Chapter 48

Bones chilled by the nocturnal wind, the boy ran with his arms huddled close to his body. His tunic provided little in terms of protection from the elements as the wind easily pierced through the fabric. The boy trod carefully, the minuscule lights provided by the fading fires weakened by the minute. Within the boy’s hands, he held a bag of coins tightly, as it would provide them with enough to last for the upcoming weeks. Before long, the boy slowed down as he neared a half-collapsed structure. The ruin used to be a part of something great, a grand and opulent construct. However, with the passage of time, the walls crumbled and the roofs fell, leaving behind only a lonely room under a pile of rubble and rock. A faint trace of light escaped through a hole at the top of the formation.

Knock-knock.

The boy only needed to wait briefly before a light childish voice sounded from the other side.

“W-What’s the password?!”

“Rickety-Rodock.” the boy answered. After a bit of shuffling, the door slowly creaked open.

“Prute!” the little girl shouted. “Welcome back!” Her curly long hair swayed left and right as she bounced with excitement.

Prute quickly entered the makeshift home and closed the door tightly behind him.

“What did I tell ya about lighting a fire while I ain’t here?! Ya want people to take ya?!”

The child’s warm smile vanished as her eyes suddenly became teary.

“I-I’m s-sorry…!” she whimpered. “It was really cold… so…”

“At least cover up the hole or something! What if someone sees ya?”

“But… the smoke… it’s hard to breathe…” she sniffed and sobbed. “I’m sorry…”

Sigh. The boy kneeled in front of the girl, wrapping his hand around hers.

“Ruta… I ain’t mad, but ya gotta be careful! There are bad people out there… Some of them will come here and take ya… and some…” Prute paused, his eyes shifted aside. “They will try to trick ya… so when I ain’t here, ya gotta hide…”

Ruta nodded, wiping away the tears with her fists.

“Come on,” he said, gently rubbing in an attempt to warm her hands. “Ya cold, ain’t ya? Let’s… let’s get ya some warm clothes!”

“But… we don’t have money…”

“My work gave me a good bonus today, we can spare a bit to get ya something nice.”

“...Really…?”

“Yep, I’ll treat ya to some good eating too!”

“Yay!” The child leaped onto the boy and embraced him. But it was not long before she let go and her concerns surfaced.

“What… what about the bad men…?" She hesitantly questioned. “What if… what if they see me..? Are they going to take me again…?”

“No, I talked to them. They’ll leave ya alone.” The boy’s rubbed his arm and his gaze lowered. “And… I think they’ll be busy for a bit…”

“Really…?! Then… can we go now…?!” Ruta shouted, leaping with excitement as she tugged on Prute’s tunic. “Please-please-please!”

“Sure.” The boy carefully stomped out the small campfire, ensuring only the slightest of embers remained. Then he went to the door and briefly stuck his head out to checked their surroundings. After exiting, Prute carefully closed the door behind them, then they hurriedly left the vicinity in hopes of being undetected. The boy did not want their home to be discovered, not because he had anything worth stealing, but because it was one of the better sheltered they had resided within. And with the cold season at their doorsteps, he did not want to lose it.

“It… it’s getting much colder than usual…” Ruta exclaimed. “When will the warm breeze come back…?”

“I ain’t got a clue. We gotta wait it out.”

During the more tolerable seasons, warm gusts of wind flew from the Southwest, blanketing the landscape in pleasantly mild temperatures. However, as the season shifts, so does the agreeable nature of the gale. Winters were always harsh, from the freezing of groundwater to the bombardment of hail, every year a portion of their impoverished settlement succumbs to the frigid landscape.

Prute knew they were the lucky ones, as their shelter provided good insulation from the hazards. Without it, the meager flame they could afford would not be able to sustain them through the winter.

“Hey… Prute…?” Ruta questioned as she tugged at the boy’s tunic.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Do ya think… I can help ya out…?”

“No… I can do things just fine. Just stay home, will ya?”

“But… I wanna be helpful…” the girl muttered, “I think I can-”

“I said NO! That’s the end of it!” Prute briefly paused and calmed himself before continuing. “I ain’t want to hear ya talk about that anymore.”

What followed was an awkward silence. They passed shack after shack, careful not to trip on the trash that littered the pathways. The last flickers of light had died out and the two were completely encased in darkness. Prute had been down this road many times, so he knew the twists and turns like the back of his hand. Still, they find the occasional deviances which would stumble at least one of them.

