Facing Despair, Part 2

[I’m skipping to lesson number twenty-one, kid—identify your enemy! There are thirteen types of horrors, and each one has several kinds of manifestations. Quickly identifying what you’re up against will ensure you stay alive longer!]

“I already know what it is!” Sam answered. Although he couldn’t hear his voice over the ear-piercing shrieks. “It’s a freaking Banshee!”

[Good! You got it on the first try!]

Of course, he did. Because this particular kind of horror, a creature born from the despair of losing a loved one, was the star of Sam’s worst nightmares.

[Alright, let’s move on to lesson twenty-two; observe your enemy! Once you know what you’re up against, quickly determine its weaknesses…they all have one!]

Sam wanted to roll his eyes at the message box for stating the obvious, but he just didn’t have the strength to protest because a banshee’s death wail sapped the willpower of all who heard it.

[You need to get it to attack you while keeping yourself out of harm’s way so you can observe all its attack patterns and mannerisms. That’s the key to fighting horrors, kid!]

Sam knew all about a banshee’s attack patterns because he’d thoroughly researched this particular horror just in case he ever met another one. All of Sam’s previous research told him he had one shot at gaining the advantage—and that shot was coming soon.

Since he knew it wouldn’t be able to move while it sang its death wail, Sam continued to hide behind the wall and waited for the banshee’s shrieks to subside.

In his mind, he recalled the number of seconds he had before it could let loose another wail—ten seconds. That’s how long a low-level banshee needed to prepare its vocal cords before letting loose another death wail. Ten seconds. More than enough time for Sam to launch his counterattack.

[You can’t just hide…do something, kid!]

“I’m working on it!”

Sam actually heard his own voice, which meant the ear-shattering screeching had lost some of its strength.

“It’s going to die down in three, two, one…”

As soon as the horrible sound cut out, Sam jumped out from behind the wall and dashed into the room with hammer at the ready.

The banshee was waiting half-hidden in shadow at the other end of the office, its emaciated form swaying left and right much like a snake readying itself to strike.

Sam, however, was adamantly against giving it an encore. He pulled back his arm, took aim, and threw Cranium Smasher at the spot just below the banshee’s chin.

He had it all worked out in his mind. The hammer would hit the banshee’s throat, causing it an injury that would prevent the horror from using its most powerful weapon. Then Sam would get in up close and use Herculean to cause it maximum damage before the banshee could recover. It was a perfectly sound plan. It was just too bad the horror wasn’t very accommodating.

The banshee swatted Cranium Smasher aside as the hammer came within range, and although this defensive maneuver had broken a few of the fingers on the horror’s left hand, it wasn’t nearly enough damage to give Sam the advantage.

“Hades’ bottom,” he grimaced.

Sam tried to back out of the room, but his ten seconds were up.

The banshee unleashed a second high-pitched shriek that caught Sam as he made a run for it. The shockwave from its death wail sent him slamming into the wall in front of him.

Wham!

Pain flared up Sam’s skull as his face collided with the stone wall. It spread out to the rest of his body while he crumpled to the floor feeling battered, bruised, and stunned.

[ALERT! [Regeneration (ζ)] is working to counteract the damage. Refrain from taking action while this is in progress.]

The master’s reprimand came soon after.

[I told you to stop throwing that hammer around!]

“Ouch…” was Sam’s only reply.

Sam noticed that he’d just heard his own voice, which probably meant the banshee had stopped her death wail a little early. He figured the horror must have thought it had already won from that one devastating attack—and he was right. Because, as his vision cleared, Sam glimpsed the banshee slowly drawing toward him. It was crawling on all four limbs like a spider skittering across the wooden floorboards.

[You need to get up, kid!]

Chiron was panicking, but Sam didn’t share his pessimism. After all, Regeneration was already dulling the pain he felt. And, as he began to think of ways to capitalize on this moment, his gaze searched the floor, searching for the object that would earn him victory. Luckily, his hammer was lying on the ground not too far away. Its handle pointed upward and was just waiting to be picked up again. Now all Sam needed to do was to act unconscious for a while longer so he could catch the banshee with its proverbial pants down.

