A deafening explosion engulfed the entrance of Whitesummit, as a booming shockwave seemed to slap Skye in the face, throwing up an expanding cloud of dust and debris.
“Iris!” He shouted, as his cries were drowned out by the screams of countless others. He turned around, disoriented, and found himself in the middle of a nightmarish scene; people rushed past him in a mad panic, as the field of dust stung his eyes, obscuring his vision to barely a foot away. An awful, never-ending symphony of crashes and screams echoed throughout the cavern, as unstable houses and buildings continued to collapse against each other like a wave of dominos, further spreading chaos and destruction throughout the town. Shutting his eyes, Skye thrust his arms outwards as a sphere of wind expanded from his frame, briefly clearing the air around him.
“Iris, where-” he flew forwards as a pair of hands shoved him from behind, right before an entire house tipped over, crashing into the spot he was just in. Skye shouted in surprise as a thick wooden beam fell on his ankle, pain shooting up his leg. Tugging his foot free, he looked up from the ground, coughing out dust as an odd orb of light bobbed in the distance. Maybe it was a rescue party, or Iris looking for him.
“Help! I’m over…” A gap in the cloud of debris formed for a moment, unveiling the hazy figure of what could only be called a monster, their face dimly lit by the light protruding from their forehead. Eyes widening in fear, Skye hobbled behind a heap of rubble, breathing heavily. His ankle was clearly broken, there was nowhere he could run.
“Sky, sky, pass me by,” Ferox growled in an appalling mimicry of what might have been a sing-song voice. Shivers raced down Skye’s spine as her slow, casual footsteps thumped quietly through the wreckage.
“Hold your breath and ask me why…” His heart skipped a beat as she strolled past the piece of wall he was hiding behind.
“Clouds, clouds, all around…” She abruptly lunged towards a section of roofing, lifting it off the ground with her pincered arm. Seeing no one was there, the agent let out a huff of disappointment, dropping the chunk of wood before moving on.
“Tell me when we hit the ground…” A bead of sweat trickled down Skye’s neck as Ferox paused, breathing in deeply through her nose.
“Little morbid for a children’s song, don’t you think? Anyways, the scrawny black-haired twirp, Morden, sends his regards – I hear you two were pretty close. Y’know,” she said, turning in a slow circle, “I can smell ya little freaks, right? I’m gonna find you sooner or later, Skye, why not put up a fight? End with a bang, hm?” Her head snapped towards the pile of broken wood he was hiding behind, sauntering over with a grin as Skye tightened his grip around an old broom handle, unable to quell the trembling in his hands.
“C’mon, Skye, you ready to make your final stand? Stalling won’t make this any eas-” Iris leapt from the shadows, smashing a chair over Ferox’s back as the agent whirled around, snapping at her with needle-thin teeth. Iris jumped back, taking a defensive stance as a drop of blood trickled down her cheek – she had been grazed, but only just. With a wordless understanding the two faced each other, eyeing the other up, waiting to see who would make the first move. A loud crash sounded in the distance, perhaps a particularly large house falling, and Ferox struck. Closing the distance between them in a second, she twirled around Iris with unexpected fluidity, simultaneously directing a pillar of flame towards where Skye was hiding and elbowing her in the face. With a slight wobble Iris flipped over the agent’s shoulders, propelled forwards by tiny jets of flame emanating from her feet, and aimed three quick jabs towards her side, each hitting with a thwack and whirl of fire. Unfazed, Ferox grabbed Iris’ arm with her claw, swinging her in a large arc above her head before slamming their limp body to the ground. Scorch marks lined the agent’s side, though if they were painful, she wasn’t showing it.
“Get up,” she growled, kicking Iris away with a dull thud. Her shoulder scraped roughly against the ground as they skidded forwards, still unmoving. Finally coming to a painful halt, she looked up, supported by a single shaky elbow, the other arm bent uncomfortably under her.
“I’m…not done yet…” Ferox crouched down to Iris’ level, casually resting her arms on her knees.
"Sure you ain’t, birdie. Now, we can do this the nice way, and I haul you and the other freak off to base, or the hard way, and – well, the ol’ doctor never said ya have to return in one-”
“Now!” Iris shouted, as Skye leapt out from the side, breaking a broomstick over the back of Ferox’s head. She barely had time to react before Iris thrusted her arm in front of the agent’s stomach, a small glowing bead clutched in her palm. Waves of heat seemed to pour from the tightly condensed mote of power – the little twirp was getting this ready the whole time she was down, Ferox thought as the tiny ball shattered outwards, engulfing her in a fiery inferno. Blasted backwards by the sheer force of the flames, she flew under a nearby house, crashing through the wooden supports as the structure collapsed on top of her with a chorus of snapping wood. Iris eyed the wreckage wearily, spitting out a glob of blood.
“Stay close, something tells me that won’t be enough to take 'em out.”
“Iris, you’re hurt…who was that? What do they want with us?” The two could still hear some escaping refugees picking their way through the rubble, though visibility was still low – the dust hadn’t settled yet.
“I’d wager they’re part of the order, considering they know you, but that doesn’t matter now. Tell me if you see something, she could be anywhere.” The area was quiet, save for the gentle sifting of dust currents rolling across the ground. With a flash of dark blue, Ferox suddenly lunged from a cloud of rubble as a pair of mottled pincers slammed into Iris from behind, raising her into the air. Skye looked up, petrified with fear – there was no escape, nothing he could do. The front of the agent’s uniform was a tattered, smouldering mess, her stomach a black smear, though he couldn’t tell if it was simply remains of the burnt uniform or charred flesh.
