Welcome, folks, to the first Lithium Chloride Fic of 2011!
Here's your picture, and as the time is now 1200 hours CST, you have until 2359 CST to get your writing in. Take this image, and make it something new and different. Good luck!
Some notes about LiCl-Fic:
Original fiction only.
Quote the prompt above your work, since it will not be posted in General Rants.
Here's your picture, and as the time is now 1200 hours CST, you have until 2359 CST to get your writing in. Take this image, and make it something new and different. Good luck!
Some notes about LiCl-Fic:
Original fiction only.
Quote the prompt above your work, since it will not be posted in General Rants.
It was freefall in the purest sense of the word.
He broke into a grin, full of glee as his foot scratched the face of the cliff and sent rocks skittering down with him. He kicked off, adding even more speed to his descent and, idly, thought to look up just in time to watch the moonlight vanish behind the overhang. The darkness gnawed on him for just a moment before devouring him and he let it. He let the bitter black wash over him just like the air, but he bathed in the feeling.
ôPacciàö
His familiar was worried. It wasnÆt the fall that unnerved the ghost. It was the roar loud enough to rattle cliff that gave reason for the monkey to tilt its head up and set its golden eyes skyward.
ôShhhàö
The gloved finger he brought to his lips silenced his only friend as they continued to fall.
ôIÆm not ready yet.ö PacciÆs voice was level, but his hand twitched and his eyes danced because of his anxiousness. Death was a promise at the base of the cliff, but he needed more than that.
Another roar touched the heavens and hunter could finally feel the tension rising when his prey slithered over the cliff and dived after him. It was a nightmare of a monster, a ghastly fusion of a spiteful woman and a night eel. The pearly white of its skin was translucent and, under the night sky, pretty. He wondered, briefly, if it would take kindly to a compliment.
ôYou!ö It bellowed, barbed tentacles darting towards him as it flashed gruesome rows of teeth. ôYou killed my sister! Youà You murdered my sister!ö
ôNot at all,ö he smiled as he dismissively slapped the tentacles away. ôI just collected half of my bounty. ThatÆs all.ö
The resulting roar shook chucks of rock free of the cliff, and the monster used its barbs to snatch away even more. The overhang gave way as a result and entered freefall right above them.
It was a precarious position.
It took everything he had plus more to just fend off both of the sisters at once on even ground. He was lucky, blessed even, that he just so happened to land a lethal strike. If he didnÆt get blasted over the cliff by the death throes of the monster, then its sister would have surely struck him down. It was the threat of death, the very fact that another monster was split seconds away from putting tentacles through his neck and ripping off his head, that allowed him to draw his sword and impel it through the chest of one half of his bounty.
That was then, though.
ôDie!ö It screeched, acid drool raining down as it launched even more tentacles down. ôDie! Die! Die!!ö
The tentacles lashed about, some at him and others at the wall of rocks beside them. The light of the full moon framed the beast and boulders in front and behind it. With the overhang gone, he could truly see for the first time since he fell and his smile spread when he peered over his shoulder. The ground, a lush place dotted with trees, grew ever closer.
He was sandwiched.
The endless tentacles danced, never once touching one another despite the numbers. They batted rocks down and slashed at him all at once. The base of the cliff was a plain, but it was uneven and the boulders above the monster promised him no easy escape if he thought to land without doing anything about them.
ôPacci!!ö
The nameless familiarÆs hands clutched his shoulder so hard that it hurt, but the only thing he felt was the shift of weight from his back to his hands as he drew his sword and cut away the barbs that threatened to take both his legs and pierce his heart.
Acid splashed off the reflection of the moon and another swipe sent tentacles flying in random directions. He dug his boots and then his sword into the cliff face and slowed to a near stop before pulling out his blade and vaulting himself up. All the tentacles, every single one, closed in on him and he made no attempt to defend himself.
What was left of his hood was snatched away along with some of his hair. The barb that nearly stole his arm only managed to clang off his bracelet. The tip of the barb that tore off a piece of his shoulder only managed to make his familiar switch sides.
