Chapter 11 - "So This...
is Where We're Headed...'"
Shadow
sat
up and breathed deeply. Her heart pounded in her chest and it
took a moment to realize that it had all been a dream. The same
dream
she had been having, but this time she could remember it. My
god, she
thought, I didn't know even I had that in me... She
shuddered,
remembering the images. Pins, thousands of pins... and a demon
man
in black and red... two blonde children, a boy and a girl... and in a
cold
wash of sweat, the images faded into a dim night scene. Blurred
and
darkened as it was, her vision had returned. She only hoped it
would
return fully.
Roan
opened a single eye and watched. She was rubbing her eyes,
blinking,
and looking upward. It was certain that he wouldn't be able to
have
any more fun with her blinded, but there were other ways. He
intended
to do as much as he could to drive her insane.
By
the look of things, though, he wouldn't have to do much. He could
see the delicate sheen of sweat and could scent the nightmare as if
he'd
experienced it himself. He didn't know what it was about, but it
had been bad. Bad enough to have gotten to that cold bitch,
anyway.
That's all he needed to know for now. Maybe she was being
driven insane... and he'd certainly help when the time came.
She
took a deep breath of night air and laid down again. Just a
nightmare.
No sense in dwelling on it. She tried to hold on, tried to
remember--but
it was fading far too quickly. Only the afterthought, like a dull
taste left in the mouth, remained. Frankly, she didn't care to
continue
to think about it. Whatever it was, whatever it had been, was...
too close to home.
Oh
thank god... Shadow thought as her eyes opened to a clear,
beautiful
sunrise. Or... well, thank whatever the fuck is out there, up
there, down here, whatever. She slowly wiped off the white,
crusty
substance that had finally washed to the corners of her eyes, glad to
see
again. She began to grin as she finished getting the disgusting
stuff
off of her, thinking of herself as preening or something. She'd
have
grinned at anything then, just so damn glad to have all of her sight
back.
She looked over at Roan, pretending to be asleep, and wondered if she
could
just beat the crap out of him right then. As a thanks for saving
her life and all. In the end, she simply sighed and decided to be
civil about it... at least for now...
She
stretched, sighed a deep happiness, and started humming "Kyrie
Eleison".
Happily she lifted, walked over to Roan's bed, and pulled her foot back
to kick him out as hard as she possibly could. It'll be a
very
civil kick... she decided with an evil smile. Unfortunately,
she saw the boy's eyes open just before she was about to release the
pent-up
anger toward him.
"What
are you doing?" he asked quietly, very nonchalantly.
"Practicing."
She answered, mimicking his tone.
"What?"
he responded, in the mood for a game already.
"Just
hold still." She chimed, ready to kick him, awake or not.
"It'll
make me feel better."
"And
what would make me feel better?" He grinned wickedly.
"Possibly
a lobotomy." She responded flatly.
He
blinked. He'd witnessed a lobotomy once at the hands of his
master.
It was messy and rather disgusting, and the thought seized him for
several
seconds. "I thought we were supposed to treat one another as
allies."
He finally decided upon.
"It'll
be a light, friendly kick." She promised.
"No
friendly kicking." Evyn yawned, his speech slurred by
sleep.
He'd only been awake long enough to have heard her plans.
She
looked over, hands on her hips. "Well now that's not fair."
Evyn
stretched widely and sat up, only then fully realizing that Shadow was
up and around. "How are you?"
For
the moment, she forgot about kicking the little bastard. He'd get
his later, anyway. "Better." She took a moment to rub a
sleepy
blur from her eyes. "And I'm hoping it will stay that way."
Gently,
Evyn reached over to shake Taerlyn awake. It was clearly time to
get up and get going. She mumbled something that sounded rude and
turned over. So, he brought out the big guns; he ripped the
blanket
from her and commenced the tickling of her ribs. That succeeded
in
getting several smacks to his hands and arms, but at least Ter was...
relatively
awake.
Shadow
looked back to Roan, pulling her leg back again. He only glared
at
her, waiting, murmuring under his breath, "One good turn..."
Sandy's
ears perked up, getting her to kick herself up to a standing
position.
She'd been awake the whole night, honest. Just resting her eyes,
that's all.
"Anyone
hungry?" Evyn interrupted the all-out blood war.
"No."
Taerlyn moaned into a yawn. Truthfully, she was a little
bit.
But... only a little bit. They didn't have any more meat,
though.
And the other options didn't appeal much. Besides, they didn't
have
all that much water left. The more food they consumed, the more
water
they would need. Better to conserve, for now.
"I
agree." Shadow finally stepped away from the demon boy.
"Not
yet, anyway."
"Alright."
Evyn croaked, finding his legs were quite stiff at the first attempt at
standing. "Um... ladies first."
