Fear VS Family

Nox sat cowering at the foot of her parent's bed. Her parents occupied the bed, both of them just as scared as Nox. In their arms lay the sleeping baby Joy, Nox's sister, unaware of the fears the family faced. They could hear them, the shadows, as they rummaged through the house. Claws scraped against floors and heavy breaths sent fear down their spines.

So many questions filled Nox's head. How did they get inside? How long until they find us? What happened to Hitsu? Is he okay? Where is he? Among her thoughts, one stuck out like a sore thumb and overtook her mind. What do I do?

Her train of thought was shattered when she heard the sound of claws once again, this time at the bedroom door. The family froze, they sat in silence desperately hoping the shadows would just turn and walk away, that they would leave and the whole situation could just be a bad memory. Their hopes were destroyed in an instant by a sound none of them expected despite its source being right under their noses. At that moment they were plunged into danger by Joy beginning to cry.

As if the babies crying was a signal the shadows immediately began their attack. Thuds at the door echoed throughout the room as the monsters charged the wooden entrance. Claws and teeth began to tear away at the only barricade between the shadows and the family. The wood began to splinter and crack as the beast assault continued. Nox could see the shadow's red eyes through the gaps that had opened in the door.

Fearfully, Nox turned her head back to her fearful family, her parents cowering against each other with Joy held tightly in their arms. Seeing her family, the people she loved the most, gave her the courage she needed to stand. Slowly, with shaking limbs, she pulled herself up using the bed.

"Nox!" her father shouted over the sound of breaking wood, "What are you doing?"

Despite his volume, Nox couldn't hear him over the sound of her own thoughts.

"I have to do this. I don't know what happened to Hitsu or if he's even alive, but someone has to stand up to them. I can do it! I'm not afraid! If it's for my family..."

Nox looked over her shoulder at her parents, at her sister, and smiled. How could she smile at a time like this? She didn't know. What she know was that there was no turning back.

"...I can dance!"

As the wooden door continued to break and become nothing more than wood shards Nox started her attack. Her arms shot into the air before her left fell back towards the ground. Nox followed her arms momentum and began to spin. With her eyes closed, she continued her dance and sparks began to fly off of her body. The longer her performance continued the greater these sparks grew, evolving into small embers and then great flames they expelled themselves from Nox's body. Despite the flames, the room's temperature didn't rise and nothing became chared, it was as if the flames were only for show.

"Not yet," Nox whispered with closed eyes. She simply danced hearing only the sounds of the frenzied shadows continue to tear down the door.

A large chunk of the door burst into the room and a shadow forced its head through the new opening. It let out a roar that only made Joy cry even louder.

"Not yet," Nox said focusing only on the shadows in front of her as she blocked out everything else.

More and more gaps opened in the barely standing door which were soon filled by claws and fangs as the shadows reached into the room.

"Not yet!" Nox shouted, her voice getting lost in the hurricane of noises that swept through the bedroom.

With a final crack, the damaged door split in half and suddenly the only thing between the shadows and their target was Nox.

"Now," Nox whispered. As her final spin competed she gripped the air as if she was throwing a ball. Nox dragged her hand over her head and towards the shadow beast that started to enter the room. As her arm moved forward the fire flew towards her empty hand, in an instant the flames that surrounded Nox had taken the shape of a spear. Without hesitation, she threw the spear of flames at the group of shadows.

The monsters didn't even have a chance to react as the weapon of fire launched towards them. The shadows were all bunched together and all had to take the full force of Nox's attack. The shadows in the middle of the pack were pierced directly by the spear while the others were scorched by the flames that flew by them. In an instant, the group of shadows all became nothing more than smoke.

The flaming spear continued through the house, past the door into Joy's room, and through a wall. Joy's room was no decorated with a burnt hole in the wall. Nox didn't have time to care about collateral damage, she didn't know how many shadows were still in the house and she didn't have time to prepare another dance. As fast as she could Nox picked up the sharpest piece of what used to be the door off of the floor. She held out the shard-like a knife, it being her only defense.

The family waited in silence, their view of the living room obscured by the smoke of the dead shadows. After what felt like an eternity, Nox's worst dears were realized as she could make out a figure in the smoke. The figure walked on all fours as it made its way closer and closer, each step even more terrifying than the last. As the figure reached the doorway Nox realized something.

"That's a lot of smoke," she thought, "way more than there should be."

Her eyes fell back on the figure as it entered the bedroom. The figure was no shadow, it was nothing more than a small black and white cat.

"Juno?" Nox said with surprise.

Juno meowed in response before turning to look back into the cloud of smoke. Moments later a familiar hero entered the room, a surprised look on his face.

"Woah," he said with a grin, "that was pretty impressive."

"Hitsu!" Nox said filled with relief, "Where were you? I thought something happened to you."

"Aww," Hitsu teased, "you were worried?"

"I can make another spear," Nox responded bluntly.

Hitsu deiced to change the subject. "Well, Juno heard the shadows inside, by the time I took out the ones in the living room you already got these ones."

"You went through the front door?" Nox asked, "Why didn't you come through the window, it probably would have been faster."

"I was closer to the front door," Hitsu explained, "but that would have been some entrance."

Nox watched Hitsu's eyes drift to the window of the room before they widened with fear. She quickly turned on her heels only to feel her heart drop. The view out of the window was non-existent, the only thing she could see was pure black. Nox's mother and father had the same reaction as the darkness was filled with pairs of red eyes. The window was covered, covered with shadows.

Everything happened in a flash. The window shattered. Hitsu dashed forward. The shadows poured in like rushing water. Hitsu wasn't fast enough. The shadows reached out jaws first. The fangs. Reached out and snapped down. The shadows turned and fled. It was over.

Everyone stood in shock. She was gone. In a shadows mouth as they retreated into the forest. The shadows had her...

...They had Joy.

...

End of Episode 13