Ground of oam oams cry, p.50
Ground of Oam (Oam's Cry), page 50
A small tremor was felt behind the group. It was small and insignificant, but it was felt several more times. After it quickly grew stronger, Levi stopped where he was and looked behind him. Shaifgan and some of the other raiders who were moving behind him stopped and did likewise.
Farther back into the fog Levi could see a shadowy object. It was strange shaped, foreign looking. It almost had the shape of a person but a little deformed. He couldn’t make out the details because of the fog, but he could see enough. The upper body was wide while the waist and legs were thin. The thing’s head was bowed down hiding its face while the arms were curled up against its body.
It took Levi by surprise causing him to let out a quiet gasp. There wasn’t just one of the things, but a whole line of them forming a wall behind them. There would be no way to head back.
The things didn’t move. They just remained perfectly still like statues. It almost seemed as if they had no life in them, but Levi had felt them moving from behind them. There was also the fact that they weren’t there just a while ago.
“Ah, guys,” Levi said, getting everyone’s attention. Everyone looked back and froze when they saw them. They reacted by drawing their guns, but no one fired because the creatures didn’t seem to do anything.
“What are those things?” Coben asked.
“I don’t know, but they don’t seem to be threatening,” one of the others replied.
“They seem threatening to me,” Shaifgan said. “I don’t think we should do anything that might provoke them.”
“I agree, let’s keep moving, but don’t take your eyes off of them.” Nigarious said.
Everyone slowly began to move backwards glancing to every side around them. After a few feet the figures disappeared into the fog, and that was when Levi could feel them moving again.
A chill went down his spine. The creatures moved slowly, but it wasn’t long before he could see their shadowy figures reappearing through the fog. The creature’s immediately stopped once they were visible again. It was then that he realized that they were trying to follow them without being noticed, but so far they were doing a bad job.
Everyone began to move even faster along the bridge until the creatures were out of sight, and immediately the things began to move again. Levi was almost walking sideways trying to keep his eyes on everything around them. Nigarious was the only one fully facing forward, and everyone still had their weapons out.
“Stop!” Nigarious quickly ordered, when he spotted another creature right in front of them. It was as still as the others but this one was alone.
“What are these things?” someone asked again, when they all came to a halt. Soon the shadowy figures behind them reappeared before stopping. Now they had a line of them on one side while having one in front of them.
Everyone looked back and forth between the two. Nigarious began to make his way around the one followed by the rest. Staying an arm’s length away Levi circled around; after doing so another creature could be spotted farther off, then another somewhere else. Levi soon realized that they were being surrounded.
“Don’t take your eyes off of them,” Nigarious ordered, understanding what was happening. The line of creatures began to move forward again once they were hidden in the fog. The one creature that was now behind them also began to move once hidden, and Levi just tried to keep up with the group as they moved around the things.
“They’ll have us surrounded,” Shaifgan said while hurrying on foot.
“Refrain from attacking,” Nigarious spoke back.
Levi could feel more and more tremors as more of the creatures began closing in, and he thought that he heard a snarl come from one of them as they passed. It wasn’t long before he saw a few of them jerk, and the group behind them soon reappeared through the fog, but this time they didn’t stop moving.
They moved sluggishly, and it was their feet Levi noticed. Every time one of the feet left the ground it stretched as if it was sticking to the stone. The foot would eventually pull free and snap back into place before being put back down. It was like their bodies were made of sticky elastic or putty.
The air began to be filled with the sound of snarling as the creatures showed more life. More creatures began to appear out of the fog all around them, and everyone was forced to zigzag around the monsters.
“I think they’ve realized that we’re on to them,” Shaifgan said, glancing all around.
“We need to hurry,” Nigarious answered back, from the front of the group before starting into a faster pace.
Then out of nowhere a creature appeared out of the fog in front of him letting out a sharp snarl. Nigarious stumbled when the thing quickly swiped at him with its arm that stretched out when swung.
A loud pop came from Nigarious’s revolver when he reacted by firing at the monster, but the bullet was only absorbed by the creature. The skin around the bullet deformed a bit, but it came back together. The creature then swung its other arm rearing its head up, revealing the small mouth filled with sharp teeth. Its eyes had no color in them, and it was hard to tell if it even had eyes.
Nigarious quickly withdrew his sword with his other hand and blocked the attack by sending it into the side of the creature’s wrist. The monster let out a shriek, but it didn’t seem to be hurt while the sword came to a stop midway into its flesh. The hand bent from the impact in the wrist, and Nigarious found his sword stuck in a thick sticky substance. Using his other hand he grabbed the hilt and forced it through the arm which stretched with the sword.
Another creature to the side of the group quickly swiped with one of its arms, hitting the pack that Liseerioun was wearing around his shoulder. He let out a loud yelp of surprise before jumping back with his pack, but the arm of the creature was stuck to it, stretching. The monster pulled back on the pack forcing Liseerioun to let go of it.
Meanwhile Nigarious managed to pull his sword away from his adversary and jumped back again when it attacked. The monsters from behind closed in while everyone was crammed together.
