The next thing Tan felt was a powerful force slam into his back, sending him flying. As he landed, the pole on his back clattered weakly next to him, smooth polished stone hitting the rough gravel of the ground. The creatures were on him in a heartbeat. One sat on top of him, its front paws pinning his torso, and lunged at his neck. Seeing the Chit’s two long fangs coming for him, Tan held out an arm to block it. The creature was either too bloodthirsty or unimpressed to care and, luckily, Tan’s outstretched forearm caught the Chit’s neck. While all this occured, the other Chit had begun circling Tan and his captor, translucent wings slinking low, almost as if it was entranced by the war being waged. With one arm holding those gnashing fangs away, Tan stretched his other hand out, desperately reaching for his pole.

Just as the Chit overpowered him, Tan managed to grab his weapon and swung the rock pole at the monster. Weak as the blow was, it caught the creature on the side of the head and interrupted its lunge. The Chit gave a deafening screech as it recoiled in shock. Freed from the Chit’s overbearing weight, Tan scrambled to his feet, holding his pole towards the circling Chit. The Chit he had just hit was bleeding from under one eye, yellow ooze dripping down its face. Despite this wound, it seemed to have recovered its senses and joined his brethren in circling Tan.

The two Chits were completely in sync, each footstep falling as if in time with some ominous beat. Tan flipped rapidly between the two opposing forces, holding his pole out to halt their approach. He was about as successful as a dam trying to hold back the ocean. The Chits continued to circle him, reducing the area with each rotation. If Tan were afforded the luxury of looking at this scene in safety, he would’ve marveled at how grotesquely beautiful it looked. It was almost like a strange dance, building slowly, but confidently, towards a grand climax. Unfortunately, that grand climax probably involved these beasts eating his innards…

“Can’t just wait while they take their time to kill me. Gotta do something.” Tan thought, feeling panic give way to an icy determination. Tan charged the Chit blocking off the way out. It leapt at him defiantly in response. As the creature left the ground, Tan stepped to the side, ducked his head down and rammed his pole up. The pole punched through the Chit’s clear wing and Tan shoved himself forward, tearing through the wing like a hot knife. Their hides might be hard, but it appeared the wings were as delicate as they looked. The creature dropped mid-leap, squealing in agony as it writhed around in the white fluid exuding from the wound.

The other Chit eyed him murderously, trying to decide between vengeance and retreat. Tan didn’t give it time to decide.

“AHHHHHHH!” He let out a scream, trying to startle the creature. He stepped towards it, menacingly and the creature instinctually took a few steps back.

Then, Tan promptly turned and sprinted towards the staircase. The creature stood looking baffled for a moment and then its bestial instincts took over, prompting it to give chase. The few seconds this charade had bought allowed Tan to reach the start of the stairs, sunlight shining down. As expected, the creature ran to the point where the illumination began, turned around as if blocked off by a wall and slunk away.

Adrenaline washing away, Tan’s legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to the ground, both Chits still in view. The exhilaration of being hunted faded with each rasping breath and pain flooded his body. His chest was bruised at the least, with the imprint of the Chit’s paws still visible on his leather vest.

“These damn things eat better than I do.”

Minutes passed, and Tan’s breathing returned to normal. Using the pole as a makeshift cane, Tan forced himself to rise and began a painstaking walk towards the Outer Ring Settlements. He had definitely had better days being a trasher. On the bright side, he could probably use this experience to guilt Mira into buying the first few rounds.