The Forest Prince

IV. | "Sicknasty Action Scene #1, a.k.a The Call to Action"

...Could you imagine if the story ended right there? 

Like, this one kid makes his defiant stand against the forces of darkness, steeling both his body and resolve in order to face what opposed him? And it would've been this somber but touching moment, and pretty badass for the character...and in the next scene he just gets jumped and wrecked by the axis forces? 

Just, "The End" right then and there. 

It would suck for the most part, but let's be honest...it'd also be a little funny.

That won't be the case here, obviously. As the shadowy beast pounced, Gabriel took to the offensive, swinging the sword downward and connecting with a successful strike. The beast shook with the hit. Stunned, but not dead. Just as quick as the first one went down, the second began to act, springing off of its fallen brethren to collide with the boy. Gabe managed to get his sword up quick enough to guard his neck but didn't really account for the weight of a full sized dog-beast flying into him. The tackle staggered the child onto his bed, putting him on his back. From there they wrestled for control, the demon dog attempting to wrangle the weapon from Gabriel's grasp. It bit into the wooden blade, claws digging into the boy's shoulders to gain some form of traction. Blood was beginning to seep through the tears in Gabe's shirt, and his breathing became heavier as he tried fighting through the pain.

"Get...off." As though he commanded it, the sword reacted. In an instant, the blade grew long, thick thorns that pierced through the beast's muzzle. Relenting, the dog's bite on the weapon loosened. Reactively, Gabriel tore it away, bits of blackened flesh and tongue and teeth coming with it. 

Blood for blood. 

He didn't have too long to dwell on the victory, as the first dog sprung back into action. It was an attempt to flank the boy while he was distracted, but Gabe was quick to react. In one swift motion, the sword was swung, its thorns retracted back into its blade, and said blade slid through the dog's neck. A reckless swing ended with a lucky kill for the boy.

"Two down." He growled and glared ahead. The smell of smoke and brimstone filled the air as he stepped over the expired beasts. Their bodies decomposed, fizzling and reducing to nothing but black ash and cinders. All was left was the one still lording over his expired grandmother. The scowl he wore bore louder than any word he could yell. The more he looked on, the faster his heart raced, the harder his teeth clenched. "Come. It's your turn." He could barely say through his quiet rage. The last beast dropped the body, causing Gabe to flinch and tremble. It seemed to smile and chuckle as it looked upon this distraught, broken boy.

"I need not approach you." The beast talked, much to Gabriel's surprise. "This is naught but a war of attrition, Harvestchild. Soon, you shall come to me. And you will not survive." It growled one last rolling laugh as it melted into the shadows. Soon, the house fell into a silence that seemed almost deafening, and weight of his life's direction began to press down on the Harvestchild's shoulders. With a second to catch his breath, his thoughts managed to catch up to him. Between harrowed breaths, Gabriel backed into a wall and slid down to the floor. His mind traveled a million miles a minute, overloaded with questions he knew weren't going to be answered anytime soon.

"Fuck." He breathed, head falling into his hands. The sensation of inadvertently killing his grandmother left the boy a little more than distraught. Seemed like all his negative emotions were bubbling to the surface at once. Anger, confusion, sadness, doubt, despair. "Why...is this...?" He felt regret for something he didn't do. Guilt for something that was mostly out of his control. He wanted to ask the world of his plight, but it might've been the one question he already knew the answer to. The dream made it very clear.