After leaving Halley early in the morning and continuing their journey, they arrived in Torrodas city mid-afternoon and after spending the day questioning the local residents decided to take a short break.
"How're you doing? Any useful information?" Lynn asked Aika as they sat down at the Crescent Moon coffee shop. She handed her sister a chicken burger from a restaurant next door. Fingering the worn-out, hand-knitted scarf around her neck, she appreciated the warmth it gave in the brisk evening air. It was a present from her mother when Lynn had left home at fourteen to join the army cadet academy. Smiling ruefully at the memory, she surveyed the surrounding area.
Lynn and her sister had spent the day collecting newspapers and asking the occasional passerby about Venorir Junior while in Torrodas City. The responses collected were ominous at least. All had been vague and stinking of something fishy, but they all had one thing in common. People suspected there was a killer on the loose.
Aika groaned and laid her head on the table. "All this effort to discover nothing about this man is making my head hurt. When we get home, I'm going to brain dump all this crap then settle down with a drink."
Lynn smiled at her sister's statement and sipped her coffee. "Same. I want to dump my brains out as well."
"Yeah, wait what?" Aika looked up and a pregnant moment of silence filled the air.
Lynn grimaced and sighed. "That...that came out wrong, I should reword that."
Aika snickered at her from the table top. She snaked her fingers under her cheek and made herself comfortable. "Anyways, to answer your question, I found out that Venorir is one hell of a political powerhouse here in Torrodas as they have great influence over the Terranet region."
"That's why I've been telling you to leave your dear lab and go on some vacations for once, for goodness sake. At least try and keep up with the current news."
"Hey! I traveled with you guys for various missions. Plus, I read the news everyday!" Aika exclaimed. Lynn raised a doubtful eyebrow at the statement. As intelligent and well-trained in archery as Aika was, her lack of real-world experience was something she needed to overcome.
"Well," Aika trailed off in her reasoning. "What about you, then? I suppose you've got a thing or two?"
A small smirk tugged at Lynn's lips. "Indeed." She lowered her voice to just above a whisper as she continued, forcing Aika to lean in for better hearing. A woman had expressed to Lynn her suspicion towards the family, claiming that her best friend, the most recent victim of the monstrous serial killer, was murdered by none other than the only son of Venorir.
Another person had said he used to work in the Venorir mansion as a butler and, apparently, he left because of the many odd things happening inside that giant residence, some of which involved Venorir. And there was another one, a hunter, reported seeing Junior Venorir wandering outside the Terranet Forest.
"After hearing he was wandering in the forest I asked the hunter where they had seen him and did a quick investigation of that area. It's mostly overgrown brush, but what caught my interest was a mansion."
"Hold on a second, you're telling me that while I was wandering around the city failing to collect info, you managed to get a lead on this investigation?"
"I guess? I had a few connections doing the legwork for me which is something you'll learn how to do someday."
"You seem to have a knack for connections everywhere you go."
"I met these people in my prior work. Anyways, as I was saying, I think you and I should go investigate this mansion further to see if there is anything going on there. Maybe we can find more clues."
Lynn pulled out a map to show her sister the location of the mansion. She pointed to a forested area. "This is where the mansion is located. According to my contact's the building's prior owner was the Venorir family a few years back before it was sold off to an unknown buyer. The strange part is after it was bought nothing was done with the place, why spend all that money and not do anything with it."
Aika frowned, "That is definitely weird it was left alone after being sold. You would think the new owner would have kept the place in order and not let it rot."
"Exactly, which is why we are going to see if it is truly abandoned."
***
Lynn and Aika reached the mansion as the sun was slowly sinking behind the horizon. The two of them nimbly approached the mansion's front courtyard that was filled with overgrown bushes, abandoned flower beds lining the cobblestone pathways and observed the surrounding area. While the place had been left to nature, the stone walls themselves were still in rather good condition, despite not being maintained for 2 years, so scaling them would be the only option.
Lynn looked up at the stone wall in front of her and flexed her shoulders. "If you're up for it, I can toss you over the wall."
"Well, if you do that, how are you going to get over it?" Aika asked.
Lynn patted a cylindrical metal casing on the left side of her hip. "I'll use my grapple line to haul myself over the wall, no worries."
Aika took a few steps backwards and waited for Lynn to cup her hands together and brace herself.
"Ready?"
