Down to Earth~ Sequel to Peter Pan's Dragon Girl

Chapter 9

READER CAUTION ADVISED! HIGHLY GRAPHIC VIOLENCE

"What is a Grabber?" At the name, Snow shuddered in fear and curled into herself. Reine gave me a withering look, like I was the creation of these wicked things. Returning her glare, I reach out and gently pull the small redhead to me and snake an arm around her shoulders for protective comfort.

"A horrible monster. Worse than both the Jabbers and Haggards put together. Eats anything and everything- alive and dead." Reine whispered and peeked through a small space between two white blind flaps. Snow sniffles and tries to quietly cry in pure terror, using my chest as a muffle. I subconsciously run my fingers through her fiery tresses and rock side-to-side in soothing comfort.

A huge shadow blacked out the windows that faced the West. It was hard to tell what body part belonged where by the shadows. An ethereal hiss emanated from the monstrosity and another answered in a series of clicks and whistles. If I ignored the deep-rooted feel of horrendous abomination, they sounded like a pod of dolphins.

The sounds had everyone in the room wide-eyed in fear. I was mainly curious about these things, they sound like dolphins but my nose told me they most definitely weren't the curious, playful, aquatic mammals. They were something created and consumed by pure evil on a level all its own.

One of these things knocked into the door and the entirety of the occupants in the room jumped clear from their skin and back, some letting small squeaks of terror escape before slapping their hands to their mouths in a quick attempt to stifle themselves- lest they be the ones to reveal their hiding place to the beasts.
A quick flash of brackish brown caught my eye and through the blinds I saw a small piece of these things. The only words to describe it: disgustingly mutated. And that was barely efficient enough to properly create a basis to compare to.

"What do they look like?" Reine gave me another withering glare. It was a common question woman, not like I asked you to go kill it bare-handed!

"Nobody knows, not one person has seen a Grabber and lived to tell about it." I smirk and gently set the little redhead on the floor before standing and skulking after the closest shadow.
"What the hell are you doing, Peter?! Do you want to die?!" Snow whisper-yelled at me, teary eyes wide in fear. I smile kindly at her and give her a small wink as I follow it down a hall I haven't been down before. I ducked by open doors and black hallways until I was stopped by the side door that leads outside. The window was covered by small curtains and the black shadow filled the glass.

I took a deep breath and stood tall enough to peek over the bottom edge, lifting the curtain slowly as I went. Most of the window was filled with a huge, white eye with no pupil. The rest was a brackish brown skin the color of the cracked ground it crawled on. An ear-piercing scream shattered the silence and I had a mini heart-attack when my mind assumed it came from the room that Snow and Reine were hiding in.

The beast backed up and I caught full view of its entire face. It had two, bulging, pure white eyes with and the skin was leathery but peeling back in thick chunks. It opened its mouth to scream again and I saw huge, sharp teeth that was yellow and tinted with blood. My mouth curled into a frown and bile rose into my throat when I noticed it had chunks of human flesh wedged between it's teeth- ranging between a few days old to practically dusty bones. A purple tongue was spliced into four, wriggling pieces that joined into one thick stalk of veiny, purple flesh.

It backed up further to ram the door and I took that chance to fling it open and throw myself through the door- changing into my Dragon self as I passed through the doorway. We clashed in the air in a mass of slashing claws and snapping teeth.

The Grabber snarled and its whipping tongue stretched towards me at lightning speed. Thankfully, I could see it and sliced the four lashing, purple stretches of flesh off in one clean cut. Bright green blood spurted from the stump left of its tongue.

The body of the Grabber was built like a rhinoceros but the skin was brown and cracked and peeling. The legs and tail was that of lions. The beast spit out a massive glob of saliva and blood before letting loose of a sky-shattering screech. I return with a roar just as deafening and blast white-hot fire at its feet, making back away even further.

The Grabber's screaming drew the attention of the others around the Base and almost five others came barreling around to offer back-up to their injured comrade. I attacked the original one I saw and the others retaliated. Their claws raked harmlessly off my white scales, so I ignored them to focus on killing the one below me.

It clawed at my chest and underbelly in a wild attempt to gut me or push me off. I swiped at it and my claws sliced clean through the front left leg, green blood spraying out like a burst pipe. It screamed as its buddies attacked with renewed fervor only to be rebuffed by my hard scales.

I once again refrained from biting since I'm not sure of the consequences. Instead my claws impaled its body multiple times until the beast shuddered and lay still. I step off and use my tail to fling the body from the Base before facing the others, bright blue eyes flashing and sharp teeth bared while growling deep down in my throat in warning.

They didn't seem to care and so thus attacked again. I slashed through their tongues like the first one and one fell to the ground whilst choking on its own blood. One I cut its ugly head from its meaty shoulders, the loose appendage rolling along the side of the house. Blood flowed from the beast like a river as it staggered to the dust as well.

One charged right at me and I flew over it, using my tail to stop it from crashing through the house. I threw it back onto its friends, which knocked them all back a good 40 feet from the Base. I stood between them and the house and roared loudly, of which they returned in equal anger.

"Three down, three to go." I mumbled to myself as the Grabber charged once more. I blasted it with a huge ball of white fire and it almost instantly caught, the flames eating hungrily at the dry skin until it was nothing more than charred bones and ash.

The last two were more hesitant in their attacks. One slashed with its long claws but did little to no damage at all. The other decided to bite on my ribcage and those slid perfectly between my scales into my skin. I roar in pain and claw at the beast until it finally let go and dropped to the cracked ground, a mass of shredded flesh and neon green blood.
I smash in the beast's skull to ensure it was dead and turned to the last Grabber left. A devilish, toothy smile curled my muzzle and I readied for a pounce, as did the beast. We launch at each other simultaneously and crash together in the air. I used its momentum against it and dug my claws into its chest. On the drop back to the earth, I rip open the front of its body and the lungs fell free of its ribcage, the monster following behind its internal organs as it fought to breath. I crushed its lungs and sliced its throat in the same instant.

I change back and the exhaustion crashed on me like a ton of bricks. I unsheath my swords and go around cutting off each one's head until both me and my blades were overly and thoroughly soaked in bright green blood. I stumble to the doorway and lean on the wood to try and catch my breath.

"Oh my God, Peter!" I forced my eyes open to see Snow and Reine standing in horror in the hallway. I gave a lazy and uncaring salute.

"That's me." My vision blotted and I drop to my knees one hand grabbing my ribs and the other resting on the floor for balance.

"What happened to you?!" Snow asked with thickly laced concern and fear. Despite being exhausted and bleeding, I crack a cocky smirk.

"Oh, you know, fighting six Grabbers at once is all. Piece of cake." Pain seared my side and my breath hitched loudly in my throat. I look over at Reine as my sight began to waver and fade.

"Look at that. Saw a Grabber and I'm still alive." And with those final, sarcastic words, my mind blackened and I passed out right there in the bright neon green blood of the Grabbers while my deep crimson blood mingled with it.