Alone in the Dark

Losing Battles

Nerini groaned in pain and slashed her blades out blindly, her instincts allowing her to catch the monster mid strike. The bite of her swords caused it to scream in pain and hesitate, which allowed her barely enough time to catch her feet under her before the creature resumed its attack. Before she could lift her blades in defence, Nerini was thrown, tumbling through the air like a rag doll.

It hit her another couple times before she feebly caught a claw with her sword, slashing at it out of instincts. Another scream of pain was the only sign she had made any damage as she slammed against another tree from the force of a blow.  Nerini's head still swam from the collision when she felt a claw wrap around her throat and haul her into the air.

The world shuddered to a halt as she choked for breath, struggling against a force too big, too fast, and too strong for her to have any effect on. The limb pressing her into the unforgiving surface of the tree with a crushing force was too long to allow her to land any kicks.

Nerini gasped for breath and spun her blade, trying to get it up and under the thing's guard somehow, her moves desperate and ineffective. Even as she was trying to slash feebly at the creature, its other hand clamped hard down onto her shoulder and dug in through her armour. As she screamed in agony, her arm went numb and she dropped her sword with a soft swish into the snowbank below her.

The silence of the dark woods became apparent again, the creature watching her from the swirling black mass of its shadowy features, though it loosened its grip to allow her to breathe. She filled the air with the sounds of her pained gasps and the creak of her armour as she dangled. Details of the moment continued to shift into her mind as she found herself filled with a numbing calm, allowing her to feel the bite of the hard bark digging into the back of her head and the cold air licking at her sweat and blood covered features.

"We will not kill you now. But it gives us pleasure to cause you pain." As the shadowed being spoke, it spoke with a crowd of voices, all of them alien enough to send shudders of fear up and down her spine.

"Go screw yourself." Nerini spat out, yelling in pain as it pulled her back from the tree and then slammed her against it once more.

"We seek your annihilation," It halted, its entire body shuddering as it regarded her with renewed interest, as if something had caught its attention. "But you... you are here to help us. We've been calling you for years. You will help."

There was a new tone in its voice, a purr of fanaticism that caused its body to tense and its claw to tighten around her throat once more.

Nerini's vision faded as she failed to get enough air into her lungs, vaguely feeling her body pulled away from the tree. She tried to claw herself back into consciousness, fighting the feeling that she was flying or sinking, or something between the two sensations even as she choked to breathe. Her heartbeat rushed through her mind as it battled to support her body with enough oxygen to stay alive. The realization that she wasn't flying or falling unconscious hit her when she realized that the thing was carrying her, her body swayed with the shift of its footsteps.

Even as her mind focused on the fact that she wasn't yet dead, she realized she was still gripping her other sword somehow.

"I'm never going to help you." Nerini's words sounded foolhardy and weak as she choked them out, but she followed through by bringing her foot up to kick the thing in the face, hoping that it had bent its harm enough to bring her smaller limbs within range. The feeling of her foot connecting solidly caused her to grin, even as it stumbled to the side.

It growled angrily, letting go of her throat to shake her by the shoulder like a child's toy as it snarled. Nerini felt the claws tear deeper into her shoulder and pull a cry of agony out of her as it. Then the monster paused and brought its free hand up to the shifting shadow of its face. It made a wiping motion and then seemed to lick its palm with consideration.