Chapter 19

{{ Thomas' POV 😕 }}
"Ah, hello Renesmee, what a pleasant surprise," Thomas greeted Rayne's assistant without looking up from his table. He knew it was her from the voice he had heard in the doorway. He waited a few seconds for a return greeting but one never came. He looked up and turned to look back at the doorway where Renesmee stood with her hand over her mouth.
"Wh-what is that," she questioned, her voice barely above a whisper.
It took Thomas a moment to understand what she was talking about, "Oh, you see, I had had the plans for these creatures stored away in some old files and decided that they should finally make their grand appearance. I call them banshees because of their screams. What do you think?"
Again, he waited for a reply from Renesmee but was answered with silence. She just stood there, with her hand over her mouth.
"Renesmee? Is everything alright?"
"I-its just, I mean- I," she looked like she was about to burst into tears. "I'm sorry. Please excuse me," Renesmee couldn't get the words out fast enough as she spun around and practically ran out into the hall.
Confused, Thomas turned to Rayne who was seated on her personal sofa, "Was it something I said?" he asked, the confusion growing more evident in his features.
"I don't think so. But if you'll excuse me, I should go check and make sure that she's alright," Rayne responded, getting up and walking back through the sliding doors.
Well, that was odd, he thought to himself. With a sigh, he turned back around to face the glowing table that lay before him. He couldn't place what it was, but something felt off. There was a small warning light going off in the back of his mind, but Thomas didn't know why. He flipped his head up to look at the large screen on the opposite wall, the one that contained the repeating video footage of the banshee prototype.
The voice of one of the screen workers shook him out of his thoughts, "Sir, all targets are aligned and ready to begin. Would you like to start?"
Thomas didn't have to think twice before answering, "Let's begin, shall we."

{{ Xander's POV 🐺 }}
Xander heaved Coryn up and threw her arm over his shoulder as fast as he could without hurting her. He had left the black-haired girl stunned on the ground a few paces behind him to help Coryn. Her entire left side was soaked with sticky, crimson blood and she was coughing profusely. But that wasn't the worst part.
Not ten feet in front of them stood the most hideous creature Xander had ever seen. It stood at least eight feet tall, with pale white skin that clung tightly to its skeleton. Its slimy skin was stretched taut over its head and its only facial feature was the gaping circular mouth, which was lined with rows upon rows of shark-like teeth jutting up from its gums. Its arms were so long that the creature had to drag them along the ground, its claws digging deep furrows into the earth.
And its screams. The monster made the most horrifying noise, a blood-curdling screech that made Xander want to crumple up and cover his ears.
But he couldn't do that right now. Coryn was bleeding to death and the other girl was hauling herself up off the ground.
He was deciding whether to try and run or stay and fight the beast when Coryn wheezed something inaudible.
"What is it?" Was all Xander could think to say.
Coryn tried again, her voice coming out hoarse, "My sword. We can't leave it here," she coughed again, the few words clearly a struggle to get out.
He glanced over to where her sword lay beside the log and their jackets. But the girl now stood between them and the sword.
"Coryn I-,"
"Xander please," Coryn pleaded, cutting him off. "I'm already no good in combat, but I would have a slightly better chance at not dying if I had something to protect myself with."
He turned to look at the sword one last time before making his decision.
"If you let me go, I can distract it,” Coryn nodded toward the monster.
"But, can you stand?"
Coryn nodded again and Xander released her. He waited a moment to make sure that she wouldn't collapse and sprinted toward the other contestant. He felt as well as heard the monster's scream but resisted the urge to look back. She could handle herself. Hopefully.
When he was just a few paces away, Xander stuck his arm out and a long bolt of lightning flung off the tips of his fingers. But, right before impact, the girl disappeared in a cloud of black smoke and reappeared to his left.
I don't need to fight her, I just need to get Coryn's sword, he reminded himself. He started to run again but the girl appeared in front of him and punched him in the stomach. The punch was harder than he had anticipated and he stumbled backward. Regaining his balance he started to run once again. But once he reached the girl, instead of trying to avoid her, he grabbed her arm and electrocuted her. She convulsed slightly before crumpling to the ground. He snatched up the sword and the jackets and started back toward Coryn.
Coryn had some sort of transparent dome surrounding her, probably a part of her newfound powers. But she looked like she was struggling as the creature beat down upon the glass-like dome. It released another scream and slammed its whole body into the force field causing it to shatter.
Xander took off down the clearing hoping that Coryn could survive for a few more moments. The monster's screech filled his ears as he saw Coryn roll out of the way of its still pounding fists. She managed to roll out of the way and onto her knees and turned to look at him. He was running as fast as he could but it wasn't fast enough. There were only a few yards between them when Coryn yelled, "Throw it to me! Throw me the sword!"
Xander looked down at the sword before throwing it as hard as he could. Coryn reached up and caught the hilt of the weapon. She kicked it in the chest as hard as she could, giving her enough time to crawl to her feet. She stumbled backward a few steps before gaining her balance. The creature screeched again and charged, its razor blade claws pointed toward her.
Coryn waited until the monster was directly upon her before she swung her sword. The beast's head fell to the ground at Coryn's feet, just before she collapsed.