Phantom Pain (trilogy)

Broken Window

Chapter 6: Broken Window

The first thing I noticed was that one of the massive, glass window had exploded.

The second was that the bookshelves were casting peculiar shadows.

“Shit. Shit!” Dez took off running and we followed her.

Her instinct seemed to be the same as mine: run. But we couldn't outrun the shadows, I wanted to tell her. On the ground floor she skidded to a stop, drawing a pistol from where it was concealed at her waist. My sword was unsheathed, in my hand, as if it had done it by itself. Dez looked at it in surprise, but the wind and rain whipped through the library and we had bigger problems.

“Alright.” She turned to us. “Here's the deal. We're fighting the demons themselves, not possessed people. They can't possess you unless you really open yourself up to them, not if you know they're there at least. So don't do that.”

I spun as she talked. Most of the refugees had already fled the library.

“Demon's can't actually hurt you, not physically anyways. There's also something protecting this place. They may not be able to get in, even through the broken window. If they do they'll be near powerless.”

Lila had began to shake, and I grabbed her wrist, trying to calm her. Much to my surprise, she moved down to my hand, clutching it with a vise-like grip.

“What they're going to do,” Dez continued. “Is screw with your mind. It's how they fight. They'll use anything they find: any trauma, any nightmare. And they break your head, and make you hurt yourself. So try not to think. Repress like your life depends on it.” Dez raised her gun and fired, into empty space behind me. “All this gun will do to them in this form is dissipate them. That sword on the other hand, Ramie... I'd kill for one of those.”

I felt the dread, hot on my neck, and I spun. There was nothing there, nothing I could see. But it was like I could breath again.

“Nice shot!” Dez applauded. “Takes years to build instinct like that.” She looked over at Lila and Gavyn. “So here's the plan. Me and Ramie here will make sure they stay out the window. You two go get stuff to cover it, as soon as possible. Get people too. That's a three-story window we have to patch.”

“But-” Gavyn looked at me.

“I'll be fine,” I told him, even though the scars had already began to ache.

They were doing this. I saw a flicker in Lila's shadow, and sliced the air beside her. It almost seemed like the sword had changed its direction a little, like it could see something I couldn't.

“Go!” Dez yelled. “And watch out. We can't see them with our eyes, but if you watch you can sometimes see their shadows.”

Seeming to snap into gear, Gavyn grabbed Lila's arm and the two of them raced out of the room. It was all I could do to follow Dez over to the big center window. She was right, the demons were having trouble getting inside. The dread was much stronger over here. I could feel them, just like I had in the cemeteries. The only difference now was that I could do something about it. Spotting the shadows had become second nature, and now I could use it.