Legacy's Ghost

Episode 23: A Thread of Panic

My stomach drops and adrenaline jolts through my veins at the sight, propelling me forward, toward the Ghost as fast as I can. My voice is still stalled in my throat, refusing to come out.

I'm ten feet from the Ghost and closing in fast.

I can smell 'em. The Swarm. They smell pungent and oily. It's overwhelming, like the stench is oozing into my clothing and it'll never wash out.

The Swarm crouches, nonexistent light gleaming off the seven-foot bugs' black pocked shells. The closest of them has four pinchers at its face, silently swaying from side to side, as if scenting the Ghost. The others are spaced out, pressed against the wall, away from the light.

I'm five feet away.

Dozens of rib-like claws reach out from the closest Swarm's chest, spreading wide like a mouth as big as my arms can reach, preparing to snap closed around the Ghost.

I'm three feet away.

Adrenaline jolts through me, making my fingers and arms vibrate. I can't take my eyes of the Ghost and his imminent death. I have to save him. I have to. Even if it means jumping between him and that beast. Maybe, if I buy him a few seconds, he can get away. "Get down!" I finally yell.

The Ghost whirls in the direction of my voice.

I lunge at him, knocking him to the floor at the same time the closest Swarm's claws snap closed, clamping down on my side, and piercing me in several spots from my shoulder to my thigh.

The pain that shoots through me is searing, white-hot. It hurts so bad, I let out a high-pitched hiss, I can't even scream. There must be venom in their claws because I can't do anything but lay there convulsing as pain rips through my limbs.

The Swarm starts to titter and hiss, shaking me to and fro with the claws still impaling my body.

The Ghost rolls back to his feet and pulls out a sword that gleams in the darkness. He stabs the long blade into the tender underbelly of the Swarm, between the spaces of the claws clamped onto my torso.

My nose burns with the scent of acid and electricity.

The Swarm hisses and lets out a high-pitched squeal, shaking me a couple more times, making me want to groan.

My vision fades, and warmth trickles down my arms and legs. My head lolls to the side. Thankfully, my body starts to tingle, dulling the pain, but not enough to mask it completely.

I watch in a daze as the Ghost stabs again, piercing the underbelly of the Swarm until it finally stops hissing and falls on it's side, taking me with it.

I lay on my back, spikes piercing me from the front and the back. I pant and hiss, wishing the Ghost would just stab me too. Put me out of my misery.

The way the pain shoots through my muscles and into my veins sends convulsions through me. My Muscles cramp up, forcing me to curl in onto myself, ripping the wounds open further. Blood flow from me in full force.

What happened to the other Swarm? Did they leave?

I sniff.

The scent isn't as strong as it was earlier. But it's still there. Further away.

The ghost drops the purple strobe light on the ground and lets out a string of curses. He kneels next to me, and rests a hand on my shoulder. "Atan. Atan!"

"More," I whisper, trying to warn him. But I don't seem to have any breath in me. I can't do much more than mouth the word. With my hood and mask on, there's no way he'll hear me.

The pain shooting through me is like sticking knives into lava and then using them to filet my muscles from my bones.

I wish I were dead. Why can't I die?

"I've gotta pull these out," the Ghost mutters. It sounds like he's talking through gritted teeth. "I can't get you out of here until we get this bug out of you. Do you hear me?"

I try to nod. I must've because he starts to work.

Every time he hacks at the teeth, separating it from the Swarm's body, I see stars. Tears seep into my mask, making it wet and cold.

He saws all the teeth from the Swarm and shoves the carcass out of the way, leaving a dark, tar-like smear on the surface of the cave where the Swarm bled out.

The Ghost stumbles back to me, slipping and sliding over the thick goo I assume is blood. It's hard to tell what color it is with the purple light strobing, flashing, and making my eyes hurt.

Or maybe it's because my blood is beginning to mix with the Swarm's, oozing and spreading over the smooth, uneven surface of the cavern.

My eyes are heavy and my breathing ragged. All I want to do is sleep. Anything to get through the burning, throbbing pain.

The Ghost falls to his knees next to me and curses under his breath. His voice is calm. A thread of panic weaves through his tone.

I look as bad as I feel.