Road Bandits

There I was, walking down a long dirt road with a voice in my head and two men by my side. There was Reynauld a man covered in armor sword at his side ready to defend the group with everything he had and Dismas a quiet man who's willing to get what's done, and then there was me a lost girl covered in bite wounds and claw marks ready to do my best to defend myself with whatever power I have left. "All we have to do is walk for a few more minutes until we can reach the nearest stagecoach outpost." Dismas pointed north of where we currently were but in all honesty I was just following their leads.

< Aren't you gonna ask any questions, I believe it would be in our best interest to gain whatever information we can just in case this doesn't go as well as planned. It always great to have a backup plan you know. >

I looked at the marks on my hands only to see them begin to glow faintly as the voice in my head began to talk to me, "I don't know if that's the way we should do things right now, I think we should try and stick with these two for as long as we can to make sure we get help I think their pretty nice." I felt a tap on my shoulder as I looked around to see Dismas and Reynauld staring at both me and my no longer glowing hand. "Did you hit your head or something because talking to yourself is not exactly something healthy people do." "Yes Ms. do you need to take a break to catch your breath because we are in no rush, Reynauld added.

"No I'm fine, just a little dizzy probably from dehydration can I get some more water please?" I said quickly, trying to change the subject into something normal again. "That's all and just make sure to let us know when you get like that again, don't want you taking anymore unnecessary damage." He handed me a container full of water which I quickly accepted and drank some out of.

After all of that we walked for another hour or so before we came upon a gruesome scene, there was wood and fire everywhere, blood decorated the road and I could see the body of a man that looked to be about Dismas' age lying on the ground covered in gruesome wounds. Dismas was the first to rush forward quickly checking the body for any significant markings or documents while reynauld searched the majority or the wreckage looking for any items of major importance. I stayed behind watching them both work on their selected tasks, it all went as normal as it could have with both of them returning empty handed except for a document on the inventory of the vehicle.

Then something unexpected happened, something we weren't ready for. A loud bang rang out in the open air as dismas was the first target for our unknown assailants. Three men leaped out from the cover of the forest, two holding long weapons with a similar look to the one strapped to Dismas' belt and one holding a long three-headed whip. "Hand over the girl and anything valuable you have on you and we'll be on our way you resist and we shoot you and take what we want, your choice."

What I saw next stunned me, as soon as he finished talking Dismas pulled out one of his blades and made a mad dash towards the man with the whip delivering two quick slashes to the man's chest before leaping back and taking a defensive stance. "Rose, I hope you're not too loopy to fight because these guys are cutthroats." Reynauld wasted no time pulling out a blade of his own and charging at the nearest banit leaving me alone with the last one who still had his weapon trained on me.

< Don't just stand there, you'll have to start fending for yourself at some point and now is one of the best times to start; remember just focus and envision the outcome. >

My heart started beating faster and faster but I didn't want to freeze up this time. I focused and remembered the sounds of those wolves growling with hunger, the pain I could still feel from the wounds they had left behind. I focused on that and the black parts of my hand began to light up and transform, my fingernails began to grow and sharpen my and I could feel small patches of fur beginning to grow; without realizing it I was already running towards the man in front of me digging my newly formed claws into his chest.