A small adventure part 3

The cart jolted as they entered town, bumping over the dismembered body of a beast folk man, his blank eyes locked in an expression of fear.

The smell of blood filled Gab's nose as the cart ground to a halt in a town square filled with half consumed bodies, some still leaking blood.

They had to be near.

He could hear nothing besides his own frantic breathing and the nervous moans of the Lobh pulling the cart.

Beside him Awa closed her eyes, ears twitching as a faint breeze blew between the damaged sandstone and wood buildings, whistling through the holes in the tiled ceilings.

“Coming.” Awa growled, pulling out the wickedly curved blade the blacksmith had given her and waiting.

Gab stood beside her, bracing himself against the side of the cart and pointing the speartip in the direction Awa faced.

And he began to hear it.

The chittering scraping of chitin on chitin, followed by flashes of dark insectoid bodies skittering between the cramped housing.

The Lobh moaned once more, pulling at the cart until the demon woman placed a hand upon it, freezing it in fear.

There.

A pair of the Bok mites crawled and hopped from the alley, serrated legs unfolding as they leaped towards the cart where Faus eagerly leaned over the wooden panels.

Fool boy.

Gab reached forward, grabbing a hold of Faus and pulling him away from the lunging mite, only to watch as the creature was slammed almost vertically into the ground, its body cracking as it crashed against the pavement.

“I’m fine, I've got this.” Faus said impatiently, pushing Gab away and running the helpless mite through with his spear as it struggled desperately against an invisible hold.

The second mite had all eight limbs ripped one by one off as it approached, leaving it to roll helplessly against the cart until Gab slid his own spear beneath its neck.

I see.

Gab turned to the demon woman who sat bored at the back of the cart, barely needing to lift a finger.

They were being babysat.

A rasping squeal and another creature rushed towards the cart from behind, cut clean in two by Awa as she growled with rage, eyes alight with savage joy.

The remaining mites approached warily, the multitude of tiny eyes set in their heads finally fixing on the demon woman with a faint glimmer of intelligence or some primordial instinct.

And they began to flee.

“Now. Can’t have that.”

Faus stabbed a retreating creature as the Demon woman floated down to the bloody pavement, touching down softly and turning to look at the remaining mites.

They began writhing in pain, their segmented bodies being ripped apart one by one as the demon woman looked on blankly, reacting only when the leaking ichor from their bodies washed up over her shoes.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“I think we’ve dealt with the majority of the infection.”

She bowed to Faus who stood proudly holding his spear over the body of the last of the bok mites.

“Excellent work young master.”

Gab looked around at the ravaged town, now painted with glossy ichor and the ripped segments of insectoid bodies.

“Shall we split up and look for survivors.” The demon asked Faus, tilting her head as she waited expressionlessly.

“Yes, hopefully someone made it. We should hurry.” Faus said, before looking back at Gab and Awa.

“Wait here, it should be safe.”

…

“No touch bodies.”

Awa grabbed a hold of Gab’s breastplate, yanking him away from the motionless body.

“Might have eggs.” She said very nervously, shaking her head warningly at him.

Shit.They were infectious?

Gab recoiled in revulsion, stepping back from the hole gouged in the wall of the house and the dead beastfolk inside to sit by the cart.

He watched as the great red moon began to fall, its smaller grey brother peeking over the horizon.

They still weren’t back.

Awa crouched by the bodies of the mites, gloves covered in black ichor as she cut the body apart with a knife, happily pulling a webbed gland from the creature.

“Gab.”
She wagged happily as she rubbed the gland against the wooden cart, exposing the glimmering stone inside, around the size of a thumbnail.

“Red.” Gab said in surprise, holding the shimmering red stone up to the sky.

“Red gland.” Awa nodded.

“All monster have.”

“I see.” Gasb whispered, tucking it away in his bag beside the handgun as Awa grabbed pieces of the monsters, throwing aside those without the gland.

It seemed to be located somewhere around the creature's chest, the webbed gland clinging closely to their hearts.

As she pulled forth another gland, Awa ceased sawing with the knife, her ears perking up once more.

Gab closed his eyes, straining to listen to the whispering wind.

There.

He could hear it too, the faint clang of steel.

Survivors?

Awa shrugged, clearly content to leave them to their fate until she heard a muffled scream of terror.

The scream of a child.

Gab pulled himself back to his feet, levering himself up with the butt of his spear.

He knew.

Awa’s body tensed, ears pinning flat back against her head.

He knew she could never ignore a child.

And she ran, bounding on all fours up the side of a nearby building and howling as she streaked across the rooftops.

Gab gasped for breath as he struggled to follow, casting aside his helmet as he sprinted behind her, barely able to keep her in view.

