Chapter 15 of Phantom Dawn is here, concluding Rose's current fight, but how lomg will she get to rest? Better read on to find out.
Before that though, Riz is about to get an unexpected (and unwanted) surprise...
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
As unbiased as I can be (that is to say, I'm not unbiased at all) the third panel here is my favourite that I've drawn in a while. The 2nd panel though, I tried a few things that didn't work as I wanted. That being said, its a fun look at Riz worst time of the week!
Short Diversions: Phantom Dawn Chapter 15
The final part of Rose's defence is here, following Mason's shock intervention last time. Was that enough to tip the scales? Better read on to find out!
Phantom Dawn Chapter Index
Chapter 15
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Chapter 15: A Moment to Breath
The monster came at her, its legs seemed to be pounding the ground with even more force than it had been doing. All the dust that was being thrown in the air reflected the dying rays of sunlight that had managed to break through the dominating cloud cover. Rose held her ground, preparing a swing, probably the only one she would get in given the pure force beating down on her. She knew she would have to make this count, and she intended to do that.
Both Kurz and Mason wanted to pull their gazes away, but found they couldn’t, they eyes locked on the scene, trepidation rolling off them as sweat. Neither said a word, but their faces betrayed that intent, showing the fear. They also knew that Rose was the only hope the town would have, as neither of them were in the same league as this monster, and there was bound to be others lurking out there. Evacuating the whole town was a timely affair, something they didn’t have a lot of.
Neal made his way to them just as the monster was unsettlingly close to hitting Rose.
“Rose…” Was all he managed to muster, as his will to say anything else had left him as it had them.
With every micro second that passed, the monster and Rose got closer and closer to their inevitable clash, yet Rose never wavered, there was no sign that she was going to flee. The contact point between the two arrived and Rose leapt into action, swinging her sword and using all the momentum that the monster had against it. To observers, there was only a sound of steel against flesh, and then nothing as the monster slowed down, and Rose, whilst in a different position now, looking like she had just landed back on her feet, was still standing.
There was abated breath to see what the outcome was, as everyone tried to work out what exactly had happened.
“Did she do it?” Mason whispered, being the first to speak again.
“I…” Kurz went to speak, but movement from the monster caught their attention, bringing the focus back to it as it let out a chilling howl, one that made it quite clear how much pain it was in.
To those looking, the reason for the howl became increasingly obvious as a large wound had opened up on its face with several of its eye stalks now missing. The creature started to thrash around, till it turned around fully, and saw Rose, pointing the now bloody blade at it. She didn’t say a word, not that she needed to, as the monster seemed to get the point, and ran, jumping over the girl who had done the damage. It didn’t take long for the creature to vanish on the horizon. With the large one now having left, the little ones also scattered away from the scene, with some digging their way underground once more. Then, less than ten minutes after it had all ended, a sense of peace settled over the town, indicating that the danger had passed, for now.
The townsfolk had all gathered from their hiding places, and word quickly spread out amongst them over what had fully transpired. The awe which people had initially placed on Rose after how she had dealt with Mason had now been replaced with some fear. That she was strong they had accepted without much question, his skills being needed to deal with the very human threat they were up against then. Now, they had seen her fight against the monsters with seemingly equal or even superior strength, and they were unnerved in the extreme. Low mumblings about her true origins made their way to Kurz’s ears, and he kind of agreed with them, just like when he’d learned about her earlier feat. Humans could not stand against the beasts the way she had, not without either serious armour and equipment, even the famous trappers had to rely on cunning and traps.
Mason had equally conflicting thoughts, but at the same time, things actually made a little sense to him, the way she’d manhandled him before, that strength. He’d called her an angel to be poetic, but he started to wonder if that was really the case. He knew he should have been scared, yet she was also the first person in a very long time to actually show him any warmth or concern. Monsters weren’t capable of that, he was positive. He had a different problem though, as many had also realised he wasn’t where he should have been, and while Rose was clearly the topic of choice, there were threats being made against him as well, trying to link him with the very monster they had just survived. If he went to Rose now, to check on if she was okay, he knew it would drag her into his own misdeeds. Still, he couldn’t leave her alone at a time like this. He went to step towards her, but he was almost knocked off his feet as something ran past him. Mason never saw what it was till the blur was in front of him. The shape only became clearer the more it got closer to Rose, that of a little girl.
“Misssss!” the little girl screamed out.
Rose was still staring into space, holding the sword as though it was the most natural thing in the world to her. The girl ran straight into her, with a force that would have bowled most over.
Looking down at the girl sobbing on her legs, Rose’s empty eyes showed no memory of who the girl was.
“I was so scared!” the little girl continued, never once glancing up.
“Cecily…” The name escaped Rose’s lips as she slowly returned to normal, the feeling that had overtaken her retreating to whence it came. It was at this point that the little girl did look up, and saw those friendly eyes again. While the adults around her had been wary, it didn’t matter to Cecily, she knew a hero when she saw one. Rose knelt down beside her, and hugged her tight.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Rose said happily.
