Chapter 15: Black Fog

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"Maxwell, what the hell is that?" I exclaimed as I looked out over the ocean, the horizon being covered in a black fog.

"I don't know, but whatever it is it's right in between us and the altar." Maxwell said as a few wriggling shapes could just barely be seen within the fog.

"Are you saying we're close to the altar?"

"Right behind that fog."

"Hmm... Everyone brace yourselves! And get ready to fight!" I yelled as I took out my axes and watched the aquatic shadow creatures emerge from the fog.

Walani jumped into the ocean with her board, a machete in hand, and Woodlegs lowered his boat into the water, a small cannon mounted on the side. Meanwhile everyone started pulling out their weapons. Willow took out her flaming whip, Wolfgang took out a large club, Wickerbottom and Wes pulling out dart guns, Woody pulling out his ax Lucy, Warly pulled out a kitchen knife, Wilbur pulled out a machete, WX-78, Wigfrid, and Webber pulled out spears, Wendy pulled the rusty knife out of Chester, Winona was going to use her fists, and Maxwell materialized a sword made of shadows.

Whitney was told to go below deck, a command she was happy to follow.

As the shadow creatures made it to the ship Walani and Woodlegs began striking them, multiple shadow creatures falling victim to the cannon balls. But they were only stopping about one fourth of the creatures, the rest of them making it on the ship.

It was all chaos. There were flashes of metal and flame  as the ship was covered in a hoard of shadow creatures and a black fog. I was holding onto self control as hard as I could, fighting the insanity that wanted to take over. The outer battle was going as smoothly as possible but the inner battle was a losing one.

I got a little bit of control back as I saw a giant arc of fire slam down into a giant cluster of shadow creatures, their dark bodies disappearing as they gave a shriek. Willow gave me a reassuring smile that had a twinge of worry in it. She was struggling to control herself too.

I kept hacking and slashing away as the seemingly endless hoard of shadow creatures kept flooding onto the ship, and through the unearthly shrieks of the dying monsters I heard the sound of wood breaking and a female scream right before the sound of a body hitting water went through the air. Walani's board had broken and she was at the mercy of the shadow creatures and the tides. It wouldn't be much longer until the same happened to Woodlegs and his ship.

I put the thought out of my mind as a shadow creature tried to bite my head off. I narrowly avoided it and managed to cut the beast's head off. I didn't avoid the large claws of another shadow creature slashing my side however. I couldn't hold back the yell as it's large claws tore open my sides, blood streaming out of the wound in horrendous amounts. I saw darkness on the edges of my vision, death from blood loss or insanity creeping in I couldn't tell.

Until I heard Whitney scream.

Some of the shadow creatures had went below deck and found Whitney. 

The darkness was insanity.

As the darkness flood my vision and left a colorless world before me I sprinted towards the stairs that went below deck and was immediately confronted by a few shadow creature. I didn't even stop running as I cut them down.

When I reached below deck I saw a few shadow creatures surrounding Whitney, blood running down her forehead. I threw my axes and they lodged themselves in the necks of two of the creatures. The rest of them all turned to me and rushed. I slid under an attack of one of them and grabbed my axes before slashing the remaining shadow creatures into nothing. I told Whitney to hide in a chest, and though she had fear in her eyes she obeyed.

Once I was back on the main deck I saw that there was a giant roaring fire in the center. Apparently Willow had also heard Whitney's scream earlier and had lost it. I could just barely see the end of her whip escaping the fire every once and a while as it slashed the necks and faces of shadow creatures. 

As I was bringing my ax down onto a rather large shadow creature the boat jerked violently as it struck the beach of an island we'd been sailing straight towards while we were fighting.

The hoard was no longer coming, leaving the remaining forty shadow creatures to our mercy.

Willow was taking out quite a few but they'd learned to stay away from the giant fire, and the rest of us took out about twenty of them within the next few minutes. I was beginning to think that with all our injuries we wouldn't be able to finish off the last twenty, but then Maxwell realized we'd reached the altar island.

A large arm of darkness washed over the ship as Maxwell swung his sword, the wave of darkness killing the remaining shadow creatures. As we all watched him jump down onto the beach and walk slowly into the foliage beyond the fire died out and Willow stood there, her whip no longer aflame and remarkably little burns on her since she had just been engulfed in flames. She had a few scrapes here and there but overall she just looked exhausted, a point that was proven when she passed out. 

I was going to run over to her but then my leg gave out. Apparently a shadow creature had bit my leg earlier. As I looked over myself I took notice of all my wounds. The claw marks from earlier, the bite on my leg, a multitude of scraps and cuts, and I could feel the sticky wetness of blood running down my forehead. I wanted to get up and help Willow but my body refused.

I swore as I passed out.

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