3 Confrontation

Piotre watches Sharae race after the mob, child in hand, he looks at the shoe stand beside the door. "Sharae why do you always run around barefoot" Piotre sighs internally and closes the front door, turning around reveals Piotre to be standing in a corridor with the corridor to his right leads to the bedroom and study,on his left is the pantry, kitchen and bathroom. Piotre makes his way to the study.

Once inside, a dimly lit room with many bookcases which height touches the ceiling line the walls and a wooden desk covered with various engravings depicting people traveling across many landscapes from forests to deserts, infront of the desk a stool stands in the middle of an obviously lower quality to the table. Piotre walks over to the desk and opens a drawer, grabbing a worn book out and sitting down.

Piotre places the book on the desk and uses the other arm to hold the baby, "Heavy little fella ain't you?" Piotre says as he kisses the babies bald head. Piotre then opens the book with his free hand revealing it's title 'Un t d a O e' the letters heavily faded or non-existent

"I found this with mummy on our last expedition to the Eastern Sphere, I was going to read it earlier but then you came along! Guess now we can read it together hey buddy?"

The baby lazily looks up into their fathers eyes with one eye still half closed, "Eah" a quiet sound escapes their mouth. "Oh you little cute little munchkin" Piotre kisses the baby again. returning his attention to the book, flipping to the contents page revealed the book to have several faded words with some basically erased. "Hopefully we can still read most of it, I was really curious about how the Unification of The Ancients happened, back home everytime I asked my teachers they'd only give me a vague answer."

Flipping to the first pages most of it was readable which visibly made Piotre happy. "The teachers would always say to me. Go ask your father, since he was around when it happened, The Unification I mean. But honestly little guy? My dad is a total nutjob, apparently he was very different before the lab blew up. From what the other Elders said he was such a happy and energetic man... But now..." Piotre becomes silent as if in deep thought.

"Sorry little guy, I am just rambling, basically this book hopefully contains the answers I need" Piotre starts reading and hums a tune as he slowly rocks the baby. "Hmm adum badalum-" When Piotre is cut off by the clattering of an object in the other room.

"Sharae?!" Piotre shouts out only to be met with silence "Hello?", Piotre feeling paranoid walks over to a corner of the room where a trapdoor was and bent over to open it. struggling to open it with one arm, Piotre puts the child down and manages to get the hatch open revealing a ladder down, however in the short time the baby was on the ground it began to cry again.

Piotre quickly and gently picked up the baby. "shush shhh" attempting to quieten the babe as he descended down the hatch using the ladder. Once in the basement revealed a spacious room with 3 doors and an alcove next to the ladder that had a wooden box with an engraved image of a man on one knee resting his head against a pregnant woman's belly and the background depicts a starry sky as each star is actually a hole.

Piotre walked over to the box opening it, inside was filled with soft bedding, Piotre then lowered the baby into the box, the box had plenty of space inside that even if the baby stretches it wouldn't touch the walls.

Once inside Piotre closed the lid and went over to one of the rooms in the basement, entering Piotre searched a cupboard and retrieved a pistol, "Was hoping I'd never have to use you again..."

Piotre turned off the safety, and returned back up the ladder to his study. Once back upstairs Piotre stood next to the door, firearm ready. Piotre opened the door and quickly scanned the corridor, where his eyes went his gun followed, stepping into the well lit corridor Piotre's gun could be seen clearly, resembling a Glock 20. "The sound must of come from the bedroom" Piotre thought as he headed left down the corridor towards the bedroom.

"Anyone in there best show yourself now!" Piotre yelled outside the door, despite looking calm and collected his thoughts told a different story "Oh fucking hell, please just be a rat or something and if it's a person please just surrender" Piotre may not have shown it, but he was terrified.

Piotre quickly opened the bedroom door revealing a dark room. "The noise was the light basin getting knocked over..." Piotre checked the corners of the room without going in, The moonlight drifted through the window landing on the bed. Normally this scene would have been calming and beautiful in a tranquil way, however right now it exuded a sense of dread and fear.

Piotre saw that the basin was upside down, "The feuize is probably under it" he thought to himself, then proceeded to crouch down and check if anything was under the bed.

Everywhere his eyes scanned his firearm would follow, seeing nothing in the room Piotre gathered the courage to enter, taking a step into the room he quickly scans the closer corners for anything and upon noticing nothing out of the ordinary trains his eyes on the window.

Piotre sidesteps towards the basin not taking his eyes of the window, once close enough he kicks the basin over and a flame immediately shot up before receding to a height of an inch. Now with light once again in the room the eerie mood began to dissipate.

As the basin finally stopped spolling silence returned and Piotre inched towards the window, taking a peek outside also revealed nothing "Who the fuck is messing with me? Waste of my god damn time" Piotre sighed as he turned around and scooped the feuize with the basin.

With one eye on the window and the other about to place the basin back in its original position, a sudden and quiet *shrskhic* echoes into the window from outside. Piotre placed the basin instantly *kchink*

Piotre runs up to the side of the window and peaks out, spotting a small furry creature running through some leaves up a tree in the backyard. "Bloody possums! I bet it's the same one that lives in the shed's roof."

