Left with the nightmare

"Each betrayal begins with trust" by Martin Luther King

He couldn't quite remember where he had heard it from but Eadwulf found it was rather apt considering the situation, as leftover tears dripped down his chin onto his bloodied hands that were applying pressure to a wound. He knew very well would not stop bleeding before the nightmare had ripped out his throat

"so its just us now huh?" he spoke with a small smirk. He knew at this point that he was going to die, but for the moment he was not going to cry or weep as all it would do was dehydrate him, so basically there was no point

If he was to die, he damn well was going to make sure he would be at least facing his death instead of run from it. Don't get him wrong… he could feel the desire to survive within him, hell it was just about burning him alive, but the issue was that he couldn't figure out how he was supposed to get out of this situation.

Eadwulf was aware that he had above average intelligence, while he was no master strategist he never got below ninety percent in his exams until he reached high school and even then it was only due to the fact that he was already doing university level work. but even then he could not see a way out of this situation.

Could he run? No, he was missing a leg and the monster in front of him was clearly faster than even Billy with his enhanced speed

Could he fight? Definitely not, his abilities were increased regeneration and pain nullification so not the most useful in a fight unless he was a trained fighter or martial artist which he was not.

And he damn well couldn't stall for time as he doubted that those swirling eyes and teeth would stop getting closer to him to monologue, even if it somehow began to tell him its master plan, he would either bleed out or the Rent would close

As he was having these thoughts the nightmare was drawing closer and closer and by the time he had realized how immensely screwed he was it was only five meters away from him and seemed to be purring if you could count demonic chuckling as purring and not having something stuck in its throat

When it was only a meter away from him it seemed to slow and stop as if it were gauging his reaction. Realizing the lack of screaming coming from its victim those swirling yellow voids seemed to be fill with annoyance and narrow, clearly unamused by how its game of cat and mouse was going

It growled angrily and threw a swipe at Eadwulf Leaving three deep cuts that trailed from his right shoulder to his left hip, turning red in an instant as the blood pumped out of him. Then it stepped back grinning as if it was already hearing his agonized screamed

Eadwulf couldn't help but grin despite how his vision seemed to be growing dark due to the process of him bleeding out being accelerated "ha-ha…looks like you got a…. faulty present you…. sadistic…overgrown…. cat" he couldn't help but giggle, maybe due to the ridiculousness of his situation or maybe he was just going delirious from the blood loss.

He couldn't tell of it could understand him or not but it non the less clearly made it angry seeing its prey laugh at it and it began to prowl left to right getting impatient

Finally, after five excruciating minutes of tension it seemed to make up its mind and snarled at him, displaying its hundreds of long teeth. It began to get into a position Eadwulf had seen a few times when he watched documentaries of the old world. Like a lion it began to get into a crouching position that was used in the killing of prey it seemed to place all its weight onto its back legs…

And then something happened that neither of them had expected. Within the milliseconds between when it launched itself towards him and before it teeth could crunch down on its meals a sword, appearing practically out of thin air and impaled it head straight from the top of its skull through to the front of the neck, spraying purple blood on his face

As he stared at the beast in front of him he watched its eyes go dark and its head collapse, sliding down the blade until it landed in his lap, almost like a cat or dog would do when they wanted attention or a pat

As he took his gaze away from the skewered head of his tormenter his eyes began to take in the blade, it was beautiful, covered in engravings from blade to hilt with a purple blade and red hilt, naturally his eyes followed their course and next looked at the hand of holding the hilt

The hand was pale and perfect as if carved from pearl, but he could see the callouses on the inside reflecting the hard work put in to the owners swordsmanship, next was the arm and shoulder both a mix of beauty and fierce strength in their own right before he looked at the face of his rescuer.

She had a face that reminded of a half moon. Most of one side was covered by her hair but behind it he could make out a well sculpted out line and one singular almost glowing purple eye, and the other side showing in clear view what the other was hiding. Full lips of crimson red, skin almost transparent and a small smile that seemed to be a mix of sadness and relief

"thank God I made it" her voice reminded him of a winter breeze

"No… thank you" he replied with a small weak smile of his own "but there is no God"

And then every thing went black once more