The Bad Touch

Enne rushed to the other end of the city, her silver hair whipping against the stormy breeze. The startled horse nearly threw her off to the wind’s sudden howl. She rested her hand against its head, calming it down before rearing it toward the path’s edge. Footprints lead into the beaten path, providing the first lead as she hopped off her mare.

Her ears perked to her surroundings as she ran through the rustling leaves of the wooded area. She burst through the brush to find a seemingly endless sea of rye dancing gently against the gust. It wasn’t long before she heard a bear’s distorted roar, followed by gunfire. Though the necrobyte’s auditory trait was absent, the sporadic gunfire gave haste.

Her heart raced as she cut through the thick stalks. The whispering wind carried with it the screams of a young man. Enne arrived at the river’s edge, glimpsing the brothers cowering from a massive bear. Its glowing veins burst beneath its matted fur, signifying the necrobytes overtaking its host. The more it mutated, the bigger the problem is posed to her.

Dammit! Why a bear?

Enne ran against the nearby boulder, catapulting over the stream. She arched toward the unsuspecting beast with her heart racing from the rapid descent. A hefty dropkick slammed the bear into the trees behind it, which quickly collapsed on it. Enne flipped backward, landing on a wobbling handstand before standing up straight.

“I definitely should work on my landings,” she huffed.

“Enne!” a man’s trembling voice called.

“Why didn’t you run when you had a chance?”

“We weren’t trying to bring the bear with us!”

She rushed toward the enclave, seeing the lanky man panicking as he tried to keep his brother awake. He was reduced to tears as he held his brother close. Taking a deep breath, her trembling hands reached toward his bloodied stump. The circumstances were precise with her snap observation. Warm blood oozed onto her dress as she held the stump in place. She fixated her gaze upon the other, realizing the dire circumstance they were in.

“Jeb,” she whispered. “All I can do is cauterize it.”

His teary eyes acknowledged what she said, watching as she summoned a small fireball in her palm. While plodding toward the orb toward the wound, his brother agonized; His flesh simmered while she gripped it, not once flinching to his pain. The bear began shoving off the broken trees stacked upon it while she continued cauterizing him. She looked up at a distraught Jeb, knowing she didn’t have much time.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” she maintained a calm voice. “Sean will be okay if you hurry back to town.”

“How about you?” he asked, seeing the glint in her eye.

“I’ve got a job to do.”

Enne left the enclave, strolling toward the open while the bear feverishly clawed away the debris. Jeb carried his brother away, looking back at the courageous woman; The half-elf was a league of her own. The mutated bear emerged, veins bursting blue fluid while its muscle mass sprang with horrific contortions. Its distorted roar blew away small debris surrounding her. Her body tensed from the likely battle, but a smirk emerged, brimming with enthusiasm.

“It ain’t often you could stare down an apex predator,” She hopped about. “Oh boy, this is going to be—”

The bear closed the distance, delivering a swipe that shattered the rocky surface into jagged pieces. It lodged its lengthy arm into the bedrock, leaving it vulnerable for her to counter. Having hopped onto its talons in time, she ran against its lodged arm, delivering a kick into the side of its head. Its skull shattered, rendering incapacitated as it squirmed. She knew it wasn’t enough to take it down.

Seizing the moment to plan, Enne jumped onto a higher tree branch. The bear wobbled around lethargically while its caved-in skull restructured. She admired it from a distance as it regained its senses. A single blow would’ve been more than enough to kill an average bear. Droplets tapped against her fair skin as she awaited her opportunity to strike.

This will be a tough one to crack.

Its entrenched paws forcibly razed the heavy rock, sending shards and boulders at her. Her grin widened, evading its sudden surprise attack with grace.

Wow, that was pretty slick.

She flung herself toward a nearby tree branch, observing the thick dust rising. The monstrosity burst through, meeting her grin before slamming into her with its entire body weight. She gasped before being smacked into the ground with its massive paws. She softened her landing along the grassy area.

“Woo!” Enne stumbled onto her feet. “Is that all you’ve got?”

The bear’s landing shook the bedrock. It quickly stood on its hind legs, towering over her with glowing red eyes cast upon her. Enne masked her aching pain with jovial glee. The wind picked up under the sudden rainfall.

“This is total—” the emboldened woman darted, delivering a powerful strike with her palm. “Worth it!”

It was knocked back a few yards; its dulled claws dug into the rock. The grinding friction ripped off a few of its massive feet, but pain no longer hindered it. She re-postured herself again, faltering slightly from the force she used.

The gift of the necrobyte infection.