“Hey… Prute…” The girl softly voiced.

“What? If it’s about following me to work, then ya already know what I’m gonna say.”

“No…” The girl shook her head. “Do you… do you hear that…?”

“...”

Suddenly, the boy halted.

“Hear what?”

“That noise… the weird clicking sound… I’ve been hearing it for a while…”

“Weird clicking…? Ya sure ya ain’t just imagining things?”

“No… I ain’t think so…” Ruta moved in close as her hand tightened around the boy’s hand. “Sometimes, it’s softer… sometimes, a bit louder… but it’s always around… really weird and quiet…”

“Are ya trying to scare me? So ya can come with?”

“No I’m not!” the child exclaimed, her voice shuttered slightly as she changed to a whisper. “I think… I think there’s something out there…”

“Something out there…?” Prute was not sure what the girl was talking about as he had not heard of this noise.

“Do ya… do ya think it’s the bad men…?”

The boy did not respond. There was a possibility that the kidnappers had gone back on their word, however, there was no way that he would not have noticed if the kidnappers were tailing them. The fat one was clumsy and the muscular one could not hide his footsteps if his life depended on it. That left the jittering one, whom Prute doubted could even walk straight.

“It could be some other kidnappers… Ruta, stay close and never let go.”

The boy picked up his pace, dragging the girl along. Noises that eluded him before now rang in his ears. Someone was following them.

The steps were irregular, and the clicking sounded as if someone constantly clattered their teeth together. Prute knew that whoever tailed them was not normal, not just the strange nature of the noise, but also the uncanny ability to navigate through the darkness. Not once had their pursuer stumbled or staggered. No matter where they turned, the noise would follow without fail.

“It… it’s still following us…” Ruta whispered in between her breaths.

“I know… we gotta take a detour so hold on tight.”

Using his hand, the boy searched along the rows of the shacks for an opening. Upon finding one that seemed wide enough, Prute made the abrupt turn, squeezing both of them in between the two constructs. The spacing was tight, but just enough for the two of them to fit through one at a time with a little bit of wiggle room. There were many hidden pathways in this dilapidated section of the city, and many more that were only wide enough for a child to fit through.

“Ow!” the girl suddenly cried.

“What happened?!” The boy hastily questioned.

“My arm… something scratched me…”

In his attempt to lose their pursuer, Prute had forgotten how dangerous these paths were. The poorly fashioned shacks were lined with deformities. Unsecured nails and loose sheets of metal were a common sight as the residents made do with whatever they could scrap together.

“Are ya… bleeding?”

“I… I think so…”

Just then, a loud bang reverberated from the entrance to the alleyway.

“Wha… what’s that…?” the child shuttered, her hands shook as she instinctively turned her head.

“Did they just jump on the roof? We have to hurry!” The boy ran, throwing all caution into the wind. Every few steps, he would feel a sharp pain against his arms and legs. Despite that, he held on. Ruta’s grasp weakened after every painful cry, but Prute's did not. The relentless clacking of their pursuer’s steps inched closer and closer, the boy knew that they could not afford to stop.

“We’re… almost… out…!” he shouted in encouragement. Short on breaths and in constant pain, his words were scattered and uneasy. The palm of his hand was torn apart by the unending incisions, but he had no choice. He needed to feel his way through the passage or risk crashing into the uneven walls.

EEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

An eerie noise, the likes of which they’ve never heard before, screeched from behind them. Chills went down both of their spines as the otherworldly scream assaulted their ears.

“Wh-What was t-that…?!” tired and scared, the girl’s voice stuttered.

“I-I ain’t gotta clue, but we gotta keep running!” The boy knew neither where they were nor where they were going. He did not even know what chased him, only that it was not human.

While distracted by his thoughts, he had not noticed that the wall he relied on for navigation ended. Before the boy could even react, he had crashed head-on into a wall with the girl following soon after. A burning pain stretched across his forehead as dizziness clouded his mind. It required a brief moment before the world returned to him, and the sound of distraught cries caught his attention.

“Ruta…? Ruta…?! A-Are ya alright?! Where are ya?!”

The girl bawled and wailed, her words scattered by sobs.

“It… it hurts….!” she cried. “Wh-whur….”

