Chapter 62 : Painful Memories 2

Selene

She let go of his grip and grabbed the hilt of her other weapon, ready to fight. They continued to advance in hushed silence, their senses open to their surroundings. Selene could hear nothing but the sound of their feet on the stone floor and their breathing. Her vision was improving as her eyes had time to adjust to the strange, dark green glow of the worms, but it was far from perfect.

There were still many rocks and boulders hiding behind her, shadows too dense for her eyes to penetrate. She knew that Joshua had no limits in this area, and she partially focused on him, trying to get clues from his body language so that she could react faster to danger if the warning through words came too late.

The smell of the stench of death reached her gradually and quickly became more pungent. Out of an abundance of caution, she pulled out a gas mask and tied it behind her head to cover her nose and mouth. There was nothing to disguise the familiar stench of decay, but at least she knew she wasn't inhaling poison.

"The ground is littered with the remains of dead humans and wolf packs. Be careful where you step, Selene," Joshua warned her.

She blinked in surprise at not seeing any bodies, but upon closer inspection, some of what she thought were rocks were actually arms, legs, torsos, and heads, all in various stages of decomposition. She was almost relieved that she couldn't see any details.

There was movement that caught her attention, but when Selene looked in that direction, everything was still and quiet. "I think I just saw something move over there, Joshua," she pointed forward, and he followed her direction.

"I don't see anything, but I sense the enemy is close. Stay close to me. It's better if we don't get separated."

Selene nodded in understanding while remaining alert.

Then, before she could react, she was shoved behind Joshua and the head of his hand plunged into a dark form only inches from where she stood. Selene almost fell over if she hadn't grabbed the back of his clothes with her left hand. Straightening up, she watched as Joshua threw the body against the cave wall and lay motionless.

"What was that?" She asked, taking a fighting stance and pulling her weapon from her waist in preparation for an attack.

"I thought it was another corpse until it attacked," he replied in a confused tone.

"A corpse?" Her mind flashed back to the old dark witch priest who had kidnapped Carolina. Could this be her hiding place? Was she also behind the capture of Joshua's sons? Could it be that she was going to meet Rylan? But if the dark witch priestess was still alive, did that mean Rylan wasn't?

She shook her head in denial. He was fine. He would take care of himself. Still, she was worried.

As she opened her mouth to warn Joshua of what might happen, movement caught her attention again. Dozens of dark shapes were moving toward them. She could make out some details from the greenish glow emanating from the worms, but from what little she could see, the creatures were hideous, barely recognizable as human. Only their human-like forms gave away their identity.

Without waiting for the creatures to approach, she shouted, "Attack!" and threw her deadly weapon. The weapon spun extremely fast with deadly intent as it flew in a wide arc before tearing the many strange shapes in half before spinning back towards her. She caught her weapon with the ease of years of practice, ready to throw it again.

A scream of rage pierced the air, amplified by the echoes of the cave. Unable to control herself, Selene dropped her weapon and covered her ears, grimacing in pain. The sound was so loud and shrill that she feared her ears would explode. She barely noticed the sticky fluid seeping between her fingers. Her ears were bleeding.

Then everything went quiet so quickly that her ears were ringing in the aftermath.

When she opened her eyes and straightened from her bent position, Selene looked around and saw the dark figure chasing her. She took a breath, her body tense as she reached for her weapon. Her weapon was not there! Too late, she remembered that she had dropped it, her hand immediately reaching for the knife, too late!

The water droplets from the dripping stone wall formed a thin shield between her and the approaching crowd, then rushed at her, stopping her in her tracks. The drop in temperature and the puff of mist from their breath told her that they had been frozen to ice.

Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened in shock as she stared.

"Are you all right, Selene?!" There he was, standing in front of her, clutching her shoulders and staring down at her.

Selene could only look at his handsome and worried expression. "Y-yes, thank you. How did you do it?"

"The elements of water are no mystery to me."

At that cryptic answer, Joshua kissed her forehead before letting her go, but they stood close together, waiting for another attack, an attack that didn't seem to be coming anytime soon. The dark figures just stood there, waiting.