"Joy."
Shadow joked. "Over the next dune, then. Come, minions."
Roan
cackled at that, then immediately stared at nothingness in wide-eyed
shock.
Good fucking maliciousness, had he actually found that funny?
She
was
getting to him. Ugh. Bitch.
Taerlyn
followed in a stumble behind Shadow and Sandy, off to do their morning
necessities... spaced out. No trees, no bushes... they'd just
have
to space out. When they came back, Shadow had brought up the
rear,
not looking the least bit pleased. She approached Roan with a
snarl
in her features, expecting some sort of response to her unasked
question.
The
bastard boy only grinned widely, knowing exactly what he'd kept from
her.
It was somewhat satisfying to know the poison's reign wasn't entirely
over
for her. "Like pissing pins, isn't it?"
"Your
'master' is going to be pissing daggers when I find him, for that
fucking
worm." She promised quietly.
His
expression only brightened. "Good. That's the direction
we're
headed."
Oh
fucking great. She swallowed silently. That's all they
needed. A psycho beyond the psycho they already
had.
But, she had made a challenge, hadn't she? She couldn't very well
just take it back now. That, and... well, they had little choice
in the matter. If that's where they were headed, then... it was
very
likely, by her luck, they'd wind up there.
The
boys then made their way outward in the other direction, Evyn with a
glare
the entire way there. Shadow merely spent some of the pent-up
rage
energy by loading Sandy up with their supplies. Better to take
advantage
of the adrenaline while it was there, she supposed. Ter took care
of the fire, salvaging the unused wood.
Back
into the sands of the desert they traveled. It wasn't so bad in
the
morning, really. No wind, the sun coming up to clear away the
chill,
and the smell just clean and wonderful. No wildlife that they
could
see and no plants of any kind, it was just the blackness of the sand
and
the brilliant blue sky of sunrise.
There
was still a great deal of annoyance exchanged without words.
Shadow
lightly bit down on the inside of her cheek, wondering how long that
lovely
side effect would last. If the blindness hadn't lasted all that
long,
she hoped this other shit wouldn't, either.
Roan
was somewhat torn over the idea that they were headed for where he'd
been
before he'd stumbled upon the bitch and her wayward servants. It
was home, it was the protection and power of his master, but... being
away
from that had its merits. Like, food that he didn't have to choke
down, for instance. Even the giant furry whatever-the-hell meat
was
so much better than the tripe he was regularly fed. But these
stupid
people held nothing for him. They couldn't reward him. On
the
up side, they couldn't punish him, either. Not
really.
They were still under the impression he'd be a bargaining chip, it
seemed.
It mattered little either way. These people would not survive
much
longer. And he would "help" until the bitter end. Until he
sliced the cunt's throat himself.
Evyn
was just... pissed. The whole situation was upsetting.
Angering.
He went over the worm's attack again and again in his mind, playing
back
Roan's reaction and how much that, too, had pissed him off. What,
the little bastard was being of some help now? Skinning a couple
of creatures and saving Shadow's life... for what? What was up
his
sleeve?
Taerlyn
was a bundle of nerves, trying desperately not to look or act like a
bundle
of nerves. All of the tension and the questions were really
starting
to get to her. She almost felt like she was their
connection.
Like she was this tiny entity holding all of this together just by her
unending patience alone... that was soon going to unravel and snap on
them
all. Not a pretty picture.
Sandy...
was tired. She'd taken the task upon herself of trying to herd
them
on and keep Roan from doing damage. There was the understanding
that
this journey was quite important to Shadow, though the girl herself had
doubts.
Dune
after dune, up and down in the sand with the same tired, crunching
shifty
noises, forward. The sun rose, the day warmed, and the sand under
their feet rose in temperature. Just as they'd all begun to enter
some sort of coma-like brain freeze to give in to the act of just
walking,
just moving alone, there was something incredibly odd just over the
next
pile of sand.
Right
in the middle of nowhere, looking like it had been dropped between two
dunes, was a simple little shack. So much like that weird hole in
the ground, but very different in its own right. It looked old
but
well kept, completely void of windows, and somehow had escaped burial
by
the winds that had set out to cover everything. The wood was
cracked
and peeling something that resembled discolored white paint, but not by
much. Only one small, thin door lead in or out, and the rusted
knob
didn't seem to have been used in quite some time.
"Should
we go in?" Evyn asked breathlessly. This was a little too eerily
familiar...
Shadow
paused and stared at the building. "Well, why not. There
might
be some neat things in there."
He
stared at her for a moment. "Neat things?"
"Well,
just look at it." She grinned slightly. "Bound to be something
interesting in there."
