Young Writers Society

As it charged, the commander leaped into action. It seemed as though his gun had materialized into his hand. He aimed and shot, a loud crack echoing throughout the forest. The bullet hit the scolopendra in the center of its head, but was nothing more than a nuisance to it. Still, the creature turned to face the commander who had unsheathed his blade, the steel glinting in the light.

Commander Schaefer did not wait for the scolopendra to come to him. Instead, he raced towards it. It reared, allowing him to stab his blade into the unprotected flesh below. The scolopendra dropped the top part of its body, Schaefer only just rolling out of the way. “Engage!” he shouted. He stood upright and charged again, embedding his blade into a gap in the plates.

Caden ran out into the clearing, seeing the other cadets running alongside him. He paused for a moment. What should he do? This was the first real combat he had ever experienced.

He had to do something, anything! Working quickly, he recalled his training. Aim for the back; it bleeds quicker. He took a deep breath and chose a target. It was fighting with another cadet facing it head on.

He charged, raising his sword high and bringing it down inside a chink in its armor. Blue blood began to flow from the wound. Caden pulled his weapon from the animal, stunned by his own actions.

He looked at the blade in his hand, marvelling at the blood smeared across the steel. He looked up again, finally truly prepared to fight. He stopped dead in his tracks. The scolopendra had turned to regard him; he faced wicked pincers, fully equipped to kill him.

Frozen, he remembered that day. The day his whole world had fallen apart and all he had known had been taken from him. The day those wretched creatures, the scolopendra, had attacked his home.

He was there when the first of them had arrived. The Garrison, who should have protected them, never rang the warning bell. Those keeping watch were too drunk to do their jobs properly.

The scolopendra came all at once, not hesitating for even a moment, to murder everyone they possibly could. He ran home to his mother, he needed to warn her about what was coming. He burst inside, breathless. No time to explain, he just grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her outside.

He didn’t bother telling her what was going on, he only focused on getting the both of them to the safehouse. But suddenly she stopped, he was pulled back with a jerk. “Why did you stop?” he asked, tugging at her arm. “We have to go!”

His mother didn’t speak, she only stared and slowly she raised her hand, pointing beyond the both of them. He turned to see what she saw and he too, was frozen. A scolopendra was not 15 feet away from them, its head turned their way.

Far too quickly for a creature of its size, it raced towards them. His mother pushed him away from her, “Run!” she screamed.

Dazed, he obeyed, too frightened to think about her request, at least until he looked back. The scolopendra, the monster, held his mother in its jaws. He didn’t shout, he didn’t cry, he didn’t even move. He only stood as that horrible, terrifying monster crushed his mother in between its jaws.

He watched as it unfolded, time slowing down. He saw every minute detail. The way blood dripped down its body, the way she sagged in its grip, for a moment, he could almost smell the blood that left her body as she died in slow motion.

Then time sped up, the ground loosened its hold on Caden’s feet and he ran. He ran to safety. He was safe. His mother had died.

The end of the memory brought him back to the present, still in the face of the scolopendra. His breath hitched as it darted towards him to catch him in its jaws. Panicked, he ran just like he had all those years ago. Nothing had changed. He hadn’t changed at all. He was still that same scared little boy.

Caden didn’t think where he was running. He just wanted to be away from the fighting and the monsters. The demons that had haunted his dreams since he was ten years old. He didn’t notice that it was dark and that he could see the sky until he was far into the tunnel.

Caden had fled into the nest of the scolopendra. For a moment, he was alarmed. What would the commander think? What would the other cadets think? But then he noticed something. A light.

It was just up ahead, deeper into the cavern rather than a way out. Curious, and with no regard to his wellbeing, he continued into the tunnel. As he approached, Caden could hear soft voices. Human voices.

He had enough presence of mind to press himself against the wall, inching closer to the cave. He listened quietly, wondering who could possibly be in a scolopendra nest.

“I think that’s the last of it,” a distinctly male voice said roughly.

“Why are we even doing this?” a younger voice asked. “Aren’t we supposed to kill these things?”

“I dunno,” the gruff voice said. “Just do as you’re told and you get paid. Don’t question your orders.”

The younger man sighed before a thump. “All done,” he said. “Let’s get out of here. This place reeks.”

“You get used to it,” the older man said. Caden heard footsteps. He braved a peek around the corner. He looked around the room, it was large and dug from packed earth like the rest of the nest, but his eyes were drawn to the two men.

He couldn’t see their faces, only the backs of them. They looked to be climbing up a ladder and they both wore a blue uniform with the king’s seal on the back. Caden held his breath, leaning his back against the wall.

He heard the clang of metal on metal and he dared to look around the corner again. The room was empty. He released the breath he had been holding and slowly walked into the room. The smell hit him like a brick wall. The stench of rotting meat.

Inside the room, he found ravaged animal carcasses and splintered wood. Splintered wood? Caden looked around the room for any clues. He spotted dozens of crates stacked on top of one another. He wandered closer, prying off the lid of one of the crates.

Immediately he regretted it, the box was filled to the brim with the bodies of dead animals. Why? Caden shook his head, trying not to breathe too deeply. There was no time to think. He had to report back to the Commander. He had to say something.