The worst thing about not knowing where your opponent was happened to be not knowing what your opponent would do. And although Merik had been unable to capitalize on this when the woman rushed into the room, she had managed to swipe at the still Merik.
As he ran down the hall, the effects of this swipe became felt. She had not got much of him, but with no armor, even a little could be a lot. Most of the damage was simply cosmetic- there was no doubt that his vest was ripped, and instead of neatly fitting to his body the lower left end now dangled in the wind. But that was not Merik's concern. This animal skin could be replaced by another's- his skin, on the other hand (or rather, on his chest)...
There were now three lines, each differing in length and depth, on Merik's chest. The one on top was only about an inch or two long, and the blood had barely shown itself before it dried. The bottom one, too, was barely anything more than a slightly deep paper cut, although its length was a bit longer than the first. The middle line, however, had made the deepest impression. It measured at four inches, and the top layer of skin had all been completely scraped off. A pool of blood had welled up from the deeper layers, and now it filled and strangulated in this open sore. Nothing too drastic yet, but still not at all comfortable to run with. Especially when there were already discomforts of another kind.
And of this discomforts- first, there was heat. Even now, Merik could feel it, the hot flames which sent the water scurrying away into the air. And even now, he could hear the flames- the crackling of burning wood gradually overpowered the dimming ringing in his ears. Louder, louder, it grew, reminding him of its coming destruction. Yes, there was fire- terrible fire- and the fire was close. But closer still was the smoke. The smoke- which even now was creeping down the hallway and beginning to obscure his vision. It would be too smoky to see at eye level soon- soon, but not yet.
While there was yet light enough, while yet the air was still saturated with only clear water, he ducked into an open door frame. There was not time to do much- the woman was coming up behind him- but there was just enough time to mostly avoid the large frame of a what once must have been a couch that still stood against the wall. With a stubbed toe for a casualty, Merik made his way in a not very graceful manner to the far side of the room, where there was another door attached to the wall with just a single hinge. This time, he stood in front of it, although facing towards the hallway, and placed his hand on the single hinge, muttering words as he waited for his opponent to enter.
He would not have to wait long, not for the woman, nor for his natural opponent. Even now, the smoke was beginning to obscure sight at his eye level, and its source, the fire, was not far behind.
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