King Chronicles: When Darkness Falls

Chapter 23 - Last Stand

Everyone immediately jumped into action. Joe grabbed Madeleine and made a run for it. James and Avery were alongside each other running at full speed towards them.

All the sheriff could think about was making sure that both his brother and Madeleine were out of danger. The Jinkuw emerged from the dark house, clawing the door frame as it launched itself in flight. It expanded its wings so fast that James wasn't sure if he wanted to discharge his weapon yet. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, taking aim at the ugly creature but quickly decided against it. It made sense to preserve his bullets because he wasn't sure if he would have time to reload.

As the moonlight shone brightly in the night sky, James noticed that the Jinkuw was more hideous than the one from his first encounter. Like the first, it was a massive beast with a lean bony torso, wide shoulders and long muscular legs. Its face was distorted in a maze of tight folds surrounding large dark nostrils and pointed ears. Its eyes, however, were different. The pupils glowed red, illuminated sharply by the large round irises that reminded him of pools of black tar. Its claws were also bigger and much longer than he remembered.

James came to a hard stop when he saw the Jinkuw jerk sharply back, its full attention on Joe and Madeleine.
Madeleine had fallen, causing Joe to also trip as he stumbled over the tangle of her fancy dress. James caught his breath in his throat as he watched the Jinkuw hover over them, snarling and drooling like it was deciding on who to have first for dinner. He felt his heart pump even harder when he realized that it was readying itself for a head-on dive. Exasperated, James knew he couldn't make it to them in time without risking at least one of their lives.
"Joe!" he yelled hoarsely.
Joe's head shot up, making eye contact with his brother. He nodded quickly when he saw James pull out his electric charged rifle. James let out a long and drawn out breath, aiming carefully as the Jinkuw shot downward with bared teeth.

Joe immediately ducked, spinning his body in mid-air. He pulled Madelaine along with him as they rolled to the left, becoming more tightly wound in her dress.

James pulled hard on the trigger and discharged his rifle, making an electrically-charged pop before it shot its round. The Jinkuw picked up the sound immediately and, to James' dismay, expanded its wings just short of the speeding net. James suddenly heard three shots from his left and saw one of them pierce a wing.
"Got'em," Avery muttered through gritted teeth.

James dropped the rifle and quickly took his side arm out, but by that time, the creature had already flown up into the sky. He shot a few rounds up but realized that it was now so high that it was just out of firing range. He took this chance to sprint towards Joe and Madeleine.

James heard a shrill cry and looked up to see the Jinkuw hovering over them. It was taking aim at his brother and Madeleine who were easy targets on the ground below. James twisted his head sharply to see Avery already having his rifle ready for the Jinkuw's descent. He had run out of bullets, and unfortunately so had James.

Joe had his gun out but his arms were still tangled up in Madeleine's dress. James understood that he had to distract the Jinkuw somehow, which probably meant he would have to come between.

As the Jinkuw descended, it stopped short of Avery's net once the rifle popped. James was running as hard as he could, but he knew he still was out of reach.
"Son of a B-"

A great echoing boom exploded. It was loud enough to create a shrill ringing in his ear and left him slightly unbalanced. He looked up to see that the Jinkuw had dropped down a few feet, but regained itself haphazardly. A flaming arrow appeared to be burrowed into its leg, the point clean through its leathery skin. It didn't scream in pain, but instead tried to stay in the air as it looked for the shooter in the distance.