Looking at the touching scene, Mason noted the reactions of the other onlookers now that the girl had effectively shattered the tension. Some, seeing the child running freely towards Rose, embracing her without fear, allowed their views to soften. Others still held the contempt in their eyes, but begrudgingly accepted that their lives had been saved, and it wasn’t the time nor the place to take things any further. Mason noted the couple of others who had chosen that moment to walk away, their disgust palpable. He didn’t want to take a gamble that their own views of him had changed so turned to walk away, not knowing where he was going to go.
“Oi! Mister!” The same little girl who had ran to Rose, was now running straight at him, with a speed that he didn’t think was possible from one so small.
“Hey! Wait, you’re going to hit me!” Mason yelled at her, but she didn’t listen, and like a wrecking ball, jumped into him, causing him to lose balance, falling over backwards.
“Good grief, kid! What are your parents feeding you!” He croaked out.
“Soup and love!” Cecily replied. “Miss said I had to keep you from sneaking away!”
“Miss?” It took an embarrassing amount of time before Mason realised who she meant, and sure enough, by the time he cottoned on, Rose was walking towards him.
Kurz was also watching the scene, but his own emotions were more mixed now then they were when Rose’s strength became apparent. He didn’t know what she was, that calm exterior she had presented with, contrasted sharply with the prowess she seemed to possess. He didn’t know if he should approach her or not, and ultimately, he declined to go to her, wanting to keep his distance, even if just for now. What this event did spark in him though, was the curiosity to learn more about her. Was this the extent of her powers, and what was she really. The way she was acting with Mason was also a cause for concern, as she’d been quick to befriend someone who was undefendable in Kurz’s opinion.
Mason was still standing awe struck when Rose approached him, he saw she was about to speak, and started his own speech, pre-empting her:
“My lady, I don’t deserve this!” He knelt down, and bowed his head before her.
Rose was taken aback by the outburst, but undaunted in saying what she wanted to say.
“Thank you,” She presented the handle of the blade back to Mason, gesturing to him to take it off her. “I wouldn’t have been able to defend everyone without your help.”
“My…My help?” Mason stuttered. “I…I don’t know what to say to that.” He was still declining to look her in the face, afraid to see if she held the same judgment in her eyes that the rest of the town seemed to have, despite her kind words.
“You don’t know what to say?” Rose repeated what he said, as it clearly made no sense to her. “Sometimes, if you don’t know what to say, just smile. It’s what someone once told me, I think…” Rose stated, seemingly confused by her own statement.
“You think?”
“It’s strange…Holding a weapon like this one,” Rose lifted the sword up, looking at her reflection in the blade. “And it feels like the most natural thing in the world. My hands feel comfortable holding something like this, even when I know that it’s only designed to kill. With that feeling, there’s other memories in there, fragments of conversations. I wouldn’t have discovered that, if you hadn’t lent me this. I doubt I would have been able to fend that creature off if I’m honest.”
“If that’s the case, then please keep it. Consider it the first part of my penance.”
“Penance? What do you mean by that?”
“It means that I want to atone for everything I did while working under Finch. In fact, the only person I want to be working under now, is you.”
While not everyone could hear the conversation, those that could, almost fell over in disbelief at this point. This included Kurz, who finally acted, walking over to them in a maddened rage.
“What is going on here! We’ve just been attacked by monsters because someone, Finch sent, the Finch you work for, decided to wreck the town’s protection system. Then, you think it’s a good time to try and throw yourself on her feet? We are in this mess because of you!” Kurz yelled, he felt that his anger was justified.
“I don’t work for Finch now! My contact with him was ripped up the second he sent Eros in! I failed so I became useless to him. Maybe I want to atone though? Ever think of that! My life literally changed because of her, heck, everyone’s lives have changed because of her when you think about it! Mainly because we’re all still alive right now and not some monsters snack!” Mason’s big and loud rant caught the ears of more people, with some giving approving nods, but refusing to join in the argument.
Kurz bit his tongue at first, Rose was the sole reason any of them were alive as they certainly couldn’t have stood against that creature themselves, not as they were, even mustering a full evacuation had proven to have taken too long. He was still angry though, angry at the position they’d found themselves in, and at Mason for not bearing enough guilt for everything that had happened in the town over the years. He found Mason’s need to atone bitter in his mouth, it had only been getting caught out first by Rose, and then by Kurz himself that had led to this change of heart. Just when he had finally found the words to say, Rose interrupted the pair.
“Is now the time for fighting like this? The danger is still out there,” Rose cast a look back into the wastes, unsure if the the paranoid feeling she was experiencing was because of the Phantom Dawn glaring menacingly down on all of them, or if something else unseen was spying on them, waiting for it’s own chance to strike.
“She’s right, all this talk can wait till after we get what little rest we can, and organise a safe space for people,” Mason said. “Not that anyone is going to listen to me, but I bet you can get them to see sense, Rose.” Mason turned to her just as she started to waver a little, her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. “Rose?”
She took one step forward, the sword falling from her hand, and then collapsed, to the shock of everyone watching…
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Next Chapter (not finished yet!)
I do apologise for the abrupt ending there, but as has often been the case lately, the chapter still had more to say but it was alresdy getting more lengthy then what I'd like for a story like this. Editing this one is going to be a pain for sure.
That's all for this week, hope everyone takes care.
Till next time...
Keep on writing.
Peter James Martin
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