Again the child screamed, followed by the clash of metal and chittering of mites from a large building bordering one of the main roads, its roof pockmarked with holes where the mites had bored in.

There.

Awa snarled as she threw herself against the main door, the wood buckling but refusing to open.

It was already too quiet inside, he could barely hear the sound of fighting.

Gab threw his shoulder against the door beside her, struggling to time it with Awa’s frantic efforts as the child screamed again.

Her pitiable whining tugged at his heart.

“Come on.” Gab grunted, body weak and shaking, preparing to throw himself against the door once more when he noticed Awa frozen, watching the clouds part on the horizon.

The… moon.

Beams of light fell upon Awa, her eyes closed as she seemed to breath in the very moonlight itself.

She exhaled, breath condensing into mist in the fading light as she opened eyes that shone like the moon, her muscles bulging unnaturally as she drew her sword…

… And cleaved the door in two, sending the debris blocking it crashing against mites inside.

Incredible.

With a roar she charged through the door, sword held in her mouth as she ran on all fours to the side of a child, cowering beneath the bloodied corpses of the townspeople.

He had to hurry.

Rushing after her he pinned a mite to the floor with his spear, Awa severing the creature's head a moment later with a contemptuous swing of her blade.

She seemed almost otherworldly, glowing with the same light of the moon.

“Come on.” Gab scooped up the little girl, the weight of his armour sapping the strength from his body as exhaustion overrode the rush of adrenaline.

They had to get outside, somewhere they wouldn't be surrounded.

And yet…

Rows of chittering mites crawled over the roof above them, multiple eyes reflecting Awa’s glow with a mixture of malicious intent and caution.

Something felt wrong.

As one the mite’s eyes glazed over, their heads locking onto Awa in unison they began leaping towards Awa without regard for their own lives, crawling over and stabbing one another with jagged limbs in their haste to reach her.

They rushed past Gab and the little girl as if they didn't exist, throwing themselves recklessly at Awa.

His spear snapped in half as he impaled a creature, its thrashing body gouging into the metal of his armour and throwing him to the ground as he shielded the little girl.

Before them Awa cut through creature after creature and yet…

It wasn’t enough.

The glow surrounding her began to fade, her bulging muscles shrinking as her sword dragged along the stone, her arms no longer able to support it as she slumped to her knees.

Too far away for Gab to reach.

Her arms fell limp by her side as she looked helplessly at the last of the creatures rushing towards her.

Still…

Gab reached into his bag, dropping the little girl to the floor.

He wouldn’t let them hurt her.

He raised the handgun at the rushing mites, exhaling slowly as he leveled the sights just as the radio had taught him.

Ca-rack. Crack

The first mite fell, body twitching as it clawed at the wound along its abdomen.

Crack

Another, slumping headfirst upon the tiles.

Carack.

The bullet missed, soaring over the final mite as it raised a serrated arm over Awa’s helpless form.

Crack.

The gun clicked empty as the final mite fell, crashing lifelessly against Awa to land motionless atop the pile of corpses.

His last bullet, he was truly helpless now.

But…

Gab felt his hand fall shaking to his side, exhaustion and relief rendering him just as motionless as Awa.

She was alive.

It was a small price to pay.

…

Gab held the little beast girl close as the cart rocked back and forth, a tiny listless weight in his arms.

“Aroo?” Awa said, leaning close to the girl only to have her recoil and bury her face against Gab’s chest, refusing to look at Awa.

Awa looked at Gab in confusion, imploring him to make the girl like her.

Well… she was covered in the mite’s blood.

“Hey.” Gab said, holding the little girl up higher. “What’s your name?”

Did she not have the gift of tongues?

Gab bounced her up and down, struggling to calm the shaking girl as he remembered Awa’s lessons.

“Yooh.” he breathed, making the word as soothing and drawn out as possible. “Yooooh, Yooooh.”

Awa said it was supposed to mean something like it was alright or safe.

The little girl gradually relaxed in his arms, her shaking subsiding and breathing slowing as he patted her back.

“Yooh.” The little girl mumbled in return, her eyes finally closing as they crested the ridge surrounding the village.

Passing the sleeping girl to Awa, Gab looked back at the pinprick of light and trail of smoke as the village burned on the horizon, cleansed of its infection.

“I’m glad.” Faus leaned back to talk with Gab, eyes reflecting the burning village. “I’m glad you're both safe Gab.”

“Me too.” Gab said softly, exhausted as he slumped back against the wooden cart frame.

They’d only saved one person, still…

He saw Awa smiling as she cradled the little girl in her sleep, stroking her fawn hair as she kept her as far from the demon woman as possible.

That was enough.