“Move and you’re dead,” Ferox growled, tightening her hold on Iris. The same wide grin was plastered on her face, but their eyes were full of a deeper malice, savage, yet cold and calculated. A thin stream of blood slid down the side of her face, falling to the ground with an audible drip. A loud snap broke the silence as Iris cried out in pain; one of her ribs had cracked from the force of the agent’s grip.
“Well then, Skye? What’ll it be?!” He held his head in his hands, stumbling away. It’s not like this monster would let Iris go if he gave up, but there was no way he could fight back. A headache raged through his skull, growing in potency. It felt as if his brain was being squashed and stretched, pushed and pulled in every direction, he just- he needed a break, he needed time to think, that’s all that-
“It’s a simple choice, Skye, you’ve gotta make your move!” Ferox roared as another of Iris’ ribs snapped. He couldn’t think, it felt as if his eyes were being pushed deeper into their sockets, caving into his head, they would surely burst from the pressure if this continued. He couldn’t take it anymore, he would scream if only his lungs had any air left, and as if by its own accord Skye’s arm raised, elbow bent, fingers straight. Even as the rest of his body writhed in torment, his arm held steady, gently snapping down as the space before him split in half, a razor-thin edge of condensed wind parting the air in front of it, leaving a vacuum in its wake. All the three could see was a flash of white and loud boom as the ruins were swept away on either side by the force of the cut, only for air to rush back with a whoosh, filling the void left behind. Ferox stood in silence, breathing shakily as Skye collapsed to the ground.
“Wh…but…” Her entire claw, along with Iris, fell to the ground with a heavy thud, a stream of greyish-blue liquid spurting from her shoulder. With an inhuman scream she staggered back, staring at Skye with pure loathing before slipping into the shadows, her hate-filled eyes the last they saw of her. Iris gasped in pain as she crawled out from the unmoving pincers, stumbling over to Skye.
“We…we have to go,” she forced through clenched teeth, propping him up with her shoulder. The two carefully carried themselves through what was left of Whitesummet, leaving the once-bustling town for an uncertain future.
~
Agent Ferox slowly walked down a desolate, ruined street, dragging her feet against the dirt road. The bleeding had mostly stopped, save for a slight trickle leaking out of where her claw once was. Gone. She stopped at the corpse of a young woman, a thin piece of wood piercing their eye, poking out the back of her head. It had happened quickly, at least she didn’t die in pain. The woman was pretty, it would fit her sibling well. Ferox yanked the wood out of her eye with a faint squelch as it exited their skull, throwing the corpse over her shoulder. The street was shady, even among Whitesummit’s standards, yet the wooden building at the end of the road was cleaner, built with care; a stark contrast to the other half-ruined, ramshackle houses crowding against each other. Berntuk’s Tradin’ Emporium, read a hand-carved sign placed above the doorway – she hadn’t been here in ages. Dropping the woman’s corpse on the floor, Ferox noted the body of a middle-aged man laying on the ground with a pang of guilt. Berntuk, it would seem, sported a stubble-lined face, frozen in disgruntled annoyance. He must have been partially crushed by rocks that had fallen through the ceiling. His body trembled slightly, growing in violence as a thick black slime oozed out of his mouth and ears, slithering across the floor to the corpse of the woman, seeping in through the hole in their head. The agent impatiently tapped a foot on the ground as the corpse convulsed wildly, limbs jerking in unnatural positions as a low moan escaped from its mouth, gradually raising in pitch as they writhed on the floor. After a moment of silence, the woman gracefully picked herself off the ground, rushing in for a hug.
“Ferox,” she gasped, voice warbling slightly before taking a softer, gentle tone. “You’re hurt! What happened, are you okay?”
“Uli…I’ll be fine. Sorry ‘bout…” she gestured at the destruction around them, eyes lingering on the corpse of the man. “Everything. It’s been a while, huh? I should have visited more often, I-”
“No, it’s fine, really,” Uli muttered, shifting her embrace to get a closer look at the bloodied shoulder. “Does…does it hurt?”
“…Yeah,” Ferox sighed, voice breaking as she lost her composure. “Yeah, it hurts. But don’t you go worrying about me,” she said, squeezing her sibling tighter with her remaining arm. “I’m the big sister, I should be worrying enough for the both of us.” The two stood there for minutes, or years, or maybe just a few seconds – neither could tell. Finally, Uli spoke up, pulling away.
“An awakened did this, didn’t they? I know it’s your job, but just…be careful, okay? For me?" Ferox smiled, leaning against a wooden support beam.
“For you. Listen, if you decide to go after them yourself, it won’t be th’ end of the world back at HQ as long as they’re out of the picture. Yeah, I know what you’ve been doing.” Uli lowered her head, a shower of emotions clouding the body’s face.
“I’m close to a breakthrough, I can feel it. I know you have to go back, just…try not to be rash. It’s been years since we saw mom, we don’t know-”
“She doesn’t deserve that title,” Ferox spat, slamming her fist through a nearby wall. “You were always her favourite child, but I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into. See you, sis.” Fighting the urge to look back, Ferox made her way towards the docks, empty, no doubt; the citizens of Whitesummet had all fled by then, and she had ordered her crew to head back to base. The agent sighed, stretching her neck as she exited the empty refuge – it’s gonna be a long swim.