He
supposed he could understand her logic. It was a neat little
place
on the outside... who knew what kind of godawful horrors it may hold on
the inside? Lovely. "Okay. You go first."
She
let herself chuckle at that. As they walked right up to it, she
grasped
the knob. It literally crumbled in her hand, falling to
dust.
That understandably made her a bit uneasy, but not discouraged.
She
reached in with her fingers and pulled the door open, the entire
locking
mechanism falling to the ground in the same crumbled dust. "What
is this place?" she directed to a slightly gaping Roan with the
assumption
he'd know.
He
glanced at her, then continued to look around as if he expected someone
at any moment. "An old soldier camp. Apparently abandoned."
"Hm."
She responded, opening the door all the way. The whole outer
shell
of the building was only to house a stairwell. She gazed down
into
the darkness, noting that the stairs were something akin to a
gray-purple
cement. Strange. New. Interesting. "What do we
do about light?" She didn't really expect a response.
But
Roan surprised her with one. "Reach inside to the right.
There's
a switch."
"A
switch?" she was utterly fascinated. Of course, it could be a
trap.
But fuck that, this was too interesting. She had only begun to
reach
over inside the wall when she did indeed come into contact with a very
large switch, the kind of which you needed two hands to pull
down.
"Avenge my death." She half joked, stepping just inside.
With
one breath and a little weight in it, she successfully flipped said
switch.
Almost
immediately, the sound of an ancient generator began to grind.
Something
very much resembling a light bulb began to flash just a little ways
down
the stairs, then burn dimly. A few seconds and some mechanical
clicks
later, the light burned brightly. Shadow was as much in awe as
the
siblings at this sight. Computers, now light bulbs.
"Fucking
amazing."
For
quite some time, Evyn was simply unable to speak. With a dry
throat
he finally croaked, "Have you ever seen this before?"
"Yeah."
She responded, still in awe. "But... wow. The
similarity.
The computer was so different, but this... is really quite similar."
Roan
wasn't entirely sure what the hell she was talking about. But it
mattered very little. "There could be weapons and armor down
there."
He tried to be "helpful".
"We
could use some." She commented. She then turned to Sandy,
standing
stiffly with a worried expression (if that's even possible for a
horse).
"Watch for us, will you?"
The
steed seemed to bite her lip for a second, thinking this a very bad
idea.
She'd never been to this area before. She'd never seen anything
like
this before. And the fact that the demon boy knew so much about
it...
But, she'd do it. She didn't bubble over with joy at the
agreement,
but she whinnied curtly.
"You
better stay, too, Ter." Evyn suggested in a slightly harsh tone.
"I
want to come." Taerlyn responded immediately.
That
had somewhat surprised everyone. But most especially her
brother.
"Uh... are you sure?"
"Yep."
She smiled almost insanely genuinely. "Hey, I want a little
adventure,
too. But just a little."
Evyn
looked at Shadow, but all she did was shrug. No help there.
"Fine." He agreed. "But stay behind me."
"No
problem." That was the easy part.
Shadow
very "gently" pushed Roan ahead of her. "You first."
He
looked back at her with a smirk, but didn't disagree. Frankly, if
he was wrong and it turned out to be a false camp, they'd all be dead
via
blades or poisoned air anyway.
Perhaps
more or less luckily, he lead them down to an adequately lit landing
with
the option of going further down or into the door at the side. It
was a real camp. And, by the way the door hung on its hinges, it
was once well used. By the look of the disintegrated locks,
however,
it hadn't even been thought of for years.
"What's
in there?" Shadow inquired, unwilling to open the door herself.
"The
generator." Roan responded, hearing the little telltale squeaks
if
he listened hard enough.
"And
further down?" she prodded.
"Storage."
He answered, already starting down the other set of stairs.
Hopefully
this meant they'd find something useful down there, at least.
Something
that wouldn't fall apart with a touch, anyway. Shadow was
following
closely, one hand resting at her side for the quick pull of a blade,
should
she need it. Just in case. There was no telling. So
much
weird shit had gone on already, it would pay to be ready for... well,
hopefully
just about anything.
Fortunately
for them, Roan was a bit too awed at the condition of the place to have
put much thought into something devious. At the bottom of the
steps
lay short hallways to five rooms. With the pull of the generator
switch came the unlocking and opening of the doors, so they were all
wide
open and well lit, showing their treasures. It looked like this
place
had been stocked and ready, then just left behind or forgotten.
That
was certainly not like his master.
"Well?"
Shadow didn't even know what she was asking, but she felt she needed
some
assurance. Even if it was from the fucking demon boy.
"Abandoned
and stocked." He couldn't leave just the slightest hint of wonder
out of his voice. There would be weapons. And armor.
And new clothes. He could certainly use all of that.
