Dancing Flames, Cooling Ember (Grim Dark)
Chapter 10,
Why Are Dogs So Physical?
It was the middle of the night and I was laying on my back staring at the stars, unable to fall asleep. The stars shone above me and Grim while the waves washed upon the shore just a hundred meters away, and the sound of the wind blowing through our shelter made me feel as if I was camping on the beach back on Earth. Even Grim’s snoring didn’t ruin the peaceful feeling I had.
’Gemina, you still there?’
’Where else would I be?’
I rolled my eyes again. Guess it’s getting to be a bad habit of mine. ‘You know what I meant.’
’Well…yes……I did.’ she muttered.
’Well then, do you think we’re ever going to get home? I mean, it’s one of the few things we have left. Going home and each-other that is.’
’You forgot one very important thing.’
’What?’
’Grim.’
I sat up straight faster than a bullet out of a gun, my eyes instantly licking onto the dog in front of me. I still wasn’t sure about what I thought of him. On one hand he seems as innocent as a little kitten, on the other he seems older and wiser than some kind of sage. Was he a good person for helping me, almost completely willingly, or was he a bad person for nearly raping me. I didn’t know anymore and all the wondering was driving me up a wall.
’Are you sure that he’s all that important?’ I asked Gemina, half of me already praying she didn’t answer.
It took a while until she answered me, and even then it was only one word. ’Yes.’
Guess I should’ve guessed her answer. I mean, he was helpful, but it seems that Gemina is the one who’s been paying him the most attention.
’Actually you pay more attention to him then I do. I just am true to myself, unlike you.’
’Wait...What! I’m true to myself, completely true!’
I didn’t get any answer from Gemina as she decided that now was the time to fall silent. I growled in frustration. She would always choose the moment when I wanted to talk to shut her mouth, yet drone on and on when I wanted some peace and quiet.
I looked at Grim again and smiled softly. He had been a great friend in the short time that I had known him, and he was in the same boat as well. I’m pretty sure he knew more about me than he let on, but I had decided to let him keep it to himself after saving my ass twice in a row.
As I sat alone, thinking about the last few days I heard a scuffling emanating from some of the trees. I made to stand, but a furry paw grabbed me from behind. I opened my jaw to scream and a second paw wrapped itself around my mouth. I turned my eyes to look behind me and saw Grim standing behind me, still naked.
‘Awwww, not again!’
‘What the hell is going on?’
Grim takes his paw away from my waist and gives me the shush sign. I slowly nod and he removes his second paw, leaving me free from his grasp. Grim looks at me and points towards the trees, then mimics a dog paddle with his paws.
‘Ummmmmmm……wha?’
‘Search me, I know as much as you do.’
Grim rolled his eyes and pointed at the tree, once again doing his weird little doggy paddle. It looked a little bit like….
‘I think he’s saying climb the tree.’
‘Insert snarky reply here.’
‘Could you at least try to be civil Gemina?’
‘No.’
I shook my head in frustration, then sprinted towards the tree, springing from the ground to the trunk. As I collided with the tree I shoved my claws into the bark, and to my satisfaction they sank deep into the wood, creating the perfect handholds. I looked back at Grim and flicked my eyes upwards, asking silently if I should climb to the top. After a few seconds he realized what I was saying and nodded vigorously.
‘He really does seem like an oversized puppy, doesn’t he?’
‘You know what, I guess you’re right.’
I smiled at Gemina’s reply, savoring the fact that she had answered in a kind tone for once, then started to climb the tree, using my claws to literally rip my own handholds. I winced at how much noise I was making, but, luckily, it sounded so akin to the regular night noises that it should be masked to any passing ears.
‘Dear god that sounded awful, and I was thinking it for crying out loud!’
‘True, you did start to ramble there, but your probably right.’
‘Are you okay Gemina? You’ve agreed twice with me within about two minutes.’
‘Go die in a hole you reptilian bastard.’
I nearly laughed at her reply. If I weren’t climbing a tree on a stealth mission I probably would have, but her reply was so….well……Gemina that it was humorous. But the talk did redirect my mind from climbing consciously, and I had somehow climbed to the top while we bickered. The view was stunning, the whole ocean spreading out to my right, a sparse patch of trees to my left. I could also identify who had made the rustling noise in the forest. It was a huge squad of D-dogs, fifteen at the least.
