The Lost Sentinel

11 Becoming the hunted.

Tan P.O.V

Air rushes out of my lungs as my body meets the ground. I groan in pain, and try I to scramble to my feet. But a snarling sound fills the darkness sending fear throughout my body as large arms go around my chest and hold on tight. They squeeze and I feel my breath leave my lungs.

It’s trying to suffocate me.

What the hell is on top of me? I ask myself thrashing about to dislodge the thing that ils holding me. It starts to move – crawling on the ground, holding on to me with both its arms like as if I weigh nothing.

What the…?

How is that possible? How is it moving with its arms wrapped around me? What kind of alien did they send after me this time?

It drags me on the ground pulling me towards the steps that lead outside. My body hits debris and fallen statues along the way.

I grunt in pain as my head slams against something hard on the ground – pain radiates through me and I see stars. I shake it off as a pinging sound echoes in the dark as if my head dislodged something from the ground. I reach out and grab whatever it is with my left hand, before the alien drags me away. My fingers quickly close around it. It feels like a stone, but it is heavy as if it’s some sort of gold piece or metal. I bring up the thing I picked up to see what it is as the alien drags me to the mouth of the tower where the spotlight hits. It looks like a tiny statue. It looks dull now, having weathered the effects of time, but there is no mistaking that it was made from some precious stone. My thief senses are never mistaken, especially when it comes to something valuable. I can tell by just looking at it.

I breathe hard as excitement shoots through me.

Could this be it?

The artefact we are looking for.

Well there is only one way to find out. I move the statue to my right hand. If it’s the real deal, I will be able to absorb it’s power.

Before I can do that the alien pulls me roughly slamming my right shoulder into the ground. The statue flips in mid-air and I watch it turn into an arc in the air before coming down. The alien yanks me forward.

Oh no…I watch the statue go down and I know I am going to leave it behind if this thing continues to drag me. I grit my teeth and kick out blindly at it. But I have no effect on it. The statue drops with a resounding thud on the floor behind me.

Oh no…the alien drags me forward, and I kick at it. But it doesn’t stop.

What kind of s**t is this?

I look at it as it comes to a stop at the mouth of the tower, and one of the spot lights hits it in a red glow that makes it look like the stuff of nightmares. It is hard to see the colour of it’s skin because of the light.

I startle as I stare at the most hideous creature I’ve ever seen. It look like an octopus with a million arms. And some of those arms are wrapped around me at the moment.

I really need a history lesson on these things. Rhine must have something on them. They’ve been sentinels for a long time. Surely they have some information on the aliens, especially about their weaknesses.

Information is the greatest assert for a thief. Knowing what and where is important but I’ve found knowing the habits and weaknesses of my victims made it easy for me to steal.

What have I learned about this thing? I ask myself narrowing my eyes on the alien.

It has some sort of amour around it’s body.

It is strong like a monster truck.

It’s shaped in a weird way. I can’t see it’s head.

How am I going to get out of this thing? I ask myself as I reach for one of the arms.

I sink my nails into it, and I am surprised to find that the skin has some give to it…meaning if I had something sharp I could cut through it it’s flesh.

I usually have a pocket knife in my pants, but I didn’t have it tonight when I went to the job tonight. Laz had everything planned out. It didn’t take much to get into the house.

Now, I regret not taking my thieving kit.

I search through my pockets anyway and my fingers wrap around the coin.

Mak…

My heart squeezes in my chest as the loss of my friends hits me all over again.

Not now Tan focus. You really need to get out of this, I tell myself as I squeeze the coin in my hand. It warms up.

“What are trying to tell me Mak,” I ask the coin in my hand. I don’t know why but it feels like he’s there with me. And the fact that it warms up every time I touch…its strange I know, but it’s a confirmation to me, that he is right there.

I think of how I can get out of the alien's tight hold.

I need something sharp I can use to cut it’s damn hands off.

As if hearing me the coin in my hand lengthens cutting through my palm.

What the…?

I open my hand to and I see a thin strip of metal, that looks more like a broken glass shard. It gleams in the light.

The alien starts to move again dragging me down the steps.

No, I shout in my mind slamming the shard of metal into it’s soft flesh. I don’t relent until I feel blood flow.

A roar of pain reverberates around me, but I don’t stop until I feel the arms loosen around me. I hold on to the coin as I kick out with my feet until I am free. I flip to my feet and run back into the dark tower. Before I go far I drop to my knees and run my hands on the ground. I don’t exactly know where it fell – the spot light blinds me as I try to see in the dark.

Thudding steps of something big enough to shake the tower comez rushing towards me.

Oh no…not again.

Whatever is coming will surely kill me. I frantically look for the statue on the ground.

I don’t even know if this is the artefact that holds power I can absorb.

I am just hoping.

The rushing sounds of the heavy footsteps get close. And I can feel the air shift around me as something slices above my head.

Hanika screams.

And I instinctively drop to the ground.

Chaos erupts around me as she fights whatever creature had tried to kill me

Stones dig into my stomach and sides on the ground. And I run my right hand around until my fingers close around one it immediately glows with a orange light that looks like the blazing light of the rising sun.

It sinks into my skin, causing the dark strips on my wrist to grow up my arm.

It leaves three black strips going around my arm.

Power surges through me, and I quickly get to my feet. I look at Hanika, who is now fighting the octopus alien in the spotlight.

I am surprised to see that the alien has a has feet and a head that is tugged in a shell like casing that goes around it’s body like a body armour.

The long arms are attached right at the end of the shell and they extend and retract as it fights.

I walk close to the pair to help Hanika.

She gives me a lethal look. Her sword hisses, and blood flows from her hand. She looks pale, ready to faint.

She can’t do this any longer.

“Go,” she shouts as she cuts into the alien cutting off it’s arm. But it grows back right before our eyes.

Unexpected rage fills me, and I want this thing dead. I don’t even think.