As the day pressed on into the late afternoon Skye couldn't help but fall asleep then jolt himself awake, falling into micro-dreams each time. Dreams of the Dome, nightmares of the rippers coming for him, moments of running through thick forests being chased by the fog.
It had been more than 24 hours since he'd rested, and the last few days have been hard on his body. He went as far as he could down the cavern and had a good idea of what it would look like.
It was carved into bedrock and ran downward in short shallow steps, maybe leading to a body of water based on how wet it felt there. He did discover something quite interesting, he was less thirsty than he was before. Water, like the energy from the ground, was moving into his body from his roots.
It wasn't a lot, maybe a few sips worth, but it really did help keep the pain of dehydration away.
Elli and Kai woke up and Skye shared the news
"You were right, there is an escape tunnel. From what I can tell there isn't any movement down there, so either the roaches haven't found a way in or they all hide there at night and reappear during the day."
She just nodded her head in agreement, like she knew it all along.
"I don't think they can get in there, the door is still intact and the exit probably leads past their territory. It's not far from where we are, but as soon as we leave this circle they'll start to charge us again. We need something to protect ourselves."
Lingering for a moment she clapped her hands together in announcement.
"Alright, my turn. When I yell "Now" I need you to activate these seeds, all of them, all at once and with as much power as you can"
Skye wanted to desperately ask her what she was going to do. It wasn't night yet, the flat roach rats were still wandering around. But before he could, she was gone. Opening the door and turning her head towards the exit and vanishing from the world like she was never there to begin with.
Skye rushed to the door and saw that Elli was suddenly in the courtyard, then atop the short internal wall that separated the buildings, then at the door of the barrack's storage, gasping for breath as she steadied herself. These were all places she had been before and knew the steps it would take to get there.
With the seeds in her hands she moved as fast as she could, scattering them in front of the opening and jumping in.
As soon as she did she worked as fast as she could, putting her hand on her hip to form a circle with her arm, the space between contouring and shimmering, she grabbed anything she could find and threw it in. She ran her arm over the shelves indiscriminately.
Grabbing and shoving whatever she could find, the noise was finally picked up by the roaches, and their stampede began. She had only a few moments before they got to the window and she counted.
One… Two…
"NOW!!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs, and Skye let his mana fly.
There was an explosion of activity outside the storage room as a horde of giant roaches collided with a field of vines pushing out of the ground. Each entanglement seemed to grab at least 10 creatures, creating a wall of the first creatures leading the charge to be formed. The middle of the formation crashed into them like waves off a rocky shore, being slung backwards into the sea of vermin.
That bought Elli the couple extra seconds she needed, in the confusion she would jump, equipment stored away, gritting her teeth, She had just enough mana to get back.
And like always, she was right.
She hopped out of the window and was face to face with the newly formed wall of creatures held together by thick dark green vines, squeezing them slowly. They tried to thrash against them to escape but it only held on tighter. Their eyes instantly locked onto Elli all at once, like a single mind shattered into thousands of bodies.
She turned on her heel and made the first jump. From the storage to the wall that separated the two courtyard. She had to come here first to see where she would go next. She'd only be here for as long as it took her eyes to adjust and make the next jump. The two points in time pinched and she was there.
Yet something didn't add up. Usually her vision would flash and she'd see everything from a higher point, yet everything was now blue with white spots. The wind was blowing all around her and her body felt light. She was always confused for a split second when she jumped, as anyone would be, but she'd usually get a grip on her surroundings almost instantly. It didn't make sense.
It was only when her back hit the ground and the air was knocked out of her did she realise what happened. A bright light flashed in front of her eyes and her ears started to ring. She fell from atop the wall. When she jumped there must have been roaches there waiting for her and she stepped on one, losing her footing on the narrow wall and falling backwards.
She gasped for breath with a sickly wheeze. She was still in the courtyard with the barracks and military buildings, now behind the horde of roaches. They didn't waste any time and turned to continue the charge at her, no longer hindered by a wall of bodies and roots.
She couldn't breath and her eyes had teared up with the impact of the fall, landing her flat on her back. A raspy moan was all she could manage as her lungs were empty. Through her watery eyes she focused on the wall one more time, only able to see the edge.
Pulling the spaces together she rolled instantly in anticipation for the narrow space she would have, catching her body on the edge and rolling off the other side. She was ready for the fall this time, bracing herself, but still falling from almost twice her own height.
She landed on the ground and half bounced/rolled, finding herself on her side facing Skye and Kai looking on with faces of pure horror. To them, she was gone, then atop the wall, then pulled backwards.
She looked at them with an outstretched hand, then made her last jump. Elli was too far to make it all the way but she had to get closer. With her hand she instantly started to pull at the grass, dragging her body with it. Still out of breath, still rattled from the fall.
Not even enough mana to move an extra inch. She was in the wide open. By the time she realised it, every creature realised she was there.
They flooded in from the other buildings, like a black tide over the green weeds of the courtyards.
She didn't breathe, she didn't have time or the ability, she just pushed herself. Tightening her core and moving her muscles as fast as they could go. Arms grabbing and pulling and teeth clenched, she was within sight, but the swarm closed in front of her.
This was going to be a painful way to die wasn't it.
Skye had never seen the ocean before, or what a wave would actually look like in real life, but he had a general idea. This was most likely the closest he'd come to the real thing. They collide with her from multiple sides, bouncing off each other and covering her almost completely. Most of the bodies in the first wave bounced off each other and were sent flying back to the middle of the pack.
The green overgrown grass of the courtyard was painted black and gray with smoke and bodies. They could only watch from the safety of their island of runes and protection.
