Silent Enemy

Chapter 5: Perilous Engagement

Foreward:  A special thanks to Lunar_Blue for editing this chapter and the rest.  I appreciate it :D

Daniel hunched his shoulders, dropping his neck below the confines of his coat's protective mantle. As the ghast bore him to the ground, stars exploded in his vision as his muzzle impacted cement. He heard the sharp reports of small arms fire, just as the creature began to rend his back. He tried to wrangle the creature off of him, but it was phenomenally strong. It began worrying his neck, trying to break through his defenses. Daniel shifted his shoulder, and raised his wand to direct a blast of fire at the creature. He was too slow however, and the creature clamped its beetle like jaws around the vulpine's wrist. If not for the coat, he was certain the jaws would have shorn through muscle and bone with little effort. Instead, his arm went numb from the pressure, and he dropped his wand. The thin piece of ash bounced into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

Judy turned to help, but was forced to redirect her attention to a ghast that charged out of the shadows. She opened fire on it, screaming as she did so. The bullets tore through the creature, driving it into the ground. She placed two more shots into its back, and the creature dissolved into a puddle of translucent slime. The rest of the creatures checked their motions, but she dared not turn her attention from them for long. "Nick, how you doing back there?"

"Fine, we need to get out of there."

"Get off of me!" The wizard snarled, and thrusting a palm back against the creature, he conjured a pure bolt of force. Fear, and panic arose in the wizard, as one of the ghast's claws dug a deep furrow into his right hand. Magic is intimately tied to one's emotional state. Emotions can be used to fuel spells, the more powerful the emotion, the greater the result. Daniel was feeling plenty emotional at the time. While technically it was possible to cast spells without any type of focus, the results tended to be unpredictable. Daniel, however, wasn't exactly swimming in options. His only remaining focus was the ring he wore on his left hand, bearing a caduceus. So without preparation, time, or even much though, Daniel directed his will to tearing the ghast from his back.

"Forzare!" Daniel cried, hand clenching into a fist. A cannon ball of pure force rocketed the creature from Daniel's back. It flew away, driven by the force of Daniel's attack, up into the rafters where it splattered against the ceiling. Ectoplasm, the matter of the spirit world, rained down on the trio as the creature's form was crushed like an insect. Fatigue washed over Daniel, as the expended energy took its toll on his body. He felt a paw grasp him by the shoulder and haul him to his feet. Nick glanced at him from the corner of his eye, gun still pointed towards the creatures in the shadows.

"Get up. Come on." Nick said, his eyes flicking from shadow to shadow. "We need to get moving."

Judy looked towards the shattered wooden door, the forms of three ghasts visible in the corridor beyond. "Where to? The front door is blocked."

"There's got to be a back door." Nick reasoned.

"Are you sure?"

"There's always a back door." Nick shrugged and fired a shot at a charging ghast. He missed however, and the creature bore down on them sweeping the fox off his feet.

"Nick!" Judy poured fire into the creature, round after round slamming into its whipcord body. The creature screeched, its mandibles inches from Nick's muzzle. Nick shrieked, and dropped his weapon, paws clenching the creature's shoulders, holding it off of him. Judy continued to pour fire into it, until at last her pistol slide snapped open. The ghast gave one last roar, and like the rest, dissolved into slime.