Whispers of Nowhere

Chapter Eight: Part One

"Forneus!"

"Don't worry about me, just run!"

Gwen stared at him, caught between hesitation and fear. Forneus's force field flickered, buzzing and crackling in protest as the horde of monsters on the other side pounded against it, roaring and shrieking their fury. The Akuma led them, the large one pounding against the magical barrier with his fists while the female slashed at it with her sword. Only the smaller male remained immobile, his grey eyes fixed on Gwen so intently she couldn't tear her gaze away.

When Forneus shouted at her to run one last time, Gwen bolted. The last thing she saw was the flash of thunderbolts raining down from the sky, the agonized cries of the monsters vibrating through her head. She followed the full length of the stone wall bordering the Lithaios River. Her hands fumbled across the protruding rocks before she finally managed to get a solid grip, preventing herself from falling over the wall and into the swirling rapids below.

Gwen's heart pounded frantically in her ears, the unearthly snarls far behind urging her to keep on running, fearing what would happen should the monsters catch up to her. If they did, she would die; that's what she had to keep telling herself, or her legs really would give out under her. Fear was the one thing pushing her forward—fear for Forneus risking everything to protect her, and fear for her own life. It was the only thing keeping her exhaustion at bay now, despite the burning ache stabbing at her calf muscles like a series of small, hot needles.

Gwen skidded across the pavement, making a sharp right turn onto the bridge and bolting as fast as she could toward the other side. The bridge was teeming with pedestrians. Gwen scarcely noticed them as she streaked by, their angry protests and mutters of disapproval second to the insistent prickling that had started at the nape of her neck. Hermes' Caduceus was close by, but where?

As her gaze landed on a large building on the opposite bank with blue lettering forming words she didn't understand, the prickling intensified. There, it seemed to tell her. The mass of people on the bridge thickened, forcing Gwen to shove her way through them. She didn't have the luxury of being courteous, not when the fate of the world was at stake.

"Why aren't you people running?" she shouted, earning nothing but confused stares for her efforts. "There are monsters attacking your city! Run, goddamn it!"

It was no good. They didn't understand a word she was saying.

What are they, blind? Gwen grunted, forcing her way through. How did they not see the massive horde of monsters on the opposite bank, being held back by no more than a solitary man summoning bolts of lightning from the sky? She knew Forneus didn't have any more veiling capsules, so why weren't these people running for cover?

As if on cue, they began to do just that. It started with two or three of them pointing back the way Gwen had come. Within seconds, every person along the bridge had started screaming, the sound of their footsteps a deafening roar as they clambered in the opposite direction. Gwen scrambled out of the way as the people she'd passed seconds before came thundering behind her.

She had just reached the end of the bridge when her toe caught on something—most likely someone else's foot—sending her sprawling across the pavement. Sharp pain shot through her arms as she landed hard on her elbows. All she could do was curl into the fetal position as people continued to hurtle past her, hands over her face with her eyes tightly shut, hoping she didn't get trampled in the ensuing chaos.

Gwen didn't even get the chance to peek out between her fingers before she felt a weight pressing down on her back, forcing her flat against the ground. There was a sudden explosion of pain in her shoulder, followed by the sound of cloth tearing as a very large, sharp something dug into her flesh. Biting her bottom lip to keep from screaming, she caught a glimpse of the thick, black talon piercing the skin just below her right shoulder blade, flecks of dark, crimson blood dotting the fabric of her sweater. A hooked beak came into view, Gwen letting out a startled cry as it latched onto her upper arm. The right side of her body exploded into searing agony the same moment she heard the sickening crunch of bones breaking, the pain unlike anything she had ever experienced.

Blood spurted from the wound, rich burgundy pooling on the ground around her.

Gwen couldn't hold it back any longer. She screamed.

It was as if each one of her nerve-endings had caught on fire. Hot, bitter liquid rose from her abdomen and into her throat, filling her mouth before she vomited it onto the pavement. It came in one violent torrent after another until her stomach was completely empty, Gwen continuing to dry heave as the monster on her back loosened its grip.

This brought her no relief whatsoever. As she peered up through a haze of tears, she realized other monsters had gathered around her, undoubtedly coming to finish what their companion had started. A sea of glittering, red eyes stared back at her, their low, savage growls carrying the promise of still more agony to come.

This is it...I'm going to die here. The thought should have instilled her with terror. Instead, a dreamlike calm came over her, the pain racking her body fading as her consciousness began to slip away. I'm going to die here, and my parents will never know...

"Gwen!"

She heard Forneus calling her name, heard the heartbreaking tremor in his voice. But there was nothing she could do to comfort him. She wanted to reach out and let him know it was all right, that she didn't blame him for all that had happened, that she was sorry she'd failed to fulfill her promise to him—but she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get her vocal chords to cooperate. The darkness had already started closing in, pressing in on her from all sides until it filled her peripherals entirely. Very soon she would succumb to unconsciousness, and then—

There was a sudden, blinding flash. The last thing Gwen saw was a familiar figure haloed by a nimbus of orange light before oblivion took her, no longer able to resist the encroaching darkness.

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