Rain fell gently on the tin roof.
The pitter patter knocking out the rhythm above your head is relaxing, reminding you of so many summers spent waiting for the eventual relief of the brief storms.
It would be pleasant to lie here and reminisce, but that seems like a bad idea. Considering you're bleeding out.
There isn't much in the remnants of the old tin shed, one of the only structures still standing on the farm.
A mouldy apple.
It's really gross. And you have no idea how to turn mould that might be penicillin into actual medicine.
Now seems like a bad time to try to learn.
A dead rat the size of a cat.
The only surprising part of this is that you managed to actually kill the damn thing with your bare hands before it killed you.
Well... Killed you all at once.
The torn remnants of your shirt.
Considering what the rat did, it isn't surprising it is torn up.
It seems like a bad idea, what with the bacteria that rats carry, but wrapping it around your wound from the bite on your side seems to be the only immediate choice to make.
You use the shirt to bandage the wound.
Now what?
You're still bleeding.
You pass out.
Wake up.
Oblige the crazy loud voice and wake up.
Cracking open an eye, you see something that could not possibly account for the insanely loud voice.
A small, probably growth-stunted, young girl. At least... She looks almost like a girl.
Her bare arms outside her t-shirt are covered in red scales, as are her cheeks.
Must be some kind of inhuman.
Inhuman?
Inhuman is the catch-all term used by the dominant species of the planet to describe all the sentient, or near-sentient species that should probably be considered equals, but are mostly looked down on.
Glancing at your side you see that the shirt is gone, and replaced by a proper bandage.
Ask her who she is?
She hisses with irritation, as if you should already know. Then the girl sighs and mutters, Inny Kiel.
She doesn't seem interested in you introducing yourself, instead looking anxiously towards the doorway.
Inny Kiel...
A strange sort of name. Clearly a nickname.
Directly translated means something like "Other Fang".
Maybe she has family out there somewhere? That could explain who she is, and where she came from. Maybe.
Ask her if she can hear something?
Mmm.
The girl nods her head, and then grins at you, Przekleta bestia.
Przekleta bestia...
An older term. Meaning "cursed beast" or similiar. Generally used to refer to inhumans that have picked up a curse that has taken their minds from them.
Not that dissimilar to what rabies can do to a human if left unchecked.
That's not at all disturbing. Considering what a mere rat had managed to do to you. Maybe the smile is just her way of facing certain death.
As an inhuman, a bite or scratch would mean she would eventually become like the beast, even if she survives.
Is it coming this way?
Inny Kiel is amused by the question. Of course it is. It smells your blood. It wants to eat you all up. Little human.
Can we run?
The suggestion seems to annoy her. The girl looks at you with disgust and outrage, before whipping her head back to the doorway.
As she refocuses, you fall backwards, the walls of the tin shed vanishing in an explosion of sunlight, rain, and shadows.
You hear growling and snarling, before finding yourself lying in the mud.
Look for the girl...
Raising your head from the gloopy mud that sticks to your hair, you look around frantically for the girl. Inny Kiel had been sitting right where the beast had struck.
As your vision swings around, you don't find the girl.
Instead, you find yourself face-to-face with something that every instinct in you tells you that it shouldn't exist.
The beast pounces.
Look for the beast...
A cursed beast has attacked. That's your worry as you force yourself to a staggering stand.
It's nowhere in sight, but that doesn't mean it isn't right here. So, you do the only sensible thing that you can and run for the edge of the wheat.
A hand grabs your ankle...
You taste mud again as you fall, but a hand quickly goes over your mouth and you find yourself staring into serious golden eyes.
Her message is clear. Speak out, and she'll kill you herself.
Then, the girl rocks back onto her toes, sniffing gently at the air before grinning to herself.
She pounces...
The girl leaps over your head with a single loping movement that reminds you more of a human than something lizard-like.
A horrendous roar rips through the air, shaking the water running down the wheat around you.
An instinct claws at you, trying to make you scream or run.
Force yourself to stay quiet and still.
