Masked Twilight

Water Fight

The Shadow Mites crawl out of the hole like they just hatched from their egg sack, taking over the wall and dropping into the water below.

"What the heck are those?" Ralis shouts.

"Go!" I yell at him instead of answering, but it's too late. The Shadow Mites are swarming around our feet, pulling and pinching. I kick one off my leg as I push Ralis toward the corridor. Time bites one in half that lunged for my back and runs ahead, cleaing a path for us.

Suddenly, the floor shakes and cracks form under my feet, crumbling with the added weight of the Mites. Time is the only one able to make it to the corridor before the ground falls out beneath us. I hear him bark in fear before my head plunges under the dark water and my entire body is seized with the biting cold. My body instantly goes numb, and my fingers fumble to pull the mask over my nose. When I finally get it, I gasp in a great, painful breath. My eyes sting with the salt water.

Beside me, Midna fights off a swarm of Mites, kicking and punching. I see her grow tired. She slowly sinks, unable to swim. Quickly, I swim to her aid, ignoring the Mites as I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her up. Ralis kicks away a few insects and pulls himself onto firm ground, then helps Midna up while I fight off the bugs. Time is still barking furiously when I emerge.

We race through the dark, stumbling without our flashlights. My heart pounds in my ears when I hear the pursuing Mites, their metal legs clinking against the walls. I feel one grab at my ankle and yelp, kicking it away. All around us, the Mites cover the floor, ceiling, and walls, creating a terrifying, writhing tunnel. They rush ahead of us and push together to block the way into the main room.

Growling, Time picks up speed and smashes through the insect-wall, snapping a few Mites between his teeth as he does so. The bugs fall apart and skitter across the floor. More fill the room before us, turning the moldy gold to black and glowing eyes. To the left, the wide double doors slam shut, locking us in. The men on the other side pound on the doors, but it's no use. The Mites have sealed it shut.

Midna tucks the Crystal shard in her wetsuit and fights off the insects. We try to push our way through, but more and more bugs replace the ones we've smashed. I feel my pulse in my ears as I chaotically punch and stomp. A few times now, Time has saved me from an attack aimed at my back. He goes wherever he is needed, protecting us with all the fury of animal instincts.

A Shadow Mite starts crawling up my leg. I swat at it, but it digs its legs into my suit. I'm able to pry it off my body and chuck it at the wall. It shatters, the remains raining down on its friends. I'm given a second of relief, and use it to search the abandoned temple for a weapon.

There! I grab a fallen candelabra and swing it at the swarm of Mites coming for me. It's much more effective than wildly punching and the long shaft sweeps the bugs away, killing a few in the process.

Across the room, Ralis is yelping as he tries his best to defend himself, but one Mite climbs up his back, toward his head. I rush to his side as Time covers for me, grab the insect off his back, and smash it against the wall.

"Thanks," Ralis manages to get out before another wave of Mites come. I give him the candelabra to fight with and search for another weapon, cursing when I can't find one.

Midna is fighting with an old piece of driftwood. She furiously swings, fuled by anger and the will to survive. Her movements look like a dance, sure and calculated, and her wet hair swings around her like a whip.