EPISODE 1: Dragon Awakens — CHAPTER 2: Stalked by Shadows — PART 2

The monster let out a blood-curdling cry, and a moment later came the crunch of pavement as it hit the ground.

Don’tlookbackdon’tlookback!

Bastion could feel it gaining on him. Any second now, it would be on top of him—and he was going to die.

“Dammit all to hell!”

He whirled around and swung his school bag with both hands as hard as he could.

The bag connected with the side of the creature’s head.

The monster shrieked and staggered back a few steps.

Under the glow of the streetlight, Bastion got his first real look at it.

It was massive. Larger than any animal he’d seen outside a cage—and a few he’d seen inside one.

Its skin was rough and black, with a leathery sheen. Its body was almost feline in shape, though bulkier, with elongated, clawed feet at the ends of narrow legs rippling with muscle.

On all fours, its head came level with Bastion’s own. That put its shoulders about as high as a horse’s. The head was vaguely arrow-shaped—featureless except for one thing:

A wide, gaping maw lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

It paced back and forth, somehow tracking Bastion without eyes.

A long, thin tail swished behind it, flicking with impatient precision as the creature measured its prey.

All Bastion had was a book bag.

He’d landed a lucky hit, but when it attacked again, it would overpower him easily.

Think, dammit. Think. There has to be a way out of this.

Takahata was long gone by now. Hopefully, he’d find a payphone and call the police.

Even if he didn’t, the monster’s hunting cry had been loud enough that somebody had to have heard it and called for help.

That meant Bastion didn’t have to kill the thing. He just had to stay alive long enough for help to arrive.

That’s an awfully big if.

The creature charged.

Bastion threw up his bag to ward it off, but the monster batted it aside with a single swipe.

Then it was on him.

He collapsed under its weight, the air forced from his lungs. Pain exploded from his shoulder as the monster sank its teeth into him—just below the neck.

Snap. Crunch.

Bastion screamed.

The pain was unreal.

He barely knew where he was, blinded by the overwhelming wave of agony.

The monster released him long enough to rear back and let out a bellowing victory cry.

The sound was long and undulating—nothing like any animal Bastion had ever heard.

It was otherworldly, and utterly terrifying.

That’s when a pair of arms wrapped around the creature’s neck from behind.

And Takahata Yuki, also known as The Mustang, shoved a switchblade into the base of its jaw and twisted.

The monster’s cry cut off, replaced by a gurgling hiss.

「Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!」 Takahata screamed, yanking the knife free and plunging it into the neck again and again.

Did he have that this whole time?

The creature reared up on its hind legs, towering to nearly three meters in height.

Then it collapsed backward, crushing Takahata beneath its mass.

“Takahata!” Bastion screamed—

And immediately regretted it as blood surged up his throat, sending him into a violent coughing fit.

He rolled over and tried to stand.

His right arm wouldn’t move. He flopped uselessly to the ground.

The monster would be on him any moment.

I cannot die here. I will not die here!

When the monster had knocked his bookbag away, the contents had scattered across the road.

Gleaming under the streetlight was his metal compass—of all things, a leftover from math class now seemed his best option as a weapon.

He reached for it with his working hand, but it was just out of reach.

Bastion glanced back.

The creature had gotten up. It was stalking toward him again.

He dragged himself across the pavement, groping for the compass.

His fingers brushed the metal—another miss.

He tried again.

The monster leapt.

Bastion snatched the compass and punched upward with it gripped in his fist.

His hand drove straight into the monster’s open mouth, all the way to the back of its throat.

It bit down hard.

Bastion screamed.

But then the monster jerked back, releasing him.

It staggered, coughing—choking on something.

Bastion looked down at his left arm.

The monster had nearly bitten it off. Blood poured from the wound.

He tried to move his fingers. Only the first few twitched.

It didn’t hurt nearly as much as he thought it should.

Which terrified him even more.

I need to get to a hospital.

His eyes fell on Takahata’s unmoving form.

But not without that dumbass.

Bastion rolled onto his belly and pressed his forehead to the ground, pushing until he could rise to his knees. He planted one foot forward, turned in place, and forced himself upright.

The monster was still preoccupied with the compass—

But Bastion knew that wouldn’t last.

I need a weapon.

Old Man Tsubasa had parked his white pickup on the street out front.

There was usually a toolbox in the truck bed. Wasn’t there?

Bastion staggered toward the truck, his head light with blood loss.

When he reached it, he slumped against the side, leaving a red smear across the paint.

Sure enough, the toolbox was there.

Moving his left hand was agony, but he managed to raise it just enough to pull the handle on the tailgate.

He slid into the bed and crawled over to the toolbox. Then, bracing himself, he got to his feet and kicked it out of the truck.

It hit the pavement with a crash, bursting open and scattering its contents across the road.

Bastion tried to lower himself down but instead fell flat on his face.

Shit, that hurts.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself back to his knees.

Takahata needed him.

Not just the brother. Yui too. She needs me. And my family—they need me. My parents, my brother and sister… what’ll they do if I die?

He refused to find out.

Bastion dug through the spilled tools, searching for anything he could use.

Wrench. Measuring tape. Screwdriver. Screwdriver. Box cutter. Another screwdriver.

If Takahata’s knife didn’t do the job, what are the chances any of these would?

He looked back at the monster. It was making a screeching noise as it—

What in the fuck is it doing?

It was using one of its long claws to slice open its own throat.

It’s cutting out the compass. What the hell?

Bastion didn’t have much time.

He looked at the tools.

Then at the monster.

Then back at the tools.

Then at the truck.

“I’m an idiot.”

The perfect weapon was right in front of him.

Bastion tried the door. Locked.

Dammit.

He returned to the scattered tools, picked up a flathead screwdriver and stuck the handle between his teeth. Then he grabbed a wrench.

This was going to suck.

He looked away and swung the metal tool at the passenger window.

***

Bastion wasn’t dead.

He sure as hell felt like it—and with the pain wracking his body, he almost wished he were—but he wasn’t dead.

He blinked open the one eye that hadn’t swollen shut and tried to wipe the blood away with his hands—

But they wouldn’t move.

He tried his legs. Nothing.

Fuck.

He was still in the cab of the truck—at least, partly.

He wasn’t sure how much of him was still in one piece.

Something moved outside the truck.

Please let it be a paramedic.

That something sank its claws just beneath his rib cage and dragged him through what remained of the windshield.

A moment later, Bastion found himself face to featureless face with the monster.

The left side of its head was torn open and slick with blood, exposing part of its crimson-stained skull.

Worm-like strands of muscle writhed beneath the shredded skin.

Gross. Guess you’re pretty hard to kill.

Bastion felt strangely detached from the whole situation.

The pain wasn’t his.

The body wasn’t his.

The impending death wasn’t his.

He was just a bystander, watching his own execution.

The monster opened its maw, distending its jaw like a snake.

More rows of teeth flexed into view deep in its throat, forming a grisly vortex of blood-slicked razors.

This was the last thing he would ever see.

I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry, Dad. You too, little Aiden and Lara. I should’ve been stronger.

The monster raised him slowly into its gaping maw.

I’m even sorry to you, Takahata. You were a pain in the ass, but you were my pain in the ass. I hope you live, somehow.

First his head, then his shoulders.

But more than anyone… I’m most sorry to you, Yui. I wish… I wish…

Now, most of Bastion’s upper body fit inside the jaws of this monstrosity.

I wish I’d gotten to say goodbye.

The monster’s mouth snapped shut with a crunch.

Forgive me.