She
turned to the siblings. "I guess we take what we can find,
then."
She tried to keep herself calm; inside she was a kid in a candy
store.
She could see all sorts of gleaming weapons in the first room.
Forcing
herself to walk slowly, that's where she headed, not much caring where
Roan went to. Sandy was still outside, guarding. She'd
probably
be able to make it down stairs and crush him, should it come to that.
Evyn
followed her closely, also interested in getting himself a weapon he
was
a little more comfortable with. As they stepped inside the first
room, huge double-edged battle axes met them on the far wall.
Shadow
had to suppress an excited squeal, meandering swiftly for something
neat.
That's
when he spotted something. Something he liked, could use, and had
farming experience with. Sure in this case it was a hell of a lot
sharper and more deadly than anything he'd ever encountered, but it was
perfect. "This should be useful." He said proudly, holding
up his new weapon. Simple in design, a thick pole with a triangle
blade at the end. It was certainly better than... a stick without
a blade. He could leave his walking stick here. Sort of
like...
an unfair trade.
"Wow,
it's... a spear." Shadow said.
"It's
a pummel." He corrected.
"It's
a spear." She grinned.
"It's
a pummel." He repeated, finding himself thankfully in a lighter
mood.
"It's
a spear, I say." She countered.
"I
know what a pummel is, and it's a pummel!" he shouted triumphantly,
glad
to be in good humor again.
"Well I'm
going to call it a spear." She mumbled with a satisfied
grin.
"Lots of dangerous monsters you can take down with a spear..."
He
jokingly tapped her with the blunt end. "It works."
"That's
right, try to wound me..." She was pleased he found something to
work with. Apparently something he quite liked, too. That
was
a good start. She continued digging through various heavy weapons
for herself.
"I'm,
um... going to see if I can find armor." He stated, edging out
the
door. He couldn't help himself. This was kind of
exciting.
Weapons and armor and stuff.
"Enjoy."
She sent him off with a salute. As she continued her search, she
heard Taerlyn walk in.
"Wow."
The girl whispered, looking at the battle axes. "I don't think I
could ever use those."
Shadow
gave her an amused look. "Well, there are all sorts of weird
things
in here. I bet you can find something nifty."
Ter
shrugged and began at the opposite end of the room, delicately moving
things
aside to peer underneath them. She dug daintily until she heard
an
absolutely irrepressible gasp from across the room. At first
she'd
thought maybe Shadow had cut herself, but as she walked over for a
look,
she couldn't help but gasp herself.
In
Shadow's hands were a pair of absolutely incredible bracers. Jet
black leather, they looked like they'd fit her perfectly from wrist to
elbow. Their most incredible features, however, were three pewter
claws each, lining the outside of the arms and stacked about two inches
apart, curves viciously upward. She couldn't help herself any
longer;
she placed the right bracer on her arm, buckled the three leather
straps,
and sighed with great satisfaction. It was as though something
had
clicked, as though those bracers had always belonged there. And
indeed,
they looked as though they had always been hers. The tight
stiffness
of the leather was welcome, and the smell seemed so natural. She
finished the look with the left one, then stretched her arms out for a
look.
Taerlyn
stared at the new and dangerous accessories, feeling the same
naturalness
about seeing them there. "Wow." She commented breathlessly.
"Wow
is right." Shadow returned, feeling one of the claws with the tip
of her finger. "I'm going to have to be really careful with these
things..."
"I
found armor!" Evyn called from the other room. "And... it fits
me..."
his voice changed tones to absolute amazement.
"Are
you descent?" Shadow joked, wanting to see.
"Trick
question!" Taerlyn called. "Go ahead and look. I still have
to find something."
She
nodded. "Be careful, though. Sharp things."
Taerlyn
stuck her tongue out teasingly. "I'm not an invalid.
Anymore."
With
a grin, Shadow emerged from the room and entered the one next to it
from
which Evyn's voice had come. That particular room was a little
less
bright than the one she'd just been in, and larger, so it took her a
moment
to locate him.
He
stared at Shadow's bracers, completely awed. "Wow." He
managed.
"Wow
yourself." She grinned, equally as awed by his new armor.
It
was beautiful, brand new looking, and gleaming. The gorget, chest
and back plates were entirely of a dark blood red metal, lined on all
sides
with something onyx black. It was unmarked by symbols or
affiliations,
and fit him like a glove. Well, like a slightly more muscular
glove,
but a glove nonetheless. He'd even found himself a damn nice pair
of black leather boots. "Lookin' good."
He
was flattered. But too taken with her look to really be able to
say
anything without going an octave higher than usual, so he cleared his
throat
before speaking. "There might be something here for you, too."
"Good."
