The Night Rider

Chapter 39 - Smoke

Hazard stood up, stretching, yawning and flicking his tail in warning before shaking himself down, embers flying off his fur and addressed the sullen group of Traited.

"Like it or not we are stuck with each other. Contrary to popular belief Gizmo, we all want to get out of your deathtrap so unless you give us something useful out of your big book of secrets-"

Gizmo began to mime looking in his pockets for a book, angering the quick tempered Air Traited as the wind began to rise. A scream cut through the tension, the unmistakable sound of a dragon in pain causing Hawkins to bolt upright.

Odi.

Scrambling towards the sound, he clambered over large sections of broken buildings in search of the Scale Shrieker. Suddenly, a heat blast erupted from inches away just as he was yanked backwards by an equally foolish half elf.

"What the hell? You can't just bolt off without saying anything! That scream lures people in for a reason and I'll be damned if I let you run in head first into-"

The seven foot mass of hulking sores and coal burnt scabs passed through his peripheral for a fraction of a second but it was enough for Mantis to drag him and force him to hunker down out of sight. The Overtaken slashed its way through the debris with its finger like tendrils, its humanoid form bent over in pain or perhaps intimidation.

Its visage began flickering out of focus like it existed on an entirely different plane before returning back to its original position and continued to trudge along relentlessly. Its strangely smooth skin expanded into deadly spines of rigid flame before settling back into place like a cloak of shadows. 

The debris it had severed fell like snow before reverting back into its original shape and crumbled into ash like it hadn’t realised it had been changed at all. The Overtaken was oblivious to the steady heartbeats of the two terrified Traited hunkering under a partially broken chimney. 

Hawkins dared to chance a few glances towards the Overtaken. It had changed so much from the seemingly innocent boy he had tried to help. Now it had morphed into this otherworldly being set on a single purpose. Its cloak of spines hummed beneath the consuming weight of the Overtaken’s gaunt frame, its mouth welded shut by its own Trait or perhaps other means.

The only clear signs that he was once human were the green eyes heavy set in his ashen grey skin. It was like they longed for something that was so far out of reach but still close enough to sense. Its fingers twitched as they focused what little remained of their Trait and fired. 

The flash on the horizon was all the two could see before the unmistakable sound of Axis reeling back in horror. The gears beneath the city grinded to a halt, a silent cry for help to anyone who could stop the destruction and let it recover.

"That's the thing...the Overtaken that attacked me. It took Wisp and…" 

Hawkins couldn't say anymore, his Fire Trait began sparking crazily, his breaths uneven as his anxiety spiked alongside his haywire Trait. Mantis tried to calm him down by pointing at how close they were to the others but eventually she just beckoned them over as soon as they were able. Only Gizmo was nudged reluctantly forwards. An unwilling sacrifice in case things turned for the worst.

Hawkins' sight was hazy, the distant sound of the Overtaken pounding in his ears and struggling to focus on anything but that. Forcing himself to avert his gaze he was surprised at how little he had travelled because of how exhausted and injured he was. Even more so that Gizmo had made his way towards him and swapped places with Mantis.

"Sacre bleu! You'll get us all killed, give it here!" He hissed, grabbing the Mediators weak arm with his claws without warning.

The Tinker Moles claws were surprisingly flexible as Gizmo coiled his around Hawkins burning hands, barely aware of the heat ebbing into his fur. After no more than a minute the Crafter sank his molten hot claws into the hard gravel and rock below.