Stargazer Pt.5 (Bonus Chapter)

Yamin ran far across the town, but found not a single soul to help. As she ran around the less disastrous parts of town, screaming for aid, others looked at her like she was the crazy one. Deep in her mind, even she questioned if it all was just in her imagination.

But changes in reality reminded her that this was no day dream. People were collapsing for no reason, accidents were covering the streets in debris, and strange pools of sludge water were coating others in terrible gunk.

“No way.” she denied her eyes. “This isn’t real!”

She unknowingly ran down an alleyway. Her footsteps echoed loud around the stone brick walls.

A shake rattled the fire escape above her head, followed by scampering sounds all over.

She froze, unable to turn her head to see what caused the noise.

The scampers continued, getting louder, then softer, then loud again. A few boxes behind her flattened when something fell on them.

Pwooof!

Her flight response triggered, causing her to race toward a fire escape ladder and climb it.

Something grabbed her foot, nails dug into her shoe.

“Eeeehhhh!” she screamed, kicking a small creature away. “Noooo!”

The creature was shrouded in shadow, hardly visible, but its silhouette was that of a child with long arms, stubby legs, and an oversized head with pointy ears. It’s most grinching feature was blood red eyes, fixing a terrible gaze on her.

“God save us!”

Yamin continued to climb. Several more of those gruesome little devils climbed the stone walls beside her. She tricked them by climbing back down and running back toward the street.

Once back out there, she noticed that people were laying all over. On their chests were those little shadow devils, reaching deep into their chests as if dipping their hands into a puddle. Some were pulling out a stringy blue substance that they then proceeded to eat.

She didn’t have long to watch this disgusting practice before she was their next target. Moments later she was on the move again.

“Ahh!” she screamed.

This was the most she’d ever run in her life. Her body wasn't conditioned to this on and off jolts of motion. Her lungs struggled to take in enough air. Respite was a luxury she couldn’t afford.

Before too long she was cornered again, no ladders or escapes in sight.

The dastardly little buggers approaching her had grins on their shaded faces, claws outstretched and ready to scratch at skin. Grumbling and snarls left their mouth.

“Muummmder…” one hissed.

“Fiiiiinnnneeg…” another breathed out.

She was out of options. All that was left was for her accept this fate of being slayed by these wicked things. Perhaps history would remember her as a martyr, or would completely forget her as a victim.

Regardless, the arms of God awaited. A salvation was soon to be within grasp in the afterlife.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bullets ripped through the air from behind the tiny dark beings and nailed them in their oversized heads. They were merely stunned however, giving Yamin a chance to flee.

“Run!” A man in a blue coat shouted. He held a smoking revolver in hand.

Yamin’s ears were ringing from the gunshots, but she clearly heard the man call for her to get away.

She instinctively ran his direction, jumping at him and clinging with relief.

“Thank God someone else showed up! I thought I was the only one left…” she cried.

“Er…” he blushed. “Do…do not worry, no? I am here to save you.”

His heroics were mildly watered down by fear. Regardless, Yamin couldn’t have been happier to see someone who was aware of what was going on.

“We need to go to the church.” Yamin reasoned. “We can ask the priests to help us.”

The man started to tug her so they’d get running.

“The church is in the central plaza, no?” He said. “The streets are filled with these little demon things. Should we even try to go there?”

“It’s all we can do!” Yamin argued.

As they were running, they noticed masses of shadow creeping around every corner, seeking out new prey. Other civilians were a distraction for those shadows to consume while Yamin and her new ally fled. It was painful to watch, but these people couldn’t be saved from what their eyes refused to see.

“This is horrible.” Yamin quietly cried. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make it through this. What is your name?” he forced a smile.

“Yamin Kintsugi. I live in this town.”

“My name is Marek Le’ Verren.” He took her hand and gracefully kissed it. The cordial action caused her to frail up and wince with embracement. “I’ll get us out of this, I promise. So lead the way, and I’ll protect you.”

Yamin looked up at him, seeing determination on his face, knowing he truly had every intention to protect her from all this chaos. She trusted him, even though they’d just met. As a reward for that trust, her mind cleared up enough to focus on getting to the church.