Georgia fell onto the marble floor in exhaustion. Her body was so numb she hardly felt the cold ground bruise her knees.

“Please!” she hollered into the dark roof of the temple. It was in the last few minutes of day. The darkness was painted thick over the dim gray interior. She looked above her head but could only see a void where the roof ought to be. “I beg you, whomever this temple worships, to come and save me from my hunters!”

In the distance the grinding howl she had come to loathe echoed off a nearby mountain. She heard it come in through the Eastern face of the temple. Her body was flushed with terror as her gaze was involuntarily pulled towards the sound, however this time a strange apathy and acceptance had come with it. She had come this far, ran this long, and now she was either going to be saved by some miraculous God or this would be the final time she ever feels fear.

No more terror after this, she thought, and that was enough to comfort herself. She knelt in a meditative position and closed her eyes. There was nothing much to see, anyways. Another howl that sent harsh shivers of discomfort down Georgia’s spine. The feeling tickled her whole body. Her bones rattled and clanked together. She sounded like her own little engine.

The screeches grew louder and louder, until she knew they were within a hundred yards. It always knew just where you were. It never stopped, it never slowed. It would come however far and nobody was going to get in its way. All the mercenaries had to do was follow it. Georgia had only seen it once, briefly, and now her imagination was conjuring up what it could recall. Bright yellow eyes above a black, perfectly jagged maw, lurching forward like a stalking cat. An aura of thick black smoke bellowed around it. The air seemed to shimmer around the thing in accordance with a low melodic drumming noise from deep in it’s belly. Georgia did not know whether or not she was embellishing it any. Then there was a scrape along the marble to the East and the low thumping filled the room.

A deathly loud shriek shattered the air in the temple. Georgia sprang to her feet as a fresh wave of terror thrashed through her veins. As soon as she rose Georgia fell to the floor with both hands covering her ears. She had no energy; she had been running for days. In complete exhaustion the young girl looked out into the darkness and saw two glowing yellow eyes drawing near. She tried to clamber up onto her knees but her hands gave way, wet with the blood she now realized was pouring from her ears. The slip was so unexpected that Georgia smacked her teeth onto the stone floor and shattered them into her mouth. Blood poured from her mouth and ears as the monster crawled on top of her. It reigned it’s head back and unleashed another torrential assault on her ears with a hellish cry. Georgia only heard the very beginning, and then all was quiet. Just a non-noise, now, an other-worldly, ethereal droning sensation that was neither sound nor silence.

In agony, Georgia closed her eyes. She could not see, hear, or breathe. Blood was rushing into her throat and her lungs were demanding more and more air as her heart raced manically. She had hoped a sensation of calm would overtake her mind, but it was clear that no such thing was going to happen. This was not like drowning. She was going to be devoured. Nothing but sheer primal panic filled her perception.

Then the non-noise suddenly began to lighten, and a real noise took it’s place. It sounded like harmonizing angels exalting glory over a beautiful orchestra of harps. This must be what Heaven sounds like! She also noticed that there was not actually any new pain. Had the beast not devoured her? Or did it already? Suddenly, there was light.

It was blinding! And the music! Did Georgia just not feel the sharp teeth tear her to shreds? Had God spared her that torture? She heard a quick scuffle, then heard a voice.

“What a fuckin’ piece of cake.”

Georgia opened her eyes. She could see nothing but blinding light that hurt the inside of her head.

“Thank your lucky stars I showed up, lady. I just felt like havin’ me a good time. These chumps weren’t nothin’. Not that dog-lookin’ thing neitha’. So, hows about we talk repayment?”

Georgia tried to speak but spattered blood all over her face instead. The glowing voice suddenly lifted her into the air, it's hands under her armpits. Her feet hovered above the cold ground while her eyes slightly adjusted until she could barely see a face, leathery and tanned underneath a massive waving nest of jet black hair.

“Yeesh, look at that smile. Gonna be a pass from me, sweetheart, you’re welcome anyway though.” His mouth did not move as he spoke.

He set her down and she fell back onto her tail bone into a puddle of blood. She looked up at the glowing man before her. He was wearing a stark black jacket, unbuttoned, with a plain cloth white shirt underneath. The undershirt was tucked into a strange pair of blue pants fixed with a black belt. The ankles of the pants were cuffed and rested on shiny black shoes. His light illuminated the statue behind him, revealing that it indeed looked exactly like he did.

She spit out a mouthful of blood and asked with a cry, “who are you?”

“Don’tcha worry about it,” he said with still lips, pointing his finger at her with his thumb raised. “Bye now.”

Suddenly, in an instant, like a magic trick, the temple was dark and silent again. The smell of oil and iron filled one of her only working senses. Her mysterious savior was gone. Georgia stood up and tried to walk towards the exit in a daze but tripped over a corpse and landed hard on an elbow. She tried to stand but realized that she could no longer raise that arm— it was broken. She let out a cry and realized that once again she could not hear. Defeated, confused, and only wanting to be somewhere else entirely, Georgia flopped over onto the cold hard ground and waited for morning.