Revolutions

88 - Inuxeq

Author's Note: Hey there! Long time, no chat! I'm writing this from another continent as I celebrate a milestone birthday. I decided to treat myself to a little vacation, and though I had hoped to do a little writing during my travels, I've become ultra-busy with spending time with my family abroad and enjoying the sights and beers. Therefore, I've decided to pause and take a little break. But fear not! It'll only be for the following week; I shall return with a new chapter on April 22nd! I'll see you back in the States again soon!

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I tell myself that, if I want to survive, I must fight through the fear. With arrow drawn, I pull the string of my bow taut. The point of my arrow twists and turns in my hands, but the creatures fly above with unreal agility, shadows darting all around us, making it nearly impossible to line up my aim. A cacophony of commands are shouted over one another, becoming indecipherable. I tune it out, letting their words drown in the flood of the transpiring calamity these monsters wrought.

Focus, I tell myself. Steady...

One of the beasts, these teoliatl, swoops down, something viscous and dark drips from its mouth as it gnashes its fangs in anticipation. It flies toward me, jolting from side to side. I can already feel the chilling vapor of its breath bearing down on me. I loose the arrow, and it pierces its face with a pleasing thwack. I duck and roll to just get out of the way of the felled beast as it crashes, cratering the ground upon impact.

A thrill rushes through my veins at the sight of the slain teoliatl, as a thick, black sludge oozes from the gaping wound. But the brief joy of victory is immediately wiped away as I spot dozens more erupting from the chasm in the ground. It's as though, for every one killed, two or three instantly replace it. Within a few blinks of an eye, we become vastly outnumbered.

The sky becomes filled with the dark creatures soaring through the air. A bitter scent permeates my senses as the substance drizzles from the teoliatl's talons and bubbles up from the ground. The monsters swiftly dive down upon our warriors, tearing at them with claws and bites. With each strike that lands, a putrid venom drips from the teoliatl's fangs and talons, releasing the acrid smell of melted flesh with the hissing of a repulsive sizzle. The creatures chew heaping chunks out of shoulders and limbs, making quick work of their victims.

"They are tearing through scores of our army!" Mexqutli exclaims. "We need a better plan!" In continuous motions, he swings his obsidian daggers like he's swimming against the current of a mighty river, slashing at anything with the veiny, membranous skin.

Sianchu heaves his mighty sword, slicing through the dense blackness of the swarming creatures like trying to cut the night's air. Each stroke splits the oncoming enemy. His face is splattered with the black slime, and he grimaces through the pain as his skin becomes pocked with acidic burns. After a while, I lose sight of him as he's consumed by the sheer number of teoliatl swirling about him.

I loose one, two, three, four arrows in rapid succession, aimlessly releasing them up into the darkness of the onyx swarm. My efforts feel futile as the sea of blackened bodies is never-ending. The teoliatl continue streaming out of the rifts in the ground, spiraling upward before descending upon our warriors with relentless fury. There's got to be a solution... but what could it be? How do we put an end to their increasing numbers?

Through the fluttering flurry, the occasional glimpse of red draws my focus. Looking on, the cultist leaders of the Eye in the Flame stand sentinel as the chaos conspires. They're nearly a field away, appearing as mere specks amid the unfolding battle before them. I pause, enraged by the sight of them watching with amusement. Now I know what to do next.

Determined, I sprint away from the rift, toward the edge of the battlefield. I duck and maneuver to avoid being struck by friend or foe; hopping out of the way of one fight here, narrowly avoiding being hit by a flying teoliatl there.