Drown In Black

She was wheezing. The horror was still somewhere behind her, one of the many. The devastated city turned into a veritable maze and swallowed both her and her hunters. She had no idea where she was, other than in the ruins of some building. There were many nooks and crannies where she could hide - fallen walls, furniture, uncovered cellars. But there was no telling what was hidden there. Just a few metres away, there could be an enemy, just out of sight, hidden by some obstacle. She was glad not many of those monstrosities had a good sense of smell. On the other hand, she had seen some of them barrel through walls as if they were not there. Her desperate run has taken her probably much deeper into the deadly labyrinth of the once illustrious city of Darreha than she ever wanted to go. Finding a way out seemed like a pipe dream at the moment, but she didn't want to give up her life just yet. She had seen what would happen to those captured - or even just killed.

Ignoring the blood seeping through her clothes, she once again began to move. She winced as the wooden stairs she stepped on creaked. They might not smell her, but hear her they would. Not waiting for what would happen, she descended down, upon the broken up cobblestone of a street, this part cut off by a fallen house. She crossed the open area, once again disappearing in the building across. Seeing as there was no way to continue forward on her level, she climbed up to the first floor, remembering most of the houses in Darreha were built very close to each other. Maybe she could cross between them above ground.

She heard a sound. A different one than the eerie ambience that accompanied her the last hour or so. She looked out of a nearby window, but quickly snapped her head back, hiding herself as much as she could. Down on the nearby street, two dark shadows were slowly moving several dead bodies. At least she hoped they were dead. For their sake. Now, probably for the first time, she could examine how her enemies looked like. Stories told about the worst horrors, nightmares made real. And those first few moments when the expeditionary force she was part of was assaulted were exactly like that. She remembered the screeching, large and small amorphous shapes of the enemies, black as moonless night and dimmed metal that cut into them. Eyes and whispers all around them, dark, sickly blue fog enveloping them, cutting them off from their comrades. Eviscerated soldiers. The screams of the men and women taken by the horrors. And then the first moment of the true nightmare. When the first soldier stood back up, the steel of his armour rapidly losing its sheen and slowly climbing, as if alive, or as rising water, up his neck. The eyes gone, turned into pools of black tar. And then the new monster turned upon his former allies.

When one of those beings chose her as its prey, she ran. No time to take a good look. Now, though... One of them looked vaguely like a cross between a pig and a hyena. A robust body bereft of any hair, standing upon four thin hoofed legs - but evidently enough to support its movement. Its maw was massive, full of long teeth. And from it, the repulsive blackish muck dripped, leaving drops on the ground. If she looked at them a bit longer, she would've noticed them slowly moving and coalescing, but luckily for her, she didn't. Adrenaline could keep her moving only so much.

The second looked somewhat humanoid. But the two gaunt arms weren't the only appendages the monster had. Thin tendrils sprouted from all over its torso, some of them sinuous and covered in the black substance, others looked like they were grafted upon it - a grotesque mixture of flesh and metal, some even covered in eyes, some made into vicious looking blades. She couldn't see the face. The head was disfigured by the ichor, leaving no features other than warped maybe flesh.

In a mix of horror and twisted fascination, she observed the two... beings... as they moved the bodies of dead people onto one big pile - which, as she finally noticed, lay next to a wall, maybe of several dozens of corpses. All of them were covered in the slowly undulating substance, and as the animal-like monster dragged a cadaver to it, the black liquid swallowed it, almost dragging it deeper into the pile.

Finally, she snapped out of it. She didn't want to wait here to see what sick thing would this pile of corpses malform into. And as if to hasten her decision, something snapped in the building next over. The sound of wood breaking spurred her to action. She stepped away from the window, ready to run. But as her shoulder left the support of the wall she was leaning on, she staggered. That moment of weakness was enough. The door she came through was obliterated as a juggernaut made out of many human bodies grafted together crashed through. The only thing she saw as she scrambled to run were the empty eye sockets crying black, all over the body of the beast.

This time round, the chase was much more taxing. She felt her strength slowly leaving. But the amalgamation wasn't stopping. Every wall she ducked around, it barrelled through. Every house she hoped to lose it in, it didn't even notice. And the entire time, the moaning, crying, screeching tore at her ears. How did it stay quiet enough to sneak upon her, she didn't know. And definitely didn't have time to ponder upon it. As she rounded the next corner, a wide stretch of empty ground appeared before her. The town square was deserted, no bodies, no monsters. She cursed. The monstrosity was closing up on her and there was nothing to slow it down now. Still, she ran. Her hands tore at the clasps of her breastplate, tearing them apart. Finally, the leather and metal parted and she was free. The armour that still bore the marks of combat fell to the ground, its weight no longer slowing her down. And thus, it joined the fate of her helmet, which - not that long ago, she realized, startled - stopped a blow by someone she should've called an ally. It felt like ages ago, when she for the first time faced the Changed. She didn't know if they were called like that, but there was no one who could tell her. And same as everyone else, although alive, she saw that usurpation of existence for the first time here. And since that moment, it lurked in the back of her mind. What will happen to her when she dies - or worse, what will happen if those horrors catch her.

