95 Stephanie

After Freyr gave her details of where to help, Macha got ready and left to begin the evacuations. It seemed like an endless task to convince people to leave their homes and work before the waves of creatures came. At first, she endured a few insults and much ridicule. Only a few families were willing to listen to her, but with every person she saved, her confidence grew.

After deliberating the situation, Macha decided it would be safest to take them to the park that lay by the middle-class neighborhoods. As much as she hated to admit it, she doubted the richer people would allow their homes to be attacked. They would probably hire mercenaries or guilds to help them.

Since Freyr explained that the creatures would continue attacking until Gwydion repaired the Bacadh Sigil, Macha asked Unai to help her by making bread to feed the families. They were already displaced, and she did not want them to become hungry as well. The price of bread ingredients was not expensive and it would feed the masses.

Darkness fell and the sound of blood-curdling screams filled the night. That was when terror erupted in the outer sectors. Many people ran, trying to flee for their lives. Some people who died had fallen and had been trampled to death. Everyone was desperate to get out and the sick, weak, and youngest people from the areas were often hurt while trying to escape.

Macha had been running across the city all day, she was dirty and thirsty. She was not the only person working on the evacuations and when her area was finished being evacuated, she asked around to find out who still needed help. One of the other workers reported that Sector 13 had just been cleared of monsters, so she headed there. She wanted to search for any survivors.

Sector 13 had been attacked by a pack of cherufes that sprang up out of the ground, causing lava to flow through the streets. The thick smell of sulfur hung in the air and Macha tried to cover her face with her cloak. She wandered down the streets that the lava had not consumed, but the heat from the cooling lava still scorched her skin.

While she wandered around, she saw a child on the roof of a house. The girl appeared scared and called out to her. Macha looked around the building and saw she could climb up from the back. "I'm coming! Stay where you are," she instructed.

Macha jumped onto some boxes and hopped up on the roof. She held her hand out to the girl, "Come. I'll take you to the park." The girl rushed to her arms, her curly blonde hair bounced with each step. Once she felt safe, tears streamed down the girl's face.

Seeing that the girl was young, Macha helped the girl down and held her hand. "I'm Macha, what's your name?" she asked, trying to keep a friendly aura. The thought of being a child and living through an attack like this was terrifying.

The girl looked up at Macha, "I'm Stephanie. After this, can you help me find my brother?" Stephanie's brother put her on the rooftop and told her to wait there. He wanted to get some of their things from the house, but he never came back.

Macha nodded her head. "Of course. What is his name?" Macha understood that many families were becoming separated during these attacks. They had to flee quickly and did not have time to stick together. Sometimes the crowd would push them apart or they would lose track of where the other person went.

The girl looked down at her bare feet. "Jeffery. He wants to join a guild when he's older. He's really strong." Stephanie loved her brother. Their parents died during a robbery and he was the only family she had left.

Macha laughed. "Well, I hope he joins a good guild then. I used to be..." Macha stopped talking when she realized they were not alone. A cherufe turned the corner and now eyed Stephanie.

Without hesitation, Macha picked Stephanie up and bolted down a different alley. She heard the girl begin to cry in her arms, but she did not have time to console her. As she ran, she cursed the person who told her that Sector 13 had been cleared.

The cherufe chased after Macha, its hands trailed along the buildings, causing the walls to catch on fire. Its large body burned with red hot flames. Macha was tired from evacuating people all day and she did not know how much further she could run. The sulfur and smoke made it hard to breathe and her lungs burned. When she looked over her shoulder, she realized the fiery figure was catching up to them.

Macha saw a fountain up ahead and increased her speed. She realized she would not be able to outrun the cherufe much longer, so she had to try to fight it. Between breaths, she wheezed, "Stephanie, I want you to keep running. Don't stop until you get to the park." After instructing the girl on what to do she coughed.

When Macha reached the fountain, she put Stephanie down. The girl looked at her with hesitation and did not move. Macha jumped into the fountain to cover her body with water. She yelled, "Run!"

Stephanie began to run and Macha turned around, drawing her daggers. She remembered Tyr talking about creatures like this. They ate the flesh of humans but preferred virgins. Macha understood the creature wanted Stephanie over her, but she would do her best to defend the young girl. She thought if she stalled the monster, then perhaps it would lose track of the girl.

The cherufe did not intend to stop and fight Macha, but she kicked some water at it. This caused some flames on its skin to extinguish. It did not have eyes, but burning flames where there would be eyes. The burning flames narrowed when it looked at her. The creature gave out a deep rumbling growl and shifted its body to face Macha.

Macha was still catching her breath. She never suffered from asthma, but right now she found breathing to be difficult. The monster's growl sent a shiver down her spine, but she splashed more water onto the cherufe. She did not know how long the flames would be out for, but it would be better for her if the monster's body was not erupting with flames while she fought it.

The cherufe raised its hand and a ball of flame collected in its hand. It threw the fiery ball at Macha and she dodged the fiery attack by rolling out of the fountain. The ball destroyed the fountain and some debris hit her. The damage was not too painful, so she shook it off.

Taunting the cherufe, she cried out, "You'll have to do better than that." Her harassment seemed to ignite the creature's ire. This gave her hope that Stephanie could make it to the park safely.

Macha ran towards the monster. It was large, and she only came up to its waist. As she approached the cherufe, it raised a rocky hand and slammed it down towards her. She sidestepped and slid her daggers along its side. They did not go in very far and she realized its body was hard like the earth.

In order to release her daggers, Macha had to jerk them out of the monster. Lava flowed from the creature's wound and poured down onto the ground. She stepped back and waited for the cherufe to attack her. The lava created an area that would be dangerous for her to step in.

The cherufe leaned its head back and Macha saw its chest begin to puff up. A bright orange glow began to shine from its belly and rose up to its throat. It narrowed its eyes at Macha and opened its mouth. A wide pillar of flame flew towards her. She rolled to dodge the attack, but it had hit part of her feet. She quickly patted the flames out, covering them with dirt.

As she took care of her feet, she glanced behind her to see the range of the attack. If it used the same move, it would be useful to understand how far it could reach. The pillar continued on and she witnessed Stephanie's body catch on fire and fall to the ground. The girl screamed in agony as she twisted around on the ground. After a moment, the girl's body stopped moving.

"NO!" Macha screamed. Her face twisted at her failure. Never in her life did she want to kill something more than now. She felt angry that Stephanie's life was cut short and that the child would never be able to grow up. She rose to her feet, ignoring the pain. The cherufe still blew its flaming breath, the pillar seemed to extend for an eternity.

Macha dashed to the monster's back and began stabbing it furiously, ignoring the heat of the flames. Splatters of lava flew out, and the cherufe fell to its knees. The pain from the splatters burned hotter than Macha had ever imagined, but she refused to stop. She needed to make sure this creature did not harm another person ever again.

As the creature sunk lower, she shifted her position and made her way to its head. The flaming eye sockets seemed dimmer now and Macha jumped up. She raised her daggers high into the air and pierced them deep into the monster's eyes. Keeping them in, she slammed the creatures head onto the ground.

The fire eventually extinguished and Macha skimmed her finger along her ear-cuffs. The splatters of lava that were eating away at her skin, fell to the ground. She turned to look at Stephanie. The girl's body was black, and she was crumpled up on the ground. In the child's last moments, she curled up into a fetal position.

A firm hand fell on Macha's shoulder and she turned around, ready to attack. She did not hear anything come up from behind her and she did not know how much more fighting she could do. There was no doubt in her mind that whatever snuck up on her would probably kill her, but she refused to go down without a fight.