“Come on!” Nigarious shouted, bolting around the creature. Everyone followed at a quick pace. There was no playing it safe now. “Don’t touch them.” Nigarious shouted again while they scurried through the maze of monsters.
Levi jumped back in surprise when one of them swiped at him, and occasionally he would nearly run right into one that was hidden in the fog. The monsters began to hiss and snarl at them. They moved slowly because of their sticky feet, but they seemed to keep appearing out of nowhere.
Levi found himself getting separated from the rest of the group as the monster hordes began to squeeze in between them. Nigarious was followed closely by Mark and the other raiders while Levi found himself stuck with Shaifgan, Coben, and Moriam. He didn’t know where Liseerioun was, perhaps with Nigarious.
Shaifgan was the one leading the way with Levi and the rest, trying not to lose Nigarious. They weren’t far from him, but the path was getting harder to follow as it got more crowded.
There were dozens of hissing beasts in front of them now almost forming a wall. Shaifgan headed for a gap in between them but it was blocked off when a monster stepped in to help reinforce it. They all stopped where they were trapped between the hordes. Levi glanced behind him to see that going back wasn’t much of an option.
Shaifgan cursed when they were cut off. “Shall we see what a little fire will do?” He quickly reached into one of his pockets and grabbed something that looked like a flare. Quickly he ignited it and tossed it at the group in front of them.
The monsters let out a shrill scream as they went up in flames, and began to melt away. Levi was glad to see that they were at least highly flammable.
“Come on!” Shaifgan shouted, when he bolted through the burning corpses. Levi quickly followed with Moriam ahead of him and Coben who was quickly limping forward. Levi was surprised to see Coben moving so fast with his leg wounded like it was.
A few feet ahead Levi was taken by surprise by a monster that lunged forward at him. He stumbled back while the creature’s cold finger grabbed him by his shirt. Levi tried to pull back, but the fingers were stuck tight to the material and stretched as he pulled. The monster then pulled Levi back toward it with its teeth bearing out at him.
Coben, who was next to him, immediately pulled his pistol from his side and fired it at the creature’s hand exploding it just enough for Levi to pull free. He found the creature’s fingers hanging loose from his shirt. Coben grabbed Levi and pulled him forward out of the reach of the monster. Levi began to run again staying close to Coben, while Shaifgan and Moriam were still ahead getting separated from them.
“Levi!” Coben shouted, as another one lunged at them forcing Levi to fall back on his side. Quickly squirming to get back up Levi found himself separated from Coben by the monster. Once again the monster began to swipe at Levi, but Coben quickly leaped forward hitting the monster on its side as if to tackle it. The monster was knocked back a bit preventing it from hitting Levi, but Coben found himself stuck to the side of the creature.
Levi got up from the ground with his face filled with horror. The monster tried to reach around to grab Coben, but it couldn’t get its teeth on him. Coben tried to pull away while letting out a shout, but the skin only stretched holding him tight. Another monster then came from behind him and grabbed onto his back.
Levi was frozen in horror as he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t attack the creature because he would only get stuck. Coben shouted again when the other creature came at him from behind. It quickly sank its teeth into his right shoulder causing Coben to let out a deathly scream. He yanked and thrashed but he could not pull free.
Levi grabbed his sword, franticly trying to come up with a way to help. He failed to notice the other monsters that were coming up behind him, and his senses were too overwhelmed to feel it.
“Levi, behind you!” Coben shouted, pointing his pistol toward the monster behind him. He squeezed of three shots letting the bullets whiz by Levi’s head causing him to duck. The monster let out a shriek of pain while it stumbled back absorbing the bullets. “Run Levi!”
The creature that was latched onto Coben sunk its teeth into him again making him scream again. Without much thought, Levi grabbed Coben by the arm and tried to pull him free, but it was useless. Coben only screamed for Levi to run again before more monsters began to pile on top of him. Levi knew that there was nothing he could do, but he couldn’t just abandon him.
More shots were fired from the pistol into one of the creature’s heads. All the bullets were absorbed, and Coben Haw began to disappear into the mass of monsters piling on top of him. With more coming, Levi saw no other choice but to run. So he did. He ran as fast as he could zigzagging between the monsters. The others in his group were out of sight making Levi feel alone, and he wished to be off the bridge so bad. He could still hear the screams from Coben off in the distance now slowly fading.
A thick horde of monsters began to block off any clear path Levi could take. Realizing that he was soon going to be cornered, Levi ran to the side of the bridge leaping up onto the wall that went up about four feet. It was about a foot wide, so he had to remain balanced as he ran along it. He couldn’t see anything below the bridge except for a long drop off into the canyon below which was shrouded in fog.
Keeping at a fast pace, Levi soon caught site of Shaifgan and Moriam trapped in the midst of a horde of creatures. They both had their swords out in front of them trying to keep distance between them and the monsters.
“Over here!” Levi shouted getting their attention.
Moriam quickly made her way over through the monsters followed by Shaifgan. Levi pulled her up onto the wall as well as Shaifgan. Once they were up they began to hurry forward. Moriam led the way while Shaifgan stayed behind Levi.
