The Attack

Posted on Tue Nov 26th, 2024 @ 7:42pm by Glitch & Kyleigh Arynson & Ombretta del Carlo

1,672 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Welcome to the Hometown
Location: Ruins

Pyra grabbed a couple brands and set fire to them, tossing them in a circle around their small encampment. "Let's see how they like fire!"

Flora did not appreciate this kind of fire. She could already hear the grass scream as the flames licked the blades. The cacophony of that and the howling was excruciating, forcing Flora to rise and cover her ears in pain. With squinted eyes, she looked into the distance hoping to spot the owner of the howls.

Kyleigh watched the fire flicked, then looked toward Flora. She felt for her, but there wasn't anything that could be done about it right now. There was an immediate threat that needed to be dealt with. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, her face in the direction of the howling.

The air around her began to snap, crackle and pop as an electric charge started to envelope her. Little bolts of lightning began to dance around her, causing no harm to her as it jumped from place to place. Her eyes opened, no longer blue, but now the same glowing hue as the bolts she controlled. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she murmured.

Tremors looked around and wondered where Eb had gotten off to, but she had other concerns as she focused on her power and prepared to make the earth rumble.

Shine let his light shine through more and discreetly kicked the torches off the plants and onto some rocks when he saw the look on Flora's face.

The howling got louder, then a large wolf like creature leaped from the empty front of a building with two more behind it and headed their way.

Flora blinked as she recovered, and stood almost frozen when she saw the creatures. She staggered backwards two steps, absolutely frightened. She tried to listen to the songs, but there was just too much noise. Not knowing what else to do, Flora panicked. She screamed and raised her hands. In response, new vines sprang up from the ground, wrapping around the legs of anyone, and anything, they touched.

Kyleigh found her legs being wrapped with vines, but she didn't need to move to be able to protect. She did, however, need to be able to concentrate in an effort to make sure the bolt of lightning hit its proper mark. That wasn't an easy task when nature was trying to get a little handsy. "Flora! Listen to me!" She shouted, hoping to get the other woman's attention. "Recall your vines! I promise you you will be okay!"

Meanwhile, Tremors had been doing her best to sidestep the vines that were now springing up all around her. "What the...we're being attacked!"

The wolf-like creatures weren't have a much better time as vines clung to their legs and halted their progress. They howled and snapped at the vines with their teeth, then had another problem as a gout of flame rushed over them.

Pyra was unleashing that gout of flame from her hands, spreading the wave of fire over the creatures. "Dinner might be a bit overcooked tonight," she quipped and then sent a blast of fire at the vines trying to wrap around her legs.

Shine stumbled and fell, his light casting odd shadows at his unexpected movement.

Breaker cursed and slashed at the vines after seeing the creatures being roasted by Pyra. "Get these damned things off of me!"

Flora looked around, very much shocked by what she had done. A million thoughts swam through her mind, ranging from What the hell am I doing here? to Holy shit, I didn't know I could do that! and everything in between. The plant queen had rarely been involved in altercations, much less raised a finger against anything less than the common house fly. She understood there was an ecosystem and that a balance must always exist.

Except she didn't like this side of the imbalance.

Recognizing the need to focus, Ombretta closed her eyes and moved her hand along the direction of the trapped metahumans. Kyleigh, Tremors, Pyra, Shine, and even Breaker were soon free, the vines that had grown up around them soon reforming themselves into a lattice in front of the companions.

Once free, Kyleigh turned her attention to the wolf-like creatures. They were distracted by the vines, and that was all the opening she needed. "Thanks," she said as she sent a bolt of lightning to through the lattice and toward one of the creatures.

The last of the creatures slumped down when Kyleigh's lightning bolt fried the last of its resistance.

Breaker looked around the vines and grunted, then looked back at the others. He paused, then looked again. "Hey, where's the water chick and Pulse?" He asked.

Shine stood up and looked around, letting his power illuminate the area more. "I don't see them."

"Neither do I," Pyra said.

