Into the Darkness

Chapter Five

Freezing cold cracked my bones as my fingers and toes were taken over with frost bite. A pressure filled the air, condensing around me, pushing me back against the wall.

In the middle of the street, like a heat wave taking form, materialized two shapes. They were like disproportioned humans with a monster-like flare. The one on the left had grotesque, burly shoulders. Its arms were stringy, like exposed muscle. Its legs were similar, each limb ending in long, three inch claws. A head like a bull, it had no eyes, just a large, gaping mouth filled with two rows of sharp teeth.

Next to it was a taller shape, like a man made of leather. Its face was an oval, completely smooth; the only feature were two glowing, green orbs posing as eyes. Its hands and feet also ended in claws.

What was truly strange was not the monster-like quality, but the fact that as they stood, they threw off an aura of darkness. It wasn’t like the Boss, who cloaked himself in shadow—these suffocated light, killing it until hope turned into despair. It was like an endless night, knowing you’d never be greeted by the sun again.

I huddled against the wall, too terrified to run, not sure what they were, or what they wanted, but knowing the thread connecting me to life was a meager thread indeed if they came after me.

The one with the bull head stepped forward, long claws flexing, its gaping mouth opening wider. The maw issued forth a swarm of insects in a plumb, the buzz nearly deafening my ears. Five foot by five, the giant cloud rocketed out from its body, heading straight for the Boss, who stood protectively in front of me.

He surged forward, meeting the plumb with swinging sword, the blade glowing a burnished gold. It sliced through the insect hoard like a stick through sand, cutting a path that immediately turned into wisps of smoke. Sword moving in a figure eight, over and over, the Boss was pushed back, struggling with the hoard as if it was a solid unit instead of thousands of small insects clustered together.

The Leather-Man-Monster sprung upwards, a huge arc flying through the air. The creature caught and sucked in the light, a streak of darkness slicing through the glow of the distant streetlight. It landed with a soft squelch, claws sinking into the Boss’s flesh.

It was here I could play hero and save the day. Deep in my bones I knew I could stop this. I could banish these things, rip them from the Boss’s back and ground them to paste.

 I also knew those thoughts were illusions of grandeur, because if a giant man with a sword couldn’t handle this mess, what the hell could a small woman with a rape whistle do?

So I watched in horror as the Leather Man slid down the Boss’s back, leaving scores deep in the leather coat. The Boss thrashed, having cut through the insect hoard, and now reaching back with his gold bladed dagger, slicing the left leg of the lithe monster.

With a screech that made my teeth grind, the Leather Man convulsed, half its leg falling, turning to wisps of smoke before it hit the ground. The rest of its body flew skyward, hovering for the briefest of moments like Spiderman as gravity grabbed hold, then landing five feet away, claws outstretched. The now-lopsided creature teetered before falling to the ground. It was enough time for the Boss to shrug out of his shredded leather duster, revealing a leather vest underneath with six gaping tears, red oozing out.

Vivid blue tattoos circled his arms like serpents, before flashing a burnished gold along his skin. He crouched, coiled, and sprung all in one elegant, oiled movement. He slashed at the struggling Leather Man creature, his blade slicing a diagonal line through its chest.

The high-pitched scream echoed again, making me clamp my hands over my ears. A red slash burnt across the Leather Man’s middle, tendrils of smoke rising where the sword had passed through.