Pieces of Time

Ch 18: The Battle of Kakariko Village

The village was in chaos. After Impa swiftly helped her slap on her leather kidney belt, bracers, greaves, daggers, shield, and sword they burst out through the door together.

Kiden lingered behind stammering, "What do you want me to do?!"

Impa vanished into shadow without a word, presumably towards the screams that rose from the heart of the village. Kali's heart beat so hard and swift, she was sure it would burst from her chest.

"Stay inside! The house is warded!" she ordered as she sprinted towards the source of the attack, her hands in an iron grip around her sword and shield.

The rancid smoke stung her nose and her eyes, but it wasn't the only stink that poisoned the once clean air. As she ran, there was also the old pennies stench of blood. She had to find her friends. She was certain that Link would have jumped straight into the battle, and Impa had disappeared just moments ago.

Was she ready for a real battle? She'd only practiced so far, but...No, now was not the time for overthinking.

A shadow darted at her head and she only barely registered the movement in time to roll forward. She whirled and had enough time to identify the creature as some manner of horrific bat-like creature. The wings were like a bat's but where the body should be was a bloodshot, slit pupiled eye and a gaping fanged hole for a mouth.

She understood quickly how one could get lost in a battle as her arm shot out automatically, the blade of her sword slicing clean through the creature. Kali turned from it before she could see it hit the ground.

She turned the corner to face the well. A group of villagers fled from the conflict, from this insane attack, and a woman that struggled to keep up shoved her young screeching son away from her as a spider the size of a pony launched itself upon her.  It slammed her back against the side of the well.

She was about to be shoved into its shadowy depths. Kali ground her teeth as she sprinted for them. Unsure of how else to get the spider's attention she lept onto it's back, feeling that the top side of the creature was made of some sort of dark stone.

The spider kept the woman pinned but the attention of its fangs went quickly towards the girl on it's back. It snapped at both of her hands and she was nearly forced to let go, or be flipped backwards off of the spider as it's body writhed to try to shake her off.

She released her hold on the spider with her hands and secured her hold by throwing all her weight into punching the edge of her shield into it's fanged mouth. That really must have pissed it off because it shoved off of the woman enough for her to scramble away.

Just as she was about to maneuver her way to the front of the spider to see if its underbelly was as armored as it's back she heard someone call her name. She looked up and Kiden was standing several feet from the fight gaping with pale horror at her. He seemed too afraid to move. 

She opened her mouth to demand that he get back to the house, but spider thrashed wildly and decided to flip itself onto it's own back with her still clinging to it. It's legs scrambled for purchase as Kali groaned painfully, the breath being knocked out of her body under the crushing weight of the creature.

Somewhere during the struggle the spider must have dislodged her shield from it's maw because its fangs were coming down on her. She braced her sword between them, resisting the push of the spider by placing her other hand on the flat edge of the blade.

"Kali!" she heard Kiden cry out again.

She had her eyes squeezed tight, trying to think, trying to figure her way out of this situation.