Gnomon- Chapter 4 (Lia)

Chapter 4

“Ouch! They hurt Madame!” Lia yelled
Lia sat on the ground holding her ankles. Madame D looked at Lia in a
curious fashion as if she wasn’t sure what Lia was talking about.  
“What’s wrong with you girl? Oh! I forgot all about those. Those are clever.
How did I ever come up with that?”  
Madame D reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black box. It  
was small enough to fit in her palm. On it were several gems. One red, one
green, and one blue. She pushed the red one and immediately the burning
stopped. Then she pushed the blue one and both anklets on Lia feet split
apart, and fell to the ground next to her feet. Madame gestured Lia to hand
them to her.
“Well then, I’ll take those. We may need to use these later on child. Won’t
we, mmm? ”  
Lia was thinking that Madame D was starting to sound a bit crazy.
“ Come along child..Braum is going to be so happy!” Madame giggled like
she was a teen again.
Lia handed the anklets to Madame D. She rubbed her ankles where they
had started to burn. Immediately the burn marks disappeared. She pushed
herself up and proceeded to follow Madame.
Lia finally realized they were outside the building and actually on the street.  
Many times late at night she would sneak up to the rooftop, and look out
over the edge. Trying to imagine what it would be like to escape Madame.
Her eyes would follow the maze of streets and alleyways. Sometimes she
would figure she would run toward the docks and stowaway on a great  
ship. It would take her to some unknown place of wonders. Other times
she imagined making it to the city square, and there she remembered how
to make it to the main gates and to her freedom. There were other times
though,  she would just stare at the streets below and wonder how easy it
would be just to end it. Then doubt would kick in, making her hesitate long
enough to realize she just might hurt someone she loved.  
From what Lia could remember they were heading toward the docks. Even
when she was very young she had a good sense of direction.
She was following the maze of direction that Madame D was taking. After a
while the scent of the ocean out­weighed the scent of the city. Lia was
starting to feel more light hearted, actually excited and a little fearful. She
had seen the ocean several times in her life, but from afar and had never  
got to be in it. Her thoughts wandered toward the idea of being out on the
vast sea. Mostly they were of fear and apprehension. She has never been
a strong swimmer and often she would have to convince herself to step
into a large body of water. Some of her happier family moments were
when they would swim at a waterhole at the end of a hot day. Still all the
same her fears were real and haunting.  
Lia came to realize something in her train of thought. Madame D had
mentioned Braum and she has rarely ever mentioned Braum by name.  
Most of the time they were derogatory statements or names. Mostly
unpleasant ones, to say the least. When she mentioned Braum’s name it  
was as if it was when she was still in love with him. Lia’s excitement started
to turn toward fear.  
“..What is going on with Madame?...” she thought
In fact, she thought it was strange that Madame seemed to be walking
without a limp. As she watched Madame walked before her, she noticed
that her stump never touched the ground. It was as if her foot was there all
along. She could see that Madame wasn’t even using her cane. In fact,
she was carrying it with her as if it were a sword in hand.
Lia scanned the area around her. She felt that if there were a time to
escape, it would be now. The streets around her were starting to fill with
people. She figured it must be afternoon rush when the locals would have
they’re midday rest. Many of the crowd usually took this time to eat or
shop, or run errands before the heavier crowds of tourist filled the streets
toward the evening. The wharf would be even more crowded due to the
fact this was one of the main commerce of Tyre myth. This seemed to
build confidence in Lia, giving her the hope she needed to run.
It was then Madame grabbed her wrist clamping down hard. This caused
Lia to let out a yelp, but she didn’t immediately resist. Which allowed
Madame D to relax her grip a little. Madame’s violet eyes stared cold and
deep in to Lia’s.
“ I wouldn’t try to run dear. I will stop you and I will find you and if need
be, I will kill you.”