With a small nod, Aika ran towards Lynn and moments later felt herself getting boosted up into the air and over the wall. She landed softly on the other side of the divider and was amazed at the scenery in front of her. An overgrown, but hauntingly beautiful garden surrounded a humble gazebo that was covered in lush vines. Beds of flowers lined pathways leading away from the garden center.
After seeing Aika make her way over the wall, Lynn activated her canister making a blue glowing ring appear on its surface. She threw the grapple line to the top of the wall, giving it a tug and satisfied with the hold, she closed her left hand into a fist and felt the line being retracted into the canister to pull her up over the wall.
Landing next to Aika, Lynn retracted the remaining wire. Wound up, the glowing ring faded away. Aika shook her head in an envious manner. "Must be nice being able to manipulate any nearby metal objects near you." Lynn smirked, "It has its perks."
"But I mean if you can control metal we could just have just walked through the front door instead of scaling walls you know."
"Negative sis, I can't control rusty metal or we would have."
Lynn and Aika briskly made their way across the open ground, past the gazebo and overflowing gardens to get to the side of the mansion. At the side of the building, Lynn took a brief moment to survey the area for anything out of place before turning to Aika. Taking note of how there were no visible security measures in place that she could see.
"I don't see anything unusual so far, but I want to make sure that really is the case before we leave here. Like we discussed earlier, I'll hit the roof and see what I can find there." With that, Lynn threw the grapple into the air and had it embed itself into the roof above. "Good luck, if you see anything suspicious, radio me before continuing." She then ascended the side of the building, leaving Aika alone on the ground.
Aika rubbed the back of her neck as she looked around to see if she could find an easy way into the mansion.
As the sun finally sank behind mountains, shutting its illumination as darkness took over. She looked up at the grand building before her and inhaled deeply. "Alright, let's get this party started."
Aika pulled out a handheld device that had a small digital screen and scanned the area for any possible detectors or left over security measures from the previous occupants, waiting for the device to do its job. She admired the tool that Awela had ordered from Jax.
The device beeped a short sound, indicating the job finished. Finding nothing, she breathed a sigh of relief. Storing the security detector on her waist, she made her way over to the mansion's wall where a set of chest-high windows paired with heavy hanging shutters. Aika put her hand on the cold glass panes and fingered the track. She hesitated for only a moment before pushing and lifting up one of the windows to enter the mansion.
Once inside, she pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. She was met with empty plant pots, dusty artifacts on display, and an old grandfather clock with still hands. It solemnly stood watch over the grand hallway.
Aika treaded as softly as she could on the old wooden floor. Her nose tingled from dust floating in the air. She breathed deeply to avoid sneezing. One board creaked loudly underneath her boots, making her wince. Taking a moment to calm herself, she pressed on through the empty hallway and reached the main hall.
The entrance had a fancy chandelier hanging high above the center anda now dry three-tier water fountain with a stone lotus on top sat in the middle of the room.. Curving along both walls and up to a balcony were intricately detailed rails made of quality hardwood. Large entry doors sat up upon the balcony, on her right.
Aika slowly crept up the stairs, careful as to not make a sound as she ascended. Upon reaching the top landing. She stopped moving and carefully listened for any sound of footsteps and was greeted with nothing but silence. The room split away into two hallways. Aika picked the left hallway. If nothing was down here, she would trace her steps back and explore the right hallway next.
The hallway led to a room. Aika peeked inside. There was a desk at the far end of the room, bathed in the waning rays of the rising moonlight from the window situated behind it. A gleam caught Aika's eye where an old tree pot sat alone on the right side of the window. Curious, she walked over and bent down to examine the spot. There, she found a small and round vest pin, lying forgotten on the ground.
Picking it up, it was intricately decorated with a weird symbol at the center of it: three triangles layering on top of each other, trapping a ring and a circle within the middle. The symbol was a bit familiar, if only she could remember whether she had seen it somewhere before. This might be the Venorir family crest, but I could be wrong.
This pin probably meant something important so it went into her pocket for later observation. While it was one small clue, she was not satisfied with this alone. Aika continued her search back out to the corridor and to the other rooms.
Upon reaching the end of the hallway, she was greeted by a lone door. At first sight, it appeared to be made out of dark wood, shiny when polished but lacked fancy carvings and decorated details due to its simple, plain design.
