Cataclysm, Pt 4

Kaja reaches out and grabs you, as though to steady the both of you. It's clear that she too feels the waves emanate from the giant creatures. It dawns on you that besides the two of you, no-one else seems to be affected in the same way.

Sure, the cops are stumbling around from the ground violently shaking, but none seem to be getting pushed away. Certainly not like you and Kaja.

The overwhelming sensation subsides as the creatures pass further down the avenue and crush everything in their path. As does the rumbling.

"That was intense!" Kaja exclaims after a few moments.

The wide grin on her face betrays the fact that she loved every moment of that experience, one that you don't share. Not that the wave itself didn't leave an impression on you - it's the simple fact that if they were panicked enough to run away from something - what in the hell could that something be?

You fall to your knees moments later as you shriek in pain. The dull pounding that has been residing at the sides of your skull pierces through you like a shot of lightning. It comes with a momentary glimpse of a menacing figure made of ink-black clouds.

Though you only see it for a fraction of a second, the vision imprints itself into your mind indelibly. It's certainly humanoid in shape, though wisps of its cloudy body flutter as it moves, obscuring its silhouette. It's armored in what appears to be translucent purple plates levitating all around it.

Not only that, floating alongside him is a translucent purple blade as long as he is tall. Its jagged edge exudes an existential dread that sinks deep into your bones. It rears back its arm, as though to slash you.

The very sight of it and its weapon nearly stops your heart.

Thankfully, the vision fades as quickly as it comes. When the stabbing pain subsides back into a dull ache, you find Kaja on her knees by your side. Worry is plastered on her face.

Sound creeps back into your ears as you gather yourself back together, with her voice ahead of the pack.

"What happened?!" she cries out. "You alright?"

"I-I'm alright," you say.

Not that either of you believe it. But that hardly matters right now.

"We need to get outta here," you blurt out not a second later.

"But you need a medic or something," Kaja protests. "We should-"

You grab her by her shoulder and squeeze hard enough to get her attention.

"No," you say. "We need to get outta here."

Kaja blinks at you in surprise as she reads your face. Whatever confusion she's feeling isn't exactly unfounded - you've hardly ever been serious during your time together. Seeing you be as insistent as you are shakes her visibly.

"Alright then, let's get outta here," she says. "Let's get to Dad's, alright?"

She helps pick you up off your feet, then leads you away from the police station by the hand. Or tries to, anyway. Neither of you get further than a few steps when the cops start shouting in panic. It's soon joined by gunshots - and pained screaming.

The both of you duck behind one of the sandbag piles instinctively, before either of you know what's actually going on.

"Need backup!" shouts one of the cops.

He runs out to the middle of the avenue, gets behind a half-smashed car, and glances down the street in the direction where the stampede had come from. A second cop joins him shortly afterward with his pistol drawn.

Both then point their weapons down the street and fire. At first they shoot with control and precision, but both soon devolve into firing with near abandon moments later. One of the cops immediately runs in a panic while the first ducks back and reloads his weapon.

But it hardly matters what either of them do - the same figure you had seen in your momentary vision flashes into view right above the car. It swipes its arm like a scythe from left to right, which causes the blade at his side to do the same.

Despite the saw-like serrations, the translucent edge cuts through the two cops as though they're made of paper. The blade slices their bodies so cleanly and swiftly that it takes the two cops a few moments to realize what has happened to them.

The one that's running stumbles slightly before the top of his body topples in one direction. His lower body topples in another as his legs trip over themselves. His blood splashes everywhere as a result.

His face is fixed with surprise as death slowly sweeps over him.

At the same time, the other cop simply looks with unbounded fear and awe as his head sails through the air. It's joined by his severed right hand, his pistol still in its grip.

His body slumps over dead, just as his head smacks back down on the asphalt. It makes a wet cracking sound on impact before it rolls off to the side.

Both bodies bubble and blacken as their bodies slowly transform into an ink-black shadowy mist which slowly dissipates as the moments pass. It isn't long before they vanish altogether.

Horrified by the sight of their colleagues getting cut down, most of the rest of the cops just outside the police station immediately draw their weapons and point it at the creature made of shadowy mist. A few scream at it to stop, a few simply tremble out of fear, and a few just start shooting.

The rest follow suit not long after. All fire round after round at the shadow creature, swept up by the fear and panic and anger.

But it hardly matters how well they aim or not. Every single bullet tears through the air towards their target, but unfortunately pass right through the shadow creature. They simply keep going through the translucent armor and mist-like body as though it wasn't there.

The shadow creature turns its attention to the rest of the cops, and advances on them without a second thought. It takes one quick stride, and in the blink of an eye closes the distance between them. It thrusts its right hand forward, which causes his blade to shoot ahead of him like a spear.

