he said, whispered, as he watched the creature hunched up on it’s legs, long claws dug into the ground, it was small, just barely bigger than Callahan, and thought it had it’s eyes on them, it didn’t seem to want to move, it’s large silvery eyes though, they were dead set on the men.
“It’s really it…” Callahan whispered, “You gotta be careful, you can’t let it get up close to you, it kills with it’s gaze, locks you in its grasp with those claws and then sucks the life right out of you.”
Rowan scoffed, “Don’t worry, that scrawny thing ain’t getting through this” he said gently pounding his armor, “Hey Ollie, you gonna be okay with that thing on your back?”
Ollie, almost prone to the ground, nodded, “Just don’t let it scream”
“That is the usual reaction when I get my hands on my prey” Rowan took position, his fingers digging into the dirt, the tips of his boot getting ready to kick off.
with those final words he launched himself forward, it was a blinding sprint, one most wouldn’t expect from such a large man, he was like a boulder, covered in hard armor that would be the skin of stone, barrelling forward like he was the leading rock in a landslide.
The Wailer curled up, still not moving, it’s legs darting inwards towards it’s body,
“Rowan! Watch yourself it’s going to jump!” Callahan yelled, the sound pricked at the Wailer’s sharp ears, distracting it for just a moment, and in that small moment Rowan had already launched himself into the air, his steel grip searching for a spindly limb to grab hold of,
“Damn…” Callahan didn’t even get a chance to fully load or aim a bolt into cross bow before Rowan lunged, and now, he could barely see what was going as the violent wrestling kick up the anima ever more fiercely blinding them as to what was going on.
“Come ‘ere you little bastard” Rowan sneered, one limb already tight in his grasp, he tried pulling the creature inward but it was slippery, almost boneless, able to twist and turn in all manner of ways. It shot it’s other for limbs into Rowan’s chest, but the claws weren’t strong enough, they pinged off the steel uselessly. Then another jab came this one for his head “WHOA” He said ducking at at the last moment “DON’T PLAY DIRTY” He growled, pushing through it’s limps and sinking a thumb into the creatures eye “Ah don’t like that eh?” he boisted, knee on the creature’s chest,
“Now just get in…” He still struggled, trying to put the black muzzle onto the creatures head, “Just..”
It squirmed still, breaking free and then, quickly it began to bloat, it’s neck building with anima laced air “No no—” Rowan went to grab at it’s throat, but he wasn’t fast enough, out came the horrid whale from the creatures mouth, you could almost see the soundwaves displacing the anima in the air, clearing the the wrestling cloud and making it clear to see what was happening “HooGugh” Rowan cried out, the mask’s muffling didn’t fully protect against the creature’s wail, he could feel the sound battering his skull,
“ROWAN!” Callahan cried out, watching his brother reel back, his hands glasped around his head as if it were nursing the worst headache imaginable.
Callahan took aim at the creature, it looked about ready to pounce once more, but Callahan wouldn’t let it, the bolt was ready, he squeezed the trigger on the cross bow and it flew out ripping trough the anima like a needle. It swiped past Rowan and then just as it was about to make a direct hit with the Wailer’s flesh, it bent over backwards and then sunk low to the ground, it’s mouth opened wide once more, it’s neck bloating fully now and then it unleashed another wail
“BRACE YOURSELVES” Ollie cried, and then again, the sound waves ripped through them,
Callahan could feel it, like he was being shaken violently by a giant, back and forth is bones stirring his muscles as if they were mortar and pestle. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t swallow. The full force of the Wail was excruciating.
His body tensed up, collapsing onto the dirt, and in that state all he could do was watch, see how the creature scurried across the ground as it made it’s way toward’s him with hunger it’s silvery eyes. It got closer… closer and closer, fuck no, no. NO! All Callahan could do was scream in his own mind at the impending doom before it, he pictured it, the Wailer sinking it’s claws deep into his chest. MOVE! He ached, commanded his muscles to move, but they ignored him, it was time, the Wailer was a second way from truly plunging those black claws into him, but then, quick scraping thuds came up behind it, he could feel it on his cheek as he lay on the ground, Rowan’s racing steps and then, the scrapping of his hammer slicing into the dirt and then connecting full force in to the creatures chest, cratering it and sending it flying off into the air
“Cal! Hoooh… shit, you okay?” Rowan said shaking the pain from his brother’s body “Come on get up! we gotta get that little bastard still.”