She stated, taking a look around the walls. "A t-shirt doesn't
really
provide much for protection. Comfort, though..." She picked
up an armor ensemble that looked straight out of a low budget barbarian
movie; more or less the slightly more dangerous looking equivalent of
Princess
Leia's metal bikini in Return of the Jedi. "Eek."
Evyn
had to turn away and look down a bit to prevent her from seeing his
blush.
Just as he did so, he noticed Roan standing in the doorway, having seen
the whole thing. And even to his own shock, he was laughing.
That
didn't
make the blush any cooler, certainly.
Shadow
turned to the source of that disturbing grind of a "laugh", giving him
a sharp look. But she was in too good a mood to let the bastard
ruin
it. "You wish."
The
prisoner's laughter got a lot darker all of a sudden,
thankfully
hiding the next set of throat clearings Evyn went through to try and
compose
himself. The demon boy stopped to merely grin at the bracers,
then
stepped into the next room without so much as another breath.
She
simply dropped the "outfit" on the floor and tried again. Chain
mail
would probably be a much better option at this point in time.
Then
she spotted it, off in a corner of the room that was hardly lit at
all.
It wasn't exactly a match to her bracers, but damn did it look
good.
It was chain mail underneath, but atop that was a loose layer-work of
leather
scales covering just the front. It was perfect. It was
spiffy
as hell. She put it over her head and strapped it on over her
shirt,
almost wishing she didn't have to hide the GN'R emblem. It was
damn
cool in battle. Of course, she could always wear it
backwards....
But nah, that just... wasn't practical. Adjusting herself in her
new ensemble, she discovered a sort of adjustable frog strap on the
back,
just under the shoulder line. It was obviously designed for
holding
a variety of swords, quivers, axes--and with that, she again joined
Taerlyn
in search of something light but deadly. Never could have too
many
weapons.
In
the room next to them, Roan had found himself a descent sword and a
better
pair of pants among the various things tossed on the floor. They
were black jeans unmistakably along the same design as Shadow's, but he
took them anyway. They were clean, about his size, and without
tears.
He got a deep ash gray tunic to go with it, covering that with a simple
brassy chain mail shirt. Rummaging around in room number four, he
also found a cloak similar to the one he already had (save the tatters
and stains). Besides that and a pair of almost too simple
chocolate
leather bracers, the fourth room was a bust. He made the cloak
exchange
and walked back out to see what stupid decisions the others had made.
Quite
frankly, they surprised him. He saw Shadow's armor truly fitting
her personality, to say the least. The bracers would
unfortunately
make some of his bothersome antics a little more dangerous, but he
could
heal. She'd also apparently found herself a simple, light,
one-sided
battle ax about as long as her arm with a streamlined blade a third the
width of that. The blonde boy actually had a weapon and armor,
both
of which looked a little too natural on him. He'd certainly have
to watch out for that. The girl, on the other hand, was still
wrestling
with a miniature crossbow. It was of the sort most soldiers would
mount on their wrists, but it was big enough for her to be used the way
a normal crossbow would be. She'd also found a very simple,
tightly
woven chain mail shirt which made a bit of a skirt at the bottom.
It was a little big for her, but it would help.
"Are
we ready to go?" Evyn asked, not expecting a response.
In
a way, Shadow though it seemed like a dumb idea, but... "What about
Sandy?"
Roan
looked at them all blankly for a moment before realizing they were
talking
about that damned horse. "There could be beast armor in here."
"Nothing
too heavy, though." Taerlyn reminded them, strapping the quiver
to
her back. "She's got enough to carry."
"Good
point." Shadow agreed. "Anything light, donkey boy?"
He
sneered but did not make a further comment. Right now it'd just
be
fun enough to watch the sparks fly from this angle. When that got
boring, then he'd start in. Right now he was having too much fun
at Evyn's expense, and planned for it to go on as long as
possible.
"Yes. Most of it was designed light." If the place was as
old
as he thought it was, there was no doubt going to be a selection of
beast
armor.
As
Taerlyn attempted to load the crossbow (aiming for a wall, of course),
Shadow "lead behind" Roan. Indeed to his continued amazement,
there
were a few whole suits of chain mail hanging in the fifth room, most
designed
for horses. She took the largest one, glad to see it was solid
but
not overly heavy. Hell, if her scrawny arms could lift it...
Walking
back into the room, Roan darted backward just in time to avoid
an
arrow to the knee. He glared across the way, fully expecting to
find
that little blonde bitch practicing--and saw instead a stoic Evyn (The
other
blonde bitch...). He didn't even bother bringing the crossbow
down from it's aim. The two stared at one another from the short
distance, completely silent threats passed back and forth. Like
the
very switch that had turned the lights on, Evyn suddenly broke the
stare,
handing the crossbow back to Ter. "And that's how you do
it."
