Twilight's Demise

Twilight's Demise

Twilight enveloped the city in its dark embrace. Even beyond the looming buildings, neither the twin moons nor the stars could be seen. The darkness and the stillness that had fallen were grim precursors to an already-morbid city.
In the deserted streets, a young man, seemingly in his late teens, stalked anxiously from an alleyway; every so often he would glance around with way eyes that held a hunted look. Jet-black hair fell in front of his eyes. A young woman trailed after him, appearing equally anxious. Her appearance made her seem about the same age as the young man, with semblances that betrayed them as siblings.
"Come on, Selena," the boy said in a hushed voice. "Don't stop now." She shook her head ever so slightly, jaw clenched, but seemed too frightened to speak. Auburn-blond hair flew past her shoulders; a solitary, silver earring studded her ear.

The streets of Balefrith were unnaturally quiet; every soul in the city seemed to have taken to the wind. The looming buildings cast long, dark shadows, through which the brother and sister took great advantage of in their hasty flight. Both of the teens' clothes were ragged and torn in places. They were clad mostly in black leather; the boy with a dark brown, leather jerkin. A ring, identical to Selena's, studded his right ear.
Rats skittered, unseen, in the shadows before disappearing in some concealed cranny or hole. Starlight guide us, the young man prayed silently, gazing at what little could be seen of the sky. The siblings passed from the open streets to another alleyway. Feeling along the wall with one hand as though for guidance, the boy led them on, then halted. The alley was a dead-end. "Damn," he cursed. A faint click sounded a ways behind them. Selena turned and tugged on his sleeve. "Xavier!" she cried. He turned as well and saw the soldier coming towards them. The gunblade in his hands was aimed and loaded. Xavier cursed again and took off without warning. "Hurry!" he gasped to Selena, putting on a spurt of speed. Muscles tensing, then releasing, he vaulted to the top of the wall, just barely clearing it. His sister followed soon after.

[Something stirred...]

The gunshot went off behind them, missing its mark by mere inches. The thud of boots on concrete was fast behind. Xavier and Selena ran flat out, leaping from on rooftop to the next. Xavier braced himself, then took a flying leap to the ground of the open square below, rolling to break the impact. Breathing raggedly, Xavier scanned through unkempt bangs the silent buildings before and around him. The soldiers' shot would most certainly have signaled others. He turned and saw Selena framed against the dark sky, standing at the tall building's edge. "Come on!" he called to her desperately. "Jump!" Selena tensed then leaped to the ground, arms held out on either aisw. She landed on one knee and glanced anxiously over her shoulder. A second soldier, followed by a third, came towards them with gunblades at their sides. Selena stood and ran to Xavier's side, drawing a dagger from her side, though could offer little defense against the soldiers' weapons. Xavier knew now it was fight or flight; he tensed to run-then all at once there was a sound that rent the night, caught between a bloodcurdling shriek and a metallic roar. Time itself stood still.

[The time was upon them...]

The hairs on Xavier's neck pricked, and Selena clutched his arm, face frozen in a mask of terror. Xavier's breath ran ragged. Then-

-a shadow seemed to tear itself from the night, lunging at the soldier in front. A gasp caught in Xavier's throat. The soldier buckled almost immediately, his spine snapped by the weight of the huge beast that bore down on him with unnaturally long claws gouging into his shoulder. The beast crouched over the body, a pool of dark blood already spreading. The other soldier took a step back, but he could make no further movement before a second beast leaped from behind. The man died instantly as his head was severed from his torso in the beast's jaws; gunblade clattering to the ground. The first beast raised its head as the other tore at the body beneath it. The beast stared directly at Xavier, or so it seemed; it had no eyes. Its form was feline in appearance and a glossy blue-black, like a panther. Its skull had a frightening, dragon-like build, and was covered with metal plates, between which lines of glowing, blue light radiated. It took a step forward; its claws were long and serrated, their length mostly contributed by steel sheaths that extended from them. Xavier stepped back, shielding a quaking Selena. The beast's body rippled with muscle; dark-blue symbols were emblazoned on its shoulders. Metal armor covered its lower legs and twisted downward at the ends in dagger-like points. Its companion backed away from the corpse, from which multi-colored energy spiraled upward like fireflies and seemed to be absorbed into the beast.

What the...what are they? Xavier couldn't break his gaze from the nightmarish beast before him, unmoving save for its long tail. No... tails. The beasts had two tails about them, each one ending in three long, silver blades. A stab of pain tore into Xavier suddenly, as though a white-hot dagger pierced his heart. He only faintly heard Selena's frantic calls to him as he crumpled to his knees, one hand clutching his chest. "My God..." he whispered, eyes clenched shut. "They're Shrykins."
An earsplitting, shrieking roar shattered the sky, and Xavier looked up only just in time to see the beast-the Shrykin-leap at him. Time seemed to slow, though somewhere in the back of his brain, Xavier knew the fiend was moving as swiftly as greased lightning. He moved to the side, shielding his sister in what he was sure was his final act. Then pain exploded through his body as serrated claws gouged into his chest. The Shrykin ripped into his heart, blood spurting everywhere in a geyser of red. Selena screamed; a blur of blue-black raced across the blood-splattered cobblestones past the first beast, the blue glow from its skull-plates flaring. The second Shrykin pulled away, as Selena's body soon fell beside her brother's.

As the two beasts prowled the bloodstained courtyard, shadows were converging all around the city, encircling the site of slaughter. Blue light gleamed from the prowling forms. A single Shrykin, the first that had appeared, leaped to the half-collapsed roof of the chapel overlooking the courtyard, where it crouched, framed against the sky. The black, spiky mane along its back bristled as it threw back its head and released its blood-chilling cry, carrying through the sky 'til there was none that had not heard and known what was to come. The Shrykins, the Envoys of the End, were unleashed on an unsuspecting world.