The 10th Circle - Abyss [Complete]

17. Engram: Forest (3)

We ran, jumping over fallen trees and skidding under low-hanging branches. The trees themselves seemed threatening now, it was as if they were trying to hold us back on our mad flight through the grey forest, reaching out their twigs to scratch our arms and hands and faces. But I felt no pain. All I felt was the danger breathing down my neck, and an implacable terror that tightened my chest even more so than the exhaustion of the run.

When the howling resounded again, it was not just closer than before. It was all around us, and it was drawing closer still. Out of breath and out of ways to run, we came to a halt in a small clearing, and positioned ourselves back to back. The woods seemed darker than before, the shadows between the trees concealed whatever was out there, but something even darker was moving and shifting menacingly among them. My mind was racing, but I was drawing a blank. The situation seemed hopeless.

Over the frantic sound of my own heartbeat, I could hear Cloud mutter under his breath.

"I'm so sorry..."

"We're not gonna die here, are we?" I whispered back. "I mean, considering we're already dead and all that."

"That's not- there is still.... pain...."

His words reminded me of that Old World story about Prometheus. As a punishment for his defiance of the gods, he had been chained to a rock and every day, an eagle would come to devour his liver, only for it to grow back, again and again. The abject horror of the thought left me shuddering.

Something stirred in the dark shadows, and then, the first creature stepped into the dim light of the clearing. Each of its steps had the fluidity and litheness of a cloud of mist being moved by a breeze, and its paws seemed to barely touch the ground it walked upon. Swirling shadows followed in its wake and danced around it like clouds of smoke, but quickly dissipated as it stopped a few meters before me. What remained looked, for all intents and purposes, like a regular wolf. Granted, its eyes were glowing with an eerie red as it bared its fangs with a threatening growl. But that was not what made it so strikingly different from the mutts and mutants I had seen in simulations.

More wolves had stepped out of the woods and we found ourselves surrounded by a pack of half a dozen of the dark, red-eyed creatures. Behind me, I could feel the tension in Cloud's body as he moved closer to me. His hand brushed against mine just for a second, and it was trembling. He was terrified, but all of a sudden, I felt oddly calm.

Now that I could actually see what we were up against, I noticed that their pelts were thick and dark, and they looked well fed. They were definitely lethal, with teeth and fangs that could tear us to shreds. But they didn't look quite desperate enough to go to every length for their next meal.

We still had a chance. The realization overcame me, and adrenaline followed in its wake. The familiar surge of heat that flooded my synapses and filled me with more strength than I ever thought possible. I clenched my hands into fists.

This is just like a simulation. Even better, because there's nothing to lose.

"Hey, Cloud. If this is gonna hurt either way..." I took a step towards the creature. "We might as well try to fight, don't you think?"

"What are you talking about-"

I didn't wait for him to finish before I charged at the animal before me. The wolf itself seemed quite confused too, as it saw me coming at it in a flurry of madness, and stood still like paralyzed, its red eyes fixed on my. As I reached it, for a second I felt like time had come to a standstill, and my heart had stopped beating. Then I brought my fist down on its snout, hard. The wolf howled in pain and jumped back, but from beside me, a second animal came at me with its fangs exposed, ready to bury them in my arm. But I dove out of the way and it jumped straight over me. I scrambled back to my feet but wasn't fast enough to avoid the third one coming at me.