one eye open and immediately regretted it. The goblin stared straight back at her with blood-smeared eyes filled with hatred. A chill ran down her spine. "Eek!"

The goblin didn’t wait. It kicked, twisted, and snapped at Elizabeth’s arms, trying to break free. But Elizabeth had years of experience playing with her little brothers. She held on as tight as she could.

“Just think of it as a game,” Elizabeth gasped, taking another brutal kick.

"It is a game!" Rianne shot back, exasperated.

“You’ll need to get used to it.”

Elizabeth said through clenched teeth, holding the goblin down. “It’s pixels! Code! Just… just smack this damn thing! Pretend it’s… it’s a training dummy! A really ugly one!”

Rianne gripped the tome like a club. She then let out a high-pitched, almost hysterical yell and charged. “YAAAAAAAAH!”

THUD!

The corner of the heavy tome connected solidly with the goblin’s temple.

Not much damage... but enough to hurt it.

“AHHHHH!” THUD! Another blow, lower, catching its nose.

“YAAAAAH!” THUD! The goblin shrieked in anger. It flailed harder.

“STOP IT!” THUD! “STOP LOOKING AT ME!” THUD!

Each shriek from Rianne was louder, more primal, mirroring the goblin’s own dying cries. It wasn’t skill; it was pure, terrified frenzy. She rained down blow after blow, the heavy book thumping against flesh and bone. Her holy tome, once pristine, was now smeared and splattered with blood. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of horror and adrenaline-fueled fury. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the sweat.

Seeing the goblin finally go still, Elizabeth let out a shaky breath. She reached for the dagger lodged in her palm and pulled it free with a wince, blood trailing down her fingers.

“AHHHHHHH!!!” While Rianne raised her tome for another strike, her arm trembled violently.

Elizabeth moved. She ignored the burning pain in her injured hand. Then, she pushed her arm up and grabbed Rianne’s wrist just as the tome swung high. Her blood-slicked fingers wrapped around it.

“Rianne,” she said quietly. “Enough.”

If you see any mistakes in the chapters you can point it out in the comments and I will fix it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.