Most of them were perfectly fine, naked except for spears and crudely made blades, but four of them had bandoliers around their chests, and three of the generic soldiers were horribly wounded, one of them literally missing a limb. They were chatting to one another in low voices, obviously hoping to stay unnoticed by whatever had given them such a licking.
‘Think we can hear them from up here?’ I asked Gemina.
‘Don’t look at me, I was asleep during Latin class, remember?’
I did, all too well. It’s rather weird to hear someone snoring in your head while sitting in class wide awake, and Gemina seemed to find perverse pleasure in falling asleep only when my teacher started to lecture us or when we had a test.
‘Okay, so I’m alone in the Latin department, but do you think we could risk speaking?’
‘No clue, give it your best shot.’ Gemina responded, sounding so aloof I could practically see her shrugging in the back of my head. Why did I have to get stuck with the snarky sister?
‘Because I’m the comedic relief in your life Keiko.’
‘I asked you to stop calling me by that pet name Gemina.’
‘Ooooops, sorry!’ she said in a perfect copy of the bobo brothers. Dear god she knows that annoys me.
I looked back down at the pack of dogs and whispered as quietly as possible, “Amplificatur sensum.”
I can immediately tell it worked as the world suddenly goes Matrix on me. I can literally see the world around me slow down, and their conversation is now not only possible to hear, it’s ridiculously easy to overhear. Score one for me.
The wounded pack leader (at least I guess it is by the special chemicals) was speaking to the others in a low voice, almost a rasp, “……ffin, boy, attacked us. We tried to grab ponies, but it killed us. He strong fighter, be good in caves.”
The other diamond dog, his pelt a dark grey, looked at him in disgust. “You couldn’t kill a single griffin? You’re pathetic. My group will give you no help, mutt.” He then turned away and dropped to all fours. “MOVE OUT!” he shouted to his pack, and four others turned around and barreled away, quickly disappearing into the forest.
As soon as the pack had left earshot another group of dogs emerged from the trees I was clinging on to. There were two dogs holding onto another one, dressed in metal armor. While the two dogs looked ordinary the one they held was easy to recognize as…..
‘GRIM!’
‘Yep. Anyone else feel like this is from some kinda bad video game?’
‘What are you talking about? We’ve got to save him!’
‘Cool your jets hotshot, just wait a bit first, okay, he might have a plan you know.’
I wanted to swear, to curse, to shout my head off, but I could already tell that Gemina was right. I needed to trust Grim, pray that he knew what he was getting into. So I guess that it was time to just believe he had a plan, and sit here like a coward.
‘You listened to me for once. Now it’s my turn to ask, are you okay?’
‘Is payback always such a bitch?’
‘You have no idea.’
I sat there in the tree and fumed, waiting for everyone below to go nuts at his return, but instead I was treated to a booming chorus of laughter. It seemed that everyone below had suddenly gone mad, literally doubled over in laughter. Grim just looked at them with cool indifference, looking at them all in what looked like contempt.
‘The hell they laughing for?’
‘I haven’t the foggiest.’
After laughing themselves horse one of the ones garbed in a bandolier walks up to Grim and smiles wildly. “So we caught the Grim reaper at last.” he laughs, but everyone else (including us) groans at the horrid pun. “Shut it mutts!” he bellowed, making all the other dogs cower in fear (except the others with bandoliers, so I guess they really are pack leaders.) before turning back to Grim. “You’re lucky to still live, surprised you are actually. Where’s the other packs we sent after you?” he asked.
Grim looked him in the face and then returned the wild grin with an even larger smile, so wide it looked painful. “Why don’t you ask them, hmmmmm? I’d just need to kill you if that’s all-right.” he chortled, then started to laugh manically, causing all of the dogs to take a few steps back from him, their faces full of unadulterated fear. After a moment or two the dog talking to Grim shook himself and then sliced Grim’s face with his claws, blood now pouring from his face.
“YOU GODDAMN BITCH!” he bellowed, his face no longer full of fear but rather rage. “YOU KILLED THEM ALL! YOU TRULY ARE A BEAST!” He then grabbed Grim’s sword from one of the dogs holding his arms and pointed it at his neck. “YOU CAN JOIN THEM YOURSELF. DIE!” and he pulled his blade back and started to swing at Grim’s neck.
‘GRIM NOOOOOO!’
I could dimly hear myself whispering something in Latin, then I literally grabbed the tree top and flipped over the top, put my feet on the branch, and used it as a springboard to reach Grim before the blade could sink into his flesh.
