It was obvious his little "break" was over. Patrolling along a side street bordered on one side by an empty lot surrounded by razor wire, Brannock had stumbled upon several Arkakark demons attempting a sexual assault. Arkakarks were fast and had a thick bony covering over most of their bodies. Their coloration vaguely resembled a blue crab suggesting some kind of aquatic origin. The name came from the strange cry that the creatures emitted when stressed. When Brannock arrived, the three creatures had cornered a woman whose shirt was already torn mostly off. Arkakarks are fairly tricky alone, so three of them would really be a challenge. Most likely he would have to distract them so the potential victim could get away, then he would probably follow shortly thereafter.
He was under armed to take all of them out. His strongest weapon was his wrist crossbow, but he was sure the bolts would fail to penetrate that outer shell. Next was his usual dirk. Problem there was if he had to slash with it instead of stab, it would do nothing against these things. Shit. . . wait a minute. Stuffed into pockets on each side of his boots were nunchaku. Perfect. Those would crack the outer crust, as long as he could get close enough. He pulled both sets out, spinning each to get his bearings.
The Arkakarks would start wailing as soon as he attacked, so he stuffed some kleenex into each ear. Wouldn't totally drown out the awful sound, but it would help. They had not seen him yet, and he knew that their hearing was poor. If he could get close enough to take out one before they reacted, he had a fair chance of pulling this off. Crouching a bit, he made his way along the far wall, which was more heavily shadowed. This side would also put him closest to one of the creatures who stood a few feet away from his peers.
Brannock had crept as close as he was likely to get without detection. He thought quickly, then lashed with one set of 'chucks at the back of the closest monster's legs right behind the knees. The thing roared in pain but fell backwards, which was what he'd hoped for. As the creature landed, Brannock plunged one end of the other set of 'chucks into the thing's eye-one of the few weak spots in that crusty armor. Once the wooden implement pierced what he assumed was the brain, the creature stopped moving.
The other two Arkakarks began their tell-tale "barking" as they realized what had happened. Members of this species were usually pack hunters, but sometimes in the city they abandoned or had never learned those techniques. This made them somewhat unpredictable, in addition to being dangerous adversaries in general.
He had other business to attend to before dealing with them. The woman was still huddling against the wall, clutching her torn clothing to her body, but if she ran now she'd probably get away unless one of the remaining assailants went after her, which was unlikely. Brannock yelled, "Lady get the fuck out of here, down the street that way" and swung his arm up the street in the direction away from the demons. Hesitantly at first, then frantically, she took off running. His two enemies though seemed to be unsure about how to deal with him, attack together or one by one.
So he seized the advantage offered by their hesitation. He executed a forward roll and with his legs swept one creature off of its. Unfortunately, the creature collapsed downward, pinning one of Brannock's arms and knocking the remaining set of "chucks out. Crap. With the other hand he withdrew the dirk and jabbed at the creature's neck. He must have hit a seam or crack in the shell, because the blade slipped into softer tissue easily. The thing let out a gasp, then a gurgle, then was silent.
The remaining Arkakark hesitated; this was now a more even match up. The complicating factor was that Brannock's arm was still pinned and his next best weapon was still lodged in the dead demon. The Arkakark sniffed, then stepped forward and kicked Brannock in the ribs before reaching down and pulling the stunned human to his feet by his shirt. The Arkakark then grabbed a better handful of clothing and slung Brannock against the curb. His head hit a light post.
