Macha's Journey

Adult ramidrejus were about Macha"s height. When the creature opened its jaws to bite her neck, she held out the kitchen knife to stop the fangs from descending upon her. The knife pa.s.sed between the mother"s upper and lower jaw and blood flowed down Macha"s hands as it sliced through the cheek"s skin. She held the handle with one hand and the back of the blade with the other. The creature did not seem to feel pain and continued to move its head forward in an effort to bite Macha.

The hungry force of the creature knocked Macha to the hard ground and its claws scratched at her arms. She pushed her elbows out, so they locked in place. The creature scratched her face and her own blood impeded her vision. "Get off of me!" she shrieked.

Struggling to get her feet under the mother"s body, Macha bent her knees, but doing that caused the pain in her ribs to return. Tears formed in her eyes and she held her breath. The ramidreju forced its mouth further into the blade and more blood splattered on Macha"s neck and chest.

The jaw cracked and became limp. The broken jaw did not stop the monster from trying to bite her and it kept pushing forward. The knife severed the jaw from the head and it dangled by the skin of its neck. A warm sticky mixture of saliva and blood pooled on her chest as it dripped down from the bottom jaw that rested on her. Macha"s breathing quickened despite the pain and she heaved. The sight was unlike anything she had ever witnessed before and tears streamed from her eyes.

As the creature pushed forward, the blade stopped against the creature"s neck bones. The hot breath from the snout now hovered above her nose and blood dripped down from its eyes. Her hands shook with fear and she tried to think of a plan.

Macha understood that her arms would give out eventually, so she swallowed the pain to get her feet under the creature"s torso. She kicked as hard as she could while screaming out from the pain. The mother"s body flew back and hit a table. Its jaw hung down to its waist and her snout wrinkled as it gave a growl.

Without hesitation, Macha scrambled up and put a table between them. Her body tingled, and it felt like she was seeing things through another person"s eyes. The creature got up off the ground and charged at her. She shoved the table and tried to pin the monster against a large wooden pillar. As soon as its body moved backward, the monster scrambled onto the table and rolled over it towards Macha.

While the creature was on the table, Macha plowed the knife into the creature"s forearm and moved back. She had forced the blade between the ulna and the radius. This was the same spot she cracked when she fought Kurbiika in the tournament. Instead of severing the bone, she wanted to leave it intact to pin the creature down. From what she could tell, the dead mother was not intelligent. She hoped it would not think of pulling the knife out.

Macha backed away as a sharp claw dug into the skin of her back. The claw hooked into her for a second, but she tore away, her skin ripping free. She winced in pain and looked around for something to use as another weapon. Along the wall, she saw a bottle of wine and she ran to get it. Her ribs hurt, and she clutched it as she crossed the tavern. While Macha moved to get the bottle, the creature dragged the table across the floor towards her. She heard the loud screeching of the table being dragged across the floor with each step. The table legs trailed the blood from their fight, creating long streaks of red across the wooden floor.

Macha grabbed the bottle and backed against the wall. Her legs shook, and she did not know how much longer she would be able to hold out. Deep fearful crying sounded from the pantry and Macha closed her eyes. She knew she had to do this for Unai, but she had never been so scared in her life. She wiped the blood from her face, causing it to smear into her hair. Pushing against the wall, she ran towards the monster.

The bottle was heavy, and she slammed it against the monster"s head. As the bottle shattered into pieces, Macha saw the arm which had been pinned down, rip into two as the knife broke through the bone. A hooked claw swept at her and hit Macha against the pillar which stood in the middle of the room. Shards from the bottle cut into her legs and she scrambled to get up.

Her attack had caved half of the monster"s head in, the lower jaw hung down, and the knife ripped its left arm into two, but it continued to run at her. Macha clutched the broken bottle, which was slippery in her hand from the blood that covered her. She ran at the monster and aimed the jagged ends at the heart. The two pushed against each other in a deadlock. The creature clawed Macha"s back, and she screamed out in pain, while she pushed the bottle further into its chest. While she put all her strength into her attack, she wondered how durable this drug made them. Any other person would be dead by now. The lower jaw that had hung down to the mother"s waist, fell to the floor, its skin had been severed from the jagged bottle.

Macha swept her leg out and tripped the creature. Since the claws still hooked into her back, they both fell to the floor. She sat on top of the monster and continually smashed the bottle into its chest with all her might. The fight induced fear into her and she her vision stopped focusing. She was not sure if she was dying or if it the blood was getting into her eyes, but she would keep attacking until the end. If she was going to die, she would ensure this thing would go down with her.

Tyr ran up the stairs of the tavern. He threw the chained up guard on the ground and tried to open the door. It was locked, but he heard hysterical wailing from inside. A cold wave of fear washed over him and he kicked the door open, shattering it into pieces.

