The Birth of the New World

Unfortunately, all the containers that I find up front are emptied out and I don’t end up finding anything useful. As I am about to give up and crawl into the back, I hear Sky give an excited chirp.

Turning around I find her holding up what looks like a knife in a black hard plastic sheath. She’s holding it above her and happily celebrating. From the looks of it, she probable found it behind one of the chairs where it got lost after the Humvee flipped. Probably a soldier’s spare knife or something.

As she celebrates, Sky eventually looks over to me. Quickly, she runs over and presents the knife to me looking very proud of herself. Taking the knife, I remove it from its sheath and give it a look over. Definitely looks like it has some quality to it, not like one of those pieces of crap you might find being sold for a few bucks at a flea market.

Sky seems overjoyed when I accept the weapon, the only problem is that I already have a big ass knife and my claws, so I don’t really need another knife. Sky on the other hand only has her spear that looks like a broken broom handle with a poorly sharpened bit of metal strapped to its end.

Sheathing the knife, I put it back in her hands and gently wrap her fingers around it. Pointing down to the knife hanging from my side, I tell her, “Thank you Sky, but I already have a knife. You can keep this one.” With a smile, I give her a pat and a kiss on the forehead.

At first, when I had handed the knife back to her, she had looked devastated, but after I kissed her head, she seemed utterly shocked. Placing a hand on her head where I just kissed her, her eyes go wide, and she immediately goes back to being a shy little Kobold. Hugging the sheathed knife to her chest and hiding her face like a maiden that got confessed to by a prince.

Hmmm, ok, adding a few more points to the possibility of her having a crush on me…

Leaving the flustered Kobold to sort herself out in private, I climb out of the Humvee and give the area another look around. Before we leave, I want to make sure that we are not missing anything that could be useful.

As I am searching around the area, my ears perk up and I can hear something. Looking towards the tree line I see as the top of a tree sways in the distance and the bird within are scared away, cursing out whoever it is that disturbed them. The sound of something massive approaching is quickly growing near.

As quickly as I can, I sprint back towards the Humvee where Sky is already starting to panic. When she sees me approach, she starts to calm down, but I can tell that she is worried. I go over to help her down from the vehicle, but as I do, I see a massive dark object exiting from the forest, stopping me in my tracks.

Standing there on three massive limbs is a lumbering giant of a black bear. But it is heavily wounded, its entire left side is coated in dried blood mixed with mud and other debris. The left side of its face looks as if it had been burned with one eye fogged over and an ear just completely missing. All of this isn’t to even mention that it is missing its entire left arm from the shoulder down. This massive bear looks like it has seen much better days and is hardly standing on its own, swaying back and forth and shaking. What’s left of its face is tired and exhausted, its one good eye drooping as if it hasn’t had a good sleep in weeks. From its long mouth that is large enough to swallow a man whole, it is drooling and heavily panting.

From that one drooping tired eye I can see the one and only reason that this thing is still alive, why it had dragged its dying body all the way out here despite probably wanting nothing more than to finally embrace its end in some dark corner and finally be able to rest.

Its eyes, hidden behind a desperate plea for sleep and rest, is a burning hatred.

All of that hate is currently directed towards the Humvee that I flipped over, and subsequently towards me. The person, the being that probably looks very much like a human in the eyes of an exhausted and pissed off bear, that is standing right next to the hated object.

Slowly, I back away from the vehicle and the bears one good eye follows me as I lock eyes with it. In the Humvee, Sky is shaking and calling my name getting ready to jump out and run towards me. Throwing up a hand, I tell her, “Stay in there Sky! Don’t come out!” I don’t avert my eyes to look to her. I need to be ready for the moment that the bear charges at me, and I don’t want to be anywhere near sky when it does.

She continues calling my name, but both the bear and I ignore her pleas. What happens next has already been decided, and she will have no part in it. The bear takes a step forward, leaning heavy on its remaining front limb. I take off like an arrow set loose.

Moving away from the Humvee and towards the woods, I run diagonally to the bear on its left side. The bear moves and in moments it is already in front of me and trying to back hand me with its remaining arm. Reacting on pure instinct, I dive down and roll just under its massive paw as it travels overhead. A current of wind follows in its wake and threatens to blow me off my feat.