He indicated in a normal, pleasant tone.
Shadow
was utterly silent for a moment, knowing full well she could just have
easily been hit had he really been showing her how to use the
weapon.
He'd been waiting. He'd been aiming. She couldn't
say
she was at all dissatisfied in his performance. Hell, he was
learning.
Taerlyn,
on the other hand, chastised him with a look. But she took the
crossbow
back anyway. There was time to practice later. In an open
field.
Away from her brother and Roan.
"Let's
go." Shadow felt she had to prod them on. She glanced at
the
demon boy behind her giving Evyn such a feral snarl in silence that she
thought she heard him growl for a moment. It was just the
generator;
but it was sputtering. That was definitely a sign to go.
Back
at the top of the stairs, they met with the heat of the day. The
sand was now radiating, and the sun was climbing. Not a fun
situation,
especially with armor. But it was a big help to them. Sandy
looked less than thrilled with her armor, but she gladly accepted the
fitting.
It was quite a nice thing to have, in fact. It didn't weigh her
down
very much and was a hell of a lot more airy than fabric or leather, so
she didn't really mind it. They left the little building behind
in
the sands, switch up and door closed.
Onward
they
continued. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable stretch,
by
far. They all had to get used to their new armor regardless of
how
light it was. Evyn felt worst off of all of them, having not
chain
mail but actual sheets of metal. It wasn't heavy or anything,
just...
hot. It was making him... cranky. He and Roan kept making
glancing
eye contact, each challenging the other to make a move.
Most
unfortunately,
the wind picked up again just at the hottest point in
the
day, sucking greatly for all of them. Carrying armor and new
weapons
in the midst of a hot breeze and sand flying at you hard enough to
leave
a lasting sting--not fun. It was actually a slight bit worse than
the day before, in that the wind had become an almost constant
occurrence.
So, in the times when they didn't have to wait for it to pass by
crouching
against the ground, Sandy began digging a bit into the surface of the
sand
to find the cooler reaches. Annoying though it was, they'd just
have
to wait the sandstorm out in a little pit and move on afterward.
It could last all throughout the rest of the day for all she knew, but
there was no way they were going to be able to travel in the harder and
harder gusts.
Shadow
merely
dug her fingers into the sand in annoyance. They were
huddled
together as if trying to hide from a snow storm; even Roan. That
didn't sit well with Evyn, but the wind prevented anyone from
speaking.
They'd just have to put up with it for now. At least Sandy could
get a little sleep if she buried her nose under her leg. The
others
could wake her when this was over.
And
it
sure as hell took a while. At least three hours were stripped
from them, but as the winds began to die down enough to clearly see the
sun, Shadow ventured it to be more. It'd be fucking sunset
in just a little while. All that time wasted, being forced to
hold
out and wait for wind was extremely aggravating.
When
the
storm was actually over to the point where they could walk, they
were
all thirsty as hell. Not to mention the coughing and sneezing
from
the damn sand itself. The ground beneath was still radiating
heat,
but the day was just bordering on the edge of cooling. It was
annoying.
Not that they may have been able to get all that much farther if there
was no storm, perhaps but... it was the principle of the thing, dammit.
Agitated,
they
shared water and continued. The day's movement would not be
a total loss. Climbing a surprisingly high dune (not without some
sinking difficulties, but they managed), they found that old saying of
"over the next hill" to be true for once. The vast field of black
was suddenly speckled with grains of brown. Dirt.
Looking
further outward, there was even the tiniest bits of brown twig-like
things
in little patches up ahead. It was still desert, granted, but it
wasn't the completely dead sands they'd just been in. Hell, just
a few miles away was another huge hill. They may well find living
vegetation over that one.
Now
that
there was no sand to stop them, Roan and Evyn continued their
silent
glances. They were both waiting for a good opportunity, or a good
reason. Maybe they were both waiting for Shadow to do or say
something.
But of course, she didn't. She wasn't as oblivious to this
tension
as she was to the first bit that felt years ago and worlds away, but
she
would not ignite the fire. They didn't need this yet.
Taerlyn
wasn't
sure exactly what was going on, but she certainly wasn't numbed
to it. Things were getting so tense it was scary. She just
walked alongside Sandy, putting all of her faith in the horse.
She
glanced at Shadow every so often, but got only a shrugged response if
any.
Yes, faith in the horse was good faith.
Upon
finally
coming upon the huge hill they'd seen miles earlier, their
steps
seemed to get a little more rushed. There was a chance of fresh
water
close, maybe better food, a nice place to rest. Hell, maybe there
was gold in them there hills, too. Over the next hill,
right?
Right?