Slowly the feeling came back, but the pain didn’t dissipate, he felt it, churning in his guts, he wanted to throw up, but his mask would drown him in bile. “Shit, I’m sorry, I missed…”
Rowan laughed, “Hahaha! It’s okay I screwed up to, couldn’t get that damn muzzle on the bastard.”
He looked over at Ollie, who was also just getting over the effect of the wail, “You good there? Damn didn’t expect it to feel like that, that’s for sure.” Rowan said chuckling.
Ollie rose to his feet, still recovering… “Yeah… where is the bastard, we should follow it.”
“We’re gonna!” Rowan raised a thumb up into the air, covered in a thick silver ichor. Then he pointed to the ground, a trail of it following where the monster had been launched away by his hammer. “wherever it’s going, we’ll find it!”
The three of them put themselves together, dusting off what aches they could, then they followed closely behind Rowan, who tracked the ichor in the dirt like a hound. Their pace through the Mire was quick now, there was no time for banter or gossip any longer.
The trail lead them to an old fort, grey stones still stacked high with strange swirly etches on the masonry, “You think it’s been living in there?” Rowan wondered, nudging Callahan with his Elbow.
“Uh… I don’t know…” Callahan was still recovering, but his aching muscles weren’t the true culprit of his angst.
“Well guess we’ll find out, come on lets find a door!” Rowan said, dipping his finger into the silver ichor that dripped down the stones leading up and over the wall. They walked searched the perimeter of the wall till they found a large wooden door, still somehow not completely rotted away from the Mire’s effects. “You boys good to help or should I do this?” He gave a concerned look to the both of them, slumped, ragged, Callahan especially looked like he wanted to go home.
“All right, I’ll handle it” He said, gripping his hammer tight in his hand and smashing it against the wood. Over and over again he swung, till the wood started to give way, he could hear it, the cracks from the other side, could see the splintering grow more and more, until it eventually gave way, he struck until the hole was big enough for Ollie with his machine to fir through, if he could, they all could.
“Come on fellas, you’re so quiet now! We did good! Close call but that’s part of the job!” Rowan said leading Ollie into the newly made entrance first.
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“Alright suit yourselves then” he followed after them, squeezing through the hole he made with just the teeniest amount of extra effort needed. Once inside they followed the trail once more leading them into a mess hall.
Rowan whistled “Pretty nice? Right? I mean I heard the Mire rots everything real quickly, wonder what makes this place so special?” his hand wafted through the mist, it was up to their necks now.
Ollie began settling down, he shook off the machine from his back and placed it on the still standing table. “This is where we part ways for a bit,” Ollie said, as he flicked the nob on the machine.
As it powered on it drew an interested glance from Callahan, he watched as the circular mouth of the machine split apart, its eight metal petals sliding inward towards the rim, then a whirring hymm began, and he could see the green mist being sucked into the void of the machines maw like a whirlpool in the air.
“You’re not gonna come with us?” Callahan asked, almost meekly.
Ollie shook his head, “I’d just be a liability, I have to keep the machine safe, Captain might pop a blood vessel if we come back without a wailer, but he’ll shoot us if we don’t bring this back.”
Ollie looked till he found a seat that hadn’t had all it’s legs removed, and then he pulled it up close to the table, and just watched as the anima whirled into the machine.
“You gonna be okay in here? That thing… it almost got all three of us if we leave you here.”
“I’ll be fine, it’s bleeding and running scared, I doubt it’ll retrace it’s steps and go back to where danger came”
A violent crash rang out in the hall, as Rowan tossed aside debris looking for where the trail lead next. “Ha! Found it! You boys ready”
"Ha! Found it! You boys ready?" He said, triumphantly “Booze cellar! Now that’s a bonus to bring back to the Captain!” Rowan cheered, sauntering over to Callahan and Ollie, as they both moped around the table.
“Are we ready? The pools are getting thicker, it’s definitely slowing down”
“Ollie’s wants to stay behind” Callahan said, worry laced in his voice.
“Ah,” Rowan gave the man a look, he was leaned back far into his chair, he looked lost in his own thoughts, the whirling mist reflecting in the glassy lens of his mask.
“Hey, Cal, he’ll be fine,” Rowan said, pulling Callahan in for a brotherly meet. “It ain’t his first gig, look at him, he’s old!”
“Yeah… but that thing almost took us out together, what’s he gonna do if he’s up here alone.”
Rowan gave his brother a light jostle, then looked over to Ollie, “Don’t take it that I can convince you to come with us eh?”
