Jacob Malnew
"Fuck!" I shouted as I slammed a fist against the wall, I ignored the throb of pain at the act as I felt Harley place a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off, not needing his pity.
"It wasn't-"
"But it was," I shouted back, keeping my eye off the other corpses. Only the two of us remained standing. "I trained for this exact reason, to never let my experience be felt again by others." I turned to the bodies, washing the gore with a tirade of burning flames, reducing the horror to ash. "I should've been better, I should have listened to him instead of letting my pride get to me." I sighed out, the outburst of anger now a fleeting memory. Harley, to his credit, just stood in silence. I breathed out once again, letting the remnants of anger and self-pity leave me as I turned to the next corridor, stepping away from the scent of ash. Harley followed behind me in silence. I could feel his gaze on me, I knew from his earlier conversation that it wasn't my fault, I had to look after myself, they knew what they were getting into, or at least suspected it. But that didn't make it any easier. A pack of wolves snarled at our presence, wet tongues licking red canines. I held up a hand sending out flames in a sweeping wave of destruction. Vines along the wall popped from the heat, ichor splashing to the floor which now bubbled from the heat, the sound of which muffled the whelpings of pain from the animals. I didn't stop as I pressed onwards, the corridor now a cage of smoke and death. I finally relinquished the fire as I reached the first pile of ash, wading through it with little care. I should've just done this myself.
Henry Allcott
My hand reached the obelisk and as I heard its voice in my head, I turned to see the undead being clambering forwards. Fear rose up in me as I responded with the answer that Isaac had told me before.
"One." The obelisk accepted my response, but I didn't pay it much heed. I couldn't get around it. Should I? But my fathers words rose up in my mind.
"Always keep your best card close to your chest, as soon as you make it known, then you will despair at the fact that you no longer have anything to rely on." That statement of his overrode my panic for a moment as I looked at the situation as he had taught me. I looked at the Cyclops, pangs of fear ran through me as I stared at it. "Focus Henry, look at your opponents, watch the things they expect you to overlook, watch for weaknesses in how they play, how they act and how they respond to others." I looked at the mist, which seemed to puff out from the hole where its eye had been shredded. I looked past the cyclops, seeing no shambling corpses. It clicked then, the mist acted as a pilot, it needed more of itself inside the cyclops because of its sheer size. But what good is that information ? It seems to be smart enough to move the limbs, but why is it coming after me ? There are plenty of other monsters in this maze.
"Why are you chasing me?" I expected to hear no response, but the words almost sent me into a panic.
"You are fearful. I can smell it coming from you." The words sounded grating to my ears, a vibration of frequency that would make rocks splinter. I stepped backwards, or at least attempted to as my back collided with the obelisk. "The hunger will be sated. Finally."
"I'm not fearful of you." I shouted back, hoping the loudness of it would convince me of the lie.
"Ahhh, no need to lie. You have fought valiantly, but luckily for me, your unwillingness to accept this, will only make the meal all the more satisfying." At that, thick raindrops of saliva dripped free from the cyclops' mouth. I closed my eyes and focused on the environment around me, stone walls, vines, red outlines of metal inside the palms of the cyclops. I latched onto those fragments of metal and imagined them vibrating. Blood seeped from where the fragments were and I knew that they were causing the husk damage. I sent them deeper into the body, causing more damage to its interior. Rupturing veins on their way through its bloodstream. If the cyclops' body was anything similar to a humans, then I knew where to attack.
"I'm not afraid of you," I reiterated which caused the voice to make a low chuckle in that deep tone of its. I tensed at that retort, but focused on the fragments inside the giant monster, it hadn't noticed yet, I don't think? Please don't find out what I am doing. I pleaded inside my mind. I turned to the obelisk and the inside of it shone red, multiple thick lines connected to one another in a network that made no sense to me, but the look of it reminded me of a circuit board. I smirked, another idea coming to mind.
"Have you finally gone mad. Smiling to forget the fear." The cyclops lumbered onwards until the body fell forwards, the skull smashing against the stone in a sickeningly wet noise. Blood splashed at the walls, coating it in blotchy patches of crimson. The vines around it began to look more like organs, causing a sick feeling to rise in me. "What game are you playing? Accept it!" One of its large hands pressed against the floor trying to push its mass to its feet. As it did so, one single step, sent it crashing back to the floor, this time, the mist cushioned the blow with an outstretched hand. "What have you done ?" The voice was angry, I could tell as the vibration ripped through me, causing me to clasp my hands to my ears to stop the ringing. I looked for the fragments of metal and found them where I expected, at the cyclops' achilles tendon, or whatever its version of that was. I looked at the obelisk next to me, sending my thoughts into the metal lying beneath. I willed it upwards, but something seemed to hold it back, as if it were grasped by a separate set of invisible hands than mine. I tried again and again, noticing the cyclops pulling itself towards me. "It's useless, this attempt has only stalled your demise. Now make it easy for me and wait there patiently." I ignored the words, turning my attention to the obelisk behind me. Move, I focused on the metal beneath, willing it upwards, but the same restraining sensation met me. Move, nothing, MOVE! I moved my hands with emphasis and this time the obelisk rose in the air, I felt a thrum of pain through my head. Sweat dripped into my eyes, but I ignored it as I sent the obelisk hurtling at the cyclops. The effect of the attack was much better than I had expected. The obelisk parted the cyclops' flesh as easily as scissors through paper. Bones shattered like glass and blood flowed free like a tidal wave. The mist collated in the air above the corpse that had been split evenly in two. It took me a few seconds to gather myself, surprised at what had just happened. The mist hung like a cloud, it seemed to be thinking the same as me. Neither of us moved, too surprised to think about anything but the obelisk. I saw the cloud drift closer, and I locked my eyes on the obelisk, sending it hurtling back towards me. It easily parted the mist, but it simply joined together again. A thought went through my mind and I began to rotate the obelisk. It was slow at first, taking a few seconds to rotate one time, but as the speed grew, I noticed the hesitancy of the mist. It no longer spoke and it seemed to shy away from the obelisk. I forced it to spin more, the throbbing in my head growing the longer my focus held on the obelisk. I placed a hand against my temple as the throbbing pain sent waves through me, causing me to feel nauseous. Not yet, not - the environment grew fuzzy as the obelisk began to emit small gusts of wind. No, stay awake, its, It's not over- I doubled over, throwing up onto the floor in front of me. I wiped my mouth with my arm as I grabbed hold onto the obelisk, screaming my way through the pain as the mist seemed to dissipate with the wind pressure. I smiled weakly, seeing the threat gone, I stepped forwards, collapsing to my knees. The pain was overpowering now. I heard the obelisk fall to the floor, landing with a wet splash. No, it's, it's not safe yet-