Her body was slowly succumbing to the damage the bear dealt as she clutched her abdomen. She stumbled forward; her breathing grew sharp. The bear charged at her as she braced for impact. Brilliant lightning strikes trailed the thunder in the distance. The chilly wind intensified, but not enough to mask her screams.

Her shaken hands felt the branch protrude from her lower ribs. Warm blood dripped along her side. Enne snapped off the protrusion, sending her collapsing onto the muddied ground. Her messy locks flowed against the stormy wind, trying her best to remain calm while clenching her wound in subdued agony. Enne stood, leaning against the tree while trying to recover. The bear cautiously made its way toward her while its feet began to regenerate.

I really fucked up.

She felt its earth-shaking steps as she looked it in its bloodshot eyes. A sudden burst of arrows struck its side, piercing one of its pulsating veins. It thrashed about, ignoring the wounded woman. It let out a roar when it found Jeb on top of the enclave. Her heart dropped, watching a nerve-wracked Jeb lower his bow, glancing between them.

“What the hell are you doing?” she shouted.

“Good one, champ,” someone called from a higher tree branch. “I can handle the rest from here!”

Enne spotted a man looking from above. She looked upon the floor disparagingly when he shot electricity beneath the behemoth. With no immediate effect, the bear redirected its attention toward her.

However, a barrage of roots shot from the ground upon taking its first step. The roots slithered around the bear’s swollen body, wrapping around several times before pinning it toward the jagged ground. The wanderer jumped down next to her, meeting her toothy smile. The confident damsel noticed his concern when he saw the protruding branch.

“My hero!” she teased, meeting his eye roll.

“Can you walk?” he asked.

“Y-yes,” Enne assured him before yanking the protrusion out. Her body trembled against him after dropping the bloodied branch.

“Hey—Take it easy!” he gasped.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you!” She clenched her teeth.

“Thank Jeb—He showed me the way.”

Enne watched as the vines began to break, wondering how they’d end the fight.

“Strange,” he noted. “If you had a necrobytes in the area, they avoided the cabin like the plague.”

“Pfft, I wouldn’t go near you with the way you smell,” she smirked.

“Nice to see you’ve still got some fire in you.”

“Oh, there’s more where that came from!” she spoke into his ear. “Buy me some time, will you?”

Alejandro blushed as she staggered away from him. He traced her movement as she went for higher ground, wondering what she had in mind. The wanderer placed his faith in her while redirecting his attention toward the bear.

All right, if it’s time you need, he thought.

The wanderer kept his distance as it broke from free its restraints. He watched as it stood on its hind legs, bellowing another distorted roar.

“A—all right,” he hesitated. “Damn, this bastard is huge!”

The bear charged at him with surprising speed, which he barely evaded in time. It slammed into the tree, stunting its movement before painfully turning toward its prey. The infection had overtaken the bear’s physiology in the most frightening way imaginable. It growled at him with saliva oozed over its jaws.

“Ooh, this must be its final form,” he grimaced.

Alejandro parried the barrage of strikes as the bear sloughed. His reflexes hadn’t dulled as much as he thought, although adrenaline did well to aid him. He summoned a plasma sword after seeing a window of opportunity. The wanderer slashed away, driving back the aggressor with the sword’s blazing heat. The plasma sword eventually set fire to its damaged fur. It roared in defiance from a distance.

“Come on, you son of a bitch,” the wanderer taunted with trembling hands. “I’m sure a little guy like me isn’t too hard to handle!”

The bear threw its body at him, which the wanderer slid beneath, driving the heated energy blade under its belly. It writhed in pain during its tumultuous tumble toward the enclave. The wanderer used the opportunity to create a gap between them.

I’ve gotta say, he’s quick for his age, Enne observed while cauterizing her wound. She clenched her teeth as steam arose. Damn, my favorite dress, too.

“Allie,” she called out.

He looked over, finding a dimmed glowing bow in her hands. Her sinister smile widened as she drew the bow. Particles converged with the tip of the arrow placement as he watched in awe.

A mana-based weapon? He winced.

“Here goes—Nothing!” she shouted.

The electrical charges channeled into the arrow before striking the bear with a blinding flash. Its crashing thunder rivaled the stormy as it rocked the vicinity. A blazing fire was all that remained after the light subsided. Enne collapsed when her knees gave way, clutching her wound again. She looked at the wanderer proudly as he approached; her bow disintegrated

“H—Hey,” he held her against him. “Hang in there. You did well.”

“Damn right I did,” she smiled through the dull pain. She tried to pick herself up but begrudgingly accepted his help when she couldn’t. They caught their breath as the rain began to lighten. The inferno raged on as it solely began to spread.

“That was really something else. What was that?”

“The Goddesses’ Reach.”

“That’s quite the name,” his answer seemed shallow. Alejandro’s presence made her feel more at ease.

