The Lowly Gate's Guard

Ch. 6: Trapped on a Gate. (5)

Dean was crouched low in the entrance of the room full of thousands of rats.

It wasn't easy getting there, he didn't know if his heart could handle it.

He had come across some rats that roamed in the tunnel. Dean felt luck was on his side, they seemed as if they were blind.

He snuck past them like a shadow. The rats were none the wiser that a meal with legs went past. The spell helped him keep calm and press through.

The rats scuttled over each over, constantly moving. They were much worse close up. Through the crack they looked small, but down here he could barely see over them.

Their red eyes sparkled through the black wave of their bodies.

The smell was foul.

Dean looked up to the two cracks at the top of the room, hoping that Crescent would hurry up and draw their attention.

His wish was soon granted.

A powerful, loud shout came from the left crack high up in the wall. The voice echoing through the room.

The room went quiet. All the rats stopped in their tracks and looked towards the source. Thousands of pairs of red glinting eyes focused on the cracks high up in the wall.

Their attention was now focused solely on the one thing. It was terrifying how they went from constantly swarming, to standing alert.

They seemed to be made of stone, the glow from their eyes the only sign of life.

The Rats still blocked the lever on the wall.

He needed them move, to clear a space.

Then another shout came from the crack, just as powerful and loud as the first.

The rats rushed towards the crack, as if being set off. Climbing over each other, trying to reach the crack and claw it open.

The path to the lever was now clear, all he had to do was run to it and pull.

His legs were heavy. The spell kept him calm and level-headed but his body wouldn't listen. If the rats were to have noticed him there would be no way he could escape alive.

"Move. Move."

Dean forced his legs to stand up.

"Now move."

As if he was gently pushed, he knew it was time. His body changed gear; all the strength he could muster channelled into his legs. He sprinted to the lever. Reaching it quickly, he slammed the lever down.

As soon as the lever got pulled, machinery turned on behind the wall. Chains and gears could be heard moving behind the wall, clinking and clunking.

Crescent must have got out by now.

The whole room started to spin, surprising Dean as it threw him off balance.

The entrance he came from got blocked off as the room turned, revealing another exit.

Dean became speechless at what unfolded in front of him.

A rat, two times the size of the rest, came out of the newly exposed entrance. It was soon joined by a small escort of rats following shortly behind it.

The large rat was full of scars. Its muscles well sculpted from the countless battles it had experienced.

Ding!

A window popped up.

[F Gate Boss Appeared]

[F Gate Boss Revealed]

[F Gate Boss: Scar]

[First boss encounter achievement added]

The black window popped up soon after the first.

[Achievement consumed for System Bootup]

[...88% until system booted]

"That's the boss... it's massive." Dean cowered. He couldn't even handle the swarm of rats, now the Gate boss was here too.

"I'm sorry." A voice resembling Crescent spoke close to Dean.

Dean looked down at his hand. A mouth had formed on the back of it.

"Crescent?"

"I told you I was going to be getting out of here alive. This is something I have to do. It was nice while it lasted."

"Crescent?" Dean's voice grew uneven, his throat was drying up.

More mouths started to sprout across Dean's body.

"Crescent, please." He begged her; his eyes empty.

"Shame I could never get my three pounds back."

All of mouths that sprouted across Dean's body opened wide, letting out a high-pitched scream.

All the rats that were focused on the crack now turned their attention to Dean.

He froze, unable to move an inch. Tears streamed down his face. Is this how the mauled woman felt before she became that rat's meal?

The rats rushed towards Dean, ready to feast on live bait. The shock was stopping him from running, but where would he run anyway? The spell seemed to have faded, leaving him to feel the full terror of the rats.

He was trapped, with the only exit blocked by the Gate's Boss.

Before the rats could rip him to shreds, a blood curdling scream came from the Gate's Boss.

All the rats stopped in front of Dean. A few moved to open a path for the Boss. It walked towards Dean, meeting him eye to eye.

He shivered at its piercing eyes. The gaze cold and feral. It sized Dean up with its eyes, smirking at him with glee. Scar knew he wouldn't be a challenge; it was an easy kill. The fear in Dean's eyes a sweet enjoyment for it.

Just before Dean begged, or had any last words, Scar bite his head clean off his body within a second.

It was too quick for Dean to have felt any pain.

However, he was able to feel the rest of the rats that pounced after. The rat wave swarmed him, pulling him to shreds, leaving nothing behind.

The pain was excruciating. He felt every bite, every tear. Death was different in the Gates.

The soul is anchored to the body even after death, the owners still were able to feel the pain even with their head removed. Unable to move. But the pain was still very real and vivid.

[You've died]

[Requesting removal of one of the gifted skills as compensation]

[Access granted]

[Taking one of the beginner gifted skills as compensation for resurrection]

[Resurrection now commencing]

[Time until resurrection: 168:00:00]

[System boot up 99%]

Without a body as an anchor, Dean didn't exist.

He sat in pure black.

There was no smell, no sight, no sound.

...

Outside of the Gate, a window appears in the air with a countdown on it.

[42:00:00]

It was not the only one that had appeared, millions of them popped up around the world. No one knew what it meant; it was the first time anyone ever saw a Gate window appear outside.