She lightly touched the door and traced her finger along the doorframe and found there was very little dust on it. Noticing a small piece of the wood had fallen off, a glint of metal shone through, and upon closer inspection discovered it was covering a sturdy metallic door hidden behind it. She tried the doorknob, but it stayed firm and even when she applied more pressure, it wouldn't budge. Underneath the doorknob, there was a strange indentation. Now this is something worthy to investigate for sure.
She pressed the radio button near her vocal chords and activated her throat mic. "Lynn, you there?" A long silence filled the air before a garbled static came over the line. "Not sure why the line is bad. But I think I found something."
Aika fished the pin out of her pocket, and slid it into the impression. It fit perfectly, then something clicked, and the pin popped right out into her waiting palm. The door could now be opened.
"Lynn, if you can hear me, I found a hidden door near the main entrance, I'm going to head in and investigate."
Static was her only reply. Something deep down told her to wait until Lynn joined her before venturing any further. What if this was a trap? What if somehow they knew she and Lynn were coming? But then, shouldn't they have caught her by now instead of letting her roam their territory for evidence? But her curiosity about the intriguing find won out. If there was any danger she couldn't handle, she would just retreat. She pushed the door open and cautiously walked inside.
She entered a hexagon-shaped room dimly lit by sconces on pillars at each corner of the room. This room was much cleaner--a used space--in comparison to the other areas of the mansion she had seen. Someone has used this place recently. The walls were lined with shelves packed full of various books from floor to ceiling. The center wall, opposite of the entrance, hung a beautiful painting framed in gold the size of the wall itself.
Beautiful, but vigorous--it was a painting of war, focused on the lone figure of a soldier on his horse with trails of corpses and destruction behind him. A vintage desk made out of fine wood was positioned beneath it, a potted plant sat on one of the corners where ink and pens lay neatly on a tray on the other side of the surface.
In awe, she wandered over to a nearby bookshelf. A label in her line of sight read "Biology of Death Striders" ; another on the upper rows of books read "Aegis Properties & Physics".
This was unbelievable. She had always dreamed of having some kind of library like this one where she could spend days reading the knowledge of the world.
As Aika slowly walked around the shelves reading the names of the books that caught her eye, she brushed her hand against the books and wondered. Occasionally, she pulled one off of the shelf and turned a few pages to have a quick look inside.
These were so authentic. Some books were at least a century old as their papers had turned yellow; but some were relatively new. If she had a chance, she would love to read every single book in this room. Fortunately, she didn't forget why she was here in the first place.
Aika stopped at the shelf just near the working table, seeing a few had been missing here and there on some levels of it. Apparently, they were taken out for a thorough study and left stacked up on the desk beside her.
The room seemed perfectly normal. Or was it? Why would a room as normal as this one be hidden behind a fake wall?
Aika began to inspect everywhere that could hide something. The bookshelves, the desk's drawers, inside each book that were taken out of its place, under the pot of plants. No secret notes, no suspicious objects, nothing. She wanted to check behind the painting but hadn't figured out how to move it because it was fixed to the wall.
The moment she was about to give up, a sudden draft picked up and brushed her skin ever so gently. The room had been still until that moment. Was there a contraption hidden in this very room?
Aika went back and forth, examining the painting more carefully. She suspected something from the bookshelves or the desk would make this painting move, revealing its secret. She decided to try putting the books on the table back into their places, hoping to hear some mechanical sound. The silence disappointed her. What to do next?
As Aika mulled over the possibilities of the room, a book that was taller than the rest. It jutted abnormally beyond its shelf and the spine was plain with no title. Aika walked over and pulled out the book, the rest of it as blank as the protruding spine. If anything screamed suspicious, this was it. She pushed the book back into place until it thumped on the back of the book case and a tiny clicking sound rang.
The bookshelf next to the painting slowly swung outwards, behind the shelf was an entrance to the top of a stone staircase leading deep down into pitch-black darkness. Aika went over to the painting and entered the staircase.
She traced her hands on the surrounding walls, leaning for support as she tread carefully, hesitating before every step she took. It was a rather long descent into the underbelly of the mansion. Her tension grew, why a secret staircase in an already secret room?
Finally reaching the bottom of the staircase she was greeted by another metal door.
Great, another door in front of me. What kind of weird things do the Venorir's hide in there?