Cresting
the
peak at last, the sight that actually met their eyes made them all
stop dead in their tracks. Even that demon boy's stomach dropped
to his knees. Before them was a vast valley that looked to have
been
burned quite recently. But that's not what made their insides
crash.
All across the way, as far as the eye could see in any direction to the
horizon, were bodies hanging from iron crosses. Some rusted, some
new, all holding a victim.
As
horrible
as the valley looked, it was the smell that had really gotten
to them, that really made everything too real. To Roan it was as
familiar as something baking in the oven from childhood, but to the
others
it was a gut wrenching experience in itself. Burning and rotting
flesh filled the air, still baking in the cooling day, wafting
unsettlingly
in the wind. Sandy neighed with obvious discomfort.
"So
this...
is where we're headed..." Shadow stated, a flat kind of
desperation
tainting her words. Definitely what she may have pictured Roan's
home to have looked like, she supposed.
Evyn
leaned
on his pummel. It was just about the only thing keeping
him
on his feet as he looked across the world, dead and ugly. He
shook
his head and stared at the bodies sweeping across the land, bones and
flesh
of what had fallen off of the crosses that for some reason no animals
had
picked at.
Roan
stared
with a sick fascination, but found himself almost no longer able
to see the landscape and the death without his own stomach
falling.
He glanced over at the horrified look on Taerlyn's face but found
himself
not smiling at it. Perhaps he had been softened, having stayed
with
the group of weaklings for so long; the site just didn't thrill him as
much as it should have.
Shadow
took
a deep breath and began to proceed, not waiting for any more
thoughts
of what may be ahead to cloud her vision. She couldn't stand
thinking
of what fates may await them over the next hill... if only she could
see
the next hill over the crosses. Evyn didn't think his legs would
be capable of following, but sure enough he found himself moving with
Taerlyn
at his side, her cold hand grasping his for strength. Roan
watched
as the rest descended, then felt a sharp push from behind. Sandy
made certain he followed.
The
more
steps they took toward the crosses, the more they felt they
absolutely
would not be able to continue. Shadow's mind swam with "In God's
Country", but she felt it rather insane to start singing it at that
moment.
Or humming. Or even thinking of lyrics. "Are these... new
bodies?"
she whispered softly.
No
one
answered. No one knew, and not even Roan was certain.
He
didn't know there were that many people in all of the realm of his
master;
there was no doubt now they were entering his "home".
As
they
finally came within arm's distance of the first body, the stench
almost
completely unbearable, Shadow stared for a moment and tried to decide
how
old it was. To her disgusted amazement, it seemed almost to be
half
alive. One eye was sunken and old, almost a mummified look to one
half of its face, but the other eye still almost wet and alive looking,
though it had a dead and distant gaze. It sent shivers up her
spine,
and she decided to just keep looking ahead.
The
act
of simply glancing along the path became unimaginably hard when
they
encountered a small pile of children. It was a horrible
experience
as they each carefully stepped over the tiny bodies, managing to
control
the urges to purge their stomachs in a miraculously numb show of
control.
Taerlyn was immediately reminded of tripping over her father, and had
to
stop and close her eyes for a moment. Evyn offered to carry her,
but she declined silently, calmed herself, and kept walking. Not
another word was spoken along the gauntlet of the dead, most tied or
bolted
on crosses but some scattered elsewhere; some without limbs, but none
seeming
to have been touched by animals.
The
group
had walked in repulsed silence for over an hour before they saw
the
end of the bodies ahead of them, at least another hour away.
They'd
probably emerge from this place as the sun went down... not such a nice
picture. It may be better to cross at night so they wouldn't have
to see everything so clearly. So the smell wouldn't be so...
"fresh".
What
else
they saw ahead of them, however, puzzled them a great deal.
They could just make out the shape of a moving figure coming toward
them...
then stopping up ahead appearing to wait for them. They kept
walking--couldn't
have stopped even if they tried with all of the dead eyes to urge them
on--with concerned glances back and forth. No words, just the
walk,
somehow finding the strength to get through the sour air of burning and
death.
When
they
came close enough to see the figure's face, it somehow found a way
of making their stomachs fold even tighter. Even Roan couldn't
escape
the feeling of being sickened and, worst of all, scared.
Something
kept them walking toward the figure, though; a man of torn clothing
looking
as though they'd been made of dirty old potato bags. When the
group
finally stood only feet away, they noticed that he held a little brown
porcelain cup in his hand, two water sacks criss-crossed over his bony
shoulders, and nothing else. Not so much as a weapon. He
looked
old, ancient, too old even to have kept the tiny bit of fuzz on his
head.
Just the sight of the old man was devastating to their courage.
But
Roan recognized the flash of a gold metal collar just under the man's
"shirt";
this was a holy man. Possibly the last to ever exist in this
realm.