The bridge seemed to go on forever, and Levi was beginning to wonder if it would ever come to an end. The wall remained safe for the time being, until they soon spotted one of the creatures climbing up ahead of them.
Quickly reacting, Moriam leaped off the wall, over a few beasts as Levi and Shaifgan followed her example. They landed on their feet back onto the bridge, and they quickly continued to run. The place seemed to be clearer now of monsters, but they were discouraged when they found themselves coming upon another wall of monsters. They came to a quick stop when they saw that there was no continuing farther. Shaifgan had no more flares, so fire was out of the question, but before any of them could say anything Levi spotted something small flying through the air toward them. It fell down onto the horde of creatures sticking to them. Levi immediately recognized it as a grenade, and shouted for everyone to get down. A loud explosion followed sending bits and pieces of the creatures flying through the air.
Levi and the rest of them were flat on the ground now. Looking up he could see somebody standing on the other side of the monsters. He recognized the man to be Mark and figured that he must have been the one to throw the grenade.
“Come on!” he shouted to them.
Moriam was one of the first ones up. They followed her through the gap of monsters the grenade had made, and Levi never thought that he would be so thankful to be reunited with one of the raiders.
The bridge seemed wider as the number of monsters lessened. Their hisses and growls were still heard, and more of them would still appear out of the fog in front of them. Their far reaching arms would come flying out of nowhere at them.
The rest of the raiders could be seen as Levi and the rest got farther on the bridge. It wasn’t long before they caught up because the others didn’t seem to be moving. Soon, Levi realized why. Another horde of monsters were coming their way, forming another thick barrier.
“Where is Coben?” Nigarious asked, once he saw them approaching.
“He’s gone,” Levi reluctantly replied, coming to a stop in front of him.
Nigarious’s expression filled with sorrow, but he didn’t say anything. There was no time to mourn, and he knew that.
“Mark, we need another grenade,” he said, looking toward the big man.
“Immediately, sir,” Mark responded, grabbing one from his belt.
Levi wondered where they had gotten all their weapons, but then he realized that people were probably killed for them. Pulling the pin Mark threw it into the mass of creatures.
A large bang followed, exploding the monsters into oblivion. A large enough gap was formed for everyone to pass through, but more creatures began to fill it in. No one waited long to start running again. Levi remained ducked forward as he ran through, avoiding the swiping hands.
Everyone made it through the mass without being touched, and Levi thought that he could see the end of the bridge. He felt relief when he saw it, but then he felt something else. Something big approached them from behind.
Looking back, Levi could see that Mark was at the very back of the group running as fast as his large legs would carry him. Then out of the fog behind him appeared a large shadowy creature. It looked like the other monsters, but this one stood twelve feet high. It moved faster than the others with its long slender arms and legs. Its ugly head peered down at Mark before it swung its right arm at him catching him by the back swinging him up into the air.
Mark let out a scream once his feet left the ground. His rifle dropped to the ground as he was violently swung back and forth. The creature stopped where it was as it quickly reached its head forward to take a bite.
“Mark!” Nigarious shouted.
The creature bit down into the man’s side as he hit the creature in its head. The blow didn’t do anything though, but get his arm stuck to its head. It was like trying to fight with a large mass of sticky putty.
Before anyone else could do anything, Mark grabbed another grenade from his belt and fumbled for the pin. The grenade went off in the man’s hand blowing up the wall next to the monster. The creature let out a scream as its body deformed from the explosion. It stumbled over the side of the bridge grabbing onto anything that it could. Its feet stuck to the stone as its body hung over the side of the bridge. The legs continued to stretch as gravity pulled it down eventually snapping it at the ankles.
Everyone stared in horror as another one of their men died. Levi didn’t know what kind of horrendous beast these things were or where they came from. Every other monster he had heard of was just a mutation of some sort from another already existing creature like the giant bees. These things were completely foreign though.
“He’s gone we need to move!” Shaifgan shouted.
More monsters started to reappear through the fog sluggishly moving toward them. Everyone started running again making it to the end of the bridge. Levi could feel the dirt under his feet again once he made it off the stone. Looking around, he could see that they were in another small valley in the side of the mountain wall. The ground was bare with only two dead looking trees that he could see.
The group moved a few yards from the bridge and turned back to see the creatures. They still hissed at them slowly moving closer to the edge, but as soon as they reached it they froze. The monsters only glared at them now before bowing their heads again, and hunching over.
Their bodies formed a blockade on the bridge, but they didn’t dare move from the stone. Levi let out a sigh of relief, but didn’t let down his guard. The only problem now was if they had to go back that way later. He didn’t know if he would be able to do so.
“This place is cursed,” Nigarious announced, sounding aggravated. There was also a hint of fear in it. “Whoever is responsible for setting this trap will pay the price.”
Levi felt afraid, but it was not all from the monsters. He feared Nigarious. He never intended for anyone to die on his little journey. He knew that the only reason that he was alive was because Nigarious hadn’t killed him yet, and if the man blamed Levi for his men’s deaths then he couldn’t expect the man’s protection forever.
