Bloodborne

Surgit fought the pain in his joints and pulled the unconscious woman atop a rock. Monsters splashed in the purple stream as they slowly approached them. Surgit quickly drew a blood vial and injected Karla. He drew another one and injected himself. Karla gasped as air penetrated her lungs. She rapidly blinked then got to her feet.

Surgit looked at her and chuckled. He took a pill from his pocket and handed it to her. "This never happened to you, has it?" he asked.

"What?" she asked, confused. "What"s that?" she asked once more. She looked at the pill Surgit handed to her.

"That"s an antidote," he said. "You"ll soon suffocate if you don"t take it." He drew his sword and stuck it to his hammer. "Stay here until you recover. I"ll deal with these."

He swallowed a pill of his own then walked into the purple stream. It felt as though he walked through flowing mud. Every step made him feel sicker. He looked at the monstrosities before him and winced. They were horrible to look at, and their breath… Their breath was so putrid Surgit almost lost consciousness when he first inhaled it.

The creature had ivory skin. They looked like squids, with long, dangerous tentacles. Instead of a wobbly head, they had an opening with countless sharp teeth. Their gaping mouths always followed Surgit no matter where he dodged.

It took a while for Surgit to clear the area. By the time he was done, he had consumed three antidote pills. He came back to Karla, walking like a drunk. "I think I should take a rest too," he said as he let himself fall beside her.

"You don"t seem troubled by the ambush," Karla noted.

Surgit shrugged. ��We"ve been had," he said. "What"s the point in mulling over things we can"t change?"

Karla chuckled. "That"s not your first time, is it?"

Surgit smiled. "What"s the worst that could happen?" he asked. "I"ll die then come back for revenge." He looked around. "We didn"t die. We"re in an area we wanted to explore. Let"s do it."

Karla got to her feet and inhaled sharply. "I always took you for a fool, Surgit," she said. "Yet you were the first to become a hunter. You"ve faced worse odds than all of us, and survived." Her eyes found his. "Why do you keep fighting?"

Surgit shrugged once more. "What else is there?" he asked in a sullen tone. "We"re stuck in this life. We can"t die, might as well make the most of it."

She extended her hand toward him. "Let"s get exploring then," she said with a wide smile.

They walked through the murky waters, keeping an eye out for the squid like creatures. Surgit had enough antidotes, but they were not enough for the two of them. They would soon run out, and they"d rely on the blood vials, Surgit knew it. He just hoped they"d find the exit before they ran out of blood too.

They soon reached a cave. Dark paths intertwined before them. The place was a labyrinth. Surgit took out a lantern he"d bought from the messengers earlier then strapped it to his belt.

"Do you hear that?" Karla said. Her voice echoed through the hollow caves.

Surgit p.r.i.c.ked his ears. There was definitely a sound coming from deep inside the caves. "It sounds like singing," he said, frowning.

"Yeah, some kind of lullaby…" Karla nodded. She took a few steps forward. "Sounds like it"s coming from there," she said, pointing at a cave to her left.

They walked forward, p.r.i.c.king their ears in case the faint singing sound reached them. Soon enough, they heard it, clearer this time. It came to them as a soft, soothing sound, like a mother singing for her newborn. The sound intensified as they approached. Then they heard the sound of splashing water.

By then, both of them were dizzy enough from the poison that seeped through their veins. The murky waters they traversed could easily infect them just from contact with the skin. Surgit took his last two antidotes, handed one to Karla and swallowed the other.

"Just in case it"s some ugly beast," he whispered. "We don"t want to lose a limb then die of blood poisoning."

She nodded and swallowed the pill. The splashing ahead of them intensified. They soon heard the heavy footsteps approaching them. The song"s reached them clearly now. It wasn"t much like a song, but a humming of a song.

"Lalalaaaa…" the voice reached their ears.

Surgit"s heart began racing. He felt as though all the voices inside his head resurfaced once more. Old and young, male and female, they all spoke at once. They started humming the song too, albeit not in perfect harmony.

"Lala –"

"Lalalalaaaaa –"

"Laaaaaaaaaa –"

"Lalaaaa… Laaaaaaaaaaa…"

Surgit held his head. He saw Karla do the same. Her face contorted in a grimace of confusion and pain. The splashing got louder, and a creature appeared before them. The dark caves suddenly lit up, revealing the monstrosity in all its glory. She had the appearance of a woman, or at least a body of one. Instead of a head, she had a big brain the size of a full grown dog.

Eyes popped out of the brain. They frantically moved, emitting disgusting squishing sounds as they looked for the hunters. When they finally fell upon them, Surgit and Karla felt as though something burst inside their bodies. Blood gushed out of every orifice. The creature turned its human torso toward them. Then it slowly walked in their direction.

Thin, sinewy hands sprouted from the big, disgusting brain. They extended toward Surgit. Then the creature began running. In his state, Surgit couldn"t move. He heard Karla scream, then blood gushed out of her in continuous streams. She fell to her knees, before her face hit the murky stream.

Surgit didn"t have it any better. The creature held him with its sinewy hands then brought it toward its head. Sharp teeth revealed themselves as Surgit was forcefully pulled toward the big brain. He felt them pierce his flesh and shatter his bones.

He couldn"t scream or resist what was happening to him. He could feel his agonizing death coming, however, one bite at a time.