And he was leaving it. Alive.
The
old
man indicated that they should sit. When they just looked at
each other, his crackled old voice burst forth joylessly, "It's a
custom."
Shadow
glanced
back, saw Evyn shrug, and sat. The old man sat beside
her,
and with that the others followed suit. Obviously, Shadow felt a
little out of place beside the man, but she was glad to do whatever
custom
dictated. Sandy politely waited for all to sit before she laid
down
next to Roan, keeping alert eyes on him at all times.
He
looked
like a kindly old man, though a dead one inside. He handed
Shadow the cup he'd been holding with the assumption she was the
"leader",
and she took it lightly in her hands. She watched with careful
fascination
as he pulled another from his pocket. Slowly, as if practiced
ceremony,
he shrugged a water sack off of his shoulder, pulled the cork out, and
poured a horrible smelling concoction in Shadow's cup, then some in his
own. As he replaced the cork, she stared at the liquid, just
trying
to decide what it was. It was blacker than coffee, a feat she was
certain wasn't possible, but she said nothing about it.
With
another
quick glance at her little traveling army, she decided to ask
what
was on everyone's minds. "Who are you, if you don't mind me
asking?"
"I'm
a
cleric." He stated with a gruff clearing of his throat.
He
held his hand out to her, and she shook it lightly and without much
heart,
which he didn't at all seem to notice. "The name's Kerenth."
"So
you're
a priest?" she asked, taking her hand back from the rough,
sandpaper
flesh of his palm.
Kerenth
snorted
a bit of laughter. "Indeed, dear. But the religion
is completely forgotten. I'm only a cleric by birth, and not by
deed."
She
looked
at him with sweetly piercing eyes, surprisingly enough not
seeming
to wish him death. "Everything's been forgotten?"
"The
world
has not been whole since... well, since far before the birth of
my
gran'ad." He took a large gulp of the awful black stuff and
sighed
deeply.
"Have
you
any idea what happened?" she asked curiously, trying to swallow the
concoction herself. She found it a lot more difficult than
coffee.
It proved incredibly hard not to make a face as she swallowed only one
gulp.
Kerenth
shook
his head sadly, truly looking like an old man on a street corner
telling tales of when he had a home. "No one knows what
happened.
Of course, no one knows if the world was ever whole in the first place."
"I
know
worlds like that..." Shadow smiled softly and was exceptionally
glad
when the man didn't appear to question her in the least. A slow
silence
followed, Evyn and Taerlyn looking at each other in shock and wonder of
what to say.
"What's
your
asking price on him?" Kerenth surprised them, pointing to
Roan.
She
was
hardly able to suppress a hard laugh at the question. "I'm
afraid
he's not for sale. We just got him, you see. Not sick of
him
yet."
Roan
glared
at her with wicked eyes, and the cleric laughed heartily.
"Understood." He said cheerily, turning his eyes from what he
regarded
as quite a nice little prize; a slave of the Service. Being held
is his very own land by outsiders, at that. He nodded quickly
then
as if waking up from a dream, his eyes widened a little more, allowing
them to see the grayed green color of them. "Time I be on my way."
Shadow
took
another gulp of the stuff (I miss coffee, god I miss coffee),
then
handed the cup back to him. He seemed a little troubled by her
action, and she lifted an eyebrow.
"No,
ma'um,
I can't accept that back. I gave it freely, gift of the
clerics.
The old ways may be forgotten, but kindness is something to be
spread.
Drink for the thirsty, gift for the poor." As strong as his voice
was, it faltered in belief in a way that may have torn the heart out of
people that had never killed.
"Then
accept
this cup back." She responded gently but forcefully. Why
she reacted this way, she never could have explained. It was
just...
it felt right. She did what felt right and just, for once.
"If you take it back, that's one more thirsty person you could
help.
We've made it this far, and I... assume we'll make it further."
She
handed the cup back again, black liquid and all.
He
grasped
both of her hands too quickly for her to react and smiled; the
first true smile he had experienced since early in his childhood.
"You know of the old ways." He said, releasing her hands and
taking
the cup. Before she or any of the others in the group could
react,
he simply got up and walked past them, heading in the direction from
where
they'd come, down the gauntlet of bodies.
Evyn
leaned
toward Shadow and asked, "Do you think we should call him back
and
invite him to join us?"
She
looked
at Kerenth's back a moment more, then turned to Evyn. "No,
I don't think so."
"Why
not?"
Taerlyn whispered.
"I
don't
know." She opened her mouth to say something else, but
promptly
closed it again. She didn't know what else to say, and the sun
was
going down. They needed to make it out of this godawful
valley
of death first. Then... then she could wonder just what the hell
had happened. |
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