The roars are terrifying.
You clamp your hands to your ears, curling up as they threaten to take your senses from you. It doesn't sound like just one beast anymore.
There must be another one. It happens sometimes. Cursed beasts even form packs, albeit rarely.
You don't know how long it takes, but eventually the sounds seem to fade away.
Look up...
Raising your gaze cautiously, you find the girl crouched over you, grinning with amusement.
You aren't sure what is more terrifying. The girl, or the cursed creature.
She's completely unmarked from her battle.
Come on, human.
She laughs and drags you upright, You need sleep, but first we must find shelter. Follow me.
It doesn't feel like you have much of a choice in the matter.
Take the opportunity to run.
You take off running, ignoring the pain in your side.
The wind whips through your hair as you hear the distant sounds of two roaring beasts behind you. You can't imagine one of those is the girl.
The cursed beast must not be alone. It happens sometimes. They even form packs, albeit rarely.
Eventually the sounds go quiet.
You collapse not long afterwards, exhausted and still bleeding, falling into the mud. Rolling over, to pant and heave, you can see the dark clouds overhead.
Two golden eyes appear, with a frown beneath them. I told you to stay put.
Before you can protest a soft foot presses down on your throat with all the gentleness of a mountain collapsing, crushing it.
You breathe your last.
Ask her if she saved you?
Mmm.
Well, that was extraordinarily descriptive.
She stares at you for a little while, and then sits down, a tail curling out from the bottom of her shirt to go around her feet and hands. She smiles at you, Rat.
Well, you did know that much.
Ask her name?
Maly Kiel.
She said happily, before sniffing the air. Her golden eyes narrowed and she let out a low growl as she looked outside the tin building.
You hadn't heard anything. Not even the skittering of a rat.
Przekleta bestia.
She said in anger before diving out of the doorway on all fours.
Przekleta bestia...
An older term. Meaning "cursed beast" or similiar. Generally used to refer to inhumans that have picked up a curse that has taken their minds from them.
Not that dissimilar to what rabies can do to a human if left unchecked.
Maly Kiel...
It sounds like a cute name on the surface. Except it's less of a name, and more of a description.
Directly translated, it means "Little Fang".
Something like a nickname, then. Maybe.
Crawl to the doorway.
From your vantage point you can see the cursed beast at the edge of the wheat field that has sprung up outside.
It and the young girl are circling each other, both growling.
The beast's hackles are up.
Shadows seem to swirl around it, to be a part of it. It is difficult to tell what it once was, before the curse took root. Too hard to tell if it was even bipedal before the curse. Whatever it was... That's long gone.
The girl...
The girl on the other hand doesn't look cute and innocent anymore. Her golden eyes are those of a killer. Unblinking, unafraid. Her shoulders are braced, her tail floating to keep her balanced.
You nearly died fighting a stupid rat.
What on earth is she thinking taking on a cursed beast all on her own?
The beast leaps!
The cursed creature moved first.
It leapt towards her with a speed that makes you flinch and go to cover your face, expecting nothing but a spray of blood as your saviour dies.
You would have.
Strangely, the beast hits the ground and spins, hitting nothing at all. Instead the girl is now facing it from the same place the creature had been standing a mere moment before.
She's grinning, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes.
The girl tensed up...
Her hackles rose every so slightly, a moment before she disappeared. She didn't simply attack, she vanished from your sight altogether.
A quick flick of your eyes towards the beast revealed instead a path of collapsed wheat that stretched out of your view.
Neither of them are in sight at all.
Move towards the damaged wheat?
A soft hand catches your wrist as you go to move outside the shed. Glancing down you see Maly Kiel holding onto you.
She shakes her head and drags you back inside.
The girl pushes you down on a soft bag of grass, and smiles weakly. Spac. Sleep. Need.
Continue to sleep.
The warmth encompasses you, as you fall deeper into the darkness and the peace.
The voice that tried to shatter your ears disappears like smoke as you continue to drop away from the world.
Forever.
