Chapter Seventeen

Carson caught Sarah before she could hit the ground; she made a moan of pain as his arms wrapped around her back and neck.

He winced when he noticed the condition her body was in. He could feel cracked ribs under his fingers, and her face looked like it had gone through a meat grinder.

"Sarah, can you hear me? Everything is going to be ok, " he told her as he set her on the ground gently. Sarah was barely breathing at this point, and Carson was worried that she wouldn't last much longer in her condition.

He took out the last white pill he kept with him at all times and placed it against Sarah's lips.

"Sarah, can you hear me? I need you to swallow this pill for me, " Carson said while pushing the pill past her lips and into her mouth. He slapped Sarah's face a few times lightly, trying to wake her up so she could take the medication, but she didn't make any reaction to his attempts in the slightest.

Carson took a swig out of his canteen and placed his lips to Sarah's. He could feel her warm lips pressing against his for the second time today; only this time, he could taste the irony taste of blood on her delicate lips, reminding him of the pain she must have gone through from that creature's hands. He used the water to force the pill down her throat, hoping he wasn't too late to save her life. When he was sure the medicine had successfully entered her system, Carson put his full attention back on the Death Stalker.

Carson's eyes turned dangerous as he watched the Death Stalker running back towards them.

It was still away off from them, but it was getting closer by the second. Carson glanced down at Sarah, who was still unconscious and came to a decision. He gently picked her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest before starting in the direction of the Death Stalker with hatred.

"If I ever meet you again, it will be your last, " Carson said coldly in the direction of the Death Stalker. Sarah's and his body became invisible as he sprinted across the plain away from the Death Stalker. He wasn't sure if he could win in a one on one match against the Death Stalker, so he decided his best option would be to get Sarah to safety.

Carson was running through a patch of trees when he heard a guttural voice behind him.

"Did you really think you could escape from me!?" roared the Death Stalker sounding only a few feet away. Carson dodged to the side just in time to evade a strike aimed at the back of his head. The fist blew by his head only inches away from his face taking some hair with it.

Carson kept running, cursing under his breath. He knew that becoming invisible wouldn't deter the Death Stalker since they didn't see with normal eyes in the first place. He let his invisibility fade away since he would need every bit of his concentration to handle the Death Stalker behind him. He saw a fist fly towards his face as the Death Stalker seemed to materialize out of thin air right in front of him.

He pivoted to the side just in time to avoid most of the attack, but he could feel a stinging pain on his cheek as the fist flew by.

Damn, if I could just make it a bit further, I could reach the city, Carson thought determinedly. If he could only get to the town, he could get behind the city walls to prevent the Death Stalker from getting to them.

He looked down, checking on Sarah's condition. Her wounds seemed to have healed already, but her eyes were still closed. Carson sighed. He slung the girl's body over his shoulder and summoned his sword just in time to deflect another attack from the Death Stalker. His sword made a ringing sound as it collided with the creature's fist. The blow sent pain vibrating throughout Carson's body, making his hands numb. He couldn't believe Sarah could take so many punches from this creature and survive. He was confident that he would not walk away from it if he were to take a hit from this creature.

Carson struck out three more times, almost simultaneously, deflecting three more attacks from the Death Stalker. Every strike he made, he managed to deflect the creature's impact of the punch away from him, and every hit exploded the ground behind Carson like bombs were going off.

Damn this creature. I'm not sure how many more of his attacks I can take, Carson thought tiredly. His sword struck out six more times, deflecting the next volley of the Death Stalkers attacks. Having to expend so much energy on reading the creature's movements while reacting almost before the monster could even make its move was putting a lot of mental strain on Carson.

" You're fast human. I'm impressed, but how long can you keep this up, I wonder, " the Death Stalker said from directly behind Carson.

"I can keep this up all day, " Carson lied.

He could sense his life energy depleting at an alarming rate, and he was worried that he wouldn't get to safety in time. Not for his own sake but for Sarah's, he knew full well that he would not be walking out of this one alive.

"We'll see about that, human!" the Death Stalker roared.

Carson felt his feet come out from under him as he felt the Death Stalker's foot connect with his lower back, sending him soaring through the woods. He felt Sarah fall off his shoulder as he slammed into a tree going straight through it. He went through two more trees before coming to a complete stop against a thick and sturdy tree, making a loud thud that vibrated the tree, making leaves fall around the area.

Carson landed on his hands and knees, feeling like the world was whirling around him, making him dizzy. He saw red blood leaking out of his mouth and onto the dirt, dying the ground red. He spat a mouth full of blood onto the ground before standing up. He steadied himself against the trunk of the tree when he almost fell back to the ground.

He leaned his back against the tree and looked towards the sky. He could make out patches of sunlight through the breaks in the leaves above him. Carson had seen this kind of scenery thousands of times in his life, but for some reason, he found the view far more beautiful at this moment. The wind blew across the treetops, making the scenery even more serene to Carson. A warm smile appeared on his face as he took the view in

Not a bad place to die, Carson thought to himself Until the sound of the Death Stalker's footsteps broke Carson out of his daydream.

