Hurt

He was the first one there. Though the dust cloud of untold numbers of marching Stitch was closer than he’d like it to be, he wasn’t about to let the idea of what would happen if they caught up distract him. He had pin-pointed the position from miles out while on mission between Origin Point and the Settled Rings to relay a pertinent parcel at a meet point when it happened, after his stop, he burned his ‘horse’ out and ran the rest of the way. This was his chance, and he would stop at nothing to either deliver or drag whoever had answers back with him. It was stuff of myth from what he was told only hours before, that there were ones who’d come bearing boundless power, possibly enough to… footprints, running east.

He didn’t care about what was real or not, he affirms to himself… he is here, and so are these tracks, so anything is possible, better to be sure than be sorry. He hadn’t been here long but he wasn’t stupid, when they asked for help, he couldn’t say no; he sure as hell wasn’t going to let someone else head this unexpected occurrence and keep what they found to themselves, especially Cirk. If there was a chance to make it back to his family... his farm, the sun… he’d take it, and make Karl pay for what he’d done to him. What they had done to him… And if this was the guy who knew the way… the footprints stop ahead. Curious.

—

“I don’t know!” Ebbe yells into a pinched growl again as his throat closes in on itself under the immense pressure of a giant fist, gasping, coughing as he attempts to loosen the grip of his trapper- or pull his weight up enough to get a hint of air in his lungs. His legs thrash, toes strain to find anything to grip onto against the rock face his slime-drenched body was pressed against and dripping onto, darkness pops at the corners of his eyes as he looks for anything to pull, grab, hit, kick that would be worth dangling for… the thick featured face of the other just out of reach and blurring… teeth clenching, “I…” muscles strain to push against fingers when suddenly he’s thrown to the ground, some of the smaller one’s jump in, kick the shit out of him as he claws the ground trying to pull away from the beating. Hot, fresh blood trailing behind him, the sudden rush of oxygen overloading his senses, being kicked in the stomach spits it all back out again.

“Aye, mahybe ee ain’t deh one?” Another yells out dissapointedly; “Don yeh think ee’d would a’leas’ try t’ break us in ‘alf by now if ee were?”

The big one grabs Ebbe by his hair, drags him forward to his knees and wretches his face up to what little light flitted through the cavern. “Ees hard t’ tell wif all dis skin in deh wey…” He begins to chuckle as he overlooks the mess of a dazed little human at his feet… “bring me deh ting.”

“Duh ting…” the half dozen behind him watching repeat in unison, growing excited at the idea as one runs off to an unseen portion of the cave. Ebbe reaches desperately to try to release himself before he’s thrown into another wall, grabbed, thrown, grabbed and pinned again. His gut heaves as he has no choice but to go limp, extremities shaking, the hulking stone-blue beast towers over him.

What do they want from me…

The ‘ting’ happened to be an over sized femur bone from some animal, gnawed, with chunks of metal burned straight through the bulbous end. “We’ll smash ‘em up and see wat’s in dere, won’ we.” The others chuckle hungrily, closing in for a better look. “Pick ‘em up for me, I wanna see how far ‘e goes wen I splatt’eem.”

A smaller one complies gleefully, lifting Ebbe by his arms, holding him away from its self. As it looks over its shoulder in anticipation, something ignites in Ebbe, a last chance, a single moment of weakness settles in his sight as the big one looks over his tool, snickers at the others, and makes his way forward. With what little life he has left he pulls up, heaves with everything left in him up mid moment, mid swing- and knees his captor in the head. The beast drops him, the larger one misses, smashes his companions skull onto the wall behind him, and tumbles into the boggy pit. Ebbe hits the floor running before he’s simply scooped and pinned up again. Laughter as the smashed one’s kicked into the mush with the larger one as he pulls himself from the slop, “Not bad, not bad, boy…” He starts, fire clearly brewing somewhere deep in him. “I’s gonna enjoy slupin’ dem brains out yer ears, and den I’s gonna go find deh real deal an’ stomp t’e piss out of dem, take ees shiny bit, and go fight me some fhuckin’…”

The ground shakes, a shock wave rips through the air above and echoes through the cave, everything quiets as they all look to one another… “Dere eer…”

In two seconds flat the room is bombarded with bodies from the opening above, dead and alive, in the confusion and pitch black Ebbe jolts loose from the vice-grip that pinned him and runs full force in the direction the others could only hope to make it to in time. Heart racing, pain numbed in the fuss, fingers and toes rip against boulders crumbling all around him as the ground above caves in behind him as more shapes force their way in. Tossing himself from gap to gap as war cries, scrambling hoards of bodies, and fire start to catch up behind him, another opening appears after a bend in what’s left of the path, dull light leads him forwards at full speed before more bodies block it, too, as they rush in- something swipes him from the right, a mess of fur and teeth, roaring as blood and fists fly, everything goes dark as whiplash takes him for a spin.