Its weapon darts tip-first into one of the cops with incredible speed. More than enough to punch right through the sandbag pile he had been firing from. And certainly more than enough to pierce through his bulletproof vest.

Front and back.

The blade hits the ground behind the cop, and embeds itself into the asphalt a half-meter deep. It then turns sideways and flings itself out of the cop, which tears his chest open and slices off an arm.

The shadow creature then merely walks amidst the frenzied cops, and with numerous arm gestures cuts them all down one by one by one. Its blade follows its every move with absolute precision and tears through everything around it.

And it hardly matters what it slices through, whether it's skin or bone or sand or concrete or metal - the edge itself is hardly affected. None of it chips off or blunts or dulls. It doesn't even slow down.

As the shadow creature slaughters everything in its path, you are beset with the same weight from before. Only now that the creature is this close, that weight feels unbearably heavy. You feel yourself pressed down, unable to move.

It isn't just your fear keeping you planted down - it's whatever aura the creature itself is exuding. Both it and its blade are… oppressive. And that's saying it lightly.

The blade itself holds a kind of finality to it. Every time it slashes and kills one of the cops, that feeling of obliteration deepens and widens. The creature itself is even worse. There's an infinite coldness about it that seems to pulse and breathe in a measured, rhythmic way. It mows through the cops clinically, as though it's fulfilling its purpose dispassionately.

Not only that, but you feel these cops die, as their bodies blacken and turn to shadowy mist.

You shudder on realizing that their threads have been torn out of the fabric floating all around you. You can sense the thread recess away slowly, as though both ends burn into ash. As a result, your memories of them fade until all that's left of them are wounds across the surface of reality.

And you don't even need to activate your Third Eye to see the wounds - you can simply feel their existence. They gnaw at you hypnotically and draw you in.

The hairs on your body stand as every fiber of your being rejects it.

"We need to get the hell outta here!" you cry out in panic.

You grab Kaja by the hand as you focus everything you've got into yourself. Then pour everything you've got into your body, your legs, your muscles, your blood.

And launch yourself into a run with explosive energy, Kaja right at your side.

With every step you take, you feel your chest tighten as you breathe harder and harder. It isn't long until a coppery taste fills your mouth, a sensation you're wholly unfamiliar with. Or at least, rarely familiar with.

Moments after that, you feel a burning sensation race up and down your legs. All this running has definitely tired you out, and you realize that you probably can't run any more.

But you push past both those feelings and just keep going.

"What in fucking hell is that?!" Kaja cries out. "And who did it kill? Why can't I remember 'em?"

She constantly glances back at the shadow creature even as she runs alongside you, as though unable to stop looking at it.

"You feel those wounds too?" you ask instead. It's not as though you've got answers for her anyway.

"Wounds?"

"I don't… can't explain…"

"It's coming after us!"

The future flashes in front of your eyes, and you instinctively tug at Kaja's hand, hard. The two of you tumble down onto the asphalt painfully, mere moments before the creature's blade slashes the air above you.

You feel its ominous presence press down on you as it tears through the air.

The blade swings around in a wide arc and cuts through glass and metal and concrete storefront with clean precision. It then erupts out the top and swings back down, this time right down on top of the both of you.

It adjusts as it falls, ready to bisect the two of you, then accelerates when it's in position.

Absolute terror causes you to shut your eyes and reach out with both hands defensively. Your heart practically leaps out of your chest as you anticipate it killing you. But then a moment passes, and nothing happens.

Or rather, you're still alive.

You open your eyes apprehensively only to see that, like you, Kaja also has her hands extended. And hanging a few centimeters above her hands is the creature's blade. It shakes and quivers as though it's fighting against some invisible barrier.

You turn to look at Kaja and realize that's exactly what's happening, and that it's her that's doing it. She groans as she strains against the blade itself. Or rather, against its wielder.

The blade whips away, back towards its master, an act that immediately lets up the pressure on Kaja. She exhales in recovery, but quickly hops back up onto her feet. Though you can feel her fear emanate from her, she gets into a defensive stance in anticipation of another attack.

"How'd you do that?" you ask as you pull yourself up on your feet.

"Dunno," she replies. "But I'll keep doing it, no matter what."

You glance over at the shadow creature which has since stopped in its tracks. The massive blade circles around him, as though it's in thought.

It then whips its arm, which causes its blade to also whip forward in response. The blade slides into a horizontal position even as it races towards you. And despite its speed, it comes to a stop exactly halfway between Kaja and the creature.

Her hands are once again stretched outward, with her fingers straining to hold back the blade. Her face contorts as she fights against the creature.

A fight she appears to be slowly losing…

The blade begins to crawl forward slowly, as though it's cutting through whatever resistance Kaja is manifesting. As it moves closer, it becomes slightly faster as well.

It occurs to you that Kaja can't do this alone, but you don't exactly know how to help. All you've got is your Third Eye. What good could that do?