Free Web NovelThe room filled with red.
BANG!
BAANG!
Both shots hit the mechanical skeleton's sword.
They didn't destroy it.
Didn't even stop it completely.
But they deflected its path just enough that the blade passed beside her shoulder instead of splitting her from neck to chest.
SHIIING!
The sword cut through the air.
She felt several white strands break loose and float in front of her face.
Her eyes went wide.
Too close.
It had been too close.
"Ah!"
She beat the wings hard.
FWOOSH!
Her body shot backward.
Not elegantly.
Not precisely.
She just fled.
The skeleton hit the ground an instant later.
BAM!
The stone cracked beneath its metal feet. Its faceless head lifted toward her. The red opening glowed and she swallowed.
'No…!'
The skeleton launched itself again.
This time she didn't wait.
Didn't think.
Didn't try to counterattack.
She just flew.
FWOOSH!
The hot air of the room hit her face as she pulled away at full speed.
Matt's wings were powerful.
Too powerful.
Every beat launched her several meters forward, and for a moment she felt a small hope.
She was faster.
The skeleton couldn't reach her in a straight line.
Not if she kept her distance.
Not if she didn't make a mistake.
'Don't think about that…' the voice thought, gripping the guns tighter. Light gun in the right hand, heavy in the left. Both were still vibrating unevenly.
The crystallized blood Matt had used to repair them still glimmered in small red lines across the metal.
But the skeleton was advancing behind her. It wasn't flying anymore. It was jumping. Using all eight arms to push off the floor, the walls, and the platforms that kept appearing in the room as if the cave were enjoying itself.
BAM!
CRACK!
THUD!
Each impact made the air tremble.
She turned her head.
The skeleton was far away.
Then not so far.
Then too close.
"Damn it!"
The cannon on one of its arms lit up.
She moved to one side.
ZAAAP!
The beam passed beside her leg.
The burn didn't reach her.
But the heat did.
She gritted her teeth and kept flying.
Faster.
Higher.
Farther.
The room was enormous.
Too enormous.
She couldn't see the ceiling.
Couldn't see the lateral limits clearly.
Just darkness, black stone, and red runes pulsing on the walls.
She raised the light gun on instinct.
Wanted to fire.
Wanted to return the attack.
But her fingers didn't pull the trigger.
Not because the weapon was broken.
Not because she had no angle.
But because fear had frozen her hand.
The skeleton jumped again.
FWOOSH!
She dove downward, barely dodging, and the saw passed above her head.
VRRRRRR!
The sound went straight through her chest.
She felt sick.
'I can't…'
She climbed again.
Matt's body obeyed, though with a slight delay.
It wasn't the body.
It was her.
She was the problem.
Matt would have been insulting something and thinking up some absurdly dangerous plan with a real chance of working even if it meant he could die in the process.
She couldn't — she didn't have the courage to do that.
She just wanted to get away.
The skeleton launched an energy blade from a wrist.
SHIIK!
She half-spun and the blade grazed her side.
Pshk!
The blood came, but the wound closed quickly and the pain reminded her again of something very simple.
Very horrible. Her body could regenerate, but she was not getting used to the pain.
'How does he stand it?'
The question appeared unbidden.
She thought of Matt.
His tired tone.
His habit of saying stupid things while something was trying to kill him.
The way he always seemed to hate being alive and yet refused to die.
She gritted her teeth and accelerated.
FWOOSH!
The skeleton fell behind again.
For a few seconds, there was distance.
A lot of it.
She breathed hard. Her heart was beating so forcefully it felt like it wanted to break through her chest.
Tump!
Tump!
Tump!
She looked ahead and there was only darkness, but the room kept going, and going.
She frowned.
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'Wait…'
She had been flying for a while now.
Not in circles.
Not upward.
Straight forward in a clear direction. And yet she saw no end.
The room wasn't just large.
It was long.
Absurdly long. As if one of its directions had no limit.
She swallowed.
'Why?'
The skeleton reappeared behind her, farther than before, but still pursuing.
It didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
Didn't tire.