She attempted to open it, but it was locked. She would gladly use that pin she found earlier to unlock it if there wasn't an actual keyhole on the door, but this door needed a key she didn't have. Which also meant she needed to pick the lock if she was to get inside. She grumbled to herself. Blast it all, if only Claudia was here. She could listen to the lock and hear what the tumbler's sequence was with her hearing, and open this damn door.
Aika reached down to her belt and fished out a lockpicking set. She put her ear against the door, close to the keyhole and proceeded to try and fail miserably at picking the lock. Minutes passed as cold sweat started to sting her eyes. Before she got too fed up with this stupid lock, through sheer luck, she finally heard the last tumbler fall into place and the door clicked.
Relieved, she opened the door and peered inside first to see dozens of her own eyes, wide with excitement, stare back at her. The hall was an expanse of smooth gray metal, polished so well it reflected her image in the light. The spotless walls stretched down the corridor.
Aika swiped a finger on one of the walls, wondering where this would lead. A faint sound echoed from behind her, a distant thump. She realized with dread that the bookcase up in the hexagonal room had shut. Spinning back around, she saw in the reflection that her hands were shaking. With no way to go but forward, she decided to carry on and made her way to the end of the hallway, and stepped into an open room.
The room was full of cages, waist-high and filled with a variety of trapped wild animals inside each one. She covered her nose at the stench.
Inside the cage closest to her, a wolven and feral animal bared its teeth at her. Aika stumbled backwards from the cage just as the animal lunged for the bars and gnashed harshly, as if it were trying to kill her.
Seeing how gaunt it looked, the fact that it wanted to eat her was no surprise, but what confused her was why these creatures were captured and locked up, especially in such a hidden location. What was the purpose of this? The creature's milky eyes followed here as it licked its mottled lips. Dark red rims traced its eyes and the skin seemed to flake away dry and ashy.
Behind Aika, another creature in its cage pressed up against the bars. It was the size of a bear with a wide flat gray nose, pulling up from its mouth to reveal yellow teeth. It snarled. Aika hugged herself, staying away from the cages. These creatures were hungry for sure. Each cage emitted a growl, snarl, howls, pants, and more to create a thunderous cacophony of noise. If anyone had been living in this mansion as the clean study up above suggested, they would have noticed her intrusion by now. Quickly passing each cage, Aika made her way to the end of the room, careful to not look too closely at any of the monsters for their nightmarish states.
The room was large and all reflective silver. As Aika neared the far wall, her reflection appeared on the curved surface. The wall felt cold and squeaked when she dragged her fingers across it. Maybe it was the strange discovery, the noise, or the putrid stink of these caged beasts, but Aika couldn't help but feel a little panicky. This was too strange. The only thing helping her to push forward was her burning curiosity to get to the root of this mansion's secrets.
"There must be something here," Aika whispered to herself. Some adjoining room to store feed, materials, or any supplies for these creatures. Surely, they were not walked through the mansion and into this room, there would have been signs of such struggle upstairs. There must be another entrance. She began to pace the room, feeling all hungry eyes on her as she followed the wall, dragging a finger over the smooth metal.
The smooth coolness was interrupted when her finger bumped over a seam in the wall. It was the outline of two doors. Bingo. Aika pressed her finger to her throat mic and tried to reach Lynn again.
"Lynn? If you are there, I really need you to pick up. The door I unlocked led to a storage room of sorts, full of caged creatures. I've found an exit door that I am going to investigate. If you hear me, buzz back and I'll talk you through the way down here. I'm going farther."
Nothing.
Aika sighed. She was sure that Lynn was alright, but now it was time to keep moving forward. Aika ran her fingers along the seams, pushed on the doors, then stepped back to think about what to do next. There were no levers, no keyholes, and no handles to manipulate. She wondered if she could pry them open or try something a little louder, but before she tried this, there was a sudden click and the doors swung open and outwards. A man appeared in the doorway with his arms spread wide.
"Now who do we have here? An unexpected guest?" the man asked. He wore a long lab coat with dark stains along the hem and sleeves. His face lightened into a crooked smile and sharp eyes; a pair of goggles balanced on the tip of his nose. His hair stood on end, giving him the look of someone fully absorbed into their work. But what does his work entail?
"I—I'm sorry, I think I'm a little turned around," Aika said. It was an automatic response and she wanted to kick herself for it. The man stepped into the room, undisturbed by the cages and smell.