"Eb? Elixir?" Tremors called into the nearby building, thinking they had ran when the howling started, but no answer came.

"Do you think they were taken?" Flora asked softly. She couldn't help but to consider the worst case scenarios. Either they had run off, or worse, killed. The mere thought of them being eaten by these creatures greatly increased her uncertainty about participating in this excursion.

"I suppose anything is possible given we were all distracted," Sparky said as the air around her began to return to normal. "I won't speak for the rest of you, but I plan to look for them. I may not know most of you that well, but I'd like to think you all would do the same if it were me."

Flora knew she would hope anyone to go looking for her, but she wasn't sure if she had the stones to join a search party to look for others. Especially after how she reacted during this particular incident. "Are you sure that's wise at this hour?"

Shine increased his light output and looked around. "I wonder if those wolves or whatever they are were a distraction?"

Breaker thought about it for a moment. "We were all looking the same way when they came in...someone could have came up behind us."

Tremors wrapped her arms around herself and shivered despite it not being cold. "I didn't hear a thing."

"Neither did I," Pyra said. "Those things were howling too loud."

"Wise or not, the more time that passes, the less likely they are to be found. I won't be able to rest knowing they're out there dealing with who the hell knows what," the blonde haired woman said as she began to move toward her bike and fifth wheel. "I'm not going to ask any of you to join me, or shame you if you don't, but Ebenezer and Cordelia need help. I'm going to provide said help."

Ombretta paused, looking at Kyleigh, then back to the group. Part of her felt compelled to follow, though she really had no idea why. Then again, she'd always followed those who seemed sure of themselves. Without saying a word, she cautiously took a few steps behind Kyleigh.

Tremors gave a nod to Flora and headed behind her. "I agree, we need to find them."

Shine nodded as well. "You'll need light," he said.

"What the...I'm not leaving my transport behind," Breaker said.

"Then why don't you get it in and scurry back to town?" Pyra asked as she headed towards the others.

Kyleigh stopped and turned to the others. "It may not be a bad idea for someone to stay behind."

And suddenly, Ombretta had the courage to join the search party. Seeking their missing comrades was definitely a better idea than sitting and waiting to see if those creatures would return. "I'm going with you," she confirmed, her tone much less shaky.

"Then you're going to need to grab whatever you can carry as far as supplies go. I don't plan to be gone long, but it's better to be safe than sorry," the blonde haired woman said, passing an empty pack over to Ombretta. She looked to Tremors and Shine. "You two need to do the same. Quickly. You," she said turning to Breaker. "Stay and guard our belongings."

Tremors gave a nod and went back to the vehicle she had ridden in with Eb and gathered a few supplies while Shine did the same.

Breaker looked at Kyleigh. "If you see anything, light up the sky."

"I certainly will, and if you need help for any reason, let us know," the young blonde haired woman stated. "We leave in a few minutes. Be quick." And with that, she moved into her fifth wheel.

Flora caught the pack that was thrown at her. She looked around, but there wasn't much for her to grab. Still, she picked up what she could and then followed Kyleigh.

Once she had her things together, the blonde haired woman locked up her belongings and looked to the others. "Logically, with all of us occupied with those creatures, I would think that Ebenezer and Cordelia were likely snatched from behind us. I don't know this for certain, but it's logical as I said. If anyone has any other ideas on direction, I'm open."

"Do you think they were snatched by similar creatures?" Flora asked, a bit shaken by the thought that they had been surrounded and watched this whole time. "Or do think people like us nabbed them? And why them?"

"People like us more than likely," the young blonde haired woman replied. "If it were more of those creatures, we would have likely heard one, or both of them, scream from being attacked."

Shine, Tremors and Pyra soon joined the Flora and Sparky.

"So what now?" Pyra asked.

"Now we try to find them. If it were us, we would want them to come look for us," Kyleigh answered as she shouldered her bag. "Let's get moving before they get too far ahead." And with that, she started walking.

 

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