She felt hope mix with terror.
'What if I don't have to kill it?'
The thought came in small.
Almost ridiculous.
But once she thought it, she couldn't ignore it.
The cave had placed an impossible boss.
An enemy that regenerated.
One that learned.
One designed to wear them down until they died.
But…
Was killing it mandatory?
Or did the room have another way through?
She looked toward the endless darkness.
Then back.
The skeleton was getting closer again. Its eight arms were moving with a terrifying, unpleasant sound.
She gripped the guns.
'I can't win.'
That was clear.
Painful.
Humiliating.
But clear.
'But in case killing that monster really isn't required…'
She had to find a way out.
The problem was she had dropped the bow-spear.
She turned her head back.
The weapon was far away. Very far, somewhere in the room near where she had started running.
The idea of going back made her stomach clench.
"No…"
The skeleton fired another beam.
ZAAAP!
She tilted to one side and the bluish-red light passed over her shoulder and exploded against a distant wall.
BOOM!
Black stones rained down from above.
She breathed hard.
She needed the bow-spear. Leaving it there was simply unthinkable.
She gritted her teeth.
'I have to do it.'
The phrase landed clearly.
Then she swallowed and turned all at once.
FWOOSH!
The direction change was too abrupt, but Matt's body responded fast.
Too fast.
She almost lost her balance in the air.
"Ugh!"
The skeleton, which had been chasing her, didn't expect the full reversal.
Or maybe it did.
One of its arms stretched toward her.
Sharp fingers.
Straight for her throat.
She opened her eyes.
She folded her wings.
Her body dropped into a dive.
FWOOSH!
The arm passed overhead.
The saw came after.
She spun around herself, too clumsy, but enough to keep from being split apart.
VRRRR!
The saw grazed her sleeve.
The fabric opened.
The skin too.
Pshk!
Pain.
Blood.
Regeneration.
She didn't stop.
She climbed again.
The skeleton spun with a horrible speed.
She raised the light gun and fired without thinking.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets hit one of the arms.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
They didn't break it. But they gave her the half second she needed.
She passed beside the skeleton's side.
Too close.
So close she could see the red crystals embedded between its metal ribs.
So close she felt the heat from its core.
So close she thought one of its arms would grab her.
But it didn't.
She shot out toward the other end of the room, flying back, watching the floor.
"Come on…"
The air burned in her lungs. Her wings beat hard.
FWOOSH!
FWOOSH!
FWOOSH!
Below there were only cracks.
Stone.
Metal fragments.
Blood stains.
Shot marks.
The skeleton was following.
She didn't need to look to know.
She could hear it.
BAM!
THUD!
CRACK!
Getting closer and closer.
"Come on, come on, come on…"
Then she saw it.
The bow-spear lying on the ground several meters from a crack. The blade was dark, covered in dust, dried blood, and black marks.
It looked pitiful, as if it too wanted to give up.
She felt a relief so strong she almost made the mistake of flying straight down.
But the skeleton arrived first.
Not at the weapon.
At her.
FWOOSH!
The sword came down.
She spun, but not enough.
The blade opened her shoulder.
SHRAK!
"Ah!"
The pain made her lose altitude.
The light gun nearly slipped from her fingers.
The skeleton raised the saw.
She gritted her teeth and raised the heavy gun.
"No…"
She charged the shot.
Not too much.
Not like Matt.
Just enough.
The crystallized blood on the weapon glowed.
The barrel trembled.
The skeleton closed in.
She aimed at the center of its chest.
"Back off!"
She pulled the trigger.
BAAANG!
The red shot hit the skeleton's torso.
BOOM!
The explosion pushed it back.
Not much.
But just enough.
The metal on its chest cracked. The arms opened to recover balance.
She didn't wait.
She holstered the heavy gun at her waist, then the light one, and dove toward the bow-spear.
FWOOSH!
Matt's hand closed around the shaft.
The weapon vibrated.
Not weakly.
Not like before.
It was a strong reaction.
Almost desperate. As if it had been afraid of being left behind.
She felt that pulse travel up her arm.