"I think you are quite far from being simply turned around," he said. "And who might you be?"
"Aika O'Hara."
"O'Hara? It's quite unusual that I have guests, but I can't say I'm not happy about it. I would say I'm delighted!"
"Who are you?" Aika asked. She took a step backwards, keeping a distance between herself and his advances. The scientist took off his goggles, revealing sharp eyes, and wiped them on a clean patch of his sleeve. He tsked and put them back on.
"I don't think you should be the one asking questions, O'Hara. I think you owe me an explanation about why you are here, practically knocking on the door of my lab."
"You have a laboratory down here?"
"Of course!" the scientist: "Where else would I do my work? It is quite top-notch, best technology around if I do say so myself." As the scientist spoke, Aika could see behind him a bright room with operating tables, shelves full of jars and strange mechanisms. There was a large sink full of buckets and containers. Believe it or not, an even worse smell came from the laboratory itself.
"Fascinating," Aika answered. Maybe she could still talk her way out of this one. "I'm a scientist myself, I study the combinations of technology and more natural elements, kind of combining the best of both worlds."
"I would say we have the same interests," the scientist answered.
"Really?"
"Really. Glad to know we are of similar mind. You are familiar with the value of test subjects and control groups, correct?"
"Of course."
"How would you like to assist me in a little experiment? Stay right where you are, I'll be back in just a moment."
Aika wasn't sure what to say. She was partially bluffing so she couldn't imagine what this scientist was hinting at. He turned back to his lab and she took a step forward to follow, but he held up his hand and closed the door instead, locking her back out.
"This isn't good," Aika muttered. She waited for him to come back but instead, a panel of the wall several feet above the lab's door opened like a large shutter and the scientist appeared again, sitting in a chair with a drink in hand.
"My dear O'Hara, you've brought me a rare opportunity today. My research has been quite slow lately and with all my new developments, I've been wanting to test some theories. With your sneaky expertise, I think you can be a huge help to me."
The growls and snarls around Aika grew louder as she backed up to stand between the cages for a clear view of the scientist up above. "And how's that?" Aika asked.
The scientist grinned. He took a sip of his drink and then swallowed before coming forward to lean over the edge with a controller in his hand. "By being my test subject." He clicked the controller.
Aika's throat seized with a tightness of breath. She steadied her footing and drew her bow and notched an arrow, by impulse. Two cages next to her clicked and unlocked, the doors swinging open. The hungry beasts inside, one wolf-like, the other small like a lynx, with a mix of nightmare attributes each startled at the sudden freedom. Nose first, they slunk out of their cages and stretched their grotesque forms, claws clacking on the ground, tongues lolling. Then, their heads whipped towards Aika, and they lunged.
Aika pulled up her bow and fired one arrow, hitting it home into the lynx-monster's chest. It screamed and hit the ground. The other, the bigger of the two, barreled into Aika just as her suit activated and her aegis shimmered, protecting her from the blow. She stumbled backwards until she regained her footing, unscathed.
"Oh, thank goodness," she gasped. Aika grabbed an arrow in her hand and drove it into the wolven beast before it could get up. It yelped and fell still.
"Good, good!" the scientist shouted from his balcony seating. "You have quick instincts; this will be interesting to see."
"What are you playing at?!" Aika yelled. She got up and stepped away from the monsters. Why was he throwing away these creatures' lives? Monsters or not?
"Do not worry, no lives will be wasted in the end."
Aika notched an arrow and raised it up at the scientist, ready to demand answers when the beast at her feet stirred.
"Uh-oh." The monster shook itself and stood up, a string of drool flowing from its chin. Its hackles rose and it jumped at her. Aika cried out, pulling back so the creature's teeth snapped closed on only empty air. Soon, both beasts were back on their feet and following her.
Aika back peddled to keep the creatures in front of her. She fired off an arrow and hit the wolven one in the shoulder but didn't slow the monster down. A nearby cage began to rattle, its door opening at the scientist's behest. This creature was bigger than the others. Unfurling itself from the cramped confines of its cage, it had the long body of a panther but with spines curling out of its neck and back. Its teeth were so large, it could hardly close its mouth as it snarled in Aika's direction.