Never, she resolved. Never, she gritted her teeth as she willed her legs to move faster. Never, a grim smile settled on her face, as she saw a well not far in front of her. The thundering steps and the wails told her the monstrosity was still close behind. But if she was, up until now, its prey, not anymore. No matter a dagger at her waist was all she had now. No matter her wounds were draining her strength. She would fight, and now, she had the means to.

She willed the water down below ground to move, forcing and goading it up, to leave the well. The closer she got, the stronger was her control and then, just a few steps before the stone rim, a geyser erupted skywards. The amalgamation behind her seemed unperturbed, but that was fine. With a swipe of her hand, the water turned into a wave, midair turning into razor sharp onslaught, dozens of blades hurtling right towards her enemy. And at full speed, both water and monster collided. It was swept back, huge gashes appearing on its body, spewing black ichor.

Fear took her mind for a moment, as she saw all the water that touched that blight turn cloudy and dark and disappear from her control. And as it fell to the ground, it slowly began to change, the corruption taking it. But there was no time for fear. The being was back to its feet. And she still had her weapon. Still enough water to fight. So she did. Cutting, pushing it back. Dodging its mad charges. Piercing its body again and again. And all the time, that sound, that damned sound tortured her ears and mind. No longer was it just wailing. Or the screeching, the grinding of metal plates on each other. Now, again, she heard the whisper. Just at the edge of her mind, quiet, insidious, a madness that should not be heard, but still pierced through. She steeled her mind. The enemy was in front of her. And to herself, she swore to kill it. She was a fighter. She would never forgive herself if she didn't take any enemy with her. So what it was huge? So what this enemy was beyond anything she or her comrades ever faced? With a grim resolve, she once again willed water to abide her command. Torrent turned into a deadly weapon, an unending wave. There was still water to be spilled, she could still move and fight, and the monster was flagging. It charged once again, and this time she was ready. The mighty steps, the wail, the screech, all fell silent, and in the following silence, quiet gurgling replaced it. The massive spike of water fell apart as it was tainted, but it had already done its job. Slowly, very slowly, the amalgamation fell to the ground.

She breathed out. The fight was over. She had won. That giant beast was dead. She prevailed against the worst nightmare. And as that thought settled in, she began to laugh. It was halting and half choked, but still, she laughed.

As she stopped, that disbelief turned into dread. She was covered in the stuff. In the one she saw change people into puppets. The one that bled into the world to change it into its own twisted reality. In panic, she tried to remove it, to scrub it away. She didn't want to change, to be corrupted by this. She was still alive and she wanted to stay that way. She didn't fight - and win - for naught. No, she would get out of this. She didn't want to allow any doubts. And so she tore at her clothes, removing the ichor as much as she could. Several minutes, she stood at the centre of the town square, but finally, most of it, all she could, was gone. Hopefully she was fast enough. Or it wasn't enough at all. Slowly, she began her trek further, choosing the direction at random. Darreha was large, and she still did not know, where in the city she was.

The wind was picking back up. The ghostly city's atmosphere got even darker, as the shrill sound of it passing through thin passages and broken windows reached her ears. She had covered another stretch of ground, avoiding anything that looked even a bit dangerous. Finally, she had found a spot where she could rest. A still standing armoire in the room gave up its content, which she gladly made into bandages. She didn't care how expensive the clothes were. But the quality was welcome - it didn't irritate her wounds as much. Sadly, there was no food or drink. For now, she had to do without.

She had not seen any survivors. Not even that many dead bodies. If what she had seen before was any indication, most were already 'processed'. But where they carried them, she didn't know. There was an entire city's worth of corpses, they couldn't just disappear. Finding them was not something she was planning, or even wanted to, but she still couldn't help but wonder about it. Same as with what this adversary was, where they came from, what they wanted. Right now, to her, they might as well be the reaper made real. Those beings took people and made them into their own. Anything they met, died. And she was right in the centre of this madness. Maybe even the last person alive. Now, she cursed her superiors. The foolish men who sent them - the expeditionary group - to investigate these rumours. To chase a group of bandits, or maybe a pack of beasts, they said. Nothing dangerous, just annoying they said. Instead, they saw hell. Something beyond comprehension, something worse than the last undead horde. This time, the enemy could take both the living and the dead. This time, a single enemy, a single enemy soldier, if she could call them that, was as strong as a half dozen men. It was still there, the memory. When she fought her own, turned. When they kept moving, even with limbs gone, even disembowelled, some even decapitated. She saw one of the soldiers cut into halves by a shadow in the fog, just the ghost of a blade whistling as it took another life.