It made her uneasy. She hoped they wouldn't scream again. She was not sure if her ringing ears could take it anymore. The thought of going deaf was terrifying. Quickly reaching for her weapon, she pushed her fear aside and prepared herself.

"That's impossible," she suddenly heard him mutter.

Before she could turn to him to ask, the ice form shook, the sound of cracking ice echoing along the cave walls. Immediately, she threw her weapon again, slicing her enemies in half as they broke free of their confinement.

As their sharp weapons whirled back toward her, Selene feared another attack on her ears. But fortunately, silence returned. Still, the figure in the distance did not move. What was going on?

"I don't like this," she muttered, her body tense, her ears throbbing.

"How about we get closer?" he suggested. Without waiting for her answer, Joshua said, "Stay close." Then they began to move slowly forward.

She was forced to follow, her eyes fixed on the enemy in front of her.

Out of nowhere, something fell on Joshua, knocking him to the ground. Three bodies covered his body, and Selene held a weapon in both hands, her arms drawn back, ready to attack her enemies when she was blocked from the side.

As she fell, she struck the opponent above her with her elbow. A very satisfying crunch sounded in her wounded ears as the elbow struck her jaw, breaking the bone.

After hitting the ground, she muffled the attack and kicked at her attacker, taking him down with ease. Selene jumped to her feet, forced to defend herself before she could look for Joshua. She could hear Joshua struggling and hoped he was okay.

Then she moved her weapon, her wrist twisting back and forth as she slashed at the bodies chasing her. They were no longer standing still and watching. Instead, they were out for blood.

The enemies were too close and too many for her to throw her weapon, but she dispatched them easily, her sharp metal weapon just as deadly at close range.

Fangs dug into her calves, trying to tear through her clothes for blood. Screaming more in rage than pain, she used her other leg to kick and smash at its head, knocking it off its feet. Another creature grabbed her arm, but Selene parried it, and the monstrous creature let go and staggered back.

The creature was so close that she could almost see what should have been its face. Before her mind could recall many details beyond the gaping hole where a nose should have been, her eyes locked with the creature's. The creature glowed with a hellish red light and she froze in her entirety. She could not move!

She could do nothing but stare into its glowing eyes as she felt the sharp claws of another attacker dig into her shoulder and another into her hip. Selene heard her cloth ripped, her shirt torn as the claws dug deep into her flesh. She could feel the warm blood dripping down her body. The other claws grabbed her ankles.

They didn't dismember her, but they ate her! More mouths clung to her, biting, gnawing. Out of nowhere, she heard her father's voice in her mind, lecturing her on the difference between a rogue wolf and one associated with dark witches.

"As you know, Selene, rogue wolves are not the only evil in the world. They are just as dangerous, but even more dangerous are the evil wolves associated with dark witches. Hybrid wolves that have the blood of dark witches are the descendants of evil wolves associated with dark witches who are cursed to walk this land while their already dead bodies rot and decay. They crave the flesh of corpses, though they abhor their existence. They almost never attack the living, but I've seen them. But when they do, their gaze can freeze a person for as long as their eyes are closed. The only way to banish them from this life is through rituals and purification by a priest."

"Then how do I kill them if I encounter one, Father?" Young Selene asked.

As a form of affection and to soften his words, her father ruffled her hair. "You don't have to kill it."

Awakened by the memory of the pain of another bite, Selene wondered if she would be eaten alive. Thoughts of her friends came, even her brother, but it was Mike's face she saw, the one she wanted to see for the last time.

She wanted to tell him she loved him before she died. Why didn't she say it before?!

Then all movement of the teeth was gone, her body froze, and those glowing eyes left her vision. Before her mind could process what had happened, Selene was in the arms of another, held tightly against a man's muscular chest. The scent of fresh grass and musky aromas filled her nostrils as her face was pressed against his neck. She would recognize this man's scent anywhere.

"I've got you, sweet Selene," she heard Joshua whisper softly in her ear before the wind blew past her. They ran and ran fast. Away from the evil dark witch hybrid, but they weren't out of danger yet.

They still had to save his children and fight whoever was holding them captive.