Carson summoned his sword and got into a fighting position, facing the Death Stalker straight on. He wasn't about to just roll over and die like a coward. He would rather die fighting in a field of his enemy's blood. But that was not likely to happen, so he'd settle for taking the Death Stalker to the grave with him.

For a while, the Death Stalker stood there, watching Carson ready himself for combat with its head tilted to the side in curiosity.

"You intend to fight me in your condition?" the Death Stalker asked.

"Or you could surrender, " Carson replied smugly, smirking.

"Why would I surrender? when it is you who's going to die here, human, " the Death Stalker said, taking a step forward.

"Because you managed to piss me off!" Carson snarled towards the Death Stalker. His sword shot forward, pointing directly at the Death Stalker in front of him. "You will die by my blade, you abomination!" Carson bellowed, his voice spreading throughout the surrounding area. A yellow mist was leaking out of Carson's body rapidly, encasing his body in a golden aura. The Death Stalker started laughing at Carson's words; it had lost count on how many humans had said the exact same thing before they too had met their end to its hands.

Carson ignored the creature's laugh that echoed throughout the forest around them.

Carson kept pouring out his life energy, not caring about the consequences. His sword started to quiver from the strain of the life energy he was channeling through it. The blade began to make a high pitched humming noises that sounded like the sword was crying out in pain.

The Death Stalker stopped laughing when he felt the earth beneath him shake and rumble from the energy Carson was discharging. Carson tilted his head back and roared to the heavens pushing the life energy out and around him even harder than before. Chunks of the ground broke apart and came up from the earth, hovering in the air before Carson.

The trees started to groan and creak from the continuous powering up. Everything went dead silent when Carson finished powering up. His eyes radiated a golden light as he slowly opened them. The Death Stalker took an involuntary step back in fear, for the first time in its life. To the Death Stalker's eyes, Carson now shined so brightly it was hard for it to gaze at him without going blind.

Carson took a few steps towards the Death Stalker while casually swinging his blade through the air. It made humming noises as it swished back and forth through the air. The blade looked more like a solid golden light than an actual sword now, to Carson's great amusement. Every step forward Carson took, the Death Stalker took a step back.

"What's wrong? are we not having fun anymore, " Carson asked calmly while keeping a steady pace towards the Death Stalker.

The Death Stalkers back bumped against a tree, and it flinched from the unexpected contact. Carson stopped his approach and sneered. "So your true colors are finally showing themselves, huh? Underneath your bravado and tough skin, lies a sniveling coward...how pitiful, " Carson said coldly.

The Death Stalker roared in fury at Carson's words. It charged towards Carson in a mad rage, obliterating the tree behind it while doing so. "You filthy human, how dare you criticize me, " the Death Stalker said as it raced towards Carson. Carson watched the slow movements of the Death Stalker as it charged towards him.

"That's the spirit. Better to die a man than a cowardly dog, " Carson said as he took a step forward. His body vanished and reappeared next to the Death Stalker in an instant. At the last moment, Carson put all his life energy into his sword. The sword grew several feet before he swung it at the Death Stalker. The sword lit up the woodland as it grew in size. The blinding light produced by the sword rid the forest of all the shadows in the vicinity, making it look like a sun in the woods' epicenter. The golden blade flashed through the air cutting straight across the Death Stalkers torso as Carson went past it. The forest exploded with a brilliant golden light as Carson sliced the Death Stalker in two.

A golden wave of energy continued to arc across the woods even after cutting the Death Stalker in two, cutting trees clean in two as the golden energy went by. Carson's sword dug into the ground as he leaned against it to keep himself from toppling over.

All the golden life energy had vanished entirely from him, and all that was keeping him from falling over was his sheer willpower. The Death Stalker took one step forward, unaware of its situation before his body fell in two, and he fell to the ground with a wet plopping sound. Carson's breathing was ragged as he leaned on his sword for support.

I can't believe I managed to pull that off, Carson thought tiredly. He started walking back to where Sarah was, using his sword as a cane as he went. Every muscle in Carson's body felt like it was torn in half, making every step he made feel as though an eternity went by.

Carson's vision started dimming as he kept up his slow pace back towards Sarah.

Damn, I guess this is what happens when you overdo it, "I'm sorry, Sarah, it doesn't look like I'm going to make it, " Carson said slowly, barely able to keep himself standing. His sword broke into a thousand shards of light, and he fell to his knees, unable to keep himself up without the support.

A guttural laugh rang out behind Carson, and he could hear footsteps approaching him.

"Poor human, it looks like you used all of your energy on that attack of yours. It's a shame that you didn't cut off my head. I might not have survived if you had, " the Death Stalker said.

"Dude, you are fugly, " said a feminine voice off to Carson's side. Carson looked at the speaker, barely making out the woman's figure through his blurring eyes.

The woman was a beautiful red-haired goddess, with piercing blue eyes that seemed to glow even in the brightly lit forest. Her hair flowed down her body, almost going all the way down to her ankles.

"Sarah?" Carson muttered uncertainly.