It Worked.

Oh my God, it worked. I can't believe it, but it actually worked.

I actually shot It. And I shot It no less than four times before It finally caught on to where I was.

I got it in Its leg first, where its knee should have been. This thing's legs are so absurdly thin that the arrow actually went through the leg. I saw It wince visibly, then watched as It looked down at the arrow, as if It understood what was happening. As if It knew.

I shot It in the shoulder next, while It was still preoccupied with the first arrow, and It quickly began to grow angry. As It began to search for me, Its tentacles slid out, flailing in displeasure like dying worms. It was sickening to watch, but I noticed, not without a little smugness, that it was limping as it walked. I continued to watch as Its frustration mounted, watched as It wiped at the tar-like blood weeping from Its fresh wounds, and calmly nocked another arrow.

Never once did It so much as try to remove the arrows. It was far too enraged at this point to care about them, far too busy trying to find and punish me for the injuries It had sustained. Its folly. My opportunity.
The third shot buried itself deeply into Its torso, near where a human being would keep their liver, and the thing's blood began to well around the wound, staining Its black suit even blacker yet. And suddenly, as Its absurd, branch-like arms began to curl around Itself, It did something I've never seen or even heard of It ever doing before, not from other Runners, not even from my research online.

It screamed.

I can only describe that hellish noise as a scream because that's the closest thing that I can even approximate It as doing. Its blank face seemed to split open suddenly and hinge-like, revealing row after row of sharp, needle-like teeth and a long, worm-like black tongue. And the sound It made, the sound… God, it's really hard to describe it. It was less of a scream, really, and almost more like anguished static. Almost a cry of pain.

It felt pain.

It doubled over in agony and shuddered slightly, almost imperceptibly, the way the leaves of a tree might in the breeze. Its back was to me now as It stood entirely still for a moment. The awful maw It had before was now nowhere to be seen, melded back into Its non-existent features as if it had never been there in the first place. Its once wildly writhing tentacles were now curled furtively and protectively around Its impossibly thin body, trying to prevent any more pain and blood loss. Trying to shield Itself from my harsh blows.

For a second, I almost pitied It, standing there in pain and shaking so miserably. But only for a second, and then my common sense kicked back in. That thing… that awful, hideous thing doesn't deserve my pity. Not one bit of it.

I nocked a fourth and final arrow, and when I let it go, it hit the creature somewhere slightly above where the kidney would be on any other animal. Massive amounts of oily black liquid spilled from the wound, and the creature cried out a final time before It finally fell, collapsing awkwardly to the ground below in an absurd-looking tangle of limbs.

I watched the thing a while, watched It shudder in the leaf rot and fern beds beneath It. Even in Its death throes, It continued to try to shield Itself from still more arrows. For a moment, It seemed almost genuinely surprised that It had been so grievously injured, but then… Then It looked to the symbols on the trees around It, and then to the arrows in Its body, and It began to tremble – and this time, Its shaking was far more violent and far more familiar. It understood. It knew.

And It was afraid.

Somehow that made me feel a lot better, knowing It, too, could fear things. Particularly me. How does it feel being the prey, you son of a bitch? Not so much fun being the hunted party, is it?

It still hadn't died after about twenty minutes, so I picked up my jackknife and, steeling myself, began to walk towards It. The nausea kicked in within about five feet of It, stronger than before – probably a defense mechanism on Its part to deter me. But I ignored the urge to vomit that rose in my stomach and continued onward.

It must have sensed me coming, because Its pale, featureless head swiveled weakly towards me, and It extended a tentacle in an effort to push me away. But It didn't have enough strength to manage it, and I easily brushed the rough, bark-like extension away from me. Its invisible gaze penetrated me as I approached still closer, almost as if asking why I had hurt It so. Almost pleading. As if begging me for mercy.

Fuck, no. Not after it made my life a living hell for the past month.

I brought out the jackknife and flicked it open, now standing within mere inches of the thing. It watched me eyelessly, still shaking in dread, still too weak to move. It seemed to regard me with a mix of fear and curiosity, still seeming to beg me to stop.

Then, suddenly, It seemed to realize something, something It hadn't previously considered, and I felt Its unseen gaze shift from fear to an awful sense of knowing. And in that instant, It immediately stopped Its shaking and remained fully motionless. Terribly, entirely motionless. It was like It actually wanted me to kill It, and yet… Yet that gaze never left me. Still It seemed to question just why I thought I had to do this. But It knew. It surely knew. It had to. Why else would It have chased me this long if It didn't?

I didn't want to contemplate it further, and I sure as Hell didn't want to know what It was thinking. I just plunged the knife deep into Its neck, and It once more shrieked that unearthly, terrible, static-filled shriek as currents of Its inky, thick blood drenched my hands, burning hot where it touched. And finally, after a few moments more of Its silent staring, I felt its gaze slowly fade and disappear entirely.

I... I think I killed It.

I killed It.

Sable, oily liquid stains the ground around It, reeking of iron ore and leaf rot. All the plants touched by the fluid are starting to die too, as if sprayed with defoliant, as if the very soil was deadly poison. Its blood burns skin, by the way – I'm currently nursing some nasty acid burns where it got on my hands as I'm writing this. The skin's actually boiled up in places and stained black where it hit, like I got ink all over my fingers. Hurts like crazy. Good thing I know where to find plants that can ease the pain somewhat.

I'm leaving tomorrow for the forest's edge. Maybe now that I've fiNally killed that thing, I can mOve on and live my life again.

God, I hope so.