“I’m a healer,” he whispered. “But today…today I become a warrior too.”

[I like the confidence…but you’ll be nothing but dead if you don’t move now!]

The banshee was right on top of Sam. Its face slid down toward him, its mouth widening in that freakishly round O shape. A close-range death wail would certainly be the death of him, but Sam had become determined not to give this banshee a second encore.

His hand balled into a fist while he waited for the horror’s face to inch closer and closer.

Just a little more… Come on.

He was aware of how similar this moment felt to that time when the terror dipped its jaws toward him. The one big difference between then and now was that Sam didn’t need saving anymore.

When he felt cold air brush against his cheek, Sam yelled, “Herculean!” and hurriedly pulled himself up.

[[Herculean (ζ)] is now active. Based on probability and threat assessment calculations, your current Strength is temporarily doubled. [STRENGTH: 64]]

Sam could feel the muscles in his arm explode with power as he launched an uppercut underneath the banshee’s jaw.

[WARNING! Your body isn’t strong enough yet to wield this power. You will continue to accumulate damage while it is active.]

Sam’s fist connected with the banshee’s chin, causing the horror’s head to snap back in a way that would have broken its neck if it had been human.

He didn’t wait to see how much damage he’d caused it though. And, despite the pain that spread from his fist to his right arm, Sam managed to slide away from the horror and pick up his hammer with his uninjured left hand.

[Interesting play you made there…I wasn’t expecting a sucker punch.]

Sam had no time to make fun of Chiron’s pouting for he’d already turned around and noticed that the banshee was finished snapping its head back in place.

The horror spun in Sam’s direction, its mouth widening once more.

“Oh, no you don’t!”

Sam launched Cranium Smasher at the horror. Unlike the previous failed attempt, the force of Sam’s swing had been doubled by Herculean’s strength boost. And, although the banshee managed to deflect the attack by raising both its arms like a shield—almost as if it had instinctively felt imminent danger was incoming—Sam’s next move was already well underway.

He launched his still-aching right fist straight into the banshee’s unprotected gut—causing the horror to double over in pain—while his left hand plucked Cranium Smasher out of the air.

“Ah~~h!” Sam screamed, for the pain in his right hand had gone from manageable to excruciating in the span of seconds it took for him to send a second body blow into the banshee’s side. “I’m such…an idiot!”

[I already know that kid, so try not to injure yourself some more!]

Sam didn’t need telling twice. He simply gritted his teeth and swung Cranium Smasher sideways, slamming it deep into the side of the banshee’s face. It was a blow that would have cleaved off a lesser foe, but the banshee—its jaw now unhinged, but not in the usual way—angrily sent Sam a murderous glare that would have stopped him in his tracks if adrenaline wasn’t already coursing throughout his body.

Despite its broken jaw, the horror attempted to unleash another death wail on Sam, but now it was his turn to ruin her plans. He slammed his hammer against the ground beneath the banshee’s feet, causing a shockwave that forced the horror to stumble backward and fall on its butt.

Capitalizing on its stunned form, Sam mounted the banshee and aimed Cranium Smasher at its misshapen skull. “Time for an encore!”

However, the sight of the tears falling down the horror’s hollow cheeks reminded Sam so much of his mother’s face when she’d turned into a horror so similar to the one he faced now that Sam faltered in his attack.

His hand hovered in the air. His lips quivered. “Godsdammit…”

It would have been a fatal mistake too if his instincts for self-preservation hadn’t kicked in at that moment and forced Sam to notice the threat of death hurtling toward him. With reflexes born of Chiron’s Explosive Training Menu Number One, Sam used his right arm to block the banshee’s sharp-nailed fingers as they came streaking toward his face. As those nails pierced into his flesh, the pain flaring out of these new wounds helped to remind Sam why he was fighting.

This horror wasn’t his mother. But, like her, the monster was in tremendous pain—the kind of pain that cried out for release.

“May you find peace in the afterlife,” Sam whispered just before he swung his hammer down on the banshee’s face.

The horror’s body convulsed for a long moment before it stilled beneath him, its miserable life finally ended. Then Sam wept in a way he hadn’t wept in a long time.

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]