Umo had not been lying about knowing the way back. It had only been half a day and yet they had made the same progress that had taken the two of them over a week since getting here. They did run into some problems though as currently they were lying in wait as a fallen creature lumbered through the streets ahead of them. Elena, Gwin, and Umo were pressed tightly to the ground on a makeshift path in a building made by Umo and his group in an earlier expedition. He was in the middle with Lena right behind him. He was getting tired of lying on the ground and was currently listening and smelling his surroundings to get the bigger picture.
'Wait a minute…'
He could smell a myriad of things from aged blood somewhere nearby to the scent coming from their group and even the putrid scent of the fallen abomination that shook the ground with each step. Gwin had gotten a good look at it before and was unsettled by what he saw. The abomination was humanoid in shape with uncanny elongated limbs that were covered in putrid green scales. It stood at 12 meters high and sported long claws. Its head resembled that of a piranha and its mouth possessed hundreds of razor sharp teeth. Its marble-like eyes radiated a sense of cold malice which made Gwin think it was a demon. From its back sprouted two sets of tattered white feathery wings framing it like some kind of depth-dwelling angel. Its head was crowned with a set of horns that resembled a crescent moon.
'Is that..?'
He smelt another thing as well. Several houses ahead of them he smelled the familiar smell of sweaty teens and heard their voices faintly. He needed to warn Umo but he couldn't move with an eerie creature like that lurking around! Luckily the demon began lumbering off giving them the opportunity to move. Gwin hurriedly moved his hands.
{There are people several houses ahead and they are being very loud. That thing will spot them soon.}
Umo replied quietly, so quiet as to almost be impossible to hear, however Gwin heard him quite easily.
"If they set that thing off we could be swept up too. We might have to abandon this path…"
"Abandon the path? We do not need any more detours. We need to get to them and shut them up."
Lena whispered, having heard him.
"Agreed."
He responded while eyeing the path of the demon.
"Follow me quickly and quietly."
After these words he moved quickly and silently to emerge from the building and dart across the street to the next building. Gwin was hot on his trail followed by Lena. They managed to get into cover again with no problems. They didn't slow down though and instead continued hastily moving towards the noisemakers. Unbeknownst to them the demon turned its malicious gaze in their direction.
Umo led the way with quick strides, ducks, and crawling. As they got closer the sound of voices and movement became louder and louder.
"Do as I say…"
"I've already been…
"Something's coming…"
He made out bits of their conversation just as Umo emerged from their crawl space into a wider room ahead of him. He heard Umo speak in a hushed voice.
"Be quiet and listen to me! There is a fallen creature right in front of you! You all need to leave and go back."
Gwin emerged and saw a group of six teens a little older than him. Umo was addressing the leader, a guy with shaggy blonde hair and emerald green eyes. Next to him was a girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. They both addressed Umo.
"You…aren't you from the outer settlement?" The guy asked suspiciously while gripping his long sword.
"A fallen abomination? We are heading back!" The girl said addressing her group.
Just as they began quickly rushing from whence they came an ear shattering bellow resounded all around them as one of the buildings behind them collapsed.
"It knows we are here!" The girl shouted as she retreated.
"They lead it straight to us!" One of them barked out as they left the trio behind.
"Rude mongrels! We warn them and this is how they repay us?" Lena hissed.
"We need to follow them." Umo said urgently while following their path.
As he entered another building collapsed behind them.
'There is no time! We can't run from that thing and we'll die trying!'
They were only met with the illusion of choice. They could either follow the group and run into another abomination in their hurry and get eaten or they would just outright be caught by the horror chasing them. Their only choice was to follow and sabotage that group if they wanted to live. They needed someone to act as bait. That was the logical and realistic solution and for a moment Gwin truly considered it. Then he felt something hot well up in his chest like a smoldering ember. A familiar emotion welled up in his chest.
Pride.
Gwin knew what he had to do…no…what he wanted to do. He clutched Umo's and Lena's shoulders from behind, drawing their attention and signing with a grim smile.
{I'll catch up later.}
Before they could fully understand what he was implying he was already moving.He broke into a full sprint and scaled some rubble to burst out from one boarded window into another from the building next to them where he then jumped into the street. Then he did something stupid. Gwin began screaming. He screamed his lungs out like a madman and as he did he took off into a sprint. He made out Lena's shocked pale face through the rubble.
'Follow me you bastard!'
He ran as fast as he could, enhanced by his aspect. He tore through the empty streets as another bellow shook his brain from behind and heavy footsteps began following him.
'Shit! I don't wanna die! I've never even had a girlfriend!'
Hot tears streamed down his cheeks before being torn away by the wind. He truly didn't want to die but he didn't want to live trapped either. It's not that he planned to die doing this…well he didn't plan much of any of this he just did it. Maybe that wasn't the smartest decision but despite everything he didn't want to pay another human life as the price to escape certain death. He had more pride than that, and he'd rather someone else live with that guilt, not that he could imagine Lena mourning him at all. Those rude dicks could get eaten for all he cared for but Lena and Umo had not done anything wrong to him. They would both owe him a huge favor if he lived through this too.
As he ran several abominations burst from the surrounding buildings aiming to trap him in their deadly maws. He ducked and dodged them while keeping his speed. The fish demon was not far behind him so he could not afford to slow down. He wanted to sprout some buggy wings and fly away but he could not use multiple creatures attributes at once and he was currently using the perforated hunter. In the time it'd take him to return to normal and sprout wings he'd already be dead.
'Damnit damnit damnit!!!'
He was panicking just a little as his mind worked overtime pondering every option and choice he could make in clear clarity. Ahead he took a shape right turn in the street and froze at what he saw. There in front of him a jagged chasm split the street and several buildings like deep scar. It looked like something had hit the ground with great force and made it cave into the abyss below.
He spotted a high standing building next to the chasm and shot towards it. He scaled it in just a couple of seconds with his sharp claws before turning to the chasm and sprinting with all he had. He broke into a sprint on all fours as he got closer and closer to the threshold of the abyss below. Something huge crashed into the roof behind him sending debris flying and shaking the ground beneath him. Gwin resisted the violent shakes and refused to fall to the ground.
He reached the end of his runway and pounced with all the strength he had as a clawed hand closed in on the air where he just was.
'Come on! Closer! Closer!'
He soared over the chasm as he summoned the [Dark Wing] and began hovering over the chasm. He spared a glance behind him and froze.
'OH SHIT!'
Not only had the fish demon jumped to follow him and was getting closer and closer to reaching him there was also a festering wolf soaring through the air with its bony maw wide open ready to snap down on him.
He twisted to avoid its maw and dug his claws into its neck. A huge set of claws raked through the air above them missing them as the two of them plummeted downwards wrapped around each other in an act of horrible violence.