Never opened myself this way

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words I don't just say

Cause nothing else matters  

34 - Barrier

It was excruciating having to stand in the sidelines. To watch my friends fight. To see people die. To feel like I could have done something but didn't.

Whenever I was fighting, I always felt like everything happened so fast. All I had to do was attack and react to my enemy's next move. But seeing the whole picture, the simultaneous battles happening around me was like watching everything in slow motion.

Since Vlad and the others had arrived, it started to look like we could actually win.

Kyoshiro and Hector aided our comrades at the others side of the abyss. Mei and Amyr helped Joaquim take care of the ghouls on our side.

The creatures were stronger, faster, more savage than any wraith or Swarth I had ever encountered but they were no match with scythes.

Blood-curdling howls tore through the noise of the battle every time a ghoul was defeated. They sounded more human than wraiths. The smell of rot and rust permeated the air. Black sludge and decapitated body parts scattered everywhere.

Vincent and Alexis stood behind Vladimir so that the three of them formed a triangle. Then, they joined in chanting the spell, their words drowned by the the shouts and clangor of metal.

At last, the barrier started to form quickly, becoming more solid as it rose to the sky.

Just when I thought it would all be over soon came our main problem: Adrianna. In a matter of minutes, it looked like she had somehow managed to calm the souls inside her. The moment she opened her eyes, she flew past the chinks of the barrier and landed behind the remaining ghouls.

Startled, one of the creatures twisted and clawed at her, baring its razor-sharp teeth as it did. With a quick backhand, Adrianna sent the ghoul flailing and shrieking to the abyss.

"Scum," she muttered, wiping the black blood from her hand. "Don't get in our way!"

This seemed to get the other ghouls riled up. They were part of Legion once, but they were monsters first: senseless, bloodthirsty.

They turned their backs on us and started for Adrianna. One by one, they pounced at her. One by one, she sent them flying every which way.

A gasp escaped me when a headless ghoul tumbled down a few feet away from where Yuki and I were standing. Yuki hid behind me, his fingers clutching my shirt tight.

"Nuna, i-is it... dead?" he croaked.

"I guess," I told him, poking at it with my Cataclyst. It wasn't moving. I couldn't see where its head had rolled to either.

"Now, I'm confused," I heard Amyr complain.

It was Mei who answered, "Ghouls acknowledge no master. They are mindless and are driven by pure instinct, very similar to someone I know," while looking at Amyr pointedly.

He sneered at her. "I knew that."

In less than a minute, no ghoul was left standing.

The familiars in front started to back away when Adrianna stepped towards Vincent. Her lips twitched to a crooked smile, her eyes wide but blank as she lifted a hand as if to reach for him.

"Me desculpe," said Joaquim, taking one last hard draw from his cigarette as he blocked her way, the point of his black sword prodding her neck. A puff of smoke came out of his mouth as he sighed through the tired smile on his lips. "You seem like a nice girl, but that's as far as you go."

Without batting an eyelid, Adrianna raised a now-clawed hand and slapped the blade away. Her legs started to warp--ankles moving up to where her knees should be, knees displaced somewhere in her thighs, talons growing from her toes--so that she was standing on the balls of her feet.

Easily, she propelled herself forward and kicked Joaquim in the stomach. Joaquim lurched backwards, stunned. Adrianna spun halfway and swung her claws toward his chest. Raising his sword and supporting the flat of the blade with his free hand, Joaquim deflected the blow, the tip of his boots plowing through the dirt as the impact shoved him a few yards back.

Breathing hard, he thrust his sword onto the ground and pushed himself up. Blood trickled down the side of his mouth. His familiars rushed to his aid before he could fall on his knees.

"Cabra," he groaned, his face a mask of shock.

The rest of the remaining familiars had began retreating except for Eun Jae, Mei and Amyr.

"Do not back down!" Mei urged them.

The terror on the familiars' faces told me that no form of encouragement could make them fight a monster that had almost taken down Joaquim in just two hits.

"It's just too strong!" a familiar said.

"Impossible!" another cried.

"If we fight together, we can at least slow it down," Mei reasoned out.

