Flattened

Frozen stiff as they watched the bloody massacre that was taking place, the children failed to notice some of the Sever Beasts had left the flock and were now flying towards them. 

Thalia, being much more aware then her siblings, rushed forward. She pushed Dane's head down as a beast flew in from the side. Its talons swiped through the air where his head used to be, missing by mere inches.

Turning instantly, she picked a rock off the ground and threw it with blinding speed at the creature who had almost claimed the life of her brother. Ace winced as the projectile made contact with the head of the beast and disintegrated it. 

Unperturbed by the death of one of their own, more creatures broke off from the flock and flew towards the orphanage children. The sight of an easy meal was more alluring than potential death.

With a face full of fury, Thalia gathered an armful of concrete debris in one arm, and began launching shards of it with the other. Each of her throws was full of deadly precision, piercing the wings, bodies, and heads of the encroaching beasts. 

She turned to address her brother and sisters, her voice full of potent urgency. 

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO BACK HOME... NOW!"

Heeding Thalia's words, Icarus jumped into action first, leading his brother and sisters back into the alley. He knew the large birds wouldn't be able to follow them through the narrow corridor. He confidently raced through the dark passageway, only making it a few steps before his foot hit something soft, sending it flying through the air with a squeal. He stopped immediately.

'Was that a rat? Felt kind of big.' 

Catching up, Ace questioned the delay. "Rus?! What's wrong, we gotta keep moving!"

Unsure of how to respond, Icarus hesitated. "I don't know, it felt like I just hit a big rat or something. It's dark so I didn't get the best look at it." 

With the main street and Thalia's brave defense still visible behind them, Ace decided to take the lead. "Don't worry, I'll go first." 

Similar to his brother, Ace ran a couple more steps forward before he too hit a large lump, drawing out a squeal from whatever was shrouded in the darkness. Only this time, the creature remained in place. 

Looking down, his heart sank. With his eyes better adjusted to the lack of light, he could faintly make out the figure of the rat-like Sever Beast that was now peering up at him with its beady eyes. Letting out a fearsome squeal, the rat beast ran off into the darkness. 

Following it with his gaze, Ace noticed multiple pairs of eyes light up in alley. As they began moving closer, he could make out the shapes of the grotesquely large rats. He thought there were only a few, but countless more began to pour from the darkness, piling on top of each other.

Backing away slowly, Ace yelled out to his siblings. 

"GO BACK! THE HOUSING UNIT RIGHT OUTSIDE THE ALLEY, GO! GO! GO!" 

Turning tail, the group ran the short distance back through the corridor with Icarus in front and Ace in the back. The rats followed closely behind. 

Before long they burst back out onto the main street only to see that Thalia had moved away from the alley opening and towards the center of the street. All around her lay the bodies of several Grade 1 Ravens. She had abandoned her bundle of concrete and steel in favor of a large pipe that she had found on the ground and a large hunting knife that she always kept on her.

With her hands a blur, she continued to tear apart the ravens that dared to challenge her. Some fell to the blade while others where mercilessly crushed by the large pipe. It was clear that she didn't need any help. 

Without losing his step, Icarus burst through the flimsy steel door that acted as the entrance to the concrete domicile. Ushering his siblings inside, he was overjoyed to see that the residents of the home were not present. 

Bringing up the rear, Ace jammed the door shut and wedged it with a large rock before following Icarus and the others to the upper floors of the building. The rats were still on their tail, slowly creasing the door as they piled on top of each other. 

Making it to the third floor, the group saw the opening in the wall created by the man sent flying it earlier. His bloody remains were scattered around the room. It was a gruesome site, but even the children retained focus. With a large bang, they heard the first floor door finally break as the rats poured into the building. 

Feeling cornered, Ace's mind began to churn as he looked between the staircase and the 3rd floor room. Taking note of the human sized piece of concrete that was clearly from the hole in the wall, he sprang forward and began trying to pick it up. 

Rushing forward to help him, Icarus gave him a look of approval as bent down to help. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" 

Grunting heavily, Ace responded. "YES! Urgh! DANE, LUCY, KALEN, HANNAH, AND ZEKE! GET OVER HERE AND HELP US! WE'RE GONNA CRUSH THOSE BASTARDS" 

Dragged out of their stupor by his raised voice, the five sets of tiny hands lent their strength to help the two older boys move the giant lump of concrete. Ace noticed the boulder become significantly lighter as soon as Zeke put his hands on the rock but he was too engrossed in their survival to care. 

With each step the seven kids took towards the staircase door, they could hear the pattering of the rat's footsteps. After a grueling minute, the children finally arrived at the narrow staircase and set the rock down. The footsteps of the rat pack were even more clear than they were before, Ace could tell they were on the second floor and near the stair case.

One second passed, then two, and then the first rat appeared. It slowly started making its way up the stairs as even more rats crawled into the stairwell. The rats seemed to never stop, coming out one after another until at least two dozen rats crowded the stairs. They climbed the steps, practically jumping on top of each other as they pursued the children. This slowed them down greatly and gave Ace time to observe the bottom of the stairwell. 

Icarus couldn't hide his nervousness and questioned Ace.

"Bro?! They're right there, TIP IT OVER NOW ! What are you waiting for?!" 

The children verbalized their agreement. 

Ace silenced them. "NOT YET, JUST TRUST ME!" 

The beast were five steps away. More were still flowing into the staircase. 

'Not yet' 

The beast were now three steps away and now entering one at a time. 

'NOW!' 

With only a step to spare, the stream of rats running into the stairwell had stopped. Now assured that he was seeing all the rodents, Ace shoved the upright concrete slab down the stairs.

It tore through the creatures easily, almost as if they weren't even there. At every tumble, grotesque sounds of bones being snapped and squeals from the rats pierced the air.

The five youngest couldn't bear the sight and turned away while covering their ears. The squeals of the rats were hard for even Ace and Icarus to listen to. Once it reached the bottom of the steps the slab shattered into smaller chunks, leaving a trail of massive carnage in its wake and blocking the door. His plan had succeeded. 

[Congratulations! You have slain Grade 1 Gray Rats x30 ...]

The warden chimed in Ace's ear but he couldn't bring himself to focus on the rest of its message and instead fell to one knee. He couldn't believe how close they had come to... getting eaten. The thought alone made him shiver. 

Somehow less unperturbed than him, his siblings had already left the gruesome site that was the stairwell and were huddled together by the opening in the wall. They looked down at the street that was full of people trying their best to avoid the Sever Beasts. Most were unsuccessful

Noticing Thalia still in the same place from only a few minutes prior, Icarus called out to Ace who was still on the ground. 

"Look Bro! Thalia's amazing! She doesn't even have a scratch on her!"

Shocked to hear this, Ace clambered over to the opening in the wall and watched from above as Thalia continued to weave around the aggressive attacks of the ravens. Her pipe was gone, now replaced by a .... bird talon?

The orphans watched in awe as the massive pile of dead Sever Beasts around Thalia only grew. Just like Icarus said Thalia didn't have a scratch on her. At least that was Ace thought until he took a closer look...