Immortal Imperfections

Chapter 2: What Comes at Night

Growling. Yelling. Barking. Running. These sounds echo around her as she runs. Faster and faster. As fast as she could. The powdery show stalling her steps. The sounds behind her, fast approaching.

'Why! Why me! Why now!' she thought

The sounds inching closer. Growls growing louder. Barks growing nearer. Yelling coming from behind slowly turns to screams of anger.

"Get back here you witch!"

"You won't escape us!"

"Judgement will prevail!"

Those words echo in her head. Hoping for some salvation, she keeps running. Fear for her life powering her every step. Her lack of coat becomes increasingly clear as her body begins to feel frozen.

"Ice! Heed my call and bury my enemies! Glacial Freeze!"

A glowing magic circle appears in front of the man. A surge of ice barrels forwards, aimed directly at her. Faster than she can run, the ice traps her foot within. The once distant barks feel as though they are right next to her. With all her strength she punches at the ice. The only thing to come of it being a bloody hand.

"Flames, heed my call. Render this ice prison a mere puddle with your scorching blaze. Inferno!" she whispers

A red magic circle manifests in front of her. A blazing heat surrounds her leg, the ice incacing it starting to melt.

"Come on! Come on! Melt faster!" she whispers

The growls get louder. The beasts.... They're right on top of her. She had only moments to think. 'What should I do? Make a wall of wind? Blast them with water? Disrupt the ground beneath them?' thoughts like those raced through her head, trying to find a solution to her problem.

A loud crack echoes through the trees. The ice holding her leg split. She kicked her leg and it broke free. Back to running. But it was too late. The beasts had caught up to her. Three dire wolves emerge from the darkness behind her, cutting off her escape forward.

"Damnit!" she yells

The ones yelling behind her begin to catch up. She was trapped. 'Either face the wolves or fight the casters.' She thought. Her decision was made

"Wind! Heed my call! Summon your blades of fiery and strike down my enemies! Wind Slash!"

The magic circle appears. Wind swirls around her, forming into blades and flying towards the wolves. One wolf is decapitated while the other 2 wolves come out unscaved. They lunge towards her, their sharp fangs bared. Their razor-like claws dig into her as she fails to dodge, causing her to fall to the ground. She howls in pain as they continue to claw at her all over. Her arm numb and legs aching.

"W-Wind! Heed my call!" she yells between screams of pain "Slash my enemies with harsh winds! Razor Wind!"

A magic circle like the other wind magic appears. The wind picks up once more, blowing at great speeds, slicing at the wolves. They jump back, more and more small cuts forming on their large bodies. As more and more form, they begin to fall. With a final gust the wolves fall to the ground, not so much as a whimper.

She picks herself off the ground and limps forward, hoping to get far enough away. She hobbles forward, pain filling her with every step. All she can think of is the pain surging throughout her body. All she can do is stay conscious and keep walking.

Eventually, the screams from the ones chasing her fade into the distance. Further she walked, her legs feeling numb. As she walks, she spots something.

"A plume of smoke? I'm saved!"

Her pace quickens, a concrete goal in mind. Make it to the source if that smoke. Her only option. She walked and walked, eventually, a cabin came into view. A cabin, deep in the woods, nested in a sea of trees and resting in the vales of 3 large hills, isolated from the rest of the world. As she gets closer, her pace slows. She tries to move faster but her legs wouldn't let her. Exhausted, she presses on, determined to make it to the house. Her mind begins to go fuzzy, vision blurring. Breath shaky. Slowly, she makes it to the door.