He wouldnÆt be denied.
He spun once and countless barbs were lopped off, useless tentacles the only thing left as he aimed his blade for the throat of the monster. It was dead, he thought, until fire escaped from its open mouth and singed his tattered cloak.
And the entirety of his left arm.
Pain stood and blossomed like a sunflower and he bit his lip to stifle what would have been a scream unlike any other. A tight grimace took the place of his smile and he bit down on his lip so hard it bled.
He didnÆt even have time to be surprised when a bundle of bleeding tentacles wrapped around his ankles and slammed him into the cliff. The back of his head bounced off like a ball and his vision blurred.
ôàkill you. IÆm going to eat youàö
Pacci wasnÆt paying attention. He couldnÆt afford to listen to the beast. If he didnÆt put all of his focus into what he needed to do then it was over.
He dropped the arm he didnÆt need anymore and reversed his grip on his sword. The tentacles pulled at his ankle again, but he stabbed his blade into the cliff. It was a mistake. The eel passed him and all of its weight pulled down on his leg. It popped and the rough sound of bones being stretched passed their limit became the backdrop to the most agonizing scream he ever let escape his lips.
ôI got youà I got youàö Just like he did before, the monster grinned with delight. It licked its lips, acid dribbling from the corner of its mouth as it imagined its feast. ôI got youàö It continued its mantra like a script. ôI got youàö
He was going to die.
The sword moved by itself. Like it was pulled, the blade was freed of the cliff and was stabbed into one of the boulders that dared to crush him into pulp. It was no longer a free fall. The other half of his bounty was dragging him to the ground and the weight of the boulder was killing the shoulder that was already cut.
ôLala!ö Pacci called to his sword with venom in his voice. ôDo something! MyùGod! My arm feels like-ô
The sword cut through the air in a crescent and the boulder it held was flung like a pebble from a slingshot. The boulder hit the eel hard enough to make it let go of its victim and fall motionless towards the rapidly approaching field.
The bounty was hisà
For at least a few months, he wouldnÆt have to worry about roughing it outside and eating any scraps he could cut off the petty beasts that stray around, but that was only if he found a way to survive.
ôAh, damnàö
He was a realist.
He was sure that his antics with the boulder ruined his arm for the foreseeable future, and the other one was already looking pretty well done. His leg was surely broken in at least six places, too.
As a hunter, he knew he was done so there was no sense in trying to struggle in his last few moments.
ôLalaà Please.ö The ghost crawled along his arm to get to the sword and touched the blade. ôPlease donÆt let this happen.ö
ôDonÆt waste your time.ö Pacci sighed. ôShe was a bitch when she was alive and sheÆs an extra bitch now. It was fun while it lasted, but all good things come toùWoah!ö
His arm twisted violently along with the sword as it forced itself into the wall and left him hanging miles above where the monster splattered at the base of the cliff. It was a disgusting sight to take in. It squirmed even though the head was clearly smashed, globs of purple thrown around as it didnÆt quite realize that it was already dead.
Pacci sighed again, a slow exhale followed by a sarcastic grin as he raised his head to look at the sword and the familiar that sat on it. ôHey,ö the monkey locked eyed with him. ôLet me guessà She wants me to let go, right?ö
ôNoàö It turned its eyes back up to the sky and took in the sight of the stars. ôShe just wants you to rest. She said sheÆll take care of it from here.ö
ôOhàö His expression softened for a second before he put back on a grin. ôI guess IÆm still not strongà enoughà huh?ö
Chasing the monsters through six cities for four days straight wore Pacci out more than heÆd like to admit, but he couldnÆt fool himself. He was exhausted, the way his eyes closed against his will more than a sign of lethargy. Lulu, the woman he remembered, was someone he hated with a passion, but she was also the only person he trusted enough to sleep around.
ôOf course you are.ö
ôLuluàö
As he slipped into the realm of unconsciousness, he could have swore that was her voiceà
Fin