There was the kid, sitting in the middle of a black circle with all sorts of lines and symbols painted on the floor

Tears stained her cheeks as she stared ahead at Fell, who was kneeling with her head bowed. A woman stood next to her with a rifle pointed at her.   

I thought I would pass out again as they forced me into a kneeling position next to Fell, but I somehow managed to hold onto consciousness. Another rifle toting member took his place next to me. I stole a glance over at her and only then saw the full extent of the damage. Her face was a mangled mess. One of her eyes was reduced to an angry red hole.

“Fell…” I whispered

She lifted her head slightly in response before another voice called for our attention

“Ah good, the wolf pack is reunited!” Osprey said as he paced between us and the circle.

“This must be starting to feel familiar to you” He smiled

It was true. There was a force coming from the lines on the floor. It felt rotten and wrong, just like that cult’s camp the night Wolf died.

He continued, “That church group and their ghost town held invaluable knowledge, the fruits of which you see before you. With this, we will reopen the door to the realm of Father’s fallen enemy and pull her out”

He turned suddenly, taking hold of one of his gang members and shoving them away from the circle.

“Watch it!” He hissed with a scowl. Apparently, this guy was getting a bit too close.

His smile returned as his attention came back to us. “Of course, we are not simply repeating the same ritual. We have made some additions based on what we have learned. The remains of the cult, her enemies, worked into the Azoth lines here, will make a fine muzzle, for our safety and her compliance. With her as a weapon, we will bring glory to our Father and restore order among Proxies!”

“With you in control, right?” I spat.

“Well…” He smirked “Someone would need to oversee the organization. It might as well be me. Now, lets begin”

The rotten feeling got worse as he and his gang began to chant. The kid started screaming; begging them to stop, I looked around as my mind raced; trying to spot an opportunity or come up with a plan. I took another glance at Fell. Her head was still bowed but her jaw was moving as if she was chewing something.

The sounds of scraping bones and stretching flesh brought my attention back to the kid. Her body was being torn and reshaped. Her screams became sick gurgles as tendrils emerged from her and frantically began stitching her flesh like someone was mending a ripped doll.   

Suddenly, Fell heaved herself forward, spitting a mass of blood and a chunk of her tongue towards the circle, obscuring one of the symbols. The woman who had been aiming a rifle at her must have let her eyes slip to the circle for a moment too long. Panicking, she fired a shot at Fell, piercing her shoulder and causing more of her blood to spray onto the circle. The woman’s head was gone before she had the chance to take another shot.

I was crushed to the floor by the corpse of the guard who stood next to me. My vision blurred with the pain, but I could still make out the shape of the woman who was now standing in the circle. My ears rang. My body felt like it was burning from the inside out. The room was in chaos as our captors tried to escape. All except for Osprey who stood there immobilized by the tentacles that coiled around his arms and legs. I watched as more tendrils burst from her and stretched out to block the exit. An almost inhuman shriek brought my attention swiftly back to Osprey, who had been pulled forward to face the woman he had resurrected. Her stitched mouth formed a sick smile. His body started to violently shake as his blood pooled at their feet. I couldn’t tell what was happening to him until his body folded at an impossible angle and started disappearing into hers. Her stomach was moving. It was as if the flesh had ripped only to expose teeth. He continued his tortured shrieks until her monstrous mouth reached his chest. Blood poured from his own mouth. His face twisted in absolute agony until it too was devoured. 

Having eaten their leader, she moved on to his remaining followers. The floor became a river of blood as they were torn and broken.

The room grew quiet until only one, tiny gasping voice could be heard. It was Fell. This attracted the attention of the stitched Wolf, who crawled towards her like a hungry animal.

“Wolf please!” I cried in desperation. “It’s Fell!”

She stopped for a moment, glancing back as if she might turn on me instead. Another gasping cry brought her focus back to Fell.

“F-Fellll” She moaned and sniffed at her. Recognition dawned across her face as she let out a low anguished moan.

“Love you…. Try to fix…. If you want” She struggled, as if trying to remember how to form the words “Do you want… Still want to be with me?”

Fell managed a nod

A thin tendril emerged from Wolf’s wrist and went into the bullet wound. Fell screamed in pain as Wolf went about her work, stitching and mending as best she could   

I could see Fell’s veins begin to pop out and turn a dark red, before slowly sinking back. She sobbed as the process continued.

By the time Wolf was done, Fell’s face had become a web of stitches and one dark red, dead eye, but at least she was alive. They held each other, but the moment was cut short by the boss, who suddenly appeared

Wolf sprang to her feet; Fell following suit.

“Ritter” she said   

Tentacles sprang from him but turned to ashes before they could reach her.

He made this terrible noise. Calling it a roar doesn’t seem to do it justice. He was furious. Wolf opened her mouth, the stitches straining against her skin, and made a horrible noise of her own in response

They stood in silence for what felt like an eternity before he finally disappeared.

Wolf walked over to me, shoved the corpse aside and rolled me onto my back. Her gaze went from my injuries to my eyes.

“Hart…” she started

“Do it.” I said, already knowing what she intended to ask

It hurt worse than the torture but at least I can walk, and I don’t have any open wounds. I feel weird. In a way I feel better than before, like a weight has been taken off my shoulders

We’re squatting here at Osprey’s hideout while we recuperate and adjust. Fell has been practically glued to Wolf’s side as if she’s afraid that she’ll disappear. I can’t say I blame her. 

Wolf seems distant; out of it. I think she’s trying to get her head together

I know this wasn’t what she wanted. I know that we failed her and Whelp. Now that she’s here, I can’t help but feel happy, even as I mourn for the kid.