Finally relaxing Piotre grabs a slab from the corner and uses it to block the window. "Have to check up on the baby now... hopefully they werent too scared being alone."

Turning around about to head out the door, Piotre freezes, something was just above the door frame sitting like a huntsman spider looking for prey.

In this moment frozen in time Piotre could see a vaguely humanoid creature with leathery skin dotted with strands of hair up to an inch all over it, Piotres green eyes locked with it's almost glowing amber eyes.

For what Piotre felt like a couple minutes staring into those eyes almost entranced and helpless like a fly in a web.

However in reality the moment they locked eyes the Shadow leapt from the top of the door frame and went in to tackle Piotre, However just before the Shadow touched him Piotre snapped out of his trance and attempted to aim his weapon.

Unfortunately he was too slow as the Shadow blurred into him, shoulder ramming Piotre into the wall *Krch* where he collapses onto the bed groaning in pain "Grghhn"

The Shadow quickly flips the bed onto Piotre revealing its heavy wooden frame as The bed now lay on him, the Shadow without admiring the slightly cracked wall it made swipes at the basin holding the Feuize, causing it to land on the bed.

As the fire slowly burns the wood and Piotre struggling to free himself, the Shadow races out of the room into the hallway, While Piotre wriggles an arm free he hears the door to the next room being broken down *BershDOOV*

Piotre finally accepts he won't be able to push the bed off himself tries to squirm out like a worm escaping an apple, he makes good progress as the wood finally bursts into a proper fire, and the heat in the room is rising ever so quickly.

More sounds occur in the other room and what sounds like paper ripping *krach shreep* Piotre frowns, eye twitching "Prick is fucking up my books!" Piotre now only having his legs underneath the bed yanks them out one at a time as hard as he can, scrapping the skin on his legs and even leaving a few splinters sticking out.

Legs bleeding slightly and now free, Piotre rubs the sore spot on his chest and feeling the throbbing pain in his back, picks up his weapon and staggers into the hallway.

As he looks down the hall, the next door on his right the study is busted open while the other doors are untouched, Piotre notices a small amount of smoke gathering at the ceiling and looks back into the bedroom to see his bed on fire and the room quickly filling up with dark greyish black smoke.

Piotre closes the bedroom door and tears both his sleeves and plugs the bottom of the door, with that done he hugs the wall and approaches the study slowly.

Piotre peeks into the room and witnesses the Shadow looming in the darkness by the hatch leading to the basement, it is unmoving and silent, Piotre doubted if it was breathing.

Deciding to take action, Piotre gets in position infront of the door and takes a knee, without any hesitation he fires twice at centre mass *Bwoo Bwoo*

With the first flash of the gun, revealed this Shadow was facing him and with the second Piotre saw a metallic sheen along it's forearm, then as darkness returned the sounds of the bullets making impact were heard *Glch tounk*

Piotre deciding to play it safe pulls the trigger again, however for some reason he no longer feels his arm, taking his eye off the target Piotre notices his arm is missing, looking further down to the ground he sees his arm just in time to see his dismembered arm fire the gun twice into the wall *Bwoo TCH Bwoo TCH*

Then Piotre no longer felt the pain in his legs or his chest and back pain, what he felt was far worse as he felt the air on his exposed muscle tissue, his blood spraying out leaving him light headed and as Piotre barely had time to yell out in pain, he looked forward.

And saw the Shadow right infront of him, it seemed to be grinning, but the truth was far worse as it's jaw seperated at the chin and revealed a mouth full of tiny barbs where the only things that resembles teeth are two hooks that seem to hold the mouth shut, it lunged at Piotre its mouth engulfing his head, the two hook like teeth lock together at the back of Piotres neck.

It was only now, that Piotre could finally scream "MRAAHHHARAAAMMRAAAAHMMMMM!!!!"

His body went numb as what felt thousands of tiny needles pierces his eyes, nose, cheeks, forehead, jugulars, temples and mouth.

And just as quick as it started, it stopped, Piotre was released from it's grip his eyesight became cloudy, but he was able to get a better look at his assailant up close and in the light.

He looked at it's brown leathery arm and saw what gave off the metallic sheen, imbedded in it's forearm is what looked like a steel rod splitting off and becoming blades at the tip of it's 5 fingers and thumb that looked so sharp even diamonds may not withstand them however, Piotre notices a dent in its metal that has tiny spider webbed cracks.

Piotre collapses and watches as it goes over to the hatch and opens it before it disappears down it, Piotre finds it harder to move his body, eyes included, he shifts his gaze to his arm, which is no longer in pain, it seems that his heartrate has slowwed as he isnt bleeding as much anymore and may still have a chance.

"Sor-rry S-S-Shar, guess i-ts you-ou're turn" Piotre stammers as he goes blind losing all his senses except hearing which is also fading, the last thing he hears is a door slammimg open.