'It followed us here?!'
She glanced at Isaac. He was strong but that thing would be too strong even for him including the added burden of her nonexistent strength their chances of survival were dim.
There was no way they could fight it. Her instincts told her otherwise, and she wasn't one to fight with them in life-and-death situations.
There was only one thing they could do:
"Run!"
She gripped the Village Head's wrist, tucked Nicholas in her other hand and bolted.
Her eyes searched every crevice and every groove for an escape. Some light had been spilt into the room by the Wraith when it created its tunnel from the outside.
Judging by how the Wraith hadn't struggled to barge in: it was either it had enormous strength or the cave had some weak spots she could take advantage of.
The problem was that she didn't know where those were, so she opted for trial and error at any place that seemed to have eroded. She let go of his hand and began crashing into the cave walls at any place that seemed suitable.
Another round of bruises had appeared just as the others had but she ignored them, as she thought being injured and alive was far better than being dead. She continued pounding the wall with her body with no sign of progress as they moved down the tunnel. She ignored the Village Head, Isaac's pleas as he continuously tried to hold her back but she always managed to wiggle out of his grasp and resume.
He watched her hit the wall with her fists.
'She has grown desperate ' Her desperation was justified the Wraith was closing in at an alarming rate despite their frantic efforts to run away from it. Her shoulders had become stiff, her face etched with a tiresome worry he could compare. She had reached her limit. She knew that yet she was stubborn, blinking away any tears.
"Stop."
He held out his hand and blocked one of her punches aimed at the wall.
"What are you doing? You are going to get us killed! Let me punch the damn wall!" she glared at him with a fury that took him aback. It seemed she was being affected by her emotions.
"Calm down. You are being affected by your emotions."
"So what's wrong with that? Who cares anyway? Isn't the most important thing to survive ?"
" Hilda taught me long ago that playing into your emotions will only make you vulnerable "
"So you are saying I am weak?" the quiver in her voice betrayed the anger that was bubbling inside her.
He sensed her anger. He didn't want to make the situation worse but some fantasies were meant to be cut short.
He sighed.
"Yes, you are weak, Both physically and mentally."
"But if I hit the right—"
"Like I said before, you are weak. Don't be delusional with your notion of breaking out of here. That Wraith is immensely strong. This cave is probably like paper to it. But for you, a rock is a rock. You made an irrational decision and chose to go with it."
"But…"
"You understand, don't you? This endeavour was but a pipe dream and you have to wake up. There is only one solution left "
"The bunker…" she visibly shuddered
"Fortunately, the cave has no split passageways or anything of the sort we can head straight there."
"But what if it attacks them too"
"No need to worry. The Wraith always visits near the end of the Act but none of us has ever been killed by it"
She understood the gist of it—the bunker acted as a protective shield so long as people stayed inside.
She allowed her hand to drop to her side once more. A bit more calm, she checked on Nicholas who she had given to Isaac to take care of. He was still unconscious.
"You are right. Let's go" She had no choice but to agree. Why waste energy on something fruitless?
Besides he was right, she was weak…
Isaac placed Nicholas in his shirt pocket and sprinted after her. The deeper they went, however, the more light seemed to be getting scarce which, to them, meant they were getting close to the entrance of the bunker.
Due to his stronger build, he had already caught up to her but decided to keep the same pace. From the corner of his vision, he glanced at her. She wasn't doing too well: her self-inflicted injuries were wearing her down as beads of sweat formed on the crown of her head. Her stamina was low so that much was to be expected but Isaac noticed her condition was worse than it should have been.
'If it's about Hilda, I understand,' He thought to himself. Perhaps that had more of an emotional impact than he had thought. She hadn't bawled her eyes out like he had so he thought she was handling it well but as he glanced at her, he felt something was off.
There was no doubt she was grieving but that look in her eyes when she was screaming at him told him she was unstable. Not unstable as he was whenever he blinked and blood coloured his vision, his thoughts continuously pulling him to remember her death. Not unstable like when his hands trembled at the mere thought of her body crushed under the willow. Not unstable like when visions of her comforting him when his wife disappeared or of her training him, flashed his mind too many times for him to feel at ease.