"But... but--"

"But, but--there's no buts!" Amyr turned to face the others. He had this annoying smirk on, but I could tell from his eyes that he was scared too. "Your bosses oughta whup your asses real good! Shame on you Ivelisse. Shame on you, Hortense. You too, Hernan! Y'all should go home to your mommies and cry like the whiny babies you are!."

With a rather ostentatious battle cry, Amyr rotated his broadsword in one hand and charged ahead. Shaken by his sort-of-speech, Eun Jae followed him. Mei went after them, shaking her head.

There was a loud clanking sound as Amyr's blade collided with Adrianna's claws. It was a test of who could push harder. Amyr's entire body was shaking while he struggled to stay on his feet.

Eun Jae charged, aiming his spear at Adrianna's stomach. She leaped backwards, dodging it. Mei appeared behind her, twisting in mid-air to drive a short Helcium sword halfway into her shoulder.

Shrieking in pain, Adrianna lashed an arm at Mei.

Mei tumbled away, nearly rolling down the abyss if Amyr wasn't there to catch her. Letting out an angry moan, she sprung to her feet and rushed forward with her remaining Helcium sword.

"You're welcome!"Amyr shouted, running after her.

With her feline eyes, now fiercer than ever, Mei slashed and stabbed at Adrianna alternately with Eun Jae. Amyr joined in, his broadsword serving as a shield for the other two and himself when dodging wasn't possible.

They were cautious, quick on their feet.

It was like one of those video games where one hit from the boss monster kills you instantly. Only, familiars don't get extra lives.

Suddenly, it began to get light.

I looked up and saw that the barrier had perforated the sky. Bright light leaked out from where it had passed through. Slowly, it dimmed as the sky mended itself around the barrier. The blue wall of light began to solidify starting from the bridge across the abyss going towards us.

Fear registered on Adrianna's face at the sight of the barrier.

"No!" she wailed, hundreds of voices in a horrified chorus. "WE ARE NEVER GOING BACK!"

With that, she grabbed Amyr's blade and flung it aside, taking Amyr with it. As Mei stabbed her from the other direction, Adrianna caught her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. Eun Jae swung his staff to Adrianna's head. She dodged and threw Mei at him. The two of them tumbled a good several yards across the field.

Amyr tried to get up but failed. Eun Jae and Mei seemed unconscious.

To make things worse, some of the decapitated ghoul heads that hadn't been crushed seemed to have reattached to their bodies while the familiars were fighting with Adrianna. The one near us was already trying to get up, its mangled body parts dangling awkwardly as it did.

Vincent, Vlad and Alex were still in their spot, motionless, intent on completing the barrier. Darius was guarding them. Although, I doubt his little Helcium dagger could do much against Adrianna.

"What do we do now?" It was Joaquim's female familiar.

"We keep fighting," I told her. "It's Ivelisse, right?"

Shakily, she nodded.

"If you can't fight," I pulled Yuki from behind me and gently goaded him to Ivelisse. "Keep him safe, at least."

Without so much as a word, she took Yuki and hurried away from the ghouls. I followed them with my eyes until the two of them were completely out of sight. Then I started for the nearest ghoul.

As its limbs began to twitch to push itself up, I grabbed its deformed head with my Cataclyst. It began to flail. I stepped on its back and twisted its head. It wasn't until I heard neck bones snapping did the violent pounding in my neck began to calm down. With a groan, I pulled the head off of its body, using my body's weight as an added force.

I landed on my butt, the ugly head rolling beside me, its mouth open in mid-scream. My eyes watered with the stench, my lunch threatening to come back up. Holding my breath, I smashed it with my Cataclyst. Twice for good measure.

"Use your scythe!" another familiar shouted while hacking a ghoul's head into pieces. "It's easier."

"Left mine at home! You take care of the ghouls," I answered, rolling my eyes before whispering, "This is between me and my sister."

I draughted and arrived just in time to keep Adrianna from reaching Darius and the others. Times like these, I really missed my scythe.

"Adrianna," I called, my voice lost in the screams of monsters being destroyed.

She tiltled her head, her smile widening. "We told you, Adrianna is gone. Only us remain."

"We'll see about that."