Cosmonogic

Chp. 11: Traveling on Foot

A hazy shadow leapt across from tree to tree directly overhead the two of them, stalking them like prey. "Run," Rake spoke in a hushed tone, sending the two of them sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them.

The running carried on for a couple of minutes constantly able to hear the sound of their pursuer overhead. His sides ached as the intense pain of overexertion struck him in an endless onslaught. His lungs couldn't keep up with the air that he wound up sucking in every few seconds. Still, he didn't dare look back nor slow down even the slightest bit. The two of them carried onward, doing their best to avoid the swarm of roots that sprouted up all around them, despite barely being able to see.

"Rake!" Nex shouted, followed by a tumble. Immediately turning around, Rake beheld a shadowy figure standing directly behind his comrade.

"Valdorian," the creature whispered. "Valdorians went extinct," another higher-pitched voice chimed in the distance.

"No sudden movements!" Rake shouted; all those lessons about 'creatures of the night' his brother had given him ages ago creeped back inside his head. Being under the purple leaves in the dark was a death sentence.

Nex stared at the malevolent creature in a shivering terror. "Rake?" he seemed confused as he stared into the creature's deathly white eyes.

They take the form of something you hold dear and try to kill you with it.

"I'm standing right here, Nex," Rake attempted to calm him down. As he witnessed the creature in all of its demonic glory, he saw nothing but darkness.

"Can it be killed?" Dawn wisped beside Rake out of nowhere. Her feet were just above the ground as she peered at their fallen comrade. Her translucent face was crazed with a certain bloodlust.

Rake gazed vacantly a moment. "I'm not sure," he answered, still racking his brain. There must be something Moxin taught me on how to kill them.

"It's standing behind Nex, right?" Dawn licked her lips. "Please let me kill it," she was wheezing with excitement as she peered at the looming shadowy essence.

"I can't risk it harming Nex in the process," Rake argued, not taking his eyes off the menacing presence.

The creature raised its arms in a striking poise, and an instant later Dawn was all over it. The second she was about to come into contact with it it disappeared.

Dawn cursed once she noticed its absence. As a response to the atrocity committed against her, she light up in a literal electric-fury. Light blue zig-zags of light cascaded up and out of her body, illuminating the once shadowy creatures. They were like pale skeletons with rotting meat hung over their missing bodies. They hissed at the light and disappeared the instant it ceased.

Dawn repeated the lightning barrage once more, revealing the creatures much closer. In response to this, Rake grabbed Nex and they started running.

The two of them sprinted onwards with no way of telling whether or not Dawn would be able to hold the creatures off much longer. Rake checked to make sure Nex was okay being so close to Dawn erupting in practically the same way he did back on Astrocruiser. There was surprisingly nothing but minor scratches and bruises that he likely already had.

Rake tripped over the never-ending roots. The process repeated multiple times until they could hear the creatures pursuing. What if something happened to Dawn?

"Dawn!" Rake shouted at the top of his lungs as Nex heaved him back up; who in response winced at the sudden outburst.

"Sorry," Rake murmured in response as they continued their sprint. An electric-blue light blazed above them, honing in like a vulture. His chest became lighter and his guard lowered as he realized she was okay.