Head cradled in her hands, she was sitting by a wall, half awake, half drifting to and from sleep. There was no chance for it to come, she knew that. There, nightmares of the dreamworld awaited her, and falling asleep meant death. She'd rather face the nightmares of the day. Those, she now knew, she could beat, at least for a while. Even if in both cases, there was nowhere to run.

But as the shadows grew longer, she realized she couldn't stay in one place. She had to keep moving. She had no idea what would happen once the sun would set. And evil was stronger in the darkness after all. That thought still lurked in her head. Same as the face of that one man, the one she saw change. The first one. Still there, still haunting her, still reminding her. What did the ichor do to him? How did it feel? Was his mind gone, or was he still there? Screaming, clawing to get out, imprisoned in his own body, cursed to spend eternity a prisoner to the evil puppeteer. Or with a twisted mind? Believing to still be himself? But now, serving something greater, not seeing what has he become? Or... Stop. Stop thinking about that, she chided herself. This is not the place or time for this.

Time to move. To find a way out. To bring the tale back. To relay the strength of this unknown force.

She stood up. Luckily, she wasn't attacked in this place, getting a short respite. But now, she had to reach the walls. To leave this city.

As it turned out, the horrors now had much greater presence. She had to make a detour every moment, hiding, avoiding groups of these monsters, even patrols made out of the Changed. Several times, she had to stay still, waiting for the enemy to pass. But she was making progress - at least she thought. She didn't have much strength in her for another serious fight, but this sneaking around was similarly exhausting. And still, she didn't know whether there was someone encroaching upon her. She still had that unsettling feeling of being watched. Of being toyed with. And that that massive amalgamation was able to approach her silently was only exacerbating this fear.

In the end, the confrontation didn't come from the back, but from the front. Another door, another corner. But this time, she suddenly stood face to face with single eye. A single eye shrouded in darkness, its cloak anchored into the surrounding walls by similar tendrils to those she had seen before. But where those were made of flesh, metal and tar, this was pure shadow. But still, there was no way forward. And it had seen her. And, as she noticed with a start, she couldn't even take a step forward. There was no will in the world that would allow her to charge that web, that barrier. No. There was fear. ... And maybe some morbid curiosity.

So she turned and ran. But as she charged out of there, it didn't take long before another of the blighted beings had shown itself from behind a broken house. This one was corporeal. Another amalgamation. So she turned and ran. Again. Different direction. Just get out of here. No stopping. Dodge another one. The patrol she ran into - turn around. Just run.

And as she ran, she began to realize. She had been here before. She was running in a circle. No, not even that. Even before, when she was sneaking. She was guided here. Herded like cattle. This was where they wanted her. Clever bastards. She half wanted to curse, half admire their ability to hide this intention from her.

And now, she saw the final destination. A small court between still standing houses. And their windows were full. An audience made out of those beings. Only single door open, that one-eyed shadow in it. And before that, another amalgamation. And a well. As she skid to a halt, the way she came to this arena was filled. No way back now.

Did they want to once again see that fight? Did they want a show? Or were they studying her? No matter, she grit her teeth. There was no way out. So at least she would go out in style. Her will steeled, she strode forward. The water responded as before, her magic not failing her at this final moment. A surge. And then a torrent crashed into the amalgamation, throwing it into the wall behind it.

It was dead. Once again, she prevailed. The place was trashed, she in the centre of the destruction, barely standing.

The whispering was back. Stronger than before. Maybe even loud. So loud it was deafening. The only thing she heard. It was that eye. She knew it. She saw it. Saw it talk. How, she did not know. But it did. And now, this close, she might even understand it. Now, at the end of the road. That one word. Or many? There weren't sentences. Just thoughts. Just words. Images. She knew this was where they wanted her. And now, she also understood she was the last. For what? Why was she the last one alive? It didn't matter. No one would be leaving this place. ... At least no human. She knew now. This place was not a grave. It was a birthplace. The birthplace of the greatest threat to the world she ever knew.

And now, she also understood the first word.

Welcome.