"I know," she murmured. "I don't want to be here either."
The skeleton recovered.
She opened the wings.
FWOOSH!
She shot out again. This time in the opposite direction. Toward the long darkness of the room.
Toward where she thought there might be an exit.
Or a trap.
Or nothing.
It didn't matter.
It was better than staying.
The skeleton followed.
She didn't look back.
She couldn't afford to.
She just flew.
Faster.
Lower.
Then higher.
Then straight.
Having the bow-spear in one hand made it harder to keep her balance. The guns knocked lightly against her waist.
Her breathing was a mess.
Her heart kept pounding.
Tump!
Tump!
Tump!
'Please…'
She didn't know who she was asking.
The cave.
Matt.
The weapon.
Nobody.
'Let there be an exit.'
She flew for minutes.
Or it felt like that.
Maybe it was seconds.
Maybe much longer.
Time inside the cave was awful.
The room kept going.
Black walls.
Red runes.
Cracked floor.
Darkness.
More darkness.
The skeleton was still behind her.
Sometimes closer.
Sometimes farther.
But always there.
A constant sound of metal, stone, and death.
She gritted her teeth.
The room couldn't be infinite.
Right?
The air changed.
Not much.
A little.
Colder.
She opened her eyes.
There was something ahead.
A wall.
The end.
"Yes!"
The joy lasted less than a second.
Because there was no door.
No portal. No gap. No opening.
Just an enormous wall of black stone, covered in red runes.
She tried to slow down, but she was going too fast.
"Damn."
She opened her wings hard.
FWOOSH!
The air pulled at her muscles. The body shook. The bow-spear almost slipped from her hand. The wings braked too late.
THUD!
She hit the floor and rolled several meters. The stone scraped her arm, her leg, her side.
Crack!
Something in her wrist sounded wrong.
"Ugh!"
She stopped on her side, breathing hard.
The wrist began to correct itself.
Crk!
The bone went back into place. She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming.
The bow-spear was still in her hand.
At least that.
She raised her gaze to the wall.
Nothing.
No exit.
Nothing at all.
"No…"
The sound of the skeleton arrived from behind.
Distant.
But getting closer.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
She got to her feet as best she could.
'The other side…'
The idea came immediately.
If one direction had no exit, maybe the other did.
Or maybe not.
If it didn't…
She swallowed.
If there was no exit at all, then yes.
She would die there.
Matt wouldn't come back.
She couldn't win.
The weapons wouldn't hold.
And the skeleton wouldn't tire.
Desperation squeezed her throat.
But she had no time to cry.
Not yet.
The skeleton emerged from the darkness. The red opening in its face blazed brightly.
The sword rose.
The cannon lit up.
She opened her wings.
"Move…"
Her body trembled.
"Move."
The skeleton jumped.
She shot upward.
FWOOSH!
Too late.
One of the arms managed to reach her.
The metal fingers raked across her side.
SHRAK!
The blood came out in a long line.
She screamed.
"Ahhh!"
The pain cut off her breathing, but she didn't stop.
She couldn't.
She flew over the skeleton, spun in the air clumsily, and shot off in the opposite direction.
Again.
Toward the other end of the room.
Toward the last possibility.
The skeleton turned and followed.
The wound in her side was closing slowly.
Slower than before.
She noticed.
And that terrified her.
The regeneration was starting to cost more. Matt's blood was still powerful, but it wasn't infinite.
Matt was right.
He was always right about the most horrible things.
She pulled the bow-spear against her body to keep from losing it.
That cost her speed.
The wings had to work harder.
The body protested.
The muscles in her back burned.
'Faster…!'
FWOOSH!
The room flew past around her like a streak of shadows and red light.
She didn't look back.
If she looked, she might lose what little courage she had left.
She just kept going.
More and more.
The air burned her throat.
Her hands hurt.
Her fingers were slippery with blood.
The heavy gun knocked against her hip.
The light one too.
For a moment she thought one would come loose.
She gritted her teeth.
'No.'
She couldn't lose any weapon.