Madame’s eyes would not blink as she said this to Lia. There was a chill
that ran down Lia’s back. It wasn’t just the malicious tone of Madame’s
voice it was the way it had deepened. Lia wasn’t sure, but she thought
Madame had started to sound like a man. Her eyes too, had changed. It
was only an instant, yet Lia was sure of what she saw. Lia’s instinct was to
hit Madame and so she did. She swung her fist as hard as she could.
Landing it on the side of Madame’s face against her ear. Lia cringed with
the rush of pain from the impact. But Madame let go of Lia’s other arm
allowing her to run.  
Madame bowled over while clutching her face. She began howling
obscenities at Lia. It was then Madame’s form began to change.  
Lia didn’t wait to see any more of Madame. She turned and ran into the
thickest parts of the crowd as fast as she could. She tried scanning the
area, all the while hoping to find a better way to lose Madame. The crowd,
although helping her to hide, also hindered her from finding a way out. She
ran to the closest food stand and dodged behind some large sacks of
produce. Peering out in between them to see if she was being pursued.
All of a sudden people began screaming and rushing from the direction
from which she had been running. As the crowd thinned she could could
see bodies being thrown along the street and there stood a large wolf­like
beast. It stood on it’s hind legs reaching almost eight feet in height. It’s
bluish­silvery hair was thick but not hiding it’s muscular form. Its large
mouth grinned showing it’s thick white canine teeth, already drooling of  
someone’s blood. The grapnel shaped claws seemed disproportionate to
its tremendous arms and they, too, were coated in gore.
Lia watched the beast rear up and point itself to the sky letting out a deep,
blood­curdling howl. Not a howl of the wolves she had remembered as she
lived as a gypsy, but a half­human and half­wolf howl. It was an un­natural
and beastly roar. She saw it standing over a mutilated body that seemed to
her was a child. It gave her a horrified, sick feeling, and it was then the
terror started to sink in. She saw remnants of the clothing it had wore and
her heart leaped in fear because she had recognized it was the clothing
which madame had worn. The beast turned it’s head from left to right,
inhaling deeply and sniffing the air for it’s prey. Lia watched it turn it’s dark
violet eyes toward her. She was perhaps more than fifty feet from her, but
she knew the beast found her.  
It started walking toward her. Its large strides seemed to close the
distance too quickly for her. She stood up and started to run. Before she
was able to take more than two steps the beast was before her. Several
things happened at this point almost simultaneously. The beast raised its
giant claw, readying itself to strike Lia.
When a volley of bolts impaled into the beast’s raised arm and several into
its thighs. One even pierced it’s shoulder, pushing the beast off it’s
balance and making it step back. Below the beast was one of the many
sewage grates that peppered the city streets. It would take several men to
lift one of these massive, barred barriers. They were four feet wide and
almost six feet in length and the beast, with little effort, ripped it from the
street and raised it over it’s head. Lia turned to glance to see who were her
defenders, but she couldn’t tell. Looking back toward the beast she could
see it, too, was confused as to where it’s adversaries were hid.
Then someone from behind her yelled.
“KILL IT!... KILL IT!”
More arrows entered into the beast’s body. It roared in and hurled the
grate toward the direction of the voice. Lia looked before her toward the
gaping hole. It seemed abysmal to her, and it seemed to be the only way
out at the time. She looked up at the beast and it was preparing itself to
lunge at her. It crouched low, and let out a frustrated growl. As it started for
her, she jumped. She could hear several voices, including the beast’s,
fade away as she descended into the blackness.
Lia fell for what seemed to her an eternity. She knew it wasn’t, but fear
made it feel otherwise. When she hit the ground her feet gave way,
causing her to slap her arms and hands against the rough stone. She
couldn’t keep herself from shrieking at that point, the pain was excruciating
and tears were welling up in her eyes. She heard an audible crack from her
legs, and she was sure she broke something. She pushed herself up to a
sitting position. Feeling her legs and trying to determine how bad they
were. She felt bone protruding out of one shin and the other foot was
twisted almost completely around the opposite direction of her leg. She
picked up her legs and moved them in front of herself. She would sob and
scream from the pain as she moved into position.
