THIS IS HALLOWEEN

The world had narrowed to a single, dark point. The elk-that-was-not-elk lumbered towards them and Fable backed slowly away, stumbling over her own paws until she was sliding backwards on her rear end with her front paws propelling her. She was gasping for breath. No matter how hard she tried to suck air into her lungs, she couldn't get enough in. It felt like her throat was closing up. "Okiokiokiokiokiokioki - " She babbled, skittering backwards until she slammed into him. At some point she had closed her eyes. It took her a while to work up the courage to look again. Oki could barely speak. What was he seeing? Were they alright? "We have to kill it," she whispered. "This isn't right!" Her tail was tucked so tight and close to her underbelly that it felt like she was straining her muscles. Gathering up any remaining ounce of bravery, Fable opened her eyes to slits. Sparhawk's face was gone. The elk's head had been smashed by something else, blunt and hard, into lumps of gore and sinew and bone. It was barely recognizable as any sort of creature at all.

Gulping down air, her lungs on pins and needles, Fable launched at the creature - and passed straight through it. She landed on the other side of it, her head spinning. Still the elk stood, wavering on its hooves. Any moment now it would finally die. It had to. Nothing could keep living with a wound like that. Fable let out a noise that was half scream of terror and half battle cry as she launched herself at it again, aiming to latch her jaws around the creature's leg closest to her. With a sick, wet pop the entire limb tore off in her grasp. It was as if it had been rotting from the inside that whole time. Fable blinked, backing up. It tasted horrible. Like bile and pus and days old blood.

tc: 327
twc: 2286