Looking up I can see the massive open maw of the creature coming towards me. I don’t allow myself to think, relying entirely on my new body’s reflexes to respond. In less than a heartbeat, I am kicking off the ground from where I had finished my roll.

Below me instantly becomes a landscape of flowing black fur as the bear’s head passes but a couple inches beneath my body. Rotating in the air like a cat, I get my limbs bellow me and latch onto the bear’s body as it passes beneath me. Instantly I am carried away as the bear continues its limping charge where it barrels into the side of a parked car. The car is sent flying off of the highway and into the field, almost as if a child had just kicked one of their toys across the room.

Digging my claws in and holding fist-fulls of pitch-black fur, I brace myself as the bear comes to a skidding stop. As soon as it stops moving, I am kicking off of it and running down its back. Drawing my knife in one swift motion, I brandish it in a reverse grip to slam it down into the head of the massive beast: not aiming for the hard skull of its head but instead for its remaining ear on its undamaged side.

Holding unto its big round ear, I bring the knife as far and deep as I can into its ear canal before burring it down to the hilt. The bear screams with a massive roar that threaten to deafen my own ears, but I don’t faulter, I don’t think, I only allow myself to react. To Hunt.

Not wasting a moment in the opening from it screaming, I launch myself down its face on all four limbs, my sandals lost and forget at some point. Alighting myself from its face and onto its muzzle, I crouch and prepare to launch myself at my foes last remaining eye.

My instincts and desire to hunt scream out inside of me, ‘I’ve taking your hearing and now I will take your sight! Next will be your life!’

The bears one good eye raises in fright as it locks on to the small creature raising its claws and about to tear its eye out.

Before I can lunge for the kill, my world is covered in shadows and danger flairs in the back of my mind. Aborting the attack, I launch myself from the bear’s snout just as its massive paw comes plowing through. I don’t see what happens behind me but again, just as my bare feet are touching the ground my mind flares with danger. I hardly have time to turn my head as a massive weight slams into me from behind.

I am sent flying and up ahead of me a tree is quickly drawing very near. Rolling myself into a ball, I feel as my body plows through the trunk of the tree and ends up on the other side in a shower of splinters. Soon I am hitting the ground, bouncing and slamming into the trunk of another tree before finally coming to a stop.

The tree I am resting against has its surface dented in and cracked, ahead of me I watch as the tree I plowed through starts to slowly fall to the forest floor, bringing down two of its neighbors with it.

Reaching up I feel my face as blood trickles down, following it up I feel at the horn on the right-hand side of my head. It had broken off about three quarters of the way down with an uneven snap; it is bleeding a deep and dark crimson from the stump.

Looking down at myself I see my clothing, torn to shreds and ruined to the point of being rags that barely cover my body.

Suddenly, I hear a high-pitched scream.

I scream back, “Sky!”

My responsibility, my oath! I swore that I would take care of her!

My world turns red, and I am on my feet. Before I know it, I am on top of the bear, and I lose myself to my anger.

-Sky-

What is that thing!? I had never seen a creature be so big, is this the same monstrosity that left behind that arm? I can’t help but to shake in fright as it approaches, but Lain, my wonderful Lain does not shake in fear. She goes out to fight that beast without looking away. Even as I call her name, fearful for her safety, she moves to confront the beast.

In a moment they both move, and I lose sight of her, the next moment the colossal creature is throwing aside one of those little huts that Lain calls ‘Cars.’ She is already atop the massive creature’s back and charging towards its head. I have no idea how she got up there, but I can only watch on in utter fascination as she draws her knife and then buries it deeply into the creature’s ear.

The monster bleeds; dealt a deadly blow by my lover and my heart skips a beat. The beast roars out in anger and pain, and I have to cover my ears as they start to ring. But Lain isn’t perturbed by this, she is already moving down the creature’s face, ready to finish it off. My blood boils in excitement as I watch her be about to finish off a monstrosity that none of my people could ever hope to face.