There wasn’t much light except what came through the hole above her and
that seemed far away to her. She scooted herself toward what looked like
a large rock. She was tired and in lots of pain and wanted to give up.  
She calmed herself and started to concentrate on healing herself. Closing
her eyes she started to imagine herself whole again. First with her legs and
then her body, arms , and hands.
She could feel her body warming and becoming ameliorable again. Even
though she could mend herself, replenishing her energy was another
matter. She was growing tired and fighting the urge to sleep. She sat there
in a daze falling into a train of thoughts, when the beast howled. It’s bellow
echoed into the cave, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to
immediate peril. She forced herself up, leaning on the large monolith that  
she thought was a rock. Now that her eyes adjusted a bit more she could
see a small light toward one end of the cave. Looking toward the other
direction all she could see was black. Looking toward the hole above her,
she could get a perspective of how far she fell. The cave was more like a
cavern, she was not sure how she survived.  
So she started off toward the light. Feeling stiff even though she was
healed, her body was protesting with every move. As she furthered herself
toward the light, the cave seemed to taper down to a tunnel. Although she
was sure the cave was fairly large, the tunnel she was now entering was
still a good ten feet high.
She walked into the tunnel noticing how it was arched and almost perfectly
round except for the floor. There were various puddles throughout, but
they were sparse and easy to navigate around. The tunnel was made of a
glassy smooth stone as if had been polished for many years. Every so
often she could see wide openings coming into the tunnel above her.
Some would trickle with water or even perhaps sewage. She didn’t care to
know either way and avoided as many of them as best she could. The air
was muggy and surprisingly cool, and despite the stench she felt small  
gusts of clean and a familiar scent in the air. It was the sea, and the barely
audible sounds of the waves crashing.
Even though it felt as if she had been walking for hours, she was
determined to reach the end of the tunnel. She was tired and a
fatuousness feeling was creeping into her thoughts. The once distant light
was now taking shape and she could see what looked like bars that ran at
length from top to bottom of the mouth of the tunnel. She was growing
excited now, because she was getting closer to the end. As tired as she
was she felt a surge of energy and started to pick up the pace.
“......I can do this….”, she thought. “...I can make it…”
The beast stood staring at Lia. It’s thoughts are almost primal.  
“...Eat, destroy, kill, kill!...”
It let out a frustrated howl and leaped after Lia. It watched her jump into
the hole just as it was reaching her. Never leaving it’s eye from it’s prey,
the beast missed it’s footing as it landed and slammed into the kiosk
before it. Angered even more by it’s own clumsiness, it tore into the
remains of the fruit stand. Throwing wood and fruit and whatever was at
hand, in every direction. Finally it slowed and stood remembering what had
brought it into being. The image of the girl coming to view into it’s mind had
been altered at the moment. As it looked around itself, it came to realize
that it was surrounded by several men armed with knives, swords,  
crossbows, and one even had a little wooden stake.
The stockiest of the bunch and perhaps the bravest, walked up to the
beast. Standing not more than three feet from the werewolf.  
“ Go back from whence you came from, you foul demon! We are many
and you will die!”  
The man looked around himself feeling more confident knowing his men
will fight. He puffed out his chest and stepped a little closer to the beast,
challenging it. The beast did not move it simply stared intently at the little
man before it and as the man swayed forward a little more, the beast
struck. It was quick and precise. In fact, there was little show of movement
from the beast at all. The man could see a brown blur before his eyes and
feel a jolt pain as his larynx is being torn out. Everyone standing around the
man, their fearless leader, watched in horror as blood gushed from his
throat. As his eyes rolled back he fell forward toward the werewolf bathing
it with his blood. The werewolf stood looking at the men surrounding him.  
In a humanly manner it grinned and barked a laugh in defiance at his
adversaries.The men were not totally deterred by the gruesome scene.
Most of them were seasoned soldiers, and dying was a just a matter of
time for them. To protect their city it was always a good time. As one, they
all yelled and attacked with vengeance.  