With all three before her, Aika lowered her stance and fit three arrows, pulling the fletches back to her cheek. This would have to do some more damage. In hindsight, she should have brought more weapons with her. The panther-like creature struck first. Its body bunched up like a coil before springing at Aika. Her arrows thudded into its chest, she side-stepped it as it fell and cracked the shaft of her bow on the advancing wolf-monster. Aika looped the bow over her shoulder and pulled out two small daggers and brought them to the third creature.
Aika moved in rhythm with the chaos around her. She never struck first, she followed and slipped into any attack or lunge, pricking the monsters with her daggers. She didn't have her sister's experience or expertise, but she was quick on her feet and her aegis burned around her, reflecting any brute hits.
As the panther reached to swipe at her, Aika bumped into another cage, her back rattling the bars. The big paw hit her and knocked the wind out of her chest, taking advantage of the opening her surprise provided. Before she could react, the cage behind her shook and a pair of claws sank into her waist and right thigh. Aika cried out as a caged creature dug its claws into her, right through her Aegis shield. How was that possible? Aika blindly slashed with her daggers until she found purchase in the creature's flesh. It cried and pulled back. Before she could gather herself or defend, the uncaged creatures circling her pulled her to the ground in a vicious flurry of teeth and claws.
Aika screamed and tried to cover her head with her hands. Her Aegis was meant to protect from physical attacks, but the creatures' teeth and claws were able to puncture the shield and tear into her. She had never experienced such a thing. One of her daggers was ripped away from her and she was thrown back into another cage. Aika fisted her remaining dagger and drove it into a paw, then slashed upwards to push away one of her attackers. Leaping up, she pulled out her bow and held it out before her as she backed away. The things from the cages howled at the scent of her blood and the mad scientist's laughs could be heard echoing above the chaos.
On the walls to her left, Aika's reflection painted a dire sight. Cuts and scrapes stained her face. Her midriff and waist was dark in color, her right leg was going numb. This couldn't be the end, she thought. She bumped the button on her neck for the throat mic with her wrist.
"L-lynn?" Aika whispered. "I can…I really need your help r-right now."
The monsters paced before her, sizing up their next moves. Aika swung her bow at one and it skipped backwards, slipping on the floor due to the patchy fur between its paw pads. Aika slipped her boot along the floor and came up with a plan. A wall was behind her, about twenty feet away. Aika took a few steps back then suddenly turned, sprinting for the wall as fast as she could. The creatures charged, yowling as their prey turned its back. Their reflections warped and grew larger as she approached the wall. Five feet away, she suddenly changed direction and all three monsters skidded on the slippery wall and crashed to the floor.
"Yes!" Aika yelled. She leapt on the monster lynx and drove her knife straight home into the creature's heart. This one wasn't going to get back up. But her victory didn't last for long. No sooner than she made her kill than the two remaining were on her again. Aika kicked and slashed but all she could see was fur and her flailing limbs. Knocked to her back, the panther monster dove for her neck but she brought her bow up just in time, the wood shattering in its teeth. Aika took one half of the bow and swatted the beast in the face, bringing up her legs to kick and hit it away.
She rolled over to get away, but the wolf monster had a firm hold on her wrist. Aika fell back to the ground with a yell. She twisted and kicked. In her free hand, stabbed with her dagger, fighting wildly. She would survive this. This stinking basement wasn't going to be the last thing she would ever see.
The grip on her wrist fell slack, the wolven monster was dead. Aika pulled back her arm to stab it one more time to be sure when the panther beast returned and latched onto her dagger-wielding arm, its teeth punctured straight through the aegis. It shook her violently, dragging her back and forth on the floor. Aika screamed in pain until she couldn't hear herself anymore. The world around her became a cluster of stars and light, disorientating until she was finally able to pull away and get up.
I have to run, she thought. I have to run. I have to get to the door. The reflective walls flashed and confused her flight. Aika ran and headed towards the hallway, leading to the door from where she came. The panther creature pursued her from behind. In the distance, she could see the door opening—or was she just hoping it was opening? With her exit in sight, Aika raised her dagger to confront the last monster one more time. She lifted her hand, but her dagger wasn't there.
Aika lifted her hand again, she waved it, she reached, but she just saw empty air. No dagger, no hand, no…a wave of nausea overcame her body. She wavered and dropped to one knee. She reached her other hand to her shoulder and found only torn flesh and nothing else. The monster came closer, its fur streaked with blood.