Ollie’s gaze didn’t even leave the machine, he just shooed them off with his hand “it’ll be okay. We’ve only seen one so far, and it’s scared, go finish the job”
Rowan smiled under his mask, and then shook Callahan one more time to confirm “See? He’s right, we’ll finish the job, bring the Wailer back up here, the anima will be all sucked up and then boom! We head back to Kikis! Come on Cal!” He started making his way towards the booze cellar door, urging Callahan to follow, but something didn’t sit quite right in his stomach leaving a man behind.
“If… you know things get bad, just come find us” Callahan said, before following Rowan.
Ollie didn’t give a response, his eyes addicted to the whirling death.
Rowan was the first one down into the cellar, disappearing into the inky darkness below, Callahan followed slowly, then, just as the cellar door began to close he took one last glance at Ollie, he brought his knee up, holding it tightly, and he could see his whole body shiver. Was it pain? From the Wailer? Or something else. Callahan couldn’t say.
Darker than night now, they were at the bottom rung of the stair that lead into the cellar, he could hear Rowan fidgeting with something, than a spark lit, and another, then finally the flame took to the cloth and the torch began to light. “We should grab a few more of these, doubt anyone who lives here needs them anymore” He grabbed a few more unlit torches from the scones, tossing them to Callahan, then he brought the flame low, and tracked the blood further down. Callahan followed the light of his brother’s torch, into an endless darkness, whatever the room was, it stopped being a cellar a long time ago.
“Is it… always this dangerous?” Callahan asked?
Rowan perked up, letting Callahan catch up to him “What monster hunting? It can be, it’s fun though right? What you worried?”
“course I am? Are you not? That thing almost got me…”
Rowan shrugged, his eyes locked on the ground, searching “Ah not so much anymore, I got you watching my back!”
Callahan had a slight pause in his step, and when Rowan noticed he stopped too, “Is that a joke?” He sounded upset.
“Huh?” Rowan was confused,
“I barely did anything back there besides almost get myself killed… and it’s not the first time that I…”
“Cal, come on! This is our first big job it’s okay to have a slip up now and again you know?”
“Is it?” his pace was staggering, but he still tried to stay in the light of Rowan’s torch.
“I don’t know if this was a good idea”
“What isn’t?”
“Me being here.”
“So you wanna go back home already?”
“Well… I can help Brig and Ma… and you’re better at this, the whole travelling, and talking to all these weird people and…”
“Cal, If I didn’t think you were ready I wouldn’t have asked you to come with me.”
“Why do you get to decide if I’m ready… huh?”
“I’m a good judge of character! Come on you know that!”
“Are you? or are you just a big goofy drunk who likes anyone who might slide a silver your way…”
“Hey! Come on now, what are you saying?”
“I’m just saying, a lot of the money we do make, you spend it on booze, and you’re always down in the bar talking people up, laughing and hollering like you got no care I the world, all the while I’m stuck up in the loft and trying to figure out how to use this stupid…” He trailed off putting a hand to the glassy eye of the mask, trying to wipe the stains from it clean.
“Hey… I got worries, and I got cares, and you know, what I do, yeah it sounds like fun and it is! But every drink leads to a new lead a job, if it wasn’t for me we wouldn’t even be on this island! So watch it” he said pushing Callahan up ahead of him.
“Ma is always my first priority, “ Rowan continued, “So are you and Brig”
Callahan’s foot got stuck, in the dirt, the push making him stumble to the ground.
“Ah shit, Cal… damn it I’m sorry”
Callahan’s breath shuttered, his hands digging into the dirt, when Rowan’s hand was offered he slapped it away,
“Come on Cal… it was an accident.”
He kept quiet at first, trying to wrestle with his thoughts.
“Cal, just trust me, alright? I know you can do this, you just gotta know too”
“And you should know you’re 200lbs heavier than me.” He said dusting the dirt off himself
“I said I’m sorry!”
They both sighed. “It’s fine,” Callahan muttered, “Not a good idea to argue over this here anyway…”
“Yeah… Brig would definitely be telling Ma right about now.” Rowan chuckled,
“She’d be slapping you in the back of the head for the push too.” Callahan added.
“Ha! Maybe, she does love looking out for her baby brother!”
“You’d deserve the worst of it…”
“Yeah… maybe, lets keep moving!”
As they moved on a head, they could feel the strange cellar’s walls begin to narrow, Callahan wondered how far it really went, how much more darkness could they trudge through, but then, just a few feet out in front of them Rowan’s torch light cause the pooling silver ichor dripping out of the dead Wailer’s corpse, it’s body hung in the crevice of broken down wall that lead further beyond the cellar and into an even thicker darkness.