They latched onto her legs and back, her sides and arms, pushing and fighting with each other for a spot. Their circular teeth move side to side to cut flesh from bone. Elli yelled as the shock of pain ran over her body but all that came out with a groan, continuing to move forward despite her extra passengers.
She pulled herself inch by inch as she lost pounds of flesh. Her arms were the only thing rising above the bodies that made up the water as she swam it.
Skye stood at the door in shock, Kai wedge next to him. His whole body felt sweaty and powerless and he couldn't stop shaking. He was about to see someone die, not for the first time, but maybe in the most painful of ways.
"God fucking damn it"
Kai said as he grabbed Skye by the shoulder and pushed Skye back into the door while launched himself out of the circle of protection. He raised his sword above his head and in an instant it turned bright yellow and red as if it was taken directly out of a forge.
With a downward trust it cracked and shattered, shooting forward like thousands of needles shot out of a turret. This was its enchantment, a one time use for a suiside mission.
The shards hit the ground with a rattling of fire, piercing the air and bodies of monsters alike, sending up small plumes of dirt. Kai threw the handle to the ground as he sprinted forward on the temporary path he just made.
Skye looked from inside the room and couldn't help but think of some story he half remembered, something about a man splitting the sea to save his people. As Kai's long hair trailed behind him through the sun unable to keep up with his speed, it almost looked like a holy crown through the light.
Skye snapped out of it quickly, the bravery of this beautiful man set his cowardice ablaze and left it to die. He quickly followed Kai into the sea of teeth.
The walls of the ocean were closing again on the two, the layers of monsters reaching to their shins. Elli's hand was raised again from the tide trying to move another inch, but she had gone as far as she could, it stayed in place reaching towards the sky, shaking from the force of the bites.
Kai reached her before the creatures could close in on him, his long legs a blur under him with his fast strides.
He grabbed her hand and used his weight to rip her from the jaws of this living sea. She emerged bloody and beaten, teeth marks and creatures still latched on evident everywhere, unconscious from the shock.
"Dont you fucking dare!"
Kai screamed as he continued to pull with all his might, falling backwards to leverage the force of his body to throw her to Skye. With a primal scream he launched her into the air and directly into Skye's arms.
The force of her body hitting him sent Skye tumbling backwards, but he didn't waste a second. He used the momentum to keep rolling with her in his arms, and used the force to throw her body the rest of the way into the room.
She hit the ground for a third time today with a thud, bouncing off the ground like a rag dall.
The roaches that were attached to her quickly detached and squirmed with pain as they entered the ring of protection, some dying as they tried to leave, others getting out before it was too late.
The swarm of hungry mouths switched targets quickly to the new bodies. Kai landed on his back after the throw and used the inertia to roll backwards and spring onto his feed. Already the roaches were catching on for a ride. He turned on his heels and pushed himself forward as fast as he could.
Skye was still on the ground by the time Kai caught up to him. All his momentum was used to throw Elli through the doors. The horde of monsters washed over him before he could get up, the added weight and pain making it hard to push himself off the ground.
Kai grabbed him by the back of his collar as he ran by.
"You're coming with me!"
He yelled as he dragged Skye and himself to safety, jumping the last bit and tumbling through the doors.
The swarm crashed against the ring of protection and felt the painful effects, pushing back against the other roaches that were pushing them forward, causing the tide to clash and disperse.
Elli laid there, bleeding and barely breathing, curling into a ball subconsciously. The pain of it all must have been too much. The mana depleting from her body, the physical toll of it all, and the feeling of having bits of your flesh ripped off all over. Not to mention hitting the ground hard three times in one day.
Skye was only on the ground for a fraction of the time and he was covered in bites. The wounds on his legs and side reopened and new bits of flesh were missing. He couldn't imagine what she was feeling.
He crawled over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. He thought about closing the wounds the same way he did to his, but how do you close a wound that is nothing but a chunk missing?
"It's okay, it's okay, it's all over. You survived. It's going to be alright now."
It wasn't okay and it wasn't all over. He was lying. But he didn't know what else to say.
Kai grabbed his shoulder, still breathing hard, Skye looked up appreciative of the gesture of comfort. Kai pushed him to the side.
"Get the fuck out of the way"
Skye tumbled on the ground to his side, propping himself up with a confused expression on his face. What the hell was that about, he was only trying to help. He was getting pushed around far too much today.
Kai put his hands to her body where the blood was soaking through her clothes. They were stylish and the brown of it all complemented her dark features perfectly, or at least it did, now they were mostly red and torn.
The palm of his hands started to burn bright yellow, like a field of hay, or iron ripe for the moulding. His face showing signs of stress as he gritted his teeth. His breathing became ragged and his hands grew brighter. Slight whimpers escaped his mouth alongside a stream of blood on the corner of his lips as he bit down harder.
"Why do all my abilities hurt so fucking much"
He yelled in a single exhale of breath through clenched teeth, both demanding answers and begging for relief. The light from his hands extended forward and engulfed Elli's body.
Kai raised a hand above his head and gathered his strength. He brought it down hard and hit the light as if it was a slab of metal. Sparks flew everywhere and a high pitched ring bounced off the walls.
[TING]
The light around her flickered like she was on fire, and the blood started to evaporate. The visible wounds on her body were closing at a rapid rate. He raised his hand again, now shaking uncontrollably.
[TING]
Sparks flew, Kai yelled out in pain. He continued two more times before falling to his side, his head hitting the ground hard, he was too weak to protect it.
Elli's eyes fluttered open in recognition. It didn't hurt anymore. All her pain was being burned away.
Kai's face could no longer hide how much pain he was in, tears flowing down his face and mixing with the blood and spit on his lips. His voice was now a primal growl as he laid on the ground, muttering something that no one could hear.
"Nothing in this world came for free, pain demanded to be felt, it just doesn't care who. "