Siryel's Confession

Lost and alone, without any light nor map to aid his cause, Ash grew increasingly nervous. The ground he had flown over was dark and frightening. Somewhere, something howled. The howl almost comforted Ash, used as he was to identifying that howl with someone in particular. Then he remembered. This was the forest. That howl could have come from anyone…or anything.
Frightened now, Ash chose a direction and fled. He had no idea where he was going. The lightness and sprite-like airiness had left his tread, now, he ran in desperation, searching for another soul. An owl hooted above him. Ash lost his balance and fell in surprise. He lay, gasping for breath. Suddenly, he stopped.  The leaves rustled behind him. Something slithered slimily over his hand. Ash bit his lip to stop himself from crying out in disgust. A twig snapped somewhere in the dark. Ash trembled where he lay, face buried in the fallen leaves. The sounds drew nearer, nearer…
A roar sounded in his ears. Ash leapt up, his curiosity overcoming his fright. Behind him stood a half-grown troll-bear!
Troll-bears were larger than most bears, mottled green and brown, grown as a genetic experiment in Gtarian labs. They, like haurochs, had somehow escaped and spread. Most had been exterminated because they were so dangerous, but a colony must have made it to these woods. The troll-bear roared again. Even half-grown, it was still large, towering over Ash by at least three feet. Troll-bears grew to be enourmous, eighteen feet in height. This one was currently thirteen or fourteen feet tall, but still towering over Ash’s six or so feet in height.
The troll-bear raised its paw, claws glistening in the moonlight. Ash gulped and shut his eyes. Those claws would tear through his throat; slashing his jugular to shreds…he hoped it wouldn’t be too painful. The troll-bear roared again. It still hadn’t torn out his throat. Ash opened his eyes a tiny bit…and saw the miracle!
The troll-bear’s teeny, blank eyes were focused on a brand of fire, blazing from the torch Siena held in her right hand. In her long-gloved left hand, she held something Ash couldn’t see.
Troll-bears despise light. It shuts down their tiny brains, which function well only in the dark. This particular troll-bear was curious. He had never seen a light, preferring to sleep during the day. He swept his massive paw at the torch. He howled as his brain processed the pain coming from his singed limb. And in that moment, Siena struck!
She lashed out with the whip she carried in her hand. The troll-bear roared in agony as the lash bit into his thick fur. He growled and swiped his paw at the return stroke. The crack resounded audibly as his paw broke under the curl of the weighted barbs on the whip’s end. Siena’s eyes glittered eerily in the light from her blazing torch. She closed in.
But the troll-bear wasn’t finished. Rearing up on its hindpaws, it swiped its good paw at the flying lash. It caught the whip’s end, and, ignoring the digging barbs, tore it from its paw with its teeth and flung it into the darkness before the whip could wind itself around him. Then, he turned to face this new and defenseless prey.
Siena leapt aside as the troll-bear pounced. She rolled over to Ash and passed to the torch to him. Wordlessly, he took it and held it high to see what would come next.
Siena whirled around, drawing the troll-bear further away from Ash. The trenchcoat swirled about her as she swung into a tree. The troll-bear swung his good paw at it…and snapped the trunk in two! Siena leapt to another tree as the troll-bear howled in frustration. She leapt at the bear this time as he knocked over her tree…and her boots landed square in the bear’s chest, driving the wind from him. The bear’s thrashing claw caught Siena’s shoulder. Blood dripped from the gash- half on her real skin, half of her fake skin hanging off her arm- and charged again, trenchcoat flying backward; the howling wolf emblazoned on it seeming to snarl as she leapt. The bear sank his teeth into her wounded arm. Siena scrabbled at her shoulder, and the next thing Ash knew- her arm was in the bear’s mouth! Devoid of one arm, Siena swung onto the bear’s head, and swung her hand down. Something happened, for she swiped her hand like she had claws at the bear’s ear. The bear roared in agony, its ear hanging on by only a shred. Siena then tore at its cheek. The bear spun around, trying to free itself of its tormentor. Siena hurtled down and snatched up her arm. The skin was gone, devoured by the troll-bear. Steel tendons moved as she fastened it back onto her bloody shoulder. Trenchcoat hanging off her injured shoulder, Siena snatched the torch from Ash and stalked towards the wounded bear. She jabbed at it with the torch, causing it to howl in pain. She jabbed at it again, and the bear’s fur caught fire!
Dry from seasons of poor grooming, the brittle stuff went up brilliantly. The flames spread swiftly, the bear screaming in pain. Siena flung the torch into its open mouth. The bear ran off through the trees in search of a stream, tearing down anything in its path, a flaming juggernaut. It crashed through the woods, leaving the fallen trees aflame behind it. Siena became a silhouette against the surging flame. Panting, she turned to face Ash.
Ash’s eyes glazed over. He could not believe the battle he had just seen! Siena had taken on a troll-bear…and won! But her victory came at a price. Half caked, half running, the open slash on her shoulder bled onto the shining steel revealed by the bear’s fangs. With one arm black-gloved to the elbow and one made of steel, glossy with blood, ragged ankle-length coat swirling about her, she looked as though she had stepped from a fantasy.
Ash finally found his voice.
“Hey…that was…well, what I mean is…I must be the last person you would want to save…” he couldn’t quite express what he was trying to say. Siena’s eyes burned into his, into his heart, into the depths of his very soul…
“You know,” she said, almost accusingly. The flames licked closer to her, but she didn’t notice. “You know how I feel about you. And do you also know how much I hate myself for feeling that way? So soon after Alastor died?!” her voice had dropped conspiratorially low, but Ash could still hear her every word above the growing crackle of the flames. He froze, every word imprinting itself into his memory.
“I could have stopped him,” Siena continued, green eyes blazing from the surrounding flames with anger…and sorrow. “I could have stepped out and stopped him. But did I? No. I was a coward. A bloody, filthy coward. I watched him shoot Alastor right before my eyes…and didn’t lift a finger to save him. Do you hear?” she sobbed. Ash was startled to see tears running down her cheeks. “I KILLED THE MAN I LOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The flames were greedily snatching at the hem of her coat, but she didn’t care. Siena slowly moved forward, drawing closer to Ash. He thought he was in a nightmare. The flames were growing higher by the second. Smoke began to fill the sky.
“Kaji killed us all,” she said, her voice choked by tears. “He murdered every last one…except for me. We were all running and screaming…imagine, the great Juunishi, running in fear,” she snarled, a bit of sarcasm entering her voice. “But we did. We hid…and Kaji cam and shot us all. He knew our weak points. We couldn’t stop him. He killed the veterans before we could even blink. And then…he shot himself. I saw the carnage. He killed us all rather than give us to the government. And I survived it all.  I SHOULD HAVE DIED!!!!!” she raved, dancing in fury about the flame-ridden clearing. “I WOULDN’T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS!!!!!! How can I? How can I feel the same about you as Alastor?!?! I WISH I HAD DIED!!” Siena screamed, breaking down completely. Her eyes grew wide as she gave herself over completely to her wildness.
Ash stood stock-still, shocked by this revelation. He had never imagined, in his wildest dreams, that Siena could ever have been somewhat normal, have had a normal life, have been in love. And with him?! That was completely preposterous…and utterly believable.
This is a sample of my uncompleted story. I wasn't sure whether to post the whole thing, so I plunged the reader into the center of my story to see how they react. This novel is suppposed to be an adventure one with a hint or romance in it. If enough ppl want ot read moe, I will post the rest. Hope you enjoy my style of writing!