As I am about to cheer for her, my fear almost long forgotten, she suddenly launches herself off of its face, barely dodging a blow from the things massive paw. After that my heart drops. Lain lands on the ground but before she can even move, the massive arm of the beast is already hitting her with a back swing. She disappears from my view and then there is a loud crashing noise, as trees off into the green begin to collapse.

My body goes cold as my mind realizes what just happened. She was hit. She was hit by that massive arm and sent flying. Is she hurt, is she dead!? I scramble for the door, wanting to run to her, “Lain! Lain Lain Lain!”

As I’m about to throw myself outside, I see the beast shift its attention towards me and it charges. I scream and do the only thing that I can think of. Reaching out I grab and slam the door shut with everything I have.

Moment’s latter the big car is sent tumbling, I am thrown from the door and slam into something behind me. The air is blown from my body, and I hit the ground. Squirming and shaking on the floor, I fight to take in a breath of air, but all my body wants to do is scream in agony. I fight with myself, willing my body to take a breath of air.

Finally, after what feel like minutes of agony, a weight is lifted from my chest, and I am finally able to breath. Gulping down lungsful of air, I let out another scream, my arm hanging limply by my side as I lay on the ground.

The world shakes, and the large hut is moved. Tearing sounds come from all around me and I scream again, not from pain, but from fear as a set of massive claws pierce through the side of the large car.

I want to cry, to scream, to curl up in a ball and hide, but before my fear can run away with my senses, I hear it. A loud scream filled with wrath. Suddenly the large car stops shacking and tearing, there is a massive crash as a large weight collides with the ground.

“Lain!” I call out, crawling towards a broken window. Looking outside I see it. I see the beast lifting itself of the ground from where it had fallen and Lain standing before me. Darkness radiates from her body like living appendages as it flows off of her body. Her hair, flowing and moving of its own accord, melds with and dances with the darkness.

Her clothing is shredded, blood drips from her face, but she stands before me and screams at the beast. Her voice sounds of claws on slate and madness.

The beast, standing up on its hind limbs, towers over her and lets loose a roar that shakes the world.

She moves and suddenly she is gone. The only thing that remains is a pool of shadow where she used to stand.

The beast is crying out in pain, blood explodes out from its chest as Lain is suddenly there, digging into it with her claws that have become blades of solid darkness, attacking the beast with reckless abandon, screaming in rage.

The beast swipes her off of its chest, smashing her into the ground. Before it can follow up to try and crush her, Lain screams and explodes with shadowed appendages, the beast’s paw is warded off and she launches herself back at the creature. It is knocked off of its feet and onto its back as shadowed limbs fight to tie it down to the ground. To wrap around and engulf the creature whole.

But it fights, slamming its massive paw on the ground it manages to flip itself over and back onto its feet. With another sweep it removes Lain from its chest and throws her down the road until she smacks into the side of the large car where I hide. The wall dents where she hits and the entire structure slides across the ground.

I scream for her, begging her to be okay. I see the shadows moving and I watch as she pulls herself from the wall. I want to run out there, I want to hold her and keep her safe, but the beast is already upon us. Lunging with its mouth wide open, it tries to clamp its jaws down around her, its head opened horizontal to the ground.

Extending her arms, she grabs the beast by its teeth with both hands as it tries to close around her. Lain screams, her voice filled with rage as she fights back against the crushing force of its bite. Her feet digging into the ground of the road as she is forced back, pushed until her back is up against the wall.

More shadows grow and expand from her body as she screams, latching onto the ground and anchoring her. They grow and expand, slithering down her arms like living snakes before coiling around the beast’s open jaws. Slowly darkness flows into the beast’s mouth, and it begins to bleed. Huge droplets of blood begin to fall to the floor and pool at Lain’s feet, soon even teeth begin to fall from its mouth, and it cries out in pain and fury.

It tries to pull itself away, but her roots are already planted. She refuses to let go and continues to fill the creature’s mouth with more and more darkness, feeding on the shadows that it finds within. The beast is panicking, pulling and trashing, fighting to get away from the demon that is consuming it from the inside out.

