The attack came as soon as the final light failed. A horde of flowing shadow surging out from the tree line. Layan drew his swords and waited for the wave to come; He studied the foe as they closed in. The monsters moved like they were humans made from a viscous liquid. The black substance somehow reflects light giving them a glistening coating.
They were human shaped otherwise with no features on their faces except for a large dark mouth that was filled with long needle like teeth. The fangs were layered, the teeth transparent with lines of black fluid inside.
They moved faster than anything else Layan had encountered so far Reaching the edge of the firelight and starting to circle. Even with his senses greatly enhanced by the flux wave he found it difficult to keep them in his view they kept slipping out of sight into the shadows thrown by the fire.
The kids amongst the survivors were crying at the sight of the monsters, the adults not doing much better. The fighters were scared too, one young woman thrusting her makeshift spear out into the shadows wildly. It was a mistake as she over extended and off balance she was pulled through the fire by one of the shadows. They swarmed over her as she screamed.
There was nothing that could be done; she was gone in seconds disappearing into the shadows before Layan could react.
"Light the outer fires!" Layan yelled out to Renee who thrust her hands out towards the prepared piles of wood. They lit up fast. Her power is greatly enhanced by her fears.
More screams came from around the circle of fire as others were snatched out by the shadow monsters. The weaker areas of light cast by the scattered fires divided up the monsters. It was not enough to stop what Layan could see was inevitable. The monsters seemed tireless; they circled hissing and snarling barely visible in the flickering light.
"We won't hold like this, there are too many of them." Layan Spoke to Renee as she tried to use her powers to make the fires burn brighter. He could see that the effort was costing her, and she was not really achieving anything.
"Stop, that's not going to work we need to think of something." Layan yelled just as a shadow leapt past the fire heading for Renee. He flicked his sword catching the monster midflight and twisting to hurl it into the flames.
It was a mistake, the monster screamed a hideous high-pitched noise and thrashed around in the fire. The black liquid it was made from seemed to lose its shape and the monster popped like a balloon. Black fluid flooding over the fire and extinguishing the flames in a cloud of putrid steam.
The teen who was standing with his spear in front of where the monster landed was immediately attacked through the gap in the ring. The darkness coming alive through the hole and pouring through.
There was no stopping the flood after that. The huddled survivors were quickly covered by the shadows.
Layan slashed back and forth into the mass of monsters dodging and weaving in a frenzy as he saw there was no hope left.
Renee's son was taken, and he vanished before she could even blink. It drove her mad as the flux corruption pulsed and she embraced the power of destruction.
Layan could feel it happen even amidst the fighting for his life he felt her lose herself to the power. A searing heat started to rise behind him, and he made the only choice he could make diving over the ring of fire and fleeing into the night abandoning them all.