...We Could...

Fumi Twenty-Five

Perisa slowly picked herself up and patted around for her bow. When she found it, she grasped it and held it close, knowing that she was going to need it to keep herself alive. Who knew what she would find down here? Anything sharp and pointy was good enough for her. She stood and reached out in the darkness, eventually finding the wall. Her fingertips slowly moved across it, guiding her as her eyes adjusted to the inky light.

I'm scared, she thought, curling up into herself as she looked around at the black hallways. It's dark... I'm scared... Oh, help... Please help...

She heard a skitter of mice feet and whirled around to face it, bow ready to be used. Her heart decided to play some good ol' rock 'n' roll against her rib cage as her golden orbs tried to find what had made the noise.

Then shuffle happened again. This time it was closer.

"G-go away, mouse..." Perisa ordered with a weak voice. "P-please don't come near me... I-I'm not ch-cheese..."

The scuffle darted towards her and Perisa shrieked, firing her arrow (literally) and blinking a few times as she watched the mouse become a burnt offering. She panted a few times before hurrying away, the clops of her shoes echoing slightly as she ran.

Keep going keep going keep going... Preuss will come, Dastan will come, Zelda will come, just keep going... Keep going keep going keep going!

She rounded a corner and found a narrow hallway. Figuring nothing could get to her, she squeezed in and worked her way down. It was just wide enough to let her walk chest-first, but just narrow enough that nothing bigger than her could get in. It was a comforting thought, but... What about the little monsters that wanted to eat her?!

Her bow never left the firing position.

She slowly made her way down the hall, eyes flicking back and forth, scanning for anything that moved to shoot. Her eyes never stayed in one spot. She may be "young", but her brother read her stories that taught her all she needed to know about hunting... As well as Arthur's patient instructions.

You're eyes can deceive you... Never let them stop moving. Rely on your peripheral vision to spot movement. When they see you, freeze. They'll be looking for movement, not you yourself. Keep checking all around you. While something might now be there last time you checked, they're might be something there now.

Perisa went over these simple rules in her head as she controlled her breathing. Silence is key. Take out your enemy before they know you're there. And when you attack, you aim to kill.

Perisa took in a deep breath and continued on, deathly silent. One foot went in front of her, and then the other, the hard-soled boots whispering to the floor as they met secretly. Her right hand gripped the bow, her left hand ready to pull back. Her gold eyes were a blur as they roamed about the way, making sure that not a crack was left unnoticed.

Internally, her mind went quickly as it tried to think of a way out of this. There was no way back the way she came--she had already checked that. There were no lights, and so far only small animals. But what if a larger animal came, like those hellhounds? She had no way of getting to a high spot to snipe.

I'm not good at hand-to-hand like Dastan and Preuss are... But... Maybe I can survive... Unkle Sadik taught me a little... So did Unkle Luddy... I'mma big enough girl to try...

She didn't have to wait for very long, either. Once she got out from the other end of the way, she saw a dim light. Curiosity got the better of her. She slipped towards it, seemingly melting into the shadows. The things that were holding it almost made her scream from terror, but she somehow managed to swallow it and let out a silent pant instead.

They were huge beasts, covered in patches of fur and scales. They spoke in growls and snarls as if it was their own language. The biggest was holding the light, and when he whipped around to snap a the smallest, Perisa caught a glimpse of his mangled maw. It was as if somebody had ripped off the bottom half of a dog's jaw and replaced it with a large mouse's. Drool dripped off it's yellowed teeth as it hissed at its underlings before returning to walking.

One of the underlings flinched and looked away behind them, allowing Perisa to see that his mouth was different--he had a solid snake's jaw with a vertical split down it. When he made a noise, all four quadrants of its mouth moved!

The girl let out an accidental squeak which alerted the rest to her presence. While the snakey one turned to bring the other's attention to her, she quickly flicked her hood up to hide her obvious white hair and prayed that they wouldn't find her.

But just because they couldn't see very well didn't mean that they didn't have a keen sense of smell.

The leader came closer and closer to her, its light becoming brighter and brighter until Perisa felt that he was quite close enough. She raised her bow and fired an arrow of light, sending it right where she figured its heart was, causing it to real back and collapse on the ground as the light poured over it, devouring the darkness that was its body.

The rest of the pack looked down at their leader in horror and then at Perisa who had leaped out of the shadows and was now standing ready in the middle of the hallway, another light arrow ready to fire. They had a short stare down before they were on her, quick as a flash.

They are the moving targets Unkle Arthur set up in the glen, she told herself. Aim and fire... Even if you miss the bull's eye they'll still be dead. They are not the monsters you're seeing now... nope nope nope! Nope!

Arrow after arrow she fired, and the monsters went down like flies. But there were too many for her speed. One came so close, so fast, Perisa didn't have time to bring back another arrow. So instead she back flipped and caught its jaw with the heel of her boot causing it to fly back and land on its back. She did a few more flips to get out of the way before sliding to a stop and resuming her shots.

"Distance is key... Keep back away from your enemies," her tutor's voice rang through her mind. "Do whatever you have to do to keep them away from you. Run if you have to. Just stay alive."

Like using my old gymnastic tactics, she thought grimly to herself, killing a monster. They kept gaining on her, though, and she was forced to retreat yet again. She rolled under a paw swipe and flipped over a tail attack before squeezing her way back through the hall that she had just been in. There she was able to pick off the monsters while they couldn't reach her, much to the ten-year-old's delight.

Right when she had killed the last... thing... however, a shadow appeared above her. A hand snaked around to cover the terrified girl's mouth while their other arm slithered across her torso, effectively pinning her arms in place.

"You seem like a fine fighter," a silky voice purred in her ear. "I think I'll take you for my own."

Perisa screamed.

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Short chapter, but I feel that it packed some punch... The video on the right is what I listened to while writing this. Not everything will match up as it takes longer to write as it does to read, but I think it will all work out in the end.

Don't kill me! >.<