The beast was hit in several places upon it’s chest by a volley of bolts.  
One of them pierced it’s eye and the beast reached up and pulled it free.
With it’s good eye it could that it’s eyeball is still attached to the arrow. As
one of the men came in to attack with a sword the werewolf grabbed him
and punched through his chest with the arrow and eyeball. The beast flung
the lifeless body into another soldier holding a crossbow. This is how it  
went throughout the gory battle. As the beast would take a hit, it would take
a life. Each man would fall to his doom when confronting the beast. Finally,  
only few remained of the defending assault and they had the sense to run.
The beast would not chase them, though. They were not the hunt. They
were not the girl. It’s mind came back to her. It’s rage, it’s hunger, it’s
desire, it is she, who brought him forth. The werewolf, although tired and
bleeding from the many wounds it took, he searched for her scent again.
The werewolf stood for a moment as if in a trance. It’s bloodied wounds
began to close up. Pieces of the shafts and tips of the arrows he received
from the from the onslaught, worked themselves from his body and fell to
the ground. Even it’s eye became healed and whole again. The wolf­beast
cocked it’s neck to one side and inhaled deeply. Letting out a howl it  
rushed toward the hole in the ground and leaped inside.
Lia could see she was not more than a hundred feet from the end of the
tunnel. Despite her exhaustion she still knew she had to get out fast. even
though the pools of water had lessened the surface of the seemed to
become more and more slippery. The ocean breeze was increasing and
the chill was dropping making her feel numb. This was especially true of
her feet making it even more difficult to keep her balance. It was then she
heard the beast's roar echoing in the tunnel toward her. She knew then it
had found her. She tried harder to pick up her pace although her balance
was far to gone, so that running was impossible. She heard it's roar again
and this time it was much closer.  
She had finally reached the bars at the opening of the tunnel. The bars
were wide enough apart that she could squeeze through, but there was
links of chain and barbed wire making much more difficult than she had
hoped. She removed her cloak and pushed it through first. Then finding a
wider point along the bottom of the bars she crawled through. Cutting
herself along the way. At that point she could hear the beast approaching.
She could feel her spine crawl with fear as the audible sounds of the beast
feet slamming into the water. The rhythm of the beast deep huffing in it's
run assured her their meeting was imminent.
She pulled away from the bars when the beast crashed into the barrier.
The bars held and fortunately the beast was too, large to get through as
Lia had.    
The beast was not deterred and slammed into the bars again. Then it
stood and just stared at Lia. She found a bit of courage then and stared
back eye to eye. She could saw the fierce primal rage seering in it's red
eyes. She knew then this was not Madame. The beast roared at her and
again slammed into the bars. Lia was startled from her trance. She knew
she had to find a way out and fast. Looking around her she could see that
the tunnel ended about six feet past the barrier. It opened out into the
ocean. In fact as she stepped a little closer to the edge she could see that
the tunnel was hanging out past the cliff over to the water. She felt a little
vertigo realizing this and started back toward the bars. When the beast  
slammed again into the bars.
This time dust and debris was falling from where one of the bars had
begun loosening. The beast grabbed the bar and started shaking it in a
frenzy. It was succeeding in breaking the bar out and Lia knew her time
was coming to an end. She knew her only option would be to jump. Her
fear of water though was causing her to hesitate. She quickly reached and
grabbed her cloak. As she threw it over herself, she began to prep herself
to run. At that second the bar gave way. Allowing the beast to reach
through and grab toward Lia.
Although the bar gave way the beast was still not getting completely
through. It’s claw dug deep into Lia’s cloak and clothing. Digging deep and
gashing along her back. It started to pull her in but she fought back. She
felt so tired, so weak, she wanted to give in and let it take her. It could be
so easy right now, yet she did break free. Having little control of her
balance she slipped from her cloak and stumbled away.
Not really caring and not having the strength to stop herself she fell out of
the tunnel and into the ocean water below.