Fire at Dusk: Part 14

Shirley Sue removed her fingers from her ears as the monster's shriek subsided. She and Buck had warded off the beast's previous attacks with the makeshift club and the assorted rocks which lay about the cave floor. She raked her hand through her hair. Sand and dozens of small pebbles fell out of her locks and clattered to the ground. They joined a cluster of other such pebbles, debris from when the creature's body slammed into the cave's entrance, rattling the rocky enclosure as though the beast had summoned an earthquake. She looked to the entrance of the cave and observed the shards of rock which lay scattered nearby. She was sure that if the monster did not stop soon, either the mouth of the cave would crumble away and allow the creature to reach them, or the cave would collapse onto them, neither option of which seemed particularly desirable. Her eyes moved to the floor of the cave. Three long, parallel grooves were carved into the solid stone. She remembered the blinding shower of sparks and shower of pebbles the beast created when it dug its claws into the hard rock as it withdrew its arm from the cave.

Her ears rang while she watched hopelessly as the creature's legs move in and out of her view. Anger and sadness welled up inside of her as happier memories of the cave rolled around in her thoughts. Her eyes were drawn to the pile of discarded tender green moss which once guarded the entrance. She remembered all the times she had crawled through it as a child. Now the moss sat collapsed at the entrance, trampled and worn. The red glow cascaded around the cave, casting indistinguishable shadows around the walls of the smooth cavern. The creature craned its neck, planting its face against the entrance of the hollow. It shrieked once more at the couple. The duo threw a few stones into the creature's face. The monster then pulled its head from view and paced out of their line of vision.

Moments later the sound of heavy paces falling in rapid succession shook the ground as the beast lunged itself once more at the cave. She froze and the hair on the back of her neck stood up as the creature stuffed one of its arms into the cave. Rubble spilled out from around where the beast had collided with the entrance. The cavern shook and small pebbles and stones fell from tiny cracks that began to form in the ceiling. She watched as one of the knife-like claws passed only centimeters away from her leg, which was tightly packed against her body. She felt the current of air created as it brushed by. The claws slashed down once again and this time caught at Buck's pant leg, easily tearing a long, straight hole down to the cuff. Buck's eyes, already wide with terror, grew to the size of baseballs.

The pair began to defend themselves once again in earnest. Shirley Sue watched as Buck smashed at the monster's arm with the club. It clattered first against the ceiling and then onto the beast's arm. She raised a large stone over her head and smashed it onto the creature's hand. The beast shrieked as a claw broke off. Without hesitation, she grabbed the broken claw. It felt heavier then she expected, as though it was made of steel. She drove it into the beast's arm. The creature wailed again and withdrew its arm. She looked out of the cave and saw it cradling its arm. It paced in front of the entrance for a little longer, the red glow subsiding, replaced with a melancholy yellow. After a time the color faded, leaving the duo in darkness.