He saw Macha with blood covering her entire body, sitting on top of a corpse. She repeatedly smashed a broken bottle into a chest cavity, but the body"s claws continued to dig into her shredded back. Tyr ran over and used his machete to chop the hands off that ripped at Macha"s back. She did not seem to notice he was there, and she continued to stab the corpse. He took the bottle from her hand and pulled her up. Shielding her eyes from the ma.s.sacre and he chopped the body into pieces.

Macha felt a strong warm embrace encircle her. She recognized the body as Tyr"s and clutched his shirt. "Tyr," she sobbed, falling to her knees. The encounter drained her of her strength, both mentally and physically.

Tyr sank down to the ground to hold her. Guilt gripped his heart, and he regretted leaving her here. Macha told him he could go, but he had been selfish and did not think about her safety. Holding back his frustration he whispered, "I"m sorry."

Unai heard Macha crying from the other side of the door and the sounds of fighting had stopped. He cautiously opened the door and saw his dismembered mother strewn across the floor. The scene burned into his eyes and he covered his mouth. His lips trembled and a mixture of feelings overcame him. He was both relieved and overcome with grief at seeing his mother"s corpse.

Tyr spotted Unai"s tormented face through the crack in the door. It brought him back to the situation, and he commanded, "Unai come. I need to get you two to a medic." Tyr carried Macha and led them both outside. With his other hand, he picked up the chained guard from the gang"s hideout and led them to the local hospital.

****

It was late by the time they released Macha from the hospital and Tyr finished talking with the local police. He had put Unai up in an inn because he did not want the child to go back to a scene like that. Tyr checked Macha when they got back to the bungalow to make sure they tended to all her wounds. The scratches on her face and chest worried him the most because they had been deep.

After she pa.s.sed Tyr"s inspection, Macha washed up and threw her clothes away. She did not want to salvage them. Being alone in the bathroom left her tense, despite taking a warm shower. Later, when she changed into her nightgown and climbed into bed, fear and unease continued to haunt her. The memories were still too fresh in her mind and she did not want to be alone. She put on her robe and fled to the living room. Rationally she understood that they were probably safe, but being around Tyr would put her fears at ease. She found him sitting on his bed drinking a gla.s.s of water.

Macha sat on the foot of the bed. Hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Tyr, can I sleep with you tonight?" She looked around and felt embarra.s.sed that she was scared to sleep alone.

Tyr put his gla.s.s down and inwardly sighed. He realized Macha did not mean her question in a sensual way. "Yeah. Do you want to sleep here or in the bedroom?" He thought about how this trip was a disaster. Tyr wished he ignored Macha"s suggestion and had them go to the hot springs instead.

Relief swept over her face. Not wanting him to take back his offer, she quickly answered, "Here is fine." Macha climbed under the covers and closed her eyes. She heard Tyr move to turn the lights off and the bed sank in when he returned to the mattress. He took her hand in his. The warmth of his body drifted her to sleep. Macha knew she was safe with him next to her.

Tyr laid in bed watching her. He moved his arm under her head and held her close. He needed to apologize to her so he whispered, "Macha, as your boyfriend, I failed to protect you. I should have stayed with you and made sure you were safe before doing anything else, sorry." He lifted his head to look at her and waited for a response, but she was fast asleep.

Tyr rested his head back onto his pillow and tried to think of a way to salvage this trip, but he was unsure what to do. The sight of Macha slamming the broken bottle into the corpse flashed into his mind. That was the sort of life he wanted to keep her from experiencing. He understood she wanted to join him on adventures, but as his feelings grew stronger, he became worried about losing her.

Some time pa.s.sed and Tyr saw Macha"s head move violently from side to side. Tyr remembered how she had issues after killing the boar a while back. "Macha. Wake up," he put his hand on her cheek to stop her head from turning.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at him in the dark. She steadied her breathing. Her heart raced, but she could not remember why. "Tyr," she whispered.

He caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead. "Are you all right?" He turned his body towards her and felt her cling to him.

"Yeah. I was scared when I woke up, but I don"t remember my dream." Macha did not know if it was because her heart raced, but having Tyr next to her made her excited. She understood he was trying to comfort her, but being on the bed with him made her remember his kisses. Macha lifted her head and kissed his neck. Her legs tangled between his and she pressed up against him.

Tyr took a deep breath. Her kiss made him want her, but he did not want to take advantage of the situation. He wanted their first time to be memorable and perfect because she meant a lot to him. Bending his head down, he gave her a soft kiss on her lips. "Macha, I"m sorry this vacation didn"t work out," he whispered into her ear.

Macha lifted her hand to stroke his hair. She understood he probably felt guilty about how the day played out. "You did what any decent person would do. I think your sense of right and wrong is one of the best things about you." She knew she could easily hold Tyr responsible for what happened to her, but that would be wrong. If she had the power to stop that gang, she would have.