Land of the Setting Sun
"Itaki! I'm not leaving you, let's go!" I ran back into the house, lacing my arms under his armpits and attempting to drag him away, but it was futile. Itaki was wiry, but strong, and I was making very little progress.
"You don't understand what you're doing! Just go!" He broke free, spinning around and shoving me to the ground. His eyes were frantic and darting from wall to wall, clearly not in the right state of mind. I sprung back up, but he held out a hand. "They're my family..." he said somberly.
"Not anymore, Itaki! Please, we have to leave!" Itaki looked pained, as if he might be considering it, before being seized from behind by a pair of coal-black hands. One of them grabbed his scalp, while the other fixated itself around his throat, dragging him backwards into the ground. He screamed in agony, but I had no clue why until I took a closer look at where he'd been grabbed. His skin was shriveled and shrunk where he'd been touched and it was spreading all over his face like a pox. The skin, stretched tautly, broke and left his flesh exposed to the air. He screamed as the creature put its hands back on him. It was too late.
I turned to run but was met immediately by a whole group of the creatures. They shuffled and squirmed to block my path towards the doorway. Unfortunately for me, lightning would not strike twice. I dodged backwards, avoiding outstretched limbs like a professional athlete. Once Itaki had been dealt with, however, all of the attention was on me. They kept materializing, peeling off the walls like stickers.
Eventually, one of them grazed against me, fingers touching my right ear. There was none of the head-splitting pain that had made Itaki scream, just a mild itching sensation. This momentary confusion was just enough to distract me into making a far worse mistake. I spun around, directly into the arms of a shadow. It latched onto me, and for a moment it was like being seized by an itchy, wooly blanket. Then, the burning began. I gasped at the sudden pain, and tiny black flakes got in my mouth as well. I gagged, but there was nothing to expel, it had already begun eroding at the sides of my mouth. At this, my body was racked with such unbelievable pain that I passed out. I never woke back up.
"You don't understand what you're doing! Just go!" He broke free, spinning around and shoving me to the ground. His eyes were frantic and darting from wall to wall, clearly not in the right state of mind. I sprung back up, but he held out a hand. "They're my family..." he said somberly.
"Not anymore, Itaki! Please, we have to leave!" Itaki looked pained, as if he might be considering it, before being seized from behind by a pair of coal-black hands. One of them grabbed his scalp, while the other fixated itself around his throat, dragging him backwards into the ground. He screamed in agony, but I had no clue why until I took a closer look at where he'd been grabbed. His skin was shriveled and shrunk where he'd been touched and it was spreading all over his face like a pox. The skin, stretched tautly, broke and left his flesh exposed to the air. He screamed as the creature put its hands back on him. It was too late.
I turned to run but was met immediately by a whole group of the creatures. They shuffled and squirmed to block my path towards the doorway. Unfortunately for me, lightning would not strike twice. I dodged backwards, avoiding outstretched limbs like a professional athlete. Once Itaki had been dealt with, however, all of the attention was on me. They kept materializing, peeling off the walls like stickers.
Eventually, one of them grazed against me, fingers touching my right ear. There was none of the head-splitting pain that had made Itaki scream, just a mild itching sensation. This momentary confusion was just enough to distract me into making a far worse mistake. I spun around, directly into the arms of a shadow. It latched onto me, and for a moment it was like being seized by an itchy, wooly blanket. Then, the burning began. I gasped at the sudden pain, and tiny black flakes got in my mouth as well. I gagged, but there was nothing to expel, it had already begun eroding at the sides of my mouth. At this, my body was racked with such unbelievable pain that I passed out. I never woke back up.