“Stay... stay put, I’m coming!” The boy attempted to rush to the girl but quickly fell, hitting his head once more. His consciousness quickly fading as he could barely grasp his surroundings. “Wh-what…?” Suddenly, Prute noticed the intense pressure that pinched his leg. He tried to crawl away but did not have to strength to overcome the anchor. Encased in darkness, the boy could not see a single thing. Nothing hinted at his situation but the constant crying that entered his ears.

“Ruta…” he called. “I… I’m com-”

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

His heart sank, and before the high pitch screech could conclude, a harsh jolt tugged at him and his body slid against the uneven ground. All was a haze, the last thing Purte could remember was the echoing of distant whimpers, and the coming of a fate he could not defy.

…

Out the tears came, and down her cheeks, the tears went. Even though none of her pleads yielded a response, she continued to call out for his name.

“P-Prute… Prute… where… where are…” she sniffled wiping away are her tears and snot.

“Please…” The girl stood still, too afraid to move.

“Somebody… help…” She shouted, but nobody ever came. Not a single soul dared to peek, and not a single light was lit.

“Come back… please… come back…”

As her voice began to crack and her throat threatened to give, a muffled beat resonated through the air.

Unsure what to make of it, the girl slowly walked toward the rhythm, hoping that it was a call from the boy.

“Please… come back…”

With each step taken, the melody became more recognizable.

Crack…… Crack…… Crack……

The closer she was, the more detailed the noise would become. It was the sound of one object clashing against another, with each impact accompanied with a wet slap. And laced in between each squelch, was an unnerving, muted mutter.

SPLUT… one.. ov.. em… SPLUT… one.. ov.. em..

“Prute… wh-where a-are… p-please… a-answer…”

When she approached even closer, the noise ceased and silence returned.

“P-Prute…?”

eeeEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-

Without warning, a liquid drenched claw slammed into the side of her face and clenched it with overwhelming force. Before the child could even scream, the claw swung her face first onto the concrete ground. Confused and unable to see, she laid dazed until bit by bit, the numbness faded out and feeling of her face returned.

Realizing what had happened, the girl screeched at the top of her lungs. The leather skin that pressed against hers only further intensified its grip. She tried to free herself with both hands, but neither could overpower the creature.

AHHHHHHHHHHH! She desperately squealed. “HELP ME! HELP ME!” But like before, no one came to her aid. Ruta kicked her legs wildly in every direction while she rattled her body left and right, hoping to set herself free.

“HELP Me-UrragggeI!” The creature jabbed one of its fingers into the girl’s mouth, pressing its dull and weathered nail against its roof. Slowly, the creature’s extremity sank deeper into her skin until it finally broke through. It did not stop there as the creature kept pushing until an inch of its finger was embedded into her flesh.

Ruta tried to scream, but the massing blood choked her and kept her voice from escaping. She attempted to claw at the creature’s arm but that only seemed to anger her assailant.

A second finger now pressed atop of her eye. The child could not see what was coming, thus her eye had remained open. With barely any resistance, the creature pierced through her cornea causing a mixture of fluids to escape down the side of her face. She jolted from the unfathomable pain, the movement scrambling what remained of her eye socket.

UArGluLU… GRAaaAa… ULgGgg…

As she continued to struggle, the creature lifted her head up from the ground. The child kept trying to set herself free, but each endeavor only brought her more pain.

One… ov… em…

The creature spoke briefly before violently smashing Ruta’s head into the concrete below. Having lost all her strength, the girl softly yelped as her skull cracked against the weight of the creature’s hand.

One… ov… em…

It lifted her again, repeating the same phrase before thrusting her at the ground again and again.

CRUSH!

With each collision, her cries became a bit softer, and with each collision, her body twitched a bit less.

One… ov… em…

CRACK!

One… ov… em…

SQUISH!

The child's skull was shattered and she ceased to move. Her body became completely limp and her arms dangled lifelessly in the air. However, the creature did not stop. It continued its motion until the girl’s head was completely pulverized.

***

As the black skies shifted gray, the silhouette of a horrid creature could be seen crawling. Its pale skin was coated in a thick layer of freshly spilled blood, as a ventral-like tube extruded where its mouth should be. The creature lurched and limped with its bloated stomach dragging across the floor. It only stopped once it had finally found a suitable location. Shrouding itself in the rubble, the creature began to puke up chunks of pulsating secretions, forming a sort of shell around itself. Each new addition to its cocoon immediately fused and synchronized with the rest, becoming one living organism. Only a short amount of time passed before the creature was finished with its twisted design, wrapping itself in a wall of throbbing flesh.