She had already lost enough.
Then she saw it.
Not a door.
Something smaller. Almost invisible between cracks in the side wall.
A hole.
A hole just large enough for a person to enter.
Only if she pulled her arms and legs in tight.
Only if she folded the wings.
Only if she didn't mind being completely defenseless for one second.
One second in which the skeleton could reach her.
Crush her.
Split her apart.
Tear away half her body.
She felt her heart stop.
"That…"
The skeleton was behind her.
Closer.
Much closer.
She had no time to check.
No time to think.
She could only bet.
The hole was dark.
Angled.
She couldn't see the bottom.
It could be a trap.
It could be a grinder.
It could lead straight into an even worse room.
Or it could be nothing.
She looked at the bow-spear.
Then at the hole.
If she went in with the weapon in hand, she could get stuck.
If she let go, she could lose it.
If she didn't go in, she would die.
"Damn cave…"
She gripped the weapon. Then threw it toward the hole.
Fwip!
The bow-spear went into the darkness.
She waited for a sound.
A crash.
A bang.
An explosion.
Nothing.
No impact.
No metal breaking.
No sign that it had landed nearby.
That meant the passage kept going.
Or it was too deep. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Didn't matter.
The skeleton arrived.
The sword came down toward her.
She opened her eyes.
She folded her wings all at once.
Shrrrk!
The world lost stability.
Without the wings, the body dropped.
She pulled her arms against her chest, pressed her legs together as best she could, and threw herself at the hole.
"Ah!"
The sword hit the wall right behind her.
BOOOOM!
The impact shattered stone.
Fragments hit her back.
One opened her cheek.
Another embedded itself in her shoulder.
But she was in. Her body scraped against the edges of the hole.
The clothes tore.
The skin too.
SHRAK!
"Ugh!"
For an instant she thought she would get stuck.
Terror shot up her throat.
Then the passage angled sharply downward.
And she fell.
Not in freefall.
Worse.
Like a slide of black stone.
Fast.
Dark.
Uneven.
"Damn, damn, damn!"
Her back hit a curve.
Thud!
Then her shoulder.
Bam!
Then she spun.
She tried to open the wings.
No space.
"No, no, no!"
The passage dropped in a spiral.
The heat faded little by little.
The air grew colder.
Cleaner.
Or at least less awful.
She kept falling.
She didn't know where.
She didn't know if the skeleton could follow.
She didn't know if she'd made things worse.
She just hugged her own body and gritted her teeth while the stone carried her downward.
Then she saw light.
Red.
But not like the boss's room.
Softer.
More stable.
The passage ended.
She shot out.
"Ah!"
She hit the floor and rolled several times across a smoother surface.
She finally stopped face down.
She didn't move.
For a few seconds, she just breathed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The body hurt.
A lot.
But nothing was chasing her.
No saw.
No sword.
No cannon.
No eight arms.
She slowly raised her head and went still.
The room was different.
A low fountain in the center with clear water.
A table with food.
Fruit.
Bread.
Meat.
Jugs of water.
A long bench.
Warm light.
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Her eyes filled with tears before she could stop them.
"No…"
She sat up with difficulty.
She looked around again. freeweɓnovel.cøm
The fountain.
The food.
The light.
The absence of enemies.
The safety.
The calm.
The rest room.
It was the rest room.
She had managed to get back to a rest room.
She let out a laugh.
A small laugh.
Broken.
Disbelieving.
Then another.
And then she started crying.
Not elegantly.
Not quietly.
She cried with her shoulders shaking, with broken breathing, with her hands pressed against the floor as if she still didn't believe that the stone under her fingers wasn't going to open up and release another monster.
"I'm alive…"
The words came out as a whisper.
Then she said them again.
"I'm alive."
Off to one side, something glimmered faintly. She turned her head. The bow-spear was lying on the floor a few meters away, covered in dust, scraped up, but whole.
The voice let out another choked laugh and crawled toward it, picking it up with both hands.
The weapon vibrated softly, as if it too felt relieved.
She pressed it against her chest.
"We made it…"