“I wasn’t sure whether you’d show up….”

Enne looked at the haggard wanderer as he fixated on the flames. The bear emerged from the blaze, its body engulfed in flames. The little rain extinguished the fire, revealing its molten exterior. Disappointment quickly replaced her shock.

“N—No way!” she uttered.

“That attack would’ve killed anything else,” he said. “We can still—”

“It’ll follow us back.”

“You’ll harm yourself.”

“I have to protect my people.”

Her steely eyes revealed her resolve as she looked ahead. She would fight tooth and nail in her miserable state. Alejandro couldn’t help but admire her fighting spirit. Enne was more than a pretty face.

“Fine,” he conceded.

Enne summoned her bow with the bit of energy she had left. He mimicked her position, pressing firmly against her body. Her face flushed, seeing his fingers interlocked with her trembling hands. He felt her warmth, keeping a cool head.

“W—What the hell are you doing?” she stuttered.

“Lending you my strength,” He remained calm. “I can infuse spells into attacks. This would be enough to incinerate it.”

“I—”

“Just take the help where you can, En,” he sighed.

She felt comforted by his words as her eyes trailed toward the recovering beast.

“I was about to say you smell horrible.”

The wanderer chuckled while the arrow formed between them. He channeled his energy into the constructed projectile, combining their power together. Lightning and fire fused into the arrow while keeping a steady aim at the bear. The ground shook beneath their feet while the remaining mana came to a singularity.

“Hey,” she grabbed his attention. “I got another name for this bad boy.”

“And what’s that?” he asked.

“The Bad Touch!”

She winked as he expressed his confusion. They didn’t take their eyes off each other when she let go of the arrow. Their hands still held the other long after the bow vanished. The fiery background shone light upon them while the bear incinerated in its glorious blaze. A loud explosion blinded them for a moment, whipping up a violent gust. They looked to find the ruined fields with a carved path extending miles toward the south.

“Uh, you can let go now,” Alejandro found excitement in her eyes. He felt the heartbeat in her chest. “Uh, Enne?”

“That was real fucking magic,” she chuckled. “We should do it—”

Enne fainted into his arms, holding her smile. He looked around, befuddled by her words. The storm traveled west, away from the city. A horse raced through the path behind them. Jeb’s eyes glimpsed the smoldering devastation behind the pair as Alejandro looked back.

“Aw hell, she used the Bad Touch, didn’t she?” he asked.

She really calls it that? The wanderer thought.

“Yeah, the necrobear go bye-bye,” The wanderer answered monotonously. “We should probably get her back.”

“Ah, she always pushes herself so darn hard.”

Jeb looked upon the passed out half-elf, relieved the deed was done. The wanderer cradled her into his arms as she seamlessly nestled into his chest, almost out of instinct.

“This—Wasn’t the only time?” Alejandro asked.

“Enne is a real fighter,” Jeb nodded. “But this was definitely a close call.”

“Is that—So?”

The wanderer’s amber eyes cast upon the slumbering beauty while carefully treading through the mud. Jeb saw its distinct eye color, a rare trait only wanderers had.

“Your eyes,” Jeb noted. “You’re a wanderer, ain’t ya?”

“I am. But—”

“It doesn’t matter much. Thanks for helping us.”

The wanderer was speechless as Jeb turned away. Alejandro rarely met people that appreciated anything he did. Jeb led the way back onto the beaten path as the gray clouds lightened.

“How often do you encounter necrobytes?” Alejandro asked.

“Rarely,” he answered. “But, when they show up, they’re a real hassle.”

“Considering the size of the city, it’s a good thing they haven’t infested the abandoned areas.”

“We’ve never had that problem. We’re pretty fortified for an outlier. The worst we’ve got is asbestos and other things you probably shouldn’t breathe in.”

“Uh—Sounds lovely.”

The wanderer occasionally glimpsed the woman he cradled. Her head nestled against his chest like a child with a faint smile. If this was the power of a half-elf, how did the power of a full-blooded elf compare? Her will overshadowed her limitations; Using mana came at a cost. Indeed, she was far from a damsel in distress, quite far from it.

Rewriting the action sequences here was painstaking; Granted, I probably still didn't get it right!
There was certainly a thing or two I took away with my involvement with a fellow writer/ best friend, Ehanso Smith, the author of Age of Ember. (Which you can find the Beta version on this site btw.)
It gave me ideas on how to improve.
We see a bit of the natural dynamic between the wanderer and our dear half-elf.
And it appears that this was the start of the unintentional romantic element between these two... Oh well!
Let me know what you think with a comment!
Give it a like if you enjoyed the chemistry!
Thanks for reading! :3