"Tentacle Swarm!"
Instantly after Beatrice screamed the incantation, four ten-foot long tentacles appeared from thin air. Two were placed in front of the creepers as a distraction and continuously slammed into the them. This hardly slowed them down and only seemed to succeed in infuriating them but it would have to do for now.
Two other tentacles manifested on the side of the two buildings they'd ran between and smashed into their respective buildings. This caused the two buildings to collapse and form a makeshift barricade at the entrance of the back street they were now running down. This successfully cut off the creepers that were now behind them.
Marcus was amazed by what Beatrice had done and thankful she had chosen to help him, rather than leave him behind. He felt foolish for doubting her.
After making it a sufficient distance away from the mayhem happening down the street, Beatrice let go of Marcus's hand and they stopped to catch a breath.
"Marcus," she gasped out between breaths.
Marcus stopped looking behind himself at the now barricaded street to look at Beatrice.
She was sweating profusely and her face was paler. It seemed casting that spell took more out of her than Marcus realized.
"You need to keep running," she wheezed between breaths. "...get to the western gate. The two creepers behind us shouldn't be able to catch you if you start running now."
Marcus almost didn't notice that Beatrice only mentioned him escaping and not her. He looked at her with a confused expression on his face.
"Huh? What about you?"
She was still keeled over gasping for breath but managed to cry out to Marcus somehow.
"Don't worry about me. Just go... Now!"
Marcus looked at Beatrice with disbelief written all across his face. He couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. They were almost there. All they had to do was keep running and they'd make it out. Not to mention the sun was almost up, and if Marcus's theory about the swamp creepers' flaw was correct, then they wouldn't be able to chase them after that. It was the last stretch and all they had to do was keep pushing.
If this situation had occurred three hours ago, before they'd met in the shop, he'd have happily left her behind. After all, he hardly knew her then. But now...
'Why? Why is she doing this?'
Marcus turned to look in the direction of the west gate, his ticket out of this hell hole. It was right there. He was so close to escaping he could taste it. All he had to do was run and yet for some reason he couldn't. He looked back at Beatrice.
To say she was in bad shape was an understatement. She was still hunched over with her hands on her knees and gasping for breath. She would be no more than extra baggage for Marcus if he decided to help her. So, why was he hesitating. The choice was all too obvious.
He took one step forward, then another, and another. Eventually he got to about ten feet before stopping. He couldn't hear the sound of water being smashed against wood anymore, so he assumed the water tentacles spell had ended or been forcefully canceled. All he heard now were the not-so-distant thumps of footsteps that drew closer with every breath.
Marcus looked up into the night sky and didn't say a word. He only stared at the vast array of stars and the luminous moon that provided light to the world's inhabitants in its darkest hours.
Marcus grabbed the object in his pocket and pulled it out. It was a small dark grey rock that was relatively sharp around its edges and was sort-of shaped like an arrowhead. He couldn't find a chance to use it earlier but now, he could think of one way to use it.
He looked back at Beatrice one last time before he took off and ran in the opposite direction.
Beatrice looked up briefly to see Marcus's reseeding back as he ran off. A tiny smile crept up on the tired woman's face.
'Good.'
That was the only thing Beatrice could think about right now as she heard the sound of the footsteps of her pursuers grow exceedingly close.
She stood tall and turned to look in the direction of the two predators that now stared at her menacingly. The original weak and crying woman looked completely different now as she looked on at the two monsters that could easily crush her with a single swing. It was almost as if a switch had been flipped in her mind that erased all unnecessary thoughts so that she could focus on the approaching battle.
If Marcus could see her now he'd question whether or not this was the same woman who was running away begging for his help when they'd first met or the woman who was breaking down in a flower shop over the loss of her lover.
Beatrice was determined to not let the past repeat itself.
The two creepers stood their as they looked on at the woman. They were wet in some areas around their face which alluded to the previous spell's success in slowing them down. Though, it seemed they hadn't taken to kindly to being slapped in the face with her little water whips.
Their eyes that were already a deep-sinister red, seemed to have become even more bloodshot as they gazed at the woman responsible for that earlier mishap. The two creatures roared and ran down the street shoulder to shoulder, or tentacle to tentacle in this case.
As they ran down the street, the buildings on either side of them were caved in and ripped apart, sending debris flying in every direction. The two monsters were so humongous that they couldn't help running into and destroying the town's buildings as they ran down the narrow street. The streets were only barely wide enough for one of them to run through, let alone two. Though, it hardly mattered to the thoroughly enraged behemoths.
However, this little mistake the enraged creatures had committed would actually help Beatrice indirectly. Beatrice hadn't told Marcus this, but she did have minimal combat experience from her past, and as such was able to use this window of opportunity the two creatures created to her advantage. With their relatively slow speed being reduced even further by the narrow pathway, she was given more time to recover her bearings and prepare.
She immediately cast a spell.
"Cascade Skyscraper!"
The tower of water that manifested below her feet took her up to about stomach level of the two creepers, which was about nine or so feet. The creepers hardly cared for her measly spell however and only continued in their mad rush towards her. Although, even the two enraged monsters didn't expect what happened next.
Beatrice shot directly towards them like a speeding rocket.