No. She was unstable in a way that made him feel she would soon be driven to—
Immediately before the scythe could land, he pulled her towards him, causing it to be lodged into the wall.
All his senses were screaming at him to run away.
'Run away' they said.
'It's not after you it's after the mouse' they said.
'Just ditch them!' another one screeched. It was the logical thing to do. However, he was going to be illogical and protect them as she protected them.
Hilda risked her life for that mouse or boy so he had to adhere to her wishes.
He pushed her to be behind her and carefully gave the still unconscious Nicholas. After he gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he turned to look at his oncoming enemy.
As he locked eyes with the dark void of its visage, another unwanted vision flashed. It was based on earlier on, a few moments before her death.
("Why? Did you not take her as your protegé?"
"I did. But…I am sure you have realised it. That girl is someone unnatural. She doesn't belong here. Her presence is like a lit candle on a windy day—fleeting."
"So?"
"The reason why it exists you know well. As unstable as she is, I cant allow her to take a step near it. "
"Why?"
"To protect her and ourselves." )
Recalling that steeled his resolve even more.
He clenched his fists.
'I will protect her!'
The Wraith swung its s again but the Village Head swiftly dodged it and countered with a punch to what he thought was its gut. His eyes widened when his fist connected.
'Nothing…!'
He immediately dodged another one of its swings. He cast a glare at the Wraith and gritted his teeth.
He glanced back. Riley was still behind him shivering like a drenched chick.
'I have to allow her to escape, which means…'
He charged once more and attacked the Wraith with a series of punches which as expected had no effect. He felt no body or bones when his fists connected to its robe.
'Is it even a Wraith?' Something strange was going on. Its body was different from what he had read. But…It still acted like the Wraith he was familiar with. With such disparity in the creature, doubt began to cloud his mind on whether or not his plan could work.
He gritted his teeth.' it's better to try something than nothing
"Riley! When its back is turned, I want you to run!" he yelled as he dodged another attack.
Riley shook her trembling legs awake and breathed in.
Unlike before, she would run. There was no way she could beat it and with Nicholas out of commission, they would just be burdens to the Village Head.
It was the logical decision
However…
'I wish I didn't have to leave him fighting alone.' He was not going to win the fight, she knew that well but there was nothing she could do to help. She had chosen his death over theirs which stung her.
'Despite that, I believe he will make it out alive.' She watched the two fight with a firm gaze.
Though she had made sure to stick to the darker areas, she felt a chilling presence rush towards her and immediately dodged to the side, exposing herself and Nicholas.
It had found them!
Isaac rushed to block her from its sight and charged forward. The Wraith swung its scythe once more but he didn't dodge it and it tore through his skin, severing his leg. The pain tore through his mind but he grimaced and switched control to his arms and began charging forward on his hands.
He charged past it, leaving a trail of his blood.
'Please…Please…Let it work!'
The Wraith immediately turned to chase him, giving her a chance to escape.
He let out a sigh of relief after checking she was gone. At least she had listened to him.
'Yes!' But he couldn't celebrate just yet, he still had to fend himself against the Wraith.
He heard something whiz and immediately dodged: it had thrown its scythe. The wraith reached out its hand and the scythe flew back to its hand. A faint purple glow began to emanate from it as it reached out towards him and revealed a hand obscured by darkness.
It flicked its fingers and almost in an instant, he crashed into a wall. The impact left Isaac disoriented and as he was about to get up he felt another pressure knocking him into the wall again. Every time he tried to stand, he was knocked into the wall again and again.
After some time he gave up upon standing, his limbs stopped responding to him and every inch of his body ached. His gaze drew upwards to the Wraith that was steadily approaching, the purple had become red. The color change was ominous as though it was telling him death was near.
It raised its scythe and swung it down, its blade whizzing through the air.
He slowly closed his eyes, accepting his fate and at least glad he was able to protect someone just before his death.