I sped through the air towards the ground, landing right in front of Grim, my back facing the sword. I could feel the blade hit my scales, then snap like a twig. I slowly turned around to face the dog and I could see the fear in his eyes, the fear in all of their eyes. I hated that look, that picture of terror that had been on those kids faces, and now they were staring at me with the same eyes, so utterly fixated at my strength.
‘Why do they fear us so much Gemina.’
‘They fear what we are, what we can be.’
I grabbed the dog standing in front of me’s head with my left claw, then quickly raised my right into the sky. “You tried to kill Grim, now I’ll kill you.” I said, my voice almost demonic. The fear now was palpable, and I could tell they thought of me as some kind of Yoma. “Muut.” I said with finality, then drove my right claw down, through his head, through his neck, down his belly and out his groin. He stood for a second, then his body fell to pieces in front of me, his guts spilling out of his mutilated corpse, blood spraying from it, bathing me in its warm crimson shower. I licked my lips and smiled, adrenaline now coursing through my veins.
Pandemonium broke out, and the dogs immediately drew whatever weapon they could reach, but I just smiled at them before turning around yet again to address the issue of Grim’s captivators. They seemed to realize what I was going to do a second before it happened as their eyes opened wide and they tried to rapidly backpedal, but my claws shot out and stabbed into their stomachs, then pushed out of the other end clutching their spines. “Night.” I whispered before pulling their spines back to my side, ripping them out of their bodies, the carcasses quickly falling into a pile on the ground. Grim too was now gleaming scarlet, but his smile had disappeared, instead filled with a look of fear.
‘Ah well, can’t win them all, eh Keiko?’
‘…………………………….’
‘You said it.
Thanks to my suddenly extraordinary hearing I could hear most of the dogs now falling onto their butts or else trying to run away, but I just muttered “Perfectam salire.” and I landed right in front of their party. They froze in their tracks and raised their weapons. As if that’ll protect them.
“Ready to die?” I ask before rushing forward and punching my right claw into a dogs neck, literally ripping it from the body. My left claw swung wide and cut two of their guts open and their guts bubbled out, blood pooling beneath their bodies as they fell to the ground, clutching their stomachs and choking out sobs of pain. Two more swords tried to break through my scales but they shattered, the blades broken beyond repair. I spun around, balancing on my right foot, and used my clawed left foot to slit their throats, causing them to fall to the ground, unable to speak as their bodies were quickly dyed crimson.
I put my feet down and lick my right claw, savoring the taste of iron on it. “Is anyone else ready to dance?” I purr.
Four of them charge at me, one pack leader staying to the back. Instead of charging he pulls out a vial of something and throws it at me, causing its contents to spill all over me. I smell the air and notice the sour smell of an acid, but it seems that it can’t penetrate my scales, which seems to be true for the four spears that all smash into my chest at that moment. They look at me in terror, finally realizing that they are doomed, before I kick all of the spear shafts, snapping them instantly. Before they have time to react I’m upon them, ripping them apart piece by piece, cracking their bones, slicing their stomachs, my claws tearing apart their faces and guts.
The last dog tries to run but I just leave the corpses of the peons at my feet and charge him, grabbing him from behind. He screams bloody murder, trying to get away, but I just force his head around to face me. I whisper into his ear, “I wonder what dog tastes like?” before biting his face, doing it in a parody of a French kiss. I bite again and his face tears in two, bone marrow and blood now pouring down my cheeks. I give it a swirl around my mouth before spitting it out onto the ground and retching a quart of bile along with it, most of it red.
I stand there for a few seconds, the last dog now lying at my feet, and then I start to heave. Huge racking retches emanate from my mouth and I hark up yet another quart of red bile and blood. I start to sob, my body now shaking slightly, before I literally scream to the heavens. I grab my head in my hands and squat down, rocking back and forth.
I mutter quietly, “What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What Have I Done? What Have I Done? WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?”
‘Ember, chill!’
‘I JUST KILLED THEM ALL!! I EVEN ATE ONE OF THEIR FACES!!! WHY THE HELL WOULD I CALM DOWN RIGHT NOW!! WHAT THE HELL HAVE I JUST DONE!!!’
‘You were just trying to save Grim, that’s it.’
‘NO, IT WAS JUST LIKE WITH THOSE KIDS, WHY THE HELL DID I DO TH…….’ I think before something inside my mind snaps, and I black out.