It was daylight, the sun shone down on the two as they began to cross into the wilderness.
"So, where are we?" Raven asked, obviously shaken.
"Not sure, but I do know there is only one other world aside from ours. That one opens rarely, yet it always waits for a monster, a large one, to pass through before closing. As if it wants to create chaos. The authorities of my world have learned many a technique to fight the creatures of this world. Yet I never have seen one in person, it's been nearly a century since the last portal appeared.
They spent that night camped out in the trees. The beasts below seemed relatively harmless, however Vyrse wasn't going to take any chances. By morning they were using the trees as an effective mode of travel, following silently after a newly torn path which could only lead to Vyrse's employer.
It was easy traveling, until the winged beasts attacked. They came in swarms, out of nowhere, and lashed out at Vyrse as he balanced on another tree branch. Its claws sank into his arm as its beak attempted to rend the soft flesh of his chest. Vyrse, even caught off guard, sent his free hand in an arc, bashing the beast in the head, sending it to the ground in a crumpled heap. However now he knew there were more, he could hear the soft whistle of the wind under their scaly wings. Ignoring the shooting pain in his right arm, he drew his guns. Raven, seeing this, followed his lead.
"They're coming from the forest, trying to spread out and surround us." Vyrse said his eyes closed. His ears seemed to be almost, twitching, as he stood. Raven saw the grip on his guns, and could tell that Vyrse could probably shoot these things out of the sky without looking. Yet, would it do any good? Were these monstrosities just as resilient to bullets as the legends said they were? Vyrse looked determined to find out as he turned. Raven could hear them too now, approaching from all sides. He held his blade ready, and upon hearing the hammers of Vyrse's guns land on the shells, he swung back with his blade. Two beasts fell limply to the ground in tatters. The battle had begun. Between the two warriors there seemed to be some form of unnatural grace, as one moved to attack, the other moved to defend. Finally the constant motion snapped the branches, sending the two falling to the forest floor. The winged reptiles flew and sat on the remaining branches, looking down at the two.
"Why don't they follow?"
"The noise of the battle, and the scent of it... Seems to have attracted more than just featherless birds." Vyrse said his eyes no longer on the trees, but on the ground. Raven turned his attention in time to see a single long claw coming at him; Vyrse's gun went off, sending the claw, and the owner, flying backwards. It looked reptilian, yet somehow oddly human. He saw intelligence in those dying eyes as the creature struggled, and then he looked at the claw that would have impaled him. It happened to be bigger than the other claws, looking more like a razor than something the monster used to walk on.
"We aren't done yet. These ones are smarter than the last." Vyrse said, his eyes flickering around the clearing. Cold sweat clung to his face as he looked around, listening for anything. Yet he knew the creatures were there, silently waiting to strike. Yet somehow, he could feel that they knew he was more dangerous than he looked. They made no sound, even the air going into their lungs was concealed somehow. He caught no sight of a scale, eye, or black claw. He began to panic.
"It's alright. We're faster than they are Vyrse." Raven said, seeing that the gunman wasn't used to not being able to see his foe. Suddenly the silent battle ended and the monsters closed in on them. They fought back, shooting, slashing, swinging, and calling out their rage. The forest ran red with the monsters blood. As quickly as it had begun, it had ended. The winged beasts flew away, realizing there was no meal for them with those two. So they continued, sleeping once more in the trees. The wounds from their fights had nearly healed by the time they had caught up with the employer.
He was easy to spot at a distance; a big fleshy blob waddling around in the camp. It seemed he only had very few guards with him, apparently most hadn't survived. Vyrse motioned for Raven to wait on the outskirts, as he went into the camp. A blur of bullets later and the employer's guards all fell.
"V-Vyrse!" He stuttered as the gunman landed in front of him.
"Why did you do it?"
"Do w-what?"
"Send me to kill innocent people."
"Innocent? I haven't the slightest..."
"The King was innocent. His people were happy, how many other villages have you asked me to destroy because they were supposedly impure? Tell me!"
"Vyrse... If it's money you want you..."
"I Don't Need your money!" Vyrse yelled, his finger twitching on the trigger. The scared look had left the employer, he was actually grinning at gunpoint?
"None were innocent; they all stole from our world, to give it to those pathetic mongrels for no charge! No crime could be more desiring of the death penalty."
"Your crimes... Are far worse than any of the others. Farewell. I hope your ill-gotten gains give you some solace in the after life." Yet before Vyrse could pull the trigger, he heard the clang of steel on steel. Gates, giant ones that he had taken no care to look into before hand, had swung open.
"If the money I've earn leads me to a bad end, I'll repent it all on my death bed, for now I hope you've repented your sins Vyrse. I'll see you in hell." He then scurried off, fast as his fat legs could carry him.
Raven was waiting for him. The fat man never saw the blade coming, not at least until his body had taken a few steps away from his head, which now lay softly in the grass.
Vyrse's eyes opened in horror as he saw what was leaving the cage. Its footsteps made the entire campsite shiver as it moved towards its new meal. Teeth, longer than Vyrse, shimmered with drool. Reptilian eyes focused on the shivering gunman as he clutched his guns. He fired two shots, both bounced off the creature’s scaly hide. Vyrse retreated as the monster's large jaws clamped down behind him. He sprang off another cage, his guns flashing. The bullets flew directly into the monster's eyes causing twin clouds of blood to spew into the air. The monster cried it’s pain through the woods. Creatures of all shapes fled the surrounding forest, fear filling every nerve. Vyrse grinned as he landed, knowing the monsters death was near. Then he felt an odd tingling in his nerves. He saw the creature's silted nose dilate, its head turned down to him. "No that's impossible!" His mind cried. "It can't know where I am! No... I don't... I need..."
"HELP!" The yell flew like a red flag over the forest. Raven turned towards Vyrse, having watched the fight so far.
"Why should I help someone who I've been looking to kill since I could lift a sword?" He said to himself. Then he saw the monster close in, it's red and black scales shimmering in the artificial lighting that had turned on when the sun had left. Raven shivered, recalling the times Vyrse had saved him so far.
"Fine." He said, a new voice pushing through his vocal chords. "Maybe you aren't the evil soul I thought you were. I forgive you Vyrse; what's more, I'll defend you to my death." Raven said, gripping his sword with new enthusiasm. He leapt, and landed in the campsite at a run. The monster's teeth were inches from Vyrse as Raven closed in, bringing the blade over his head. He bounded towards the creature, sending the glowing steel down with unnatural speed and strength. Its length passed straight through the beast's neck, its head flopping to one side, inches away from a cowering Vyrse. "You okay?" Already Raven could see Vyrse controlling his features once more.
"I'll... be fine." He said, his voice shaking. Raven looked around the devastated campsite.
“I guess we should head back.” He said.
“Yeah, the portal will probably close soon.” Vyrse agreed. Raven helped him up, the sun was starting to rise in the distance, the forests were waking up. Within days the campsite would be completely overgrown; but Vyrse and Raven were long gone.
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