Latya hit the ground with a rough thud. She looked around quickly, her eyes filled with fear as she tried to make sense of what had just happened to her. Her heart was racing too fast for her to even think properly. Her hand clutched the pendant of her necklace as she tried to remember the words that Big Ben told her to say if she was asked about the necklace. It was difficult amid the different memories that rushed through her mind: Juliet's death, Mauel's innocence, those wolf men, the shadow, and Big Ben.. he.. The gun…
The noise around her was deafening, it clashed with her memories. Words colliding in the air all around her, words in a language that sounded foreign but one she could shockingly understand.
Where was this place? What the fuck was going on?!
People passed by her, stumbling into her as they rushed around hurriedly in the busy place.
"Are you a child? Get off the ground!" One woman said as she passed by her, holding a child's wrists.
She shouldn't be able to understand that. She had never heard that language before. She was sure of it.
Latya rose up to her feet, and the yelling of people as they tried to advertise their wares felt so overwhelming that she blocked her ears with her hands.
A market? Like a market that was pulled out of an ancient fantasy movie. It didn't fully look like a market, though; there were strangely built houses around that she could see, their wooden windows were open, with wares arranged around the window sills.
What state in Onyowo was this?
More people stumbled into her and sent her angry glares, but as they parted, Latya noticed that they had different and strange features like animal-like ears, tails, horns, scales on their skin, some were even of the strangest colours!
She stumbled back, her breath coming out in quick pants.
Where— for fuck sake, where was she?! Where had Big Ben sent her to?!
Suddenly, everyone stood still, and they all turned in her direction. Latya froze, and her heart skipped a beat.
They must know that she wasn't a part of them. What would they do to her? Was one of them going to ask her about the necklace? Or were they going to attack her? Fuck, she wasn't armed for this! Would bullets even work against them if she was or were they like the wolf men?
Trying to calculate her escape, she looked around sharply, only to realize that they weren't even looking at her, as those behind her were also looking back. She frowned, trying to see what they were looking at despite the darkness of the night sky, and the only source of light being the strange stones that floated in the air and glimmered white.
She saw nothing, then her hands slipped off her ears, but she heard nothing.
She gulped.
What was it? What could they see?! What could they hear?
Suddenly, she heard it; a faint blaring of a horn from a distant away.
"THEY ARE COMING!" One yelled.
Immediately, they all started running, and the marketplace broke into chaos. People were running into their houses, slamming their windows and doors shut. Some left their crying children behind as they tried to get to safety, some deserted their partners, and old ones not even sparing them a glance as they chose to protect themselves.
It was chaotic.
Latya gritted her teeth, then she ran to one of the stalls that was now left empty and grabbed the butcher knife on the table next to the raw steak that was, only a moment ago, up for sale. Then she attempted to run in with a woman who was rushing into one of the very few houses that were still open.
"Please, help!" Latya said when the woman turned to her sharply.
"Stranger," the woman hissed and pushed her out with an unfathomable strength.
Latya did not dwell on the rejection for a second. She went around, passing by people who were struggling to get into houses, getting violent, drawing blood as they tried to pull people out to get their way in, while the ones in fought to close the door.
Each door she ran to pushed her away or slammed the door in her face, and when she threatened them with the knife in her hand, they easily defeated her in a second, leaving her behind with some cuts just to teach her a lesson. Fighting with a knife wasn't within her field of expertise, but she wasn't that bad either. But she was defeated in about a second, and that terrified her.
They were stronger than her, far stronger. Yet they were hiding and betraying each other just to seek protection. Whatever was coming for them was certainly stronger than she was. Suddenly, her mind was filled with dread.
She looked around at those who were left behind with her as they begged at the doors, wept, and continued to bang desperately, appealing to their loved ones in the houses with a voice of terror and desperation, as the blaring of the horn hit closer. Some suddenly stood up and drove their weapons into themselves; those who didn't have them, hurried to some stalls to get weapons to kill themselves with.
Latya's hands tightened around the hilt of her butcher knife as she shook her head and started running away from whatever was coming for them.
They were more powerful than she was, and if they were this terrified, then whatever monster would appear to them was certainly something she didn't want to get caught by.
She wasn't the only one who had attempted to run though. There were others, and she followed them because she believed that they would know a good hiding spot. They were rejected like she was, which meant that they were weak. If there would be a need to fight for her spot, she had at least half a chance, which was something.
Latya wasn't sure what tricks she would have to play to stay alive, but one thing she was certain of was that she was ready for it
Big Ben did not sacrifice himself only for her to come and die here.
She wouldn't die tonight.
She was Latya. Husband fucking killing Tya!