I can’t help but watch as this violence goes on, almost close enough for me to reach out and touch. But I am knocked out of my revelry as I see the beast’s eye. So close to the ground that even I, with my little body, could easily reach it. With its jaw held open so close to ground, it can’t move.

Squeezing my hand, I feel it. The human crafted knife. The very one that I had tried to gift to Lain but had been returned with a kiss. The weapon that she wishes for me to keep, rather than for herself.

I have to help her! Even if I am weak! Even if she is strong! Even if it will kill me! I have to protect her!

“Haaa, Haaaa, HAAAAAAAAAhhhh!!!!” Screaming at the top of my lunges, I run out of the safety of the large car and Lain’s shadows. Clamping my jaws around the sheath of my knife, I charge towards the vile beast’s eye. The pads of my feet splash through blood and kick aside teeth as I run under the jaws being held open by Lain. My arm trails behind me uselessly and is making me want to scream with every step I take, but I just clamp my jaws down even harder and run.

As I near the eye, I draw the knife from its sheath and scream as I hold the weapon above my head, the sheath falling from my mouth and clattering to the ground behind me.

The beast’s eye opens in surprise when it finally notices the tiny and typically harmless Kobold charging towards it. The tip of the blade is the last thing it ever sees before it is forever blinded, dealt a mortal blow by a pipsqueak that it would have hardly considered a snack.

The beast reals back and I am thrown to the side, my knife sliding out of its eye and remaining in my hands. Next to me a great cracking noise rings out and I look to see just in time as Lain and parts of the ground are carried upward with her shadows as the beast reals back and calls out in pain. Blood pours from its destroyed eye and its mouth, flowing down its chest and painting its body with a fresh coat of red. It claws at its own face in a fit of pain induced madness as Lain continues to hold its jaws open, the shadows still expanding outward and wrapping around the beast’s face.

Eventually it stops screaming, the sound no longer able to escape its own throat as it drowns in its own blood, as darkness made physical expanded and clog up its airways, as their searching fingers slowly claw their way into the beast’s now useless eyes and dig their way into its skull.

The mighty beast stands still, its arm falling to its side. Slowly, its colossal frame sways side to side and eventually its legs give out from beneath it, no longer able to hold it weight. Collapsing to its knees, it slowly falls to its side like a toppled tree.

Before it can hit the ground, Lain’s shadows disappear, and she falls from the beast like a puppet that had its strings cut.

They hit the ground and the world shakes, neither of them move.

Breathing hard and in shock, it takes my mind a moment to catch up. Eventually a single thought rips through my mind and I wake up. “Lain! LAIN!!!!” I scream.

Limping and cradling my arm, I move to her side as fast as I can, collapsing by her side. Dropping my knife, I put my hand on her and start shaking her. My breathing become hard to control and I start to panic. “Lain! Lain! Lain! Lai….!” I keep saying her name, not knowing the words needed to ask if she is okay.

My body is shaking uncontrollably as I push on her with my one good arm.

I don’t want to lose her! Not yet, not like this!

Soon it feels as if my heart is going to burst, that I am going to lose all hope. But then she stirs a bit. Her mouth moves and she grumbles something in words I don’t yet know. I watch her chest rise and fall and immediately I am flooded with relief. I collapse onto her and hug her with my one good arm, my body shaking and shivering, not knowing how else to release the flood of emotions coursing through my body.

Breathing out in relief, I get off of her. Slowly and painfully, I scoot over to be behind her. Lifting up her head, I set it on my lap to let her rest. Her face is covered in blood, hers or the beast’s, I do not know. Compelled by instinct, to groom my mate, I start licking her face until it is clean. From her broken horn she still bleeds, so I lick it as well until it stops.

Looking down at her head resting on my lap, slowly petting her hair, I am reminded of what happened before the beast attacked. She had returned the knife to me, and then she kissed my head. She put her lips together and touched them to my forehead….

That isn’t something I can do. My mouth is so much different from hers. I don’t have lips like humans do. If I did, if I was more human, would I… would I be able to kiss her?

If I was more human, I could be even closer to her.

If I was more human, I could express myself better to her.

If I was more human, I could protect her instead of having to hide!

If I was more human…

I wish I was human, for her.