The Mood is Write

Mom-de-Plume
Original poster
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FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. Multiple posts per week
Online Availability
It varies wildly.
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
  2. Prestige
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Nonbinary
  3. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
I'm open to a wide range of genres. Obscenely wide. It's harder for me to list all I do like than all I don't like.

My favorite settings are fantasy combined with something else, multiverse, post-apoc, historical (mixed with something else), and futuristic. I'm not limited to those, but it's a good start.

My favorite genres include mystery, adventure, action, drama, tragedy (must be mixed with something else and kept balanced), romance (again must be mixed, and more.

I'm happy to include elements of slice-of-life and romance, but doing them on their own doesn't hold my interest indefinitely.
Fear.

It was all Sarai felt.

She ran.

Pulse pounded in aching ears. Chest ached and legs stung.

Behind her, horrors.

She couldn't name them or describe them, nor even try. All she knew was she was chased as prey to something awful.

That if it caught her, every part of her would perish.

There would be neither heaven nor hell, for she would be nothing.

Her feet slammed unsteady into the ground as she pushed herself forward, face stained with tears as much as sweat, until she collapsed to the dusty road, wheezing as she still tried to crawl.

Unfocused eyes saw nothing of her reality as she clambered desperately forward, further into the no-man's land as her every panting breath rattled her ribs and the ground scraped at her through her black dress.

Her gaze stared behind her, seeing the illusory predator. and naught else.

This was her end! She couldn't even breathe to call for help!
 
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Thud thud, thud thud, thud.... thud

Echoing the noise reached Stahl causing the individual to stir. Shoulders rolling the stimulation was enough to cause him to wake. Eyes hurting he began to wonder how long he had been immobile for. Clenching his fists he released it before doing it again. Feeling his body out everything began to come back to him. Noise echoing again, Stahl turned towards its location and began to move.

Still stiff he didn't move as fast as he wanted to. But, luckily for him he didn't have to wait long before he was limbered up. Quickening his pace he finally began to see a figure half in reality and half ethereal. Watching it stalk forward it suddenly stopped as if sensing the presence of something other than its prey nearby. Entity turning he stared directly at Stahl, its ethereal eyes burning holes into his figure, yet Stahl remained seemingly unphased by its features.

Not wanting to provoke a fight Stahl was about to turn, the entity had other ideas. Suddenly breaking into a sprint it full on charged towards him. Initially unaware the entity caught him slightly off balanced as it swept out to grab him. The arm of the entity came fully into reality allowing it to grip objects. Feeling the hand wrap around him it suddenly recoiled as spikes erupted from Stahl's form. Attempting it again he suceeded in grabbing him, but in turn realized its folly.

Spikes of bone erupted from Stahl's body catching and hooking him into the claw of the entity. Flailing its hand around Stahl remained attatched before withdrawing the spikes and descending towards the creatures head. Landing hard ontop of it he drove his thumbs into its eye sockets pulling them up and hooking the inside of its skull. The noise of cracking could be heard before a crunch. The entity convulsed before falling limp and causing Stahl to tumble off of it.​
 
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Sarai collapsed, sobbing, as the weight of her terror lifted all at once. Trembling, crying, and drooling as wild eyes looked around, the young priest sobbed as she saw... wastelands.

Calloused fingers dug against the hard dirt and scraggly grass, and she let out a wail as her mind struggled to comprehend the sudden lack of danger.

She curled in onto herself as she shook and began to babble prayer, begging God's help in a land without.
 
Bones snapping back into position the tumble had caused more harm to the man than he originally anticipated. Sitting up more of him reset itself. The sound although sickening wouldn't carry far. Snapping his back into place he felt his body return to him once more. Sitting in the dust for a few moments he once more began to percieve his surroundings. Seeing the movement of a figure a short distance form him it was then that he heard her.

The wailing, that must have been the footsteps. Standing up he shook his right leg a few times before he was able to move his foot once more. Casually walking across the dust he stood above the woman, his shadow casting farther than what was naturally possible. "God has gone, didn't you know. Only I am here now." Stahl spoke. Right eye piece adjusting to the sun the light dimmed slightly within the mask.

After some time a mechanical wheezing could be heard, Taking a deep breath for the first time in nearly three minutes he began to cough. Lungs regaining strength finally he gasped before finally breathing once more. Figure not faltering he suddenly pulled the mask off. Behind the mask was a very human face, although he appeared to lack alot of color.​
 
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Sarai cringed and covered her head as a shadow fell over her. Her violent tremors didn't let up, the supernatural terror weakened, but still affecting her.

Words came from above, and it took a few moments of the person coughing before she found the strength to peek up.

It was a man. Ashen, but seeming alive. Human.

Relief.

Sarai sobbed as she reached toward him, certain that God had sent this man to help her, or an angel had, but either way—she felt safe that her faith helped her find safety.

"Thank... thank you..." she managed between her hiccuping cries.
 
Watching the woman continue to lay on the ground Stahl took the time to observe her. She was still mewling and reeling from the incident. She was quite obviously not normalized to the wastes. Taking another breath he put his mask back on and exhaled.

"Why are you here?" He spoke, the mask distorting his voice. Rasping filling the air it stopped after a few moments. "It is is not safe out here." Stahl continued on his eyes now tracing the horizon. Far in the distance, dust could be seen being kicked up.

Reaching down and grabbing her he pulled her up. "We need to go."
 
"Chase... chased..." she barely managed those three syllables between her gasping sobs as she reached out to grasp his leg, only to yelp as he pulled her up.

Wide eyes stared at him, filled with fear and not fully focused. She had brown hair, a little dusty, but overall in decent condition. Her clothes were only freshly dirtied, and she had that tiny bit of extra fat to her that those who lived in those spots of civilization tended to get, simply because they shared labor and food.

"Go?" she echoed.
 
Looking her up and down Stahl didn't know what he was doing. Brushing her off he began to take notice of her physical features. Pretty, but it was obvious that she was not accustomed to the realities of living beyond humanities hospitality. "Yes, go we need to leave." He repeated before giving her a slight nudge. "If you wish to be left to the whim of whatever is coming this way, feel free. While I can fight one, I am not suicidal."

Waiting for a few moments Stahl finally took her wrist and began to pull her. Mind reeling he finally began to put together the events that found him where he was. Adjusting the face mask it protected him from the dust and sand beginning to churn around them. After nearly twenty minutes of light jogging he realized she was tiring. Stopping he let go of her arm and looked behind them. The storm of dust was no longer coming directly at them, instead traveling parallel to them some distance away.​
 
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She followed, stumbling and coughing until her mind worked enough to get the idea—she should cover her mouth and nose. For that, she used her sleeve.

Still, running as fast as she could, it was a struggle to keep up with the man.

He stopped and let go, and she took a deep breath, then another, ragged and in quick succession, before she looked up at him with eyes stung by dust and dryness.

"Who... are you?"

Her head was cleared quite a bit after twenty minutes without the supernatural assault on her mind, enough that she realized she was running through the wasteland with a stranger, whose motives could be benevolent or malevolent with equal ease.

"Thank you," she added, with a glance back to indicate 'for back there', since it was hard for her to realize she should specify, and talking was difficult when she was so out of breath.