“Quick, don’t look back! The darkness is coming! Step into the light and run, they can’t follow where there is light!”
Two more arrows were notched into Sara’s bow, firing a volley into the fast-approaching shadow. The sound of breaking wood on impact with the shadow dashed her hopes of offense.
The torch lights were being extinguished behind them, one-by-one, by the growing mass of darkness. All Sara could hear was her and her companions’ frantic footsteps and panting, the creature’s assault silent as death.
Sara's gnome friend, Nip, fell to the ground beside her, tripping on a loose floorboard. The darkness seemed to speed up, one of its arms racing along the floor as tendrils crept out of the mass and threatened to grab Nip’s ankle.
“No you don’t!” A few feet behind, their companion Garrick scooped up Nip in his arms as he approached her, wrapping her in his large muscles.
“There, the doorway! Out on the street, it can’t follow us in the sunlight!” Sara breathed a sigh of relief as both the doorway and Garrick with Nip came into view in her peripherals. Diving to the left and struggling to keep upright with her momentum, the exit was head on, down a long, daunting hallway.
Nip pulled her rucksack onto her stomach, leafing through its contents. Formally the group’s tinkerer, with time to think and formulate a plan in Garrick’s arms, she realised she had just the thing to slow the creature. Striking a match on the side of its box, she lit the ends of two bandoliers of short sticks: firecrackers.
“Heads up, Garrick!” Nip launched the fizzling explosives over Garrick’s shoulder, and they popped furiously just centimetres from his head. The light emitted caused the creature to shriek and collapse backwards for a moment. Nip bared her teeth at Garrick, a mischievous grin streaked across her face.
The firecrackers landed on the floor, bouncing vigorously off of the hardwood. The diversion granted the group a few seconds of respite from the viscious pursuit, but as the crackers fizzled out, it bore down on them, hot on their heels once more.
“Just a little further!” Sara called out, strapping her bow to her back to help her push through the last few metres a little faster.
The shadow raced, faster than before, toward the group. Sara pulled ahead, with Garrick and Nip close behind. A few final strides, as the creature stretched a thin appendage towards Garrick’s feet, Sara burst open the door and sunlight streaked in. The pair dove out into the bustling street, landing face first on the cobble. As the group panted and pulled themselves upright, the creature sizzled and hissed in the entranceway. Its fury was palpable, and a few short seconds later, the door slammed shut, sealing it back within its den.
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Today's prompt: formally
If you'd like to participate too, the contest can be found here: @mariannewest/day-1579-5-minute-freewrite-wednesday-prompt-formally