The Unraveling - It Burns

Everything was happening so quickly. The worm drew the attention of wolves from all around, and she saw them out of her peripheral, quickly rushing in. Kaija's teeth found some purchase on the molten worm's flesh, but a moment later and she was reeling backwards, trying to avoid a lash of hot flame that shot out and singed her fur. Fuck. A snarl ripped from her chest as she tried to steady herself, overwhelmed by sights and sounds. The smell of Raiders was strong here, some familiar, others not, though she pushed those thoughts from her mind for now.

Not like she had time to do much thinking before the worm sends out another rush of flame, white-hot even from a distance. Suddenly someone is screaming, ignited instantaneously, and Kaija finds herself frozen. She watches the action, sees a wolf charging toward the stranger and shoving him down into the pit with a sickening crack, ending his suffering. More flames, more screams. There were children here, and more wolves barreling forward to try to stop this monstrous thing.

Could it leave this place, unleash its terror on the rest of the lands? For a moment she remembers the strange place she'd been last year. The lava... but hadn't that been a dream?

Its tendrils lash about, and she ducks and dodges to avoid them. Panting hard as she swerves to the side, narrowing avoiding one of those whip-like tendrils, catching sight of the group pushing into a boulder... and a wolf trapped beneath it, bones crunching. Kaija felt bile rising in her throat. Violence didn't bother her, but this? This was something otherworldly. A threat like nothing she'd ever experienced.

Another snarl rips violently from her throat as she lunges, aiming to grab hold of one of those tendrils, hoping to rip and tear before falling back on solid ground.

Some kid was screaming, calling the guy who'd put the man on fire out of his misery. "Shut the fuck up, kid, you don't know shit," she growled as she pushed past Boggy. He was just a kid. Oblivious to the horrors of the world. He needed to mind his business. Hikaru's screams echoed in her head, horrifying even though she hadn't known the man. Putting him out of his misery had been a kindness she hoped someone would show to her if she ended up in such a predicament.